Published: March 11, 2025
CHAPTER 82: Promotion by Three Levels
Around noon, Galen woke up. After washing his face in the hot spring pool in his room, he stepped outside.
The manor was still bustling with activity. Undead beings were occasionally hauling large stones from outside the manor, while An was leading the slaves to make millstones and grinding wheels.
These two items were not easy to make, especially with such simple tools. Crafting a millstone or grinding wheel took quite a bit of time. Furthermore, only An could be considered a proper stonemason; the other slaves were still at the apprentice level.
The men were naturally doing the heavier work, while the female slaves helped with lighter tasks such as cleaning and polishing stones.
The whole manor now resembled a large stone processing factory. If outsiders saw it, they would surely be taken aback. Rubble Mountain had become a mysterious emblem since Zhao Hai's arrival.
Zhao Hai stood in the courtyard of the manor. Although he couldn’t help out much, he remained there with everyone. He wasn't supervising their work; he just wanted to be part of the atmosphere and collect the stones mined by the undead beings into his space.
After spending so much time together, the slaves had gotten to know Zhao Hai well. He was easy-going, and joking with him was common. He never got angry, and they had grown accustomed to his presence while working.
This was understandable; the spatial farm was moderately sized—ten acres—mostly occupied by farmland. The slaves lived nearby, which meant they couldn't stray too far from the water source, and since the water source was not far from Zhao Hai, they couldn't avoid him even if they wanted to.
Because of this daily interaction, the slaves had let go of their initial nervousness. So, even if Zhao Hai stood there all day, the slaves wouldn't feel uncomfortable. They had grown used to it.
At that moment, Zhao Hai saw Galen approaching with a smile. “Grandpa Galen, you’re awake! Did I disturb you?”
Galen shook his head and replied, “No, young master. I brought back the seeds; they’re in the house.” Zhao Hai nodded and followed Galen inside.
As soon as they entered the room, they saw a large bundle. Besides some seeds, it contained tools—stone mason’s tools that were quite heavy. Only Galen could have returned to Rubble Mountain in such a short time with this load.
Galen first took out the tools and then handed the large bundle of seeds to Zhao Hai. The bundle contained nearly fifty pounds of seeds, which Zhao Hai could manage to carry. Although his strength had diminished due to the Void Water, this weight was still manageable.
Holding the seeds, Zhao Hai turned to Galen and said, “I’ll be off now.” With that, he disappeared in a flash before Galen could respond. Galen then took the tools and went outside.
Once Zhao Hai entered the space, he eagerly opened the seed bundle. A series of notification sounds rang out, nearly overwhelming him.
“New crop seeds discovered. The seeds are of good quality; data recorded. Seed rating: Level 10 food crop, susceptible to disasters. Improved seeds replacing water rice seeds in the space; these are seasonal crops, available for purchase in the space store.”
“New crop seeds discovered. Poor quality, no redeeming features; seeds canceled.”
“New crop seeds discovered. Good quality; data recorded. Seed rating: Level 7 leguminous crop, high yield. Extracted advantages; enhanced space leguminous crops. These are seasonal crops, available for purchase in the space store.”
“New crop seeds discovered. Good quality; data recorded. Seed rating…”
The barrage of notifications flooded in, and Zhao Hai hurried into the grass hut. He pressed the store button on the screen and discovered over twenty new varieties of crop seeds appeared in the store, while the canceled ones were likely the poor-quality seeds.
Zhao Hai noticed this time the notification sounds were different. Last time, they were very brief; this time they were quite detailed.