Fruit Farmer In A Cultivation World

Sen Lin hummed a tune as he retrieved a sickle from under his bed. As a terrible singer, he usually refrained from humming but he found it oddly calming at the moment.

He had looked after the winter sunflowers like his children for the past two months. Now that they were ripe, he was somewhat unwilling to part with them.

Still, he understood that there was nothing he could do. The flowers had come to the end of their lifecycle and the only thing he could do was make use of every single seed and not let them go to waste.

Sen Lin steeled his heart and swung his sickle. The sunflower head was swiftly separated from the stalk.

Weighing the sunflower head using his arms, he estimated it to be around a kilogram. There were roughly 600 to 800 seeds in it. He lightly pat the head to dust snow off the flower and placed it inside a cloth bag hanging on his waist.

Sen Lin moved on to the next flower when he was done and before long, the spot where he had spent so much time in the winter had been reduced to a bunch of stalks. At a glance, it looked like someone had stuck a few sticks in the ground.

Maybe because of the somewhat desolate view, Sen Lin felt like it was unusually cold. He suddenly recalled the times when he experimented with the cold by taking off his jacket. It was still vivid in his mind how the cold didn't seem to bother him then.

Sen Lin shook his head at the sudden sentimental thoughts and walked into his hut.

Setting aside the cloth bag, he went through the booklet given to him by the giant duck once more. According to the instructions provided, the winter sunflowers didn't need to be dried like normal sunflowers.

He followed what was written and started beating the sunflower heads gently using a stick to dislodge the seeds on top of a cloth. Towards the end, he switched to using his hands to manually rub and pick out the seeds that didn't fall off because of the beating.

Sen Lin looked at the small mound of seeds sitting on top of the cloth and felt a little confused.

Aren't the people of Green Wind Spirit Farmer Association being a little impractical? What's the point of giving just ten seedlings in the newbie package. Wouldn't it be better to give enough to cover a field? Forget it… What was I expecting from a bunch of people who write things like "use snow dispersing spell" instead of suggesting practical solutions.

Pushing the unnecessary thoughts to the back of his head, he separated the seed from the chaff using a sieve.

Done with collecting the seeds, Sen Lin picked out the largest and healthiest seeds and stored them inside a jar. He planned to plant them when the next winter arrived.

As he waited for Lin Tu to come pick up the seeds, he began thinking about what he'd do if he didn't have to hand it over to the association.

He could think of several recipes he wanted to try. Even without recipes, the seeds would probably taste great with just some roasting or steaming.

Sen Lin also wanted to try making oil by pressing the seeds. Though he had set growing the most delicious fruit as his goal in life, he was also interested in other plants and crops. Extracting oil was something he had wanted to do for quite some time but he had never grown any nuts and seeds that could be used for the purpose.

Sen Lin added experiencing oil extraction to his mental bucket list and began cooking for himself.

Lunch was a stew made using salted pork and preserved vegetables. The dish was a little salty but he had to make do with it. Instead of washing away the salt before cooking, it was much more practical to thin out the dish with more water later on.

Salt was valuable and he couldn't afford to be wasteful.

He didn't have to wait for long after filling his stomach. Lin Tu, just as promised, arrived on their agreed upon time.

Maybe because he was on an official business, the man was sober and there was none of that alcoholic smell wafting from him.

Lin Tu greeted the young farmer and got straight to business. Pulling out a scale, he weighed the sunflower seeds prepared by the latter.

"3,200 grams." Lin Tu spoke while looking at the scale. "According to the newbie package's contract, you'll receive a spirit stone for every 100 grams of winter sunflower seeds."

He handed over a pouch to Sen Lin and continued, "There's 30 spirit stones there. I'd have brought more if I knew you were such a competent spirit farmer. What do you want to do with the rest of the seeds? I can pay you in ricetalons if you're okay with it. If not, you can keep them for yourself."

Sen Lin didn't have to think much. Just a bit earlier, he had been imagining about the things he'd do with the seeds if he didn't have to part with them. Now that a choice was presented to him, he'd naturally choose to keep them for himself.

It was just a shame that 200 grams were nowhere enough to try his hands at oil extraction. Still, it wasn't all that bad. While not much, it wasn't a bad idea to roast the seeds and snack on them every once in a while.

Sen Lin handpicked a few handfuls of healthy-looking seeds and bid goodbye to the salesman whose responsibility seemed to be much more than just selling newbie packages to aspiring spirit farmers.

"Looks like you're unwilling to part with me as well."

The young farmer chuckled to himself while talking to the seeds.