Chapter 15: Mortal-Grade Top-Grade Thatch
"Young Xu, you can't do this! You've given away half the land!" Zhao Datou's face was full of anxiety.
Xu Ning looked at Zhao Datou and said seriously, "Master, even if I stay until you pass away, do you think I can get the land you left behind peacefully?"
Zhao Datou was stunned for a moment and roughly understood what Xu Ning meant, but he was still unwilling. "How could I not get it? You are my disciple!"
Xu Ning said, "What is a disciple? Do you believe that several of your illegitimate children will appear by then? Do you believe it?"
Zhao Datou was stunned again, and then dejected.
Seeing Zhao Datou's appearance, Xu Ning quickly comforted him. "Old man, don't think too much. I never planned to stay here for long. Do you remember? I said I would take you to roam the martial world!"
As soon as he heard the words "roam the martial world," Zhao Datou's heart was filled with excitement. He couldn't refuse to step into the martial world again and experience the joys and sorrows of life.
"Fine, you decide. I'm old and useless!" Zhao Datou could only nod in the end.
For the next few days, Xu Ning spent his time practicing martial arts and going from house to house collecting manure.
Growing top-grade thatch wasn't easy.
First, the manure bucket had to be upgraded to top-grade so it could ferment into top-grade fertilizer, then used to cultivate the thatch into top-grade.
Upgrading the manure bucket also required feeding it dozens of high-grade mortal trees.
Therefore, Xu Ning's task was heavy. The manure produced at home wasn't enough, so he had to beg.
Because of this, Xu Ning had no time for spring planting.
Seeing this, Lin Laosan directly planted the remaining land on Zhao Datou's land.
At this critical juncture, Xu Ning didn't want further conflict and simply remained silent.
However, this only emboldened the other party. Six months later, the other party came to Xu Ning and Zhao Datou again, saying the compensation wasn't enough, their eyes fixed on the pile of tree roots in the yard.
Xu Ning was very generous, waving his hand and saying, "Just leave some for us."
Lin Laosan didn't hesitate and immediately started moving the roots with his family.
Xu Ning had dug up quite a lot of tree roots during this time, more than Lin Laosan could manage in a day or two.
However, after a few days, all the tree roots in the yard were gone.
Luckily, it was harvest time, and they were busy with farm work. Otherwise, Xu Ning wondered if they would have come back to cause trouble.
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That's how people are. When others think you're easy to bully, they'll keep bullying you, and it will only get worse.
Xu Ning and his family were currently in that easy-to-bully state.
Fortunately, after several months of hard work, the manure bucket had successfully advanced to a top-grade mortal level, reducing fermentation time by three times. Now it only took half an hour to ferment, and the effect was three times better than a high-grade one.
In this way, it wouldn't be long before Xu Ning could cultivate top-grade thatch, and then quickly upgrade the thatched hut to a legendary mortal level, and then run away.
Time flew by, and more than four months passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, Lin Laosan frequently came to cause trouble, with only one purpose: to take all of Zhao Datou's remaining land.
Xu Ning's reply was, "I'll consider it. Anyway, I've already given it to you, and you can't plant anything this year anyway. Let's wait until spring."
Seeing that Zhao Datou's house was almost empty, and even the tree roots had been removed, Lin Laosan couldn't say anything more.
Early the next morning, Xu Ning carried a bucket of manure to the woods and watered the ground covered with thatch. If you looked closely, you would see that the thatch blades were densely covered with shimmering golden threads.
Xu Ning had experimented and found that ordinary knives couldn't cut through this thatch at all.
This was the special characteristic of top-grade mortal thatch.
The thatched hut had also long since reached top-grade mortal level. Now, it was not only warm in winter and cool in summer, but its longevity-promoting effects had also been enhanced. It also had a calming effect, allowing Xu Ning to practice martial arts inside with twice the results with half the effort, much faster than usual.
According to Xu Ning's calculations, reaching the second level of the three martial arts techniques would take at least three years, but if practiced continuously in the thatched hut, it would only require two and a half years.
If this effect were to spread throughout the martial arts world, it would definitely cause a stir.
Finally, there was the dung bucket, reaching the highest mortal grade. While its appearance remained largely unchanged, a closer look revealed a constantly refreshing fragrance emanating from it.
Indeed, a dung bucket was continuously emitting a pleasant aroma.
After watering the fermented fertilizer from the bucket, the thatch on the ground ahead began to grow wildly at a visible rate.
Xu Ning then frantically harvested it with a kitchen knife, quickly filling his basket.
Xu Ning then tied Tie Dan to the entire body before carrying it home.
Only a third of the thatch on that plot had been cut.
After feeding it back at the hut, Xu Ning and Tie Dan harvested the remaining thatch.
After doing this three times, Xu Ning went to collect more manure, fermented it, used it for watering, and then harvested it to feed the thatched hut.
According to Xu Ning's calculations, after two or three more upgrades, the thatched hut should reach the legendary level of the mortal realm.
Xu Ning decided to stay up all night to upgrade the hut.
Meanwhile, at Lin Laosan's house, the family was sitting around the table discussing something.
After thinking for a while, Lin Laosan's wife suddenly spoke up. "Laosan, we don't really need to get Zhao Datou and the others' approval. What are they anyway? Why don't we..."
She then made a throat-slitting gesture.
Lin Laosan was stunned for a moment, then seemed to have opened the door to a new era, nodding excitedly. "That's right! How come I didn't think of that! An old bachelor and an orphan, even if they die, no one will care. Their land will be ours to do with."
The more Lin Laosan thought about it, the more excited he became, and he began to plan, preparing to act that night.
At the same time, Xu Ning finally finished cutting the last of the necessary thatch.
However, he didn't leave immediately, but instead picked up a hoe and dug up all the thatch roots from the plot.
"Hey buddy, want some?" Xu Ning asked, turning to Tie Dan as he dug.
Tie Dan looked a little dazed. "Can I eat it?"
Xu Ning nodded. "You can now."
Previously, to avoid attracting attention, Xu Ning had strictly limited Tie Dan's food intake, preventing it from reaching the high-grade mortal level.
After all, once it leveled up, Tie Dan's size would definitely increase dramatically again, attracting unnecessary attention and curiosity.
This wasn't the outcome Xu Ning wanted, so he had planned Tie Dan's diet well in advance.
After receiving Xu Ning's permission, Tie Dan was overjoyed and rushed forward to begin devouring the food.
Soon after, changes began to appear on Tie Dan's body.