I Shocked the World After Being Forced to Farm: Chapter 17

In the wasteland: 

After maturing, the potato stems and leaves would dry up and turn yellow. Once the stems and leaves were completely dry, Yu Ci forcefully pulled them out. Bundles of potatoes with thin roots emerged from the ground. These potatoes were larger than Yu Ci’s fists. Each plant had around five or six potatoes, which made Yu Ci very satisfied with the yield. 

After planting the cucumbers, Yu Ci had figured out several characteristics of the wasteland. The yield of the crops grown here were not very high, however, no matter which crops were grown, they would be extremely flavorful and nutritious. 

So—

It would make sense to raise the price a little, right? 

While pondering that question, Yu Ci happily pulled out the potatoes. The soil was quite soft, so there was no need for any farm tools. 

Eventually Yu Ci became more energetic at his task. He even pulled Fu Nian over, who was standing by the side cheering him on and said, “Help me out. I’ll treat you to a glass of coke. Iced.” 

Fu Nian stared at the boy with big, beady black eyes, “Really?” 

Yu Ci nodded. 

It only costs a few dollars to buy a coke. 

However, an ordinary coke was a precious treasure for Fu Nian. After receiving Yu Ci’s affirmation, Fu Nian wordlessly fluttered towards the ground. His sharp beak clasped a bunch of stems and leaves as he pulled harshly, freeing the potatoes from the ground. 

 With their joint efforts, the one mu of potatoes were quickly harvested. After piling the potatoes on the soft soil, Yu Ci and Fu Nian collapsed onto the ground, leaning on one another. Massaging his sore legs, Yu Ci asked, “How are we going to manage the lands once new areas are made available? Are there any farming equipment?” 

Fu Nian was also exhausted from the task. After hearing Yu Ci’s question, he made a vague noise, and whispered, “You can buy them from the system. However, it’s still too early, and the system won’t sell it to you yet.” 

“I can buy them from the outside world.” 

“Are you going to drive a tractor into the storage room?” 

“….” 

Fu Nian was right, his front door wasn’t big enough. 　　

Yu Ci rubbed his eyebrows and after a short break, he found some plastic bags* to carry the potatoes in. He then slowly dragged them out of the wasteland. The shelf life of potatoes was longer than other vegetables, so he wasn’t worried about them spoiling. Before leaving, he told Fu Nian that he would come back later that night to harvest the remaining mu. 

Once outside, Yu Ci set aside a portion of potatoes for himself before distributing some to his neighbors. Today it was Xia YiMing who opened the door today. When he saw Yu Ci carrying a bag of potatoes, he did not feel too surprised. Recently Xia YiMing discovered that he had been hearing the name ‘Yu Ci’ quite frequently. Not only did he hear it from the students as he walked around on campus, but also from his colleagues when he returned to the office.  

But that was to be expected, after all, Yu Ci’s cucumbers were really delicious. Following all the talk, Xia YiMing learned that Yu Ci’s cucumbers were all sold out and that he was selling potatoes next. 

 “Are these potatoes just harvested?” When he looked into the bag, there was still mud stuck onto the potatoes. 

Yu Ci was slightly surprised by how prepared Xi YiMing was. He smiled and nodded, handing over the package, “I just dug them out, and thought about sharing them with the neighborhood.”

“How much are they?” . 

“No need.” Yu Ci quickly waved his hand as a form of rejection. Although he wasn’t close with the Xia family, they still had a bit of history. Professor Xia had once helped him out, so the cucumbers and potatoes were just a token of his appreciation

Xia YiMing pursed his lips and stared at Yu Ci for a few seconds before suddenly announcing, “Wait a moment.” 

Two minutes later Xia YiMing returned with a bag and handed it towards Yu Ci. Seeing Yu Ci’s puzzled expression, the professor explained in a milder tone, “These are some fruits my friend sent over yesterday. They taste pretty good. Think of it as my return gift.” 

“You don’t need to be so polite…” Yu Ci was flattered by the action. 

“Take it, otherwise my family wouldn’t dare  accept your gifts so easily in the future. By the way, those cucumbers were delicious, so these potatoes shouldn’t be bad either.” 

Yu Ci returned home thinking about Xia YiMing’s expression when he proclaimed the cucumbers were delicious. Those law students would have never imagined their Professor Xia showing such a gentle expression. It was a rare moment. 

It was already past 3 P.M when he got home. Yu Ci stared at the remaining potatoes in his kitchen for a while before pulling out his phone and sending a message to his next door neighbor. 

“Do you want to come over for dinner?” 

Yu Ci waited for five minutes, but Qi Huai didn’t reply back yet. Instead of worrying, he began to ponder on how to prepare the potatoes for dinner that night. 

There were so many ways to eat them, making the preparation process a pretty tough decision. 

Still thinking, Yu Ci’s phone dinged and distracted him from his thoughts. 

It was Qi Huai’s message, “Okay, do you need any ingredientes?” 

A few seconds later, Qi Huai sent another message, “Jian YuanQing wants to come, you can refuse him.” 

Yu Ci laughed at that following statement. Qi Huai was really too straightforward.

Since it was still early, it meant that he had plenty of time to prepare, and he didn’t want to waste Qi Huai’s time buying ingredients after getting off work. He told Qi Huai this before heading out to the market to buy food. 

