I became a god by treasure hunting after arriving 500 years early

Old Cat looked at Lu Yuan's smug expression and suddenly thought of something.

"Old Lu, I have to remind you that our food production can only just feed these ten thousand people."

"We don't have chemical fertilizers, and the yield of our farmland isn't high. We still have to raise chickens, and chickens need feed, right? That's another expense."

"No matter what... the chicken farm must be established," Lu Yuan nodded.

The highest meat to feed ratio among creatures belongs to the chicken.

Chickens have a pretty high meat to feed ratio, consuming 2 pounds of grain to grow 1 pound of meat, and they also lay eggs, definitely the core of the breeding industry.

"Talent is the way to sustainable development."

"Even if it's hard now, we have to start the chicken farm. How can we develop without healthy bodies?"

"Ah, you don't handle the accounts, so you have no idea how expensive essentials like firewood, rice, oil, and salt are. At least 70% of our labor force must be engaged in primary industry to ensure food security, and under these conditions, it is very difficult to develop secondary industries," Old Cat shook its head and body.

It then waved its paw in the direction of the Opium poppy tree: "Moreover, I have noticed that those insects of yours, the weakest batch, are about to hatch, about a hundred of them."

"What happens after they get hungry is anyone's guess."

"These guys need to eat extraordinary creatures to evolve, or at least mutated plants, right? If you can't sustain them, it's just a waste," Old Cat added.

Lu Yuan wore an anxious expression.

So much potential, yet resources are lacking, and production capacity is severely deficient.

But this was something he couldn't resolve.

"Even using the Tree of Life to accelerate food production isn't a long-term solution."

He was considering his options, looking at the account Old Cat presented.

It's true... even the cleverest housewife can't cook without rice!

Suddenly, Conch communicated telepathically: "I think we could start an automated farm."

"Didn't you find a few greenhouse ruins?"

Lu Yuan was struck by the idea, then sighed, "Indeed, I had found a few agricultural planting bases, but with the current quality of our people, how can they manage that?"

"You refurbish the greenhouses a bit and set up the generators you brought with you."

"Then find the necessary inorganic salts."

"If I program the Opium poppy tree's vines, I can complete the work needed for an automated farm."

"I'll personally control the operation of the farm; the productivity should be quite good."

The few of them weighed the idea, and it really seemed feasible!

The generators were brought from the Rize Civilization.

The inorganic salts needed for soilless cultivation, culture dishes, and some machinery could also be found in the Green Grass Civilization.

It would be a bit tough for Conch, though; even with the help of "Green Grass Paradise," the workload wouldn't be small.

"Praise the Princess...having a Princess at home is worth far more than a hundred thousand troops," Lu Yuan pressed his palms together in prayer, praising wildly, "Once the first batch of high-quality grains is produced, everything that follows will be much easier."

"Hmph, only worth a hundred thousand troops? Judging by that expression of yours, are you already fully satisfied?"

"Looks like it's still up to me to take you skyward."

Lu Yuan ignored her provocative tone, "I don't want to hatch too many insects. I'm thinking of putting them inside the flower buds to let them hibernate... What do you think?"

"That's possible. Let's hatch a few first and see. As long as the number is small, we can sustain them. Don't you want to control these insects? Try when the time comes."

"I feel that my control over these insects isn't very strong."

After all, Conch wasn't a Mother Worm.

She could only issue simple commands to the swarm and couldn't direct them like the Mother Worm could.

In such a situation, letting a swarm of not-so-smart insects roam freely could be risky.

They couldn't differentiate between humans and animals; they might very well eat some farmer by mistake.

So, by "controlling" them, risks could be substantially reduced.

"If we let the insects join the workforce, that seems feasible too." The word "productivity" was written all over Lu Yuan's mind now.

He was trying to throw everything into it, just to vigorously develop productivity!

And the remaining few thousand Opium poppy buds were all hidden in the sewers.

These flower buds were quite useful, whether for hibernation or learning.

It will take some time to sort them out of the sewers.

But speaking of which, the Opium poppy tree is currently in a state that's almost "dying."

It needs to recover a bit before it can function properly again.

That would be another unimaginably huge investment.

"I'll give some of the Tree of Life's Life Essence to it," Lu Yuan's heart quivered as he thought about the difficulty of earning money while spending it like water.

"If you hate to part with it, I'll give the remaining half of the Demon Essence to it. That should help it recover quite a bit. Okay, I'll pretend I'm not so heartbroken... since certain misers can't bear to part with their money, I'll have to foot the bill," Conch said begrudgingly.

Lu Yuan scratched his head feeling that Conch's sacrifice was somewhat large.

But the idea was indeed good; the Demon Essence was originally part of the Opium poppy tree.

"I'm willing to pay 1,000 units of Life Essence to help it... and in doing so, owe you a favor." (He currently only had 2,000 units of Life Essence.)

