Stardew Valley of Gensokyo

Back to the present.

"Miss Kaguya, your green tea."

In a few steps, Akina Sawa returned from the kitchen to the living room. He placed three cups of tea on the kotatsu, pushed one of them in front of Kaguya-hime, smiled politely at her, and then carried the cup of green tea with goji berries to the bedroom.

"Huh? Why do I feel a little chilly?"

Cirno, who was lying on the kotatsu and slacking off, suddenly felt a chill. She looked up at the kotatsu with suspicion, wondering if it was broken.

From an angle that even Akina Sho couldn't see, Houraisan Kaguya lowered her head, picked up her teacup, and silently blew on it, but her gaze as she looked at the floating tea leaves was even more obscure.

The bedroom was very quiet after the door was closed.

Akina Ze also slowed his pace and lowered the volume of his voice.

Akina Sawa glanced at Kirisame Marisa, who was resting on the bed covered with a blanket, and a look of confusion appeared on his face. He clearly remembered that the bedding had been folded and placed at the foot of the bed when he got up in the morning...

Forget it, why think about such trivial things... Akina Ze shook his head, placed the goji berry green tea on the bedside table, and instructed, "I added some goji berries to the green tea, it should help you recover your strength."

"Hmm..." Marisa Kirisame's voice sounded slightly muffled.

Sensing something was amiss, Akina Ze sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at the only part of Kirisame Marisa's face that was exposed outside the blanket.

"Why is your face so red? Do you have a cold?!" Akina Ze frowned as well.

He saw that Marisa Kirisame's face was flushed and her eyes seemed to be misty, which looked very much like signs of a high fever.

"Wait a minute! I'll go find someone to come and check right now!"

Having a high fever is not something that can be delayed, so Akina Ze quickly said that and got up to find a doctor.

"do not want!"

Akina Sawa had just gotten up and was halfway up when Kirisame Marisa grabbed his arm, preventing him from leaving.

"Hey? You absolutely mustn't delay your treatment! A high fever can be fatal!" Qiu Mingze said anxiously, unable to break free from his grip on the arm.

"I...I don't have a fever..." Marisa Kirisame responded somewhat vaguely.

People with high fevers often enter a state of confusion and disorientation. Marisa Kirisame is currently unable to speak clearly, which further proves that she has a fever.

After a moment's thought, Akina Ze reached a conclusion and said in a deep voice:

"Then let me go first."

"I really didn't!" Kirisame Marisa seemed to realize that Akina Zeya was coaxing her, and she became a little anxious, grabbing his hands and pressing them against her forehead.

As he placed the back of his hand against Marisa Kirisame's delicate skin, feeling the cool touch, Akina Sawa clicked his tongue in amazement:

"There's definitely no fever?"

The feeling was like touching a piece of tender, moist tofu; Akina Zeya's hand accidentally slipped.

"Yan~"

Suddenly, a subtle sound hummed from Marisa Kirisame's throat.

"Feel sorry!"

Like lightning, Akina Ze quickly withdrew his hand and said seriously, "Marisa, you really don't have a fever, so I'm relieved."

"..." Marisa Kirisame's gaze was unresponsive, and the next second she buried her head under the covers.

It seems he doesn't want to continue talking to me... Akina Ze secretly speculated.

Suddenly, he remembered the subtle voice he had just heard, and his face flushed instantly. He quickly said, "The tea is there. Marisa, you should rest well. I won't disturb you any longer."

As soon as he finished speaking, Akina Ze hurriedly pushed open the bedroom door and walked out of the room, as if there were some ferocious wild beasts inside.

After Akina Sawa left, there was a commotion in the bedding on the bed.

After a while, Marisa Kirisame silently poked her head out from under the covers, an indescribable blush appearing on her face.

She glanced at the goji berry green tea on the bedside table, her voice tinged with a hint of cheerfulness, "Silly boy..."

......

Chapter 218 Miracles Happen with Great Effort?

As he passed through the living room, Akina Ze glanced at the person by the kotatsu a few times before heading outside.

It wasn't time to prepare lunch yet, so he planned to go to the brewery grounds to dig some soil first.

Laying a foundation is no easy task; it requires digging to a depth of nearly 1 meter.

If we don't make full use of our time to work, we might not even have dug a foundation by next spring.

Akina Ze also walked to the place where the tools were placed, glanced at the tools inside, and a thoughtful look appeared on his face.

There was a rusty shovel inside. Not only was the metal rusty, but the wooden handle was also worn out. It was probably left behind by the previous owner of the yard and was originally in this tool shed.

The tool shed now contains nothing but a few hoes and axes for chopping wood, as well as a copper kettle, in addition to the rusty shovel.

First, kettles and axes are the first things to be ruled out; no one would choose to use such things to dig the dirt unless they were crazy.

Secondly, those well-maintained hoes won't do either; their main purpose is to loosen the soil in the field or dig some shallow pits.

Expecting to use it to dig a foundation nearly 1 meter deep is nothing short of wishful thinking and a waste of time.

Akina Ze looked at it again and again, but in the end he picked up the old and worn-out shovel.

