Chapter 45 – Florida Man Discovers New Giant Potato Species, Turns Everything into French Fries
With 41,663 years of lifespan to spend, Leo planned his expansion. He upgraded the workshops to level 4, using 2,000 years. Then, he increased the pill quality to level 3.
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Basic Alchemy Workshop Level 4
Production Quality Level – (3/5)
[Upgrade] – 1,000 Years of Lifespan
[Research New Ingredient]
[Pill Making]
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As usual, the next upgrade required the general store building level 5, and it would be costly. Since Leo had no issue with lifespan, he continued upgrading the general store building.
DING
<Will you upgrade the Humble General Store to Level 5?>
<Upgrading requires 4,000 years of lifespan.>
"No problem! Do it!"
DING
DING
<Humble General Store has been upgraded to Level 5.>
<New Construction Options!>
RUMBLE
The store building trembled as the interior space expanded once again. Leo inspected the size and widely grinned.
Previously, the interior space was 20x20. After the upgrade, it became 25x25. The 625 square meters of space, modern LED lighting, and air conditioners had the same standard as modern convenience stores. The wooden floor was covered by seamless white marble tiles, making the store brighter.
Leo rushed to the store's back room right away, wondering if his bedroom expanded.
"YESSSS!"
As Leo had expected, it got bigger, but there were changes. The previous one-door entrance became a double-door model, and the backdoor behind the storeroom also became the same type. The previous hole that Leo had made were sealed and replaced with double metal doors.
Satisfied with the changes, Leo scanned the corners of the store next, hoping for a modern toilet.
"NOOO!!"
Unfortunately, the humble general store didn't follow Japan's standards. No restroom or toilet existed for customers.
Leo was dejected. He walked randomly into the store and deeply sighed, preparing to rearrange the fridges and shelves once again. As Leo kept walking, he found a partitioned section next to his bedroom. He stopped thinking, then he checked the new area.
There was a small room hiding in a corner. Leo approached the wooden door and opened it. Then, he discovered what he always desired.
A modern toilet for employees was right in front of him.
"YEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHH!!"
Leo fell on his knees and kissed the toilet bowl. He hugged it and cried.
"I missed you so much! I'm tired of outhouses!"
At long last, Leo could take the number two without getting stalked by a certain dung eater. Although this toilet came without a bidet, Leo was fine with it. If he wanted to, he could always purchase a bidet from the online shopping system to install it later.
Still, the existence of the toilet brought new questions.
Where does the water go?
Where does the waste go?
Leo didn't remember installing a water system or a septic tank under the store. He was also afraid that the toilet wasn't connected to any drainage system, and that the toilet's content might flood the restroom as soon as he flushed the toilet.
He looked inside the room and found the standard face-washing basin and a mirror. He opened the faucet, checking if the water ran.
ZAAAA
The water ran, and Leo was baffled.
Where does this water come from?!
Leo scooped the water and drank it. It tasted exactly like tap water in the modern world.
As disciplined as he was, Leo turned off the faucet, saving the water. He then flushed the toilet to see if the water would flood the restroom.
ZAAAA
The water flowed normally as the blue water refilled the bowl. Nothing leaked from the bottom of the toilet, and there was no smell.
Leo had the urge to remove the toilet to see the water system. But since the system could magically upgrade electric appliances, he left the toilet be. After all, there was no point in learning how every atom in the world worked or existed.
After getting the store to level five, Leo resumed his routine. He upgraded the two workshops to level five as well.
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Basic Alchemy Workshop Level 5
Production Quality Level – (4/5)
[Upgrade] – 1,000 Years of Lifespan
[Research New Ingredient]
[Pill Making]
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If Leo could upgrade the workshops one more time, the production quality level would max out. He was excited to see how his future pills would come out.
After spending 8,000 years of lifespan, Leo was left with 33,663 years. He continued shopping and browsed the domain system, looking at the buildable structures.
