The second morning on the Westland began with frost.
Li Shun woke to find his breath misting in the air, a thin layer of white crystals coating the blanket he had pulled up to his chin. The temporary shelter—a lean-to constructed from branches, tarps, and the canvas covers of the carts—offered little protection against the dawn chill.
He sat up, his body protesting every movement. His palms, wrapped in strips of cloth Han Qiang had provided, throbbed with a dull heat. His shoulders ached from the swing of the machete. His lower back felt like a rusted hinge.
*This is real,* he thought, rubbing sleep from his eyes. *No office chair. No ergonomic keyboard. Just hard earth and harder work.*
And yet, as he stepped out into the pale morning light, he felt a surge of energy he had never known in his previous life. The sun was just cresting the eastern hills, turning the frost on the wild grass into a field of scattered diamonds. The air was crisp and clean, smelling of sage and damp earth.
In the makeshift corral below, Hei Bao stood like a statue of black iron, his breath pluming in the cold air. The bull watched Li Shun emerge, tossing his head slightly in greeting.
Li Shun walked down to the fence. The grass crunched under his boots. He leaned against the railing, looking at the bull.
"Morning, partner," he said softly. "Ready to make history?"
The bull snorted, pawing the ground.
Li Shun took that as a yes.
---
The priority for the day was pasture.
Without grass, there was no ranch. The wild scrub that currently covered the hills was nutritionally poor, barely enough to keep a goat alive, let alone a growing herd of beef cattle. Li Shun needed to introduce the *Perennial Ryegrass* from his Beginner's Gift Pack.
But first, the land had to be prepared.
"We can't plow the whole hundred mu," Li Shun told his small team as they gathered for a breakfast of cold buns and tea. "We don't have the time or the equipment. We focus on the valley floor, near the stream. That's where the soil is richest."
Old Zhang looked skeptical. "Young Master, even the valley floor is full of roots and stones. We have only one plow, and the ox..."
He trailed off, glancing at Hei Bao. The bull was currently the only intact male cattle they had, but using a prime breeding bull—especially a wild one—for plowing was unheard of. It was considered an insult to the animal's potential.
"We won't use the bull," Li Shun said. "And we won't use the cows. We need them gaining weight, not wasting energy pulling stumps."
"So we dig?" Li Ming asked, looking at the ground with trepidation.
"We dig," Li Shun confirmed. "But we dig smart. We clear the brush first, burn it for potash, then turn the soil by hand. We start with five mu. Just five. A test plot."
Han Qiang finished his tea in one long gulp and stood up. "Then we best start. The sun waits for no man."
---
By mid-morning, the team had cleared a patch of brush near the water. The process was grueling. The roots of the wild scrub were deep and tangled, fighting for every inch of purchase in the rocky soil.
Li Shun paused to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He looked at the small pouch of seeds in his hand. The system had assured him they were premium quality, adapted for various climates, but he couldn't shake the fear of failure.
*If these don't grow, we're dead in the water.*
He walked to the center of the cleared patch. The soil here was dark and loamy, deposited by centuries of flooding from the stream.
**[SYSTEM TERRAIN ANALYSIS]**
**[SOIL FERTILITY: MODERATE]**
**[MOISTURE LEVEL: HIGH]**
**[RECOMMENDATION: Planting Depth 0.5 inches. Spacing: Dense broadcast.]**
Li Shun knelt. He didn't have a seed drill or a mechanical spreader. He had his hands.
"Ming'er, Han Qiang," he called out. "Come here. I want to show you how to plant this."
They gathered around. Li Shun opened the pouch. The seeds inside were small, slender, and greenish-gold.
"This isn't like planting rice or wheat," Li Shun explained, trying to recall the technical details from the *Foundations* manual. "We don't need rows. We need coverage. Think of it like scattering salt. Evenly, but thickly. We want a carpet of grass."
Li Ming took a handful, frowning. "Brother, this is so light. Will it really feed the animals?"
"This grass grows fast," Li Shun promised. "Faster than anything you've seen. And it comes back every year on its own. Once it takes root, we just need to manage it."
He demonstrated, casting his arm out in a wide arc, letting the seeds drift to the ground. Han Qiang and Li Ming followed suit.
As the seeds fell, Li Shun focused his intent.
