Immortality: Raising an Ant Queen to Cultivate by increasing stat points - Chapter 174

Chapter 174: Chapter 169 Master Mo’s Attitude Changed_1

Translator: 549690339

In the face of interest, everything else is insubstantial.

In the eyes of the Young Master of the Yan Family, Master Mo Sang’s strength surpassed both Qin Niu and Shi Doudan, so naturally, Master Mo Sang took precedence.

After leaving the Yan Family, Steward Yan Qi personally escorted Qin Niu to the fields to show him the way.

“These 180 acres of mulberry fields are of utmost importance, for their leaves are sweet and tender, making them severely susceptible to locust infestations. If the locusts consume all the leaves, the silkworms we are raising will starve to death, and we will be unable to fulfill our orders. Then we will face substantial compensation fees. Please, Master Qin, prioritize pest control for these mulberry fields.”

Weaving has always been one of many important industries for large landlords.

It’s much more profitable than growing food crops.

The climate of Jade Stream Town is conducive to sericulture, and the Yan Family was one of the early adopters in the industry.

It’s said that the Yan Family’s initial capital came from silkworm breeding and weaving, earning their first pot of gold before gradually expanding their business to the scale it is today.

In recent years, with the rise of sericulture and weaving in many places, the profits have started to decline.

Having noticed the market trends, the Yan Family has consciously reduced the number of mulberry fields. At their peak, at least half of their land was used for mulberry planting.

Now, it has been reduced to 180 acres, not even half of what it used to be.

That’s why the Yan Family has started expanding their tea plantations in recent years; they want to diversify into multiple industries to make the family’s economy more stable and more resilient to risks.

Even so, the weaving industry remains the Yan Family’s largest economic venture.

If these mulberry leaves are devoured by locusts, the Yan Family’s weaving industry will immediately suffer the most severe blow in history.

The young silkworms will quickly starve to death, and the half-grown silkworms will cocoon and transform into moths rapidly due to the lack of food.

The quality of these cocoons is very poor, and the silk they produce will be substandard goods.

Moreover, the yield will greatly decrease.

Normally, a high-quality cocoon weighs about 3 grams with smooth, thick, and lustrous silk.

But the cocoons spun by the half-grown silkworms are purely for survival and reproduction. The cocoons might weigh less than 1 gram, with silk that’s dull yellow and breaks easily upon pulling, which is very poor quality.

And the impact goes far beyond that.

The quantity of silkworm eggs produced will also significantly reduce, and the silkworm hatchlings, due to poor prenatal nutrition, will lead to a decline in the species’ quality.

That is to say, if the Yan Family fails to protect these 180 acres of mulberry trees, their weaving industry will struggle to rebound for at least two years.

“Steward Qi, you can go back and rest! I’ll take care of things here. It would be best if you could prepare some gauze or fishing nets. I can’t eliminate all the locusts in the mulberry fields at once; it will need to be done over several days. Set up the fishing nets at the edge of the cleared fields to prevent other locusts from migrating over.”

After sending Steward Yan Qi away, Qin Niu set his termites to work.

They moved swiftly, especially those Grade Three soldier ants and worker ants—they were incredibly strong.

As their master, he found himself with little to do.

Once the moon rose into the sky, he simply sat down in the field to practice the Everlasting Spring Technique.

By dawn the next day, Qin Niu checked the termites’ overnight achievements, having eradicated the locusts in twenty-three acres of mulberry fields.

They worked even harder than bees.

As the Termite Army continued to grow and with more Grade Three termites, their work efficiency exponentially increased.

For pest control in one acre of land, he received seventy wen as pay.

For twenty-three acres, that made one tael and six coins of silver money.

Earning half a year’s income for an ordinary person after a night’s work, being an Insect Master really wasn’t bad.

Now, if he could just find a way to deal with the threat of Old Master Huang, his life would be extremely comfortable.

“Master Qin, was last night’s pest control successful?”

The Young Master of the Yan Family personally brought people over to check.

These mulberry trees were too vital to the Yan Family to allow any mishaps.

“It went fairly smoothly. I cleared locusts from a total of twenty-three acres. Please inspect them, Young Master Yan.”

Qin Niu had already gathered the termites into jars, ready to head back.

“So many acres cleared in one night?”

Master Mo Sang’s eyes were puffy and dark-ringed, clearly not having abstained from overnight indulgence.

He didn’t believe Qin Niu could be that capable.

After personally inspecting the mulberry fields, shock appeared on his face.

“I have underestimated you, Master Qin. I was rude before, please do not take it to heart!”

Upon seeing the dead insects scattered across the ground and the emptied eggshells, Mo Sang realized he had met a true expert.

His attitude towards Qin Niu immediately underwent a one hundred and eighty-degree change.

He bowed and made his apologies.

“You flatter me too much, Master Mo!”

He dismissed the gesture indifferently.

Aspiring to be a large tree, he would not argue with the grass.

From the start, he hadn’t taken Master Mo seriously. As for the latter’s mockery and disdain, Qin Niu took it as no more than the buzzing of a mosquito.

“Young Master Yan, I have cleared all of the locusts from these mulberry fields, whether adult, nymph, or egg, without exception. Besides locusts, I’ve also cleared out other pests like cabbage moths including their larvae and eggs. As long as no new pests enter, these mulberry fields won’t have to worry about insect damage for several years.”

