Chapter 404: Great Transmuting Affinity Method

Da Wang again went to the fields outside the east city; much of this land belonged to families inside Youzhou City, and along the way he saw many peasants using ox carts to carry water from the city wells to irrigate the fields.

This field is planted with drought-resistant corn, probably because the owner waters it diligently, so for now there doesn't seem to be a big problem. Da Wang isn't stupid either; he reckons that since Youzhou is coastal, seawater also takes part in the cycle, so the drought situation is certainly eased compared to inland. But the northern territories are now vast, and there are far too many places for him to worry about.

Bingzhou has taken in so many refugees; if they work a whole year and still harvest nothing, the food pressure next year is simply unimaginable!

Da Wang returned to the city and passed a sunny small hillside, where an old woman sat weeping at the field's edge. He rode over and heard her crying that after just one year of good days, heaven had given them no way to survive, and next year the whole family would starve…

Even the broad-minded Wei Shen let out a sigh, "I don't even know how Changzhou is doing..."

Da Wang: ……

Yeah, his maternal grandfather also has to feed many mouths.

That evening, the three stinky leatherworkers gathered again at their homestead, and Da Wang convened a seminar to discuss the grand plan for drought resistance.

Though the three leatherworkers come from three different civilizations, their generational gap is actually quite large.

Qiao Yi said, "Save up to buy a mustard‑seed bag, then draw that flood‑water of the Yellow River you mentioned and use it to irrigate the fields—wouldn't that be perfect?"

Da Wang was delighted, he flung open the bag he used to hold the mirage beast and said, "Is this it?"

"Huh? This is a low‑rank spirit beast bag, very cheap, but they're not the same thing. A mustard‑seed bag can hold myriad things and costs a million spirit stones. I can't afford one either, otherwise I could lend you mine."

Da Wang sighed, hearing that it wasn't money he could scrape together quickly. He turned to the other leatherworker.

Bai Yang adopted an inscrutable expression and said, "Drought, huh, is also a tough problem in our later era. There are two approaches—do you want to hear them both?"

Da Wang nodded like a chick pecking at grain: "One, scientific approach: fire ground‑based high‑cannon at rain‑cloud layers to induce artificial rain…"

As soon as Da Wang heard about striking cloud layers, he knew it was a no‑go—he didn't have that kind of cannon.

"Two two two, say two!"

"Two, mystical approach: pray for rain! Da Wang, pick an overcast day, go out yourself and do a rain‑dance or something—if by blind luck a cat hits a dead rat and rain falls, wow… I can't even imagine how those ancients would be duped by you…"

Da Wang rose to leave, saying, "Meeting adjourned! Looks like these leatherworkers can't hold a candle to Zhuge Liang this time!"

Bai Yang pulled him back, "Just joking, let's study it some more."

The drought problem is hard to solve even in later times; if it's just for crops, putting in more manpower and material than the yield isn't worth the trouble, and the world is big enough that food shortages are no longer an issue for stable, prosperous nations. But Da Wang is different—he's waiting for grain to feed the people and the army.

Surveying water sources is also a technical job; Da Wang has people who can dig wells, but he's not sure whether they'll strike water. Even if he could afford detection equipment beyond the Great Jin civilization, he'd probably still couldn't pay the tolls.

Bai Yang thought it over and said, "... How about I first buy you some water tanks or pipes? You can use them for the military garrisons first—moving water with tanks to the fields is far more convenient than using wooden buckets."

Da Wang: "Alright, buy some."

Bai Yang gathered some water‑facility diagrams for him; over eighty percent of them require water to work. The three sat in a row scratching their heads, and finally Qiao Yi sighed, "Everyone says Da Wang is the official's beloved son—doesn't your shop have any treasures of this type? I mean, things we can actually afford!"

Da Wang crouched and scribbled aimlessly, "Nothing like that—the shop is just harvesting leeks, each item more expensive than the last and still useless! What kind of favored son am I, with this kind of son‑trap… Wait! I remember—I once drew a small spring eye!"

Da Wang instantly perked up and rummaged through his warehouse; sure enough, in the corner there was a blue icon 【Small Spring Eye ×1】.

"Look!"

"Beloved son!"

"You are the child of the water source, Da Wang!"

"Buy a few more, and wherever you toss them, a spring eye will appear!"

Da Wang's mouth, which had just opened wide, snapped shut at once—buy more?

His disobedient paws fidgeted as he opened the shop and began searching for spring‑eye prices: 【Small Spring Eye: 299 yuanbao; Medium Spring Eye: 599 yuanbao; Large Spring Eye: 1299 yuanbao.】

It's… barely passable.

After all, the spring eye is permanent; the only difference is the flow rate, so buying one lets him use it forever.

Da Wang glanced at his balance—he had scraped together six figures by stubbornly vending his father's estate, and now some of it would fly away again.

Da Wang felt the pinch, refused to accept fate, and produced a bowl‑shaped flower vessel from his father's stock, presumably for keeping some aquatic plants.

Da Wang lifted the big black‑flower bowl and held it out to his white‑brother; Bai Yang hadn't reacted yet, "What's this? The bowl is quite exquisite—are you selling it to trade for a spring eye?"

Da Wang blinked, "No." "White‑brother, even the northern borders are inviting disaster—you, as my elder brother, don't you have anything to show for it?"

A bolt from the blue!

Da Wang learned Transmuting Affinity.

Bai Yang truly had no idea where this guy learned it—all blame goes to him for broadening Da Wang's horizons too much, opening everything that should and shouldn't be opened.

He felt around his pockets, found nothing suitable, so he slipped in the newly bought luxury wristwatch, "It's mechanical, very expensive—you better treat it well!" His heart ached.

Da Wang thumped his chest, "Don't worry!" I'll definitely get a good price for it~

Qiao Yi, without waiting for Da Wang to call on him, silently placed two big bottles of newly refined Grain‑Avoiding Pills on the table, "I'll cover the toll myself."

Da Wang nodded satisfactorily, having tasted the benefit; the next day he openly brought that bowl to the Hall of Receiving Light…