Chapter 61: A Fine Steed! Testing Fruit Trees?

Chapter 61: A Fine Steed! Testing Fruit Trees?

In today’s world, when someone mentions a "BMW" as a mode of transportation, most people would naturally think of the four-wheeled BMW car. However, a "BMW" doesn’t have to be a car with four wheels; it could also be a horse with four legs.

Indeed, the item procurement card provided by the system for a mode of transportation turned out to be an icon of a horse, completely white and looking incredibly majestic.

Of course, an agricultural game wouldn’t reward something as mundane as a modern car.

[Procurement Card for Mode of Transportation (Pure White Steed): Quality 1]



[This procurement card allows you to purchase a highly aesthetic, pure white steed at a very low price from the market. The steed comes all the necessary equipment and comes with a full set of documents, along with a free copy of the 'Riding Skills Book'!]



Zhang Lin’s eyes lit up when he saw the description, feeling quite eager to give it a try.

After all, as a man, who wouldn’t want to ride a horse and gallop freely?

Moreover, the desire to ride isn’t limited to two-legged creatures; four-legged ones are also desirable, just in different ways.

The key was that buying this horse came with a free 'Riding Skills Book'!

With this book, even if you had no prior riding experience, you would instantly become a skilled rider after using it.

This was a reasonable game mechanic.

In Agricultural Mega Player, many game plots required learning specific agricultural skills, and some skills needed to reach a certain level before certain tasks could be performed. The 'Riding Skills Book' was a quick way to boost your skill level.

Zhang Lin hopped on his electric scooter and rushed to the farm.

Back in his office, he immediately opened the procurement market in the game, and sure enough, there was a new option for purchasing a pure white steed, just as described. The icon was of a highly aesthetic, pure white horse, and the price was set at 20,000 yuan.

However, Zhang Lin didn’t think it was expensive. In fact, he bought it right away because the description mentioned a very low price, implying that the actual value of the horse was much higher.

After all, a horse called a "BMW" must have excellent bloodlines.

As soon as he clicked to purchase, a prompt appeared:

[(Please Name) White Horse: Mount!]



[This is a mutated white horse with the bloodline of a thousand-mile horse. It is gentle, friendly to humans, and highly intelligent, making it the best mount for a farm owner!]



Seeing the description, Zhang Lin had to admit that this was indeed a high-quality mount from the game. The high intelligence alone was a significant plus.

The gentle and friendly nature also aligned well with modern values.

What surprised him even more was the horse’s bloodline—it was a Jurchen thousand-mile horse, a breed almost extinct.

In ancient times, these horses were the preferred choice for war.

The more Zhang Lin read, the more he liked it. He decided to name the horse "White Dragon."

He had a naming difficulty, so he chose a simple and straightforward name.

White Dragon, simple and clear.

As he named the horse, the game system gave another prompt:

[Congratulations, you have purchased a pure white horse and named it White Dragon. White Dragon is now being materialized! Relevant documents are being materialized, and the Riding Skills Book is being used...]



In the next moment, a white glow appeared on Zhang Lin’s desk, and the relevant documents materialized within the glow.

Simultaneously, a stream of memories flowed into his mind, all about riding skills. It felt as if he had grown up on a vast grassland, with riding skills deeply ingrained in his memory, making him an expert in this area.

The feeling was truly remarkable.

---

A short while later, the game system confirmed the material:

:

[Congratulations, White Dragon has been successfully materialized and is now in the warehouse. Please check it out!]



[Congratulations, you now have your first mount. Daily procurement of horse feed is now available!]



Zhang Lin’s desk now had additional documents, such as health certificates, all with official seals.

He immediately left the office and headed to the warehouse. As he approached, he heard the neighing of a horse. Inside, he saw a majestic, snow-white steed.

This was White Dragon.

Indeed, as the description had mentioned, the horse was highly aesthetic, and at first glance, it was clear that it was a beautiful animal.

Seemingly recognizing Zhang Lin, the horse’s eyes sparkled with intelligence, and it happily ran over to him, circling him twice and nuzzling him with its head.

Because it was purchased through the game, it recognized him as its owner by default.

Horses are highly loyal to their owners, which is why there are so many stories in movies and TV shows about warhorses saving their masters.

Zhang Lin stroked White Dragon’s soft mane, and the horse crouched down, nuzzling him again, clearly showing its desire to be ridden.

Zhang Lin smiled and mounted the horse with ease, holding the reins and guiding it out of the warehouse.

Thanks to the Riding Skills Book, he was now a skilled rider.

White Dragon neighed excitedly as it exited the warehouse.

