Chapter 134: Getting On Track
After selecting, Xilutiya spent 3 gold coins and bought all the Toad People servants, that is, three groups totaling 60.
After taking inventory and giving instructions, the manager handed a sign to the maiden, telling her that she could control these Toad People with it, but the binding force was not infinite, and she still needed to train them herself with some rules and means.
“One year later, the association will send someone to take inventory. If the number still alive is no less than 48, there will be no problem.”
“I understand.” A 20% loss in one year—being careful herself should avoid that, after all, she was not the kind of very cruel person.
“Ribbit, are you our new boss?” Several leading Toad People gathered around this silver-haired maiden, observing her curiously.
“Silver-white hair ribbit, poor health ribbit.”
In the Toad People’s view, white hair was probably a congenital defect leading to lack of pigment, so it was a mark of unhealthiness, while in their eyes, large clear black spots or stripes were the most beautiful, and the deeper the skin tone, the more temperament and strength it gave.
Finally having helpers, Xilutiya took these guys shuttling through the marketplace and bought a large number of farm tools, such as hoes, shovels, axes, sickles, etc., as well as some daily necessities, such as fire oil, candles, soap, rope, large pots, nails, salt, herbs, etc. In the end, she also picked up several bags of fresh vegetables.
Fortunately, these Toad People did not need to wear clothes, which saved some expenses.
These things were loaded onto the horse carriages one by one. For easier transport, Xilutiya spent more money to buy two more horse carriages, hitched behind the previous ones, to carry these Toad People.
Their webbed feet were suited for swimming; if they kept walking on the ground, they would probably get blisters.
After preparing, Xilutiya rode the foal alongside, while that lakeside draft horse just needed to follow the one-way road straight ahead.
……
In the afternoon, the group finally returned to the valley, which was about the same as when Xilutiya had left a few days ago.
She dismounted, let these Toad People get off the horse carriages, and began unloading. First, the bought vegetables were piled on the first floor of the stone house, then Xilutiya took them to the inner side of the valley, where there were still quite a few trees.
“Clear this area first.” She gave a simple order, wanting to see how these Toad People would accomplish it and how much independent ability they had.
“Ribbit, chop trees ribbit.”
“Chop trees every day, carry water, catch fish ribbit.” It seemed they were quite familiar with these three tasks.
Holding the newly bought axes, a group of Toad People skillfully felled the dry branches and trees here, as well as scattered various shrubs and thorns. During this, if they encountered useful wild plants, Xilutiya would gather them in advance and set them aside.
Before dark, Xilutiya had the Toad People carry a batch of bundled dry branches back near the field, where they built a simple bonfire, then brought the newly bought large pot from the horse carriage and placed it by the fire.
First, she had them pour in a small amount of clear water, then add flour, after which several Toad People took turns stirring the flour with wooden clubs, then kneading it together.
When it was about ready, Xilutiya had them take out the dough, pour enough clear water into the pot, add fuel to boil it, and once boiling, put in the previously shaped dough to cook.
Soon, amid faintly steaming white vapor, the oddly shaped dough pieces floated and bobbed on the surface. At this point, Xilutiya used a spoon to distribute the dough to these guys.
“Use cold water to catch it, otherwise it’s too hot.” Considering that these guys had no patience to wait for the dough to cool before eating, the maiden had to instruct them this way.
“Ribbit, dough.” The first Toad Person to get food impatiently swallowed it in one gulp, just as Xilutiya had guessed—they wouldn’t wait at all.
“Gulp, delicious.” This time it finally closed its mouth.
Seeing their companion eat, the other Toad People crowded around the large pot, each holding a bowl and waiting.
Because there were 60 Toad People to feed, Xilutiya probably boiled six large pots to barely manage these guys.
After finishing, she sat to the side, looking at the large iron pot covered everywhere in batter, not wanting to move at all.
Better to let them wash it themselves. Anyway, later she needed to teach a few Toad People to cook, so she could save some energy.
After eating the dough, these Toad People were in much better spirits; the tension from just arriving at the woodland had dissipated quite a bit, and some were already lying on the grassland by the bonfire and falling asleep.
Snoring and gurgling sounds sporadically appeared in the night.
Calling over a few still relatively alert Toad People, Xilutiya gave simple instructions before returning to the small house across from the field by herself.
She also needed to eat something now, and take a bath and sleep.
In the following days, Xilutiya first had these Toad People build a place for themselves to sleep and rest. They did not have high requirements for it—probably just something to block the sun and provide a sense of security. Also, these Toad People did not sleep in beds, preferring to soak in water or on stones.
About five days later, the long shed house where these Toad People lived was completed. Though they were small in size, the interior of the house was quite spacious, like the warehouse factory from Xilutiya’s memory of her previous life.
Such a structure was naturally for good ventilation, and it was also much cooler; it would not be too stuffy in summer. Additionally, the simple structure was easier to build and maintain.
After initially settling these guys, Xilutiya began assigning them tasks, currently roughly divided into three groups of work: watering, weeding and tilling, and daily chores, with the chores including boiling water and cooking dough, cleaning hygiene.
If the weather was occasionally very good and there was ample time, Xilutiya would also take them deep into the valley to clear the primitive forest and rocks, dragging out the felled timber to dry in the built warehouse.
Everything was slowly getting on track. At the beginning, Xilutiya had to spend a lot of energy every day guiding them on how to do things and what details to watch for.
Considering that these Toad People’s intelligence was not very high, she had to break many things down into clear, simple goals for these guys to gradually learn.
Fortunately, hard work pays off; about twenty days later, these Toad People could do the basic work well without her daily instructions.
Moreover, under Xilutiya’s guidance, the wheat seedlings in the field were growing taller day by day, and the situation was gradually improving.
【Wheat】（Good-56）: Wheat with good growth conditions, expected to yield a nice harvest.
Twenty-plus days to reach good—for some novice gardeners, this was already very nice. With more effort, reaching excellent was also possible. The Woodland Association set this as the requirement for new students.
When she arrived at this valley, the association’s members had already plowed 50 mu of land for her in advance. The currently sown wheat was also this 50 mu; if it yielded 100 jin per mu, it would be exactly 5000 jin of wheat.
If this 5000 jin of wheat reached excellent quality, she could also get an excellent evaluation, making it much easier to join other organizations afterward.
This 5000 jin of excellent quality wheat, if sold on the market, would be about 5000 silver coins, or 50 gold coins. This was the result of her three months, during which hiring Toad People and buying tools and grain cost about 8 gold coins.
Xilutiya sat in her study room, calculating the profits with a pen, occasionally looking out the window at that lush green field.
Although she had been busy these two months with little time to rest, looking at the gradually forming valley fields, she felt a faint sense of fulfillment.
The contract stated completing the goal within half a year, and only two months had passed. After harvesting this first batch, she could start the second planting. With more experience and proficiency the second time, she could further improve the results.
