Chapter 50: Planting Ginger and the Taste Test

Beyond the items meant to satisfy his hunger, Chen Yu also brought back two rolls of white paper. Though they lacked the smoothness of those from his previous life, they were serviceable enough for writing. While carving characters onto bamboo strips with a blade would surely be elegant, it was far too cumbersome; paper was much simpler. He might experiment with bamboo later, but for now, there was no need.

He tucked the paper away. The skies had grown increasingly overcast over the past few days, signaling an impending downpour. The pond behind the courtyard was already prepared to collect the rainwater, and he could use this leisure time to organize the various techniques and methods he had been developing, ideally committing them to writing.

"First, I must plant the ginger."

This time, Chen Yu had returned not only with ginger tubers but also with some ginger sprouts that had already begun to grow. It usually took about a month for ginger tubers to sprout after planting, so he had simply bought some extra tubers from the local farmers, while the sprouts were best planted as soon as possible.

Carrying the bag of green shoots, he went to the vegetable garden. He set them aside and grabbed a hoe to clear away the few weeds that had sprouted on the plot. The area had been cleared when the medicinal herb garden was expanded, but having sat idle for several days, it had become overgrown again.

Since he was burying sprouts rather than raw ginger, Chen Yu simply raked the soil into low ridges, dug two rows of shallow pits, pressed the sprouts in, and covered them with fine, loose earth. In his previous life, back in his hometown, he would have added farm fertilizer at this stage. However, since these sprouts were already growing and the soil was moist enough, he opted to skip that step to avoid oversaturating them. Planting ginger also usually required dusting with wood ash, which was another tedious chore.

Chen Yu planted the last row. He considered fetching the bamboo tube filled with spiritual liquid from the bedroom to pour a little over them, but he decided against it. He would wait to see the results from the spring millet first.

The two rows of ginger sprouts, perhaps having been out of the soil for too long, looked somewhat wilted. He did not water them; the garden soil was already sufficiently moist, and any more would risk waterlogging.

After tidying up, he went to the medicinal herb garden. The spring millet swayed gently in the breeze, its ears golden and heavy, rippling like waves before his eyes.

"Almost there."

He plucked a grain and peeled back the husk to reveal the yellow kernel inside. There were two types of millet grown at the foot of the mountain: white millet, with grains slightly larger than rice, and the one in his hand—yellow-skinned and yellow-grained. It was smaller, but the taste was significantly better. The only downside was that it was difficult to grind into flour; due to its texture, it always remained coarse and gritty, never becoming truly fine.

When it came to flour, the "Autumn Blade Wheat" from the Great Qi in the north was the gold standard—it made for a truly satisfying meal. The famous "Fine-Skin Dumplings" were made from that very grain. Chen Yu had seeds, but the mountain climate was unsuitable. He planned to find a patch of open land to experiment with cultivation later. His previous attempt using wooden boards had failed because the crop grew in the seventh month, requiring a summer planting and an autumn harvest—only one season per year. The spiritual liquid could accelerate growth, but it could not alter the plant's nature.

He plucked a few ears of millet, stripped a handful of husked grains into his palm, and returned to the courtyard. These spring millet grains, nourished by the spiritual liquid, were quite distinct. As they lay in his palm, they emitted a faint fragrance—not overwhelming, but enticing. It was not as sharp as a cooked dish, nor as bland as raw vegetation, but possessed a lingering, elegant quality.

He hadn't brought them out to taste himself. While the spring millet hadn't seemed particularly fragrant while still in the husk, once peeled, the aroma was unexpectedly seductive. It was seductive to deer as well.

Since that silly deer was still around, he decided to let it have a treat. It was the same treatment he gave "Brother Chicken," who had eaten the fully ripened millet before and remained perfectly fine.

Before Chen Yu could even step out of the courtyard, a chestnut-red figure darted toward him, circling his legs and bleating incessantly. He lowered his hand and offered the twenty or so grains to the creature. Watching the greedy deer's eyes practically glow with hunger, he smiled. With a quick flick of its tongue, the deer snatched every last grain.

The little deer nudged his leg, unsatisfied and still searching for more. Only when it realized the delicious morsel was gone did it trot back toward the peach tree, looking back every few steps.

"Seems it tastes good."

Of course, that wasn't definitive. He hadn't forgotten that this little glutton was capable of snacking on mutated peach blossoms, one per bite. Even now, he couldn't bring himself to do that; the taste was etched in his memory, reminiscent of raw bile.

He would observe it for one more day. If there were no issues, he would harvest the spring millet before the rain. With this thought, he grabbed a long rope and looped it around the unsuspecting deer's neck.

"Stay for the night. You'll have plenty of fresh grass."

Ignoring whether the deer understood him, he led it toward the shed by the garden wall. He had built it under the eaves using thatch after the deer had been injured some time ago, right next to the chicken coop. It was a bit cramped, but it should suffice.

His internal organs had been tempered to a profound degree, and with his surging vital blood, he was twice as strong as before. He carefully tugged on the rope, careful not to use too much force.

To his surprise, the deer didn't cooperate, standing stubbornly under the tree. As he approached, he heard a faint gurgling from its stomach; the grains seemed to be difficult to digest. In other words, twenty grains had been enough to fill it up, and it had no desire to move.

That wouldn't do. He patted the deer, frowned for a moment, and then his expression softened. With a laugh, Chen Yu placed one hand on the deer's neck and the other under its hind legs. He applied just enough force to keep the greedy creature from struggling. Fortunately, perhaps because it was truly stuffed, it remained motionless in his arms without a hint of panic.

He placed it in the shed and secured the rope to a wooden stake. Then, he shouldered his basket and went up the mountain, returning with a full load of fresh grass and wild berries. He didn't eat the berries himself—they were far too sour—but he remembered that sika deer seemed to enjoy them.

Back at the Taoist temple, he tossed some of the fresh grass and berries in front of the deer and left the rest in a sheltered spot in the courtyard. As he expected, the deer couldn't eat anymore. Even though the silly creature peered at the food as if it wanted to eat, its stomach was too full. It tried one bite and lost interest.

Chen Yu watched for a long time and concluded it was indeed just a case of overeating, with no other ill effects. Its spirit remained high. Reassured, he decided to check on it again tomorrow.

"I’ll refine the breathing techniques today and see how the results look."

He had been working on improving the "Spirit-Calling Body Strengthening Technique" to better manipulate *Qi*. After much effort—enough to make his hair thin—he finally had a breakthrough. By filling in the remaining gaps, he would be able to test the progress of the last few days tonight.

By comparison, his self-created "God-Summoning Technique" and "Viscera Rebirth Technique" were much more stable and would continue to function as intended. However, with the involvement of *Qi*, the condensation of the five viscera *Qi* seeds, and the expansion of his mental vortex, he was starting to adjust those as well. After all, one must keep pace with the times.