My experience of grinding in another world

Chapter 220 Try
"I've heard that the chefs at Bazhenlou can make vegetarian dishes taste like meat. Is that really true?" Shang Huan asked.

“It can be done.” Chen Mu nodded.

"As long as you have the right seasonings and enough culinary skills."

Chen Mu can do it himself.

"These chefs are really amazing; they can change the taste of ingredients at will," Shang Huan said with a look of surprise.

The three of them chatted while eating.

Before long, the conversation turned to the invasion of the medicinal fields by strange beasts, which caused the price of medicinal herbs to rise.

"I should have stocked up on some," Shang Huan lamented. "The prices of some key medicinal herbs have at least doubled!"

What a great opportunity to make money!

"The lower courtyard isn't stupid either; Baicao Pavilion reacted much faster than you." Old Hao puffed on his cigarette.

Chen Mu understood; no wonder the underground market no longer had Guan Qie Ye Cao.

"Are medicinal herbs easy to grow?" Chen Mu asked quietly.

The herbs that can be grown in the lower courtyard are different from ordinary medicinal herbs. For example, yellow sprout rice cannot be grown outside.

"Anyway, this land isn't suitable for us," Old Hao shook his head.

"You need feng shui to grow medicinal herbs?" Shang Huan, who knew nothing about farming, joked with a grin.

Old Hao snorted and gave Shang Huan, the farming novice, a sidelong glance: "It doesn't watch the wind, but it watches the water!"

water?
It's the earth's spiritual energy!
Does cultivating medicinal herbs require more spiritual energy?
"You want to grow medicinal herbs?" Old Hao saw through Chen Mu's plan at a glance.

"Let me learn it first. Didn't you say that growing yellow sprout rice isn't profitable?" Chen Mu nodded with a smile.

"It's a waste of effort; our water can't sustain this." Old Hao shook his head.

Water won't do, but I have a white jade plate.

Chen Mu smiled but didn't say anything.

……

Tongtianfang, the residence of the Lower Academy.

As Chen Mu walked out of the Scripture Transmission Hall, he glanced back at the octagonal wooden building with bronze wind chimes hanging on it: "Really expensive."

One hour of reading costs one white jade coin.

Chen Mu immediately shrugged: "A little more expensive is better than nothing."

The lower courtyard is the resource production base of the Chicken Cage Path. In addition to the secret jade tablets, the transmission courtyard also contains many miscellaneous books.

He came here to find information about a certain medicinal herb.

After leaving the Scripture Transmission Hall, I went to the Hundred Herbs Pavilion and spent a white jade coin to buy thirty seeds of night-blooming jasmine.

I made a culture trough out of wood chips when I got home. It was one meter long, half a meter wide, and about knee-high.

Prepare potting soil, sow seeds, water and fertilize.

Finally, place the culture tank next to the white jade plate to ensure a sufficient concentration of spiritual energy.

"All done!" Chen Mu clapped his hands in satisfaction.

Once the seeds germinate and sprout into seedlings, you can try transplanting them.

……

Half a month later, in the courtyard of Aishan, on the west side of the courtyard.

Chen Mu stood under the wooden shed by the stove, looking at the small patch of field in front of him, but his expression was not good.

Transplanted seedlings of nightshade are planted in the ridges of the field.

Thirty seeds, twenty-five sprouted. But after transplanting, not a single one survived!

The last tender seedling also collapsed completely this morning.

"Don't try things blindly."

Chen Mu couldn't help but gasp. He had lost two white jade coins in one try, enough to cover his food expenses for a month.

"But we still have to keep planting."

Whether it's the Lower House or the Nurifune, key medicines such as Solanum meyeri have been discontinued for retail sale.

The ten pounds he had could only last for six months.

Chen Mu looked at the gray wall.

Cloud Mirage Armor Technique: 5257/10000/Tier 8;

Planting: 9260/10000/Tier 2;

Sand-containing spell: 3790/10000/Tier 4;

Hundred Intent Aura: 3232/10000;

You don't need to worry about the Spirit Armor Technique; it will train on its own.

