Chapter 2, Whetstone
With this thought in mind, Li Siwen, while on his way to the wheat field, took the opportunity to pick up a stone of moderate size and fine texture while relieving himself. The lord was currently asleep, and he felt he could take a small risk.
If it is the first scenario he speculated, then it is highly likely that he will attract the attention of the lord. Of course, this does not mean that his identity will be exposed; rather, he may be appreciated and rewarded. After all, although the total area he has cleared is small, the quality has at least doubled.
Of course, there is another issue: will that lord become suspicious due to his slow weeding speed
However, Li Siwen noticed a detail: the lord entered the stone house while yawning, and his back was dampened by the dew
Fourth, cutting off the wheat seedlings will not yield green light spots, but neither will it result in any visible punishment
Of course, there is another situation, which is that the lord may not pay any attention to these details at all. As a leader who has to manage a territory and handle numerous affairs, if he were to address every matter with such meticulousness, the overall workload would be so immense that even Li Siwen himself would find it overwhelming to contemplate
In just a few seconds, Li Siwen felt so nervous that his heart was about to leap out of his chest
During the lunch break, even after resting for a full hour, Li Siwen, who had already consumed his rations in advance, could only restore his stamina to 6 o'clock
Li Siwen chose the simplest method, but this approach resulted in a significant depletion of his physical strength. By around 9 o'clock in the morning, his stamina, which was at 10, had already been reduced to 5.
When there are 2 points of stamina remaining, one is essentially in a state of exhaustion. In such circumstances, it is often necessary to replenish with a meal and then rest for an entire night in order to restore stamina to a full 10 points. If one is awakened several times during the night or engages in any activities, it is impossible to fully recover.
If it is the latter scenario he speculated, then he need not worry at all. The fifty acres of land are divided into twelve plots, and the ten farmers do not have fixed contracts but take turns managing the land
Fortunately, this is already sufficient
Then, he began to hoe the weeds, slightly increasing the range of his movements and the force applied, striving to maximize the inertia of the hoe's swing, while at the same time being careful not to be greedy, ensuring that each weed was uprooted completely.
Mild cases may lead to heatstroke, while severe cases can cause bodily harm. If one were to lose even a small amount of vitality as a result, or suffer from a serious illness, it would truly be a case of incurring more losses than gains
Then, nothing happened; that lord did not even glance at him or at the sparse wheat seedlings in the field. He must have a means to clearly ascertain the progress and quality of the weeding. Of course, this data might only yield results after the wheat harvest, as for a piece of newly cultivated land, a sudden instance of high-quality weeding is insignificant in the overall curve of cultivation management and harvest.
First, cutting the wild grass outside the wheat field will also cause green light spots to gather into a green sphere, but large-scale attempts cannot be made at this time
The hoe is somewhat rusty, and its quality is indeed rather poor, resembling a piece of scrap metal. Although such a hoe can cut through weeds, it requires a significant amount of effort, and it is also unable to sever the weeds at the root, as the hoe becomes even duller when caked with soil
However, if he could extract a bit of vitality from the green ball once again this afternoon and then add it to his stamina
Several conclusions can be drawn
Perhaps the lord did not notice this detail, but Li Siwen, as a small subordinate at a farming and pastoral station before his crossing, is well aware of these common knowledge
As dawn broke, Li Siwen awoke to a pungent odor, and from head to toe, he was covered in no fewer than dozens of large welts; the mosquitoes here were indeed rather aggressive.
