Fruit Farmer In A Cultivation World

Liang Zhi had been waiting by the farmer's hut for over an hour. Maybe because he had already gotten used to the lifestyle of spending all his time inside his grotto practicing cultivation that he found the sun especially hard to endure.

Even when he went out of the sect, he was treated like a distinguished guest everywhere he went and he never really encountered any inconveniences.

But now that he was waiting outside the farmer's hut, he was reminded of how good he had it.

The heat was bothering him endlessly but worse yet, he couldn't find anywhere to vent his frustration.

Not only had he come here uninvited but his master had also told him to establish a good relationship with the farmer.

If he had only thought things through, he would have come at an appropriate time. He could easily figure out why there was no one present at the hut.

After all, it didn't take a genius to guess that a farmer had gone out to sell off his produce. Markets were always the busiest when Autumn festival came around. Even misers unloaded the contents of their purse believing that spending during the three-day long festival would invite good luck to their lives.

These mortals were always like that, placing their hopes in higher power while making no attempt to take their fate into their own hands.

As his thoughts reached this point, Liang Zhi chuckled disapprovingly as he remembered the warning his senior sister had given him when he first embarked on his cultivation journey.

'Looks like I've really become like the other cultivators who treat ordinary humans with disregard. You were right senior sister. I've indeed let the taste of power corrode my humanity.'

The young cultivator's reminiscence was cut short by the figure of a man and a donkey that were climbing the hill. Before long, the owner of the hut was standing right in front of him.

"So, it's young immortal Liang. I was wondering who it was that was visiting me."

"Farmer Sen," Liang Zhi greeted the farmer before handing over a gourd of lavishly packaged wine. "I was just passing through and thought of stopping by at your place. I also wanted to let you know that junior brother Wei Mao has settled in nicely at the sect."

Sen Lin received the gourd with both his hands. Looking at the polished exterior that glistened under the sun, he couldn't help but feel like the gourd he had made a week before was incredibly shoddy.

The pride and confidence he had built up from his short handicraft session instantly shattered.

He hid his complicated feelings and invited the young cultivator inside. "You shouldn't have brought such an expensive gift. Please come in."

After having the fancily dressed handsome young man sit down on his poorly constructed chair, Sen Lin offered his guest some freshly picked plums.

"I knew Wei Mao would do great. He was already exhibiting feats of great courage and strength as a kid. It's not surprising to hear that he has already gotten used to his life as a cultivator."

"Junior brother Wei Mao is indeed gifted. Even though he has joined the sect much later than other disciples, he already has the makings of a cultivator that many disciples lack."

Liang Zhi commented while savoring the taste of the spirit plums and took the opportunity to talk about the plums. "Speaking of something great, the plums farmer Sen has grown are very delicious. I wonder if I could buy some from you. They'd go great as a visiting gift for the people I'll be visiting during the Autumn festival."

"Of course, I'd be more than happy to sell some plums to you."

Sen Lin answered happily. He had just been wondering if he should make another trip today in order to sell off all his produce before the festival ended. Now that a rich customer had appeared at his doorstep, he couldn't be happier.

"Since your plums are of such excellent quality, I'll take twenty kilograms. How does ten ricetalons per kilogram sound to you?"

Sen Lin's breathing stopped for a second when he heard the offer. His heart wanted him to nod and go through with the transaction immediately but his head stopped him from being too greedy.

"Young immortal Liang, I'm happy to hear you think so highly of my fruits but the price is too much. I just got back from selling at the city for three ricetalons per kilogram. My heart wouldn't be able to rest easy if I charged you so much."

"No, no, no. How could that be. It's no exaggeration to say that this is one of the most delicious plums I've ever tasted. If it weren't for the fact that us cultivators don't carry much mortal currency with us, I'd be more than willing to pay double than what I was offering."

Sen Lin had often dreamed of one day standing victorious against the housewives who brought down the price of the goods he was selling by more than half. To prepare for such a day, he had learned many phrases from fellow hawkers.

However, what he was facing now left him completely speechless. He was trying to sell his goods for cheap while the buyer was offering an exorbitant amount of money.

He was sure of it. The script had somehow gotten messed up.

'Are all cultivators weird like him? No wonder the villagers often say that one should always tread carefully in the presence of one.'

In the end, Liang Zhi couldn't win against Sen Lin's stubbornness and the two agreed to meet somewhere in the middle.

The cultivator handed Sen Lin a hundred ricetalons before shoving twenty kilograms of plums inside his magical bag that seemed to not fill up no matter how much stuff was put inside.

Liang Zhi then hung the bag that shrunk into the size of a small water pouch on his waist before getting on his paper bird and flying away.

After nearly two minutes of flying, the red rock village had grown to a size of a fly. He made the paper bird land on an empty plot of land and opened the paper bird's mouth. Feeling around with his hand, he retrieved a small white stone the size of a rice grain.

Looking at the spirit stone that was originally the size of a green bean seed, he felt a slight ache in his heart.

He was but a small qi-condensation cultivator. If he had used the spirit stones to practice, he could have used it for at least a week. But in order to maintain his image of a capable cultivator, he had used up more than half of it in just four minutes while flying from this spot to the farmer's hut and back.

The expenditure made Liang Zhi understand why many people said showing off was a costly hobby.

And unlike the previous trip to this village where the sect had reimbursed him for the spirit stone usage because it was a sect assigned mission, he wouldn't be receiving any compensation as he was just running an errand for his master.

The only thing that could console him now was the plums in his bag.

'I'll just hand over half to master and sell the rest to the store at the foot of the sect's mountain. Since it's spirit plum, I'll probably be able to make a tidy profit. I do feel a little bad for paying such a small price for such a treasure but it was the farmer who refused my offer. At least my conscience is clear. I'll just have to find a way to hide the matter from master. I better not speak a word of it to little Xin too. She has been holding a grudge against me ever since I took away her last plum to report to master.'