Anis jumped down from the carriage, and the crowd scrambled to make a path for her.
She walked to Old Peter’s side and scratched the cat’s head with her right hand. With a slight curl of her lips, she looked at him and said, “Mr. Peter, since you were the first to agree, may I borrow your farmland for a moment?”
“Of course, no problem!”
Old Peter readily accepted. He was on the verge of starvation anyway, so he might as well take a gamble. ‘If I can be the first to take the risk, my life will definitely improve significantly!’
All the residents of the town followed near the convoy. They were also curious about what kind of solution this woman, whom the Acting Lord called his sister, actually had.
Anis arrived at Old Peter’s vegetable garden. Looking at the wasteland covered in cat paw prints, she gave a bitter smile.
As for the little rascal responsible for it all, he lay flat on Anis’s shoulder, burying his face deep to act innocent.
“How much did you lose? Everything?”
“Between the garden and the cellar, only twenty percent is left. It’s not enough to maintain our lives through the winter.”
“Did you buy any of that high-priced rice transported from the southern territories?”
“No. It’s far too expensive. I can only tighten my belt and cut back on food for now.”
“Has your efficiency at the mine been affected too?”
“Yes.”
“That sounds very difficult. Don’t worry, those days will be over soon.”
Anis mimicked the hypocritical displays of concern for the public she had seen on television in her past life while waving her wand to work.
She used magic to clear away all the stalks and debris from the vegetable field, then turned to Shirley and said, “Have the knights bring the items over.”
The townspeople all had the same reaction to the items Anis brought: ‘What is she trying to do?’
One person who worked in construction looked closely and said, “Lady Anis, you aren’t planning to use this glass to build a house, are you?”
Building a house out of glass? Over the farmland?
‘How would anyone farm then?’
The Flonster family had never allowed this young girl to appear in public before. ‘Is this some impulsive decision? Is she using us as experiments?’
In short, no one was optimistic.
“If you want to grow vegetables in winter, you must have an appropriate temperature, and you cannot block the sunlight. Otherwise, it will affect the growth of the crops.”
Anis waved her wand, and the panes of glass were precisely controlled like puppets on strings. Soon, a transparent glass greenhouse rose from the ground, settling firmly over the farmland.
“Let’s go inside and take a look.”
Anis took the first step. While no one was paying attention, she pressed her five fingers against the door handle to activate a hidden switch.
In fact, this had been Shirley’s suggestion.
After designing the first version of the glass greenhouse, Shirley suggested hiding the constant-temperature magic barrier. This way, even if someone stole the design for the glass greenhouse, it would be extremely difficult for them to notice the second layer.
It was a win!
Upon entering the greenhouse, a wave of warmth rushed over them. Old Peter was the second to enter. When he felt the warmth, his expression instantly became one of extreme shock.
“This way, the soil will slowly thaw. After that, you can grow vegetables in the winter to improve your life.”
Anis didn’t need to worry about the follow-up details; after all, she knew almost nothing about actual farming.
“This… this…”
Old Peter knelt on the ground and pressed his hand against the cold soil. The top layer had already begun to thaw, and he could feel the moist earth with a simple pinch of his fingers.
“Oh, right, there’s also this.”
Anis took a small bag of seeds from her pocket. “These are seeds I commissioned someone to buy. They are called Winter Mallow, a crop that is particularly suitable for planting in the winter.”
This came from the history of the country she lived in during her previous life. In ancient times, mallow had been a primary crop that surpassed even cabbage. With a “trial and error” mindset, she had Shirley commission Sibel to search for it, and she hadn’t expected them to actually find it.
After all, once the problem of hunger was solved, people would always look for a better quality of life.
“Thank you, My Lady.”
Old Peter was so excited that he didn’t know what to say. With this, he no longer had to worry about going hungry!
“Old Peter, how is it inside? Let us see too!”
After seeing Old Peter’s reaction, the people outside began to pour in one after another. The glass greenhouse became more and more crowded until it was packed to the brim, yet people outside were still squeezing in!
Shirley had to have the knights maintain order so that she and Anis could escape from the greenhouse.
“Mr. Peter, use it for now. If you need anything, please contact us. Just write a letter to the guards watching the manor gates.”
“Thank you.”
Old Peter was so moved that he was lost for words. He could only bow again in gratitude.
Two weeks later, the first batch of seeds planted in the glass greenhouse began to sprout.
One month later, Anis expanded the glass greenhouses again.
By early spring, almost every household had a new farm, and the problem of hunger was completely gone.
The name Anis Flonster was etched into the minds of all the people in the territory.
She had truly helped everyone escape the problem of hunger, giving them a much higher margin for error when facing risks.
‘This debt of gratitude can never be repaid in this lifetime.’
Of course, that was all for later.
For now, Anis had solved a major public welfare project and successfully established the name “Anis Flonster” in the hearts of the people.
The first stage of the Road to Freedom — making herself known to everyone — was successfully completed.
“Xiao Mi, it’s all right now. Your master has fixed things for you.”
Anis lowered her head to nuzzle the cat. Xiao Mi, who had been lying lifelessly on her shoulder, merely let out a soft meow. He stuck out his little tongue and continuously licked Anis’s neck.
“Don’t worry. With me here, Xiao Mi won’t go hungry ever again.”
Anis continued to coax the cat with words, a scene that made Shirley, sitting opposite her, very displeased.
*Grrr —*
The angry little pufferfish felt quite unbalanced. Whenever she tried to initiate a move to get closer to Anis, the other girl would dodge far away, as if she were some kind of terrifying beast!
‘But it won’t be long now. I just have to wait for Sibel to make her move…’
Shirley decided to wait for her maid to act before launching the second stage of her plan to win Anis over.
She would let Anis relax for now.
After returning to the family estate, Anis went straight to her room to rest. Shirley, however, did not. While Anis entered the mansion, Shirley quietly walked toward the garden.
There was also a glass greenhouse here, which could be considered Anis’s practice piece.
The noble estate did not need to grow vegetables to solve food problems; everything planted here consisted of colorful flowers.
Shirley looked at the flowers inside the greenhouse and smelled the fragrance wafting through the air. She couldn’t help but praise Anis; this method of hers was truly wonderful.
One could even enjoy flowers in the winter now.
Of course, admiring flowers was only the surface. Shirley had come this time to execute the true purpose hidden behind the scenes.