Fruit Farmer In A Cultivation World

When one gets used to hard work, leisure starts to feel unnatural.

Sen Lin, who had always been running around to make sure he wouldn't starve to death was suddenly at a loss for how he should spend his time.

He didn't have much to do. For the next couple of days, he'd just have to either salt or smoke the pork when he got it.

Aside from that, he also needed to check if his grain silo was alright. He didn't want to be like Zhou He and his family, all of whom almost starved to death when a rat dug a hole through their silo.

If there was any damage to his granary, he had to make sure to fix it. Or else, the vegetables and grain that he stored there would go bad before winter could end.

But the problem was that even if he completed all these works at a leisurely pace, he would still have too much time in his hands. And the amount of free time would only increase once winter began. There would be no plants to attend to, no trees to take care of, and no pasture he'd have to frequent.

'Isn't this a world full of cultivators? Isn't it possible that there are crops that can be grown when it snows?'

The lethargy that was plaguing him suddenly disappeared once his thoughts reached this point. Now, all that remained in his head was space for entertaining the idea of growing crops and fruits even when there was no sunlight or warmth.

While the idea sounded ridiculous and went against science, this wasn't a world where the science of Earth could be used to answer things. After all, how could science explain a paper bird that could shrink and expand, as well as be used as a form of transportation?

Besides, he still hadn't seen a cultivator make a move personally. But based on the stories he had heard, there were some cultivators who were powerful enough to change the weather and rearrange the landscape.

In such a world, it would be weirder if there wasn't a plant that could be grown in winter.

Convinced by his line of reasoning, he walked towards the East Ridge city with energetic steps. Ater an hour and a half of walking, he finally reached his destination – East Ridge Teahouse.

Just from a single glance, this establishment was different from the others of its kind. The place was decorated tastefully and the customers frequenting this place were dressed in clean, bright fabrics.

There was always a storyteller up on the stage, making the imagination of the customers run wild with their impressive storytelling.

When Sen Lin took his seat, a beautiful young woman dressed like a scholar was telling a tragic tale of two lovers. Maybe because it had been a long time since he last entertained himself with such an activity, he quickly found himself immersed in the story.

As the woman's pleasant voice flowed into his ears, one scene after another played in his mind. But just as the story got to its most exciting development, the session suddenly came to an end.

"That will be all for today. If you want to know what happens next, please come to the teahouse tomorrow at noon."

Finishing her words, the young lady got off the stage and disappeared from sight.

Sen Lin was flabbergasted. He had never expected to encounter a cliffhanger even in this world. But thinking about it, it made sense. The storytellers were paid a small percentage of the income the shop earned during their session.

Sen Lin alone had finished three cups of tea without having realized it. If she could use a strategy to drag customers back to the teahouse tomorrow, why wouldn't she use it?

He pushed these unnecessary thoughts to the back of his head and began looking around. Other storytellers who hadn't started their session were seated here and there. They could be recognized by the manuscripts they carried on them.

After disqualifying several storytellers for various reasons, he settled on his target and made his way to an old man.

Noticing a young man approaching, the old storyteller understood the other party's intentions instantly. After all, this had happened many times before.

"Mister, I've got some questions I'd like to ask you. I wonder if you'd be willing to talk over some tea."

"Come, come. Sit down. I still have some time before I go up on stage. Tell me, what do you want to know?" The old storyteller pulled a chair for Sen Lin and beckoned a server over, "Get two cups of tea for me and my young friend here. Also get me two servings of dumplings."

Sen Lin sat down and waited for the storyteller to finish his order. This was how things worked here, if you wanted to ask the storyteller about something, you had to bear a bit of expense.

"Mister, I was wondering you knew anything about extraordinary things. You know, things that don't usually fall within the realm of normalcy."

The old man took a sip of his tea and answered, "If you want to become a cultivator, you should head to the Green Cloud city. The Green Cloud Sect is holding a recruitment event next week."

"No, no, you misunderstood me," Sen Lin waved his hand to correct the misunderstanding. "I don't want to become a cultivator. I just wanted to know if you were knowledgeable about the cultivation world."

"Of course, unlike the other storytellers, I've traveled all over the Green Wind Empire. You could say that I'm one of the most knowledgeable people in the East Ridge city."

The old man declared proudly and went off a tangent, recounting a story of how he had witnessed a battle between cultivator sects when he was still young.

Sen Lin let the man finish before getting back to the reason why he had come here.

"I'm interested in crops and fruits. Are there any that can be grown even during winter?"

The old man scratched his chin while trying to recall the relevant information.

"There are indeed spirit plants that grow in the winter without any sun. But as far as I know, only cultivators capable of wielding spiritual energy can nurture them. Normal people like you or I would only end up with a dead plant."

The answer discouraged Sen Lin greatly. He had been hoping to grow some unique crops during the winter to keep himself busy. But judging by the look of things, he didn't have the ability to do so.

Still, he didn't want to give up without trying.

"What are spirit plants? Where can I find one?"

The storyteller shook his head disapprovingly but still answered since the young man was paying for his meal. He could understand a young man being full of enthusiasm but all this excitement would only turn into disappointment later on.

"Spirit plants are to plants what spirit beasts are to animals. These plants have the ability to absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth and can give birth to extraordinary treasures that can be of great use to cultivators. As for where you can get one… I have no clue. I know sects cultivate them but it would be impossible to get some from them. Not unless you have spirit stones."

Another dead end. Spirit stones were very valuable and normal people had almost no way of getting them. There were some shops that would buy spirit stones for an exorbitant amount of ricetalons but almost none that were willing to sell spirit stones for ricetalons.

Sen Lin asked a few more questions but none of the answers gave him any useful information. Realizing that he really didn't have anything he could do about the matter, he paid the bill and walked out with a heavy heart.

Just as he was about to head back to his farm, a drunk man stood in his way. Like Sen Lin, the man had also walked out of the tea house. But unlike the other customers, he didn't seem the sort who went in to have tea and listen to stories.

Just the stench of alcohol coming from him was strong enough to push others away.

"Young man, are you interested in spirit plants?"

Sen Lin initially wanted to avoid the drunkard and be on his way but listening to the other party's words, he stopped in his tracks. He was certain that the man was nowhere near him and the old storyteller when they were having the conversation. So how was it possible that this man knew what he wanted?

His mind entertained a few possibilities but they were all crossed out because of how unlikely they were. In the end, he was left with just one speculation – the man in front of him was a cultivator.

"I'm indeed interested in spirit plants. Senior, could it be that you have a way for me to get some?"