Mo Sang reported the inspection results to Young Master Yan Qi.

“Haha, excellent! Hearing this great news, my heart has finally settled. I might be able to sleep soundly tonight! Both masters are very impressive. The preservation of our Yan Family’s crops depends on you. Now that you two heroes have come to respect each other, there should be wine and beauties to celebrate. I have already prepared breakfast; please join me. Only after a good meal and drink will you have the energy to work!”

The Young Master of the Yan Family saw how effective Qin Niu was at pest control.

Solving the Yan Family’s most troublesome problem.

He was delighted.

Now, he wanted to treat Qin Niu with fine wine and beautiful women.

“I appreciate your kind offer, Young Master Yan. After working all night, I urgently need to return home and rest well to gather my energy, so I can continue pest control tonight. I beg your leave.”

How could Qin Niu possibly exchange brotherly toasts with Master Mo Sang at a dining table?

Truth be told, he didn’t think much of either Master Mo or Master Shi.

They were not people of his path.

“Master Qin, farewell! I shall honor you with a few drinks at the banquet this evening.”

Master Mo Sang had completely lowered his stance.

Both being experts in insect control, they naturally could recognize the strength of one another.

Some of the dead locusts were unmarked on the outside, which terrified Master Mo Sang. He had secretly examined many of them and had no idea how these locusts were killed.

The Mental Attack of the Ghost Ants in Qin Niu’s Termite Army was extremely peculiar.

With the addition of Grade Three Ghost Ants, it became even more terrifying.

Without any physical contact, a Grade Three Termite could launch a Mental Attack and effortlessly kill a grown locust.

Silent and swift, efficient and swift.

Let alone him, even if Chairman Li personally came over, he might not be able to determine the cause of death of these locusts.

“Fair said, fair said!”

Qin Niu cupped his hands together and headed back to his estate.

“Yan Qi, you send Master Qin back!”

“Yes!”

Yan Qi was also secretly shocked by Qin Niu’s strength.

At first, he thought that Qin Niu, a newly promoted Insect Master, couldn’t be that impressive, but now seeing Master Mo Sang sucking up to Qin Niu, he realized that Qin Niu was much stronger than they had imagined.

When Qin Niu returned home, he carefully inspected his house and saw no signs of intrusion.

That Old Master Huang had suffered a big loss and would not let the matter rest.

He was sure to come again.

But he didn’t know when he would show up.

The later, the better, so Qin Niu could use this time to further strengthen himself.

He went to the mountains and inspected the Ant Nest, the beehive, and the Corpse Bee, finding nothing out of the ordinary.

Out of caution, he took the Corpse Bee into the banyan tree’s maze.

From now on, he would take it there during the day and place it in the dugout tree hollow at night.

…

And so, eight days passed.

Qin Niu would diligently help the Yan Family to clear pests from their fields every day.

As the number of special termites he cultivated continued to grow, his efficiency in pest removal also increased significantly, with nearly half an acre added to the total area cleared each day.

That Old Master Huang still made no move.

Qin Niu’s Medicine King Technique had advanced to the human Tenfold. His Everlasting Spring Technique had reached the peak of the first level of the Acquired Realm and was about to break through to the second level at any moment.

After refining and nourishing his body, moving through the mountains had become more agile and swift.

He was even faster than the average wild beast.

During these eight days, Old Master Huang had not appeared.

He hadn’t even sent a Corpse Bee to scout.

After losing two Corpse Bees, the old man probably didn’t dare to take risks lightly anymore.

After all, Grade Four insects were not so easy to cultivate.

Each one was extremely precious.

That day, while Qin Niu was helping the Yan Family with pest control, the Termite Army suddenly became restless and agitated.

They then climbed to the top of the crops’ branches, lining up their heads in a single direction.

Their two antennae moved slightly.

Fourth was behaving the same way.

“Fourth, what’s going on?”

Qin Niu, sensing something amiss, immediately communicated with it using ant language.

“The Ant Queen is undergoing metamorphosis! Such powerful pheromones, she has already surpassed me.”

Fourth’s voice trembled as it communicated with Qin Niu.

Qin Niu felt a surge of joy upon hearing this.

After so many days of waiting, was the Ant Queen finally done evolving?

The Queen Bee took seven days to evolve, the Ant Queen had taken twelve days.

About half an hour later, the Termite Army returned to normal and resumed their work.

They seemed to have been injected with an extra vigor, wanting to work even harder.

Their pest removal efficiency also increased somewhat.

After being busy until morning when the work was done, Qin Niu couldn’t wait to lead the Termite Army that had been busy all night into the mountains.

Before they even reached the Ant Nest, the Termite Army became extraordinarily active.

They were desperate to get out.

They wanted to be the first to have close contact with the Ant Queen.

“Go ahead!”

Qin Niu released the Termite Army.

The Ant Queen’s size had become immense, and Qin Niu did not let her come out.

From now on, she would be lurking in the depths of the nest.

The more hidden the better.

If Fourth said that the Ant Queen was now even stronger than it, how strong would that be?

Before cultivation, the Ant Queen was a Grade Two Termite, now she must have reached at least Grade Three.

More than the level, he was looking forward to her special attributes after evolution.

She was a egg-laying machine, and the stronger her special attributes, the stronger her offspring would be.

He couldn’t wait to check the Ant Queen’s new attributes.