Farming Together wIth Interstellar People

Chapter 25 Chapter 25: First Stall

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: CaiCat

Assistant Editor: GaeaTiamat

After eating and drinking enough, it was time to play again. Bai Li took Supreme to lie in the gaming pod, and in the next second, his figure appeared in the game. Outside of the small hut, Bai Li first harvested all the crops that were already ripe and, after thinking about it, decided to plant those 20 strawberry seeds today.

The game time and real time were synchronized, and the strawberry seeds would take 8 hours to mature, so that, if nothing else, he would be able to eat the fresh strawberries in the game early tomorrow morning.

It might be a bit embarrassing to say that since the last time with Demon Xing and the 10 star coin first charge gift package, he had never spent a penny in the game. He hadn’t touched ithe magical spring water that could make crops grow taller and bigger. Perhaps, he, the game’s designer, was the one who spent the least money in the game, right?

Without the magical spring water, a player couldn’t make crops speed up, only slowly whittle away the time. However, Bai Li wasn’t in a hurry. He enjoyed the process of farming, not the final result. Of course, as an Agricultural Deity, as long as the crops were grown by his hands, there was no bad quality. The same was true in the game, but the effect wasn’t as strong as in reality. This was the result of Bai Li’s deliberate suppression.

There were 20 strawberry seeds in total, but Bai Li had only prepared 18 pieces of land, and Bai Li could only open up 3 new pieces of land at the very edge, right next to the fence. The 20 seeds were quickly planted, and in the spirit of not wasting anything, Bai Li planted the longest growing crop he could at his level on the extra piece of land.

The potato seeds took 4 hours to mature.

This way, the day’s planting task was almost complete. With nothing to do, Bai Li decided to wander around the village. He took out a white bun and ate it slowly as he went. As he did, he noticed that the players seemed to be making progress.

The entrance to the village, a handsome boy had set up a small stall not far from the NPC village chief. The stall was very simple. A coal stove on an iron pot, with a table placed next to it that seemed to have been moved from home, and a number of the cheapest plates from the village chief’s store on it.

“Take a look. Take a look. Selling corn cakes. Same as big brother Demon Xing’s food. Eat it and you can have the same good luck as him! This new store opens at only 5 copper coins, pass by and you’ll miss it…” ‘I See the Good Life’ was Chu Qinglin’s IGN 1 and he felt that today was his highlight. He actually made the golden corn cake!

Although the finished product didn’t look good when he first started, and was ridiculed by other players when he posted it in the forum, he wasn’t discouraged and returned to the game and locked himself in his room for intense research. During that period, he did not know how many times it failed, and how many failed products he ate.

But the effort finally paid off. The corn cake he made tasted better and better each time, until half an hour ago, he made a golden, perfectly round corn cake.

When he looked at the finished product, Chu Qinglin knew that he had succeeded!

He put down the spatula to hold the whole corn cake. He ignored the hot edge and took a large bite. The fragrance of corn and a light sweetness infused inside his mouth. It was too good! This was his super thick filter, in addition. Chu Qinglin thought this was the world’s most delicious corn cake!

After he ate the whole thing, Chu Qinglin reviewed his actions and the ratio of ingredients when he made the last corn cake, confirmed that he remembered them all, put all the tools into his backpack, and hefted them onto the small table in the room. Let’s go set up a stall!

He would show those players who mocked him that he, I See the Good Life, was what the existence of the game was about! Who else could do what he did in just one day? Make the food that everyone’s heart was longing for?

This was the huge potential that belonged to the foodies, ah.

He chose the location of his stall at the entrance of the village where there was the highest flow of people, and after yelling loudly for a few minutes, he attracted almost ten players, who rushed up to surround the stall.

“What? What? You know how to make corn cake? Really?” Some good people questioned loudly, and cast a distrustful glance at Chu Qinglin.

