Chapter 62: The Recruitment Scene

“The nutrient solution came from our village chief. The chief…”

Surrounded by the crowd, Luke proudly showed off the nutrient solution, then went on about his own stroke of luck, successfully stirring up the curiosity and longing of the Tengu tribe members. Only at the end did he reveal the real reason he’d gained weight and gotten better clothes—the great benefactor behind it all: Yun Qimu.

That little favor Yun Qimu had asked of Luke before was simply to have them fatten themselves up a bit and tidy up, so they’d look clean and presentable—a living advertisement for her cause.

After all, if you still looked sallow and skinny, like a refugee, who would believe you’d really come into good fortune or joined some magical village?

As the saying goes, “A Buddha needs gold, and a person needs clothes.” Before convincing the tribe members to come out and work, you first had to look the part of “success.”

And sure enough, Luke’s living advertisement was a smashing success.

Never mind that they’d gotten fairer and plumper—the most obvious change was their clothing.

Though their clothes weren’t exactly fashionable or stylish, the fabric was clearly high-quality—anyone could tell at a glance that they were new, breathable, and comfortable.

The material was even better than the precious dress Mana wore.

Speaking of that fabric, Yun Qimu had a lot to say.

Getting her hands on that material had been no easy feat.

At first, she’d wanted to ask the system to add some decent summer clothes as rewards in the treasure chests, but the system had set its sights on new goals. The filthy-rich Wu Xingyu was still waiting to be fleeced, so the system didn’t care about Yun Qimu’s endless, troublesome requests. It simply played deaf, acting all aloof and unresponsive.

What’s more, if she failed to complete the population expansion mission, Yun Qimu would be punished—so the system was even happier to ignore her and leave her to her own devices.

With no other choice, Yun Qimu had to figure something out herself. Luckily, she was fortunate enough to draw yellow ramie seeds.

Yellow ramie looks like ailanthus trees, and its leaves are very similar to hemp. The fibers inside, after soaking, become soft and can be spun into fine threads.

Wasn’t this the perfect material for making cloth? Yun Qimu immediately decided to unlock her life skills and make the cloth herself.

In her previous life, someone in a holographic online game had made clothes out of yellow ramie and even drew up a matching loom design. Yun Qimu had glanced at it out of curiosity and remembered it—now it was finally coming in handy.

Once she’d made up her mind, she got to work. First, she bought an acre of land. Gritting her teeth, she borrowed some money to get a spirit-stone-powered greenhouse, then hired Luke and a few others to plant the yellow ramie seeds. After that, she poured plant nutrient solution into the soil like her life depended on it.

Yellow ramie was much easier to grow than orchids. With spiritual energy and the nutrient solution, it began to shoot up in the greenhouse within minutes.

Then she haggled with the money-grubbing Wu Xingyu for some machine parts, and in half an hour, she’d assembled a simple loom.

From there, things were easy. She hired Little Pearl to watch over the loom, and paid Luke and the others with the cloth she produced.

Luke and his group had Ah Hua turn the cloth into clothes, so now they had something decent to wear and looked presentable.

If it weren’t for the huge temperature difference between inside and outside the village, those garish, eye-searing padded jackets they’d gotten from the treasure chests would’ve made quite a statement too.

Sigh, the system was just too stingy, always finding ways to give her more work.

So, after two days of prep and two days on the road, four days had passed, and Luke and the others returned a bit late—almost causing his wife and children to starve. Yun Qimu felt pretty guilty about that.

When she heard Luke calling her, she immediately stuffed the last bite of cucumber into her mouth, slipped another one to the drooling Awa nearby (“This is for you,” she said quickly), and hurried into the crowd.

She wasn’t nervous about “recruiting” at all. She simply pulled out a big green leaf, piled high with two handfuls of homemade Danmu gummies, and handed it to little Luke Jr.

“Here you go, some tasty candy. Big sister made it just for you.”

Luke Jr. still had tears clinging to his lashes. He blinked his unusually large eyes, staring blankly at the round, red gummies. He sniffled unconsciously and swallowed hard.

The surrounding Tengu tribe members caught a whiff of the sweet scent and stared in amazement.

“Candy! Is this the legendary candy?”

“It smells so sweet, so sweet!”

“I’ve never smelled candy this sweet before!”

The crowd grew restless again, making little Luke Jr. shrink back instinctively, too stunned to take the candy.

Luke, feeling sorry for his son, rubbed his cheek and picked up a gummy from the leaf, popping it into Luke Jr.’s mouth. “Eat, son. The village chief’s candy is delicious. Daddy’s got some too.”

Luke Jr. instinctively chewed a few times, then his eyes lit up, sparkling with sweetness.

“So sweet! Is this what sweet tastes like? Daddy, it’s so sweet, so yummy! Mommy, you try some too…”

He carefully reached out, saw the pretty big sister smiling at him, and felt encouraged. Grinning, he boldly took another gummy from the leaf and popped it into his mother Shakela’s mouth. “Mommy, eat, eat!”

Shakela’s tear-reddened eyes suddenly shone with excitement as she pressed her lips together. “Sweet, it’s really sweet.”

“As long as it’s sweet! No one’s ever said my Danmu gummies aren’t tasty.”

Yun Qimu wrapped up the leaf and stuffed it into Luke Jr.’s arms, then, as if performing a magic trick, produced another leaf just as full of bright red, round, glistening Danmu gummies.

“It’s our first meeting, and I didn’t prepare any gifts, so please have a Danmu gummy as a welcome treat. Chief, why don’t you try one?”

Her eyes curved in a smile as she offered the leaf to Masa.

Catching a whiff of that sweet aroma, Masa’s stern face softened for a moment. With all his tribesmen watching eagerly, he didn’t rush to take one. Instead, he frowned, his sharp eyes fixed on Yun Qimu.

“Noble lady, your gift is too precious. We feel unworthy of it.”

Yun Qimu raised an eyebrow with a smile. This chief was pretty cautious.

She replied warmly, “It’s not precious at all, not in the slightest. Our village has plenty of the fruit used to make these Danmu gummies—they’re worth less than nutrient solution. The gummies here are made from just one Danmu fruit. Chief, there’s no need to stand on ceremony. Please, try one.”

“Chief.”

“Chief…”

The tribespeople all shot him meaningful looks, their eyes pleading, worried their chief would be foolish enough to refuse.

Masa cursed inwardly—a bunch of idiots.

But the noble lady before him really didn’t seem to have any ill intent, and with Luke vouching for her, he decided to trust her.

So, keeping a straight face, he carefully picked up a gummy—but didn’t eat it right away, instead setting an example for the others.

Sure enough, as soon as he took one, the tribespeople couldn’t hold back any longer. They crowded forward, laughing and scrambling for a taste.

“Give me one! Give me one!”

“Let me try what candy tastes like…”

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