105 – I Want the Ill Black Nightshade
Black nightshade was said to be a close relative of eggplant, it was a plant that bore small, black berries. The fruit was delicious. When he was little, Liszt liked to eat this fruit very much. There were a lot of wild black shades growing in the fields where he lived at the time.
It was unknown whether the black nightshade in Madam Penélope"s flowerpot was the same type that he was familiar with.
But when he heard that the plant was ill, he immediately, as per his habit, stepped forward, released Magic Eyes, and looked at the dying black nightshade. When his gaze was sweeping through the plant, he seemed to perceive a faint flow of magic power flash past and quickly disappear.
That was quite the surprise.
The magic power meant that the black nightshade was unusual.
“Is it going to conceive a sprite worm?” Liszt was secretly excited, yet on the surface, he looked calm and collected. He kept looking at the black nightshade.
This dying black nightshade had yellow leaves, black spots on its rhizome, and its several flower buds appeared to be on the verge of withering.
However, under the gaze of Magic Eyes, he quickly discovered the flow of magic power again. It was very week and intermittently visible. If one was not observing carefully, one would miss the traces of magic power.
He came to a conclusion: “It is unlikely to be a magic ingredient. It is very likely that the black nightshade is going to conceive a sprite worm.”
“Poor black nightshade, it has contracted some unknown illness. It has already been a week and yet, I still haven"t managed to nurse it back to health. Watching it wilt more and more with each day reminds me of myself getting older. This is really uncomfortable.” Madam Penélope continued to talk long-windedly as she watered the black nightshade.
“Grandmother, you are quite healthy and don"t look old at all.” Liszt said with feigned gentleness, “Since looking at this black nightshade gives you grief, then give it to me, let me take care of it instead of you. Perhaps the climate in the Flower Town will be beneficial to its recovery. If not, then I"ll send you a new one.”
“It fills me with joy to see you so considerate, Liszt. Take good care of it.”
“Certainly.”
Thus with ease, the flowerpot with the black nightshade suspected of conceiving a sprite worm fell into Liszt"s possession. In his anxiety to settle down the black nightshade, Liszt quickly bade his grandmother goodbye, joined his retainer knights, and headed back to the Flower Town.
They arrived at the Flower Town by sunset.
Red sky in the morning, shepherds take warning. Red sky at night, shepherds delight.
Without even taking a moment to rest, Liszt immediately gave Gort an order: “Teacher Gort, I want all serfs mobilized. They are to search for black nightshades, dig them up, and bring them back to the horse field. Bear in mind, it"s best to dig up the roots along with the soil. The roots of black nightshades must not be damaged.”
Before the sky turned dark, cl.u.s.ters of several wild black nightshades were quickly found near the horse field.
The ill black nightshade was removed from the flowerpot and then planted next to a cl.u.s.ter of wild black nightshades. Next, people were ordered to apply manure and water next to the roots of the black nightshade. Lastly, other wild black nightshades were dug up and then planted in the surroundings of the ill black nightshade, forming a small field of black nightshades.
“Sir, these were all the black nightshades that could be found before the sky turned dark. Now we can only wait until tomorrow for the serfs to resume their search.”
“Alright.”
Looking at the field of black nightshades under lamp light, Gort inquired: “What is the use of these black nightshades?”
Although many people knew that the berries of black nightshades were edible, yet the fruit was to small and the yield was too little. They didn"t had much development value. Therefore, no one cultivated them. They usually grew on their own in fields. Generally, only children liked to look for the berries of black nightshades.
“There might be some use, but it is still too early to tell. However, no matter what, any black nightshade that is found tomorrow is to be transplanted here.”
“As you wish.”
……
After returning to the castle and while waiting for dinner, Liszt leaned against a chair in the living room, opened a coconut, and merrily drank the coconut milk inside as he relaxed. After today"s time spent on horseback, and despite Earth Knights having very strong physical const.i.tutions, he still felt a bit fatigued. However, he was in a very good mood, even a bit excited.
