Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 34

“Kuaeng!”

Another morning started with the little bear’s cry. But today, something was different. Loud cries from baby rabbits filled the rabbit couple’s home.

Scratch.

Sejun used a sharp stone to make another mark on the cave wall. It was his 185th mark. Each mark was a day he had been alone here.

Today was a special day. The Seed Shop would open! Sejun felt a mix of hope and worry. “Please,” he whispered, “let there be good seeds.”

Sejun went to the pond. He wished for good seeds as he washed his face in the cool water.

Squeak!

The rabbit couple hopped out of their home, followed by their baby rabbits – Bbaaang! Bbaap! Bbaat! More baby rabbits tumbled out – Bbaaa! Bbyuk! Together, the rabbit family started to get breakfast ready.

Breakfast was simple but filling: chewy dried sweet potato and crunchy carrots.

Crunch, crunch.

The grown-up rabbits ate quietly. But the baby rabbits, Bbaaang! Bbaap! Bbaat!, were excited. They stood in a neat line in front of Uncle Sejun, waiting patiently.

Munch, munch.

Sejun ate his sweet potato. He used his knife to cut carrots into small sticks, just right for little paws. He gave two sticks to each baby rabbit.

Crunch, crunch.

Each baby rabbit held a carrot stick in each paw. They took bites from one, then the other, eating very carefully.

Sejun cut up the rest of the carrots. He put them into two small leather bags. He had gotten these bags when he bought seeds before. They were not big, only able to hold about five carrot sticks each.

Then, he made straps from green onion leaves and tied them to the leather pouches, completing the bags.

“Okay, you two are in charge of carrying food!”

Sejun put the bags across the bodies of the two biggest baby rabbits.

Bbaaang!!!

The baby rabbits with their new bags cried out happily. We are strong now! We have food bags! We can eat carrots whenever we want!

And so, Sejun and the rabbits finished breakfast and began their work.

Swish, swish.

Sejun’s knife moved fast, cutting green onion leaves. The wife rabbit was back to work too, but Sejun was quicker. So, she helped in other ways, like watching over the baby rabbits.

Sejun had work to do this morning: cut green onion leaves, pick cherry tomatoes, and get the last of the corn. He had already picked most of the corn yesterday. Only the ones that weren’t fully ready were left.

Swish.

Sejun carried branches heavy with red cherry tomatoes to the wife rabbit. Bbaaang! Bbaap! Bbaat! He smiled. The baby rabbits were trying to help! They watched their mother and tried to pick the tomatoes too.

They were still small and not very strong. Sometimes, two or even three baby rabbits had to push and pull together to pick one tomato. Sejun watched them, his heart warm. They were so small and determined.

Sejun watched the baby rabbits for a while, enjoying their cuteness. Then, he remembered his work. He turned and went to the cornfield to pick the rest of the corn.

Plop.

A ripe corn fell into Sejun’s hand. Stamina Corn, well-ripened. As he harvested, Sejun felt like he was getting better at farming. A small message appeared in his mind: Harvesting skill improved slightly. He also felt a little more experienced.

This corn was better than usual! It was marked ‘D+’ instead of just ‘D’. This meant it would stay fresh for 90 days, much longer than the regular corn.

“I must be getting better at this,” Sejun thought. He noticed that better crops like this ‘D+’ corn started to appear as he worked more and gained experience.

“Good!”

Sejun felt encouraged and kept harvesting the corn.

Suddenly, another message appeared in his mind: Level Up! Sejun felt stronger. He knew he could improve one of his skills. He chose to make himself faster at working.

“I have time to spare.”

Perhaps because his workload was lighter than usual today, he had plenty of time left even after finishing the corn harvest. Sejun decided to harvest corn seeds until it was time to prepare lunch.

Sejun brought out 20 ears of corn from his storage. These weren’t just any corn. He had picked the best ones, with big, healthy-looking kernels, just for getting seeds.

Tap. Tap.

Sejun gently touched the corn kernels. He didn’t want to damage them. Instead of using a spoon, he carefully took each kernel off the cob with his fingers and put them in a plastic box.

Message: Corn seeds obtained. Sejun felt like he was learning more about getting seeds too. Seed Harvesting skill improved slightly. He felt a bit more experienced.

Each ear of corn had around 200 kernels! At first, it was slow work. But as he kept going, Sejun’s fingers became quicker. Soon, he had taken seeds from all 20 ears of corn.

Then, another message: Seed Harvesting skill level up! Sejun realized he had become even better at getting seeds.

“Finished!”

Sejun stretched, ready to stand up. Just then, a new message appeared: The Seed Shop is now open! Today, you can see three kinds of seeds for sale. Because of your current level, you can only buy seeds one time today.

[Radish Seeds 100 – cost: 0.1 coins] [Cucumber Seeds 100 – cost: 0.2 coins] [Peanut Seeds 1000 – cost: 5 coins]

“Hmm,” Sejun thought, looking at the seeds. “Radishes are tasty raw, but I don’t have anything to eat them with right now.” He decided to wait on radishes. Cucumbers were the same problem.

“Peanuts it is!”

Sejun decided. He loved the smell and taste of roasted peanuts. They were so good!

Also, Sejun remembered reading that beans were good for making the soil healthy again. “Peanuts are beans,” he thought. “They grow in the ground. Peanuts can help make the field better for growing other things later.”

Sejun chose to buy the peanuts. Message: 1000 Peanut Seeds purchased. 5 coins taken from your account. You earned 50 points at the Seed Shop. You now have 106 points total. 100 points used to upgrade your shop level.

“Used up?”

