[Cozy Fantasy] [Farming LitRPG] The Chronicles of Emberstone Farm

Chapter 83 - Without my map, I'd be direction-lost

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When we arrived at the [Lizardwing] pen, I saw that someone had left the gate a tiny bit open, which must have allowed the animals out of the walled area.

“Who did this? I think one of those clan boys forgot to close the gate,” said Lari.

I checked inside, and, sure enough, there were no [Lizardwings] to be seen.

“Okay, never mind who it was who forgot to close the gate. The important thing is that we have to find the [Lizardwings]. Let’s check for clues,” I said.

We went back outside the walls, and it was immediately clear that we should be able to find the animals by following the trail of their droppings.

“We could just follow the stink,” said Kharli.

“There’s no time to waste. Let’s go.” Without waiting for their answer, I set off to follow the clearest trail, gesturing for the kids to follow me.

“Shouldn’t we separate?” asked Kharli.

“She clearly doesn’t trust Lari not to get lost if he goes off on his own,” said Mo.

“What about you? You would probably roll all the way home,” said Lari.

“Hush, you two, we have serious stuff to do,” said Kharli.

“Guys, keep your eyes peeled, they could be nearby,” I said.

The kids chattered about this and that while I scanned the surroundings. After a few minutes of following the stinky droppings, I spotted a [Lizardwing] about ten meters ahead of us. I broke into a run, but the kids were faster. Kharli reached it first and put it in her inventory.

[Emergency Quest: Find the Lost Lizardwings

Lizardwings Found: 1/6

Countdown: 01 hour 31 minutes]

“Spread out a little and check the area for droppings. Don’t go too far,” I said.

It was already getting dark, and it was hard to spot the evidence that the [Lizardwings] left behind. Instead, I followed my nose.

“Here!” said Lari.

We went to where Lari was standing and saw that he had found a trail. We followed it and soon captured the second [Lizardwing].

[Emergency Quest: Find the Lost Lizardwings

Lizardwings Found: 2/6

Countdown: 01 hour 16 minutes]

“Good job, everyone!” I said. “Look around for the rest.”

Once again, it was Lari who found the trail.

“Well done. You’re good with animals,” I said.

“More like he has an affinity for stinky things,” Mo whispered to Kharli.

“Now, now, Mo. Don’t bully your fellow apprentice,” I said.

“Yes, Teacher. Sorry, Teacher,” said Mo.

Those three were always quarreling, and I mostly let them be since I figured it was just youthful hijinks, but we had a quest to finish right now, and I didn’t want them to be distracted by unnecessary things.

“Less talking, more looking,” I suggested.

We spent more than an hour finding the next two.

[Emergency Quest: Find the Lost Lizardwings

Lizardwings Found: 4/6

Countdown: 00 hour 09 minutes]

Just as I was at my wit's end, two black dots appeared in the sky. Moments later, two members of the White Tiger clan landed in front of us.

“We saw two of those… creatures nearby. Would you like us to show you where?” asked the elder of the two.

“Yes, please,” I said. “Do you mind if we run?”

With their help, we managed to find the [Lizardwings] on time. A series of System notification boxes popped up.

[Emergency Quest: Find the Lost Lizardwings

Lizardwings Found: 6/6

Countdown: 00 hour 01 minute]

[Emergency Quest Complete!]

[Choose Reward]

[1. Farming Exp]

[ 2. Astrology Book]

Oh, another one of those! Obviously, I picked [1. Farming Exp], and, as expected, my farming didn’t level up.

Once again, I got a bonus reward

[Congratulations! You have received a coupon for a beginner Astrology Book.]

The System was always generous with giving those coupons, which was nice though they weren’t really worth much since beginner [Astrology Books] were quite cheap.

We thanked our saviors, the clan members, and they went on their way. I suppose they were patrolling the place like the prince had done a few days ago. We often saw them flying around, but they seldom made contact with us.

“Thank goodness the people from the clan saw them,” said Mo.

“Yes, that was a lucky break,” I said.

“Huh, how do you know they weren’t the ones who let the [Lizardwings] out in the first place?” asked Lari.

“You’re too suspicious,” said Mo.

“Did you notice that they were covered in scratches?” asked Lari.

“They said they were trying to return the animals to the pen,” I said.

“Maybe.” Lari didn’t look convinced. “Even though they stink, these are valuable animals. Maybe we should set a guard over them.”

