Chapter 20

In order to arrange things clearly for Young Master Shen, Xiao He created a document in his phone containing all of Shen Mofeng’s lifestyle habits, no detail too small, including his dietary preferences, of course. But instead of giving it directly, he asked in a friendly tone, “What does Chen Ge need the list for?”

“The food here definitely won’t be great,” Ye Chen spoke frankly, “I don’t think Shen Ge can handle it.”

Xiao He’s heartstrings were struck, and his brows and eyes drooped instantly. He lamented, “I’m worried about this too! Last year, when we came to shoot on location in such a desolate place, Shen Ge lost ten pounds in less than a month. Several of us assistants were going crazy. Luckily, we finished shooting before he lost too much weight, otherwise we would have had to bring him back to the city to fatten him up before sending him back to the crew…”

“So you want me to make a list of what Shen Ge likes to eat and what he avoids,” Ye Chen’s lips curled softly, his demeanor gentle and obedient, but once he started talking, he rattled off a whole list, “I’ve learned a few tricks from the chef my family hired before. My cooking skills are not bad, and if Shen Ge can’t stomach the food from the crew, I’ll cook for him… There probably won’t be any good ingredients here, so I’ll just make some home-cooked dishes, but my home-cooked dishes taste better than others’.”

Ye Chen had already seen that Shen Mofeng was hard to please. He had been worried before Shen Mofeng came to shoot on location that he would suffer. Now that they had arrived, Ye Chen found that the conditions in these mountain valleys were even more difficult than he had imagined, so he hurried to repay a favor. Actually, his cooking skills were only average, nothing particularly outstanding, but with the miraculous ingredients, it was difficult not to make delicious food even if he didn’t want to.

At present, his vegetable garden in the Mountain and Sea Realm had begun to take shape, with a slightly richer variety of vegetables than the previous month, and the yield had also increased. With over 800 yuan in savings and no urgent need to sell vegetables for money, he had no economic pressure to cook for Shen Mofeng.

“Chen Ge…” Xiao He looked at Ye Chen with shining eyes, his voice trembling, “Are you some kind of angel?”

Not quite an angel, I’m just a crow showing filial piety… thought the Crow Baby as he added Xiao He’s WeChat and received Crow Daddy’s dietary guide.

…

The first snow in the Mountain and Sea Realm came a little earlier than in the real world. After the crew moved to the outdoor shooting location, Hundun Cub drew a new Chaos Mark in Ye Chen’s room to connect the farmhouse room with the courtyard. With the outdoor shooting just starting, the crew was in chaos, with piles of trivial matters. It wasn’t until the next afternoon that Ye Chen found time to return to the Mountain and Sea Realm.

He planned to check if there were any farm chores that needed to be done and pick some vegetables to cook something delicious for Shen Mofeng in the evening. By Shen Mofeng’s standards, the crew’s meals these past two days were indeed quite simple: cabbage stewed with tofu, pumpkin stewed with potatoes, cornmeal pancakes, scallion pancakes dipped in soybean paste… The Big Young Master hadn’t eaten a proper meal in two days and one night. After a meal, even the chopsticks were clean. According to Xiao He, it was all thanks to the apples and pears Ye Chen had brought to keep him going.

Ye Chen entered the Mountain and Sea Realm through the Qimen Dunjia calculation. The moment he stepped into the realm, a burst of crisp and refreshing frosty air greeted him. It had only been a day since he last visited, yet the Mountain and Sea Realm was already blanketed in white snow.

The snow-covered ground remained untouched, smooth and pristine like layers of stacked white silk. The sky, clear and pure after the snow and clouds dispersed, mixed with the lingering light of the setting sun, casting a dreamy and soft hue generously over the vast expanse of snow. The desolate wilderness, where nothing grew except for a small plot of vegetables on ordinary days, finally took on a somewhat ethereal appearance at this moment.

“Wow…” Ye Chen momentarily forgot about the cold as he stood alone in the center of the snowy field, gazing around.

He was immersed in the breathtaking beauty of the first snow in this mystical realm when suddenly his phone emitted a disruptive notification sound, a message from Jing Ling.

