Spending a full three hours, he walked through every corner of the farm.
"It's really big; I've been walking for so long."
Daeron wiped his forehead, yet he didn't feel the slightest bit of fatigue.
He had already gotten the lay of the land.
At the bottom-left corner of the coop, there was a patch of ruins resembling the foundation of a reinforced concrete building, which should be an unlocked greenhouse.
Below that, bushes and weeds grew thick, providing rich wood and stone resources, along with large areas of blue and green grass.
In front of the wooden house's door, there was a patch of fertile soil suitable for cultivation, which would serve perfectly as early-stage farmland.
Separated by a patch of uncultivable grass, there was a dark cave below where no mushroom-cultivating or fruit-eating bats had moved in yet.
These occupied less than a third of the farm's space.
Following the two paths to the north and west, and crossing more than half of the farm covered in vast pastures, one could find a small path leading to the beach in the east.
There was no path to the south.
A waterfall washed down from the hilltop behind the coop, forming a clear river that naturally marked the southern boundary of the farm.
"The problem now is that the water source is a bit far."
Daeron pondered a solution.
Aside from the waterfall and stream, there were three lakes—one large and two small—located in the center and the bottom-left and bottom-right corners of the farm, but none were close to the house.
According to his survey, the entire farm covered an area of about 6 square kilometers.
It would take an ordinary person half a day just to walk through it once.
"I can fetch water from under the waterfall first and pet the chicks every day while I'm at it."
Daeron had management experience and quickly made arrangements.
The farm animals were no ordinary livestock; they could produce high-quality animal products.
They didn't eat fodder or bran, only consuming the grass growing on the farm or hay made from dried grass.
The conditions for raising them were quite particular.
Except for winter, the small doors of the coop and barn had to be opened at other times to let the animals out to roam and graze.
Roaming would increase their intimacy level.
Eating a tuft of fresh green grass daily would also increase intimacy.
On rainy days or in winter, animals would stay in their nests, and at those times, they needed to be fed pre-prepared hay—one portion per animal per day.
The convenience of raising animals highlighted another major advantage of the Meadow Farm.
Blue Hay!
On other farms, this kind of hay was a resource that could only be unlocked and planted in the late game, when animal husbandry was no longer a necessity and mostly served as decoration.
Its effect was such that animals only needed to eat half a tuft a day, and their intimacy would increase even more.
The higher the animal's intimacy, the higher the quality of the animal products produced.
The profit from sales would naturally rise.
"Starting with one coop, two chicks, plus a large amount of pasture, I'm already quite far ahead."
Daeron's plan was to focus on animal husbandry, supplemented by crop cultivation.
A qualified farmer had to handle both animal husbandry and farming.
Creak!
The dilapidated wooden door of the small house pulled open with a harsh scraping sound, but there wasn't the expected cloud of dust in the air.
Directly opposite the entrance stood a brown table and bench, with floral curtains hanging on both sides of the window. Sunlight shone through the clear glass onto an old-fashioned big-box TV.
It was hard to imagine seeing modern items again.
"Well, not bad."
Daeron nodded seriously.
After entering, to the right against the wall was a fully made single bed. Above the head of the bed was an old-fashioned fireplace built of red bricks, and in front of the unlit fireplace sat an old, light brown sofa.
One could imagine how pleasant it would be for a tired farmer to return home, lean back on the soft sofa at night, and bask in the warm flames of the fireplace.
"There's a box." Daeron cast his gaze toward it.
On the brown-and-white patterned carpet in the middle of the room sat a blue, exquisite gift. Untying the red silk ribbon, a large bundle of hay popped out.
It felt dry to the touch and emitted a faint, fresh fragrance.
"Because it's a Meadow Farm, the starting gift wasn't 15 Parsnip seeds, but was changed to 15 portions of hay."
Daeron was well-prepared.
Ding!
A pleasant crisp sound rang in his ear, the panel appeared automatically, and a line of small text popped up.
[To become a farmer, you must first do the most basic work. Remember to feed the chickens every day. You can let them out to graze, or put hay into the feeding hopper. Once the chickens grow up, you can harvest eggs.]
—Harvest an egg laid by a chicken.
A tutorial quest from the panel.
"It looks like I'll have to stay here for four days first."
After checking, Daeron planned his schedule for the next few days.
"Time to go out and work."
Having decided what to do, Daeron gladly accepted the panel's magic. With a touch of his right hand, the hay disappeared.
One of the panel's abilities: the Inventory.
The Inventory was like a portable space, initially having 12 slots. The same type of item could be stacked, up to 999 portions.
The prerequisite was that the item must be ownerless; he couldn't pick up things from other people's hands or pockets.
"I need to find a way to get some seeds."
Even without gifted seeds, Daeron was not deterred.
The small house had two accompanying items: a mailbox and a Shipping Bin.
The mailbox was wrapped in iron sheet; upon opening it, there was a letter inside.
It told him to check the Shipping Bin, which had a wider range of uses.
Daeron followed the instructions in the letter.
The large beeswax-colored bin, two and a half meters long and one meter in height and width, opened to reveal a wooden partition dividing it into two parts.
The left side was for buying, and the right side was for selling.
It was very strange; even though there was clearly nothing in the bin, Daeron could see purchasable items through the panel.
Various Spring Seeds:
Parsnip: 20 Gold
Cauliflower: 80 Gold
Green Bean: 60 Gold
Potato: 50 Gold... there were also several other seeds suitable for spring planting, as well as various fruit tree saplings, green grass seeds, furniture, flooring, and the like.
"Let's get to work."
Buying seeds wasn't urgent; Daeron decided to clear a patch of land first.
The Inventory came with five tools: Axe, Hoe, Pickaxe, Watering Can, and Scythe.
They had an ordinary appearance and felt very light in hand, yet they possessed the quality of being indestructible.
Thud!
Daeron swung the axe and chopped through a log lying on the ground.
The interior of the farm, including the cultivable plots in front of the house, was crowded with logs, stones, and weeds, with the occasional large tree blocking the way.
He had tried clearing it by hand, but it was not only exhausting but also impossible to put into the Inventory.
Using tools was much more efficient.
With one swing of Daeron's axe, the log immediately split apart, leaving behind a piece of intact wood raw material.
The wood could be placed into the Inventory.
"It's not completely gamified?"
Daeron was startled, feeling a faint warm current surge into his swinging arm.
At this moment, he touched the threshold of Life Force.
When he drank that bottle of milk in the morning, he had vaguely felt a subtle reaction in his body.
That swing of the axe just now made him notice the loss of stamina, which came precisely from his perception of his own Life Force.
Ser Gerold the "White Bull" had once instructed him, saying that a knight's mastery of Life Force was a subtle, long-term cultivation.
One must first feel the existence of Life Force before attempting to observe, touch, and mobilize it... "It seems my talent is not weak; I haven't let down my name."
Daeron felt even more motivated.
For the cultivation of Life Force, he also had a cheat.
That was to use the high-quality crops harvested from the farm to continuously nourish his body and keep his Life Force vigorous.
Others did not have such luxurious conditions.