Chu Qinglin puffed up his chest and crossed his arms. “Of course it’s true. The last one doesn’t count. This time I can guarantee that even if it’s not 100% similar to the one made by Demon Xing, it can still reach 70% to 80%!”

This statement accidentally exposed his identity, and the players who happened to have read the post, immediately jumped out, “Are you the one who posted in the forum? I’ve seen that photo, it’s pitch-black. Can you call that corn cake? The people should listen to me, ah. Don’t fall for his corn cake! Whoever buys it will regret it!”

Chu Qinglin was so angry that he puffed up his face. “Brother, you can’t talk nonsense! The times are different, I’m not the same as I was a few hours ago. My proficiency in making corn cakes has long since risen to the highest level, and I will never make it look like that again! Besides, even if it’s like that, it actually tastes delicious, it just doesn’t look very good!”

“Yo, a few words about you and you’re still getting excited? Kid, don’t look at my temper now. If it was in the past, I could beat five white guys like you with one fist!” The person who spoke showed everyone his arm muscles and continued, “What are you still standing for? Hurry up and put away the stall, ah! At a young age, cheating people is not a good habit. Go back to honest planting.”

Being so distrustful, Chu Qinglin shivered with anger, but he realized that it was useless to say more. Do not believe in…never believe, unless…He’d prove to these people with practical actions.

Chu Qinglin had an idea. He no longer paid attention to the crowd of onlookers, and acted on his own. As he said, he had become very skilled in making corn cakes. His movements flowed, and in a short time, the cooked corn kernels coated with starch were poured into a shallow layer of hot oil. He then used the spatula to flatten them slightly, and fashioned them into a perfectly shaped circle.

After that it was time to wait.

The handle of the pot was picked up with one hand and slowly swayed above the stove fire. The expression on Chu Qinglin’s face, on the other hand, was ready to go. Even if the finished product hadn’t come out yet, he already knew what the result would be.

When the man who had a quarrel with him before, originally saw Chu Qinglin not only didn’t listen to his advice, but also started working on the spot, his heart felt some fire, and he rolled up his sleeves to go forward and fight with him. However, in the process of going forward, he noticed the seriousness of Chu Qinglin’s face and froze. His steps slowed down.

He walked to the front of the stall, clasped his hands over his chest, and used a serious face to observe. He would like to see if this young kid could make this thing!

The other onlookers also gradually stopped talking and quietly looked at the pot. One or two of them, their stomachs gurgling a few turns, moved into the innermost circle when people weren’t paying attention. They held five hidden coins, and waited for the perfect finished product, so they would be the first to grab it.

The first pot of corn cake was completed under such high expectations. Chu Qinglin put the finished product on a plate on the table. It was golden yellow, round and smooth, and also emitted a charming fragrance. It was simply everyone’s dream.

It was real!

The corn cake was real!

Chu Qinglin looked at the dumbfounded crowd with slight triumph.

“This…” The man who wanted to punch Chu Qinglin at the beginning had nothing to say. As he salivated over the plate of fragrant corn cake, he decisively apologized, “Sorry, little brother, I was too impulsive. I shouldn’t have said that about you. I actually tried to drive you away just now. Really…I’m so bad! Luckily you didn’t leave, otherwise we wouldn’t have seen such a perfect corn cake come out of the pan. To make amends, I’ll pay 100 coins to buy this plate of corn cake.”

The man was giggling with a pure face, when he was pushed away by the people behind him.

“Go away, don’t think we don’t know what you have in mind! You just want to buy this plate of corn cake, and talk so much nonsense. Little brother, don’t let him fool you! It’s just 100 coins, who doesn’t have that…”

Then he began to pull out money from his backpack.

Chu Qinglin hurried to stop him. “No. No. 100 coins is too much. I said before, the new store opening has corn cakes at only 5 coins. If I still sell tomorrow, then it will be 10 coins. The corn cake I made you all saw, right? It’s ready to eat. You can line up now if you want to buy it.”

