For example, the things Paige said to the servants before.
She didn't believe that just saying something harsh would make everyone behave.
If she really wanted to catch them doing something wrong, she had to use her spiritual power to secretly watch them.
If she reached level three, it wouldn't be this troublesome. She could directly plant a mental suggestion in the servants' minds.
If they tried to talk about things they shouldn't, they wouldn't be able to say the words, and they'd get a splitting headache.
If they tried to write it down instead of saying it, their hands would go numb from pain.
So, she wouldn't need to put in all this effort or split her focus to observe them like she did now.
Right now, they had just moved in, and there wasn't much to talk about. The servants hadn't had the chance to go out yet, so there wasn't much for her to watch.
"Miss, it's time to eat." A servant's voice came from downstairs.
When Paige heard the voice, she casually threw the crystal core into her space and went downstairs.
Food is the most important thing in the world.
"Miss, the water tank of boiled water that the butler asked for is ready in the kitchen. Do you want us to move it somewhere else?" the servant asked from the side.
"Just leave it in the kitchen. I'll take care of it later," Paige replied.
The servant answered and went away.
Paige didn't like people watching her while she ate. It was fine if they cleaned up afterward.
Looking at the four dishes, one soup, and white rice on the table, Paige nodded in satisfaction. This is how life should be.
"Butler, go prepare some bricks and cement for me. I need to build walls. Also, get some resin—good quality," Paige said after finishing her meal.
"How many bricks and how much cement do you need, Miss?" the butler asked.
"It's for building walls. About one meter high, four meters long, four walls total," Paige explained.
"Okay, I'll go prepare it now. We can have someone deliver it this afternoon," the butler said.
"Can it be delivered now? We can pay extra," Paige asked.
The butler was surprised at how urgent it was. "I'll go check right now."
"Go," Paige waved her hand and, while no one was looking, put the tank of water into her space.
Then she went wandering in the nearby mountains.
Since she had nothing else to do, she started collecting soil.
She looked for fertile soil and planned to pile it all together.
She would mix it later and spread it evenly into four experimental fields to make sure the soil in each was the same.
No one could enter Paige's space; it was completely powered by her spiritual force.
Even though Paige's power was only at level two, in her past life she had nearly reached the highest level. Her spiritual strength was naturally very strong.
So whether it was farming or mixing soil, it was easy for Paige. She could do it all with just a thought.
When she had collected enough soil and returned to the villa, the cement and bricks she needed were already placed in the backyard.
The butler thought Paige wanted to renovate the backyard, so he had the workers leave everything there.
"Great. You don't need to worry about this anymore. I'll handle it. You can go," Paige said, satisfied as she looked at all the materials, rolling up her sleeves to get started.
She could just store everything in her space and use spiritual power to work, but she was bored right now, and doing it herself gave her a sense of achievement.
Paige spent the whole afternoon in the backyard. By the time she came out, there were 16 roughly built walls standing in the yard.
Each one was one meter long and one meter high, lined up next to each other in rows.
Paige was pleased with her work and planned to put them into her space later that night when no one was watching.
She had prepared four directions, with each one made of four walls forming a small experimental field.
Paige thought, if the space really could support planting, she'd expand it. If not, such a small area wouldn't be a problem anyway.
"Housekeeper, is there any live animal in the house? Chickens, ducks, geese, or even mice or insects?" Paige asked.
Since she was preparing to experiment with planting, she had to start with breeding too.
In her past life, mutated beasts couldn't enter the space. Maybe it was because they had mutated.
But this lifetime's animals and plants were all normal.
"No, but tomorrow morning I'll ask Chef Yang to buy a chicken. Or do you want fish instead?" the housekeeper asked.
"Both. Buy two chickens and four fish, all alive. I'm giving them away. For the fish, keep them in a wooden bucket first. Get two small ones and two big ones. The type doesn't matter," Paige instructed.
"Alright," the housekeeper nodded.
Chef Yang and Chef Deng were the main chefs in the villa. In the kitchen, except for washing dishes, everything else was their responsibility, including grocery shopping.
Chef Deng was an orphan who wandered around since he was young. Because he grew up always hungry, he had a strange obsession with food.
Later on, he only looked for jobs related to food, even if the pay was low.
He'd help out street vendors, wash dishes, clear tables, and just ask for a meal in return.
Or he'd do odd jobs in restaurant kitchens, run errands in the dining area. As he got older, he gradually became a kitchen helper and eventually a chef.
He eventually ended up in this city, started a family, and settled down.
He could cook almost any dish, but he wasn't a master of any.
He did have his specialties. Those were his skills that had supported him all these years.
His restaurant was bombed by PN soldiers. His family was unharmed.
But he lost his job.
The restaurant he had worked so hard for his whole life was gone. Chef Deng felt lost.
Starting a new restaurant required a lot of money. With the current unstable times, getting supplies was harder than before.
His son hadn't inherited his cooking skills and went into business instead.
He wondered how many more years he could still work.
Once he couldn't work anymore, the restaurant would have no successor.
He was still young and didn't want to start asking his son for money.
His son had to support a wife and a grandson. Chef Deng still wanted to help out for a few more years.
When he was thinking of starting a food stall, Officer Fang came to him and asked if he wanted to work as a kitchen helper in someone's home.
Chef Deng wanted to refuse.
Working for others wasn't as easy as working for himself.
Officer Fang was military, and he was a civilian. Even if he didn't like it, he didn't dare refuse.
So Chef Deng went.
The family was small and didn't cause trouble. The pay was good and the work was easy. It was more comfortable than setting up his own stall.
Chef Yang was a local with a large family—sons, grandsons, all living in the city.
He didn't dare risk his family's safety.
Cooking is cooking, no matter where it's done.
The two of them were half-forced, half-willing to work at Paige's place.
After arriving, they realized the work was very relaxed, with a lot of freedom.