I'm a Druid at a farmhouse.

Chapter 1 The Fisherman's Paradise

"Family members, family members, is everyone here? If not, type '1' in the chat and I'll check who's slacking off."

A slightly hoarse yet powerful voice came from the phone screen.

In the video, a burly man with dark skin, wearing a windbreaker, is grinning and waving at the camera. His ID is "Black Drifting God Deng," a popular blogger with three million followers on Douyin's fishing section.

The live stream chat exploded with comments.

"Here I am, clocking in. Where are we going to meet the boss today?"

"Deng Shen, I watched yesterday's Air Force video three times, and I laughed until my stomach hurt every time."

"Haha, don't even mention it. Yesterday, Deng Shen's face turned green. The boss couldn't let him catch a single small crucian carp."

Deng Shen looked at the comments, his skin as thick as a city wall corner, not embarrassed at all.

He cleared his throat and said to the camera, "The Air Force's move was a tactical adjustment, you understand? Today, let's do something hardcore."

He turned the camera to the country road rushing past the car window.

"See this? A completely natural and unpolluted countryside. Today our destination is a newly opened agritainment business."

"The boss is a young man. Yesterday, he said in my comments section that the fish he catches can make my arm cramp up and make me scream for help."

Deng Shen curled his lip in disbelief.

"I, Deng Shen, have been in this business for so many years, what storms haven't I weathered? Today, I'll show him what a professional short seller... oops, I mean, what a professional angler is!"

The live chat erupted in laughter again.

"The streamer is at it again, setting up all sorts of ambitious goals."

"Waiting for the streamer to get a lecture from his boss."

The car made several turns before finally stopping in front of the gate of a somewhat shabby-looking courtyard.

A crooked wooden sign hangs at the entrance, with three large characters written on it in calligraphy: "Come and enjoy a farm stay."

Deng Shen got out of the car and pointed the camera at the gate: "Family, is this it? Is this boss trying to scam me for views?"

As he was muttering to himself, the courtyard gate creaked open.

A young man dressed in a clean white T-shirt and casual pants came out. He was quite tall, with a well-proportioned figure, and a friendly smile on his face.

"Is that Deng Shen? You must have had a long journey."

Deng Shen pointed the camera at the young man, Song You.

"You must be the boss. You look really young."

Song You nodded and gestured for him to come in and have some water, saying, "It's hot outside."

He led Deng Shen into the courtyard.

The yard wasn't big, but it was very well organized. To the left was a vegetable garden, lush and green, and to the right was a grape trellis with several sets of tables and chairs underneath.

"Boss, where is the challenge location?" Deng Shen looked around but didn't see a pond.

Song You handed him a cup of herbal tea, and picked up a cup for himself as well.

"No rush, let's quench our thirst first." He pointed to the mountains in the distance, "The reservoir is over there, I've contracted it."

Deng Shen finished his tea in one gulp, his eyes lighting up: "This tea tastes pretty good."

"It's made from herbs I grew myself," Song You replied with a smile.

The live chat is flooded with comments again.

"This boss is something else, he's so calm and collected."

"Why do I have a feeling that Deng Shen is going to mess up again today?"

Looking at Deng Shen's live streaming equipment, Song You took the initiative to move closer to the camera and wave.

"Hello everyone in the live stream, my name is Song You, and I'm the owner of this farmhouse inn. Welcome to visit, but just so you know, prices here aren't low."

Deng laughed when he said that.

"The boss is very confident. Okay, let's not waste any more time and go straight to the reservoir. Let me see just how amazing your fish really are."

Song You put down his teacup, picked up a bag of fish food, and gestured for him to come with him: "Follow me."

The two walked one after the other along the path between the fields toward the mountainside.

Along the way, Deng Shen didn't stop chatting with Song You.

"Boss Song, your accent doesn't sound like a local."

"I'm a local. I studied at a university outside of my hometown and came back right after graduation." Song You walked ahead, his steps steady.

"Wow, a college graduate returning to his hometown to start a business, that's impressive! Does this whole mountain and reservoir belong to you?"

"It was my dad who used to contract it. He's gone, and I have to pay off the loan." Song You's tone was calm, revealing no emotion.

"I see." Deng Shen nodded, now understanding.

This young boss looks calm and collected, but he's actually a hothead with debts who wants to make money by creating a buzz around the reservoir he's contracted.

Deng Shen's mind started racing with calculations.

Soon, a wide expanse of water came into view.

The water surface shimmered in the sunlight, the water was crystal clear, and it was surrounded by green trees; the environment was truly exceptional.

"This is a nice place," Deng Shen said sincerely.

Song You walked to the edge of the reservoir and stopped.

"You set the rules."

Deng Shen cleared his throat and said to the camera, and also to Song You, "The rules of the challenge are simple: if I can catch more than fifty pounds of fish today, your agritainment business will be on the house for free. If I don't catch enough, I'll pay you three times the market price!"