Sejun wondered about the points. Message: Your Seed Shop level is now ‘Common’! At ‘Common’ level, you will see four kinds of seeds each day. Also, at this level, you can buy as many seeds as you want, as long as you have less than 5 coins. Seed Shop skill level increased!

Message: Thank you for using the Seed Shop. You can use the Seed Shop again in 30 days. Clatter. A small leather bag filled with 1000 peanut seeds appeared in Sejun’s hand.

“I should plant the peanuts in the afternoon.”

The little bear and rabbits had diligently cultivated the field for two days, so the field for planting 1000 peanuts was already complete, and all he had to do was plant them.

Sejun looked at the ground to grab the plastic container filled with the corn kernels he had harvested.

At that moment,

Scurry.

A dainty paw boldly reached into the plastic container and grabbed a handful of corn kernels. It was the paw of a baby rabbit with soft, white fur.

“Aha! Caught you!”

Sejun said in a serious voice, but his eyes were smiling. He gently held the baby rabbit by the back of its neck. The little thief was caught with the corn!

Bbaat!

The baby rabbit wiggled for a moment, trying to get away. But then, maybe it felt nice to be held? It stopped moving and started eating the corn kernels in its paws, right there in Sejun’s hand.

Pop. Pop.

The sound of the corn kernels breaking open was loud for such a small creature. It was so cute! But Sejun knew he had to be a good uncle. He couldn’t let the baby rabbit get away with stealing. Sejun thought about how to teach the little one a lesson…

Pop. Pop. Pop.

“Huh?”

Sejun heard more popping sounds behind him. “What’s going on?” He turned around. And there they were! All the baby rabbits were eating the raw corn kernels, just like the first one!

The baby rabbits with their new food bags had filled them up… with corn kernels! Sejun had thought it was just one baby rabbit stealing. But it was a whole gang of corn thieves!

“Hey! Where did you get those?!”

Sejun said, raising his voice a little. He wanted to teach them right from wrong.

But then, Bbaaang… Bbaap… Bbaat…

The baby rabbits started to cry. They looked so sad! We didn’t do anything bad… they seemed to say.

Sejun suddenly understood. It was a mistake! The baby rabbits thought the corn kernels were for them. Sejun always gave them kernels when he gave them corn to eat.

“Okay, okay, Uncle is sorry,” Sejun said quickly, feeling bad. He tried to comfort the crying baby rabbits. He gave them some soft, steamed corn from yesterday.

Soon, it was lunchtime. The baby rabbits, full of corn, had fallen asleep. Sejun gently gave them to the rabbit couple. Then, he started making lunch.

At that moment,

Kuaaaah!

For some reason, Mom Crimson Giant Bear returned early from her patrol. It felt like she had timed it perfectly for lunchtime. Surely, she wasn’t here to taste the steamed corn he had given the little bear yesterday, was she?

“I don’t *have* to give her corn,” Sejun thought to himself. But even as he said it, he was already filling a pot with corn and putting it on to steam. It wasn’t because he was afraid of the big bear, of course! It was just… good customer service, right?

While Sejun was steaming the corn, the rabbits also prepared for the meal, skewering piranhas and gathering carrots.

And then,

“Pull!”

Sejun yelled, holding onto the rope. Whirr. This time, the rope shot up so fast! It felt like a super-fast elevator. “Whoa!” Sejun was suddenly high in the air, then gently back down. He saw Mom Crimson Giant Bear holding the rope. She was pulling him up today, not the little bear!

Kuaeng! Kuaeng!

As Sejun reached the top, the little bear rushed to his spot. I’m being patient! Now give me food!

“Alright, let’s eat.”

As Sejun distributed the food, Mom Crimson Giant Bear subtly took a seat behind the little bear.

And looked at Sejun with eyes that seemed to want something. If he hadn’t prepared the steamed corn, something terrible might have happened.

Sejun thought it was a good thing he made steamed corn and handed 20 ears of steamed corn to Mom Crimson Giant Bear.

Kuaaaah.

Mom Crimson Giant Bear tossed the 20 ears of steamed corn into her mouth in one bite, as if she had been waiting for it.

Crunch, crunch.

Kuaeng?

The little bear looked at his mom, happy. ‘Mom, is it yummy?’ he seemed to ask.

However,

Kuaeng?

His face changed. ‘Mom, you didn’t eat *all* of it, did you?’

Kuaaaah…

Mom Crimson Giant Bear looked at Sejun with pleading eyes, and eventually, Sejun had to go down to the cave and steam more corn.

When Sejun came back up with more steamed corn, he saw something funny. Bbaaaak! Kuaeeeeng! The black rabbit and the little bear were using Mom Crimson Giant Bear’s arm as a slide! She was lying down, resting, and they were sliding down her fur like it was a playground slide.

“Aren’t they scared?”

Sejun wondered. The black rabbit was really brave, playing on the big bear like that. He was definitely a fearless warrior, just like everyone said.

Sejun brought the steamed corn to the little bear and finished his meal.

Slurp.

Thanks to Mom Crimson Giant Bear’s presence, Sejun was able to enjoy a quiet break while comfortably drinking his coffee.

Kuaaaah.

Mom Crimson Giant Bear rested for a good while. Then, she stood up and went back to patrolling. The rabbits started their afternoon work in the fields.

And then,

Thump.

Sejun remained on the surface, digging holes with his dagger and planting peanuts.

Message: Peanut seeds planted. Because of your Seed Planting skill level 3, the peanuts are more likely to grow. Your farming experience increased slightly. Seed Planting skill improved slightly.

A little over an hour later, message: Peanut field created! You gained experience. Sejun had planted all 1000 peanut seeds. He had made a big peanut field!

Day 185 of being stranded. The peanuts were planted. They would help make the land better for growing things.