NOVEL NEXT Chapter 14 - The Harvest - Part 2
Chapter 14: The Harvest – Part 2
[Translation By Divinity]
After returning from the dog beastfolk village, Lee Han decided that today would be the day of harvest.
Perhaps it was the joy of harvesting the crops he had been cultivating, but Seolmyeong seemed quite happy as well. Lee Han, carrying Seolmyeong on his shoulder, grabbed an empty leather pouch and headed towards the field.
“Since we’re harvesting earlier than planned, we should plant other crops right away.”
“What are you going to plant this time, nya?”
“Wheat.”
Obtaining wheat was the priority for now. Wheat could be stored for up to 30 years if kept in a cool, shaded place, free from insects. It would be easy to store if he made a large jar, so Lee Han’s plan was to properly cultivate wheat this time.
“What about the Honey Sweet Potatoes and Sweet Radishes…nya?”
“I’ll plant those too.”
Of course, he didn’t mean to focus solely on wheat. This wheat was from another world, after all. Since it was adapted to this world’s standards, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that it might grow differently from how it did on Earth. If that happened, the harvest could fail, so he had to cultivate other crops that he had already successfully grown once, just in case.
“That’s a relief, nya!”
Seolmyeong seemed pleased with Lee Han’s answer. It wagged its tail and hummed on Lee Han’s shoulder. As they chatted about this and that, they arrived at the field, and Lee Han lightly stretched his body.
“Eusha…!”
The sweet potatoes didn’t come out easily, just like when Jilpung had tried before. Only after using all his strength with both hands did the honey-colored sweet potatoes, hanging in clusters, reveal themselves. They were all large and well-shaped.
“Top quality, nya!”
“These are good enough to sell, right? Let’s dig up the others too.”
“Nya nya nya~!”
There was no time to rest. While Lee Han grabbed another vine and pulled, Seolmyeong dug through the soil, harvesting the sweet potatoes that hadn’t been fully pulled out. They hadn’t specifically coordinated, but their teamwork was perfect. Seolmyeong continued to hum without any sign of fatigue, and Lee Han diligently pulled the sweet potato vines to the rhythm.
“Bumper crop, nya!”
They had harvested tens of times more honey sweet potatoes than they had initially planted. Seolmyeong looked at the pile of sweet potatoes in the corner of the field with joy and jumped onto the pile.
“It feels like swimming in sweet potatoes, nya!”
“Don’t do that too much. If they get damaged, their value will decrease.”
“Okay, nya!”
Seolmyeong gently jumped down and turned its eyes to the next field. It wasn’t just the sweet potatoes that needed harvesting. The sweet radishes were also ready to be harvested.
“Are you going to harvest the sweet pumpkins right away, nya?”
“Of course.”
Lee Han headed straight to the next field. In the field full of lush, bluish-green radish leaves, Lee Han grabbed a leaf and pulled the sweet radish with all his might.
Swoosh!
A large sweet radish, as big as an arm, emerged. Compared to the sweet radish he had found before, it was much larger, had a better fragrance, and was of higher quality. And just like with the honey sweet potatoes, a message window appeared.
[Blessed Sweet Radish]
[A Sweet Radish grown with the Hand of Verdure. It is larger and sweeter than ordinary Sweet Radishes.]
[Recovers from injuries upon consumption.]
[Recovers from fatigue upon consumption.]
This time, the sweet radish looked different from when he first saw it. Not only did it relieve fatigue, but it could also heal potential injuries, which was crucial for living in the wild, as there were no hospitals nearby.
“Nya nya! I’ve never seen such a good sweet radish, nya!!”
“It’s rewarding to have worked hard.”
Both Lee Han and Seolmyeong were so engrossed in their work that they didn’t have time to feel tired as they kept pulling out top-quality radishes.
“There’s so many, nya!!”
“Maybe it’s because we thinned them out a bit… Still, we got more than expected.”
“Did you save the seeds, nya?!”
“Yes, don’t worry.”
He had thoroughly prepared for the next harvest. Satisfied with Lee Han’s answer, Seolmyeong grinned and shook its body, scattering the soil that fell off it.
“Let’s go to the river and wash up later.”
“Okay, nya. But how are we going to carry all of this, nya?”
Transporting the harvest was no easy task, not only because of the sweet potatoes but also the abundance of sweet radishes. While Lee Han and Seolmyeong were pondering this, a familiar voice called out.
“Wow! What’s all this?!”
It was Shredder, carrying a large sack and a box. He approached, his silver fur fluttering in the wind, and clapped his hands as he saw the pile of sweet potatoes and sweet radishes.
“Wow~! You finally did it?! Congratulations! Congratulations!”
“Haha. It’s nothing much.”
“I never thought I’d see so many sweet potatoes. And the sweet radishes are huge too. Even I’ve never seen radishes like these.”
If someone who had lived as long as him was impressed, the harvest must have been truly successful. Lee Han set aside the largest sweet potato and the best sweet radish and placed them in front of the Gaia statue.
“Thanks to Goddess Gaia, we had a good harvest, so I should offer these as tribute.”
Of course, he wouldn’t have achieved these results without his skills. But he couldn’t deny the help of the Hand of Verdure. That’s why Lee Han could offer the best of the harvest to the Gaia statue without hesitation. He hoped for another blessing, but none came this time.
“How about offering a dish made with them, nya?”
