The Three Brothers fields, no longer just a rocky slope but a named territory under their management, changed the Lin family's perception of themselves. They were no longer intensive gardeners on a postage stamp of land; they were pastoralists, managers of space and grass. The two black steers, Onyx and Shadow, were the tangible proof. As they grew through the late summer, their broad backs and deepening chests became a daily measure of progress, of their pasture's slowly awakening potential.
The 'Basic Hydrology & Earthworks' knowledge was immediately put to use. After the thunderstorm's lesson, Lin Yan, Lin Qiang, and Er Niu spent days improving the simple irrigation ditch, reinforcing its banks, and creating small, stone-lined basins along its length to catch and percolate water. They also built a series of low, woven-branch check dams in the worst gullies, slowing runoff and trapping silt. It was crude engineering, but it was a dialogue with the land, an attempt to persuade it to heal.
The stonecrop, their quiet tutor, continued its work. The cuttings had not only held but were sending out tiny runners, colonizing the raw edges of the gullies with a slow, green persistence. They would never be fodder, but they were becoming the land's first line of defense, its living bandage.
At home, the system's Tier 3 unlock criteria glowed in Lin Yan's mind: Brand Established and 10 mu under management. They had the land. The brand was nascent but real. He could feel the next threshold approaching, a silent hum of potential.
The herb garden flourished, a fragrant, orderly contrast to the wild pasture project. The lavender bloomed, a haze of purple that buzzed with bees and perfumed the air around the hut. Qiao Yuelan's visit to collect it was anticipated with a new kind of tension—not just commercial, but personal. Her recognition of their efforts, her sharp mind that saw potential where others saw only rock, had woven her into the fabric of their striving.
When she arrived, she came not just as an herbalist's apprentice, but as a partner. She examined the lavender with a critical eye, pronounced it excellent, and paid in silver again. But then she sat with Lin Yan at the rough table outside, a map of the region sketched in the dirt between them.
"The Deputy Minister Zhao," she said, her finger tracing a line north. "His inspection tour of the frontier granaries and pastures concludes at the provincial capital next month. He has… discretionary funds for initiatives that increase local resilience and supply. A project demonstrating successful remediation of marginal land for fodder production would be of keen interest."
She was offering them a stage. A terrifying, glorious stage. "Our nine mu of rocks and gullies?" Lin Yan asked, a knot of anxiety tightening in his chest.
"Your nine mu of controlled gullies, stonecrop-reinforced slopes, Bluestem hay production, and grass-fattened cattle," she corrected. "It is the narrative that matters. The Empire needs solutions, not just yields. If you can present a coherent system—from soil healing to premium product—it could mean grants. Loans. Perhaps even an imperial commendation."
The scale of it was dizzying. They were playing with concepts far beyond village headmen and butchers now. This was the language of policy and patronage.
"What do we need to do?" he asked, his voice steady despite the storm in his mind.
"Have something to show. By the time he passes through the prefecture in six weeks. The cattle should be noticeably thriving on your pasture. The erosion control should be visible. A clear plan for expansion. And…" she met his eyes, "a sample of the end product. The smoked pork that caught his attention. Presented not as a lucky ham, but as the logical result of your system."
It was a deadline more daunting than any debt payment. It required everything to work in concert, and to be visible.
"We'll be ready," Lin Yan said, the words a vow.
After she left, the family mobilized with a new, focused intensity. The brand was no longer an abstract concept; it was a performance for an imperial audience.
Lin Gang and Lin Qiang focused on the cattle. They built a simple, open-sided shelter on the Three Brothers field for shade and rain protection. They began a more rigorous rotational grazing plan, moving the steers between the three terraces every few days to prevent overgrazing and allow grass recovery. The difference was subtle but real; the areas they vacated showed greener regrowth within a week.
Lin Yan turned his attention to the Smokehouse 2.0. The existing structure had worked, but for a presentation to a Deputy Minister, everything needed to be impeccable. He used the last of their cash to purchase a small quantity of fine whitewash and a proper iron smoke vent from a traveling tinsmith. He and Xiaoshan whitewashed the smokehouse inside and out until it gleamed in the sun, a tidy, professional-looking installation. He designed a simple branded stamp—a stylized '林' (Lin) character encircled by a sheaf of grass—to burn into the wooden crates for the pork.
Wang Shi, Xiaohui, and the sisters-in-law became quality control. Every egg was washed and inspected. The herb garden was weeded to perfection. The hut's surroundings, long functional but messy, were swept and organized. They were preparing for inspection.
And through it all, the system hummed. The points ticked up slowly with minor quests and milestones: 215/300.
Then, a breakthrough born of observation. While moving the cattle, Lin Yan noticed Shadow, the slightly smaller steer, had a denser, curlier coat around his forehead and shoulders, and a distinctive hump of muscle over his shoulders. It was a characteristic he recognized from his old-world knowledge, but which seemed out of place here. Brahman influence. The system's "Angus-cross" had introduced heat-tolerant, hardy genetics. This was a massive advantage on their poor, sunny slopes.
He pointed it out to Lin Qiang. "See that hump? That means he's built for hot, tough conditions. He'll thrive here where other breeds might struggle."
Lin Qiang, ever the analyst, nodded. "So our 'system' isn't just about grass. It's about matching the right beast to the land. That's a story."
It was. It was a story of intelligent selection, of modern knowledge applied to ancient problems.
