Lin Feng hadn’t expected developing his abandoned hometown to be so much trouble. The original village had relocated long ago, but luckily, his family had moved to the county seat early on and never transferred their household registration.
In the end, he had to register a tourism development company in the county. Then, using his company’s official documents, he claimed he was returning to his hometown to start a tourism venture, which was just enough to get his application approved.
Looking at the hometown he had reclaimed at the cost of eighty percent of his savings,
Lin Feng took a deep breath. "Use Village Construction Order."
A flash of light shot out, blanketing the abandoned mountain village.
[Village: Unnamed (Level 1)
Village Chief: Lin Feng (Level 1)
Constitution: 4
Cultivation Technique: None
Skills: None
Inventory: Twelve Slots
Population: 1/30
Buildings: 0/32
Prosperity: 2
Prestige: 0
Special Attributes: None
Special Title: The World’s First Village (Crop yield +20%, specialty trigger chance +10%)
Basic Buildings: Lord’s Mansion, Houses, Grain Storehouse, Well, Farmland, Fence, Warehouse, Medicine House, Marketplace, Toilet
...]
[Congratulations on completing "The World’s First Village"! Rewarded with specialty: Jade Grapes (Beginner Specialty). Effect: Consumption provides a minor spiritual boost, relieves fatigue, brightens the complexion, and has anti-aging effects. Long-term consumption may slightly improve Constitution.]
"There’s even a specialty reward!?"
He soon discovered that the reward was simply the wild grapevines that already existed within the village’s borders. They had just been transformed into a specialty by the power of the Village Construction Order.
’This "The World’s First Village" effect is interesting, too. It increases crop yield and the chance of triggering a specialty.’
Looking at his own stat panel, he thought, ’I can’t believe I can level up. 4 points of Constitution... seems a bit pathetic. And there are even slots for Skills and Cultivation Techniques, but it’s a shame they’re empty.’
The last thing was the inventory. The fact that identical items could stack up to 999 in a single slot was a pleasant surprise that would save him a lot of trouble.
The information on the various buildings made Lin Feng’s eyes narrow. ’This is so powerful.’ Whenever a building was constructed or upgraded, he could add one modern item to it, which would randomly grant a special attribute. For example, adding a pump to the Well could grant a related attribute, like "Automatic Pumping."
When the village itself leveled up, he could also add a modern item to randomly gain a special attribute for the whole village.
’In a word: powerful!’
The next second, a quest popped up.
[Quest: The village has been established. Please give it a grand name.
Quest Reward: Prestige +1, Village Gate Sign.]
’What does this Prestige +1 reward mean? What’s it for?’
Unable to figure it out, Lin Feng decided to complete the quest first and see what happened.
"It used to be called Linshan Village. Let’s call it Lin Xian Village now. That should be grand enough."
[Quest Complete. Please claim your reward.]
Lin Feng clicked to claim it. The Prestige +1 didn’t seem to do anything, but the sign he was promised appeared on the thatched archway supported by two wooden pillars at the village entrance.
"The calligraphy on this is really nice."
Although Lin Feng was no art connoisseur, the characters on the sign were pleasing to the eye, evoking the tranquil, idyllic mood of the poetic line, "leisurely gazing upon South Mountain."
What he didn’t know was that the +1 Prestige reward had already begun to take effect.
「Mountain Ridge Town.」
Inside the town office, two staff members were discussing him.
"Did you hear about that silly kid who came back a few days ago? Wants to start a tourism business in that abandoned mountain village. He even applied to be the Village Chief."
"Seriously? Did he actually succeed?"
"He did. Turns out his household registration was never transferred, and he never collected the relocation subsidy from back then. So, in principle, he’s still a resident of that village.
"I heard he even went to the county to get all the permits for his ’tourism development’. Instead of staying in a perfectly good city, he runs off to a place like that. It’s a total waste of money."
"Ah, you never know. Maybe he’s not really trying to develop tourism. He could just be making one of those videos you see on your phone."
Amidst such gossip, the news quickly spread until the whole town had heard about it.
Some people even managed to dig up information on Lin Feng’s identity.
Meanwhile, Lin Feng was studying the attributes of his buildings.
[Well (Level 1): Produces 100 cubic meters of water per day. Can slightly accelerate plant growth. Long-term consumption can slightly improve Constitution.]
[Farmland (Level 1): Slightly resistant to temperature changes. Crop growth cycle is slightly shortened, yield is slightly increased, and quality is slightly improved.]
[Fence (Level 1): Only effective at repelling small birds, animals, and common pests. Almost useless against large animals or deliberate destruction.]
...
For now, the most useful buildings were the Well and the Farmland. The Well could produce 100 cubic meters of spring water daily, and the Farmland accelerated plant growth.
A Level 1 village could have a maximum of thirty mu of cultivated land, which probably corresponded to the population cap—one mu per person.
He checked the required materials for the buildings. For example, a House required: 10 bags of cement, 500 bricks / 2 cubic meters of stone, 2 cubic meters of wood, and 200 tiles. A Well required: 2,500 bricks / 10 cubic meters of stone. Farmland required: 5 cubic meters of soil, etc.
The system also offered different architectural styles depending on the materials used.
Just then, new quests appeared.
[Quest One: Cultivate the Farmland and plant wheat to secure a food source.
Quest Reward: Wheat seeds with a 20% increased yield.
Quest Two: Gather the specialty Jade Grapes.
Quest Reward: Jade Wine recipe.]
He glanced at his bank balance on his phone. ’I need to hurry up and complete these quests to make some money. My savings are running low.’
’I’ll complete the grape-gathering quest first.’
He mainly wanted to check out the specialty product and see if it could help him earn some money.
If not, he’d have to think of something else.
The wild Jade Grapes were growing in a dense patch just a dozen or so meters from the village.