Until he disembarked the plane, Magneto had not realized the seriousness of the situation. Holding the contract in his hand, he was filled with a sense of achievement, believing that he'd soon be able to bring a large supply of food resources back to the Andromeda Galaxy and continue to lead the human race's exploration of the interstellar frontiers.
The plane landed in Guadalajara, where it was even hotter. The distribution of rainy and hot conditions in Mexico was similar to that in China, with the south being humid and the north dry, the north characterized by dry heat, while here it was humid heat.
Shiller hadn't even stepped out of the door before he felt his clothes were soaked through, but Clark was quite happy. He said, "Although I don't know which year this is, it looks like we're in luck, the rainfall conditions this year seem quite good, and we should have a harvest soon."
Shiller, staring at the text message on his phone, said, "This is not luck, Star Lord has already started working. Which village should we go to first?"
"Go there directly?" Magneto raised an eyebrow and said, "Shouldn't we find a hotel first..."
"What hotel? Of course, we should go directly to the village and find a house to stay in. It rained today and sowing first thing tomorrow morning when the soil is still damp is best." Clark strode towards the airport exit and said, "I'll go get a cab."
The group arrived outside the airport where there was no shortage of unofficial taxi drivers waiting for customers. Clark struck up a conversation with them in fluent southern Spanish, and several drivers thought he was a local celebrity in Mexico there to shoot a television program, which made them easy to talk to.
However, upon seeing that Clark had brought several passengers who were obviously from America, they waved their hands, reluctant to take the job. Clark then had to pull out the same talk, saying they were American agricultural experts here to provide guidance.
But the drivers weren't buying it, plainly stating that America would never send experts over to guide agriculture.
After a lot of wrangling and unable to negotiate the price down, Shiller didn't mind spending the money, and eventually, they all got into a car.
On the road, Clark was talking extensively about the local climate and soil conditions as if he were a scholar, while both Magneto, who seemed more like a scholar, and Shiller kept silent—Magneto because he couldn't, and Shiller because he didn't understand.
When they got out of the car, the local driver actually believed they were there for agricultural guidance and gave them a discount, which made Shiller very happy.
But upon arriving, they encountered difficulties. Although they held a contract for the land, the village wasn't completely uninhabited, and as they walked into the village, they were met with many unwelcoming glances.
Magneto snorted coldly, not minding at all. His sharp eyes swept over the villagers squatting in the corner, already planning to pick out a troublemaker to make an example of.
But Clark was worried because the villagers didn't seem to be doing well. Although they weren't yet at the point of starvation or wearing rags, it was clear that the area was filled with the old, the weak, the sick, and the lame, with hardly a few children in sight.
The only young man in a dark and shabby room received them and explained that the situation was as they saw it: most of the able-bodied labor had gone out to work, and nobody was left to farm the land, but the local villagers did not want to give up their land to outsiders. They'd have to solve the problem themselves.
Just as Clark was about to go out to the fields to check on the condition of the land, several old men brandishing hoes ran towards them, attempting to chase Clark and his group away with their hoes.
Magneto narrowed his eyes slightly and stretched out One Hand, his fingers giving a light pinch. All the hoes instantly flew up into the air.
"Oh! Hey, don't do that!"
The one who cried out in alarm was actually Clark, who quickly extended One Hand and rushed over to help the nearly fallen men, checking to make sure they were okay.
Magneto was about to make a threat when Shiller hurriedly stopped him and, usurping his intention to speak, said, "Everyone, please don't misunderstand, we're leasing the land and will pay you rent for it."
Sure enough, as soon as money was mentioned, it immediately caught their attention. From their expressions, Shiller could tell they already knew about it and just wanted to cause some trouble for them, presumably to extract some extra protection fee. They didn't seem like good people.
To Shiller's surprise, Clark also quickly realized this, let go of the men, stepped back a few paces, and with a light push from Magneto, the troublemakers all fell into the fields.
Two women rushed out in a fluster, shouting in broken English, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!!"
They thought it was Shiller's side that had used guns to down the group, and when they rushed over and saw there was no blood or screaming, they too were stunned.
"Ladies, what's going on here?" Clark shouted in fluent Spanish, "Who are these people? They tried to attack us!"
"They aren't from the village. They... they... never mind, just go and find Gonzalez... "
"Now that we're back in the village," Shiller said, "these people are likely hoodlums who linger around the village, thinking that we are easy targets. The villagers must know that they would come over, it's just a test to see our response."
"Before long, rumors that we are freaks will spread throughout the entire village, which will then be hard to calm down."
"Just chase them away," Magneto said with distaste, "There are a few other villages nearby, make them go live there."
"That won't do," Clark said, "The land around those villages is also part of our lease, and we'd run into the same issues there before long. You guys don't need to worry about it anymore, leave it to me."
