Fruit Farmer In A Cultivation World

Lin Zedong's disappearance from the village didn't cause much of a stir. His acquaintances put in a little effort to find him but most of the villagers were happy to see an unwelcome thug vanish from their village.

Gao Xuan, the only one who knew the truth, kept it hidden from everyone. Sen Lin had reminded him to keep it a secret, and even if he hadn't the teen had no intention of spreading what had happened.

He too was dissatisfied with the thugs who had taken up residence in Red Rock village for winter. Furthermore, he felt no sympathy for a thief.

Who knew what Lin Zedong would have done had he not been caught red handed by Sen Lin.

Gao Xuan had heard the thug confess his intentions to rob the old man and his granddaughter who had moved in next to Sen Lin. A person capable of devising such an evil plan against vulnerable people was better off in prison.

Still, his heart couldn't calm down. He was constantly worried about the Black Blade gang learning of what had happened in the village and coming to find trouble.

It was only after the news of the dissolution of Black Blade gang spread around the East Ridge city that he could breathe a sigh of relief. The news spread a month after Lin Zedong was taken away.

Gao Xuan, who had been making trips to the city every other day since the thief's arrest, couldn't contain his happiness when he learned of it.

He ran back to the village to share the news with Sen Lin but the young farmer didn't seem interested.

Sen Lin seemed to have full faith in the constable's ability to resolve the issue. Compared to the Black Blade gang, he was focused on the winter sunflowers that were almost ready for harvest.

The seeds were completely developed and the flower was drooping down because of the seeds' weight.

Compared to normal sunflowers, the lifecycle of a winter sunflower seemed to be just half – coming in at two months instead of four.

The time frame was just right for Sen Lin. Winter didn't last long in the region and spring was just around the corner. He'd have around a week or two to rest up after harvesting the winter sunflower seeds and then he'd have to get to work once again.

He also wasn't the only one looking forward to the harvest. Blacky, who had been the incarnate of sloth throughout the winter, was slowly regaining his energy and often accompanied Sen Lin when the latter stood by the winter sunflower to absorb the mystical energy.

Looking at the donkey standing beside him, he wanted to tease the beast about its fickle nature but held back when he saw a man walking up the hill.

Soon, the figure was standing face-to-face with Sen Lin.

"Young friend, we meet again."

"It's been a while senior Lin Tu." Sen Lin greeted the salesman cultivator from Green Wind Spirit Farmer Association.

Similar to the first time they'd met, the man was in an intoxicated state. The smell of alcohol wafted all the way to Sen Lin even though the two were standing at least two meters apart.

The two made small talk while walking up to the winter sunflower. Looking at the ten winter sunflowers that were almost ready for harvest, Lin Tu sobered up instantly.

He'd have never expected that the young man he handed seeds to for reaching his quota would bring him such a surprise. He was sure the youth was a complete novice when it came to being a spirit farmer but had managed to grow all ten seeds.

And that wasn't all. The winter sunflowers looked healthy and the yield of seeds were also a cut above the rest. With such a result, Sen Lin could easily graduate from his status as a newbie and join as a formal member of the association.

"Not bad. I knew you were an excellent spirit farmer from the moment I laid my eyes on you. With this yield, you should be able to earn around 30 spirit stones. Not bad. Not bad at all."

Sen Lin ignored the obvious lie the drunk cultivator spouted and focused on the earnings. He still didn't know how much 30 spirit stones was.

He wanted to ask Lin Tu but that could result in him getting scammed when he received payment for the seeds. In the end, he made a mental note to learn about cultivator economy before heading to the Golden Goose Escort Group.

He wasn't sure about the value of a spirit stone but he knew it would allow him to hire workers that could accomplish things that were otherwise impossible. If he could spend the spirit stones smartly, he'd be able to kickstart his dream of building an orchard.

When his thoughts reached this point, Sen Lin was suddenly reminded of the strange berries that grew on the stone. With a salesman of the Green Wind Spirit Farmer Association in front of him, he decided to try his luck.

Sen Lin invited the drunk cultivator inside his hut and showed him the bitter berries.

"Senior, do you know what these berries are?"

Lin Tu took the berry and threw it into his mouth before Sen Lin could warn him against it.

As expected, the man's face puckered up because of the bitter taste.

Ptooh!

Sen Lin wondered if he looked just as funny when he had tried the berry before quickly suppressing his wandering thoughts. He handed over a cup of tea politely while pretending nothing had happened.

Lin Tu took a sip of the tea and struggled to maintain a straight face. After some struggle, he finally got his expression under control.

"If my guess is right, this should be a stone berry. Though rare, it doesn't have much use. Aside from lost travelers and starving hunters, everyone generally avoids this berry. If there's anything special about them, then it's that they have excellent vitality and bear fruit throughout the year. If it weren't for their horrible taste and their need to be planted on stones, they'd have made for an excellent cash crop."

Sen Lin was glad he asked the man about the bitter berries. Listening to the description about this strange fruit, he was even more enthusiastic about his plans of selective breeding. Even though the chances of success were low, he didn't have much to lose.

Aside from taking it as a novel learning experience, he could treat the failed product as food source for Blacky. His pet seemed to love the terrible tasting berries anyways.

Sen Lin asked a few more questions and Lin Tu answered patiently. Despite his habit of getting drunk even on early morning, the man was surprisingly knowledgeable.

"The winter sunflowers should be ready for harvest the day after tomorrow. I'll visit then and we'll settle the payment."

Sen Lin nodded and saw the man off. Watching his guest slowly turning into a dot on the horizon, the young farmer went back to the winter sunflowers.

Though it had only been a short two months, he had somehow developed a liking to the strange mystical feeling he felt whenever he was by the flower's side. Now that he only had two days with them, he decided to savor the experience as much as he could.