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Warehouse
Requirement – Humble General Store Level 4
Price – 500 Years of Lifespan
Space – 5 x 5
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Small House
Requirement – Humble General Store Level 4
Price – 500 Years of Lifespan
Space – 5 x 5
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Farm Plot
Requirement – Humble General Store Level 4
Price – 1,000 Years of Lifespan
Space – 10 x 10
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Farm Plot (2)
Requirement – Humble General Store Level 5
Price – 1,000 Years of Lifespan
Space – 10 x 10
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Granary
Requirement – Humble General Store Level 5
Price – 500 Years of Lifespan
Space – 5 x 5
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Stone Road
Requirement – Humble General Store Level 4
Price – 1 Year of Lifespan
Space – 1 x 1
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Asphalt Road
Requirement – Humble General Store Level 4
Price – 3 Years of Lifespan
Space – 1 x 1
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Concrete Road
Requirement – Humble General Store Level 4
Price – 5 Years of Lifespan
Space – 1 x 1
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Only the second farm plot and a granary were added to the list. Looking at the icons, Leo couldn't decide which structure to build first. But since Leo loved being productive, he chose to build two farm plots first.
Leo came out of the store and opened the domain map menu. As he had cleared the land around the main general store, he had plenty of room to place new farms. Leo dropped the two 10x10 farmland ten grids south of the store, aka in front of the store.
As soon as Leo confirmed the construction, the land in front of the store was flattened. The dark dirt was automatically plowed and softened, suitable to plant any seed.
Leo giggled and carried a sack of seeds that Wu Buyi had given him days ago. He dropped the sack in the middle of the first farm plot and touched the soil.
DING
Suddenly, the area lit up, and the system showed the farm's status.
<Please allocate your point. Your current free point: 1.>
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Basic Farmland Level 1
Automaton Farmer – (0/1)
Growth Speed Level – (0/5)
Production Quality Level – (0/5)
Production Quantity Level – (0/5)
[Upgrade] – 1,000 Years of Lifespan
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"Hmm?"
It was different from the workshop - Alchemy workshops came with a pre-assigned point, but the farmland allowed Leo to choose.
Without hesitation, Leo spent 4,000 years of his lifespan, upgrading the two farmlands to level five. Then, he assigned five points to quality. He rushed to the second farm and did the same.
Instantly, 8,000 years of lifespan were gone. Leo was left with 23,663 years of lifespan.
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Basic Farmland Level 5
Automaton Farmer – (0/1)
Growth Speed Level – (0/5)
Production Quality Level – (5/5) (Max)
Production Quantity Level – (0/5)
[Upgrade] – 1,000 Years of Lifespan
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"Alright!"
Leo hummed as he bought a hoe from the shopping system to plow the land. But again, as soon as his tool hit the farmland, the system prompted him with a message.
<Please drop your seeds on the farm to cultivate (0/100).>
"…"
Leo crossed his arms, looking at the system message. He deeply sighed.
"I guess I'm a real CULTIVATOR (farmer), now. Damn!"
Without adequate farming knowledge, Leo randomly picked one hundred seeds from the sack and scattered them around the farmland.
DING
<27/100>
<40/100>
The number kept going up. Leo giggled and kept spreading the seeds. When the number hit the requirement, the message changed.
DING
<Cultivating…>
Similar to the workshop cauldrons, a timer appeared above the farmland. However, there was a piece of additional information.
<Time: 59 Minutes, 55 Seconds…>
<Possible Result: Unidentified Potato 100 %.>
"One hour?!" Leo was stunned. "Are you beansprouts?! Why do you grow so fast?!"
While standing on the farm, the seeds that Leo had randomly thrown sank into the soil. Then, gold sprouts emerged from the ground.
Leo gulped and stood there, waiting for the plants to mature. Leo forgot that he had another farm he hadn't planted anything yet.
10 minutes passed. The potato plants reached knee height. At a glance, they looked mature enough to be harvested, but they continued growing.
30 minutes later, every potato plant was chest high. The farmland turned into a mini jungle.
When the timer was over, every plant was a head taller than Leo. He gasped and gazed at the massive plants in awe. Then, he slowly uprooted a plant, and a massive head of potato came out.
The massive potato was three meters deep in the soil, and its glossy skin lustered in gold color. The potato was boiling hot even though Leo hadn't done anything to it, and it gave out a burnt sweet potato scent.
Leo salivated. The smell reminded him of a fast-food franchise.
"How many French Fries can I make with these?!"