Although it looks like it could break at any moment, it is, after all, a shovel, and digging is its primary function.

Walking to the well, Akina Sawa also rinsed the shovel with clean water.

Instantly, the grime accumulated on the shovel over the years was washed away by the clean water, and the black, dirty water flowed all over the ground.

Akina Ze also looked somewhat disgusted, but nodded slightly as he looked at the shovel in his hand.

After a thorough cleaning, it wasn't exactly a complete transformation, but it certainly looked brand new.

The black stains on the handle are gone, leaving only traces of time.

However, the shovel head was still covered in rust.

You have to use a whetstone to grind these rust stains off.

But Akina Sawa didn't want to spend time sharpening a shovel. After all, it wasn't an axe that would make cutting trees faster if it was sharpened. As long as it could be used to shovel soil, that was enough.

Suddenly, Akina Ze also sensed that someone was watching him, but when he turned his head, he found nothing.

"Is it an illusion...?"

Touching his chin, Akina Ze didn't delve into the matter; he had more important things to do right now.

After shaking the shovel a few times to remove as much water as possible, Akina Sawa held it and pushed open the courtyard gate, heading towards the brewery.

in the living room.

Cirno's lazy and listless attitude was just an act. She found a bag of small oranges in some cabinet, her eyes shining, and poured them all onto the kotatsu, happily stuffing them into her mouth.

She loves eating this kind of sweet fruit.

When Cirno visited Akina's house before, she secretly observed where Akina Sawa got his snacks and fruits from.

Taking advantage of the fact that neither the Great Fairy nor Niqua is around, Cirno is going to treat herself to a good meal.

Seeing Kaguya Houraisan return from the window, Cirno, her mouth full, greeted her in a muffled manner, as if she were at home, "Would you like some oranges?"

Kaguya Houraisan smiled but did not respond, instead turning her gaze towards the bedroom.

That's where Akina Sawa also sleeps... but now Kirisame Marisa is resting inside.

As for what Marisa might be doing inside, Princess Kaguya didn't want to think about it.

She felt that she was facing far too many difficulties.

"If this were a game... I would definitely use cheat codes..."

Kaguya Houraisan sighed, snatched a segment of orange from Cirno's hand, and popped it into her mouth... finding joy in hardship is nothing more than this.

......

"Heave-ho!"

With a soft shout, Akina Ze also put his strength into his waist and hips, gripping the shovel in his hand and shoveling hard.

"Clang!" The shovel struck the frozen ground in winter, producing a sound like iron striking stone.

Akina Ze also looked rather grim. Although he had managed to grip the shovel tightly with all his might, the violent impact of it hitting the frozen ground and bouncing back was not something he could easily bear.

"This is going to be difficult..."

Akina Sawa had originally planned to come to the brewery construction site before lunch and dig a few shovelfuls of soil as a way of getting to the site early.

But he didn't expect the soil to be frozen so solid in winter. When he tried to dig with a shovel, it was slippery. If he forced himself to find the right angle to shovel, it wouldn't slip anymore, but the recoil was ridiculously strong, and he could only remove a little bit of the topsoil.

At this rate, we'll really be digging until next spring.

Although Akina Sawaya was just bored and that's why he thought of building a brewery.

But this thing is slow and vibrates in the hand, which he can't stand at all.

"But what else can we use if we don't use a shovel?" Akina Sawa also sighed.

While seeking the help of a kappa could quickly complete the entire project... what would the cost be?

"Hey......"

Without thinking further, Akina Ze silently began circulating his Qi within his body.

Since you couldn't dig out a single clod of soil with one shovel, it means you didn't use enough force. If you used enough force, no matter how solid the soil was frozen, you would definitely be able to dig some out.

Once he regained his composure, Akina Ze mustered all his strength and gripped the shovel handle tightly with both hands.

"Hi!!!"

With a loud shout, Akina Sawa slashed down like a tiger, though he wasn't facing the bandit leader, only the frozen ground of winter...

"Crack!"

A crisp sound rang out, startling Akina Ze.

The wrist-thick handle shattered instantly, and the shovel head, with its cold metallic sheen, bounced back and shot out like an arrow, embedding itself directly into a nearby oak tree, the broken end still trembling.

Looking at the half-finished grip in his hand, Akina Sawa chuckled and shook his head, saying:

Even with great force, you still need a good tool.

After sighing for a moment, Akina Ze didn't say anything more, but silently walked to the shovel half stuck in the oak.

Akina Ze also examined the shovel head, which was two-thirds of the way into the oak, but made no comment. He simply stepped on the tree trunk, grabbed half of the shovel head with one hand, and with a twist of his arm, the shovel head easily came off the oak, although it left a deep hole in the tree trunk.

"Can these things be glued together?"

Holding the two pieces in his hands, Akina Ze looked somewhat troubled. He tentatively tried to put them back together, one piece in each hand.

“If you continue doing it this way, even if you fix it again, it won’t make a difference.”

Suddenly, a voice came from beside him, and Akina Sawa turned his head to look.

Kaguya Houraisan, dressed in a smart short outfit, was standing by the roadside watching with great interest.

She also decided to try a different approach.

......