Chen Nuo wasn't sure either.
"Mother, I'll give it a try."
In the end, Chen Nuo gave this ambiguous answer.
"Sigh. Yes, you have to try. You have to. With these, we can make it through this next month a little more easily. Once the autumn harvest comes, everything will be all right," his mother murmured, full of both sorrow and hope.
Chen Nuo, however, raised an eyebrow, thinking differently.
'The grain harvest has been poor for two years now. Will this year really be any better? Will there be more rain? Is the soil more fertile? And what about those wolfish Tax Collectors...'
But he didn't say any of this out loud. If things really turned out as his mother said, that would be for the best. If not, there was no need to shatter her hopeful expectations.
As for a solution if things went south, that was naturally up to him, her son, to figure out.
Beside him, Sister La was silent, just staring at the mushrooms, lost in thought.
"Let's move this thing back into the room for now," Chen Nuo said.
He had originally thought it would only produce one crop, so he hadn't bothered with it. It wasn't much, and he could guard it even if someone found out. But now that it could apparently grow seven crops, leaving it in the courtyard would be foolish.
"Right, what a treasure. La Zi, let's hurry and pull this treasure back into the room. Don't let anyone see," his mother said.
Sister La, who had been lost in thought, was startled for a moment, then immediately nodded.
Then, the mother and daughter duo went to the end of the log facing the room, lifted one side, and actually tried to drag it inside, completely forgetting to ask Chen Nuo for help.
Chen Nuo was alarmed and quickly rushed forward to grab it.
"Mother, you just push from the back. I'll take the front."
His mother looked at the strong Chen Nuo in amazement, a smile playing on her lips, while Sister La absolutely beamed.
At times like these, a man was important. A healthy man was even more so.
Soon, the man-high log, which was exceptionally heavy from absorbing water, was pulled back into the room.
Just then, Sister La suddenly said to her mother, "Mother, we still have to go dig for wild vegetables."
"La Zi, you mean…"
His mother seemed to have realized something.
"Yes. Everyone knows each other inside and out, and we haven't hidden the fact that we go digging for wild vegetables every day. If we suddenly stop, people will definitely start gossiping. Those good-for-nothing rascals might follow the scent and come cause trouble for us. If they happen to see this thing then…" Sister La said, looking at the black log.
"Mm, La Zi is right. We should go right now." His mother was startled by the thought.
That's how it was these days. Even though everyone was surnamed Chen, food was life. Anyone would be tempted. It had nothing to do with morals, only survival.
Besides, there were people in the village who didn't have the Chen surname!
Chen Nuo thought about it and agreed. At the same time, he couldn't help but glance at Sister La. 'She thought of this so quickly. My future wife is quite sharp.'
After his mother and Sister La left with their baskets, Chen Nuo looked at a dead tree outside the door and walked over.
'I need to feel a sense of urgency. The experiment starts now.'
...
Chen Nuo felt his energy draining away rapidly. He had already expended the same amount as last time, but he only felt rather tired, not the near-death sensation he'd experienced before.
WHOOSH—
A cloud of mist enveloped a fairly thick tree branch.
A few seconds later, it was rapidly absorbed by the branch.
'Good, I'll know if it worked by tomorrow.'
Just as he had that thought, the next moment, the dead branch actually started developing gray spots at a speed visible to the naked eye. The spots then expanded rapidly, and the branch broke apart, section by section!
Chen Nuo's expression turned ugly. "Sure enough, the changes are unpredictable."
Afterwards, Chen Nuo used Spray Transformation on another dead branch, but the result was different from the last one.
He finally gave up all hope on that front.
'Relying on Spray Transformation won't work. So, does this thing have a Seed? Normal mushrooms definitely don't; they rely on spores, but this thing is different. I'll have to observe it more,' Chen Nuo thought as he looked at the black log and the two dead branches that had met different fates.
...
Nearing noon, Chen Nuo, who was in the courtyard cultivating, suddenly heard a knock on the door.
"Who is it?"
He opened the door to find an unexpected person.
"Chen Li?"
