There was once a farmer. His land was hilly and the soil was not the best. He had a cow that wasn't giving much milk and he had chickens who were laying few eggs. The place looked run-down   and the barn and fences   needed repair. The farmer and his wife felt _ . One stormy evening, a poorly-dressed man knocked on their door, asking if he could get shelter for the night. They shared the food that had been prepared, while they talked a great deal about the farm. When the stranger left the following morning, he thanked the farmer and his wife and pulled a little bag of gold pieces out of his pocket. He said that maybe this would help them. He added that he'd come by next year with hopes of finding a revived farm. After this, the farmer and his wife often talked about whether they should buy a more promising cow. Other times they considered whether they should buy chickens who laid more eggs. However, every conversation ended with the farmer trusting the farm would improve as he found himself fixing the barn and the fences, caring for the animals, preparing food for themselves and their animals. The farmer beamed   when the stranger did come by again a year later. Everything looked so much better. The stranger asked, "What did you use the gold for?" The farmer said, "We hid the gold under a kitchen tile   and, while we often thought of it, we never did think of anything we needed the gold for." Then the farmer added thoughtfully, "I do thank you, though, ever so much. You gave us what we really needed to keep going -- you lifted our spirits." Saying that, the farmer removed the tile and cheerfully returned the gold to the stranger. From the passage, we can conclude that what the farmer really needed was   _  .
land rich enough to farm on something to keep their spirits up scientific knowledge of agriculture money to improve his farm