*Grow. Please, just grow.*
**[SYSTEM INTERVENTION AVAILABLE: MINOR SOIL ENHANCEMENT]**
**[COST: 10 SYSTEM POINTS (Points generated through manual labor)]**
**[CURRENT POINTS: 15]**
*Wait, I have points? How did I get them?*
**[POINTS EARNED:]**
* Brush Clearing: +5
* Rock Removal: +5
* Fencing Construction: +5
*Use the points. Enhance the soil.*
**[CONFIRMED. SOIL ENHANCEMENT INITIATED.]**
There was no flash of light, no dramatic sound. But as Li Shun scattered his seeds, he felt a subtle warmth rise from the earth beneath his feet. The soil seemed to loosen slightly, crumbling into a finer texture, accepting the seeds more readily.
"Let's water it," Li Shun said, standing up. "Gently. We don't want to wash them away."
They spent the rest of the afternoon hauling water from the stream in buckets, dampening the seeded earth. It was back-breaking work, but the mood had shifted. There was something hopeful about the dark, wet soil against the barren landscape.
---
Late in the afternoon, as the sun began to dip, the sound of wheels reached them.
Li Shun straightened from where he was stacking rocks for a future fence line. He shielded his eyes against the glare.
A carriage was approaching from the direction of Clearwater. It was modest but well-maintained, painted in a muted blue lacquer. The Zhao family crest—a stylized plum blossom—was visible on the side.
"The family," Old Zhang muttered, dusting off his clothes. "I didn't think they'd visit so soon."
Li Shun felt a knot of tension in his stomach. He looked down at himself. His clothes were filthy, stained with mud and sweat. His hands were bandaged. He looked less like a scholar and more like a beggar who had found a machete.
The carriage rolled to a stop at the edge of the clearing. The driver hopped down and opened the door.
A young woman stepped out.
It wasn't his wife, Zhao Lian.
It was Zhao Yu, the younger sister of his wife. Sixteen years old, lively, and with a tongue sharper than a butcher's knife. She was dressed in a practical riding outfit, her hair tied back with a red ribbon. She carried herself with a bounce that contrasted sharply with her older sister's elegant composure.
Behind her stepped out a maid, carrying a large basket.
"Brother-in-law!" Zhao Yu called out, her voice bright and carrying. She looked around the clearing, her nose wrinkling. "Wow. It's really... desolate."
Li Shun walked over, bowing slightly. "Yu'er. What brings you here?"
"Sister sent me," she said, gesturing to the maid. "She... well, she was worried you might starve out here before your ranch became famous."
It was a convenient excuse. Li Shun knew that Zhao Lian would never openly admit to worrying about him. Sending her younger sister was a way to check on him without losing face.
"We are managing," Li Shun said, gesturing to the camp. "But we appreciate the supplies."
Zhao Yu walked past him, inspecting the campsite. She poked at the brush pile, looked at the crude lean-to, and finally, her gaze landed on the corral.
"Is that... is that the bull?"
She had spotted Hei Bao. The black beast was standing at the fence, watching the newcomers with intense interest.
"Stay back," Han Qiang warned, stepping forward. His hand hovered near the hilt of his sword. "He's not tame."
Zhao Yu stopped, her eyes wide. "He's huge. And black. I've never seen a yellow ox look like that."
"He's special," Li Shun said, walking to stand beside her. "He's going to be the father of a new breed."
Zhao Yu looked at Li Shun. She took in the bandages, the dirt, the exhaustion etched into his face. But she also saw something else—a steadiness in his eyes that hadn't been there when he was moping around the Zhao manor.
"Sister said you were crazy," Zhao Yu said frankly. "She said you were throwing away Father's money on a pipe dream."
"And what do you think?" Li Shun asked.
Zhao Yu looked back at the bull, then at the small patch of turned earth near the stream.
"I think... if you were really crazy, you wouldn't be working this hard. Crazy people scream at the sky. You're just digging in the dirt."
She smiled impishly. "Plus, that bull looks like he could eat a wolf. That's kind of cool."
She turned to the maid. "Leave the basket. There's roasted chicken, wine, and some clean clothes. Sister also packed some medicine for cuts and bruises."
Li Shun felt a warmth in his chest that had nothing to do with the sun. "Please thank Lian'er for me. Tell her... tell her I will not disappoint her."
