In Novus, there existed a specific profession: the Planting Hand.
Due to the extreme scarcity of plant species today, Planting Hands were both highly respected and simultaneously looked down upon.
If one could reach the Expert Level in planting, their research would focus on developing new plant strains or inducing mutations and evolutions in existing species.
The ultimate goal was to improve the natural environment of Novus, enrich people’s lives and knowledge, and popularize these plants for the ordinary citizens.
Such work was naturally considered the pinnacle of the field, and those who achieved it were deeply revered.
However, there was also a massive, cheap, low-end market for Planting Hands.
Among the few existing plant species, a portion was dedicated to basic livelihood—such as extracting fibers, sap, or other plant components for daily necessities.
The potential of these plants had been tapped to the absolute limit long ago, leaving no room for innovation.
Tending to them amounted to nothing more than repetitive, heavy labor with little inherent meaning.
This type of work was exhausting and highly replaceable.
Peachy Keen had chatted with Julianna Garland for a while in the past and knew a bit about her situation.
Hearing her response now, she felt a pang of pity for Julianna, assuming the girl had run out of options and was forced down this grueling path.
She didn’t voice her inner thoughts, however, and instead replied, “That’s fine too.
You can work as a Planting Hand first, and then check the Astral Domain Net to see if there are any jobs suited for you.
If an opportunity comes up, I’ll keep an eye out for relevant positions on your behalf.”
Julianna paused in surprise when she received the message, but a warm smile quickly spread across her face.
“Okay, thank you for your help.
If I manage to get my farmland in order, I’d love to invite you over as a guest.”
Peachy Keen’s reply came back almost instantly: “Sure thing, it’s a deal!”
The two exchanged a few more casual remarks.
Julianna then glanced at Cedric Sutton’s chat box, but the busy lawyer hadn’t replied to her message yet.
Exhausted from a full day of labor, a wave of fatigue finally washed over her.
Peachy Keen soon logged off the Interstellar Net for work, and Julianna followed suit, disconnecting from the network.
The moment her consciousness left the Interstellar Net, Julianna’s head hit the pillow, and she fell fast asleep.
Just as the system had said, farmers worked at sunrise and rested at sunset.
Tomorrow, she needed to finish digging the field to obtain the rice seeds.
With her basic survival and meals still completely unassured, she couldn’t afford to waste any more energy surfing the web.
Early the next morning, Julianna washed up, filled her stomach, and immediately headed out with her hoe in hand.
Perhaps it was because she had previously advanced to a skilled digger, but Julianna felt that her physical fitness had noticeably improved.
Thanks to yesterday’s relatively light, semi-restful labor, the soreness in her body today was well within an acceptable and manageable range.
Knowing she was already halfway to the experience points required for the Expert Level in the digging skill, and that the land reclamation task was nearing completion, Julianna erupted with extraordinary energy that day. You are reading on novelping dot com, the official source.
DIG, DIG, DIG!
Her experience points rose continuously as system prompts flashed one by one before her eyes.
Digging +1.
(EXP: 4998)
Digging +1.
(EXP: 4999)
Digging +1.
(EXP: 5000)
The exact moment her EXP hit 5,000, the system’s task progress bar immediately shot up to 100%.
DING.
A crisp notification chime echoed in her mind:
Congratulations!
Your digging skill has been upgraded.
You have reached the Expert Level.
In an instant, the upgrade was accompanied by a wave of profound, soothing relaxation.
The muscles that had been twitching from a day of exhaustion felt as though they were being gently stretched and relieved.
In the blink of an eye, Julianna felt the stiff ache in her trapezius, the throbbing soreness in her arms, and the sharp pain in her lower back mostly vanish.
Her arm muscles felt newly imbued with power, and the hoe in her hand suddenly felt much lighter, no longer the dead weight it had been before.
The half-dried blisters on her palms hardened into fine calluses, acting as natural armor for her skin and stripping away the burning pain.
System Prompt:
Through relentless effort and cultivation, you have successfully advanced to the Expert Level in the digging skill.
The moment you touch a hoe, you know exactly where to apply the most effective force.
You now possess the essential qualities of a qualified farmer: by merely touching the soil, you can instantly gauge its looseness, understand how best to dig it, and determine what type of land is suitable for burying seeds.
Soil dug by your hands will now provide a 10% boost to all plant attributes.
Congratulations on reaching the Expert Level in plowing.
Task 2: Reach the Expert Level in plowing as soon as possible.
(Task Completed)
Reward: One bag of wheat seeds.
Note: Wheat was one of the earliest cultivated crops on Earth and served as a vital food source for Earth humanity.
It can be processed into a wide variety of foods.
In the history of Novus, the inheritance of wheat was completely severed at the end of the Earth Era.
On Novus, people have learned through surviving pictorial records that wheat could be used to create numerous dishes.
A vast number of netizens on the Interstellar Net frequently place bets, speculating on the taste and flavor of wheat-based foods.
Even though the people of Novus have never seen or consumed it, wheat still boasts a massive fanbase based purely on those ancient records.
Congratulations, Host, for bringing this former dietary overlord of Earth to the Novus Sector!
Strive to make the fame of Earth’s former king of staples resound throughout Novus, allowing people two millennia later to witness the true charm of traditional Earth food.
When the system’s chime finally faded, Julianna stood in stunned silence for a moment before bursting into tears of sheer joy.
Her hard work over the past few days had not been in vain!
Initially, her relentless digging had been entirely driven by the goal of obtaining the rice seeds.
She never expected that completing the plowing task would reward her with wheat seeds on top of it all.
“That’s right, the rice seeds!”
At that thought, Julianna immediately checked her task log.
To her delightful surprise, the wasteland reclamation task had been completed in tandem with her plowing upgrade.
Task: Reclaim 60 square meters of wasteland (Completed).
Reward: One bag of rice seeds.
In Novus, rice is a lost seed.
During the late Earth Era, it was the very first plant species to have its lineage completely severed.
People can only observe its appearance through pictures left behind from the Earth Era and learn of its extensive history through surviving historical data.
Thirty-six years ago, Novus archaeologists discovered fossilized grains of rice on a certain planet.
This discovery shocked Novus, revealing the survival landscape of former Earth humanity to the people of the current era.
Over the span of several decades, the Novus Government expended massive amounts of manpower and resources in an attempt to extract viable genes from those few rice fossils, hoping to restore its status as a reigning overlord of the plant kingdom.
Unfortunately, even with the combined power of the entire planet, they failed to bring it back to this world.
Please use this bag of rice seeds carefully!
Let it return to humanity’s field of vision, let it reproduce its past glory on Novus, and let the people of Novus behold the true, original charm of food!
Unlocked Tasks:
Task 1: Loosen the existing soil to make the best possible preparations for successfully planting the rice.
Note: Upon successfully planting the rice, you will be rewarded with a special natural spring.
Task 2: As long as there is life, the digging never stops.
Please continue to improve your professional skills and strive to become a leader among farmers.
Objective: Upgrade your digging level to the Master stage.
Reward: Upon task completion, you will be rewarded with corn seeds.