The first rule Lin Yan made was simple.
No one was allowed onto the eastern plot without permission.
When he announced it, his eldest brother stared at him as if he'd gone mad.
"It's grass," his brother said. "People walk on grass."
Lin Yan nodded. "That's why we need rules."
Word spread quickly.
By midday, three villagers had already wandered over, pretending to look around while letting their feet trample the young shoots. Old habits were hard to break. In a poor village, unused land was public land.
Lin Yan didn't shout.
He planted a wooden post at the edge of the plot and tied a strip of cloth to it. Then he stood there, hands behind his back, watching.
Old Chen leaned on his staff nearby, silent.
When a man stepped over the boundary, Lin Yan spoke calmly.
"Uncle Liu," he said. "Please step back."
The man scoffed. "Since when does grass belong to anyone?"
Lin Yan pointed at the soil beneath their feet.
"This land is resting," he said. "If you step on it now, it will take twice as long to recover."
Uncle Liu snorted. "You sound like a scholar."
"I'm a farmer," Lin Yan replied. "And farmers know when land needs rest."
He didn't argue further.
He simply stood there.
After a moment, Uncle Liu muttered something and backed away.
By sunset, everyone knew.
The eastern plot was Lin Yan's pasture.
That night, Lin Yan gathered his family and Old Chen under the oil lamp.
He placed a wooden board on the table.
"These are the pasture rules," he said.
The board had five lines carved into it.
No trampling young grass
No grazing without rotation
Animals eat first, people profit later
Weak land rests, strong land works
Anyone who breaks the rules answers to me
His second brother scratched his head. "This feels… serious."
"It is," Lin Yan said.
Old Chen nodded slowly. "Good rules keep herds alive."
The next morning, Lin Yan built simple fences—nothing fancy, just rope and stakes. He measured grazing areas carefully, following the system's quiet guidance.
[Rotational Grazing Unlocked]
[Pasture Health: Improving]
Chickens were released in controlled areas. They scratched, pecked, fertilized.
Within days, egg shells appeared in the coop.
Small. Pale.
But real.
His mother cried quietly when she held the first egg.
"Save it," Lin Yan said gently. "Let the hen grow strong."
She nodded, wiping her eyes.
On the fifth day, Old Chen brought news.
"There's talk," the old man said. "People say you're hoarding land."
Lin Yan smiled faintly. "Then it's working."
He walked to the village square and spoke openly.
"I'm not hoarding," he said. "I'm raising animals. If it succeeds, I'll buy grass, not grain."
Someone asked, "And if it fails?"
Lin Yan answered without hesitation. "Then I bear the loss."
That silenced them.
That afternoon, he carved another board and planted it at the pasture entrance.
GRASS IS THE ROOT OF WEALTH.
Old Chen chuckled. "Big words."
"True ones," Lin Yan said.
As the sun dipped low, Lin Yan stood alone by the fence.
The grass had thickened—still short, but resilient.
In his mind, the system chimed once more.
[Pasture Stability Achieved]
[Next Unlock Condition: Large Livestock]
Lin Yan's gaze shifted toward the hills beyond the village.
Cattle.
Not yet.
But soon.
He turned and walked home, the wind carrying the faint rustle of grass behind him—like applause, soft and patient.