Phenex himself didn't understand the principle behind his ability to grow grain, so he explained the entire course of events over these four months to the two of them in detail, without omitting any single part.
Morax and Guizhong could be certain whether Phenex had left out any important details in his recounting.
Because this is how Phenex said it:
"On the first day I arrived here, I kept trying to plant various things afterward, but I tried apples, Sunsettias, Mint, Sweet Flowers... (omitting twenty kinds of plants) and none of them succeeded. But because the soil was too barren, the vitality of the seeds kept gradually decreasing..."
"Then I just..."
With this way of explaining where even the tiniest trivial matter had to be described with at least three sentences, it was truly difficult for him to omit any details even if he wanted to.
Morax wanted Phenex to focus on the key parts and elaborate, but when he asked, Phenex would counter-ask which parts were the key ones. And since he didn't understand the principles himself, he still couldn't identify the important details from his memories.
Helpless, Morax and Guizhong could only listen as Phenex recounted day by day, detail by detail.
By the fourth detail on the twentieth day, Guizhong casually walked off to the side as if nothing was wrong to study how to eat rice and wheat.
Leaving Morax alone to face Phenex.
By the seventh detail on the fortieth day, it was already noon. Guizhong came back carrying three bowls of rice. This was burnt rice she had made using the simplest method.
Then, from Phenex's mouth, she learned that rice needed to have its outer husk removed before it could be made into delicious food.
Guizhong had a sudden realization and went off to the side to husk the rice, once again leaving Morax alone to listen.
On the sixtieth day, Guizhong came back carrying three bowls of fried rice. The three gods sat on the ground and shared the fried rice among themselves.
Morax ultimately commented that this rice, combined with potatoes, was enough to solve the food and clothing problems of the people of the Guili Assembly.
After finishing the fried rice, Phenex opened his mouth to continue speaking.
Then Morax interrupted him and said: "No need to keep going. I already have the information I wanted."
Guizhong leaned close to Morax's ear and whispered: "You couldn't hold out anymore?"
Morax shook his head and said: "No, I really do know the reason now. I just still don't know exactly how Phenex managed it."
"Explain in detail." Guizhong took a bite of a potato and asked.
Mm... the texture was a bit hard, lacking that soft and glutinous feel after roasting, but it seemed fine to eat raw.
Morax pondered for a moment, organized his thoughts, then looked toward Phenex, who was currently loosening the soil, and said: "Phenex's authority is very special. He can sense the loss of vitality within seeds."
"This ability allows Phenex to immediately sense the condition of a seed's vitality through the soil."
"Through this ability, he eliminated one by one the seeds that were not suited to grow in this farmland. In the end, the ones that remained were these three crops."
Guizhong nodded thoughtfully and asked: "It's similar to the abilities of the God of Flowers and the God of Grass. So he can't promote large-scale plant growth like the God of Flowers and the God of Grass, right?"
"He cannot." Morax shook his head. "If he could, with a god's power, there would be no need for four months to make these crops bear fruit."
The God of Flowers and the God of Grass were gods who could make a hundred flowers bloom with a single thought and grow seeds into towering trees with a single breath. If Phenex had a similar ability, he wouldn't have stayed here for four months tending the fields.
"Then what about these crops?" Guizhong frowned as she looked at the grain covering the mountains and fields.
Without the ability to promote plant growth, even if the seeds could survive in the farmland, the barren soil had no way to supply the growth of the seeds, let alone complete an entire growth cycle and bear fruit within four months.
Morax suddenly squatted down, picked up a handful of soil from the ground, and said: "Guizhong, look."
Guizhong looked at the soil in Morax's hand, then froze. She actually sensed an almost exuberant vitality in what should have been barren soil.
"This... it clearly wasn't like this before." Guizhong said in surprise. "Does this land have some secret?"
"No secret."
"Then this is..."
"According to Phenex's own words, after he burned it with his fire once, the soil became like this."
"Wait, burning it with fire is it what I'm thinking?"
Morax silently nodded: "He originally just wanted to burn the weeds. Then the fire spread across the entire farmland and the barren mountain beside it."
"As a result, Phenex discovered that after being burned by fire, the crops in the soil grew even better. So he planted seeds all over the mountain..."