“A dish? What kind of dish?”
“You have no idea how delicious Lee Han’s honey sweet potato mattang is, nya! Lee Han! Are you going to make honey sweet potato mattang today, nya?!”
“Of course.”
He couldn’t ignore their expectations. Shredder grinned at Lee Han’s answer.
“Is there any for me?”
“Let’s eat together while we’re at it. But can you help me move these first?”
“Ah! Of course! Just wait a minute!”
His strength was put to good use here. Shredder started to move the sweet potatoes, filling the sack to the brim. What would have taken dozens of trips for Lee Han and Seolmyeong was finished in just a few by Shredder, who then sat in front of the tent at the base and started clapping his knees.
“Come on! Come on! Make it quickly!”
“Hurry up, nya! Hurry up, nya!”
“Just wait a moment.”
Lee Han generously made honey sweet potato mattang for the two who were urging him on. As the mattang with the delicious effect was made again, Lee Han put some sweet potatoes aside on the plate he had made before.
“Why are you taking that, nya?”
“I’m going to offer it to Goddess Gaia. You guys start eating.”
“Where… Huh! Huh! Whoa! This is so delicious?! What is this?!”
“Don’t eat it all by yourself, nya!!”
Leaving the noisy two behind, Lee Han came to the field and placed the honey sweet potato mattang in front of the statue. The moment the mattang was placed in front of the ripe, large sweet potato and sweet radish…
Wooooong…!!
A low vibration sounded, and the dish and the harvest began to glow. Surprised by the sudden change, Lee Han stepped back. After a while, the light faded, revealing a sharp sickle.
[Legendary – Gaia’s Sickle]
[A sickle imbued with the will of Gaia, the goddess of the earth. Gaia bestowed her blessing upon the producer by granting a sickle containing her will.]
[Increases the grade of harvested produce.]
[Increases the preservation period of harvested produce.]
[Increases the freshness of harvested produce.]
[Changes form in battle.]
[Can use Earth’s Wrath in battle.]
“Such a precious gift…”
He had been wondering if he should make a stone sickle in preparation for the wheat harvest, but this was an unexpected gain. Lee Han picked up the sickle placed in front of the Gaia statue. The sickle, emitting a soft light, looked extraordinary even to Lee Han. He examined the sickle and bowed slightly towards the Gaia statue before turning around.
“What? Why did you leave it behind?”
“Well, it wouldn’t be right for the person who made it not to taste it, right? But what’s that sickle in your hand?”
Shredder asked, looking at Lee Han who had returned. It was natural for him to be curious since the person who had gone with a plate came back with a sickle, quite a fine sickle at that.
Lee Han told him about the sickle, as he had no intention of hiding it. Shredder, who had been listening with a serious expression, chuckled when Lee Han finished.
“It seems like Gaia is giving you all sorts of things because there’s no one in the Great Forest who worships her right now. Anyway, that aside, Lee Han, do you have any plans to sell this mattang?”
“Hmm?”
Shredder, who seemed to have little interest in Lee Han’s sickle, pointed at the mattang after briefly mentioning it. To Lee Han, who looked puzzled, Shredder showed him the box he had brought.
“Remember what I said last time? I have a special box. This is it. It’s called an Exchange Box, and if you put something valuable in this box, it will be transferred to special boxes in various parts of the world, and you’ll receive a reward in return.”
“Oh… Is my mattang that valuable?”
“Yes! It temporarily increases stats tremendously?! That’s almost like a blessing.”
“Oh… That’s amazing.”
“Anyway, if you sell that mattang here, you’ll get a decent reward. How about it? Want to try selling it?”
“What does it mean that it gets transferred to special boxes in various parts of the world?”
“It means exactly what it says. The item you exchanged through the Exchange Box will appear in boxes in places like dungeons.”
Lee Han wondered what the point of that was, but it seemed like a serious matter to Shredder. Of course, as long as he had sweet potatoes and sweet radishes, Lee Han could make as much mattang as he wanted, so it wasn’t a big deal for him.
Lee Han put the honey sweet potato mattang on a plate and placed it in the box. After a while, the box shook and started emitting smoke.
“Is this okay?”
“Of course it is. There, it’s done. Let’s see what the reward is… Oh…?! What’s this?”
Inside was a small container. Shredder took out the container with a puzzled look and held it out, but Lee Han couldn’t tell what it was just by looking at the container.
“Open it, nya!”
Looking closely at the container, it seemed to have a rotating mechanism. He grabbed the top of the container and rotated it to look inside, revealing a small bead.
“This is a Sunstone, nya!”
“Sunstone? What’s that?”
“A Sunstone is, as the name suggests, a stone containing the energy of the sun, nya! If you infuse it with mana, the surrounding temperature gradually rises and it gets warm, nya!”
Hearing that, Lee Han thought for a moment and then snapped his fingers.
“Then, if we use Sunstones, we can grow crops from the south and maybe even have two harvests a year?”
No matter how great Lee Han’s abilities were, he couldn’t change the environment itself. But with Sunstones, it was a different story. Perhaps he could create a southern environment and grow crops that thrived in the south.
“Well… It’s not impossible. But you’ll need quite a few of them, won’t you?”
Shredder pointed at the Sunstone in Lee Han’s hand, thought for a moment, then nodded.
“You’ll need at least a few hundred to make an area as hot as the south.”
“That means I need to make mattang hundreds of times.”