Is planting mulberry trees and raising silkworms essentially animal husbandry rather than agriculture?
Chuck pondered. No, that's not quite right. It should be seen as a hybrid of both.
The mulberry leaves are the feed; therefore, growing them is agriculture. Raising the worms is husbandry. But if that was the case... Julia's "Master Botanist" bonus—the 20x growth acceleration—might not apply to the silkworms' development. If so, this endeavor would require significantly more patience and effort than he had anticipated.
With some time left before evening, Chuck rushed back to the stone terrace. He handed the mulberry trees and pepper vines over to Julia. The small greenhouse was now reaching its capacity; any further crops would require a structural expansion.
Next, he showed the strange fruit from the jungle to Julia. He finally got an answer.
"It's Breadfruit!"
Inside the small greenhouse, Julia had tied her golden hair back with a piece of fiber cloth, looking every bit the diligent farmwife. She held a large, round green fruit in her hands, her face lit with delight. "Darling, you were right. This is a staple food, though these two are a bit overripe."
"Overripe?" Chuck scratched his head. He had specifically chosen the soft ones because they were easy to peel and eat.
"Yes. Breadfruit should be picked when the fruit is still firm to be roasted. Once cooked, the taste and texture are very similar to freshly baked bread—hence the name."
Chuck nodded in realization and then asked, "Can we cultivate or transplant these?"
"Of course~" Julia brushed the dirt off her small hands. "Though we don't usually use the seeds. We use the suckers—the young shoots that grow from the roots. We dig them up and replant them."
Chuck recalled the base of the tree he found; there had indeed been many small shoots.
"Normally, it takes years for a breadfruit tree to bear fruit," Julia mused, tapping her chin, "but everything grows so fast here. Maybe it will only take a year, or even less..."
She had grown entirely accustomed to the island's supernatural growth rate, naturally attributing it to the island's unique environment since she didn't know about the workbench system.
Following Chuck's request, Julia began planting the mulberry trees. Given her bonuses, they would likely be harvesting a massive amount of leaves and berries within days.
Leaving the greenhouse, Chuck picked up the clay pot and entered the livestock pen.
"Raising silkworms?"
Janet, wearing a matching headscarf to her niece while feeding hay to the goats, looked up in surprise. The red-haired mature mare wiped her hands and walked over to him. She peered into the pot at the wriggling wild worms, her blue eyes blinking in confusion. "These are silkworms?"
As a rancher's daughter, Janet had raised cattle, sheep, horses, and even turkeys, but these squishy little insects were a first for her. "Haha, what disgusting little things!"
Chuck wasn't surprised by her reaction. Sericulture had been an Eastern monopoly for millennia. Even the Silk Road mostly traded finished silk, not the technology of mulberry trees and silkworms themselves.
Fortunately, Chuck had raised silkworms at home back in civilization. Thanks to his enhanced mental stats, he remembered every stage of the process from the eggs to the cocoons. He spent the next half-hour distilling his memories into a "Beginner's Guide to Amateur Sericulture" and passed it all to Janet.
While worms were a far cry from cattle, the logic of husbandry—feeding and breeding—remained the same. Entrusting this to Janet was the best choice.
Outside, the sun was dipping toward the horizon.
"Did you get all that?" Chuck asked as he finished his explanation.
Janet yawned, stretching her voluptuous body. "To be honest... about half of it."
Chuck sighed. "Was your academic record that bad in school?"
"Honey, isn't that obvious? If I were good at studying, would I have stayed to inherit the ranch?" Janet rolled her eyes playfully and untied her headscarf, letting her crimson curls cascade down. "Look, I didn't memorize it all, but I get the gist. Take care of the little guys until they get fat and spin cocoons. Leave it to Mommy~"
Seeing her confidence, Chuck's worry faded. Janet might be even more boisterous than Julia, but she never joked about work. If she said she could do it, she would.
"Alright, I'm counting on you, Janet."
"Hey, call me Mommy—"
Janet stepped into his personal space, her fleshy, scent-heavy body pressing against him. Her plump red lips met his in a deep, wet kiss.
