Chapter One

“You say your grandfather left you a Farm System?”

“Yes.”

【Am I that easy to fool.JPG】

…

Year 3027 of the Shui Lan calendar, Gaojialing Village, Longxia. Qin Yun sighed as he looked at his phone: “Why won’t they just believe me…”

Qin Yun was twenty-three, a graduate of the Architecture Department of Jinghe University, and had been dependent on his grandfather Qin Hai since childhood.

In his previous life, after Qin Hai’s death, he was left with a Farm System. According to the system’s hologram introduction, Qin Hai was a powerful solitary cultivator from a higher dimension. This time he came to Shui Lan Star to undergo a tribulation and ascend after successfully passing it, leaving Qin Yun the opportunity of the Farm System.

The Farm System was divided into three levels: primary, intermediate, and advanced, containing heavenly materials and earthly treasures. Due to dimensional laws, one had to complete farm tasks to receive rewards.

In his previous life, Qin Yun relied on the system to become a well-known food supplier in the region. But the good times didn’t last. One year after binding the system, a global large-scale food crisis broke out. Rice prices soared from 3 yuan per jin to 30 yuan, and the global economy nearly collapsed.

At the time, Qin Yun had 30,000 jin of grain. When the national crisis hit, he donated the grain to the county welfare institution and kept accepting missions. Farming grain required points to plant. Even though rice could be harvested weekly, it took ten days from planting to exchanging points.

The food crisis worsened. According to reports, the crisis was caused by the Harma Storm. Three months ago, the water temperature in the Mariharma waters rose, followed by heavy rainfall starting in Mari, spreading worldwide within half a month.

Harma was a globally notorious industrial pollution zone. This rain carried a large amount of chemical waste, causing catastrophic destruction to arable land worldwide. In three months, global food production dropped by 62%, and farmland would take at least ten years to recover.

The world’s optimism turned to anxiety, sparking a global rush to stockpile supplies. Instant noodles had risen from 3.5 yuan to 35 yuan, with scarce availability despite high prices. Under Longxia government’s strong intervention, society remained stable, but other countries frequently saw riots and unrest. Shui Lan Star was far from peaceful.

Yesterday afternoon, two supermarket merchants approached Qin Yun, hoping to buy farm rice at 100,000 yuan per ton. The merchants weren’t selling it immediately but hoarding, waiting to dump everything once rice prices peaked.

Qin Yun refused to sell. After the merchants left, he sat alone on the farm smoking. With system tasks supporting him, he didn’t worry about living expenses. If he were cold-hearted, he could easily become a billionaire. But Qin Yun couldn’t be cold-hearted—he had seen with his own eyes how a peaceful world turned into hell over the past three months…

Qin Yun stayed awake all night until 3 a.m., when a man in black sneaked onto the farm. Qin Yun initially thought he was from the supermarket, but after a fight, he found out the man was a farm delivery worker who, unable to buy rice, attempted to steal from the farm.

Qin Yun tied up the man and called the police. While turning on the light, he accidentally missed a step and hit his head on a stone pillar by the door.

Qin Yun’s consciousness blurred. When he opened his eyes again, he was in the old Gaojialing residence. The time: one year ago.

It was now 10 p.m. Qin Yun reached into his pocket for a cigarette but found only half a pack of gum. Suddenly he realized—he hadn’t learned to smoke until a year later, and now he had just graduated.

He glanced at the digital clock: July 10, 3027, 22:25.

This was the first day of Qin Hai’s burial.

Qin Yun sat on the steps, silently calling: system.

【Farm system loading, progress: 82.972%…】

A square virtual interface appeared before him. According to last life’s experience, the system would finish loading at midnight on July 11.

Over the next hour, Qin Yun skillfully cleaned the yard. It was a countryside courtyard with blue bricks and red tiles, surrounded by white mourning banners, with funeral buns in the center. He cleaned the yard thoroughly, then looked at the black-and-white photo in the main room. The man in the photo wore a black suit, his hair neatly combed, his demeanor as silent and reserved as his appearance.

Qin Yun respectfully offered incense.

“Ding, Farm System loaded successfully.

Bind now?

Note: The host is the system’s sole binder; once bound, it cannot be changed.” At midnight, the system updated on time.

“Bind.” Qin Yun chose immediately.

“System mission updating…”
————
Host name: Qin Yun

Level: Rookie

Current mission: Activate the Heart of the Farm. (Remaining: 7 days.)

Mission reward: Beginner’s self-selection pack x2.

Mission penalty: Mute for 30 days.

Newbie gift pack: Heart of the Farm x1, Lucky Pop x1.

System points: 0

————

…

The system’s processes were exactly the same as in the previous life.

Qin Yun looked at the Heart of the Farm.

Heart of the Farm: Improves soil structure, granting the farm’s land a natural buff.
(Note: farm land must be owned by the mission taker.)

The Heart of the Farm was a palm-sized green gem. In his previous life, to complete missions, he had contracted fifteen acres with all his assets. These lands brought him early wealth, but after some time, he realized the system land was more valuable than described. For example, system land was unaffected by planetary environment, having a 20% air freshness buff and a 30% plant growth buff…

System plants could only be planted within the Heart of the Farm’s range. He could expand system farmland at 30,000 points per acre.

