Chapter 471: Routine
I prepared freshly steamed rice and a few portions of side dishes with refreshing taste such as tofu miso soup, okra and tofu skin steeped in broth, bamboo shoots, boiled radish, cucumber and chicken slices seasoned with chinese spices. Oh, there’s also some dried ginger and preserved clams in broth.
I took a sip of the miso soup and a bite of the lightly seasoned side dishes. The gentle taste is perfect for when you just got out of bed. The fresh salty flavor of the clams didn’t lose with the deep, rich taste of seasonings, and their sweet and savory taste pairs wonderfully with the piping hot rice.
Half of the time, my breakfasts are in Japanese style and the rest of the time Western style. On busy days like today, I usually just grab the ones I premade and placed in【Storage】.
By the way, the guys in Canum usually prefer the same type of dishes – it’s either jam or butter on bread, veggie soup and meat like ham, bacon or sausage. Butler and Ash will also have eggs if they’re available, plus a little fruit or something sweet.
They said it’s kinda tiring to change the menu all the time. Well, I guess it’s true, I usually had toast and coffee back when I was in Japan. Mm, rather than mealtime, it’s more like a morning routine. Ah, but since coming here, I’ve been always up and moving in the mornings and eat whatever I want, though.
My morning routine had turned into strolls with Riche and going around the fields. My breakfast is usually prepared from the vegetables and eggs that I pick in the morning, although I’m not really a fan of freshly-laid eggs. Not sure, maybe it’s because I’m used to eggs that have been chilled in the fridge? There’s just something in warm eggs that makes me feel uneasy.
Alright, for today’s agenda, I’m gonna do some work on the fields and the orchard – ah, wait, maybe I should start cleaning out the barn first. My livestock are mostly free range so it doesn’t smell too bad, but the bedding straw does get dirty and damp so I need to change it from time to time.
Riche’s did this cute game where he jumps quickly, trying to step on his shadow and ends up going around in little circles. Aww, our little buddy Riche is really cute.
The animals scattered, wandering off to wherever they wanted as soon as the sun came up. The cows stick with the other cows, the pigs with the pigs and so on. The goats, sheep and cows roam pretty far but the pigs usually stay nearby.
I worked on the deserted barn until sunset – taking the straws out or should I say chuck them all into【Storage】, airing the place where the straw was while doing other chores such as cleaning the place or fixing up any damaged areas.
I also checked the water channel near the pen. It’s not a proper U-shaped ditch, more like a small stream. It gets deeper and more like an actual channel near the watermill. The water here is pretty shallow so the animals can easily drink from it.
After laying down fresh straw, I moved to the fields. I dumped and mixed the old straw into the soil at the composting area beside the field, then I added other stuff like rice bran or fallen leaves.
I’m planning to make a rice paddy a bit farther up the fields, but I haven’t gotten around to it. Right now the fields are dry, but I still want the look of a proper rice paddy. I didn’t really think much of it when I was in Japan, but seeing fields of wheat and water channels in Meyr made me miss them. WIth the mountains around, mine would probably end up as rice terraces. It probably won’t take up a whole mountain side, but perhaps just a bit.
If I do too much and end up altering the place, it’ll no longer feel like we’re strolling through the mountain woods with Riche. I really like the ambience and scenery of my mountain, after all.
「Oh, hello.」
It’s been a while since Pal was here. Riche stared at him with mistrust.
「 Ah, hello. Seems like the fields are normal, huh. 」
「 Yes, it’s thanks to you. 」
We had a lot of things going on and I had to ban the spirits from coming here, but thankfully they’re mostly doing great.
「 What are you gonna plant in this empty lot? 」
「 I’m thinking of corn. 」
I already have soybeans, shishito peppers and celery. This lot is for my personal use, so there’s only a bit of each type.
「 I also planted cucumbers. They grow well here, but they wither elsewhere. 」
Thanks to Pal and the spirits’ help, I rarely fail growing my crops here — ah, but let’s just leave the fact that weird stuff grows from time to time because of the spirits’ pranks, shall we.
The island cucumbers don’t grow well, even though I planted them in spots that have good air flow and plenty of water just like here.
「 Ahh, this one, huh. Plant squash seedlings and do grafting next year. 」
「Grafting… 」
If I’m not mistaken, isn’t that the technique of attaching the weaker plant’s fruit bearing part to another plant of the same species with a stronger root system? That works for trees, but wouldn’t it be hard to do with cucumber seedlings?
Maybe my thoughts were written all over my face, because Pal taught me some easy tips, like removing the lower leaves when the plants start growing. She also suggested a bit of cheating ー asking spirits to blow some air so that they won’t wither. I rejected that last suggestion, because ultimately, it’s not me but everyone else who’s gonna grow them so that they’ll be more widespread.
I wanna eat dishes made by humans!
「Oh? Pal, are you getting stronger? 」
The veggies around Pal were not only a lot healthier, they’re actually growing even though she wasn’t actively using her powers.
Huh? Does that mean her presence is already enough? That means she’s a lot stronger, right?
「It’s not just me. Everyone else has gotten stronger too, in their own way. 」
Pal replied with a smile.
「Eh, do spirits train too? 」
Spirits were known for being carefree. They don’t meddle in things that they’re not interested in, doing whatever they like without getting hung up on anything. Van has this obsession over getting stronger ー or should I say it’s part of his very existence, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he did do some training.
But Pal? Training doesn’t seem to be her thing. What would she even do?
「Well, there are times we do.」
She glossed over it!
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
I Got Transferred in the Middle of a Mountain
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Current schedule: Every 80 hours
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