The Sand-Holding Technique wasn't originally intended for special training; it was just a pastime to pass the time.

"The time spent practicing the Aura Technique can be reduced a bit," Chen Mu pondered to himself. Even with his full effort, he was still far from achieving perfection.

"Then let's set aside a few days to gain planting experience."

"Second-order isn't enough, third-order should be fine, right?"

"It's just the liver."

At its original rate, processing yellow rice fields daily can bring it about thirty experience points.

It will take about 24 to 25 days to advance to the next level.

But besides hands-on practice, there is another way to improve experience.

"It just costs money."

……

Six days later, Chen Mu walked out of the Chuanjing Academy with an unfamiliar face.

He spent six consecutive days at the Chuanjing Academy, constantly perusing books on seedling cultivation and transplantation, pest control and weeding, fertilizer formulation, and the properties of medicinal herbs.

Not only did his planting skill advance to the third tier, but he also gained over 300 experience points in medicine making.

"Let's come back a few more times and max out my medicine-making skills?" Chen Mu was itching to try.

But after thinking about it, Chen Mu couldn't help but shake his head.

He's only halfway through his pharmaceutical skills. He doesn't have that much money in the form of jade.

Even if they did, they wouldn't dare come. What if someone took notice of them?
He has a skill-boosting cheat, so he can farm enough experience sooner or later.

They might even reach the pinnacle faster and better than others.

"There's no rush."

"Let's plant night-blooming jasmine first."

This is related to whether he will have a stable source of income in the future.

……

As Chen Mu was about to leave the Lower House's residence, a group of people crowding in front of the patrol courtyard caught his attention.

He walked to the shade of a tree in the distance and stopped to watch with a few people under the tree.

"Still not full?" Chen Mu asked in surprise, casually striking up a conversation with the group of people under the tree.

Before he began frequently visiting the Scripture Academy to read, the Inspection Bureau was already recruiting. Six days later, the recruitment office was still packed.

"They say there are strange beasts stirring in the mountains, and they don't have enough manpower," replied a man who looked to be a farmer in his fifties.

"It's a pity I didn't master the secret technique, otherwise I would definitely have signed up," another burly man in his forties with a thick beard said in a deep voice.

"A monthly allowance of five white jade coins."

"You can get money for hunting down strange beasts."

"You can easily earn ten white jade coins a month!"

"You'd have to be alive to collect that money." The old man glanced at the other person: "Strange beasts aren't pigs or sheep on a chopping board."

Chen Mu nodded.

Because the lower courtyard is rich in spiritual energy and resources, it is often attacked by strange beasts. Hunting down these beasts is one of the duties of the Patrol Bureau.

This job pays well, but it is indeed dangerous.

"We came here precisely to take this further, didn't we?"

"You need white jade to eat, you need white jade to buy secret techniques, you need white jade to buy auxiliary pills, and you need white jade to go to the dojo to cultivate!"

"Without the white jade coins, how can we go any further?" The burly man with the thick beard said, his voice filled with frustrated anger.

"Growing yellow sprout rice only gives you two pieces a month, which is only enough to buy a bag of yellow sprout rice and a bottle of calming pills."

"Renting twenty acres of land, even with the best harvest, you can only earn twenty or thirty white jade coins a year."

"What can you do with this little money!" The burly man stared resentfully at the patrol office. "Fortune favors the bold, but alas..."

Chen Mu couldn't help but chime in: "It's tough for us farmers!"

The old man's face was also grim: "With the outbreak of pests, everyone has suffered considerable losses this year."

"In the next few years, we might have to work for nothing."

Chen Muxin echoed, "It is indeed quite large."

The green beetles damaged several acres of land.

Before even seeing a glimpse of the night-blooming jasmine, eight white jade coins had already been spent.

"It'll probably take quite a while to patch up this hole," Chen Mu sighed after a quick calculation.

It will take at least three days!

He had to deliver the latest set of calming pills to Shang Huan.

(End of this chapter)