"This soil is rich in vitality, so the plants growing in it complete their entire growth cycle at a much faster speed, thus bearing fruit."
"This is possible too..."
Burning with fire turns barren soil rich in vitality. This was most likely also related to Phenex's unknown authority.
But this was far too bizarre. Even though Morax and Guizhong were gods, it was hard for them to comprehend the idea of fire element granting soil abundant vitality.
Looking at the little child diligently working in the farmland, Morax and Guizhong simultaneously began to ponder what kind of god he actually was.
But for the moment, Guizhong found it hard to come up with an answer. So she set the question aside for later and asked: "So the soil problem is solved, but what about water? It can't be that the plants growing in this soil don't even need moisture to grow, right?"
"That doesn't happen. On the twenty-first day, the crops in the soil showed signs of water shortage."
"It hasn't rained recently, and the nearby rivers and lakes are all on the verge of drying up. Could it be that he raised a large group of Hydro Slimes to produce water?"
"...Actually, Phenex really did plan to do that at first." Morax said in a low voice. "Then on the twenty-second day, while trying to capture live Hydro Slimes, he found an underground water source..."
Guizhong's eyes widened: "..."
Morax met her gaze: "..."
Guizhong: "So, both food and water source were solved by this little god who lacks common sense?"
Morax: "By ordinary rational standards, yes."
Guizhong: "So the people of the Guili Assembly don't need to migrate south because of that bit of water and food anymore?"
Morax: "By ordinary rational standards, that's correct. As long as this drought is naturally occurring, the food and water source Phenex prepared are enough for the people of the Guili Assembly to survive this drought."
"Moreover, according to the scale of the water source that Phenex described, you could even take care of those Glaze Lilies that are about to wither."
Guizhong was caught off guard by this sudden surprise. Her eyes widened as she looked toward that small figure among the fields.
All of this was brought by him.
"Ah!"
Phenex let out a startled cry, and then he was scooped up into Guizhong's arms for a thorough bout of affectionate "pampering."
"Thank you, little guy! Thank you!"
Guizhong shouted happily.
"Let go of me! It's hot!" Phenex, who neither appreciated it nor understood why Guizhong was so happy, struggled nonstop.
But no matter how he struggled, he remained firmly trapped in Guizhong's embrace, unable to break free.
It wasn't until the sky gradually darkened that the slowly calming Guizhong finally set down the still-dazed Phenex.
At that moment, Morax walked over, squatted down to meet Phenex's gaze levelly, and said: "Like Guizhong, I also need to thank you."
"Thanks are fine, but don't hug me." Phenex crossed his arms in front of his chest, instinctively mastering the "no" gesture without anyone teaching him.
"Besides, why are you thanking me? I planted grain just so the restaurant could reopen. It wasn't for the sake of the people of the Guili Assembly." Phenex said honestly.
The two experienced gods could tell that what Phenex said was the truth, but their expressions didn't change at all.
"No matter what the original reason was, in the end you will distribute this grain to the people of the Guili Assembly, won't you?"
"That is indeed the case, but..."
"That's enough." Morax smiled. "For the people of the Guili Assembly to walk out from the shadow of drought and famine this alone is enough for the two of us to thank you."
Then, Morax said seriously: "Phenex, I want to sign a contract with you."
"Contract?" Phenex tilted his head in confusion.
"I hope that you can distribute this grain to the people of the Guili Assembly, so that in times like these, they will no longer have to worry about food."
"Okay."
"As..." Morax paused, looking at Phenex in puzzlement. "You won't ask what you can get in return?"
"No need." Phenex shook his head.
He looked seriously at Morax and said: "I lived in the Guili Assembly for a while, so I know there are many things I don't understand. But there is one thing I do know."
"No one will be good to me for no reason, so whoever is good to me, I will be doubly good to them."
"Morax, you were the first person to be good to me after I left home, the first to treat me to food, the first to teach me to use Mora to buy things, the first to give me Mora to use."
"So there's no need for that contract. I will do as you say. Because it's you, Morax."
Phenex smiled: "Besides, these were originally prepared for the people of the Guili Assembly. Even without you saying it, I would do it this way."
"Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to eat the restaurant's food anymore."
"Is that so..." Morax looked at Phenex's smile and couldn't help but smile warmly in return.