With his worries regarding the seafood market settled, selling seafood on the Coral Island alone could support his lavish aristocratic lifestyle.
With the sale channel regarding the Flame Mushrooms established, he only had to wait for the serfs to solve the issue with the cultivation method. The Black Tulips, on the other hand, were still one month away from harvesting season.
With the two hundred and eighty gold coins obtained from the sale of the two black pearls, the castle"s tight capital situation was nicely solved. He intended to buy a few more horses and horse drawn carriages to expand his caravan. As soon as possible, he was going to strive for the seafood trade to reach a scale where it would encompa.s.s each city and a magnitude of over three gold coins a day in sales.
Naturally, these were already set. What really excited him was the black nightshade sprite worm.
Apart from the four sprite worms and then another sprite worm, which the count had respectively given Liszt as a present upon his enfeoffment and a reward for discovering the Black Tulip, Liszt still had the peanut sprite worm, tomato sprite worm, and fragrant coconut sprite worm, which he discovered through smoke missions.
However, only the black nightshade sprite worm, which he personally discovered, gave him a great sense of accomplishment.
It turned out that even if he didn"t rely on the smoke missions, he could still get his own opportunities. However, it seemed like it would be quite difficult for him to discover the secret behind the black nightshade without Magic Eyes, and Magic Eyes was a consequence of a smoke mission.
In the final a.n.a.lysis, it still seemed to be thanks to the smoke missions.
“In any case, this is a good sign… Perhaps later, when I have nothing to do, I can release Magical Eyes to search for sprite worms that might be hidden in plants!”
Originally, he had been under the impression that sprite worms were very rare. After plowing and weeding the Coral Island for twenty years, the Tulip Family only managed to acquire over one hundred sprite worms. The probability of acquisition was very low.
But in the Flower Town, in this small place, three sprite worms were discovered in just six months. And after he made a trip outside, he returned with a black nightshade sprite worm.
This could no longer be described as good luck.
“In fact, it seems like the probability of sprite worm conception was not low. However, due to restrictions in environment, the large majority of sprite worms seem to be ‘miscarried".”
Without the smoke missions.
The peanut sprite worm would have long since died. The helpless serfs simply could not provide the peanut sprite worm with the necessary nutrition.
The tomato sprite worm might be conceived. However, Jon Shoulderpole might have plucked the largest tomato and eaten the yet to be born sprite worm.
The fragrant coconut sprite worm might have to embrace death. It was located too high up on the tree and there was still the threat from the fruit stealing monkeys.
Without Magic Eyes to discover its traces, even the black nightshade sprite worm would be destined to die, to never be born.
“Now that I have the smoke missions and Magic Eyes, there is bound to be a steady stream of sprite worms for me to discover. Getting rich is inevitable!”
……
After dinner, Liszt summoned the three managers of the caravan to brief them about the seafood trade.
The Coral City, the Whitebirch City, the Northvalley City, the Elmwood City, the Snakefang City, and the Gravel City, apart from the Gravel City, which was too far away to do trade, trade routs had been established with the other five cities of the Coral Island.
The Flower Town was at the northeasternmost end of the island and the Gravel City was at the southwesternmost end of the island, they were separated by over one hundred kilometers.
“Tomorrow, the Tulip Castle will issue a seafood sale decree, giving us the exclusive sale rights.” With his hands behind his back, Liszt looked at the night scene outside the window.
There were still only a few sources of light in the Flower Town at night. Therefore, the stars were particularly bright and shiny.
A faint silver band could be seen spanning across the sky, which seemed to indicate that this strange world was also part of the Milky Way.
He continued to say: “The seafood market is solely ours, so make good use of it. I want you to set up a fishing team in the vicinity of the Coral City to catch seafood on the beaches in the vicinity and then sell the seafood in the Coral City.”