The Homestead in Where Winds Meet asks you to raise your village to the next level, but the menus rarely explain that the level is tied to a hidden prosperity value. Your Homestead level climbs as Blissful Retreat grows from ruins into a working settlement, so the path to Level 2 runs through restoration and construction, not a single button.
Quick answer: Finish the building tutorial quest, then restore and place facilities across Blissful Retreat. Each restored or constructed building adds prosperity, and once prosperity passes the threshold, the Homestead automatically advances to Lv2.
What raises Homestead prosperity
Prosperity is the measure that drives your Homestead level. It is not a resource you spend, but a running total that goes up as you develop Blissful Retreat. The more of the village you bring back to life, the higher the meter climbs, and reaching the next tier is what unlocks the Level 2 state.
Construction and restoration are the main contributors. Repairing ruined structures, putting up new facilities, and getting industries running all feed the same growth track. This is why simply opening menus does nothing on its own. The level moves when the village physically changes.
| Action | Effect on the Homestead |
|---|---|
| Restore a ruined building | Replaces an empty plot with a working facility and adds to growth |
| Build new infrastructure | Expands Blissful Retreat and pushes prosperity higher |
| Start an industry (inn, kiln, brewery, farming) | Brings the village into active operation |
| Recruit Retainers | Keeps facilities producing so the settlement stays alive |
Unlock the building tools first
If you cannot place anything, the building system is probably still locked. The Homestead itself opens after you complete the Qinghe exploration quests Where Bamboos Remember and Childhood Reverie, which teach the basics like planting crops, fishing, and cooking. That introduction does not hand you full construction.
The expanded building system is gated behind a separate exploration side quest called Building: One Last Job. Until you finish it, the editing and placement tools that let you restore facilities across Blissful Retreat are unavailable. This is the most common reason the game tells you to upgrade your Homestead while refusing to let you place buildings.
Place and restore buildings in Blissful Retreat
Note: Production in every industry runs on real time. Dishes, wine, and crafted goods can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, so start jobs early and let them finish while you do other restoration work.
Recruit Retainers to keep the village growing
Retainers are the villagers and animals who handle the work behind your facilities, including innkeeping, kiln work, and brewing. A facility with no one assigned sits idle, which slows the prosperity you need for Lv2.
To bring one on board, open the Retainers menu, pick an eligible NPC, and offer their preferred Present Invitation. Once they join, assign them to the industry that matches their talents so production keeps flowing while you continue construction.
How to confirm you reached Level 2
The upgrade is automatic. When prosperity passes the required amount, the Homestead level display ticks up to Lv2 on its own, rather than asking you to confirm a purchase. Watch the prosperity meter as you build, and the level will change once the meter reaches the next mark.
If the level has not moved, run through the likely causes below before assuming the system is broken.
| Why Lv2 hasn’t triggered | Fix |
|---|---|
| Building tools never unlocked | Complete the Building: One Last Job side quest |
| Homestead intro not finished | Clear Where Bamboos Remember and Childhood Reverie in Qinghe |
| Prosperity still below the threshold | Restore more ruined buildings and add new facilities |
| Facilities sitting idle | Assign Retainers so industries keep producing |
Treat the climb to Level 2 as a building project rather than a menu command. Unlock construction, renovate the ruins already standing in Blissful Retreat, staff your industries with Retainers, and let the prosperity meter do the rest. As the village fills out, the level rises with it, and the rewards in the Homestead Shop, paid in Bounty Gourds, open up alongside the higher tier.