Then he suddenly asked: "Do you want to stay in the Guili Assembly?"
"Eh?" Phenex was stunned, then nodded. "Of course I do. After all, I don't want to go home yet, and I don't know where to go. The Guili Assembly suits me quite well."
"Then..." Morax suddenly stood up. "I, the Geo God, Morax, permit you to become a member of the Guili Assembly, and in the name of a god, I establish this contract: as long as you remain a member of the Guili Assembly, I shall protect you for a lifetime."
Guizhong also stood up: "I, the Dust God, Haagentus, permit you to become a member of the Guili Assembly, and in the name of a god, I establish this contract: as long as you remain a member of the Guili Assembly, I shall protect you for a lifetime."
"The contract is formed. Those who break their word shall suffer the punishment of being devoured by rock." ×2
Phenex looked up at the two of them, appearing completely at a loss.
...
Later, Morax and Guizhong distributed the grain to the people of the Guili Assembly in Phenex's name, and also had Phenex lead the people to find that underground water source.
Relying on potatoes, rice, and wheat foods, as well as that underground water source, the people of the Guili Assembly survived this rare natural drought in Liyue's history.
When the people of the Guili Assembly welcomed the first heavy rain in nearly two years, all the people gave thanks to the nameless god who had bestowed the grain, offering their faith.
In the Guili Assembly, Phenex gained a new title: the God of Abundant Harvest.
The gods worshipped by the Guili Assembly, following the Dust God Haagentus and the Geo God Morax, now had one more: the God of Abundant Harvest.
Phenex didn't care about this. While all the people of the Guili Assembly were singing praises to the God of Abundant Harvest, under the arrangements of Morax and Guizhong, he quietly settled in the Guili Assembly.
After that, time flowed on, and a hundred years passed in the blink of an eye.
Guili Assembly, Fengdeng Tower.
"Little boss, same as always serve all the signature dishes." The now twelve-year-old-looking Phenex, dressed in white robes, sat in his usual spot and called out.
A hundred years later, the grandson of the original restaurant owner had taken over the family business from his father and, just like his grandfather, was now receiving the same person.
"Little Adeptus, please wait a moment. We'll prepare everything for you right away."
The white-haired, red-eyed youth nodded with a smile, poured some of Fengdeng Tower's exclusive rice wine into his cup, and began to sip it slowly.
A hundred years ago, after receiving the grain bestowed in the name of the God of Abundant Harvest, that familiar restaurant to Phenex had changed its name to Fengdeng Tower.
Over the following hundred years, relying on the ancestral tradition of honest hospitality and sincerity as the foundation, Fengdeng Tower had grown larger and larger in the Guili Assembly, now showing signs of being the number one restaurant in the Guili Assembly.
If asked the reason for Fengdeng Tower's current success, aside from the exclusive rice wine developed by the boss's grandfather, the restaurant owner most wanted to thank that Adeptus who had been a regular guest at his restaurant for years.
It was precisely because of that white-haired, red-eyed Adeptus that countless people who wanted to catch a glimpse of the Adeptus' grace came upon hearing the news.
It was precisely because people came every day hoping to see the Adeptus that Fengdeng Tower's customers never stopped, allowing it to reach its current prosperity.
Therefore, whether it was the boss's grandfather or his father, they were always extremely respectful and courteous toward this white-haired, red-eyed young Adeptus.
"A hundred years the Guili Assembly has really changed a lot."
Phenex looked out the window at the increasingly prosperous Guili Assembly and sighed, then lifted his cup for another small sip.
The restaurant boss personally came to serve the Adeptus his dishes.
Looking at the grandson of the original restaurant boss, Phenex always felt like he was looking at the boss in his younger days.
He didn't feel any sense of things having changed while people remained the same. Instead, he smiled, picked up his chopsticks, and began to enjoy the food.
Phenex was living very happily, but the other two did not share such good moods.
The teal-haired young girl stood in the field of Glaze Lilies, her brows tightly furrowed, her face filled with unrelievable sorrow.
A tall and upright figure walked over and said: "You feel the same way too?"
Guizhong lightly nodded. "Morax, the war may begin today."
"Though I have no intention of contending for supremacy, I know the suffering of the common people."
As Morax's words fell, the oracle from Celestia descended.