Without washing up, after convenience, we lined up to receive provisions from two plump women, filled the water gourd with cool boiled water, and the ten farmers set off silently, with no one grumbling or complaining, not even engaging in idle chatter
Secondly, cutting off the surface part of the weeds can yield green light spots, although their quantity is limited
Li Siwen squatted at the edge of the field, taking advantage of the opportunity to eat some dry rations, and spent five minutes sharpening the hoe, making it somewhat presentable, after all, one cannot expect too much
Fifth, there is no need to use a hoe; using other tools, including pulling weeds by hand, will also yield green light points
Taking a deep breath, Li Siwen began to continue weeding at the original pace. His current condition would definitely not last until evening, and after finishing work in the evening, he would certainly be exposed due to the insufficient area of weeding. Even though he deliberately weeded one-tenth more yesterday, it would absolutely not make up for today's shortfall
Glancing up at the direction of the leader, Li Siwen took out his provisions and water gourd, sat down to rest. A stamina level of 5 serves as a critical threshold; before stamina drops to 5, one may only feel slightly fatigued, and even during work breaks, there will be some recovery. However, if food and water are not replenished at this time, and one does not sit down to rest, once stamina falls below 5, fatigue will weigh down like a lead block throughout the body, leading to an overall sense of weakness, making it impossible to exhibit vigor and vitality. Even during work breaks, there will be some recovery, but if food and water are not replenished at this time, and one does not sit down to rest, once stamina falls below 5, fatigue will weigh down like a lead block throughout the body, leading to an overall sense of weakness, making it impossible to exhibit vigor and vitality.
To achieve excellence in one's work, one must first sharpen their tools
As a result, his weeding speed slowed down considerably, but the number of green light points obtained was at least twice as much as usual
Furthermore, Li Siwen must ensure that he reserves a minimum of two points of stamina. Although he is not entirely clear about the consequences of exhausting his stamina, does he not know what it feels like to be physically drained from manual labor in reality
This is his plan, which is not perfect, but the likelihood of it being successfully executed is still quite high
According to his calculations, the consumption and recovery of these 10 points of stamina are essentially no different from that of a normal adult
This truly is a dedicated lord, as the safety factor at night must be the lowest. As the one with the highest combat power, he must patrol with the militia
When that stern lord departed, Li Siwen silently thought to himself
Thus, the physical strength he can exert is only 3 points, which is a full 3 points less than that of other farmers
After consuming the midday provisions and resting for half an hour, Li Siwen's stamina quickly recovered to 8 o'clock. At this point, he was only slightly behind the other farmers, which was not too noticeable. When the lord arrived for inspection around 10 to 11 in the morning, he would not detect anything amiss, provided that there were no background data records for him to review.
The attribute of physical strength has been the most emphasized by Li Siwen in recent days, and he has not become complacent at all due to the data-driven approach
However, Li Siwen was not aiming to improve work efficiency
In the past, he would consume 5 points of energy in an entire morning. After resting in the shade for a while at noon, his energy would recover to 8 points, and then throughout the entire afternoon, his energy would ultimately be consumed again by 6 points
Based on the above, Li Siwen made the following decision: to pursue quality rather than quantity, and the key to the quality of weeding lies in the hoe
The act of sharpening the hoe with small stones did not attract the attention of the other nine farmers, as they were not in the same field after all
This is also why the ten farmers, who cultivate ten acres of land each day, still cannot keep up with the growth rate of the wild grass
Around 10 o'clock in the morning, the lord arrived as expected. He did not say anything, but merely paused for a few seconds at the edge of each farmer's weeding wheat field.
Thirdly, cutting off most of the roots and stems of the wild grass can yield a significant number of green light spots, approximately two to three times that of the previous method
He has been conducting experiments on the eradication of wild grass for the past four days
In other words, digitization has not brought any convenience or advantages to people; they remain just as fatigued, just as susceptible to injury, and when bitten by mosquitoes, they still experience the same unbearable itchiness
Taking advantage of the lunch break, Li Siwen, who had been sharpening his hoe with a stone, confidently walked into the wheat field. He was certain that by the time the lord returned for his inspection around 5 PM, he would catch up with the other farmers' progress in weeding, and even if there was a slight discrepancy, it would not be of great concern
Moreover, a hotter afternoon will exacerbate the consumption of physical strength, and coupled with hunger, even doing nothing will result in a slight loss of energy
Therefore, even if autumn arrives and the harvest of a certain wheat field is slightly better, it is fundamentally impossible to trace its origins
Then let's put in more effort
The answer is expected to be revealed tonight
Without a whetstone, the iron hoe is not hard; occasionally sharpening it with a stone makes it somewhat sharper.