The Starfield Farming Sovereign (Elizabeth Schofield) novel Chapter 12

Chapter 12 A Proper Meal

A rough estimate put each potato at about 200 grams.

Finished

The thought that a single potato could sell for 200 stellar coins made Elizabeth grin so wide her gums nearly showed.

Her hollow stomach seemed to remember the strange aftertaste of yesterday’s liquid supplement. An indescribable sense of dissatisfaction made her ache for something real, something solid, to fill herself

with.

Elizabeth rolled to her feet in one smooth motion, spirits high as she decided to cook herself some potatoes to celebrate.

Boiled would do. Roasted would be even better. Just imagining that simple, comforting scent of warm starch made her swallow instinctively.

She eagerly pulled out her tool kit from the storage button.

Opening it, she first took out the set of alloy cookware and the portable energy stove.

But when she tried to activate the stove, she discovered that it required a specific energy stone to generate

heat.

Every last energy stone she had possessed had already been consumed during last night’s cultivation and formation work.

And even if she had any left, she would never waste them on cooking when she still needed them to grow

potatoes.

Her gaze swept the surroundings, and an idea quickly formed.

She gathered several relatively flat stones and skillfully stacked them on a level patch of ground, forming a simple open–air stove.

Then she carefully sorted through nearby trash heaps, selecting dry wooden fragments, scraps of cloth, and bits of synthetic material that she knew burned relatively cleanly and produced less smoke. She piled them neatly into the center of the stone stove,

For a moment, she considered tossing a few potatoes directly into the ashes to roast them. That was the most fragrant way she remembered.

But one look at the dubious fuel, of unknown composition and possible toxicity, made her abandon the

idea at once.

That left only one safe option. Boiling.

She walked over to the makeshift water container she had fashioned from sheet metal.

After a night of condensation, a thin layer of clear water had collected inside.

Nourished by the Spiritbound Circle, the water still contained only a trace of spiritual energy, negligible in

1/3

9:42 pm

M

Chapter 12 A Proper Meal

effect. But it was clean, and that made it perfect for cooking.

She ladled out a suitable amount into the pot and carefully rinsed the dirt from the potatoes.

The muddy water from washing was poured back onto the field.

She placed the potatoes into the pot, covered it with a lid, and lit the fuel beneath the stone stove.

Finishi

The flames leapt up, streaked with odd colors and accompanied by the occasional crackle, licking eagerly at the bottom of the pot.

While waiting, Elizabeth didn’t sit idle. She gathered larger stones and arranged them around the potato field, forming a crude protective barrier.

She also found scraps of cloth and paper and draped them over the potato seedlings as a form of concealment.

Sigh.

It all came back to money.

If she had funds, a simple illusion array or defensive formation would have solved everything.

Once she finished eating, she would head to the recycling station and see if she could trade potatoes for stellar coins.

After all, the recycling station accepted discarded metal and old devices. There was no reason it would refuse edible natural food.

At that absurd rate of 100 stellar coins per 100 grams on StarNet, the over 40kg of potatoes she had on hand could sell for over 40,000 stellar coins.

Just thinking about that number made Elizabeth feel energized all over.

As the water in the pot gradually boiled down, an enticing aroma began to spread, carrying the warm slightly sweet scent unique to starch. Against the pervasive stench of decay that defined Garbage Planet, the smell was irresistibly alluring.

Elizabeth couldn’t wait any longer. She lifted the lid and, ignoring the heat, grabbed a steaming potato, blew on it twice, and carefully took a bite.

Soft. Sweet.

Almost the instant it touched her tongue, an indescribable sense of satisfaction flooded her taste buds and

her mind.

Perhaps this body had been deprived of truly natural food for far too long. This simplest possible boiled potato gave her more happiness than the spiritual delicacies of the cultivation world ever had.

The warmth, smooth, dense texture, and pure, grounded sweetness of starch made her feel nearly lightheaded.

It was delicious.

9:42 pm

M

Chapter 12 A Proper Meal

019

She forgot all decorum and all concern for the heat, devouring three fist–sized potatoes in rapid

succession.

Only when her stomach was completely full did she stop, letting out an unguarded, thoroughly satufier burp.

“Ah. That hit the spot.”

The solid reassurance of being filled by real food was something no liquid supplement could ever replace.

Seven potatoes remained in the pot. She stored them all in the storage button to save for later when hunger returned.

Just as she finished giving the cookware a quick rinse and prepared to head to the recycling station, a fami sound of sniffling drifted over from behind a pile of discarded metal nearby.

Elizabeth’s entire body tensed instantly, alert and ready.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify