In Teyvat, it all begins with rescuing the grass god.

Otherwise, why would he always try to curry favor with that scholar of the theory of life, only to be repeatedly turned away?

"call--"

After a long day of work, Rod wiped the sweat from his brow, looked at the prepared land in front of him, and chuckled, "Grow, grow quickly, when you're all grown up, my good days will begin."

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 20 Farming Life

Seven days after planting, the experimental plot, which had been treated with fertile soil, sprouted.

The first bean to sprout was the bald bean, and it's growing well.

On the 11th day, all the crops in the experimental field that had received the Fertile Bounty had sprouted, but not a single seed had sprouted in the experimental field that had not received the Fertile Bounty.

On the 14th day, the experimental field, which had not received any bountiful harvest, finally sprouted. The bald bean was once again the first to sprout. This plant is very resilient, not picky about its growing environment, and has a short growth cycle, making it a very suitable economic crop for desert regions.

[On the 15th day, a sandstorm struck. The experimental fields without the Blessing of Fertility were completely destroyed in this sandstorm. Dixia was right; soil erosion here is indeed very severe, and their resistance to sandstorms is almost zero. However, another experimental field was completely unharmed. I didn't apply anything special; it must be the effect of the Blessing of Fertility. It's truly amazing.]

[On the 16th day, I dug up some sea buckthorn. Surprisingly, its name is the same as in my past life. I used it to build a fence; it should help reduce the damage from sandstorms.]

On the 18th day, I asked the farmers in the village for some dried wheat straw that they didn't want, and tried making some straw squares. If I remember correctly, straw squares about 1 meter in size and 10-20 centimeters high worked best.

[On the 28th day, the experimental seedlings, which had received abundant nourishment, had already flowered and were growing rapidly; they appeared to be an early-maturing variety. (Note: The people selling seeds in Aru Village don't even know what kind of crop they're selling; those bio-theorists in the Order of the Church are truly despicable.)]

[On day 30, the seeds inside the grass squares sprouted, faster than before. It seems that the water-retaining ability of the tamarisk and the grass squares is quite good.]

[On the 34th day, the second sandstorm struck. This time, both experimental fields remained unscathed. The stability of the sea buckthorn and grass grids was reassuring. However, the bounty of this abundance—no, it should be said that the water-fixing and fertilizing ability of this grass element crystal was truly astonishing. Could this really be created by human hands?]

Rod closed his notebook and looked thoughtfully at the two plots of land in front of him that were growing in completely different ways.

Aru Village is vast and sparsely populated.

The house that Guangdao Luode rented came with a flat area that was much larger than the house itself.

Unlike Rhodes, who planted crops directly here.

The residents of Aru Village usually pile up some miscellaneous items in this open courtyard. Those with some spare money will also build a few simple warehouses in this courtyard.

As for why they didn't think about planting something to improve their family's economic situation, instead they almost squandered the land.

It's simply because the Abundant Harvest is too expensive.

Apart from the farmland at the foot of the mountain, which is funded by the village and can afford to be planted on a large scale at a loss, most villagers really can't afford it.

Just like Rhodes's experimental field now, it's a complete money-loser. No matter what he grows, all the benefits he invests in it will be lost, not even counting the money spent on seeds.

In contrast.

He used traditional composting methods and straw checkerboard planting to create this experimental field. If the crops on this land can mature successfully, he can actually make a profit.

"What a despicable tactic of suppression."

After comparing the growth of the two plots of land at the same time, Rod complained.

It is clear.

Abundant benefits are a trap.

There was no bountiful harvest.

Crops will yield several times less, and their ability to withstand severe weather will be virtually zero.

Therefore, if Aru Village wants to maintain a sufficient food supply, it must purchase the Fertile Blessing from the Church.

As far as Rhodes knows.

The bounty of the rainforest is distributed free of charge by the Church, while the desert region must purchase it through the Church or smuggling.

After this series of operations...

This single act of abundant bounty.

This alone is enough to create an insurmountable economic gap between rainforest and desert regions.

Villages like Aru now spend a lot of Mora on Fertile Land every year.

In addition, there's the issue of business permits.

This two-pronged approach meant that although Aru Village had far more resources than other desert tribes, it could never sustain Mora to develop itself, and its economic lifeline was firmly controlled by the Church. It had no choice but to submit to the Church.

"No wonder those elderly people disagreed with opening up business."

Although Aru Village was poor in the past, the Religious Council had no jurisdiction over them.

poor.

But there is freedom.

They can do whatever they want.

The people of the Church have no right to interfere here.

But now.

Behind the seemingly glorious facade, it was actually constrained by the Order of the Church at every turn.

"It's a choice with both advantages and disadvantages."

Rhodes stood up and went back into the room.

The old guardians of Aru Village chose freedom, while Candice chose the villagers' livelihood.

There's no way to judge who's right and who's wrong.

It can only be said that everyone's starting point was good. There was nothing wrong with standing in the eyes of the old Guardians, and there was nothing wrong with standing in the eyes of Candice and Uncle Ampu.

"Where did we stop yesterday?"

Rod rummaged around on the bookshelf for a bit and quickly found a book. He opened the book he had seen yesterday and continued reading.

He made this bookshelf himself.

The wood he needed was cut down from a date palm tree and carved out by hand.

The tools were the same, secondhand items bought from Uncle Bud.

As for the book "Sumeru Botany" that he is currently reading, he happened to see Asher at the market in Aru Village and then bought it from Asher.

Moreover, he didn't just buy one book; Rhodes spent more than half of his savings on many secondhand books discarded by the ecclesiastical council from Ashel.

It is not surprising that smugglers appear in Aru Village.

Because among the rules set by Candice, there was no prohibition against smugglers entering the village to trade.

The discipline officers were aware of this as well.

But no one will come to the village to arrest people.

The reason is simple: it's Candice.

Despite being only a four-star character in the game, this current guardian's combat power is actually terrifying.

There are even rumors that even Grand Disciplinary Officer Cyno is no match for her.

Of course.

This rumor was spread by the smuggler Ashel.

Although the guardians and the Grand Disciplinarian of Aru Village did not prove their strength by fighting, it is an indisputable fact that Seno did not enter Aru Village to search for smugglers, and that he strictly adhered to the rule of not fighting every time he came to Aru Village.

Given this public opinion.

The market in Aru Village naturally became a time of revelry for smugglers.

On this day, all sorts of slang about contraband fly around. If it weren't for the legitimate merchants who come to trade, Rhodes would have almost thought he had entered another world.

Having purchased many works by the Biophysical School at the market, Rod spent most of his time immersing himself in books, except for tending to his two experimental plots.

It's always good to learn more and apply more knowledge.

However, today's reading time was not as peaceful as usual.

Just as Rod was engrossed in watching, a rapid series of bell tolls echoed throughout the entire village of Aru.

"sandstorm--"

Having become familiar with Aru Village, Rhodes naturally knew what the bell meant.

A sandstorm is approaching.

Judging from the sound of the bell.

This was also a massive, super-large sandstorm.

Once a sandstorm occurs, the guards of Aru Village, regardless of whether they are on leave or not, must rush to their posts immediately if they are not injured or sick, in order to deal with the potential threats that may arise from the sandstorm.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 21 Monsters in the Great Sandstorm

"Attiyah, how is the situation?"

Rhodes, carrying a longsword, rushed to the north drawbridge as fast as he could.

When he arrived.

Atiyah and his men had already piled up various obstacles on the suspension bridge.

This is the most common defense against sandstorms.

The villagers had already taken refuge in their homes at the sound of the alarm bells, locking all the doors and windows, and quietly waiting for the sandstorm to pass.

The two sandstorms Rhodes experienced before were not large in scale. The creatures that took advantage of the sandstorms to attack the village were just some wild beasts that could not even use elemental power. Even if Rhodes did not take action, Atia and the others could easily deal with them.

But this time the situation is clearly different from before.

Atia said with a very serious expression, "The village is using the highest level of eighteen bell rings, which means that this sandstorm will be very large. Rhodes, be careful. A sandstorm of this size will definitely have monsters in it. I just don't know what level of monsters they will be."

After saying that, he handed over a pair of goggles and a set of sand-proof mask and clothes.

This is essential equipment for dealing with sandstorms.

All of these were specially purchased from the rainforest area by Aru Village.