The dinner was sumptuous. There were fried corn kernels, braised sauerkraut, wild asparagus, four plates of bread, a plate of Norse Empire's special yogurt cheese, a plate of sour plums and pecans, and the rarest thing was that Old Yu had even killed a wild turkey and made a large pot of chicken soup with pine mushrooms.
For the rich families of the Norse Empire, this was simply the worst picnic in the country, but for Old Yu, this was already a great treat.
Of course, for Ding Meng, this was not even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth.
However, Ding Meng would definitely not stuff himself with food like he did on the Swordfish spaceship, because he could see that Old Yu's family was not well-off financially.
On the way back, he had already asked Old Yu in detail. For the 500 kilograms of wheat harvested in the afternoon, the buyer's price was about 600 tokens.
Ding Meng had never had much of a concept of money, but with a comparison, he knew the depth of the situation.
If he wanted to buy a small intelligent harvesting robot, he would need 3600 tokens, which meant that Old Yu would have to work hard to plant 10 mu of land. This kind of harvest would only occur once every two months, and the robot would also need to be maintained, so Old Yu was reluctant to spend money on it.
The nutrient solution was not cheap either. The business center in the nearby Verdant Tarn Town sold it for 33 tokens. In other words, an ordinary person could barely survive two months of work, so Old Yu had to plant other vegetables and meat in addition to the rice fields.
Because Old Yu's daughter was currently studying at the Listin Academy in Autumn Tarn City, this was a considerable expense.
In Black Gold Base, wealth was calculated in points, so people usually did not have a specific concept. But in the real world of ordinary people, Ding Meng now knew that survival was not easy, especially when one had to honestly sell one's labor.
In the evening, when Ding Meng came out of the wooden house, he saw Yu Man. Yu Man was helping her father with the wheat in the yard.
She was slightly tall and dressed very simply. She wore green trousers, a checkered shirt, and a pair of very energetic white sneakers. Her round face looked very healthy, and her big eyes were filled with kindness and sincerity. As soon as she saw Ding Meng, she came up to greet her warmly.
"Are you Ding Meng?
Welcome, welcome. Come in and have a seat. Dad said that thanks for your help in the afternoon. "
"Hello."
Ding Meng was a little embarrassed. He rarely saw the opposite sex and would not interact with the opposite sex. Moreover, Yu Man was not the ugly type. She was full of youthfulness and confidence. She looked like a friendly girl next door. It was easy for young men to feel restrained.
Although Ding Meng was restrained, Little Rascal began to comment casually, "Yo, this girl is not bad, Ding Meng. Look at her hair, it's tied in two braids. What do you think?
Are you interested in dating her? This type of girl is very interesting … "
Ding Meng said coldly, "Shut up!"
Little Rascal was displeased. "Hmph!"
After dinner was prepared, the three of them quickly sat down at the square table in the courtyard. This time, the main character was obviously not Ding Meng. This was because Old Yu was constantly asking about Yu Man's well-being and how she was doing in school.
When it came to studying, Yu Man was clearly not as confident as before. She held a small bowl and silently picked up food. "Dad, my" Bright Fist "has already reached the third level of the realm of integration. Last month, during the test, my meditation time in the induction cabin broke through 20 minutes …"
Old Yu obviously did not know much about cultivation. He only knew one thing, and that was that Yu Man was working hard in the direction of an origin ability user. However, she had not become a true origin ability user yet.
Whether it was in the Norse Empire or the Holy Grail Federation, origin ability users had a very high social status. The reason Old Yu was still working as a farmer at such an old age was simply to support Yu Man's studies. He hoped that Yu Man would one day become an origin ability user and have a bright future.
"Little Man, you have to continue working hard. Last time, you said that you could meditate for 17 minutes and 30 seconds. How come after a few months, your meditation time has only increased by a few minutes?" Old Yu seemed to be speaking with great sincerity.
"Dad, meditation is not as simple as you think. Every additional ten seconds requires a lot of effort."
Yu Man was clearly not convinced. She muttered in a low voice, "Our family can't compare to those rich classmates. They can buy amplifiers, but I don't have the money to buy them. That's why my progress is a bit slower …"
Old Yu sighed. "Sigh, that's true. But you're 22 years old this year, and you haven't become an origin ability user yet. Let's see if we can sell this new batch of Spinefoot Bison for a good price and buy some amplifiers. You don't have much time left …"
This was clearly the true epitome of a normal family. Once they started talking about practical matters at the table, the father and daughter both lowered their heads and silently picked at the food.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit dull, Ding Meng hurriedly opened his mouth. "This … that … Sister Yu, does your school specialize in teaching people how to cultivate martial arts?"
It was no wonder that Ding Meng didn't know. The Norse Empire revered martial arts. Most normal schools focused on cultivating martial arts and sensing Origin Ability. After all, everyone yearned to become an origin ability user.
Only a small number of schools taught other specialized knowledge. Aristocratic schools were where the true experts gathered. There were basically no ordinary people there.
"Ha, little brother Ding Meng, you can just call me Ah Man."
Yu Man saw that it was him who asked the question and immediately became very happy. "I heard from dad that you were able to harvest wheat very quickly this afternoon. Your physical condition is pretty good. Do you also want to become an origin ability user?"
Old Yu also nodded in agreement. "Yes, Little Ding's body is good, he can work, and he's still young. He can go and learn. Who knows, maybe he can really become an origin ability user in the future."
Little Rascal immediately snorted. "This silly girl, our family's Ding Meng has been an origin ability user for a long time. You're just a rookie who hasn't even started. He can beat dozens of you by himself …"
"Little Rascal, be quiet."
Ding Meng quickly stopped her. He turned to Yu Man and humbly asked, "Sister Man, can you learn real martial arts in your school?"
"Of course."
Yu Man immediately became proud. "Our Listin Academy is the best university in Autumn Ze City. There are many subjects there, such as combat, martial arts, physical fitness, firearms, cold weapons, manufacturing, refining, alchemy, data, battle armors …"
She listed more than ten disciplines in one breath. Ding Meng's interest was immediately piqued. Martial arts had always been his weakness. If he had the opportunity to learn an excellent martial arts, it would undoubtedly be of great help to him in the future.
"Then, how can I go to your school to learn these?" Ding Meng asked.
"This …" Yu Man finally hesitated because she saw her father giving her a look. She immediately realized that she had forgotten that Ding Meng was a galactic refugee. She did not have the qualifications to be a citizen of the Empire and was destined to not be an official student of the academy.
"Ah, little brother Ding Meng, what kind of martial arts do you want to learn?" Yu Man began to change the topic.
Ding Meng thought for a moment and said, "I want to learn everything because I know too little."
This was the truth. After living as a refugee for so long, the only thing he knew was how to survive. Even when he escaped to the Swordfish spaceship, he didn't even know how to dodge the particle laser cannons.
Xin Jie's amazing performance on the spaceship had left a deep impression on him. There was no harm in learning more. Who knows, maybe one day it would come in handy at a critical moment?
Little Rascal could help him a lot of times, but that was all in theory. No matter how good his theory was, it couldn't compare to his own actual combat skills.
"This …" Yu Man really didn't know how to respond to Ding Meng's words.