The visitor was indeed Chen Li.
"Chen Nuo." Chen Li looked at Chen Nuo, his expression calm. "I have something to discuss with you."
"Come inside the courtyard first."
"No, I have other things to do in a bit. Let's talk here. Do you want to go up the mountain?"
Chen Li got straight to the point.
Chen Nuo frowned. "What exactly are you trying to say?"
'Someone I'm not on good terms with, and a current competitor at that, suddenly shows up asking if I want to go up the mountain? Are you trying to harm me?!'
"Chen Nuo, you've read many books and have a quick mind. You should know the problem with that book by now. Without enough medicinal herbs and food, it's impossible to succeed in the cultivation. You're skilled at gathering herbs, and I'm skilled at hunting. We could help each other. What do you say?"
'So that's how it is. No wonder he came looking for me.' Chen Nuo understood instantly.
In all of Chen Manor, his family had the best Physicians, so it was natural that he was skilled at gathering herbs.
'Chen Li isn't wrong. Under normal circumstances, I would probably have no choice but to go with him. Then I'd be led by the nose. Once we're on the mountain, when it's time to divide the spoils, is there any question who would be in charge? As for becoming Clan Leader, I could just forget about it.'
"No, thank you. I'm not interested in going up the mountain right now," Chen Nuo replied.
"Chen Nuo, think it over. These days, the only place to find food and herbs is on the mountain. With me around, you don't have to worry about safety. Besides, your family has probably been eating nothing but wild vegetables for days," Chen Li said, his gaze sharp as he stared at Chen Nuo.
"That's none of your concern. I will not be going up the mountain right now," Chen Nuo refused again.
"…Fine."
Chen Li didn't try to persuade him further, just shot Chen Nuo a contemptuous look.
'A grown man, so cowardly. He doesn't even try to find a way to make a living, relying on his mother and wife to feed him by digging for wild vegetables. How could anyone respect someone like that?'
'And to think I'd believed my granduncle's assessment that Chen Nuo was a talented person. That's why I had wanted to recruit both him and Chen Yong. It seems even my granduncle can be wrong sometimes.'
Chen Li left, taking his contempt for Chen Nuo with him.
Watching his retreating back, Chen Nuo's expression remained unchanged.
'I have my own plans. I've only just reached the Nourishing Body Realm. My body has returned to normal, but it's far from strong. What if I rashly go up the mountain and encounter danger? Besides, go up the mountain with him? What about the leadership? Going with him would mean I've already lost half the battle for the Clan Leader position!'
'As for food, with these mushrooms in hand, I don't have to worry for the short term. It's only the second day. There's still a long way to go before the month is up.'
'Still, how can I get more food? Hunting won't work. Wild beasts aren't stupid. If too many are killed, they'll migrate. Raising livestock is even more absurd. My own family doesn't have enough to eat; there's no surplus grain to feed animals. Should I plant something? Or maybe get into business and procure grain from the outside?'
'I'll think about it some more. If it really comes to it, I'll take Chen Yong up the mountain. As long as we hunt more prey than Chen Li, I can still win.'
In any case, he was determined to win the position of Clan Leader!
...
「Meanwhile.」
The moment Chen Li knocked on the door, he was chased out by Chen Yong.
"Get out! You, with your belly full of crooked ideas, get the hell out of here, or I'll beat you to death!"
Chen Yong glared viciously at Chen Li, holding a wooden club as thick as an arm.
"Chen Yong! How long has it been since you've had a full meal? Chen Nuo doesn't even dare go hunting on the mountain with me. What's the use of following someone like that? Besides, you're a competitor too. Don't you want to be the Clan Leader?!" Chen Li's mind worked extremely fast. Sowing discord, pointing out the harsh reality—the words just tumbled out of his mouth.
"RAH! You dare talk bad about my cousin! I'll kill you!!"
Chen Yong's eyes flew open with rage, and the club in his hands swung down, whistling through the air.
Chen Li was startled and hastily ran away.
Although he was strong and his skill with a bow and arrow was extraordinary, he was truly no match for this immeasurably strong simpleton.