Chapter 71: Seeds
Chapter 71: Seeds
Thud!
Lin Sai rushed to the wooden cabin and pushed the door open.
The afternoon air on this autumn day carried a rare warmth, and the tranquil atmosphere inside the cabin calmed his thoughts.
Lin Sai took a deep breath to steady his emotions.
"Millet, it's time to eat."
He found some millet in the cabin and fed it to the chickens, then closed the door and walked into the glass greenhouse at the back.
The two potato plants he had prepared the day before were right in front of him.
Lin Sai carefully examined them, and the stems and leaves of these wild parent plants were in good condition, with no signs of withering or any other unexpected issues due to the transplant.
"Not bad, it's time to experiment."
Lin Sai's gaze swept across the greenhouse.
For an experiment on crop cultivation, he certainly couldn't use these precious species with the fewest numbers. So, he moved to the side and found a ceramic jar from the greenhouse cabinet, half-filled with wheat seeds.
These were ideal subjects for the experiment.
Holding the wheat in his hand, Lin Sai's thoughts drifted as he remembered Finn's lesson:
"The planting conditions in Hidden Frontier are not ideal. But if a single wheat seed is successfully planted and germinates, it can produce three to four wheat ears, and each ear can yield at least forty to fifty wheat seeds.
Lin Sai, do you know what this means?
A single successfully sown seed can yield a hundredfold in seeds.
By continuing to plant these seeds, the overall value of the crops increases far beyond human imagination.
From a hundred to ten thousand, ten thousand to a million, a million to a hundred million!
Most people are not engaged in agricultural production, and they only have a general idea of crop yields, but they lack a clear understanding of the specific numbers.
There's an unimaginable vitality hidden within these numbers!"
"..."
Lin Sai was lost in his memories for a while, then snapped back to reality.
Facing the situation, he was well aware of his limitations:
"But for me, this is just a pipe dream. Forget about a million or a hundred thousand, even with a hundred wheat plants, I probably won't have enough time."
As he thought this, Lin Sai took out three wheat seeds and immediately activated his Essence Conversion skill.
"Huh?"
The next moment, Lin Sai was shocked.
Just from the conversion of these three tiny seeds, he instantly felt a significant drop in his Life Essence!
Lin Sai's gaze fixed on the wheat seeds in his hand.
These three wheat seeds remained motionless, but the Life Essence depletion within Lin Sai's body was very real!
To be able to draw so much Life Essence in an instant, these seeds must have something extraordinary about them!
Without further ado, Lin Sai chose a suitable spot in the greenhouse, carefully planted the seeds, and then watered them.
He then grabbed a chair and sat down in front of the wheat seeds.
And so, he began to observe the growth of the seeds, not moving a muscle...
An hour passed.
The water Lin Sai had poured earlier had completely soaked into the soil.
But the seeds showed no signs of life, as if his previous thoughts were just a fleeting dream.
"That's right, I was too hasty."
"This is wheat, not bamboo, it can't possibly grow a foot and a half in a day."
Lin Sai quickly calmed down.
He laughed, shaking his head as he stood up from the chair.
Plant cultivation has always required patience, and he had been lost in the wonders of the Survival Construction Module's abilities.
As he thought this, Lin Sai picked up the plant journal from the nearby table.
Joel had been taking meticulous care of the plants during the past month and a half of Lin Sai's absence, and he had also recorded the corresponding conditions.
Now that Lin Sai was back, he needed to study the situation carefully.
After all, he couldn't let Joel's hard work go to waste.
About half an hour passed.
Lin Sai had organized the changes that had occurred in the greenhouse over the past month and a half.
He didn't immediately tend to the plants but instead stretched his body and took out a new journal from the side.
He quickly opened the back door of the glass greenhouse and took a shortcut through the fields to the south of the town.
Lin Sai had been busy all afternoon.
The sun was slowly setting in the west, painting the sky with a soft orange hue. Golden wheat stalks swayed gently in the breeze, and a few gray sparrows hopped along the field's edge.
A dry yet refreshing autumn breeze blew towards him.
It carried the scent of the wheat fields, filled with the satisfying aroma of a bountiful harvest.
The vast fields seemed endless, and as far as the eye could see, the golden waves of wheat rolled endlessly. Each stalk swayed from side to side, as if showing off the weight of their harvest to the onlookers.
Lin Sai walked along the narrow path between the fields.
By this time, the day was already drawing to a close, and many of the town's farmers had returned home. Lin searched for a while before finding a middle-aged man in rough cloth clothing, sitting on a small wooden stool under a withered tree in the field ahead.
Lin Sai hurried over and greeted him:
"Uncle Curt, do you have a moment? I'd like to ask you something."
Upon hearing Lin Sai's greeting, the farmer resting in the field immediately stood up.
"Lin Sai, what's the matter? I'm free right now, so just ask away."
The farmer named Curt smiled and greeted Lin Sai warmly.
In the eyes of the town's farmers, the plant scholar Finn was undoubtedly one of the most respected Awakened individuals in town. As Lin Sai, his student, was also treated with the same respect.
Lin Sai quickly returned the smile and then politely asked:
"As you know, the weather has been getting colder in recent years."
"I plan to continue my teacher's work and make some enhancements to the crops, so I'd like to hear your opinion."
Lin Sai's intention was simple.
He wanted to ask the town's farmers about the necessary improvements to the crops.
His ideas were merely theoretical, and those who actually worked the fields were the ones who truly understood the crops of the Hidden Frontier and knew which aspects needed improvement.
Curt furrowed his brows when asked this question.
It had been some time since Finn had made any modifications to the crops, and this topic hadn't been brought up in a while.
He stood up and thought hard for a long time before finally speaking:
"As for the crops, I think they're fine. As long as the weather doesn't get colder next year, there shouldn't be any problems with the planting. As for improvements..."
"In my opinion, the most important thing is to increase the yield and size of the harvest, and of course, improving the taste would also be great."
Lin Sai carefully noted these requirements in his notebook.
Curt watched Lin Sai as he wrote, and after he finished, the farmer cautiously asked:
"Lin Sai, I heard you went to the border between our town and Black Mountain?"
"What's the situation over there? Does our town still have hope of establishing contact with the outside world?"
Curt's tone was both anxious and expectant.
Lin Sai didn't want to deceive him, but he didn't want to sound too desperate either:
"That area is currently covered in heavy snow, making it very difficult to pass through."
Curt nodded disappointedly:
"I see."
Lin Sai bid farewell to Curt and continued walking through the fields, gathering as many opinions as possible.
In summary, the farmers' demands boiled down to a few key points:
- Increased yield and size of the harvest
- Improved disease and pest resistance
- Enhanced flavor and quality
- Methods to shorten the growth cycle
With this information, Lin Sai returned to the glass greenhouse.
He was about to organize his notes and continue planning his crop enhancement project.
But at that moment, Lin Sai froze in place.
He stood motionless, his eyes fixed on the greenhouse he had just left a short while ago.
Because, right in front of him, in the soil...
The wheat seeds he had planted that afternoon had already sprouted, growing into tender yet vibrant green seedlings!
(End of Chapter)
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