BLOODLINE TEMPERING: Transforming From Worm To Dragon

Chapter 23: Land Reclamation

Land reclamation was a slow and meticulous process, unlike the weed removal duty that heavily relies on your own speed.

In the eyes of bystanders, this job was simply trying to develop the land and prepare the soil. In reality, it wasn't merely loosening the earth and planting seeds after they were plowed.

The process involves a few major tasks, from removing the body of water that forms into puddles to removing solid obstacles around it. The manpower also had to be allocated to adjust the height of the land itself, irrigation, and water source.

After that, there were still plenty of secondary tasks before they could move on to farming.

Of course, Chen Tu and the others were not expected to accomplish everything in a single day. This reclamation project would take at least two to three months for this land to appear similar to one of the forty-two plots of the Spiritual Garden here.

On a side note, one can see how much effort the Blood Refining Grotto had put into its Spiritual Garden Department. Without it supporting the department unbiasedly, the Spiritual Garden could possibly be just half of what it was today.

Small discussions can be heard in between while working.

It appeared that this area itself was a Spiritual Garden many years ago. But as the grotto was too inexperienced back then, the department failed to control the output of Spiritual Energy and Nutrient around this area.

Their assignment today lasted for five hours. Based on what Chen Tu heard, the disciples would likely be assigned the same task again if they came to work tomorrow.

After all, it would be impossible for them to work as a daily weed remover. Even if it did, the representative would have to adjust the workload based on the situation to be fair to everyone.

For example, wouldn't a disciple have it easy if they were lucky to be assigned to the Spiritual garden Chen Tu was responsible for two days ago? Based on his work alone, it would take a disciple less than an hour to finish their assignment.

On the contrary, if Chen Tu were assigned to an unattended garden too often, would he continue working here after a while?

Hence, to be absolutely fair to the disciples completing their assignments here, the Spiritual Garden developed a day cycle that everyone followed.

The week usually began with two days in weed removal, two days in land reclamation, then two days in pruning and attending the Spiritual Herbs. The seventh day was optional, depending on the Spiritual Herb's maturity.

Because the harvesting period for each Spiritual Herb varies from week to week, this made the competition for this assignment ten times harsher than usual. It was on a special selection basis, where only skillful, responsible, and reliable disciples would have a better chance to be chosen to participate.

It was unfortunate to many, but here in this Blood Refining Grotto, who wasn't a potential disciple? A competition like this was bound to happen.

To some, this wasn't their first time helping out with this assignment. But to Chen Tu, this land reclamation assignment is certainly his first. Accepting everything positively allowed his work to proceed without disturbance. And unlike the others, Chen Tu had no complaints at all. Chen Tu also appeared to be coveting something they were about to throw away after getting their pay.

"This fellow brother, would you mind parting with that basket in your hand?" Chen Tu politely asked. The question puzzled the fellow disciple, and without objection, he gave the basket of waste to Chen Tu.

What qualm could he have?

Someone was interested in the trash basket in his hand, and for his convenience, he might as well give up that basket!

After all, except for Chen Tu, most of the people here were members of the younger generation in their respective families! How would they be not scornful of these treatments?

From here, one basket turns into two, then multiplies until everyone else's trash is left to Chen Tu. And since Chen Tu wasn't in a hurry, he might as well put the things together while waiting for his turn to get paid.

As a matter of fact, what Chen Tu coveted was none other than the leftover roots from the Spiritual Herb that was harvested many years ago. And that was not all. Some cheap herbs also came along, making up a third of everything else.

The rest were random spices usually mixed in food to make them healthier and more fragrant. Since none were a part of the necessary ingredient in a pill concoction, it would naturally be treated as a common weed for disposal.

Obviously, these young masters had no idea what importance these common weeds were to Chen Tu. Plus, getting them free is more than Chen Tu could ask for.

It wasn't a secret that Chen Tu was rearing three Crimson-Tailed Pheasants in his private land. And to these young masters, the common weed has zero use. But for Chen Tu, it was a key item for his "business."

These medical and gourmet herbs are the favorite food for Crimson-Tailed Pheasants.

From what Chen Tu knew, it was possible to help the Crimson-Tailed Pheasants grow faster and increase their meat quality. Feeding these birds frequently with herbs would also develop a hint of medical fragrance within the meat, turning it into a definite delicacy.

Of course, knowledge like this was only known to people that have been rearing these birds for decades. And the person just happened to be Chen Gou, Chen Tu's grandfather and the kind person who picked him up on the roadside.

But that was only the first part of the benefit of feeding these birds using quality food. There was another part where few people actually knew about this.

According to Chen Gou, some hens might grow a set of plumes at the back of its head. Since this breed is known as Crimson-Tailed, it naturally would develop a set of light to dark crimson feathers.

When the hens reach this stage, their egg quality is upped by a level, along with the hatching rate for fertile eggs. And at this stage, a regular adult bird would weigh between one and a half to two pounds.

But those fed with herbs could grow to over four pounds, with a starting point of at least three pounds. They could easily reach the price of five Spiritual Coins if sold in town.