Clumsy Beast, Keep Your Paws Off Chapter 899: A Bigger Vegetable Garden

Su Qinglan smiled and crouched down to speak to him.

"Thirteenth Brother, I want to expand the vegetable garden. Can you and your brothers help look after the different plots? You’ll be responsible for giving them a spiritual boost, checking their growth, and letting me know if anything goes wrong."

The little spiritual plant blinked.

"All of us?"

"That’s right. There are many plots, so each of you can look after one section. You don’t have to do all the work yourselves. The sub-beastmen will help with the heavy tasks."

The Thirteenth Brother’s eyes immediately lit up.

"Of course! Sister Qinglan, that’s easy! There are fifteen of us brothers. If each of us takes care of one plot, everything will be much easier!"

He paused, then added proudly, "My brothers are all very good at taking care of plants!"

Su Qinglan couldn’t help smiling.

"Then go and call them over. I have something good for all of you."

"Really?"

The Thirteenth Brother’s little leaves trembled with excitement. "Wait here, Sister Qinglan! I’ll bring everyone!"

Before she could say anything else, he darted away. A moment later, the garden suddenly became lively.

One little spiritual plant came running from behind a tree, another emerged from beneath a bush, and several more hurried over from the other side of the garden.

Soon, fifteen nearly identical little spiritual plants stood in front of Su Qinglan.

They lined up as best they could, although two of them were still pushing each other to get a better position.

"Stand properly!" the Thirteenth Brother scolded them. "We’re meeting Sister Qinglan!"

"We are standing properly!"

"You stepped on my foot!"

"You don’t even have feet!"

"Then you stepped on my root!"

Su Qinglan stared at them.

For a moment, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. These little fellows were certainly energetic. "All right, all right. Stop arguing."

The fifteen spiritual plants immediately quieted down and looked at her with expectant eyes.

Su Qinglan raised her hand. A gentle green light gathered in her palm, forming fifteen small balls of spiritual power.

With a wave of her hand, the green balls floated toward the little plants and sank into their bodies one after another.

Their leaves trembled as the spiritual power spread through them. Several of them even swayed happily, while one little fellow excitedly shook his entire body.

"Wow! I feel stronger!"

"Me too!"

"Does this mean I can grow bigger vegetables?"

The Thirteenth Brother hurriedly raised his hand.

"Sister Qinglan, I’ll definitely take good care of the vegetables! I won’t let any of them wither!"

The other spiritual plants immediately chimed in.

"We will too!"

"We’ll protect the vegetables!"

"No one will be allowed to eat them before they’re ready!"

Su Qinglan’s smile stiffened slightly. "Well, you don’t have to stop everyone from eating them. The vegetables are meant to be eaten."

The little spiritual plants looked at one another.

"Oh."

The Thirteenth Brother quickly nodded.

"Then we’ll make sure everyone gets to eat plenty!"

"That’s more like it."

Su Qinglan patted his head one last time before standing up. The garden’s arrangements were settled. She had also strengthened the little spiritual plants so they could take better care of the crops.

Now, she could move on to the next task.

She had no intention of spending the entire day in one place. After giving the spiritual plants a few final instructions, Su Qinglan headed straight toward the area outside Dragon Beast City’s eastern gate.

The sub-beastmen had been waiting there since the previous day.

They had barely slept properly. Ever since Su Qinglan had told them that she would consider giving them work, they had been worrying about whether she would actually return.

Some had even wondered if she had changed her mind. After all, they were sub-beastmen.

Most beastmen looked down on them. They were weak, had difficulty hunting, and were often forced to live in caves or hide in the bushes outside the city.

Who would willingly give them work?

Yet Su Qinglan had treated them differently. She had even promised to find a house for Rao’s family. When they finally saw her approaching, everyone stood up in a hurry.

"Female Qinglan!"

"Female Qinglan, you’re here!"

Their anxious faces immediately brightened.

Su Qinglan nodded at them. "Good morning. Has everyone gathered?"

"Yes!" one of them hurriedly answered. "Everyone who could come is here!"

Su Qinglan looked around and began counting. There were forty people in total, including the elderly and the children.

After excluding those who were too old or too young to work, there were twenty-two able-bodied adult sub-beastmen.

That was a good number. She could put them to work in the vegetable garden and still have enough people left to help with other tasks.

"All right," she announced. "I have arranged work for some of you. The first group will help with the vegetable garden."

The moment she said that, the sub-beastmen immediately became excited.

Su Qinglan pointed toward the people she had selected.

"You’ll be responsible for clearing the land, loosening the soil, preparing the plots, and helping with planting. Rao is already working in the garden, so you can learn from him. If you don’t understand something, ask him or the person supervising your section."

The selected sub-beastmen nodded repeatedly.

"We understand!"

"We’ll work hard!"

"Female Qinglan, don’t worry. We won’t be lazy!"

Their excitement was understandable.

They had seen the vegetables Su Qinglan sold. Those vegetables were completely different from the wild plants growing outside the city. They were fresh, tender, and delicious. Even a small amount could make an ordinary meal taste much better.

If they could earn food by helping grow such vegetables, it would be far better than hiding in the wilderness and struggling to survive.

Su Qinglan then explained their payment.

"Your conditions will be the same as Rao’s. Each week, you’ll receive one large prey animal to share among your family. At the end of the month, you’ll also receive ten baskets of vegetables for your own consumption."

She paused before adding, "The vegetables can be divided among you every week, so you don’t have to wait until the end of the month to take them home."

The sub-beastmen stared at her.

One large prey animal every week?

And ten baskets of vegetables every month?

They had originally hoped to receive enough food to survive. They had never imagined that Su Qinglan would offer them such generous conditions.

A large prey animal, if divided carefully, could provide meat for a long time. With vegetables added to their meals, their families would have a much easier life.

"Female Qinglan, are you serious?"

"Of course. But you must do your work properly. If you damage the crops carelessly or refuse to do your assigned tasks, there will naturally be consequences."

"We understand!"

The selected workers nodded so vigorously that Su Qinglan almost worried their heads would fall off.

She smiled and moved on to the remaining sub-beastmen. There were still people who hadn’t received an assignment.

They had watched the first group receive their work with growing excitement. Now, seeing Su Qinglan turn toward them, they hurriedly straightened their backs.

"Female Qinglan, what about us?"

"Yes, Female Qinglan! Do you have any other work for us?"