[Janet's Trust has increased by 1! Current Trust: 55 (Affectionate)]
Their tongues tangled until a long silver thread of saliva connected them as they pulled apart. Janet smiled seductively and leaned into his ear, her breath hot.
"By the way, I have something too. After dinner tonight... come find me at the east beach."
Chuck understood instantly. A surge of heat hit his lower belly. To be honest, the last time he had been this excited for a specific time was his three-day pact with Julia. Now, the object of his desire was her aunt. It was both a sentimental and "arousing" development.
Before dinner, Chuck visited the artificial cave.
The moment he appeared, Valentina stood up, her eyes flashing with stubborn defiance. Despite the gap between them being so vast she had no way to win, her fighting spirit remained unbroken. However, her green eyes now held a new, unfamiliar emotion.
"Again!" she barked, as she always did.
But this time, Chuck simply shook his head, his face expressionless. "No fighting today."
"What?!" Valentina's pale face flushed with anger. "Why?!"
"No reason." Chuck kept his hands in his pockets, looking at her coldly. "If I had to say... I'm bored of you."
Valentina froze. "...Bored?"
Chuck nodded. "You know I'm not short on women. I only played along initially because I was curious about a woman like you. But now, I've played with every inch of your body. I've seen you scream and spray. I'm no longer curious. In short, your 'wager' is void, Valentina Orekhov."
Without another look, Chuck turned and walked out of the cave. This time, he didn't leave her any water or food.
Watching his retreating back, Valentina's face showed a look of bewildered helplessness for the first time. The wager... is void?
She looked down at her own body in the fading sunlight. For years, she had never cared about her feminine charm; it was meaningless to her. But the reality was that her charm was the only capital that had allowed her to keep challenging Chuck despite her repeated failures. She had viewed Chuck as a "human stud" who thought with his dick—as long as she sacrificed her body, she could keep her pride as a warrior.
Now, the cold water had been thrown. He had lost interest. Some things are only valued once they are gone. A wave of unprecedented defeat washed over her, making her knees weak. She collapsed onto the cold ground.
"Whether as a warrior or a woman, you're just a useless piece of trash." Chuck's words echoed in her mind.
The cave fell into a long, heavy silence. Finally...
Crack. Crack.
Her pale fists clenched so hard her knuckles popped. Her jaw tightened, teeth grinding. Valentina was not a woman who accepted defeat. Not in battle, and not in anything else.
Her green eyes reignited with a new kind of fire, and a sickly, feverish flush crept up her cheeks. In that moment, something fundamental within the proud silver-haired warrior snapped and reshaped itself into something far more dangerous—and submissive.
Outside, Chuck lingered for a moment to ensure she wouldn't do anything drastic, then smiled and left. He wasn't worried; he knew her well enough to know this aggressive "training" would work. Based on her unexpected proactivity during their last session, he realized that instead of just ruthless play, she needed to be pushed into wanting to serve. She was a muscle-bound "brat" who secretly craved making a man feel good.
Tonight, he would give her a night to think. Tomorrow, he would claim her completely.
Dinner was served on time, but the atmosphere was different. Usually, it was a cacophony of the women chatting about their day or sharing "bedroom experiences"—specifically, how to stay conscious under the assault of Chuck's dragon. Tonight, things were more formal.
As the meat soup was served, the women sat but didn't eat, their eyes fixed on Chuck. He cleared his throat.
"I wasn't in a bad mood at lunch today. I just encountered something unexpected. If you want to hear it, I'll tell you, and you're free to share your thoughts."
The table exploded instantly.
"Of course we want to hear! Darling, you haven't been telling me enough lately!"
"Hubby, we are your backbone."
"What happened, Baba?"
"Mr. Chuck, I might be slow, but I'll do anything I can to help."
"Me too, you can command me at any time..."
Seeing their worried, loving faces, Chuck felt a profound sense of warmth. As a man, to reach this point in life... he could die without regrets. He laughed, waving for them to sit and eat.
"Eat up. Listen while you eat."