“No, we don’t need to do that. I’ll just adjust the settings.” I honestly didn’t think that the clan members had done anything wrong, but it wouldn’t hurt to add a few safeguards. It would be a pain if the [Lizardwings] escaped again. “But it’s dark now, and I think we should return to the house. Keep the [Lizardwings] in your inventories. I’ll fix the pen tomorrow.”

One of the reasons why I had sold the previous batch of [Lizardwings] was exactly because I didn’t want to be the sole owner of these valuable assets. The more people had them, the better, as far as I was concerned.

Besides, I was definitely selling them for a good price!

***

The next day, when we went to the [Lizardwing] habitat to return them to their rightful place, I changed the walls into transparent glass ones so that the observers could see inside, then adjusted the security settings. Now only I and my three apprentices could enter the walled-in area.

However, since we were leaving tomorrow, we would put them back in our inventory tonight.

“You know what this means, right?” I said to the kids. “After our vacation, we’ll have to take turns checking on them in the morning and evening.”

The three of them groaned. We had been relying on the clan members to keep an eye on the animals.

“No complaining. We have plenty of free time, anyway,” I said.

“Are we really going to the beach in winter?” asked Mo. She never really liked fishing, therefore she was less than enthusiastic about our upcoming vacation.

“Yes, and we need to go tomorrow since it might be too cold if we wait too long,” I said.

“Why are you complaining? Didn’t you say Teacher built a really awesome hotel there?” Kharli elbowed Mo. “Cheer up.”

“I hope the fishing is good,” said Lari.

All four of us were going this time, and Deming was excited at the thought of using the hotel’s industrial kitchen.

“I’m sure it will be fun!” I said.

Mo sidled up to me and whispered, “What about the swimming clothes?”

“Don’t worry about it.” I was definitely going to wear a proper swimsuit even if the people of this world disapproved. “Let’s go back to the house. It's almost dinner time.”

Back at the house, Fengying served us snacks after we showered and changed our stinky clothes. She informed me that Deming wanted to bring all of his assistants with us tomorrow.

“I told my husband of your… generous plan to give us a two-week vacation,” she said.

Had she been about to say “harebrained plan” or something like that? “He agreed, right?”

Fengying pursed her lips. “Yes, he plans to cook nonstop at the hotel so that he can make enough food for you and your apprentices.”

“Do you mean for two weeks that you’ll be gone? I appreciate it, but he doesn’t have to do that. We’ll survive,” I said.

The housekeeper and I had worked out a schedule that gave every member of the household a two-week vacation. We would be slightly short-staffed, but I felt that it was important that people could take a yearly break. On Earth, there were various cultures with different holiday traditions, like families holding a reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve. I wanted the maids and kitchen assistants to be able to visit their families, too.

“It’s hardly a challenge for him,” said Fengying. “Please don’t worry about it. You can store it and keep it fresh?”

“Yes, I can keep the food fresh,” I said. It would be great to have the Demon Chef’s food in stock whenever I needed it. “Thank you very much!”

“There’s no need to thank me. It’s our duty to take care of your needs,” said Fengying.

She bustled away, and I went to my room to check the System menu for exciting things that I could do at the beach.

Chapter 83.5

An excerpt from the journal of Shuye Skullcrusher, Guardian of the Ancient Hill Forest:

A year ago, if someone had told me that the clans would come to blows over rice, I would’ve thought they were crazy. I don’t think Baroness Violet realized the chaos that she unleashed when she gave me a portion of her harvest to donate to the Fox Temple or when Deming asked me to “take the rice to the temple to be blessed.”

There was an agreement in place that the White Tiger Clan would buy all of the rice from the farm and distribute it to the clans, but it did not account for donations.

The Fox clan, predictably, claimed the entire harvest of Purple Orchid Rice for themselves, on the basis that it was a special variety that was only supposed to be used in rituals for the Fox Goddess. However, I came to the meeting with them equipped with evidence from history records that Purple Orchid Rice used to be fairly common and was eaten by commoners and nobles alike.

When my wife told me to set a guard over the rice that we were storing until the clans reached a consensus regarding the correct course of action, I thought she was overreacting, but two days later a large group of warriors from the Fox clan arrived to confiscate it. They did not give up without a fight.

Has the whole world gone crazy?