Chapter 417: Don

Ang had no interest whatsoever in anything related to the Garrison Commander; if the Silver Coin hadn't said the vegetables would sell easily, he wouldn't have bothered with any of this—but the idea of seizing a fertile plot to grow vegetables filled him with great enthusiasm, his eyes gleaming with impatience.

But Feiwo paused for a moment, then smiled bitterly: "If there were fertile land here, we wouldn't call this place a desert. Two mountain ranges block the moist air from the south, leaving us perpetually dry and rain-starved; the only river in the region is the Shahe, flowing down from the mountains all the way to Shen Yin Town."

"The main farmland lies along the banks of the Shahe, but it's hardly fertile. The city's grain is mostly imported. If you want land, just go to the Garrison Commander's office and buy it—it's cheap, and there's plenty of wasteland nobody wants."

…

At the Garrison Commander's office, the Silver Coin spent fifty thousand magic crystals to purchase all the wasteland along both banks of the Shahe, from Bei Feng City to Shen Yin Town—at an average of one gold coin per mu, totaling five hundred thousand mu.

Whether this price was cheap or not was debatable; after all, it was only wasteland, yet selling at one gold coin per mu was outright insane.

But under normal circumstances, it would have been impossible to buy—because that would mean fencing off both banks of the Shahe. Even if it was wasteland, wasn't there still a river?

But the Bei Feng family was already preparing to flee; they didn't care how much trouble this sale might cause the next rulers—maybe it wouldn't cause any trouble at all, since it was just wasteland. Either way, it had nothing to do with them now. Fifty thousand magic crystals was fifty thousand magic crystals.

"Couldn't we wait until we win the Garrison Commander bid before buying?" Negrilis asked, puzzled.

The Silver Coin and Feiwo shook their heads together: "No no no—buy now, and it becomes the problem of the 'previous administration,' leaving plenty of room for bureaucratic wrangling. If we buy after becoming Garrison Commander, any problems that arise won't be easy to shrug off."

Negrilis stared blankly for a long while, muttering: "That's actually brilliant… you heartless merchants and politicians…"

Du Luoken snorted: "The timidity of the weak. If you take it, you take it—who's going to dare seize our land back? Silver Coin, what's your status now? You're not an ordinary person anymore. Some caution is fine, but no need to be overly careful."

The Silver Coin blinked in confusion. What was his status?

Poor little goblin merchant—he still hadn't adjusted to his identity: the God of the Greedy Merchant.

Seeing his expression, Du Luoken knew it was pointless to explain further. He sighed irritably: "Forget it. Do things your way. Just leave the alchemy and forging parts to me."

When a person's thinking becomes rigid, their behavior and thought patterns follow fixed habits; once they step beyond those habits, they become disoriented and unable to proceed.

The Silver Coin thought like a merchant: small investment, big returns, chasing profit, risking for excess profit. Asking him to adapt to a new identity—to dominate by force—would make him deeply uncomfortable.

…

Walking along the Shahe toward Shen Yin Town, Ang eagerly carried a stick, following the officials dispatched by the Garrison Commander's office, marking points and tracing a dotted line—the land within that line now belonged to him.

As Negrilis had said, everyone's definition of barren or fertile differed. Even in a desert, Ang could grow things—how much more so in this wasteland? It was merely a question of how much transformation cost he was willing to invest.

In Ang's eyes, this desert soil was already fertile. Even without improvement, he could grow special crops. The only problem was water—even the most peculiar crops needed some irrigation.

Throughout the journey, Ang pondered this problem.

The official dispatched by the Garrison Commander to survey the land was named Jimmy. He remained respectful and cooperative the whole way. Whenever Ang accidentally planted the stick in the wrong spot, claiming a few dozen extra mu, he pretended not to notice.

Such a compliant fellow was naturally not disliked; Negrilis even struck up casual conversation with him: "Jimmy, you've had a tough day. Do you get any allowances for field duty?"

Jimmy smiled bitterly: "What allowances? But we can get some black bread to eat on the road."

"Uh… that's it?" Negrilis was stunned.

Jimmy smiled again: "It's already good enough—at least it fills you up. I take extra loaves; if I get back early, I can bring the leftovers home for the kids."

Negrilis blinked: "So… your family is already out of food?"

Jimmy shook his head: "Not yet. The rations from above barely suffice. But the children are growing—they eat a lot and are always hungry. Sigh… we're lucky. The common folk are truly suffering—many have run out of food entirely."

"Sigh…" Negrilis sighed too.

He had known about the city's food shortage for a while—but there was nothing they could do now. If Ang's physical body were here, it'd be easy—just the spirit beans from the Palace of Rest alone could feed the entire city.

But unfortunately, Ang could only grab a handful every twenty minutes—several hundred beans per handful. Even if he worked nonstop twenty-four hours a day, he couldn't save everyone.

The city wasn't truly out of food—nobles like Marquis Feiwo each had dozens of tons stored, as did the Grain Guild, major associations, and wealthy merchants.

If they were willing to contribute, the food crisis would vanish instantly.

But under current conditions, expecting them to show mercy was impossible. Only when the Silver Coin seized the Garrison Commander's position and gained power could the situation possibly change.

"So pitiful, Jili! Jili! Kiba Da, why are you running so fast!" Negrilis called out, turning back to find Jili already far away, clutching her sack.

Ahead, the Shahe dropped sharply—a steep drop of over ten meters, forming dozens of small waterfalls.

After this drop, the Shahe made a sharp bend southward, flowing toward Shen Yin Town.

Ang suddenly stopped, studying the drop from both sides, then leapt up to gaze northward toward Bei Feng City, hopping and peering for a long while.

"What are you looking at?" Negrilis asked, puzzled. He sensed a faint surge of divine power emanating from Ang—he didn't need to guess; this skull was using a divine technique again.

But divine techniques couldn't be projected here. The only divine technique that could function here while used on his physical body was the Scale of Balance. Was this damn skeleton measuring something with the Scale of Balance?

Ang pointed at the drop, then toward Bei Feng City: "Flat. Build dam. Raise water level. Irrigate fields."

"Wait—you mean the elevation here matches Bei Feng City's? You want to build a dam here to raise the water level and irrigate your land?" Negrilis asked.

Ang nodded.

Negrilis flew up, surveyed the terrain, and silently calculated. He had to admit—it was a feasible, logical plan. The only problem: the scale of the project was enormous.

Enormous? Ang tilted his head.

Seeing this, Negrilis's heart sank: "What are you planning now? Tell me first—we'll discuss it. Don't go doing anything reckless."

PS: Still writing. Probably won't finish in time. Will update at midnight.