Jing Ling: “Upon detection, the user has surpassed the poverty line and fulfilled the basic conditions for repairing the spiritual veins of the Mountain and Sea Realm. According to the agreement, this application will initiate the dispatch mode for the spiritual vein repair task. Please greet the upcoming repair task with a positive and enthusiastic attitude to avoid the punishment of heavenly thunder punishment…”

Ye Chen was taken aback. “Wait a minute, I’ve already surpassed the poverty line? Is your standard that low?”

Jing Ling: “Please don’t panic or feel resistant. Firstly, the difficulty of the repair tasks follows a progressive principle. Secondly, the divine beasts can assist users with tasks. Thirdly, planting spiritual plants may help users gain economic benefits in the real world. Please explore the path to prosperity on the basis of adhering to the secrecy principle of the Mountain and Sea Realm. Fourthly, completing each task will restore some power to Jing Ling, so after completing the task, Jing Ling will provide corresponding rewards to the user…”

Seeing this, Ye Chen’s thoughts stirred. He opened the app that transformed into Jing Ling, and on the simple interface, there was a “1” in the task bar. Ye Chen quickly clicked on the task bar.

Repair Task 1: Plant ten thousand Winter Velvet Grass.

Task deadline: Ten days.

Task completion reward: Wo Shui. ^[1]Shui – can be either water or river. I’m not sure what it refers to in this case so I just left it in Pinyin. There is mention of Wo Shui in 《Classics of Mountains and Seas》Wo Shui: … Continue reading. These fish have snake-like bodies with six legs and eyes resembling horse ears. Eating them prevents one from going blind and protects against evil.”))

Planting spiritual plants can repair the spiritual veins of the Mountain and Sea Realm, similar to how planting trees can improve soil quality and turn deserts back into oases.

“This Wo Shui…” Ye Chen’s pupils trembled slightly. “Isn’t it the kind that can raise spiritual beasts?”

The spiritual beasts Ye Chen mentioned were different from divine beasts. Divine beasts like Xuanwu, Qiongqi, and Hundun, to some extent, were more advanced than humans, and were closer to gods than beasts. After reaching adulthood, they would possess powerful abilities. Moreover, they were often scarce in number, with some divine beasts so rare that there was only one in the world, unable to reproduce. This was also why Jing Ling fought to preserve the fallen divine beast souls even if it meant sacrificing the spiritual veins during the great battle, because divine beasts were too rare. 

As for spiritual beasts, they were just small animals that once lived in the Mountain and Sea Realm. Spiritual beasts couldn’t transform into human form, nor did they necessarily have human-like intelligence. They often lived in large groups. Perhaps spiritual beasts were quite mysterious to ordinary people, but in reality, the difference between divine beasts and spiritual beasts was as huge as that between humans and livestock.

Like spiritual plants, the Mountain and Sea Realm’s version of Noah’s Ark also preserved a large number of spiritual beast cubs. Unlike the precious divine beasts, which needed to absorb enough spiritual energy from heaven and earth to awaken, Ye Chen could awaken and breed them at any time. The reason why Ye Chen hadn’t done so was because the requirements of spiritual beasts for their habitat were so strict that they far exceeded the relatively robust vitality of spiritual plants.

As is well known, in the “Classic of Mountains and Seas,” there are often descriptions like: “…the Wo Shui originates there, flowing northward into Gaoyuan Lake, where there are many Xiu fish ^[2]Xiu(Qiu) Fish(鱃鱼) – A fish in ancient Chinese mythology. It was said to be shaped like a carp with a huge head and that eating it would prevent you from getting warts. Not sure if this … Continue reading…”

This passage implies that the Wo Shui is the habitat of the Xiu fish. Without the Wo Shui, the Xiu fish cannot survive. If the fry ^[3]Refers to a more developed hatchling whose yolk sac has almost disappeared, and its swim bladder is functional to the point where the fish can move around and perform limited foraging to nourish … Continue reading of the Xiu fish are forcibly taken out and raised in other bodies of water, no matter how carefully they are tended to, the fry will quickly wither and die.

