Chapter 15: The Guests Have Returned

Opening the door and stepping into the ranch, Qin Yue Ran was stunned by the vast expanse before her: "Is the chosen area really this large?"

"Haha, that's thanks to spatial folding technology," Hu Hu said proudly, lifting his head and puffing out his chest.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Qin Yue Ran stared in disbelief.

"Are the other areas unlocked by spending points the same way?" she asked.

Hu Hu nodded. "Yes, all of them."

Qin Yue Ran groaned again, "…Then it would be better if the farm weren't free at all!!!"

"But maintaining it costs five thousand points every year afterward," Hu Hu explained.

"Heh," Qin Yue Ran chuckled wryly, "Now I have so many points, do you think I’ll be short of five thousand points next year?"

Besides, if points ever ran low, she could just close part of it, right? At worst, the area would be smaller, but not shut down entirely.

Hu Hu looked adorably blank. "…That's true."

"And they even gave starter animals—ten chicks and ten dairy cows each!" Qin Yue Ran exclaimed.

She could divide the ranch into different zones as she pleased.

Sections for chickens, ducks, geese, cows, sheep, pigs, and other animals were all separated by Qin Yue Ran.

Growth and harvest times were just like in a game: chicks matured in five minutes and started laying eggs in ten.

After five rounds of laying eggs, the next harvest would yield chicken meat.

Eggs could be incubated in the nests to hatch into chicks, so no need to buy more.

Ducks and geese worked the same way.

The cows were dual-purpose dairy and beef cows.

Though real-life cows come in many breeds, here there was only this dual-purpose type.

These cows were impressive: one bucket of milk every thirty minutes, calving every two hours with one or two calves per birth, and after three calvings, the cow would be processed into beef.

Sheep provided both meat and milk in the same manner.

In short, it was a fascinating, highly gamified management system.

Having spent twenty thousand points on various animals, tears welled up at the corners of Qin Yue Ran’s eyes—she dared not imagine how rewarding it would be once they matured.

Next, she went to unlock the fishing area, spending five thousand points on it, then another twenty thousand points to stock it with fish, shrimp, crabs, and other seafood and freshwater resources.

Now, her points had dropped to just over ninety thousand.

Without pause, she moved on to open an orchard, spending thirty thousand points planting all kinds of fruit trees.

Fruit trees took at least twenty minutes to mature, up to twelve hours at most, each harvest yielding thirty units—that is, thirty pounds.

"Ah!" Qin Yue Ran, pleased as she watched the growing trees, slapped her forehead. "Rice matured too early! Wasted so much time."

Opening the interface, she intended to teleport there but found she could harvest everything with a single click without even going over.

"How convenient!"

Qin Yue Ran not only marveled aloud but immediately clicked to harvest and then planted the next round.

"The warehouse probably isn’t big enough now, better upgrade it," she said, tapping into the warehouse menu and spending ten thousand points on the upgrade.

Ten seconds later, the warehouse had two hundred more slots.

"The processing workshop..." Qin Yue Ran thought of the workshop and clicked to check it out.

There were various processing workshops, including the priciest comprehensive processing workshop.

The comprehensive workshop processed all kinds of products—wheat, rice, fruit, fish, and more—and upgrading it unlocked processing for even more products.

"Twenty thousand!" Qin Yue Ran calculated. "The original price is two hundred thousand! Well, expensive for a reason."

She muttered to herself, trying to convince herself: "Early investment is necessary, or it will hurt more after the newbie period. So, better buy what I need now."

Hu Hu just patted Qin Yue Ran’s head reassuringly.

After placing the workshop on the layout map—not specifying what to put but selecting an empty area near the farm, ranch, orchard, and fishing zones—Qin Yue Ran remarked, "This layout map is quite foresighted; besides the required farm, ranch, orchard, and fishing areas, it also marks some spots available for placement."

She glanced at Hu Hu. "Let’s go have lunch."

"I never thought I’d experience what it feels like to spend money like water."

"Hope guests come soon, I only have about thirty thousand points left."

Qin Yue Ran muttered as she walked, with Hu Hu faithfully listening.

...

...

"Can you believe it?"

Qin Yue Ran lay on the table watching a variety show—she had spent five thousand points to connect to the real-world internet.

Though her eyes watched the show, her gaze was unfocused, clearly her mind elsewhere.

"What can’t you believe?" Hu Hu asked.

"I didn’t expect to unlock all the necessary places so quickly. I thought it would be impossible during the discount period," Qin Yue Ran replied lazily, then suddenly changed the subject to magic, "The basic spell compendium is quite useful, even has spells applicable in modern times, like the charging spell."

Mom will never worry about my phone running out of battery when I go out~

She didn’t even need to bring a power bank!

A sudden "pop" startled Hu Hu; it looked at Qin Yue Ran puzzled, wondering why she suddenly put down the tablet.

Qin Yue Ran pinched its ear tip. "I’m done watching, time to study magic."

"Um... if you want to keep watching, you can," she added.

Studying magic was more enticing, Qin Yue Ran thought excitedly, pulling out the basic spell compendium.

Until sunset, she learned several spells—offensive, healing, and everyday use.

Qin Yue Ran exhaled in frustration, "Another day without guests... Oh, right," she looked at Hu Hu, "I can apply for a license now. I didn’t expect it to be so quick, but the harvest is really fast."

Thinking about making money in real life, Qin Yue Ran felt happy. "Life is slowly getting better, all thanks to your arrival."

She hugged Hu Hu, burying her face in him, and whispered softly enough for only Hu Hu to hear, "Thank you."

Hu Hu’s ears twitched; it patted Qin Yue Ran and then its own little chest. "Leave it to me."

Since the host spent points, it also got a cut, so this time handling everything meant Qin Yue Ran didn’t need to spend any points!

For the next two days, Qin Yue Ran followed a routine of practicing magic at night, running in the morning, then returning to train swordsmanship.

In her free time, she planted and harvested vegetables and studied the spell compendium and supreme healing arts.

She discovered she could infuse healing spells into cooking, making health and mana recovery more effective.

Her menu expanded by over ten items, including beer, wine, and juice produced in the processing workshop.

Then, she received news that some cultivators had entered the central fairy island area.

Qin Yue Ran checked the map’s green dots: the cultivators were advancing slowly from both sides, indicating two waves.

She counted twenty points combined, meaning twenty people.

"A great harvest... no, wait," Qin Yue Ran’s cheerful smile vanished instantly as she cried out sharply, "Guest rooms!!! Only two available!"

Flustered, Qin Yue Ran hurriedly unlocked new guest rooms—the remaining two single rooms and one double room on the second floor—spending six thousand points.

But there weren’t many rooms left on the third floor either; should she upgrade the inn first?

Qin Yue Ran opened the inn page; upgrading cost fifteen thousand points…

She currently had just over twenty thousand points left.