Chapter 90 - Future Plans

The pace of events was accelerating, pushing Zelos to adapt quicker than he had anticipated. Circumstances beyond his control were demanding immediate action, leaving little room for his meticulously planned timeline.

This sudden shift left Zelos feeling unsettled. He knew the importance of patience and thorough planning, especially in matters as significant as business ventures. Yet, the pressing demands of the present situation forced him to reconsider his approach.

In the end, Zelos soon returned to the farm and then met the old man farmer there. He explained the situation to him as well.

“Really, to think that you would receive a territory of the same size as my farm… what did you do in the war to deserve that?”

“I almost died a bunch of times.”

“You certainly don’t look like you have been close to dying recently. Anyway, do you already know what you are going to produce on that farm?”

“No, any ideas?”

“I am only familiar with cows and calves. Maybe that region needs the same products, but you will have to make an investigation first about that.”

That was a lot of work… moreover, Zelos wanted to resume his training as soon as possible. He probably could do that while building his farm from scratch, but he needed to decide what he was going to do first.

While Zelos was thinking about that, he recalled one of the dreams of his apparent previous life. There was something that he could plant and then turn into other products that would be helpful in times of war. To put simply, Zelos was sick and tired of rations, so he was planning to start his Business with the idea of improving that aspect. That certainly would improve morale. All of a sudden, Nightstorm suddenly snorted when Zelos was giving the final touches to his plan.

“What is it? Do you want me to plant some apple trees in my territory?” 

Nightstorm snorted a bit less loudly and Zelos accepted as a yes… that wasn’t a bad idea, everyone loves apples, after all.

The following day, Zelos embarked on a journey through the town, conducting research on the tools and materials necessary for cultivating the fields and planting potatoes and tomatoes.

Zelos visited local blacksmiths, seeking sturdy plows and other agricultural tools essential for breaking and tilling the soil. He inspected each tool carefully, ensuring they were of good quality and suited to the demands of the land he intended to cultivate.

Next, Zelos ventured to the marketplace, where he inquired about seeds and seedlings for potatoes and tomatoes. He consulted with seasoned farmers and merchants, gathering information on the best varieties suited to the local climate and soil conditions.

As he delved deeper into his research, Zelos took note of the optimal seasons for planting potatoes and tomatoes. He learned that potatoes were typically planted in early spring, while tomatoes were best planted after the last frost in late spring or early summer.

“... It seems that all my money won’t last for long. At this rate, it will take a while before I am able to make some profit or even recover all the money that I have invested.”

Zelos also had to rent a wagon to transport all the things he would need. In the end, he decided to buy one instead and save time. He bought two horses as well to pull everything.

“Now you have some economic adversaries. I bet that they will be a lot less moody than you.”

Nightstorm snorted while showing an expression of utter disdain… it was amazing how that horse could do that. He snorted again, asking about the apple trees, but that would have to wait since Zelos had spent all of his savings.

In the end, barely three days had passed since Zelos returned, and he was going back to the northern territory and he went to inform Hei about that. He knew about the rewards for his services, so he knew better than trying to get in his way.

“Sure, I don’t mind. We will be sending our soldiers to that region quite often, so you mind letting them stay there when they need to spend the night? It would be great if we could use your farm as some sort of relay point to pass messages to other parts of the country. To make up for that hassle, we can let you take five horses to use there, but half of them should be used in case we need to pass messages without using ravens.

“I am fine with it, but it feels like you are expanding your area of activities all of a sudden.”

“We just didn’t have enough resources or people that we could trust outside. Buying territories just for that would be too expensive and suspicious, but things are different since you received that land.”

Zelos nodded… that made sense. Buying land in the northern area should be pretty handy now and cheap, but Zelos didn’t have any more money. Perhaps he should keep that in mind in the future in case some clans lose their territory. Still, it was better not to hope for that since it would be the same as hoping that thousands of families would lose their homes.

Without wasting time, Zelos headed to his farm, and he arrived there four days later. The place looked pretty desolate, and the grass was starting to get overgrown everywhere, so he didn’t have time to waste.

On the first day of his return, Zelos focused on cleaning the land as much as possible… that hurt his back quite a bit. It felt like he hadn’t trained much on that part of his body, but that worked as training as well. Anything that could make his body get stronger would work.

Thanks to his strength, Zelos could easily pull out all the grass that he found. The farm was eight hundred meters long and two kilometers wide, so it took a few days for Zelos to clear all of it. Still, he managed to increase his strength and vigor two times in that period.

Once that was done, Zelos used the horses in the morning to plow the fields, and then he did the rest of the work in the afternoon. That took two more days, and then he spent another two getting rid of all the other things he found, like rocks and debris.

“After this, I have to loosen the soil to a certain depth of a few inches using a shovel. Then incorporate organic matter such as aged manure to improve soil structure and fertility. Well, this place was where horses were raised, so it should be good enough for a year.”

After that, Zelos dug furrows about four inches deep and placed the seed potatoes cut-side down, spacing them about 12 inches apart. He covered the seed potatoes with soil and created mounds about 6 inches high over the planted rows. This method promotes drainage and prevents tubers from turning green. He didn’t know why he had to use such precise values, but that was what he learned by asking around, and the people involved always said the same numbers.

“Once all this is finished, I will have to hire people to do the maintenance work while I am away, but I will have to return or wait for Liry’s payment.”

Fortunately, just when he was thinking about that, Zelos saw a few riders approaching from South… which was the direction of the capital. They gave him a bag with three sunstone coins and a letter from Liry.

“It seems that you are already working on the farm. I can’t even begin to understand where you find the energy to work like that and by yourself at the same time. In any case, I have some good news and bad news for you. The good news is that the soldiers who delivered you the letter will stay in the area for a few weeks, supporting the reconstruction process of the territory. They will also spread the news about you and that you are looking for workers to help you. You will have to look for someone trustworthy to manage the whole place for you since I have this one idea, and I want you to be part of it. However, for now, all you need to know is that you need to improve your skills, and the best teacher that I can think of for you is Reina. She says that she can train you for a while in about four months.”

Zelos furrowed his eyebrows when he heard that… it didn’t seem like she could phantom the idea that Zelos would refuse the offer. Still, being trained by someone like Reina would make him stronger and more experienced a lot faster.

“... She probably wants to build a new kind of army, one that won’t follow the orders of the prime minister and one that will be totally loyal to fight for the country and completely wipe out the enemies when they try to attack. She wants me to be part of that army, but I guess she needs more than that… at least, this is what I think her plan is about.”

Zelos wanted to start and continue with his business until things were as perfect as he had envisioned, but doing that in four months is probably very unlikely. Still, she should have sent a similar message to Hei and asked him to borrow Zelos like that. The idea wasn’t bad, but it put his plans in a weird spot.

In the end, Zelos had several days to think about it, so there was no reason to hurry. Perhaps he could even think for weeks, but he had to send a reply sometime soon.