Free Web NovelChapter 168: Chapter 168: Working in the Farmhouse
The initial panic of being kidnapped had long since dissolved into a rhythmic, peaceful routine.
It had been a week since Yue Yue arrived in the underground city, and the expected talk of "sending her back" simply never happened.
The brothers seemed to have mutually agreed on a silent pact: if they did not discuss her departure, perhaps time would simply stand still.
Or perhaps they were planning something big; she had no idea at all.
But what could she do? She was simply bound to the System and its missions. Recently, all her missions were related to this underground city or the twin brothers.
And strangely, Xing Luoye had become a ghost.
After that drunken night, he had vanished from her daily life entirely. Yet, her days were far from lonely.
Guided by the small mechanical nudges of her System, Yue Yue had explored every corner of this beautiful city, and there was not a single day it did not leave her in awe.
Unlike the cold, high tech empires of this world, this place breathed with the soul of the Ancient Era.
It reminded her of home, not the same as a perfect primitive world, but it had the same vibes.
Here, people did not chase power; they chased the memory of ancient humans, the scent of a blooming flower, or the world before pollution swallowed their world.
Today, Yue Yue dressed in simple, sturdy linen and tugged on her high boots. She was heading to the Farmhouse, a massive cavern dedicated to the city’s most ambitious dream: agriculture.
Which was a miracle in itself. This city was literally based on sand, but what was not possible in this advanced world? They had literally transported the most premium soil from across the entire world, albeit polluted soil.
Because where could you find non polluted soil? It was here. The city was purifying it and then trying to plant on it. They were successful, but only a very small amount was able to grow in it.
As Yue Yue walked into the farmhouse, holding a small basket, her face was lit up with joy.
"Good morning, Princess!" an elderly man called out, offering her the golden fruit, which was the most popular in the city.
"Please, just call me Yue Yue," she sighed for the hundredth time, though her smile gave away her affection for them.
"Of course, Princess Yue Yue!" he chuckled.
The humid air of the Farmhouse smelled of damp earth, a scent so rare in this dying world that Yue Yue took a deep breath, savoring it before she broke into a sprint.
A group of young men, their sleeves rolled up and brows damp with sweat, stood at the edge of a meticulously prepared plot of land.
In the center of this sandy underground kingdom, this small square of dark, rich soil looked like a sacred altar.
"Wait for me!" Yue Yue called out, her boots thudding against the path.
The men turned, their eyes widening. As she skidded to a halt, several of them instinctively stepped back, their faces flushing a deep crimson.
"Princess! You... you should not be here," one of the bolder youths stammered, twisting his planting gloves nervously.
"The soil is heavy, and the water is muddy. This is not a task for a female. You should sit under the shade and watch us. We will make sure it is perfect for you."
Yue Yue instantly disagreed.
"Heavy? Muddy?" she huffed, setting her basket down with a decisive thud. "I can do better than all of you combined! Just because I am a female does not mean I am made of glass."
Before they could offer another protest, she hiked up her linen trousers and stepped into the plot of flooded soil.
She turned back and gave the stunned group a slow, confident raise of her brow, her lips curling into a challenge.
"Are you going to stand there all day daydreaming," she teased, "or are you going to help me set the record for the fastest planting?"
The men exchanged helpless looks.
"She is already inside..." one muttered. "If we do not follow, the elders will scold us to death," another whispered.
As if summoned by fate, an elderly voice barked from behind them.
"What are you daydreaming for? Go help Princess and follow her instructions!"
The old men who oversaw the farmhouse stood with their hands behind their backs, pretending to look stern.
But the fondness in their eyes was unmistakable as they watched Yue Yue kneeling in the soil, sleeves stained, hair slightly loose from her run.
There was something about her presence that made the entire place brighter. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
The young men sighed in defeat and hurried into the field.
"Princess... I mean, Yue Yue..." one corrected himself awkwardly, "how do you want to space them?"
She smiled at him before explaining patiently.
"Two fingers apart," she said, demonstrating with her hand. "And do not bury them too deep. Let them breathe."
They blinked.
"How do you know how to plant rice?"
Yue Yue froze for half a second. She coughed lightly and straightened her back. "I have read about it," she said vaguely.
The young men nodded, impressed. Under her instruction, they began working, carefully placing each seedling into the prepared earth, adjusting spacing, and lightly pressing soil around the fragile stems.
At first, they tried not to look at her.
It was not difficult to notice her. Even dressed in simple linen, boots smeared with mud, she carried herself with effortless grace. Strands of hair clung to her cheek as she worked, unaware of the faint flush spreading across the faces around her.
But none of them dared stare. After all, she was their princess.
The future female master of their prince.
The woman destined to stand beside their ruler. How could they be so audacious?
Instead, they focused intensely on their tasks, as if the soil required their entire life’s concentration.
Yue Yue noticed the stiff silence and could not help laughing.
"Why are you all so tense?" she teased. "It is just planting."
One of the younger men nearly planted a seed upside down in his nervousness.
She reached over and gently corrected his hand. "Like this."
The man furiously blushed at his clumsiness and almost wanted to smack himself. How embarrassing.
"Princess... I... I understand... I will not make mistakes now," he said before immediately running farther away to plant.
He was afraid that if he stayed closer to her, the next thing he would be doing would be even more embarrassing.
