Chapter 84: Once and “The Past”

“Encyclopedia of Necromantic Magic: Level 1 Necromantic Magic”

[Skeleton Enhancement]: Level 1 magic, auxiliary type, a magic created by the protagonist. It continuously strengthens various attributes of skeletons as the level increases, and upgrading improves the effect.

…

Luo Yan had already prepared himself to drop hints repeatedly, spend all his energy and wear out his tongue, or even perform a demonstration himself, but who would have thought…

To be honest, Luo Yan really did not expect that a small, casual hint from him could trigger such a violent reaction from Luo Pei—shortly after Old Strom made his judgment, Luo Pei had already excitedly called over many experienced old farmers to ask if they thought the idea of “raising fish in rice fields” was reasonable!

However, this was actually because Luo Yan had underestimated the image of a “Wizard” in people’s minds. Having suffered a family tragedy early on before his rebirth and having spent his time in the circles of wizards with little contact with ordinary people, Luo Yan did not understand that on the Amelia Continent, the image of wizards might not be called “mysterious,” but their “power” and “wisdom” were definitely well-known to everyone. People viewed wizards as beings who “explored the truth” and had absolute faith in their wisdom.

Therefore, the reason Luo Pei was so excited was not because of Luo Yan’s hint—if it were just Luo Yan’s hint, Luo Pei would have thought about it slightly at most and would never have taken it so seriously—what truly made him serious was Old Strom’s judgment.

A Level 1 wizard was still a wizard!

The villagers of Talim Village might treat Old Strom as a “joke,” but Luo Pei would never doubt his wisdom.

Seeing his father chatting excitedly with a group of old farmers, Luo Yan suddenly felt like rubbing his forehead. What was this? Getting what he wanted too easily?

The feeling of his hard work suddenly going to waste made Luo Yan feel unable to adapt for a moment. He finally believed that there really was such a thing as the “lightness” that life could not bear!

While Luo Yan complained here, the atmosphere on Luo Pei’s side grew more intense. Even Desai Strom approached and listened seriously. He was very “clear” about his future life path, and in a sense, this was a rare practical opportunity for him—not just the question of whether fish could be raised in rice fields, but more importantly, observing how a grassroots manager encountered certain situations and how he controlled and guided such situations.

However, as intense as the atmosphere was, not everyone agreed with the plan Luo Pei had suddenly come up with. Among them, Old Belikov was the one who opposed it most fiercely.

“What raising fish in rice fields? Stop dreaming, will you? Our families have farmed for generations, and no one has ever thought of such a ridiculous idea!” Looking at Luo Pei with disdain, Old Belikov’s face was flushed red, and he waved his hands excitedly, saying, “You fellows from the city just love to do things that are unconventional. You can’t do anything useful. Tazerikov, don’t you agree!”

It was clear that Old Belikov was very excited, but his usual steadfast supporter, the second most stubborn man in Talim Village, Tazerikov, became hesitant this time. He glanced at Luo Pei with some hesitation and then said slowly, “Well… Old Belikov, this… wouldn’t it be good to try it? Who knows if it can succeed…”

Hearing this, Old Belikov immediately became furious. He pointed at Tazerikov and shouted, “You bastard, what nonsense are you talking about? Can such a wild fantasy succeed? Tell me, when have you ever heard of such a thing in all your generations? How can we do something that the elders have never done?”

Tazerikov was suddenly speechless. He opened his mouth and stuttered, “This… this…”, Seeing this, Luo Pei’s face darkened slightly, but he did not speak immediately. After all, Tazerikov was just a farmer who had not seen the world. Due to Belikov’s overwhelming presence, not only Tazerikov, but even some of the other excited people showed hesitant expressions at this time.

However, while they feared Old Belikov, someone did not. At this moment, a clear voice came from the side: “Father Belikov, this is where you are wrong. Who says we cannot do things that the elders have not done? Besides, it seems the elders have mentioned raising fish in rice fields before!”

Old Belikov was stunned, and everyone turned to look. They saw that the one speaking was Desai Strom, who had been standing to the side. They were momentarily surprised. Although they often gossiped about Old Strom’s family, they all knew that Desai Strom was one of the few educated people in the village!

—The Hall City State Intermediate Academy was a very famous intermediate academy in the entire Lons Administrative District. Any student associated with this academy often had a subtle connection with enviable titles such as “genius” or “elite”…

While everyone was dazed, Desai squeezed into the crowd and said slowly, “In the book ‘Continental Sightseeing’ written by the famous adventurer Rush, it mentioned ‘field fish, which come in red, black, and variegated colors; the natives raise them in rice fields and dyke ponds…’. Additionally, in the ‘Commoners’ Agricultural Canon’, it says, ‘digging fish ditches and fish channels in rice fields to carry out fish farming is a production method of combined rice-fish cultivation.’ What is it, Father Belikov? Do you have any doubts about the works of these sages?”

Hearing Desai say this, the people around him immediately showed excited looks again, appearing greatly encouraged. Old Belikov was speechless, but he soon became furious again, waving his arms and shouting, “Fine, fine~~ go be crazy with that city fellow! But I won’t join you. Don’t think I’ll go crazy with you!!”

Saying this, he turned around angrily, pushed through the crowd, and walked away with large strides. Luo Yan even heard him muttering: “Raising fish in rice fields? How ridiculous~~ something the elders wouldn’t even think of!”

Once Old Belikov walked away, people immediately crowded around to ask Desai to explain the matter of “raising fish in rice fields” in detail. But Desai pushed it away, saying he had only seen some records and did not know the details; everyone needed to research it themselves.

Everyone thought that since Desai was a student who had never done farm work, asking him for specific details was indeed asking too much. They then crowded to the other side and discussed heatedly, quickly forgetting the good student who had just stolen the spotlight. However, at this moment, Luo Yan approached Desai and sneakily pulled on his sleeve.

Desai turned his head in surprise and saw Luo Yan saying with a grin, “Not bad, Senior Brother… I didn’t expect your reaction to be so fast. How did you make up the names of those two books so quickly?”

To his surprise, Desai said in confusion, “Huh? Make them up? I didn’t! Those two books actually exist; they are in our State Academy library, and the content I mentioned was actually seen in the books. I wasn’t talking nonsense!”

Now it was Luo Yan’s turn to be surprised. He opened his mouth wide in shock, completely puzzled—if what Desai said was true, and there were such clear records, why had raising fish in ponds, which was so beneficial for grain yield, remained unknown to people for thousands of years until it became popular forty years later?!

Looking at Desai in confusion, after a long time, Luo Yan realized that perhaps Desai’s expression, which was completely unmoved by the current scene, was the best explanation.

[Those who know do not care; those who care do not know…]