Seeing that Chu Qinglin did not make a fuss because of the previous argument, but also seriously did business, the onlookers praised the small boss for his atmosphere, and then quickly formed a long line.

The player who had an argument with Chu Qinglin’s game name was “Your Respected Grandpa”, had a face full of embarrassment. When Chu Qinglin nodded at him with a calm expression, the look of guilt on his face became more and more intense.

Your Respected Grandpa wanted to leave immediately, but could not let go of his heart’s desire for the corn cake. After a few tangles, he finally decided to stay, and before more people hurried over, he rushed to the end of the line.

The man thought, When I get in line, I must apologize to the boss again, and then…Buy ten corn cakes and save them for later!

The first customer had already eaten the corn cake, and the person at the back of the line pulled him in and asked how it tasted.

“Oooooo! It’s good, it’s good! The original corn cake had this taste, fragrant and sweet and crunchy. I have never eaten something so delicious! I can now die without regret! Woooooooooo!”

With no one in the game knowing him, the customer cried tears, dry howling, and sobbing as he kept eating. In less than a minute, he ate all the corn cake that he bought, and he looked at his empty, grease-stained hands, and was dumbfounded.

Where is my corn cake? Where is my big corn cake? Oh, so I ate it all, it’s okay.

Licking his lips, he ran to the end of the line and got back in line, regretting in his heart that he had forgotten to buy a few more at once.

Now he felt regret, so very regretful.

By the time Bai Li passed by, Chu Qinglin’s sale was already hot and heavy. Some players recognized Bai Li as the first lucky player who ate Demon Xing’s hand-made corn cake, and waved enthusiastically at him. When Bai Li approached, they pointed at the unfinished corn cake in Chu Qinglin’s pot and asked him if it was the same as the one he ate at that time.

“It’s quite similar.” Bai Li carefully observed and seriously complimented the somewhat nervous Chu Qinglin. “You are great! You can make the corn cake without a recipe. You seem to be very talented.”

The other party actually did not blame him for stealing the method of making corn cake, he even put it out for sale! The big stone in Chu Qinglin’s heart fell to the ground, and his expression looked a lot more relaxed. He smiled gratefully at Bai Li, and without thinking, he handed Bai Li the corn cake he had just made.

“Thank you! I’ll treat you to some corn cake!” After the words were said, the plate was shoved into Bai Li’s hand without waiting for him to say anything.

When they saw that scene, the player at the head of the line whose turn was about to come wasn’t satisfied, “Hey, hey, hey, little boss. It’s my turn. How come you gave this little brother the corn cake that should be given to me?”

If it was a normal situation, the player’s temper would have talked. But today, on the one hand, he had already lined up once to eat the round of corn cake, and his emotions were slightly ironed out by the sweet taste, so he wasn’t as easily angered. On the other hand, the player would swear by his keen sixth sense that the young man who just walked over was surrounded by a peculiar aura, and felt he should not be messed with.

Maybe he was a hidden big brother, and in case he encountered difficulties in the game in the future, he could seek help from him!

As a result of those two reasons, the player’s attitude was a lot softer than expected. Even Chu Qinglin was surprised enough to look over, as he thought how could everyone be so nice to talk to? There were a billion points of gentleness, oh. He tried to make amends, “Sorry, big brother, I also didn’t think it through. I invited Li Bai to eat the corn cake as it was thanks to him for coming. When I close the stall, I will make an extra corn cake for you.”

He didn’t say exactly what he was thanking him for, but those who understood would understand.

The player agreed without much hesitation, since he was getting a corn cake for nothing.

Chu Qinglin’s speed of making corn cake had become practiced, and he soon made a second corn cake and handed it to the player. The player paid for the corn cake and ate it next to him, as he waited for Chu Qinglin to close his stall.

This was good. Bai Li’s corn cake was not returned. He reluctantly thanked Chu Qinglin’s kindness, said he had something to do, and left the crowd first. Before he left, he took a glance in the direction of the NPC village chief.

