Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton

The valley stretched as far as the eye could see, almost entirely covered by this white substance.

“So much? We’re rich,” Negris, deeply struck, couldn’t help but exclaim at the sight of the phosphates formed by these bird droppings.

“Is it worth a lot?” Brooks asked in surprise. He also recognized the white substance. On Dragon Island and nearby islands, there were many such bird-dropping islands, some covered in a dense layer of this material, piled several meters high.

“It’s not so much valuable as it is abundant. Even if we sold it for one magic crystal per ton, how many magic crystals could we get here? At least a few million tons, right?” Negris conjectured.

Brooks, after doing the math, scoffed, “Only a few million magic crystals? Rubbish.”

Negris laughed, “It’s precisely because it’s cheap that it’s precious. It’s a strategic material, understand?”

Everyone shook their heads in unison.

Ange, amongst the others, shook his head too. Negris felt compelled to explain further to maintain his position as a fount of wisdom. He begrudgingly said:

“A farm field without fertilization typically yields around 150 to 200 pounds per acre. A well-cultivated field could yield up to 300 pounds. But with even a small amount of fertilizer, the yield can reach 500 to 600 pounds. Paired with good seeds, the yield is even higher. Last time, Anthony mentioned that the Druid Spring Breeze Cup crop contest broke the record of 1000 pounds per acre. And this certainly had to do with the use of fertilizers.”

“If I sell you fertilizer, your yield per acre could double. If I don’t sell it to you, your yield would stagnate. Wouldn’t that make it a strategic material?” Negris asked.

Brooks nodded in agreement.

“If my crop yield is twice as high as yours and I sell my crops at a lower price, your farmers can’t sell their crops and go bankrupt. Next year, they won’t grow any crops. Then, wouldn’t you have to buy all of your crops from me? If one day I decide not to sell crops unless you trade me a city, would you trade? If you don’t and your farmers aren’t growing crops, would you buy my crops or starve? Isn’t this considered a strategic material?”

Brooks drew in a sharp breath, “That’s truly vicious.”

“Hehe, there are a bunch of vicious ways to treat you when your food security isn’t in your own hands. Production costs, crop yield, all can be used as weapons. These bird droppings are a big productivity booster. Anthony should love it. I’ll sell it to him later,” Negris began to get excited.

Naeli was somewhat irritated, “You’ve been talking about bird droppings all this time. What about dragon dung? Why don’t you talk about it? Is dragon dung useless?”

“Huh?” Negris was stunned. Wasn’t he just scratched for rambling about dragon droppings? Why the sudden change? A dragon’s heart is truly perplexing.

“Dragon dung has too strong a magic effect for standard crops to handle. Look at these bird droppings, there are plants growing on them, but not on the dragon droppings. Only magical plants can withstand the potency of dragon dung. Like the Elf Beans, Soul Moss, Fire Dragon Fruit, etc. Hey, with all this dragon dung, can we grow Elf Beans?”

Negris suddenly remembered the Elf Bean seeds he had obtained from an elf. He had never dared to sow them because the regular land was not fertile enough to support Elf Beans.

But Ange was more interested in another term, “Soul Moss, what’s that?”

“It’s a kind of moss that can calm the mind, soothe the soul, enhance memory, and speed up magic recovery. It’s a main ingredient for mana recovery potions. If a wizard could drink a potion before a battle, oh boy,” Negris explained.

“Is this the one?” Ange flew out of the cave, pointing at a large patch of black moss on a cliff wall below.

“It can’t be that coincidental,” Negris flapped his wings and flew out of the cave to take a closer look. Sure enough, he saw a large patch of black moss and a small human child.

The child, probably only seven or eight years old, was energetically prying the moss off the cliff wall with a wooden shovel. At this moment, his back basket already contained several large pieces of Soul Moss.

Negris was distressed, “Hey! Kid! Let go of those patches of moss. You can’t harvest Soul Moss like that!”

PS: According to legend, everyone has a monthly vote bag. Every month, it grows tickets that disappear if not used within the month. Check it out, has it grown yet? If you don’t cast them, they’ll just disappear.