The next morning arrived much more quietly compared to the chaos and excitement of the wedding celebration the night before.

The Fu household still looked slightly exhausted from the festivities. Red lanterns still hung across the courtyard, swaying gently beneath the morning breeze while a few servants and family members slowly cleaned the leftover tables, wine jars, and scattered decorations from the celebration.

Even the children were unusually quiet this morning after exhausting themselves completely the previous night.

By the time Fu Sheng and I left the house together, the morning sun had already risen properly above the barren lands, casting warm golden light across the dry earth and distant buildings.

The air was cooler than usual this early in the day, carrying faint traces of soil and dust through the breeze.

As we walked toward the farmland together, I noticed that the roads around Unit 50 had become slightly livelier recently. More people were moving around outside, and some villagers even greeted Fu Sheng respectfully as we passed.

Ever since the wedding and the farm project started, the atmosphere around Unit 50 had slowly begun changing.

When we finally arrived at the farmland, the Zhao brothers were already waiting there together with several workers from nearby units.

And for the first time—

The farm no longer looked like abandoned wasteland.

The difference was enormous.

The large stones that once covered the ground had finally been removed completely. Thick roots and dead shrubs had been cleared away, while the rough uneven earth had been flattened properly into long farming sections.

Even the air around the land somehow felt different now.

Alive.

Zhao Kang stood proudly near the center of the field with his hands resting on his waist while looking around at their finished work.

"We finally cleared everything yesterday before sunset," he announced proudly the moment we approached.

Beside him, Zhao Ren stretched his aching shoulders dramatically before letting out a loud groan.

"My bones are completely broken," he complained. "If this farm fails after all this work, I am going to cry."

Zhao Ming immediately rolled his eyes beside him.

"You barely carried anything heavy."

"That is because I was supervising."

"You call sleeping near the tools supervising?"

"That is slander."

The two brothers immediately began arguing loudly again while several nearby workers laughed helplessly.

Fu Sheng completely ignored their nonsense and calmly walked deeper into the farmland instead.

Several workers immediately followed behind him as he crouched down to inspect the soil carefully with his usual serious expression.

"We will start planting today," he said calmly while rubbing some soil between his fingers thoughtfully. "The western side should be used for the faster-growing crops."

One of the workers frowned slightly.

"Because of sunlight?"

Fu Sheng nodded.

"The afternoon heat there is weaker. The soil will retain moisture longer."

The Zhao brothers immediately stopped arguing and gathered closer to listen properly.

Meanwhile,

I quietly walked farther away from them alone.

At first glance, it simply looked like I was inspecting the farmland carefully like everyone else.

No one paid much attention to me.

Which was exactly what I wanted.

I slowly lowered my gaze toward the ground beneath my feet before quietly speaking inside my mind.

"System."

The familiar mechanical voice responded almost immediately.

[Host request acknowledged.]

A faint translucent screen flashed briefly before my eyes before disappearing again.

Then—

Something cool and solid appeared quietly inside my sleeve.

The small glass vial containing the Soil Elixir.

I lowered my eyes slightly toward it.

The golden liquid inside shimmered faintly beneath the sunlight, almost glowing softly against the glass walls.

Even now, I still found the reward slightly unbelievable.

A single vial capable of improving barren land soil quality by over seventy percent.

If used properly,

This farm would completely transform Unit 50.

Possibly even the surrounding units as well.

I carefully loosened the small cork beneath the cover of my sleeve while making sure nobody nearby was paying attention.

The moment the vial opened slightly, a faint earthy fragrance drifted softly into the air.

It smelled fresh and clean.

Almost like rain falling onto healthy soil after a long drought.

I slowly began walking through the farmland again while pretending to inspect the ground beneath my feet carefully.

Then little by little—

I began sprinkling the elixir quietly across different areas of the farm.

Not too much in one place.

Not enough to attract suspicion.

Just enough for the liquid to spread naturally throughout the land over time.

The golden drops disappeared into the soil almost immediately after touching the ground.

No visible trace remained behind.

But somehow—

The earth itself already looked slightly different afterward.

As though life itself had quietly seeped back into the dead land.

I continued moving calmly across the field while scattering more gradually with every few steps.

Behind me, the loud voices of the Zhao brothers still echoed across the farmland.

"The water barrels should be placed near the north side!"

"That makes no sense!"

"It makes perfect sense!"

"You only want shorter walking distance because you are lazy!"

"That is called efficiency!"

I almost smiled hearing their endless arguing.

Then suddenly—

"What are you doing over there?"

Fu Sheng’s voice came from behind me unexpectedly.

I paused briefly before turning around calmly.

At some point, he had already walked closer without me noticing.

His dark eyes settled quietly on me while the morning sunlight reflected faintly across his features.

My expression remained completely calm.

"Checking the soil."

Fu Sheng studied me silently for a brief moment before his gaze slowly lowered toward the ground near my feet.

For one second, I almost thought he noticed something.

But then he simply crouched beside me before grabbing some dirt into his palm.

"The soil feels different already," he said quietly after a moment.

I looked at him calmly.

"You can tell that quickly?"

Fu Sheng nodded slightly while rubbing the dirt thoughtfully between his fingers.

"It feels less dry than yesterday."

Of course it did.

The Soil Elixir had already begun working.

But naturally, I could not explain that.

So instead, I simply looked away quietly while pretending to continue observing the farmland.

Fu Sheng remained beside me silently for another moment before finally speaking again.

"If this harvest succeeds," he said calmly, "We will finally have a chance to survive properly."