After Bai Li left, not long afterwards, the village chief slowly paced up to the stall and said to Chu Qinglin, “I didn’t expect you to have such a high culinary talent. I have a recipe here, which I got by chance when I was young and walking around. It’s called ‘Shredded Potato and Carrot Omelette’, 2 so I’ll give it to you. I hope you can make more mouth-watering dishes in the future.”

After saying that, he handed out a piece of paper and a bag of five copies of the raw materials.

Chu Qinglin was frozen. He was first shocked, then in disbelief, and finally his whole body fell into a wild dance of joy. His hands trembled as he took the recipe from the village chief’s hand, hugged it without even thinking about it, and then put the bag of ingredients into his backpack cherishingly. He even darted a glance to find that there were actually eggs inside.

Well, that kind of shell was hard, and when knocked open, inside was a slimy liquid and a strange fishy smell…was that an egg?

Chu Qinglin shook his head hard to shake the initial idea of eggs out of his head. He believed that the game products must be fine. If the village chief hadn’t given him the eggs, he would definitely think something was wrong.

The other players next to him were obviously even more stimulated than Chu Qinglin. After they reacted, they all showed envy and jealousy on their faces and almost went up to stop Chu Qinglin from learning the recipe. After they watched Chu Qinglin learn the recipe, they called out for the potatoes, carrots and egg cakes, which weren’t even available yet. They enthusiastically said they wanted to order the finished product first, and they were willing to buy it for any amount of money!

Chu Qinglin covered his backpack and backed up, as his head tossed like a rattle, “No! No way! I won’t sell this omelette until I have the conditions later!”

He was just kidding, there were no eggs in the game yet, so when those five eggs were used up, there would be no new ones to be found. The five omelettes would not be enough for him to eat, so how could he possibly think of selling them?

Absolutely not!

After that, no matter how the players tempted him, Chu Qinglin gritted his teeth, and did not let go. He waited for the last pan of corn cake to be sold, and only with great pressure did he close the stall and go home.

What he didn’t know was that the incident of getting a recipe from the village chief by just setting up a stall was posted to the forum by players with quick hands, and players with active minds saw it and took action…

Such a development was unexpected by both Chu Qinglin and Bai Li.

Wen XingYao was late to the game today.

When his awareness reconnected to the StarNet, he didn’t rush to log into the game, but chose to contact Tang Ying first. Tang Ying happened to be online and replied as soon as he received the message. The two agreed on a place to meet in-game and managed to rendezvous five minutes later.

“Ad, Admiral, I finally met you!” In a corner with no one around, Tang Ying looked at Wen XingYao with tears in his eyes and a choked sob in his voice. God knows how long he had waited for this day, but it was great to see the Admiral again!

“Come on, I’m fine, aren’t I?” Wen XingYao calmly patted his subordinate’s shoulder.

The two of them familiarized themselves with each other’s new faces, and then exchanged each other’s IGNs.

“Admiral, I’m called ‘Life’s Easy Victory’, you can just call me Easy Victory from now on.” Tang Ying said happily. He felt that his name was extremely well made, and the Admiral would definitely praise him twice after hearing it.

At that, Wen XingYao raised his eyebrows. “My name is ‘Demon Xing’, in the future when in the game you directly call me this name. Do not say those two words again.”

“Oh…Demon Xing, ah…” Tang Ying was still immersed in the joy of finding the Admiral when he suddenly realized that something was wrong, “What, what? You are Demon Xing?”

If he remembered correctly, wasn’t Demon Xing the mysterious big man who got the recipe from the village chief and was the first to make corn cake? At that time they also discussed it, and he also thought the name sounded inexplicably familiar.

So it wasn’t an illusion.

The gaze towards Wen XingYao was instantly strange.

He couldn’t believe it. Admiral not only can you fight monsters, drive mechas, and train the soldiers under your hands, but you can also cook?! What other surprises do you have that I don’t know about?