Yu Ci was very fast at shopping. He bought some beef and some other vegetables and seasonings before heading back. As he left the store, Yu Ci ran into a few girls from school. The female classmates were obviously very surprised to see him at the market. And when they saw what Yu Ci was carrying, they asked incredulously, “School Grass, you can cook?!” 

Yu Ci smiled, “I live alone, so I know a bit.” 

The girl covered her mouth, whispering to her friend, “Can grow vegetables, can cook, good-looking, talented painter, what sort of god is he ah!” 

Her companion nodded fiercely, “School Grass, are you really not going to debut*?” 

(T/N: debut into the entertainment world)

Yu Ci furrowed his eyebrows, finding the comment a bit funny, “That wouldn’t be necessary.” 

The girls sighed, feeling regretful at his comment, “School Grass, if you debut, you can sell more vegetables.” 

On his way home, Yu Ci replayed what the girls said, ‘You can sell more vegetables.’ There’s nothing more interesting than increasing his income. Although he came from money and his brother was an influential figure, Yu Ci couldn’t help but think about ways to earn more money. 

Yu Ci searched the web regarding this topic before making up his mind. Smiling, he downloaded a live broadcast software and registered an account under the “life-style” genre. 

After making sure he was on live, Yu Ci began to prepare the meal. 

Since he bought tomatoes and beef, then he’ll make some tomato and potato beef soup with some fries and chips for sides. Yu Ci had been living alone since junior high, so his cooking skills were quite refined after all these years of practice. 

He first blanched his sliced beef slices before adding them into clean boiling water with seasoning to cook. After simmering on  low heat for over half an hour, he stirred in the diced potatoes and tomatoes. 

While waiting for his stew to cook, Yu Ci glanced over at his phone. 

All new streamers would face a problem of having no viewers. However Yu Ci wasn’t in a hurry. His original intention of live broadcasting was to promote his vegetables, and he was quite aware that it wasn’t an easy path. 

If there’s no viewers, then he can just wait a bit longer. Afterall, it would only cost him some battery life. 　　

Placing the stew aside, Yu Ci started to cut some potato chips and strips for frying. After re-frying the potatoes, he took out the fries and chips and placed them in a colander to drain the excess oil and began to prepare for other dishes. 

At 5:20 PM Yu Ci glanced over at the phone again. 

He had finally gained several viewers. 

“How come the streamer’s hands are so good-looking?” 

“To be honest, it’s those hands that had me staying till now.” 

“What’s the streamer making? Do homemade fried potatoes taste better than the ones at restaurants?” 

“This tomato and potato beef stew looks good.” 

“Ah, I used to like eating tomatoes, but now the taste of the potatoes don’t taste as good as before.” 

Yu Ci looked at the comments and laughed. The camera could only capture his hands. His laughter was caught by the phone’s audio, and caused the viewers to feel dumbfounded. 

He casually replied, “I grew these potatoes myself and they taste great. If there’s anyone that likes potatoes, I can send some for you to try.” 

“F*ck F*ck F*ck! I don’t want to eat potatoes anymore! All I want is to see what the streamer looks like.” 

“Mother- I got hard over this voice.” 

“All dishes are tasteless now.” 

“Would you really send the potatoes?” 

“Of course, but you’d have to pay for the postage and shipping fees. If you want some, send me a message, and if you like the taste, you can come buy some later.” 

As soon as he said that, the comment section collectively commented: Oh so this is how the streamer does their business. 

Yu Ci felt too lazy to lie and bluntly said, “Yeah, after all, growing potatoes is a tiring process.” 

After Yu Ci made this statement, there were  a lot more comments during the livestream. Finally once all the dishes were cooked, Yu Ci had nothing else to do and chatted with the comment section. After talking for around 10 minutes, the doorbell rang. Yu Ci was momentarily stunned before he ran towards the door. 

Seeing Qi Huai and Jian YuanQing standing outside, Yu Ci hurriedly opened the door and greeted the duo, “Please sit first, I’ll turn off the livestream.” 

Jian YuanQing made a confused expression upon hearing the word ‘livestream’ and followed Yu Ci into the kitchen like a tail. There he saw Yu Ci talking to his phone, “I’m sorry guys, my friends are here. I’ll end the broadcast here today. See you all next time.” 

Jian YuanQing blinked  before asking curiously, “Yu Ci, why are you streaming.” 

Yu Ci waved his hand, “Thought about streaming my cooking to advertise my vegetables.” 　　

Jian YuanQing was quite intellegent so he immediately understood what Yu Ci was trying to do. He nodded apprehensively, and then suddenly remembered something, “Which platform are you using and what’s your username?” 

Yu Ci didn’t think too much, and replied, “Beluga Live, user name is Yu*” 

(T/N: Yu→ 郁 his actual name) 

Jian YuanQing made a noise of acknowledgement and sent a meaningful smile towards Qi Huai, who was standing on the side listening in to the conversation, “I think your idea is pretty good. You will surely sell a lot of vegetables in the future.” 

“Thank you for your auspicious words.” Yu Ci smiled, and indicated the two to sit down and moved the dishes onto the dining table. 

---

Translator’s Corner:

Ah, Yu Ci’s first steps towards stardom. Qi Huai’s going to blow him up. Yu Ci’s life really be on easy mode rn.
But in all honesty, the Yu Ci’s progression(?) speed is too speedy and easy. Where is mah conflict. (Am I a bad person for thinking that…..)

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