…
Learning that the flower market also had several types of fruit saplings, Chu Tianshu bought two of each.
Pear, peach, apple, and orange.
There weren’t any others available.
The temperature in the Space remained stable—neither too hot nor too cold—which should be suitable for most plants to thrive.
With so much land available, these few fruit trees were far from enough.
Feeling unsatisfied, Chu Tianshu went ahead and placed an online order.
He also bought kiwi, banana, grape, orange, mulberry, cherry, apricot, jujube, star fruit, and other fruit trees.
It would take a day or two for the items to arrive.
The land area in the Space was vast.
Setting aside a small section to create a mini orchard would be a breeze.
The produce from this orchard would, of course, be prioritized for his family’s consumption.
Another small area would be reserved as a flower field.
From now on, he would present Jiang Furong with a bouquet of fresh, dewy flowers every morning.
He doubted she could resist that!
Chu Tianshu also bought a full set of farming tools.
Sickles, hoes, pickaxes, shovels, and the like.
Plus a pair of work gloves.
After completing his shopping spree, Chu Tianshu hurried home, eager to start planting.
It was already almost 5 p.m.
Every minute delayed meant these crops would grow that much less.
Once home,
Chu Tianshu grabbed his farming tools, a bucket, and a ladle, and plunged straight into the Space.
Gazing at the vast farmland, he couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile.
It seemed he was destined to be a part-time farmer in this life!
The problem was, he knew nothing about farming.
The land was overgrown with all sorts of “weeds.”
They were lush and green, emitting a pleasant, grassy fragrance.
Chu Tianshu had no idea what they were.
Unfamiliar plants were all weeds to him…
But even weeds in the Space had their uses.
They could be fed to the fish in the river.
Or to the domestic white geese at home.
Chu Tianshu set to work pulling the weeds.
Fortunately, he was young and strong, and soon cleared a small patch.
Without bothering to loosen the soil, he directly scattered the vegetable seeds.
It was his first time, so he couldn’t gauge the proper spacing.
He figured that once the seeds sprouted and grew, he’d have to thin them out and replant.
The tomato seeds were allocated their own separate area.
He had both large and cherry tomatoes.
Chu Tianshu had asked the seed shop owner and learned that as long as the tomato plants didn’t die, they would keep producing fruit.
How fantastic.
Chu Tianshu decided to grow more crops like this in the future to skip the sowing step.
After planting the vegetables,
Chu Tianshu moved on to the fruit trees.
Feeling lazy, he skipped weeding this time.
He simply picked a spot, dug a few holes, and planted the small fruit trees.
Filled the soil, tamped it down;
Watered them, and that was it!
Just as he finished planting a few fruit trees, over in the vegetable patch, the seeds had already sprouted, pushing through the soil with two tender green leaves.
He hadn’t even dared to water them, afraid they’d grow too fast.
Yet they were sprouting quicker than he could work.
He hurriedly resumed weeding.
Soon, he cleared another patch.
He started by transplanting the tomato seedlings.
“Ugh, I overdid it.”
The novice farmer sighed.
The seeds were so tiny—a single handful could produce far too many seedlings.
He selected the sturdiest ones.
Planted 20 large tomato plants and 10 cherry tomato plants.
The rest, he just haphazardly tucked into the soil.
Crops in the Space grew so quickly that planting too much would mean he couldn’t possibly eat it all.
Just harvesting would take up a lot of time.
The thought alone gave him a headache.
If he relied on farming in the Space to make money, it would exhaust him.
Mechanization was a must!
After planting the tomatoes, Chu Tianshu tidied up the vegetable patch a bit.
Then, he chose another spot to plant watermelon and strawberries.
Again, he dug holes and filled them with soil.
He couldn’t even be bothered to clear the weeds.
Chu Tianshu emerged from the Space covered in foul sweat, having left all the farming tools inside.
When he picked up his phone and saw the current time, he was instantly baffled. “How is it only 5:30?”
He had only returned home at 5:15.
He had clearly been working in the Space for what felt like ages.
Just planting the fruit trees alone should have taken more than 15 minutes.
“The flow of time is different inside the Space!”
Fifteen minutes outside was equivalent to three or four hours inside.
But even at that rate, it wouldn’t explain how the plants grew so quickly.
It was probably due to the soil quality and the effects of the Spirit Spring Water.
“Tomorrow, I’ll buy some animals to test it out.”
He wanted to see if an animal’s lifespan would also accelerate inside the Space.
…
Chu Tianshu rummaged through the storage room of the old house and dug out his father’s fishing rod.
He had his own fishing rod at home but couldn’t be bothered to go back for it.
At the moment, Chu Tianshu was seriously short on money.
After buying so many things today, he had only about 4,500 left to his name.
The seeds had just been planted, and it would take at least until tomorrow to see any harvest.
Even then, he’d need to sell the produce to make money.
Relying solely on his own efforts, the scale of his farming was too small to generate much income.
He needed money to buy more tools and earn more.
At his core, Chu Tianshu was a lazy person.
Lazy people always seek to improve efficiency to save effort.
If a tool could solve a problem, he’d never do it manually.
He decided to buy a rotary tiller and a seeder.
Tilling and planting 100 acres of land in a day would be a breeze.
But the farmland inside the Space spanned over 3,000 acres.
It would keep him busy for a while.
“Take it slow… For now, I’ll go fishing to make some money!”
The big fish in the river were fully grown—catch them, and they could be sold immediately.
Each fish would fetch at least 3,000, no question.
If the timing was right and the buyer generous, 4,000 or 5,000 wasn’t out of the question.
Chu Tianshu took a good rod with a large hook, baited it, and sat by the river to fish.
Almost as soon as the hook hit the water, big fish swarmed over.
They had probably never been fished before and showed no caution.
Soon, the float sank.
A big fish had taken the bait!
Chu Tianshu felt a powerful tug on the rod.
He held on tight.
The tug-of-war began!
Luckily, the hook was set firmly, and the fish didn’t escape.
But the fish was incredibly strong, putting up a fierce struggle.
Caught off guard, Chu Tianshu nearly got pulled into the river!
Alert and on high alert, he mustered all his strength to wrestle with the big fish.
The struggle lasted a full half-hour.
Finally, Chu Tianshu dragged the creature ashore.
It was a long fish, its scales shimmering with silver against a greenish hue, extraordinarily beautiful.
“My god!”
It measured about 1.3 to 1.4 meters!
Chu Tianshu had been part of fishing circles before and could recognize most river fish, but he had no clue what species this was.
Still, he was confident that anything raised in the Space would be of exceptional quality.
The big fish thrashed wildly, leaping high with fierce energy.
Chu Tianshu dragged it away from the river, took out his phone, and recorded a video of the lively giant.
He hurried out, found a large basin, and placed the fish inside to keep it alive.
Chu Tianshu left the Space again.
The fish weighed at least 50 pounds. Ideally, the first catch should be for his family to enjoy.
But he was short on money.
He had to sell it as soon as possible.
Chu Tianshu opened several local fishing groups.
Although he rarely participated in these groups, he had always thought they might come in handy someday.
Now was that day.
“Wild-caught big catch, my friend just caught it this afternoon. Any local bosses interested? Price is negotiable.”
Attached was a video of a large fish thrashing about.
The same message was posted across several groups.
Upon opening the video, the fishing enthusiast group erupted with exclamations.
“What a big one! How long did it take to reel in?”
“What kind of fish is this? Never seen it before. Any experts care to explain?”
“Great stuff! Tagging the big boss for you, @Zhou Tianxia.”
“@Zhao Sanqiang, bosses, the goods have arrived!”