Carrying a Hoe to Cultivate

It took Xia Yi half a day to verify that he had transmigrated. 

For a few days, he had been reading two novels at the same time. One was a newly started fictional novel about cultivating; another was about farming, with around two hundred chapters. Logically speaking, in view of the probability, there is a 50% chance for him to be on a cultivator path, save the world and transform into a god or something. 

Yet, instead, he had entered the world of that farming novel. 

There were a variety of farming novels. For example, some were about building facilities and becoming the diviner of a Nation. Instead, some were about making cakes and soaps and opening shops all over China yadda yadda. However, unfortunately, the one Xia Yi was reading was exactly what the genre suggested, about farming. 

This novel was also used by Xia Yi as a lullaby, reading about the main character fertilizing, catching pests, sowing, the farmland developing from one acre to ten acres, ten acres to a hundred acres. It was just like watching a documentary on a farming channel.

“System, system come out. I know you are here.” Xia Yi shouted in his thoughts. 

“System 179 is here to serve. Host, please accept the main route storyline.” A robot voice rang inside his brain. 

An immense amount of data flooded into his brain instantly; Xia Yi kept his cool and slowly filtered the data.  

“System, who are these people standing on the long sword gourds flying? What is the Qi Shan Sect? I am the son of a prefectural magistrate and have enjoyed sumptuous food and luxurious clothes for my whole life? What’s the deal with joining Qi Shan Sect to cultivate?” Xia Yi felt that things were straying from their path, and he started to become furious, “Not only do I need to farm, I also need to cultivate?” 

“Farm? You only have to focus on cultivation missions. Why would you be farming?” The system sounded confused. 

Xia Yi had a faint bad feeling about this, “Cultivation? Look around. Look at me. Do I look like the son of a prefectural magistrate who had been enjoying sumptuous food and luxurious clothing for my whole life? Do I look like a cultivator?” 

Now Xia Yi was standing in a field ridge, with sparse cornfields around him; everything in view was farmland. 

He was wearing some tattered clothes, the lower parts of his trousers had turned into strips, the pair of cloth shoes had his toes out, let alone his haggard shape with a sallow face. In his one hand, he held a stick supporting himself, a bowl in the other, which made him look perfectly like a beggar who had fled from somewhere. 

Xia Yi, leaning on the stick, spoke in a trembling voice, “You better go figure out what’s happening.” He was so hungry he could not fully control his voice. 

“Please wait a moment, host. I will check it right now and see if there is any problem.” The System was panicking a little as well. 

Xia Yi began to wobble towards a distant village. He was already sweating intensely after a few steps and on the verge of losing consciousness.  That farming novel talked about the main character fled to this place, opening up and farming new lands diligently.  

“Host. Are you still here?” The voice of the system echoed, “I have checked. Since a bug appeared in the main server, the timeline has been mixed up, causing an error during data transmission. Host, although you have now entered the farming world, the system which follows you was a cultivating world system.” 

Xia Yi thought for a while, “Then you should rectify the issue; if you can’t do that, then let me go back.” 

The system went silent for a short while, “Due to a large amount of data, I cannot change the result though the bug is fixed. Therefore, host, you must stay in this world. Concerning your missions, they will still be distributed by me; cultivation system 179 is here to serve.” 

Xia Yi was deeply shocked, but he could only compromise, “Then how about sending me to a cultivating world?” 

System, “Host, everything is settled and cannot be altered. If you complete all of your missions, you can choose to go to your preferred world.”  

Xia Yi had no choice but to resignedly say, “Then give me the missions quickly. What do I have to farm? I have to find something to eat afterward.” 

“Host, please accept your first mission: Becoming the apprentice of a master. 

Mission description: Join the Qi Shan Sect and become the apprentice of the Sect Leader. 

Completion 0/1 

Award 1 Starter Pack.” 

“How am I going to find a master and cultivate in a farming novel? Where am I supposed to find that freaking Qi Shan Sect? I am reporting you.” Xia Yi was suspecting that this system had a virus. 

“Host, the main system, and I had discussed. We agreed that you can keep farming in this world and fulfill the cultivating missions with the corresponding farming missions. For instance, if you have farmed three acres of potatoes, the primary mission of cultivating will be considered as complete just as it will be in the farming world.” The system replied with its robot voice, in which a hint of nervousness could be heard. 

“I have never farmed before, and I don’t know how to, I can’t complete the missions.” Xia Yi was starting to feel annoyed, followed by dizziness, and he almost collapsed. “Give me something to eat first.”

