"That's strange. As soon as they heard that I planned to clear land outside Chang'an, all the mountain spirits and monsters ran away without a trace. Although farming is hard work and requires working according to the four seasons, it is a proper way to make a living. There is no need for any demons to settle and farm outside the city. Not to mention three to five hundred years, but to put it in the short term, I can get the pass to enter the city in fifty years so that I can enter Chang'an and use the dragon energy to cultivate."

Xu Milu sighed deeply and listlessly tossed a handful of beans into the basket in front of her.

“Planting some novel fruits and vegetables would benefit the Tang Dynasty by earning merit, and it would also allow the demons to experience the mundane world, its emotions and desires, which would greatly benefit their cultivation. I'm not some heartless coal mine owner who tricks them into doing illegal work, so why aren't any demons willing to do it?”

Since the land deity announced that the Mountain and Sea Restaurant would start selling seeds, in the past half month, although many fairies have come to visit one after another, most of them either bought a few out of respect for her or left in a hurry without mentioning the matter of clearing the land.

In short, very few fairies were willing to take the wheat ears, eggs, and ping-pong grapes back to plant.

"There's no need to be too hasty. Promoting such a major event as the new species is difficult for even the human people to accept, let alone the demon race. Perhaps things will become clearer in a few days."

Yin Wenjiao gently comforted her:

"These beans have a pleasant fragrance, perfect for steaming bean rice—someone gave me a bunch of mugwort yesterday, but I don't like making that, so I'll have Tuan'er bring it over later."

"Sure, it's perfect timing. I'll steam a pot of mugwort dumplings right away. My mouth has been feeling greasy these past few days, and I'd like to eat something light and refreshing..."

Xu Milu nodded, gently pinched open the pod with her fingers, and took out the plump broad bean:

"I'll take your kind words as a sign, sister. If we wait a few more days, things might take a turn for the better."

She originally had grand ambitions, planning to use the fast-growing polar tomatoes as an opportunity to sell vegetables and fruits from another dimension to the Tang Dynasty, but the plan was cut short before it was even halfway done—heaven knows why a bunch of poor monsters who were always looking for a good life didn't want to farm.

"Madam Xu, this little demon might know the reason."

Bai Tuan'er was squatting next to Xu Milu and Yin Wenjiao, shelling beans, when she heard this she said crisply:

"Demons are inherently unruly and mostly live by their nature, disdaining to imitate mortals. The demons in Chang'an are mostly minor demons, whose nature is difficult to tame. How could they be willing to work at sunrise and rest at sunset like mortals?"

As she spoke, she added somewhat ingratiatingly:

"Only powerful demons with profound cultivation can suppress their true nature. When lesser demons occupied the Bottomless Cave in the Empty Mountain, it was rare to see any demons learning to farm or fish like mortals. I suppose the demons in Chang'an are the same; how could they know how to farm?"

Yin Wenjiao asked, somewhat puzzled:

"If you don't chop wood, farm, fish, or hunt, how will you survive?"

Of course, they would rob woodcutters in the mountains and kidnap livestock from villages at the foot of the mountain to enjoy in the Bottomless Cave.

"...That's right, we live off wild fruits from the mountains. Your Majesty, I'm a vegetarian, I'm a vegetarian."

Bai Tuan'er awkwardly moved to the side, not daring to tell Yin Wenjiao what she had said.

Xu Milu knew Bai Tuan'er's background, and she guessed a bit from her expression.

Bai Tuan'er is right. Although most of the monsters in Chang'an have clean families and have never done anything to harm people, humans and monsters are different after all. Monsters are inherently distrustful of humans, and humans have always regarded monsters as aliens.

Unlike her, a "hybrid" who became a monster halfway through her life, the mountain spirits and wild monsters preferred to stay away from Chang'an rather than have contact with humans, let alone cultivate land and sell vegetables to the people of Chang'an.

—It seems that monsters like Old Man Hu and Huang Sanlang who mingle in the streets are still a minority; she had set her expectations too high at the beginning.

Thinking of this, Xu Milu patted the bean curd skin that had fallen onto her knees and humbly asked Bai Tuan'er for advice:

"What if I were to find some demons who don't dislike mortals so much to clear the land? Tuan'er, do you know any demons that are strong and friendly to mortals? Forget about Old Hu's fox family, they have other businesses to make right now."

"Let the little demon think about it..."

The little white ball seemed happy to help, and after thinking for a moment, it started counting on its fingers one by one:

"If we're talking about a species that can produce a whole litter of demons, then we rats would be the first to come. But the offspring of my clan are timid by nature and can't even speak clearly when they see people... There is a litter of black bream spirits in Qujiang Garden, and they are very strong, but those spirits can't live without water and are not suitable for the canal docks..."

The weasel demons in the east of the city always live in packs, and they are very united even when fighting. Even the mountain demons in the mountains can't beat them. However, these lazy creatures always like to slack off and cheat, so it's not good to let them ruin my wife's important plans... The wolf demon in the south of the city is strong, but I'm afraid it will lead its offspring to devour passersby. Hiss, and the cat demons in the palace are too lively; they often disappear for three to five months at a time..."

As she counted, even Bai Tuan'er couldn't help but frown, her face showing the same gloom as Xu Milu's:

"When you think about it, they're all useless demons. It's a wonder they're always being taken care of by my wife. Now that things have come to this, we don't even have a single useful demon! Bah!"

His disdain was quite genuine.

Xu Milu: "..."

Is this what connections are?

If she had known that Bai Tuan'er knew all the fairies in Chang'an City like the back of her hand, why would she have gone to such lengths to collect information about fairies?

Although rat spirits are the most easily overlooked demons in Chang'an, their traces can be found from the imperial palace to the streets and alleys. Is there any better way to get information than by directly asking the rat ancestors?

"Tuan'er."

Xu Milu's eyes suddenly lit up, and she sincerely grasped Bai Tuan'er's hand, saying earnestly:

"I have a good business opportunity here, would you like to take it?"

Bai Tuan'er didn't understand why the topic had suddenly jumped to this. She blinked, her face full of confusion.

"……Why?"

...

...

Bai Tuan'er, having received a favor from Xu Milu, happily ran off to run errands for her, while Yin Wenjiao simply stayed at the restaurant for her meal.

Perhaps it was because Yin Wenjiao's maternal aura was too dazzling that Dai Zi always liked to linger around her.

"Empress Yin, please embrace me..."

Yin Wenjiao wasn't afraid of the vines on her body, and with a smile, she picked up the little monster who was only wearing a bib:

"Why are you only wearing this one outfit? Would you like to come back with me and I'll make you a few more?"

"She always feels hot, and even this bellyband was made to wear by me pretending to be angry. Usually when she goes out to play in the mud, she comes back covered in mud and rubs against Chenxiang. Luckily, we have magic, otherwise we would have to find so many clothes to wash every day."

Xu Milu had just uttered a complaint when she noticed the scenery outside the door had abruptly changed. What had been bright daylight had instantly transformed into dusk, and just then, the doorbell on the door rang.

Welcome to Shan Hai Restaurant!

It's a portal to the other side of Earth.