The Cornflower Witch Chapter 134

After making her selection, Hylial spent 3 gold coins to buy all the toad servants, which amounted to three groups of 60 individuals.

After counting and giving instructions, the manager handed a token to the girl, telling her that with it, she could manage these toads. However, the binding force wasn’t infinite, and she would need to use some rules and methods to train them herself.

“The association will send someone to check in a year. If the number of those still alive isn’t less than 48, there will be no problem.”

“I understand.” A 20% loss in a year? She should be able to avoid that if she’s careful. After all, she wasn’t a cruel person.

“Croak, are you our new boss?” A few leading toads gathered around the silver-haired girl, observing her curiously.

“Silver-white hair, croak, poor health, croak.”

In the toads’ eyes, white hair was probably a sign of a born defect, a lack of pigment, and thus an unhealthy mark. To them, large, clear black spots or stripes were the most beautiful, and the deeper the skin color, the more elegant and powerful one appeared.

Once she had her helpers, Hylial led these creatures through the market, buying a large number of farm tools such as hoes, shovels, axes, and sickles. She also bought some daily necessities like lamp oil, candles, soap, ropes, large pots, nails, salt, and herbs. Finally, she picked up several bags of fresh vegetables.

Fortunately, these toads didn’t need clothes, which saved some expenses.

She had these items loaded onto the carriages one by one. For easier transport, Hylial spent more money to buy two more carriages, hitching them behind the previous one to carry the toads.

Their webbed feet were suited for swimming; constantly walking on land would surely give them blisters.

With everything ready, Hylial rode her pony beside the caravan. The Lakeside horse just needed to follow the one-way road straight ahead.

…

In the afternoon, the group finally returned to the valley, which looked much the same as when Hylial had left a few days prior.

She dismounted, letting the toads get out of the carriages and begin unloading. First, they stacked the purchased vegetables on the first floor of the stone house. Then Hylial led them to the inner side of the valley, where there were still many trees.

“Clear this area first,” she simply commanded, wanting to see how these toads would accomplish it and how strong their autonomy was.

“Croak, chop wood, croak.”

“Chop wood every day, carry water, catch fish, croak.” They seemed quite familiar with these three tasks.

Armed with new axes, a group of toads skillfully chopped down dead branches and scattered shrubs and thorns. If they stumbled upon useful wild plants, Hylial would gather them in advance and set them aside.

Before dark, Hylial had the toads carry a batch of bundled dead branches back near the farmland, where they built a simple bonfire. Then they brought the newly bought large pot from the carriage and placed it by the fire.

First, she had them pour a small amount of clear water, then flour, and then had several toads take turns pounding the dough with sticks and kneading it together.

When it was ready, Hylial had them take out the dough, pour enough clear water into the pot, and start burning wood to boil it. Once it boiled, they put the kneaded dough into the pot to cook.

Soon, amidst the light white steam, odd-shaped pieces of dough floated and bobbed on the water. Hylial used a spoon to give these guys their share of dough.

“Use cold water to hold them, otherwise they’re too hot,” the girl instructed, knowing these creatures wouldn’t have the patience to wait for the dough to cool before eating.

“Croak, dough.” The first toad to get food eagerly swallowed it in one bite, just as Hylial had guessed; they wouldn’t wait at all.

“Gulp, delicious.” It finally closed its mouth.

Seeing their companion eat, the other toads also gathered around the large pot, all holding bowls and waiting. Because she had to feed 60 toads, Hylial cooked about six large pots of dough to barely satisfy them all.

Afterward, she sat aside, looking at the large iron pot, covered in sticky dough, and didn’t feel like moving at all.

Let them wash it themselves, she thought. On second thought, she would have to teach a few toads to cook later to save some energy.

After eating the dough, the toads were in much better spirits, and the initial tension they felt upon arriving at the woodland had dissipated considerably. Some were already asleep on the grass by the bonfire.

Soft croaking and chirping intermittently filled the night.

Calling over a few still alert toads, Hylial gave them some simple instructions, then returned to her small house across the field.

She needed to eat something herself, and then take a bath and sleep.

In the following days, Hylial first had these toads build a place for themselves to sleep and rest. Their demands for this were not high; they simply needed a shelter from the sun and a sense of safety. Also, these toads didn’t sleep in beds, preferring to soak in water or rest on rocks.

About five days later, the long shed for the toads was completed. Although they were small, the interior of the house was very spacious, like a warehouse from Hylial’s memories of her previous life. Such a structure was naturally for convenient ventilation and provided much more shade, preventing it from getting too stuffy in the summer. Additionally, the simple structure was easy to build and maintain.

After initially settling these creatures, Hylial began assigning them tasks. Currently, she divided them into three main work groups: watering, weeding and tilling, and general chores. The chores included boiling water and cooking noodles, as well as cleaning. If the weather was occasionally good and time permitted, Hylial would also take them deep into the valley to clear the wild trees and rocks in the primeval forest, dragging out the chopped wood and storing it in the built warehouse to dry.

Everything was slowly getting on track. In the beginning, Hylial had to spend a lot of energy guiding them on what to do and what details to pay attention to.

Considering that these toads weren’t highly intelligent, she had to break down many tasks into clear and simple goals for them to gradually learn.

Fortunately, hard work paid off. After about twenty days, these toads could perform their basic tasks without needing daily instructions from her.

Under Hylial’s guidance, the wheat seedlings in the field grew taller day by day, and the situation gradually became pleasing.

[Wheat] (Good – 56): Wheat growing well, expected to yield a good harvest.

Reaching “good” in just over twenty days was already a commendable achievement for novice gardeners. With a bit more effort, reaching “excellent” wasn’t impossible. The Woodland Association’s requirement for new students was set at this level.

When she arrived in this valley, the association members had already tilled fifty acres of land for her. The wheat currently sown also occupied these fifty acres. If each acre yielded 100 Pounds, it would amount to exactly 5000 Pounds of wheat.

If this 5000 Pounds of wheat achieved excellent quality, she would also receive an excellent evaluation, making it much easier to join other organizations later.

This 5000 Pounds of excellent quality wheat, if sold on the market, would be worth approximately 5000 Silverleaf Coins, which is 50 Goldflower Coins. This was the result of her three months of effort, during which she spent about 8 Goldflower Coins on hiring toads, purchasing equipment, and food.

Hylial sat in her study, calculating her earnings with a pen, occasionally gazing out the window at the lush green fields.

Although she had been busy for the past two months with little time for rest, seeing the gradually forming valley fields filled her with a quiet sense of fulfillment.

The contract stated that the goal had to be achieved within six months, and only two months had passed. After harvesting this first batch, she could start the second cultivation. With more experience and skill in the second cultivation, she could further improve her results.