"Just one?"

"A hundred! A hundred will do, right?"

"That's more like it. Then I won't be shy about making demands, brace yourself!"

"I... want to eat... I'm about to faint from hunger."

...

Old Cat silently listened.

Suddenly, she saw the wickedly charming and wild Old Wolf slowly approaching from afar, his pink tongue hanging out, wearing a face that seemed pleased with his own mischief.

In these past few days, Old Wolf had been living a very happy life.

He kept a harem and always had enough to eat.

The fur that was once withered now visibly shone with a healthy luster, his tail perked up high.

Even his expression was one of smug satisfaction.

And at this very moment, Lu Yuan also sported the same expression.
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Could this be what they call "Man and woman together, the workload is lighter"?

The orange cat with over a hundred genders, hurled the most vicious and evil curse from the depths of the abyss: "May all lovers in the world end up as siblings!"

...

Lu Yuan searched through the Storage Space for a while and sighed, realizing he had almost used up all the exquisite ingredients he brought from the Rize Civilization.

He had no choice but to go to Chicken Lady's nest and pocketed two eggs.

"What are you squawking for, I'm feeding your master!"

Chicken Lady shed tears of pain.

Lu Yuan started cooking then and there, whipping up some egg fried rice with quite the skill. Each grain of rice was wrapped in egg, stir-fried to a golden shine, glistening with tempting luster.

He also made a simple tomato and egg soup.

He put a little bit of oil in the pot, and after getting the oil hot, he stir-fried the tomatoes until they released their juice.

When pouring in the egg, it was essential to use a low flame and stir constantly while pouring, so the egg blossoms would turn out prettier.

Finally, a little bit of onion and salt were added, and the steaming hot tomato was ready.

This scene, full of the atmosphere of daily life, was something he often saw during his travels in the past.

Lu Yuan actually enjoyed cooking quite a bit; it gave him a sense of ritual in life.

Initially, only Lu Yuan, Tortoise, and Old Wolf could enjoy the delicacies.

Now, Conch could also enjoy fine food, and she couldn't help but constantly remind herself between restraint and eagerness... a lady must eat elegantly.

"Dinner's ready!" Lu Yuan couldn't help but serve himself a bowl of soup and casually asked, "What functions does the Green Grass Paradise have? You haven't mentioned it yet."

She detailed the functions one by one.

"You can do research too... pretty awesome."

Conch sipped the soup delicately, her eyes curving like crescent moons, "Once we have the Green Grass Paradise, the village's education issues can be sorted out in the Virtual World."

"There is a lot of knowledge left by the Green Grass Civilization."

"Professional teachers provide guidance, confusing parts can be rewatched in videos, and there are even online exams."

"Of course, since the language is different, I need to add a new language in the backend. Do you want them to learn Chinese, or the Green Grass People's script?"

Lu Yuan was pleased; at last, amidst the many pieces of bad news, he heard a piece of good news.

"Bilingual, it's always good to learn more."

He had a reason for choosing bilingual.

Because the materials left by the Green Grass Civilization were as vast as the ocean, relying solely on the translation abilities of a few Divine Skills would take an eternity.

At this time, it was necessary to mobilize the collective effort.

If it weren't for the fact that their ultimate goal was to return to humanity, Lu Yuan would even feel that learning only the Green Grass language might be a suitable choice...

"What about history? Should it be studied?" Old Cat asked.

Lu Yuan was silent.

History was indeed important; it touched on the roots of a civilization, involved a sense of belonging, and could enhance understanding of the development of the world.

The Sha Li Clan of the past had little in the way of historical records, and Lu Yuan had no intention of going out of his way to point out "you guys were actually added later."

If it was all summed up as part of humanity, that would be the end of it.

"But the library only has history from the Green Grass Civilization," Conch said leisurely, "You'll have to compose human history yourself. We can't help with that."

Lu Yuan froze for a moment. He couldn't compose it himself; he didn't have the knowledge for that.

And he really didn't have the time...

He eventually let out a deep sigh: "Next time we contact humanity, I'll ask them to send over a complete set of educational materials. No rush anyway, the main focus is still to teach physics, chemistry, mathematics."

"So no history? You can't possibly leave it blank," Old Cat interjected skeptically.

"The history we write now will be... the city belongs to the Princess of Green Grass, let's just wing it..."

Two vines whipped out from nowhere and tugged at Lu Yuan's hair.

Conch was dissatisfied with the title "Princess of Green Grass."

But she was very satisfied with the taste of the egg fried rice, her cheeks puffed with pleasure. Eggs from the Chicken Snake were silky smooth and full-bodied, each bite brimming with freshness and purity. Gently chewing, the rich yolk mingled with the tender egg white created an indescribable flavor.

The handiwork of Commander Lu throughout these years wasn't for naught.

This was... the joy of enjoying food!

Feeling alive was indeed very good.