Chapter 130: Happiness and Joy

This man was a member of the caravan. Not just him—other caravan members were also trickling into the tavern. They each took out their money and told Meike what food they wanted.

“Alright, here’s what you ordered.” Meike took their money with a cheerful smile and handed out everything they’d asked for in order.

“Thank you, boss! Your food is really delicious,” said Caravan Member A, grinning as he took his roasted meat.

He wasn’t just flattering Meike—yesterday afternoon, Meike had just finished studying a skill book and was assigned by Su You to run the tavern. So, the food they’d eaten yesterday was already made by Meike himself, not the soulless dishes churned out by Cheng Xinhuo.

Maybe it was the bonus from his advanced cooking skill, but Meike’s food really did taste better than what Cheng Xinhuo made.

Meike loved cooking, loved watching others eat his food, and loved it even more when people genuinely praised his cooking.

Just because of that one sentence from Caravan Member A, Meike’s affection for him shot up.

If the tavern didn’t belong to Su You, and if Su You hadn’t provided the ingredients, Meike probably would have given this guy a free meal on the spot.

“As long as you like it! There’s more if you want,” Meike suppressed his inner joy, his whole being radiating happiness.

Even though he’d only been in this territory for less than a day, the joy he’d felt in that short time was more than he’d experienced in decades!

Caravan Member A was sincere in his praise, but seeing Meike so happy made him feel a bit odd.

He actually knew that this seemingly simple, honest middle-aged man was the very same high-level mage who’d caused that huge explosion yesterday… Which raised a question: why would a high-level mage be so delighted just because someone complimented his cooking?

Caravan Member A couldn’t understand it, but he was too embarrassed—and too afraid—to ask.

After all, no matter how approachable he seemed now, the man was still a high-level mage. If he accidentally said something that hit a sore spot, it could end badly.

Actually, it wasn’t just Caravan Member A who found it strange—the other caravan members did too. But like him, they only dared to sneak glances at Meike’s expression and didn’t dare ask anything.

So, in this slightly awkward atmosphere, everyone finished their lunch.

“Lord Su!” Before they left, Caravan Member A approached Su You. “We’ll be leaving the territory tomorrow morning. The captain asked me to let you know.”

Afraid Su You might misunderstand, Caravan Member A quickly added, “Normally, the captain would tell you herself, but she has something urgent to handle today and isn’t in the territory, so she asked me to inform you in advance.”

Yun Li really did have urgent business. When she was about to leave the territory, Su You and Laike had gone to the mine and weren’t around. Plus, she couldn’t guarantee she’d be back tonight, so she asked another caravan member to pass on the message.

Su You nodded to show she understood, and after Caravan Member A finished speaking, he left with the others.

Actually, Yun Li leaving tomorrow was within Su You’s expectations, because the day after tomorrow would be the tenth day—the time when the dark creatures would attack.

It could be seen as some mysterious force prompting Yun Li to decide to leave, allowing the caravan to perfectly avoid the dark creatures’ attack, which was now less than twenty-four hours away.

After finishing her meal, Su You also left the tavern. Before leaving, she glanced back at Meike and saw he was still busy experimenting with new dishes. After a moment’s thought, Su You decided not to stop him… After all, with advanced cooking skills, no matter how strange the food turned out, it probably wouldn’t be inedible.

After leaving the tavern, Su You headed to check on the farmland.

Yousen had just arrived. Although he had planting skills and the perfect match trait, Su You still wanted to check on the fields herself, since Yousen’s eagerness to work for free still struck her as a bit odd.

When she got to the fields, she saw Yousen just putting away his bucket.

As he set the bucket down, Yousen looked up and saw Su You across from him.

“Lord, I’ve finished tending to the crops here. They’re all growing well.”

As he spoke, Su You looked over the ten plots herself. Just as he said, the nine fields were indeed in good shape.

As for why it was nine fields…

“By the way, Lord, the cotton in this plot just matured. I’ve harvested it and put it here for now.” Yousen pointed to the cotton on the ground, then continued, “Now that the cotton’s been harvested, this plot is empty. What would you like to plant next?”

“Plant cotton again. Did you get any cotton seeds from the harvest?”

Unlike wild plants, domesticated (field-grown) crops yield both produce and seeds when mature, so there’s no need to process the plant further to get seeds.

For cyclical plants like berry bushes, seeds drop on the final harvest.

Hearing Su You’s instructions, Yousen nodded and pulled out seven or eight packets of cotton seeds from under the pile of cotton.

“Don’t change the other crops for now. After harvesting, just replant the same thing as before,” Su You said, satisfied with the current planting arrangement. Since she didn’t have any new seeds, she wasn’t planning to change anything yet.

“Alright, understood,” Yousen replied obediently.

“If you want to earn some money after planting, you can check the bounty board to see if there are any suitable tasks for you.”

Yousen gave a shy smile, then hesitated, looking like he wanted to say something but was holding back.

Su You was about to leave, but seeing his expression, she paused.

“Is there a problem?” Su You asked, opening Yousen’s info panel. Aside from a slight increase in loyalty and favorability, all his stats were exactly the same as when she recruited him that morning.

Yousen nodded, looking a bit embarrassed—almost like a bashful bride.

Su You even thought she saw a faint blush on his face?!

After confirming she wasn’t seeing things, Su You was left completely bewildered.

(End of chapter)"