Cornflower Witch

Chapter 134 On the right track
After making her selection, Hilti spent 3 gold coins to buy all the toad-men servants, which is 60 people in three groups.

After counting and handing over the items, the manager handed a sign to the girl, telling her that this sign could be used to control the toads, but the control was not unlimited, and she would need to use some rules and methods to train them herself.

"The association will send people over to take a count a year later. If the number of those still alive is no less than 48, then there will be no problem."

"I understand." A 20% loss per year should be avoidable if I'm careful, after all, she's not a cruel person.

"Croak, are you our new leader?" The leading toads gathered around the silver-haired girl, observing her curiously.

"Silver-white hair, quack; not in good health, quack."

To the toads, white hair is probably a congenital defect, a lack of pigment, and therefore a sign of poor health. In their eyes, large, clear black spots or stripes are the most beautiful, and the darker the skin color, the more elegant and powerful one appears.

With help now available, Hilti led these guys through the market and bought a lot of farm tools, such as hoes, shovels, axes, and sickles, as well as some daily necessities, such as kerosene, candles, soap, ropes, large pots, nails, salt, herbs, and finally, several bags of fresh vegetables.

Fortunately, these toads don't need to wear clothes, which saves some money.

One by one, these items were loaded onto the carriage. To make transportation easier, Hiltiya spent money to buy two more carriages, which were then attached to the back of the previous carriages to carry the toads.

Their webbed feet are suitable for swimming; if they were to walk on the ground all the time, they would probably get blisters.

Once ready, Hilti rode her pony to the side, while the lakeside horse simply continued along the one-way road.

……

In the afternoon, the group finally returned to the valley, which was almost the same as when Hilti had left a few days earlier.

She dismounted and let the toads get off the carriage as well, and began unloading the goods. First, she piled the purchased vegetables on the first floor of the stone house. Then, Hirutiya led them to the inner side of the valley, where there were still many trees.

"Clear this area first," she gave a simple order, wanting to see how the toads would accomplish it and how much autonomy they possessed.

"Croak, croak, chop down the tree."

"They cut down trees, carry water, and catch fish every day." It seems they are quite familiar with these three things.

Armed with their newly purchased axe, a group of toads skillfully chopped down the dead branches and trees, as well as various scattered shrubs and thorns. If they encountered any useful wild plants, Hilti would gather them up beforehand and set them aside.

Before nightfall, Hiltiya had the toads carry a bundle of dry branches back to the vicinity of the fields, where they built a simple campfire. Then she brought over the large pot she had just bought from the wagon and placed it next to the fire.

First, they poured in a small amount of water, then flour, and then several toads took turns pounding the flour with a wooden stick, and then kneaded it together.

When it was almost done, Hilti had them take out the dough, poured enough water into the pot, and started to cook it with firewood. After it boiled, she put the dough she had kneaded earlier into the pot to cook.

Soon, amidst the rising wisps of white steam, oddly shaped dough balls floated on the water's surface, and Hiltiya used a spoon to distribute the dough balls to these creatures.

"Use cold water to catch it, otherwise it will be too hot." Considering that these guys have no patience to wait for the dough to cool down before eating, the girl had no choice but to give this instruction.

"Croak, dough." The first toad to get the food couldn't wait and swallowed it in one gulp. Just as Hilti had guessed, it didn't wait at all.

"Gurgle, delicious." This time, she finally shut her mouth.

Seeing their companions eating, the other toads gathered around the large pot, each holding a bowl and waiting. Because she had to feed 60 toads, Hirutia probably cooked six large pots before she could barely finish feeding them all.

After it was over, she sat to the side, looking at the big iron pot covered in batter, not wanting to move at all.

Let them wash themselves. I should teach some of the toads how to cook later, so we can save some effort.

After eating the dough, the toads were in much better spirits, and the tension they felt when they first arrived in the woods had dissipated considerably. Some of them were already asleep on the grass by the campfire.

The gurgling sounds could be heard sporadically at night.

After summoning a few toads that were still relatively conscious, Hilti gave them a brief explanation and then returned to the hut opposite the field.

She's going to eat something now, take a shower, and go to bed.

In the following days, Hiltiya first asked the toads to build her a place to sleep and rest. They didn't have high requirements; they just wanted a place that could block out the sun and make them feel safe. The toads didn't sleep on beds; they preferred to soak in water or on rocks.

About five days later, the long sheds where these toads lived were completed. Although they were small, the interior of the sheds was quite spacious, like the warehouses and factories in Hilti's memory of her previous life.

This structure is naturally designed for easy ventilation, and it's also much cooler, preventing it from being too stuffy in the summer. In addition, the simple structure is relatively easy to build and maintain.

After settling these creatures in, Hilti began assigning them tasks, which were roughly divided into three groups: watering, weeding and turning the soil, and chores, including boiling water to cook noodles and cleaning.

If the weather is fine and there is enough time, Hilti will take them deep into the valley to clear out the primitive forests and rocks, drag out the felled timber, and put it in the built warehouse to dry in the shade.

Everything is slowly getting back on track. In the beginning, Hiltiya had to spend a lot of time every day instructing them on what to do and what details to pay attention to.

Given that these toads aren't very intelligent, she had to break things down into clear and simple goals so that these guys could learn gradually.

Fortunately, hard work pays off. After about twenty days, the toads were able to do the basic work without her daily instructions.

Moreover, under Hilti's guidance, the wheat seedlings in the field grew taller day by day, and the situation gradually became more and more pleasing.

[Wheat] (Good-56): Wheat in good condition, expected to yield a good harvest.

Achieving a "good" rating after more than twenty days is already quite good for some novice horticulturists. With a little more effort, achieving an "excellent" rating is not impossible. This is the standard that the Forestry Association sets for new trainees.

When she arrived at this valley, the association members had already helped her plow fifty acres of land in advance. The wheat she is now planting is also from these fifty acres. If each acre yields 100 jin, then it will be exactly 5000 jin of wheat.

If the 5000 jin of wheat reaches excellent quality, she will also receive excellent evaluations, making it much easier for her to join other organizations later.

If this 5000 catties of high-quality wheat were sold on the market, it would be worth about 5000 silver coins, or 50 gold coins. This is the result of her three months of work. During this period, she hired toads and bought tools and food, which cost her about 8 gold coins.

Hiltiya sat in her study, calculating the profits with her pen, occasionally glancing at the lush green fields outside the window.

Although she had been busy for the past two months and had little time to rest, she felt a sense of fulfillment as she looked at the gradually taking shape valley and fields.

The contract stipulated that the goal should be achieved within six months, and only two months have passed. After harvesting the first batch, she can start the second batch of planting. With more experience and skill in the second cultivation, she can further improve the results.

(End of this chapter)