Corn, sorghum, soybeans, Chinese cabbage, radishes, tomatoes, and green peppers—those he recognized. Of the three remaining crops, one had drooping grain heads growing in flooded paddies. If he guessed correctly, that had to be rice. Another bore golden ears and should be wheat. The last one made him run closer for a careful look. He saw a tuber bulging from the soil, brushed away the dirt, and discovered that it was actually his favorite food: potatoes!
“Thank heaven!! I can finally eat food meant for human beings!!!” Qi Jun shouted from the middle of the fields. His yell startled a flock of chickens, ducks, and geese that had been hiding among the crops.
His first thought at the sight was, I finally have normal meat to eat!
Then his eyes suddenly lit up. He realized that meant he should have all kinds of eggs in the future too!
Qi Jun plucked a fist-sized tomato from the vine, rubbed it on his clothes, and immediately took a bite. Sweet, tart, and overflowing with juice, it nearly moved him to tears after so many days of eating things that barely qualified as food. If only he had known earlier—he would never have bought those two expensive, bizarre things that afternoon!
That was right! From now on, he would not need to waste money on food at all. This was absolutely cause for celebration!
Once the initial ecstasy of discovering food settled down, Qi Jun began examining the space again.
The other twenty plots had already been plowed, but no seedlings had emerged, so they were probably empty. A circular river surrounded all thirty fields along with the thatched huts, a grassy area roughly the size of a football field, and more than a dozen large, leafy trees. Four wooden bridges connected this central area to the land beyond the river.
No matter which direction he looked, the far side of the river was forest. But where the river met the woodland, a barrier hung in the air like a layer of floating white gauze.
Qi Jun crossed one of the wooden bridges and tested it. The white gauze felt soft, yet he could not pass through it. Apparently, it was a barrier. How to break through it… that was another question.