Qin Yun worked diligently for a year, expanding the land to a thousand acres. Now looking at the Heart of the Farm, he felt a surge of excitement. The food crisis hadn’t started yet; he could expand the Heart of the Farm’s range, and perhaps even change the Harma Storm and the crisis that would come a year later…

Qin Yun paced around and set his rebirth goals—

1: Stop the Harma Storm.

2: Warn Longxia to stockpile grain and increase disaster reserves.

3: Maximize the farm’s level to gain more initiative.

Each goal was incredibly difficult, and completing all three within a year was even harder.

After much thought, Qin Yun decided to hand the Farm System over to the state.

In his previous life during the food crisis, he had always planned to hand it over, but the crisis spread too fast and he was reborn before he could. Now, with nothing started yet, whether the system or the food crisis, everything was still possible.

The more Qin Yun thought about it, the more excited he became, until he couldn’t fall asleep.

…

“Is Xiao Qin here?” Early the next morning, Qin Yun was awakened by a knock on the door.

“This is the list of gifts. There were too many people yesterday, so I didn’t have a chance to give it to you.” Outside the door, Gao Hongwei pulled out a stack of white paper gift lists.

“Thank you, Uncle Gao.” Qin Yun quickly took it. Gao Hongwei, sixty-two this year, was the village chief of Gaojialing. He had little experience with funerals, so he helped organize this one.

“Old Qin passed away without illness or disaster. Don’t be too sad, life still has to move forward.” Gao Hongwei patted Qin Yun’s shoulder. Qin Yun was the village’s only key university student, and now the Qin family was down to just him. Gao hoped Qin Yun could heal from his trauma soon.

“I know.” Qin Yun clenched the gift list tightly. From student loans to Qin Hai’s funeral, Gao Hongwei had helped him a lot in recent years. But fate was unpredictable. After the food crisis broke out, Gao Hongwei led villagers up the mountain to dig sweet potatoes and accidentally rolled down a slope.

The last time the two met was in the Gaojialing hospital. Gao Hongwei was unconscious, mumbling about sweet potatoes, and Qin Yun felt deeply upset. Who would have thought a simple food crisis could ruin so many lives and families…

“I have to go now. If you need anything, come to the village committee.” After chatting a bit, Gao Hongwei checked the time.

“Uncle Gao!” Qin Yun called out quickly.

“What is it?” Gao Hongwei turned with a puzzled look.

“Do you have contact information for the Agricultural Bureau?”

Qin Yun thought for a moment before asking. After deciding to hand over the Farm System, he had been considering how to do so. Posting online, reporting to the police, petitioning the county government… he had thought of many ways, but because of the system’s uniqueness, it had to be handed over in an absolutely secure environment.

Qin Yun carefully analyzed and finally thought of Academician Zhou Yuanheng. Zhou was a nationally renowned wheat breeding expert who had once increased the country’s wheat production by 32%, earning great agricultural prestige in Longxia. According to memories from his last life, Zhou had once visited Zhuhe County. Zhuhe County was a mid-level county city, and at that time, with Zhou’s prestige, county news was all about him. According to his memories, it should have been around this period…

“Why contact the Agricultural Bureau?” Gao Hongwei asked, a little surprised.

“I heard from classmates that Academician Zhou Yuanheng might come to Zhuhe…” Qin Yun said casually.

Gao Hongwei left half believing it. Half an hour later, he called: “You’re well-informed. Academician Zhou has already arrived in Zhuhe.”

Qin Yun stood up immediately. According to Gao’s call, Zhou had arrived that morning and would inspect Zhuhe for three days.

“The county requires villages and towns to send representatives to learn. Are you going?” Gao Hongwei asked while Qin Yun was still thinking about how to get in touch.

“Yes!” Qin Yun was very excited.

They agreed on a time and hung up.

Qin Yun calmed himself and opened the system interface.

Host name: Qin Yun

Current mission: Activate the Heart of the Farm. (Remaining: 6 days.)

Newbie gift pack: Heart of the Farm x1, Lucky Pop x1.

…

The Farm System was too incredible. To make the state believe the system existed, it had to be proven real.

Qin Yun looked around and focused on [Lucky Pop] x1. [Lucky Pop] was a random lottery item. In his previous life, he had drawn the [Magical Pineapple Tree]. The [Magical Pineapple Tree] was an intermediate reward that took only one day to grow from planting to a towering tree. It was his proof to the state that the system was real.

Qin Yun took a deep breath and clicked to draw.

“Congratulations, host received a primary reward: [Running Hoe].”

[Running Hoe]: can automatically harvest farm crops; price: 100,000 points per hoe.

…

Three seconds later, the draw ended.

Qin Yun was stunned when he saw the reward. [Running Hoe] was a basic agricultural tool he had only seen in the beginner’s shop but never drawn.

Looking at the hoe interface, he realized that Lucky Pop was a random lottery reward; depending on the timing, the seconds, the reward was completely different.

Now the [Magical Pineapple Tree] had disappeared, replaced by the [Running Hoe]… everything was totally different.
————

—An Academician is a highly honored expert officially recognized by a national or academic institution, often in science or engineering.