The “Classic of Mountains and Seas” is compiled from information leaked intentionally or unintentionally by successive masters of the Mountain and Sea Realm, along with some imagination and creativity from later generations. Therefore, it is not entirely accurate. However, regardless of its accuracy, for spiritual beasts, the importance of their habitat is indisputable.

When Ye Chen took over, the Mountain and Sea Realm was in a completely destroyed state. The habitats suitable for the reproduction of spiritual beasts had long disappeared. Ye Chen’s desire to raise spiritual beasts was there, but the means were lacking. But now…

Jing Ling gave a definite answer: “Wo Shui is the habitat of the Ranyi fish, and it will appear in the Mountain and Sea Realm as a reward after the task is completed.”

Ye Chen breathed a sigh of relief. “So, all those mountains and waters mentioned in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, will you directly turn them into rewards for me after completing tasks?”

Jing Ling replied, “Yes.”

Ye Chen gently touched his chest. “That’s good… I thought you were going to make me move mountains and rivers. I didn’t dare to ask before, for fear of reminding you…”

Jing Ling inwardly questioned without pressure, “Am I that deceitful?”

Ye Chen remained expressionless, reaching down to adjust his loose and faded underwear, saying, “Heh.”

After pondering for a moment, Ye Chen decided to give Jing Ling a chance to rectify its mistake. He rubbed his hands together and asked, “Since you can conjure up rivers after I complete tasks… can you conjure up banknotes?”

Jing Ling fell silent for a moment before saying, “Even if the spiritual veins recover, I can only manifest things belonging to the Mountain and Sea Realm…”

Disappointed, Ye Chen shook his head to dispel the fantasy of getting a room full of banknotes without effort.

Planting ten thousand Winter Velvet Grasses in ten days may sound like a lot, but with the help of divine beast cubs, Ye Chen was not worried. He exited the task interface and entered the help section, entering the keyword “Winter Velvet Grass” and quickly scanning through the planting process. Winter Velvet Grass held a position in the Mountain and Sea Realm equivalent to weeds, being the easiest spiritual plant to cultivate. The only difficulty lay in burying the seeds in the snow for them to take root and sprout, which was just right for the current task.

Feeling relieved, Ye Chen considered that he had ten days to complete the task, and since his friend Shen Mofeng had not eaten for several meals, he decided to cook for him first.

The ordinary crops in the vegetable garden were not affected by the heavy snow. Ye Chen carried a basket of vegetables, brushed off the snow on the tomatoes, filled the basket with half of them, and pulled out a few sweet potatoes from the ground.

According to Jing Ling, the influence of the ancient divine bloodline on lower beings was greater. Specifically, the power of Shennong could make tomatoes grow ten times faster during the harsh winter, but it could only slightly accelerate the maturation process of the Fusang ^[4] Fusang(扶桑) – a mythological tree of life, alternatively identified as a mulberry or a hibiscus. divine tree. The power of Fuxi could make little chicks do exercises in formation, but it couldn’t control the divine beast cubs from peeking at melodramatic dramas… So Ye Chen wasn’t worried that his small vegetable garden would yield nothing due to the heavy snow, nor was he in a hurry to harvest. He leisurely picked enough vegetables for Shen Mofeng to eat for two days before returning home.

At ten o’clock that night, Shen Mofeng’s door was knocked.

“Come in,” Shen Mofeng lazily said.

The door opened, and Ye Chen, wearing a set of thick home clothes, held a plate and a bowl of rice, poking his head in.

“I’m not hungry,” Shen Mofeng frowned.

“I made this differently from what they eat at night,” Ye Chen smiled, his eyes curving into two dimples, thinking he was being a loyal friend when in fact, he looked quite cute. “Would you like to try it?”

The author has something to say:

Ye Qiongqiong’s account book today:

Expenses: two tomatoes, two eggs… _(:з」∠)_

-Chen Chen cooked for me wearing home clothes.

Shen Mofeng’s favorability +10, 40/100, two stars

You need 100/100 for three stars… Our Si Feng still has a heavy burden [doge]

It’s time to start planting spiritual plants~

Guess who the magical spiritual plants will be sold to~? [doge] (Not Si Feng)