I Grow Crops with a System

Early the next morning, Ethan got up before dawn, he began to organize the seeds, packing them one by one according to the order he had sorted them the day before, then he quietly left the wooden cabin, leaving Zharok and Pearl to continue sleeping.

”Phew...” Arriving at the expansive farmland, Ethan got straight to work, he planted all the seeds for the Honey Sweet Potatoes, Sweet Beets, Vitality Cabbage, Rock Potatoes, and Moonlight Tomatoes.

”Growth Acceleration.”

”Soil Fortification.”

He cast both abilities across all the crops, the bare farmland filled with tender green seedlings.

’This should do.’ Ethan looked at the fruits of his labor with satisfaction, unless there was a food shortage, there was no need to constantly use his abilities.

He cast Soil Fortification on all the crops once more, inspected the farmland one last time, and returned to the cabin.

”Meow-woo... why are you up so early, meow...” When Ethan returned, Pearl was groggily washing its face. It still seemed half-asleep.

Ethan patted its head, then took the Horned Rabbits Zharok had caught yesterday and began cutting them into pieces.

”Ah... good morning...” Perhaps woken by the sound of the knife hitting the cutting board, Zharok got out of bed, he folded the animal skins he had been using as a blanket and set them aside. Seeing the pancakes frying in the pan, he smiled.

”Smells so good~.”

”Go wash your face, Pearl, you go wash up too,” Ethan told the man and the cat.

”Got it, meow...” Zharok led a wobbly Pearl toward the river.

By the time they finished washing up, Ethan had already prepared breakfast, he sneaked a peek inside the cabin, the cement was completely dry.

’We can sleep inside tonight.’ Because he had heated the underfloor system in advance, the inside of the cabin was very warm, it seemed they wouldn’t have to worry about the cold even when winter arrived.

After Ethan finished his morning routine, a refreshed Pearl walked into the cabin and looked around.

”Meow-woo! This place is really nice!” Pearl exclaimed.

”It’s a five-star cabin, after all, alright, let’s eat.” Ethan herded Zharok and Pearl, both mid-tour of their new home, to the dining table and served breakfast.

They ate happily.

After finishing his pancake, Ethan asked, ”Zharok, are you free today? Can you do me a favor?”

”Helping out is no problem, but what is it? More stuff to cut?” Zharok set down his utensils.

”Things to cut and things to find, go into the forest and help me find some Ironwood,” Ethan said.

”Hmm... I think I saw a few trees while hunting yesterday, I’ll bring them back, what do you need Ironwood for?”

”Pillars for the greenhouse,” Ethan answered.

”A piece of cake, how many trees?”

”At least ten, I think?”

”Got it.” Zharok readily agreed.

Zharok and Pearl went off to find the right timber, while Ethan began making glass window frames, he kept working until he had used up all the glass the elves had given him.

He looked at the mountain of frames and nodded in satisfaction.

Zharok and Pearl emerged from the forest.

”Are these enough?” Zharok asked, a hint of pride in his voice.

”Why are there so many?” Ethan looked in surprise at the mountain of Ironwood before him, he had asked for about ten trees, yet they had brought back over thirty, these trees were tall and straight, absolutely perfect for use as pillars.

”Alright, then let’s—”

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Before Ethan could finish his sentence, Zharok was already building the framework for the greenhouse.

Ethan found an empty space next to the cabin and got to work, he chopped off the branches of the Ironwood to make pillars, then installed the glass window frames one by one, securing them with nails, he worked for half the day and finally got the door installed as well.

A message box popped up before his eyes.

[Well-Crafted Growth Glass Greenhouse]

[A greenhouse built with glass windows, it retains heat and can stay warm even in winter. Influenced by the Hammer of Gaia, it has gained the Growth effect.]

[Well-Crafted Effect: Durability increased.]

[Well-Crafted Effect: Heat retention increased.]

[Well-Crafted Effect: Crop grade increased.]

[Hammer of Gaia Effect: Promotes growth.]

[Crafting Difficulty: ★★★★]

Not five-star, but solid, plus the Hammer of Gaia effect.

