The fields, where the snow had lted, were tilled until the soil was soft and fluffy, making it more suitable for crops to grow.
The fernted manure fertilizer, having aged for a long ti, had lost its foul odor and beco a catalyst for the crops to thrive in the furrows.
An Jin ca to the fields with a hoe to loosen the soil. She was just idle at ho anyway, and there weren’t any other forms of entertainnt in the Beast World. Working in the fields was a good way to get so exercise.
"Let help you," Gu Yin offered.
Ever since he realized he’d accidentally annoyed her again, he had been acting submissively, trying desperately to get back in her good graces.
"See the seeds in that bag over there? Bring it to . I’ll dig the holes, and you can drop two seeds in each one," An Jin said, pointing to a Beast Skin Bag lying on its side not far away.
Gu Yin obediently retrieved it at once and followed behind her, diligently starting to sow the seeds.
Exactly two seeds per hole, not daring to add a single one more.
’As if she’d get angry if I added an extra one?’
An Jin was amused by his serious and ticulous deanor, but she suppressed her smile, keeping her expression cool as she ordered him to do this and that.
’She was probably the only one in the entire Beast World who dared to treat the mighty King Beast, revered by the Ten Thousand Beasts, as free labor, dragging him out to farm and ordering him around at will.’
Ti always flew by when one was completely engrossed in work. The sky gradually darkened as the brilliant sun, once hanging overhead, sank behind the distant, misty, violet-gray mountains to the west.
"I’m getting a little hungry. Let’s go back," An Jin said, rubbing her stomach.
Gu Yin took the hoe from her. "Alright, let’s head back." He smoothly bent down, scooped her up, and let her sit on his sturdy arm before starting the journey ho.
The fields were on the outskirts of the city, while the Stone Castle was in the very center, so it would take quite so ti to get back.
Halfway there, they suddenly ran into a Beastman guard who had co to make a report. Trailing behind him were several Clan Leaders from nearby tribes.
The mont they saw her, the Clan Leaders’ wrinkled, miserable faces lit up with ecstatic joy. They scurried over to her in a flash.
Before the guard could speak, the Beastman Clan Leaders all started talking at once. "Hold on, one at a ti." An Jin couldn’t make out a single word, so she singled out the Clan Leader of the Monkey Tribe to speak first.
An Jin frowned. "What happened?" Her gaze swept over the Clan Leaders. "Why have you all rushed here together? Have you run into so trouble again?"
"Well... it’s not exactly trouble, it’s just..."
The Clan Leader of the Monkey Tribe scratched the sparse hair on his shiny forehead, glanced up at her stealthily, and said sheepishly, "The year before last, our tribes saw that Sheng’an City could grow so much grain, and we... we got envious. I don’t know who suggested it, but anyway, we started trying to grow grain like you. But we never expected..."
"We never expected a total harvest failure. All our efforts for more than half a year went to waste, not to ntion all the manpower and resources we spent. Sigh..." another Clan Leader interjected, sighing heavily. His furrowed brow looked tight enough to crush a fly.
"At first, we thought we were using the wrong plants. So after that painful lesson the year before last, we specifically bought a lot of grain seeds from your city last year to plant. We thought we’d get a good result this ti..."
His gaze swept over the healthy seedlings thriving in the furrows, and he couldn’t help but think of his own tribe’s barren land, feeling even more desolate. "But it turned out even worse than the year before. A true total failure. Not a single seedling sprouted!"
"We really don’t know what went wrong, so we ca to ask you..."
The group watched her expression cautiously, swallowing nervously before adding with trepidation, "Of course, if you’re not willing to tell us, we won’t force you. And we won’t resent you behind your back. After all, it’s your tribe’s secret..."
"If you want to learn, I can teach you." An Jin couldn’t help but smile when she heard they had planted dried, husked grains directly in the ground. ’No wonder grain sales had suddenly skyrocketed back then.’
"Alright, if you won’t teach... what?! You said you’re willing to teach us?!" They thought they had misheard. After cleaning out their ears and having her repeat it, their jaws nearly hit the floor.
"If I didn’t teach you, wouldn’t that be letting you down after you went to all the trouble of coming here in person?"
"No, no, we didn’t an to pressure you! We were just so baffled that we had to co and ask for guidance," they all said, blushing.
"But are you really willing to teach us? After all... this is your city’s secret..."
This kind of "secret" was sothing most tribes would never share. An exclusive "secret" could guarantee a tribe’s survival for decades and could also be used to accumulate great wealth.
An Jin had naturally considered what they were thinking.
In truth, teaching the basic techniques of agriculture to the other tribes of the Beast World was sothing she had considered at length.
First, even if she didn’t teach them, other tribes would find a way to get the information in a few years anyway. It was impossible to keep it a secret forever.
Although she could obtain a large number of Beast Crystals through an exclusive grain supply chain, An Jin never intended to hoard the wealth for herself from the start.
Her goal was to advance the civilization of the Beast World, and agriculture was the most stable foundation for that developnt.
As for what the beastn were implying—that Sheng’an City would lose its sole channel for selling grain and possibly suffer losses—that situation was simply not a concern.
If not grain, she still had cloth, sugar, ironware, glass, and more. Taking a loss was absolutely out of the question.
"Th-then what should we do?"
The Clan Leaders’ faces were flushed with excitent, and they began to stamr. "We can offer you prey... oh no, Beast Crystals! But as you know, small tribes like ours don’t have large reserves of Beast Crystals..."
"For free."
The two words she uttered so lightly plunged the surrounding air into dead silence.
The Clan Leaders stared at her in shock, their lips trembling. "F-for free? You must be joking, right? How is that possible..."
"What, you don’t look very happy. In that case, maybe—"
"No, no! We are very happy! It’s just hard to believe! We’ve never seen any tribe teach its secrets to another for free..."
"It’s free, but I have other conditions," she said with a slight smile. Of course, it wouldn’t be that simple.
They hurriedly said, "Please, tell us!"
"I can teach you the techniques of cultivation for free and without reservation, but in return, you must provide with enough students—that is, beastn to learn. They will need to study in the city for an extended period, a year or even longer."
Building a school, popularizing a writing system, and teaching the beastn relevant knowledge and culture was an idea An Jin had for a long ti.
She wanted as many races and beastn as possible to join her school.
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