"The houses haven't been fully repaired, and now the issue of spring planting has come up," Ryan said, rubbing his temples.
"Are you saying that we don't have enough grain seeds, and since a lot of farmland has been abandoned, this year's harvest may be reduced?"
"Yes, the beast tide came suddenly, and many residents didn't have time to relocate their grain and seeds. Although we have some reserves in the granary, it's not much," White continued explaining.
"As for the abandoned farmland, most of it is on the outskirts near Firefly Forest, where the beast tide caused severe damage. The residents are also too afraid to farm there."
After listening to White's explanation, Ryan felt his headache worsen. The food problem was a serious matter. If the residents couldn't get enough to eat, they would not only lose confidence in him as the lord but might even start a riot.
"Can't we buy seeds from other territories?"
"That would be difficult. Our relationship with the surrounding territories isn't good, and they were also affected by the beast tide, so they probably don't have any extra seeds to sell."
"With the current number of seeds, how much is the food production expected to decrease?"
"At least 30 to 40 percent. If no one farms the land on the outskirts, it will drop even more," White answered.
"30 to 40 percent... How much grain do we have in the granary? Can it make up for the shortfall?"
"There is still some grain in the granary, but most of it has to be lent to the residents who couldn't transfer their food, and we also need to set aside a portion to pay taxes to the Count."
"So, increasing the yield per acre is our only option."
With an insufficient number of seeds, they could only grow more food with fewer seeds.
Actually, this wasn't too difficult. Although Ryan didn't know how to increase crop yields, the players certainly would. The players from Earth, like the Blue Star players, loved farming.
The land that the local residents were afraid to farm could be given to the players, who could then share their farming experiences with the territory, thereby increasing food production.
With this thought, Ryan felt much more at ease.
"Don't worry, Uncle White. I already have a general plan to solve this problem. It's getting late; you should go rest."
"Yes, you should rest as well, and don't overwork yourself."
White looked at Ryan with some pity. To shoulder the responsibility of an entire territory at under twenty years old was no easy task.
"Alright, I'll go rest now."
Ryan did feel a bit tired. Dealing with the players and updating the game all day had worn him out.
When he arrived at his bedroom, he found Bounsweet already asleep on the bed, seemingly mumbling something in its sleep, looking especially adorable.
"This little one just knows how to act cute," Ryan chuckled as he watched the endearing Bounsweet.
"But being cute is a talent too, at least it lifts my spirits. I can't count on it to help me solve problems, though."
"Hmm? Wait a minute!"
A thought suddenly flashed through Ryan's mind.
"Bounsweet might not be able to help, but other Pokémon could!"
Ryan remembered a fan fiction he'd read in his previous life, where the protagonist used Pokémon for farming and boosting production.
One phrase from the story stuck with him: "Pokémon are the primary driving force of productivity!"
Ryan thought this was absolutely right!
The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed, and he couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, in a way, you really did help me out!" Ryan exclaimed, excitedly picking up Bounsweet and spinning around.
"Boonsweet?"
Awakened by the noise, Bounsweet looked at Ryan in confusion, not understanding why he was so happy.
It seemed like Ryan was saying it had helped him somehow, and Bounsweet puffed up proudly. If it had hands, it would have placed them on its hips.
"Sorry, sorry, I disturbed your sleep."
"Boonsweet~ (No worries~)"
Ryan patted Bounsweet's flower bud and then carried it to sleep.
Morning came quickly.
All five players logged in on time and were discussing their stats in the lounge.
"My strength and constitution are both at 6 points, which seems alright, but why is my intelligence only 3 points? I'm the GREAT Bryan refuse to accept that!" Bryan said, unintentionally revealing his real name.
Vrix rubbed his forehead helplessly.
"With your intelligence, it's impressive that it isn't zero!"
"Oh, come on, what's your stat then?" Bryan asked.
"My stats are pretty balanced."
Vrix focused on the markings on the back of his hand and opened his status panel.
[Game ID: Silent Walker
Level: LV.0
Attributes
Strength: 4
Agility: 6
Constitution: 5
Intelligence: 6
Experience: 0/100]
"Everyone's total attribute points are probably about the same, just distributed differently."
"I wonder if the attribute points gained from leveling up are self-allocated or randomly assigned by the system."
Bryan said nonchalantly, "Who cares, as long as we can improve our stats. Besides, isn't this game about using Pokémon to fight? Our attributes aren't that important."
Vrix disagreed. He had a feeling that these attribute points would definitely be useful.
Before he could think further, a servant knocked on the door, asking them to go to the study.
When they reached the study, the players tidied themselves up.
After all, with the favorability system in place, they wanted to make a good impression on Ryan, the game's main character.
"Knock, knock~"
"Come in."
Seeing the players looking more presentable than yesterday, Ryan was momentarily surprised, then realized it was the favorability system at work.
This showed that having a favorability system was indeed necessary.
"After a day of acclimatizing, I believe you are now familiar with this world. I won't say much more; I hope you continue to work hard and complete your tasks."
"To motivate everyone, the person who cuts down the most trees will not only receive the special reward I promised yesterday but will also gain the usage rights to a piece of farmland."
Hearing this, the players' eyes lit up.
"Do you mean we can do whatever we want with this land? Can we build a house on it?"
"Are there any requirements for what we can plant? Where do we get seeds?"
"Do we get to keep the harvested crops?"
The players asked one after another.
"The land can only be used for farming, but you can plant anything you like. For now, we only provide grain seeds."
"After the harvest, aside from a portion that needs to be paid as tax to the territory, the rest is yours."
Ryan answered their questions one by one.
"Alright, you haven't earned the land yet, so there's no need to ask so much. Go chop some wood; Heracross should be waiting for you."
"Charge! That land is mine!"
"With those scrawny arms and legs? Think you can beat me to it?"
"Darn it, West Wind has already started running, hurry and catch up!"
Watching the players' excitement, Ryan nodded in satisfaction.
If he had just given the land to the players, they might have been happy but wouldn't necessarily value it. Offering it as a reward made it different; land they earned through hard work would definitely be cherished.
"Ah, I'm starting to feel like a ruthless capitalist. It's all the task panel's fault for corrupting me!"
Ryan shamelessly shifted the blame to the task panel.
"With the players working so hard, I can't sit idle. Time to find some Pokémon that can help with farming."
"Bounsweet, go find Scyther; we need to find some farming experts."