"Or, boss, if you have any ideas, you can tell me directly."

This is a provocation tactic, and also a gimmick for the viewers in the live stream.

After listening, Song You offered his own idea.

"That's not customary here."

Deng Shen was taken aback: "So how do you want to play?"

"I only have two types of charges here." Song You held up two fingers. "The first type is a day pass, which is 666 yuan per person. No matter how much or how little you catch, it's all yours."

The live stream chat exploded instantly.

"Holy crap! This is robbery! Six hundred and sixty-six! Why doesn't he just rob someone?"

"Deng Shen, let's take him down! This boss is a rip-off!"

Deng Shen also frowned; the price was indeed outrageous.

"Mr. Song, aren't you being a little too confident with your pricing?"

Song You ignored him and continued, "The second option is by weight. All fish caught, regardless of species, are priced at twenty yuan per jin."

Upon hearing this, Deng Shen almost lost his balance.

Twenty-one jin? Are their fish made of gold?

Just as he was about to make a sarcastic remark, Song You suddenly bent down, took a handful of fish food from the bag on the ground, and gently tossed it onto the calm water.

"Thump."

Fish food fell into the water, creating ripples.

The next second, something happened that left Deng Shen and thousands of viewers in the live stream speechless.

"Splash!"

The once calm water surface suddenly exploded with a bang, and countless large fish emerged from the water!

Grass carp, silver carp, bighead carp, and even several huge golden carp crowded together on the surface of the water, mouths agape. Each one was plump and strong, and the smallest looked to weigh over ten kilograms.

"Glug."

Deng swallowed hard, nearly dropping his phone into the water.

After a three-second pause, the chat in the live stream went completely wild.

"What did I see? Was it a hallucination?"

"That golden carp must weigh at least thirty pounds!"

"Six hundred and sixty-six? I think it's worth it now, streamer, please say yes!"

"Twenty-one pounds! I feel like this streamer could bankrupt the boss!"

Deng Shen's breathing became heavy, and he stared intently at the large fish thrashing in the water, his eyes filled with fanaticism.

For a fisherman like him, the impact of this scene was no less than that of someone who had been starving for three days seeing a Manchu Han Imperial Feast.

Moreover, the number of viewers in the live stream is still skyrocketing, and its popularity is constantly rising.

The scales in his heart began to swing violently.

Six hundred and sixty-six is ​​indeed expensive, but what if... what if I have a really good day and catch a few big fish weighing dozens of kilograms? Wouldn't I make a fortune? This video will definitely go viral!

After a fierce internal struggle, Deng Shen gritted his teeth.

"Fine! All day it is! Six hundred and sixty-six, I'll pay!"

A knowing smile appeared on Song You's face, as if he had expected him to make this choice.

"Please settle the payment first, via WeChat or Alipay?"

"WeChat."

Although Deng Shen felt the pinch, he still readily scanned the code.

With a ding, the money arrived in my account.

Song You put away his phone, in a good mood, and the smile on his face became more genuine.

"Come with me, I'll take you to a good spot."

He led Deng Shen around half of the reservoir and they came to a small earthen slope that jutted into the water.

"This is a place with excellent feng shui." Song You pointed to a flat piece of land under his feet.

Deng Shen put down his equipment and professionally surveyed his surroundings.

"You're an expert, this is a typical birch point, a great place for fish to hide." While assembling the fishing rod, he also took the time to educate the viewers in the live stream, "Family members, learn from this, and look for places like this when you go wild fishing in the future, you're guaranteed not to come back empty-handed."

He then took out a large bag of colorful powders from his bag and began mixing them.

"Do you know how hard those anglers go to catch fish? They'll secretly bait the water with cow dung, chicken blood, and some people even throw drugs into the water." Deng Shen said, while scattering his specially made bait into the water. "Mine is different. It's all-natural, made from fermented grains, and I added a secret recipe. The fish are hooked just by the smell."

Seeing his practiced movements, Song You didn't say anything more to disturb him and turned to leave.

He has his own things to do.

The agritainment business is just starting out, the vegetable garden in the yard needs to be tended, and the kitchen equipment needs to be checked again.

He walked to the edge of the vegetable garden, squatted down, and gently stroked the leaves of a tomato plant.

Lines of text flashed before his eyes.

[Druid's Log: The Power Tomato has absorbed ample sunlight and water; fruit strength +0.1.]

[Druid's Log: The Spring Cabbage sensed its owner's touch, and its growth rate increased by 5%.]

Song You felt the warm, vibrant life force emanating from the land, and a surge of warmth welled up in his body, dispelling all his fatigue.

"I'll earn another 666 today, bringing me one step closer to paying off my loan," he muttered to himself, feeling quite pleased.

Just then, a commotion came from the direction of the reservoir.

It wasn't a human voice, but rather the unique, resonant sound of a school of fish underwater.

The sound entered his senses clearly through his mysterious connection with this land.