Six days before the Deputy Minister's scheduled passage through the prefectural city, disaster threatened from an unexpected quarter. A sickness swept through the village's poultry. It started at the Zhang estate's henhouses—a sudden, violent respiratory plague that left birds gasping and dead within hours. Quarantine was declared. No poultry or eggs were to leave Willow Creek.
Their egg trade, a small but vital part of their brand and income, was frozen. Worse, their own chickens were at risk. The 'Pioneer Aura' might offer some protection, but it wasn't a magical barrier.
Lin Yan acted fast. He isolated their flock completely, forbidding anyone from going near other village birds. He boosted their tonic, added extra garlic and oregano to their water, and prayed. For three tense days, they watched their hens anxiously. The village was filled with the sounds of distressed clucking and the grim silence that followed.
Their chickens never got sick.
Whether it was the aura, their superior health from forage and supplements, or sheer luck, they were spared. But they were trapped. Their premium eggs, intended as part of the presentation for Qiao Yuelan's client (and by extension, a subtle part of their narrative), were stuck on the farm.
Frustrated but undeterred, Lin Yan pivoted. The brand would stand on meat and hay alone. He selected the best of their remaining smoked hams, one from the last litter, cured and smoked to perfection. He packaged it in a newly stamped crate lined with clean straw and a few sprigs of dried lavender for scent. It was a simple, elegant presentation.
The day before the Deputy Minister's arrival in the city, Lin Yan and Lin Qiang set out early, leading a single, placid ox borrowed from Old Man Chen (repaid with a promise of future Bluestem hay) hitched to a rough cart. On the cart rode the branded crate of ham, and two bundles of their finest, sweet-smelling Bluestem hay, tied with a braid of lavender stems.
They met Qiao Yuelan at a quiet inn on the city's outskirts, not the bustling market. She was dressed in slightly finer clothes than usual, a deep blue that made her look older, more official. She inspected their offerings, her sharp eyes missing nothing.
"The hay is exceptional," she said, crushing a blade and smelling it. "The ham… the presentation is good. Simple. Honest." She looked at Lin Yan. "I cannot promise an audience. He is a busy man. But I will ensure these are in his quarters, with a brief report on their origin. The story will be told. That is all we can do."
It was a long shot. A deputy minister of the empire was a celestial being compared to their earthly struggle. But they had shot their arrow.
They returned home, exhausted and emptied of the frantic energy that had propelled them for weeks. The wait was agonizing. Two days passed with no word. The family tried to return to normal rhythms, but the tension was palpable. Had their crate been thrown out? Had the story seemed ridiculous?
On the third day, a rider in the livery of the prefectural magistrate's office clattered into Willow Creek. He did not go to Village Head Li. He came directly to the Lin fence.
"Lin Yan?" the rider asked, his voice formal.
"I am he."
"Deputy Minister Zhao thanks you for your… illustrative gifts. He was particularly taken with the quality of the hay, given its described provenance. He has instructed the Prefectural Agricultural Bureau to include your holding in a new survey of 'marginal land remediation techniques.' An inspector will visit within the month to compile a report." The rider handed him a small, sealed scroll. "A letter of introduction, for the inspector."
It was not a grant. Not a loan. Not a commendation. It was a footnote in a bureaucratic report. But it was an imperial footnote. It was recognition at a level that Village Head Li could only dream of.
The rider left. The family gathered, staring at the official scroll with its wax seal.
Lin Qiang broke the silence. "An inspector. So now we get audited by the empire instead of the village."
But Lin Yan was smiling. It was a weary, triumphant smile. "An inspector comes to learn. To write a report that other officials will read. Our methods, our grass, our cattle… they are now a subject of imperial study." He looked out at the Three Brothers, where Onyx and Shadow grazed peacefully. "We are no longer just farmers. We are a case study."
The weight of the past weeks lifted, replaced by a profound, weary satisfaction. They had faced sickness, deadlines, and the sheer scale of imperial attention, and they had not been found wanting. The brand had been presented, and it had not broken.
That night, for the first time, Lin Yan used the 'Financial Ledger Basics' knowledge to formally record the transaction: Investment: 1 ham, 2 hay bundles. Return: Imperial notice, potential future leverage.
As he closed the makeshift ledger, a system notification, deeper and more resonant than any before, filled his vision.
[Quest: 'Establish the Brand' – COMPLETE.]
[Criteria Met: Recurring high-end client (Butcher Gao/Garrison), unique product identity recognized, formal acknowledgment from imperial-level authority.]
[Reward: System Shop Tier 3 – UNLOCKED.]
[Tier 3 Shop Available. New Category: 'Genetic & Land Enhancement.']
[Additional Reward: 'Selective Breeding Principles' advanced knowledge. 100 System Points.]
[Points Total: 315/???]
The shop expanded before his mind's eye. New categories glowed: Livestock Genetics (Targeted Traits), Soil Microbe Inoculants, Water Table Mapping, Basic Metallurgy.
They had crossed the threshold. The forge of their effort had sparked a fire that even the distant empire had seen. They were no longer building just a ranch. They were building a model.
And as Lin Yan looked at the stonecrop, now a thriving patch of green armor on the once-barren gully, he knew the lesson held. Resilience, matched with intelligent direction, could move mountains. Or at least, catch the eye of those who ruled them.
[System Note: Brand established at regional/imperial ancillary level. Tier 3 capabilities unlocked, offering tools for fundamental manipulation of biology and land. Host's operation has graduated to demonstration scale. The foundation is now a prototype.]