Zhang Lin pulled the reins, signaling White Dragon to start running.

The white steed seemed eager to run, and its hooves pounded the ground.

Zhang Lin controlled the direction, letting White Dragon gallop around the open fields of the farm. Liu De and the other farm workers had already plowed most of the 2,000 acres, making the land relatively flat and suitable for a good run.

However, he could tell that it wasn't running as freely as it could. The ground wasn't right, and it would need a proper pasture for it to run freely.

But regardless, riding a horse was a fantastic experience, completely different from driving a car.

Anyone could drive a car, but not everyone could ride a horse.

After a while, Zhang Lin also rode Bai Long back to the prefab house and looked at the procurement market.

He remembered that after Bai Long had materialized, the procurement market had opened up the option to buy horse feed.

Premium Feed: 10,000 yuan per ton!

That's 10,000 yuan per ton.

Since it was a regular purchase, there was no limit on the quantity.

Zhang Lin now understood why people said you could afford to buy a horse but not to feed it. Bai Long had cost him 20,000 yuan in the game system, and its feed alone cost 10,000 yuan per ton.

For a top-tier horse like Bai Long, only premium feed would do; anything less would ruin it.

With this in mind, Bai Long would consume about 200 yuan worth of feed per day.

This treatment was far better than what most people could afford.

Zhang Lin spent 10,000 yuan to buy a ton of premium feed, which materialized directly in his warehouse. The feed came in bags, each weighing 100 pounds, and they were all stacked in one corner of the warehouse.

He pulled out a bag, opened it, and poured the feed out.

Bai Long neighed happily and eagerly started eating.

Seeing this, Zhang Lin decided he needed to build a stable.

At the very least, Bai Long needed a place to stay and a feeding trough.

The game's construction market offered stables for building.

However, spending a valuable construction slot on this didn't seem worth it, as he could build it in the real world.

He would just have to talk to Huang Tao, who could handle such small construction projects.

As Bai Long continued to eat, Zhang Lin returned to the prefab house and opened the game's procurement market in his mind.

The upgrade reward had opened a new item for purchase: special mature peach saplings.

Special Mature Peach Saplings (Quality 1): 50 yuan per sapling, 1,000 saplings per day.

In the real world, peach saplings came in two types: ordinary saplings, which were small and cost about 5 yuan each, and mature saplings, which could bear fruit within two years and cost about 20 yuan each. The latter were more expensive and harder to transplant, so nurseries rarely produced them.

He didn't expect the game system to offer such saplings, and at a higher price of 50 yuan each.

But these were Quality 1 saplings. If they could produce Quality 1 peaches, it would be worth it.

A single tree could yield several dozen pounds of fruit, which could be sold wholesale for 24 yuan per pound. The 50 yuan cost of the sapling would be negligible.

Most importantly, with these saplings, he could solve the biggest problem with his peaches—people would see the trees and stop questioning the new variety.

Once he planted a batch of these trees, no one would investigate the origins of the Sunlight Rose grapes or the blueberries.

However, his warehouse might not be able to hold 1,000 saplings, and there might be a limit, just like with hiring employees.

Zhang Lin didn't hesitate and clicked to purchase. Even if there was a limit, the system would alert him, and he could at least buy as many as possible.

To his surprise, spending 50,000 yuan to buy 1,000 mature peach saplings didn't trigger any limits. Instead, he received an unexpected message:

"Congratulations! You have spent 50,000 yuan to purchase a batch of special mature peach saplings. The special saplings are being transported..."

Unlike the peaches and Sunlight Rose grapes, which materialized directly in the warehouse, these saplings were being transported, much like construction projects.

...

The Agriculture Bureau had been busy over the past few days.

Ling Mengxi was even busier, as the cooperation with Liyuan Farm fell on her shoulders. After two days of preparation, they were ready to start the live broadcast the next day.

The two types of fruit had sold well at Liyuan Farm, and they had gained some positive reviews online. The live broadcast was sure to be a success.

After handling the bureau's affairs, she and a few colleagues rushed to Liyuan Farm. However, not long after leaving the county, they saw a convoy on the national highway.

"What are those trucks carrying?" one colleague asked in surprise.

"Looks like they're heading to Liyuan Farm. Could they be carrying the fruit trees for Liyuan Farm's new varieties?" another colleague suggested.

"It's possible," a third colleague added. "After all, their fruits are already on the market, so it makes sense to start planting the trees."

"Let's follow them!" Ling Mengxi's eyes lit up. The bureau was very interested in Liyuan Farm's fruits, and this could be the real deal—the fruit trees for Liyuan Farm's new varieties were about to be planted.

...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end