Clark went back into the room they had visited before and talked with the young man Gonzalez for a while; later, to their surprise, the villagers actually brought them food.
"How did you talk to them?" Shiller asked with some surprise. "That's quite a quick change in attitude."
"I asked them if the last rain came quite unexpectedly. I told them we were mages from the Himalayas, sent by the agricultural god who ensures favorable winds and rain, to see why the sacrifices haven't been sufficient..."
Shiller smacked his forehead, "You're Superman, aren't you? Isn't this narrative a bit off for you?"
"Actually, I saw in that room they had a calendar marked with sacrifice times, but it hadn't been torn off in a while, indicating they had not been holding sacrifices recently."
"Since you said it was the eastern god who brought this rain, the farmers closest to the land would surely notice the anomaly, the precipitation being out of season, making it easier to believe me."
"Plus, just now this gentleman, ah, Mr. Lancher..."
"Call me Erik," Magneto said, waving his hand impatiently.
"Okay, Erik, your trick just now scared those hooligans half to death. The villagers didn't like them to begin with. Helping the villagers get rid of them is a good deed indeed."
"But now we must act fast to substantiate our identity. I just went to the storehouse to check, and due to manpower shortages, the seeds that were purchased before haven't all been planted. Now that the rain has fallen, many will sprout due to moisture. We need to hurry up."
Shiller nodded without saying anything, but Magneto seemed clueless. He asked, "So what do we do now? Bury the seeds in the ground?"
Clark said somewhat helplessly, "Of course, we must first till the land. Can your telekinesis, um, I mean magnetic force, only control metal?"
"How could that be?" Magneto looked at Clark as if he were illiterate. "Magnetic force is the king of all forces. If I wanted, I could instantly turn this land into a towering mountain."
"That's great," Clark said, unfazed by Magneto's attitude. "Here I was thinking you'd remotely control a metal hoe to till the land."
Shiller suddenly burst out laughing. Both men looked at him puzzled. Shiller waved his hand and said, "Nothing, just thought of something funny. Carry on."
It had only just stopped raining when the three of them returned to the fields, a vast expanse of land stretching as far as the eye could see. Clark took flight for a better view and saw that apart from the land near the village under their feet, the rest was essentially fallow, apparently untouched for at least two or three years.
"This is perfect," Clark said. "Before they left, they remembered to enrich the land. The fertility of this soil should be just about restored now. We should be able to have a bountiful harvest, let's get started."
Magneto flew into the air while Shiller called up to him, "Are you really going to do this yourself?"
Magneto didn't say anything, and Shiller couldn't stop him, so he simply grabbed a stool to sit down and watch, but then Clark told him, "Don't just sit around; go and call over the villagers."
Great, Clark in his planting mode couldn't stand any idleness. At this stage, Shiller really couldn't help much, so he turned around and went to call the villagers.
The villagers had actually spotted the two shadows in the sky some time ago. They lived in a sparsely populated area and had never seen any mutants or superheroes. Although they knew there was a whole batch of superhumans in the world, they had never seen them with their own eyes. Without needing Shiller to call them, they had all rushed over one by one.
But the awe-inspiring miracle they had envisioned did not occur.
At first, it did indeed look like something miraculous was about to happen. The old man in a black suit raised his hand, and trench after trench rapidly appeared in the field, to the villagers' shock.
But soon, Clark interrupted Magneto, saying, "No, wait, you're plowing too deep. Corn seeds can't be buried that deep; they need air or they'll mold and rot. Fill it in quickly!"
Magneto's hand froze. He knew nothing of farming, and he had chosen to work the field himself to learn, because eventually, when he farmed in the Andromeda Galaxy, he couldn't be ignorant and depend solely on others. He was never that kind of person.
So, with another wave of his hand, the soil he had plowed flew back into the trenches, but Clark spoke up again, "No, don't press it down, or you'll undo the soil loosening we just did. Oh, Heaven, don't use so much force. Can't you control your power more delicately?"
Fury surged in Magneto's heart, but realizing that the other man was right and that he was indeed ignorant about this, he wasn't the kind of person to make a fuss without reason. He took a deep breath, suppressing the anger.
"No, you can't just make trenches directly, you've compacted them now. You need to loosen the soil again, turn it all over on this side, and then you can remake the trenches."
"Right, just like that." Clark watched as the invisible force turned over the topsoil, gently dropping down, fluffy and soft.
"No, no, not directly with the trenches!" Clark stopped him again, "You have to level the soil first, if the base isn't even, the trenches will still come out uneven—some deep, some shallow."
Magneto had to level the soil once more, but Clark shouted again, "No! Don't press down so hard! You're compacting it again, you need to loosen the soil!"
Magneto took a deep breath.