"The houses haven't been fully repaired yet, and now the spring plowing issue has come up."
Ryan rubbed his temples.
"Are you saying that we don't have many grain seeds, and coupled with the fact that a lot of farmland has been abandoned, the grain yield for this spring plowing might decrease?"
"Yes, the beast tide came very suddenly. Many of the lord's people didn't have time to move their own grain and seeds. Although we have some reserves in the granary, the quantity isn't much either."
White continued to explain: "As for the abandoned farmland, most of it is on the edge of the territory, close to the Flowing Firefly Forest. It was severely damaged by the beast tide, and the people of the territory don't dare to cultivate it."
After listening to White's explanation, Ryan felt his head ache even more.
The food problem is a major issue. If the lord's people don't have enough to eat, not only will they lose faith in him as their lord, but it might even lead to riots.
"Can't we buy some seeds from other territories?"
"I'm afraid it will be difficult. The surrounding territories don't have a good relationship with us, and they were also attacked by the beast tide. I doubt they have any extra seeds to sell."
"With the current quantity of seeds, how much of a decrease in grain yield do you estimate?"
"At least thirty to forty percent. If no one goes to cultivate the farmland on the edge, it will decrease even more."
White replied.
"Thirty to forty percent... How much grain reserves do we have in the granary? Can that make up for this thirty to forty percent?"
"There is still some grain in the granary, but most of it has to be lent to the people of the territory who couldn't move their grain, and we also need to reserve a portion to pay taxes to the Earl."
"In other words, the only way now is to increase the yield per mu."
If there aren't enough seeds, then they can only try to grow more grain with fewer seeds.
Actually, this isn't too difficult. Although he doesn't know how to increase grain yield, the players definitely do.
The players of Blue Star, just like the players of Earth's China, really like farming.
The land that the natives don't dare to go to can be given to the players to cultivate, and then their cultivation experience can be popularized throughout the territory, thereby increasing grain yield.
Thinking of this, Ryan felt much more relaxed.
"Don't worry, Uncle White. I already have a general idea of how to solve this problem. It's getting late, so you should go and rest."
"Yes, you should also rest early and not overwork yourself."
White looked at Ryan with some pity. Being under twenty years old and having to shoulder the burden of the entire territory was truly too difficult.
"Okay, I'll go rest now."
Ryan also felt a bit tired. Dealing with the players and updating the game all day had really worn him out.
When he arrived at the bedroom, he found that Bounsweet was already asleep on the bed, seemingly muttering something in its sleep, looking particularly adorable.
"This little guy only knows how to act cute."
Looking at the endearing Bounsweet, Ryan smiled wryly.
"But being cute is also a skill, at least it can make me feel happy. I can't expect it to help me solve problems, can I?"
"Hmm? Wait!"
A thought flashed through Ryan's mind like lightning.
"Bounsweet can't, but other Pokémon can!"
Ryan suddenly remembered a fanfiction he had read in his previous life, where the protagonist used Pokémon to cultivate and increase yields.
One sentence in it had left a particularly deep impression on him—"Pokémon are the primary productive force!"
Ryan felt that this sentence was absolutely right! The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Hahahaha, in a way, you really helped me!"
Ryan excitedly picked up Bounsweet and started spinning around in place.
"Boun?"
Bounsweet, who had been woken up, looked at Ryan with a puzzled expression, not understanding why he was so happy.
However, hearing that it seemed to be because it had helped him, it huffed proudly. I'm so amazing.
Bounsweet proudly puffed out its chest. If it had hands, it would definitely have put them on its hips.
"Sorry, sorry, I disturbed your sleep."
"Boun boun~" (It's okay~)
Ryan stroked Bounsweet's calyx and fell asleep holding it.
Time quickly came to morning. The five players all logged in on time and were discussing their stats in the lounge.
"My Strength and Constitution are both 6, which looks okay, but what does it mean that my Intelligence is only 3? I, Xu Ruofeng, absolutely do not accept this!"
Looking at Xu Ruofeng unintentionally revealing his real name, Chen Yan helplessly rubbed his forehead.
"With your IQ, anything above zero would be a surprise!"
"Are you dissing me? What are your stats?" Xu Ruofeng asked.
"My stats are quite balanced."
Chen Yan focused his gaze on the back of his hand and opened the stat panel.
[Game ID: SilentGamingLord Level: LV.0 Physical Attributes
Strength: 4 Agility: 6 Constitution: 5 Intelligence: 6 Experience Points: 0/100]
"Everyone's total attribute points should be about the same, just with different focuses."
"I wonder if the attribute points gained after leveling up are distributed by ourselves or randomly by the system."
Xu Ruofeng said indifferently:
"Whatever, being able to increase stats is good enough. Besides, isn't this game about Pokémon battling? It's not like our stats will be very useful."
Chen Yan didn't think so. He subconsciously felt that these attribute points must be useful.
Before he could finish thinking, a servant knocked on the door and called them to the study.
When they reached the study door, the players all straightened their appearance.
After all, there was a favorability system, and they wanted to leave a good impression on Ryan, the game's protagonist.
"Knock knock~"
"Come in."
Looking at these players who were clearly much more serious than yesterday, Ryan was first stunned, and then he understood that this was the effect of the favorability system.
This showed that the existence of the favorability system was quite necessary.
"After a day of adaptation, I believe you are already familiar with this world. I won't say any more unnecessary words. I hope you will continue to work hard and strive to complete your tasks."
"To increase everyone's enthusiasm, the person who fells the most trees will not only receive the special reward I promised yesterday but also the right to use a piece of farmland."
Hearing these words, the five players' eyes lit up instantly.
"Do you mean we can dispose of this land as we wish? Can we build houses on it?"
"Are there any requirements for what we plant? Where do the seeds come from?"
"Do we get to keep the harvested grain?"
The players asked all at once.
"Farmland can only be used for farming, of course. You can plant whatever you want, but we will only provide grain seeds for now."
"After the harvest, apart from the territory collecting a portion of taxes, the rest belongs to you."
Ryan answered each question one by one.
"Alright, you haven't gotten the farmland yet, so there's no need to ask so many questions. Go chop wood first. Heracross should be waiting for you there."
"Charge! The farmland must be mine!"
"With your skinny arms and legs, you still want to compete with me!"
"Damn it, West Wind ran off already! Hurry up and chase him!"
Looking at the players' excited appearance, Ryan nodded in satisfaction.
If he had directly distributed farmland to the players, they might have been happy, but they wouldn't necessarily value and cherish it.
Treating it as a reward was different. The farmland they worked hard to obtain, they would definitely treat well.
"Tsk, I feel like I'm becoming more and more like an unscrupulous capitalist. It's all the panel's fault for corrupting me!"
Ryan unhesitatingly pushed the responsibility onto the quest panel.
"The players are working so hard, I can't just sit idle either. It's time to find some Pokémon useful for farming."
"Bounsweet, go call Scyther. We need to find some farming experts."