The Hard-Luck Agricultural Student Gets a Second Job with the Divine Farmer System [Eastern Han]

[Transmigrated agricultural student uke x young version of a treacherous minister seme, farming and infrastructure, lighthearted comedy]

Xia Chengchuan was about to graduate from his third year of agricultural research. After pulling all-nighters and working nonstop, his experiments failed again and again, until he finally passed out.

When he opened his eyes again, a line of conspicuous System text appeared before him.

[Hello, Host. Welcome to the Shennong System~]

[Host is currently in a village during the Eastern Han dynasty. Complete the tasks set by the System and, within ten years, raise the average grain surplus of local farmers to ten shi to unlock the achievement "Dream of Returning to the Fields"!]

"And what good would that do?"

[Once you unlock the achievement, you can return to your original world~]

-

If he was going to farm and bring in a good harvest, he'd have to start with the tools. It was the Eastern Han dynasty, so there were no waterwheel-powered chain pumps yet, and the curved-shaft plow hadn't been invented. There was a wealth of room for improvement.

Xia Chengchuan was a man of action, so he immediately started surveying the area.

The fields around him were all planted with rice, so he had to be in the south. There seemed to be plenty of waterways, too. A river was just a short walk away. The fish in the river... Wait, that looked like a person!

-

That's how Xia Chengchuan ended up picking up Bai He, without knowing quite what had happened.

Bai He claimed he owned an herbal medicine shop. He had a handsome face and a tall, muscular build, but his eyes held a clear, foolish look.

"Thank you for saving me. I... could I live with you?"

Xia Chengchuan, who had no house, no land, and nowhere to go, couldn't have been happier.

-

Everyone in the village was gossiping that the idiot who ran the herbal shop had found himself a lunatic, and that the two men were living together. What kind of thing was that?

Bai He only looked stupid. He was actually quite strong, and he followed instructions well. He could chop wood, forge metal, and saw lumber.

[Hello, Host. Your current task progress is 40%. Keep up the good work!]

Next came improving the soil, raising seedlings, pesticides, fertilizer... things he had memorized by heart in his previous life.

He didn't mind teaching these things to others. After all, his mission was to increase the local grain yield, so Xia Chengchuan taught even those who had previously made fun of him and Bai He.

[Hello, Host. Your current task progress is 30%. Keep up the good work!]

"What??? Why did it go down?"

[Hello, Host. The System requires a grain surplus for the farmers!]

-

Bai He came back carrying grain and found Xia Chengchuan looking troubled.

"A Chuan, I can help you."

"How can you help me? Don't you only know how to gather herbs?"

"Actually, A Chuan, my birth parents don't live here. I was born beyond the pass."

Born beyond the pass, his mother died young, and his father's whereabouts were unknown. He later lived in seclusion in the countryside, then was recommended for office by a fortified settlement...

Oh my god, he'd actually met the famous Bai Qihua!

Hard-luck transmigrated agricultural student uke x taciturn, black-hearted high minister seme

Set during the Eastern Han dynasty, with entirely original characters who aren't based on real people.

Some of the more technical material is sourced from the internet and may not be entirely accurate.

Theme: Food is the people's first necessity.