’Promotes growth... maybe this stacks with Growth Acceleration to make crops grow even faster.’

”It’s so warm, meow!”

”Oh! This place is great! Hey, let’s take a break here!” Pearl and Zharok wandered into the greenhouse, felt the warm air, and flopped down on the ground.

Ethan looked at them, smiled, and clapped his hands. ”This isn’t the time to rest!”

”Why can’t you just take a break?” Zharok complained.

”You’re such a workaholic, meow~” Pearl chimed in.

Ethan shook his head, once you started putting things off, you never stopped, better to finish, then rest properly.

First, the soil inside the greenhouse, the patch of land was flat and large, he had planned this spot ahead of time and already plowed it once.

”Didn’t you already plow this, meow?” Pearl asked.

Ethan patted its head, picked up a hoe, and nodded. ”I did, but it’s not ready for planting yet, I have to turn the soil over again before sowing.”

The first crops would be Wind Bananas and Frost Fruits, he had learned a bit about growing them at the Ape Beastman village, a small test batch first.

He planted the Wind Bananas on one side, the Frost Fruits on the other, then prepped the greenhouse and sowed both sets of seeds, the rest was patience.

Ethan looked at the planted rows and stood up.

”Can Wind Bananas really grow here?” Zharok asked.

”I asked the Ape Beastmen, Wind Banana trees can only grow about this tall at most, and I’ve seen it with my own eyes, they really only get that tall.” Ethan gestured with his hand.

Unlike banana trees on Earth, even fully grown Wind Banana trees would only reach about Zharok’s height, the greenhouse was far taller than Zharok, so growing Wind Bananas shouldn’t be a problem.

Ethan inspected the greenhouse one last time, then turned around. ”It’s time for me to make Candied Honey Sweet Potatoes.”

In order to raise the temperature in the greenhouse to match the south, he needed a lot of Sun Stones, a very large amount, and the way to get Sun Stones was to put Candied Honey Sweet Potatoes into the Exchange Box, so what he needed to do now was cook delicious food.

”Candied Honey Sweet Potatoes, meow~” Pearl jumped up with excitement.

Zharok ran over to the pile of Honey Sweet Potatoes.

”I’ll help!” he said with a grin as he hauled a bunch of them over.

Ethan picked up his kitchen knife.

”While I cook, you guys help me tidy up the surrounding area,” Ethan said.

”Got it!”

”Leave it to me, meow!!”

Pearl and Zharok started cleaning up while Ethan made batch after batch of Candied Honey Sweet Potatoes, he made dozens of plates and placed them into the Exchange Box.

”They’re out.” Just like before, one plate of candied sweet potatoes yielded one Sun Stone, Ethan collected them all.

Pearl and Zharok munched on the candied sweet potatoes while picking up the Sun Stones Ethan had gathered.

”Meow-meow, do we need to inject mana into them, meow?” Pearl asked.

”Leave the mana injection to me,” Zharok volunteered.

”Thank you, let me know if you run out of candied sweet potatoes,” Ethan said.

”Meow-woo! I want to eat something else too, meow~” Pearl said.

”How about candied Rock Potatoes?” Ethan asked, picking one up.

Both of them nodded.

Ethan continued making Candied Honey Sweet Potatoes and candied Rock Potatoes, he didn’t stop until all the sweet potatoes and Sweet Beets were used up.

”Phew...” Combined with the Sun Stones he had obtained previously, he now had a massive amount, this should be more than enough to raise the greenhouse’s temperature to match the southern region.

Ethan picked up the Sun Stones, which had been injected with mana and were now emitting a soft glow, and headed toward the greenhouse, he placed them in various corners, after a while, the temperature inside began to rise.

’It should be about the same as the south now.’ Ethan nodded in satisfaction and was just about to use Growth Acceleration on the crops.

Pearl cried out. ”Meow-meow?! Look, meow!”

”Oh...” The Wind Bananas and Frost Fruits had just been planted, yet they...

”They’ve sprouted, meow!!”

Even without Growth Acceleration, they had actually sprouted.