Zhao Yu rolled her eyes. "Tell her yourself when you come back for supplies. She acts cold, but she asked me three times if I had packed enough food. It's annoying, really."
She climbed back into the carriage. "Don't work yourself to death, Brother-in-law! We still need you to pay back that loan!"
The carriage rattled away, leaving behind the scent of roasted chicken and a strange sense of hope.
---
That evening, the mood around the campfire was significantly lighter.
The roasted chicken—marinated in soy sauce and five-spice—was a welcome change from hard bread. Li Ming ate with happy gusto, his morale visibly restored.
Han Qiang sat apart, gnawing on a drumstick. He was eyeing the bundle of rope Li Shun had set aside earlier.
"Young Master," Han Qiang said. "You were tinkering with that rope earlier. What was that about?"
Li Shun wiped his hands and picked up the length of hemp rope. He had been working on it during the breaks—a loop at one end, a tight weave, reinforced with wax.
"It's a tool," Li Shun said. "In the books I read, the herdsmen of the West use this. It's called a 'lasso'."
He stood up, coiling the rope in his left hand.
"Lasso?" Li Ming asked, mouth full. "What does it do?"
"It catches things," Li Shun said.
He spotted a fence post about fifteen feet away. He swung the loop overhead, building momentum. It felt clumsy in his hand—he had only ever done this in his dreams—but the physics were simple.
He released the rope.
The loop flew through the air... and missed the post by a good two feet, landing in the dirt.
Silence.
Han Qiang raised an eyebrow. "It catches dirt?"
Li Shun chuckled, reeling the rope in. "It takes practice. The idea is to catch an animal by the horns or the neck from a distance, without chasing it. It saves energy and prevents injury to the livestock."
He tried again. This time, he focused on the motion—wrist snap, follow-through.
The loop spun out and settled neatly over the top of the post. Li Shun pulled the slack, and the rope tightened around the wood.
"Ah," Han Qiang said, his interest piqued. "A trap thrown by hand. Useful for wild calves."
"Exactly," Li Shun said, releasing the rope. "And it's not just for work. It's a skill. A sport. In the West, they have competitions to see who can rope the fastest."
He looked at Han Qiang. "When we have time, I'll teach you. A soldier's precision with a rope could be formidable."
Han Qiang looked at the rope, then at the bull in the pen. "I would like that."
---
The next morning, a miracle occurred.
Li Shun woke up and walked down to the test plot to check the moisture. He expected to see bare earth. He expected to wait days or weeks for the first green shoots.
But as he approached the stream, he stopped.
A faint, verdant haze covered the dark soil.
He broke into a run.
Tiny, emerald-green shoots—no more than an inch tall—blanketed the five mu plot. They stood upright, vibrant and impossibly green against the brown landscape.
**[SYSTEM ALERT]**
**[CROP STATUS: PERENNIAL RYEGRASS (SPROUT)]**
**[GROWTH RATE: ACCELERATED (24 HOURS)]**
**[HEALTH: EXCELLENT]**
**[ESTIMATED MATURITY: 30 DAYS]**
Li Shun fell to his knees, touching the delicate blades. They were real. They were growing.
*Mother of God.*
In this world, grass took weeks to germinate. But the system-enhanced seeds had done the impossible.
"Ming'er! Han Qiang! Uncle Zhang! Come quick!"
His shout brought the team running, fearing an attack.
They gathered at the edge of the plot, staring down at the green fuzz covering the ground.
"Brother..." Li Ming whispered. "It's... grass?"
"It's grass," Li Shun said, laughing. "It grew overnight."
Old Zhang rubbed his eyes, looking from the ground to the sky. "I have farmed for forty years. I have never seen grass grow so fast. It's... it's immortal grass?"
"No," Li Shun said, standing up and dusting off his knees. "It's just good seed. And this is just the beginning."
He looked out over the hundred mu of barren land. He saw the future. He saw acres of this emerald carpet, stretching to the horizon. He saw cattle grazing belly-deep in it.
"Start clearing the next section," Li Shun ordered, his voice ringing with authority. "We plant another ten mu today."
The despair that had hovered over the camp since their arrival evaporated. The proof was in the ground. The magic was real.
Li Shun looked toward the east, toward the Zhao household and his wife who doubted him.
*Watch me, Lian'er. I'm building a kingdom.*