[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-vegetable-growing-skeleton-s-foreign-land-re":3,"chapter-the-vegetable-growing-skeleton-s-foreign-land-re-the-vegetable-growing-skeleton-s-foreign-land-re-chapter-27":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Vegetable-Growing Skeleton's Foreign Land Reclamation",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2351508,4600,"Chapter 27: Why Did the Price Go Up?","the-vegetable-growing-skeleton-s-foreign-land-re-chapter-27",27,"\u003Cp>Hearing that Ang was looking for a suitable planting area, Esk volunteered immediately and personally led the way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was one of the seven planting zones in the underground city—not abandoned, so it couldn’t be given to Ang—but if you passed through this zone and reached another sinkhole, the inside would be overgrown with weeds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Esk explained: “This sinkhole has the best terrain of all our planting zones—large area, flat ground, closer to the surface, good sunlight. The biggest drawback is no water source, and some of the Breath of Rest leaks through to the surface, making parts of the bottom unsuitable for cultivation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Esk’s tone carried deep regret: no matter how good the terrain or how fertile the soil, without water, this place was unfit for planting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although water could be hauled in from elsewhere, the manpower required would be enormous—perhaps the grain harvested wouldn’t even feed the workers needed to bring it in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Breath of Rest, however, was easier to solve: build baffles to redirect the airflow away from the surface. Such fluid dynamics seemed complex, but any wind-element mage could handle it easily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the introduction, Esk prepared to take Ang to the next sinkhole, which, though poor in terrain, at least had flowing water for irrigation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Ang turned to Philin and said: “How much for this place?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh? This place? But there’s no water,” Philin exclaimed, then immediately found his own justification: “Actually, with your power, whether there’s flowing water doesn’t matter. As for payment, no need—it’s wasteland. Just as long as the grain you grow sells to us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoever reclaims wasteland owns it; the underground city even encourages people to open up new land—every additional acre cultivated means more grain for the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, few possess the ability or skill to reclaim wasteland and grow grain. In the end, it’s still the underground city’s official apparatus holding things up—mainly Philin, because he has vast numbers of skeletons and zombies as labor, compensating for terrain and yield deficiencies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If someone could grow grain, it would relieve Philin’s burden—even if you eventually had to pay for it, at least there’d be somewhere to buy from. Right now, grain is unobtainable even with money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Ang was willing to plant, Philin would gladly offer subsidies—even free land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No money? Ang tilted his head, confused. He was just a little skeleton who grew vegetables—he had no concept of money or value. The idea of equivalent exchange had been instilled in him by Philin—now suddenly, no money?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fine, no money then. As long as he had a place to grow things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back at the temple, he saw a row of women squatting by the entrance, staring eagerly. The temple wasn’t meant for guests—not even a single chair inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My Lord, this is Anna, second in line to the throne of Winter City, currently overseeing all its affairs. This is her teacher, Lan,” Lisa introduced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ang tilted his head, puzzled. Weren’t they going to Winter City to exchange magic crystals? Why bring back a lich and a person? Where were the crystals?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My Lord, Miss Anna wishes to make a major deal with you. I couldn’t decide, so they came to speak with you directly,” Lisa explained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What deal? Didn’t understand. Wouldn’t talk. Ang shook his head and walked into the temple himself, leaving the three women stunned in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Ang return, the angelic skeleton instantly spread its wings and flew toward him—until the rope tautened, then it raised its arm, showing the wounds from its recent fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over time, fighting the little zombies had become routine for it, and Ang healing it had become routine too. He turned aside, walked over, and used Purification to mend its arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The angelic skeleton lifted its leg, revealing the wound on its knee.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ang had no choice but to cast another Purification—but as his palm brushed the knee, he accidentally swept across the skeleton’s dress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stains on the white dress shattered under the holy light, revealing the fabric’s original purity—a clean streak now marred the once-dirty garment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Curious, Ang cast another Purification, directly sweeping it over the dress. Indeed—it was Purification: wherever the holy light passed, the stains vanished instantly. This, then, was the correct use of Purification.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ang cleansed every stain from the white dress, then noticed the grime on the skeleton’s face and hair. With obsessive precision, he kept cleaning until not a speck of dirt remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the temple, the three women exchanged glances. Anna exclaimed excitedly: “Isn’t this utterly magical? A skeleton cleansing the grime off a battle angel? No no—I must sketch this! This is practically a masterpiece!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other two nodded in unison. It was indeed magical—a skeleton and an angel appearing harmoniously in one scene was already surreal, and the skeleton was using Purification, not the angel, and the angel had grime on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What does Lord Ang mean? We haven’t even stated our terms—he just left. Does he not want to negotiate?” Lan asked anxiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lisa thought for a moment, then hesitantly nodded: “I was thoughtless. Without the offering of belief, I, by my station, have no right to discuss matters with him. His will is divine decree.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lan nodded, agreeing with Lisa—after all, in their understanding, Ang was likely a projection of the Monarch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was a Monarch? A being stronger than gods. Legends say more than one deity had been sealed—or slaughtered—by the Undying Monarch (Huang Tong: That would be me). How dare we, insignificant mortals, try to negotiate a deal with a Monarch?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anna was startled, sheepishly sticking out her tongue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then what do we do now?” They had no right to speak with Ang, yet without large quantities of Holy Mushroom Powder, their previously agreed plan was impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Start by exchanging at whatever price you can offer. If demand is high, My Lord may expand production. Look at Philin—he’s buying massive amounts of grain, and My Lord is already preparing to reclaim new farmland,” Lisa said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was pure overinterpretation. Ang simply didn’t understand what “business” meant—he didn’t want to talk. They’d assumed he was rejecting them, and found that explanation perfectly reasonable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What price should we offer? Previously, the Church of Light paid twenty magic crystals per jin of Holy Mushroom Powder. Let’s offer thirty—see if His Lordship agrees?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lisa brought the offer to Ang. He nodded in mild confusion—why had the price suddenly jumped from twenty to thirty magic crystals? Lisa had said twenty was normal.\u003C\u002Fp>",1081,"2026-06-21T03:18:43.177Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","91a92a51595031d2d7946ff17e620dcf69fac49c7a84c91bb399cab75bfabde9","the-vegetable-growing-skeleton-s-foreign-land-re-chapter-28","the-vegetable-growing-skeleton-s-foreign-land-re-chapter-26",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-vegetable-growing-skeleton-s-foreign-land-re-cover.jpg"]