Fruit Farmer In A Cultivation World

Tempered by two lifetimes of tough luck, Sen Lin had firmly believed that he was someone who enjoyed hard work.

After all, hard work was what filled his stomach and kept him alive. It had almost turned into a conviction.

It was this very belief that fueled him to wake up early in the morning to tend to his farm. It was this faith in his effort paying off that allowed him to endure the scorching sun whenever he tilled his fields.

And in the many years that had gone by, the belief had never faltered. If he couldn't bring himself to enjoy hard work, how could he make something out of himself when the whole world was not on his side?

But looking at the sight in front of him, he wasn't sure he could stand by his previous philosophy anymore.

A dozen or so energetic youths walked down the hill carrying stones of different sizes. The smallest stone was the size of a fully grown man while the largest as big as an ox.

Judging by the build of these youths, he could have never expected that their normal looking bodies could hold such power. Even the smallest stone easily weighed over a ton but the youths carried them down the hill's uneven trail without breaking a sweat.

Knowing that all of these youths were cultivators, Sen Lin wasn't envious of their strength. Instead, he was conflicted by the immense sense of satisfaction building up within him watching them work.

A thought couldn't help but bud inside him.

Maybe supervising suits me better than personally getting my hands dirty. Making sure they work to the best of their abilities is a hard work in of itself anyways.

"Senior, where should we put these?" A young man, no older than 17, stopped in front of Sen Lin and asked while still carrying a stone. Behind him, another slightly older man was supporting the other end of the somewhat rectangular stone.

Sen Lin snapped out of his thoughts. He led the workers he had hired from Golden Goose Escort Group to the back of his hut.

Pointing to the empty space, he had the group put the stones down in the area he had already cleaned up.

After two more trips, all the stones with the stone berries growing on them had been transported to Sen Lin's "backyard."

Looking at the worker's expectant gazes, Sen Lin pulled out ten spirit stones and handed it to the leading worker.

The middle-aged man who received the spirit stones with both hands smiled brightly. Putting on an ingratiating expression, he thanked repeatedly, "Thank you senior. If you need help in the future, you can come to us. We'll do our best to serve you wholeheartedly."

The other workers also followed in his footsteps, thanking him fervently.

Sen Lin nodded with a poker face and sent the group away. When they were all out of sight, he finally showed his true expression.

The workers he had hired were all cultivators at the body tempering stage. Though possessing herculean strength, they hadn't yet managed to absorb spiritual energy into their body and were considered to have not yet truly stepped into the world of cultivation.

Sen Lin, who was mistaken as a "qi condensation senior" enjoyed their respect reluctantly. It wasn't that he was tricking them… he was just taking advantage of their assumption to not get scammed on his first purchase using spirit stones.

Besides, they weren't completely wrong. He had confirmed that the mystical feeling of energy entering his body whenever he stood by the winter sunflowers was indeed spiritual energy. He could be considered a qi condensation cultivator.

It was just that he didn't know how he turned into one. And even if he was one, he had no idea how he could utilize this spiritual energy.

So far, the only benefit of the energy he had felt was that he didn't feel cold even if he took off his jacket.

He felt a little guilty for having tricked them but got over it quickly. If his understanding was right, these body tempering cultivators he had hired were just servants at the Golden Goose Escort Group.

For them, earning 10 spirit stones for a task that took less than half an hour was undoubtedly a windfall. Were it not so, they wouldn't have acted in such a sycophantic manner.

Thinking to this point, Sen Lin felt his conscience grow clear once again.

That's right. It's a win-win situation. They get paid well and I get to start my experiment with selective breeding. In fact, it's probably a better deal for them than it is for me. After all, even if they split the spirit stones evenly, it's almost a single spirit stone for four hours of commute and half an hour of labor.

Sen Lin, who had almost thought of coming back empty handed when he had first learned the price of the escort group's service felt thankful for the years he spent haggling with housewives in the market.

If it weren't for their techniques and persistence in addition to an entire lifetime's worth of being exploited for cheap labor on Earth, Sen Lin wouldn't have had the bright idea to approach the servants working for the establishment and hiring them separately.

This was inspired by one of the most common bargaining lines he heard in the past when working as a house painter for hire – "Why is your price so high? I know someone does it for cheaper."

 By eliminating the middleman, he managed to save ten whole spirit stones.

Sen Lin wanted to bask in this feeling of saving money some more but the two pair of eyes looking at him from behind a tree ruined the mood.

"What are you two doing sneaking around? Come on out."

At his words, Gao Xuan and little Ying walked out of their hiding spot. The former pretended to be admiring the winter scenery while the latter seemed to be contemplating the secrets of life while counting the grains of snow in the ground below.

Sen Lin couldn't tolerate their act anymore and snapped at them, "What do you two want? Speak up."

Little Ying looked up at Gao Xuan, urging him with her eyes. Looking at her innocent gaze, he could only muster his courage and ask.

"Brother Sen, is it true that you're a cultivator? All the strong martial artists were calling you senior respectfully. As far as I know, only the strongest members of the city guards and upper echelons of gangs are capable to carrying such heavy stones."

Sen Lin entertained the idea of posing as a cultivator but quickly suppressed it. It was already hard to maintain his façade in front of the workers he had just sent off. If he had to continue his act even in front of these two, he wouldn't be able to go by his normal life.

"Stop reading too much into things. They're just treating me with respect because I paid them. Remember, the one with the money is the boss. You have to show them respect or else you won't be able to live a peaceful life."

Gao Xuan didn't look convinced and seemed to want to say more but Sen Lin didn't give him a chance. He made an excuse and sent the imaginative teen and little girl away.