The system said in a flurry, “Host, there is a cornfield fifty meters from you on the right. As an advanced cultivation system, I can scan five hundred meters around you. There is no one nearby at the moment, you can pick some corn to survive the current situation.” 

Right now, Xia Yi was in no mood to care about the system, he staggered a couple of steps towards the cornfield, then he straightly blacked out and fell. 

Before completely passing out, he heard 179 saying “Host, please do not go off the deep end.” 

… 

Xia Yi sluggishly opened his eyes, finding himself in a bed. He looked around, the furnishing arrangement was simple, there was the bed he was in, and a wooden cupboard in the corner. 

“179, where am I?” Xia Yi asked in his thoughts, uncertain. 

“You have been rescued. Now that person who rescued you is coming in.” 179 replied. 

With a squeaking sound, the door was pushed open. Rays of marigold light shining from behind him under the casting sunlight, a huge male figure stood at the door. He stepped in a little, noticing Xia Yi had regained consciousness, he froze for a bit and said, “You’re up already? Let’s get you something to eat.” 

His voice was deep and gruff, very husky. The man came up to the bed, holding a big porcelain bowl in his hand. 

Ever since he saw this man, there was nothing else on Xia Yi’s mind, his eyes were fixed on that bowl. Seeing the man arriving at the side of the bed, even Xia Yi did not know how but he managed to sit right up with strength from nowhere, and further extended his hand to grab the bowl. 

“Slowly now. Don’t grab it.” Xia Yi’s extended hand was stopped in mid-air by a pair of giant hands with sharp outlines. 

The bowl was then put in front of him. 

A rich aroma of rice wafted into his nose, Xia Yi’s stomach started to churn restlessly, saliva was produced immediately inside his mouth. In the bowl was some thick millet congee, with dices of pickled vegetables on top of it. Xia Yi grabbed the chopsticks on the bowl to scrape the content into his mouth, took the bowl next, headed up, and gulped it in.

The man stretched out his hand to take the empty bowl away as Xia Yi intended to scrape the very last grain of rice. Licking his lips, savoring the aftertaste, Xia Yi finally began to examine the man who saved his life. 

This was a man with a large, strong build and distinct features, tall and handsome, wearing deep blue linen clothes. If he changed his clothes, he would be just like a model. 

With gratitude, Xia Yi considered for a second, then he said to the man seriously, “Brother, even though this favor of yours is so great which makes saying thank you pointless, I insist on repaying you handsomely someday in return for your act of saving my life.” 

Xia Yi thought he was speaking appropriately. His tone also suited the era, nothing strange at all. Unexpectedly, the man did not reply. He only glanced at him with a strange look, took the bowl with him, and exited the room.

“179, did I say something wrong?” Xia Yi was feeling a little uneasy. 

“No worries. I think this is not the time for you to dig deep.” 179’s flat robot voice. 

Xia Yi had restored his strength after filling his stomach. Lying in bed felt not right and so he got off the bed, pushed the door open and went out. 

This was a small yard, not big but clean and tidy. There were a few houses with red walls and green tiles, in the corner of the yard were some farming utensils. It seemed like quite a good life to be living here. Gazing afar to the sky, there were endless mountains. At the foot of the mountain was farmland after farmland. 

Xia Yi took a deep breath, “179, I can smell the scent of nature. It is so refreshing and cleansing.” 

“And the smell of farmland.” 179 reminded him. 

Meanwhile, the man walked out of the kitchen. He said to Xia Yi with a calm expression, “Come here.”

After that, he walked to the main house. Xia Yi hurriedly followed. 

They came to the table in the main house. The man pulled out a tattered bag and put it on the table. He said to Xia Yi, “You fainted along the road, the lady in the neighborhood found you and brought you here. She said she saw a map and some credentials in the bag, so she carried you to my place. You’re looking for your aunt, right?” 

Xia Yi was befuddled, but he cleverly did not answer straight away nor showed a muddled expression. He only let out a serious and thoughtful, sincere look. He was good at this. He did this every time when he was reading and could not answer the teacher’s questions. 

The man frowned and thought for some time, then he continued, “Your aunt was my stepmother, she passed away last year.” 

As his sentence finished, he looked up at Xia Yi, inspecting his facial expression. 

Xia Yi was still distracted with his sincere face unchanged. He finally responded when he realized the man was staring at him silently. He quickly looked down and showed a sad face. 

The man nodded and kept talking, “I know it’s not easy for you to come all the way here on your own. Besides, you are also my stepmother’s nephew. My father left me an old house near the entrance of the village, you can live there for now. I have rented out three acres of land to the south. After this season, I will have half-acre of land back and let you farm it.”

Here it came, the three acres of land, finally.