stjorthotic Chapter 7: Damn it! Where did Jiang Qiu get this ability?!
Chapter 7: Damn it! Where did Jiang Qiu get this ability?!
Tap, tap, tap—a series of unhurried footsteps came from deep within the shop.
With a crisp snap, the cucumber burst open, and juice splattered under the light, revealing a girl in a short skirt and a yellow hoodie. Her slender fingers picked up one of Jiang Qiu's low-grade fruits from her bag.
Snap, snap, tossed up and down.
Her eyes were bright and sparkling.
It looked like it was about to pop the fruit into its mouth any second.
"Hmm~ The appearance is good, the flesh is very plump, it was just a little short of becoming a medium grade, it belongs to the best batch among the low grade."
As she spoke, Zhao Nan's rosy cheeks puffed out, and she took a bite of a large white cucumber with a crisp voice: "Hmm, put it in the cold storage, and leave a mark for me."
"Okay, senior sister! Sir, please show me the payment code."
"Okay."
Ding! 1000 yuan has been credited to your account.
A payment notification popped up on her phone screen, and Jiang Qiu's eyes lit up almost imperceptibly. This bag of fruit was worth a month's internship salary, and she could finally free up money to buy things other than daily necessities.
You can purchase nutrient soil raw materials.
The number of potted plants has been increased.
"Hmm, wait a minute, did you cultivate these wood-edged flowers and fruits?"
Hearing the sound, Jiang Qiu suddenly turned around and saw Zhao Nan holding half a white cucumber in her left hand and a low-grade fruit that had just been sold on her right fingertips.
As she spoke, a faint, fresh breeze wafted by: "Kam~ How many fruits of this quality can you produce in a season?"
"That's all for my first generation so far."
"Too little..." Zhao Nan pouted, "But the quality is quite good, and the essence it contains is very rich. I feel that using it to refine level 1 pills should increase the yield. Let me leave you my contact information, and I'll try refining it first."
"it is good."
Seeing Jiang Qiu strike up a conversation with Zhao Nan and leave her number at the counter, the crowd erupted in excitement, with envious glances fixed on Jiang Qiu.
"Being noticed by the people at the First Alchemy Garden means that as long as the output is stable, you'll basically have no worries about food and clothing. Unlike my amateur cultivation of fruits, I've worked myself to the bone for three months, only to have 'buyers' from other places drive down the price!"
"Well, we're not from a proper plantation, so it's normal that our fruits don't sell for a good price. This young man is able to grow such high-quality low-grade fruits, he must be an apprentice spirit plant master from some plantation."
"I just heard someone say they're interns at the Ninth Garden?"
"Huh, not an apprentice spirit plant master? But judging from the quality of the low-grade fruit, it should be one in a few months."
Each word felt like a steel awl piercing Qian Cheng's ears. His face flushed and paled in turns, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Jiang Qiu's retreating figure as he left the crowd. He gritted his teeth: "Can his training even meet the standards?!"
The other interns around her stared blankly, still in shock: "No way, I remember Jiang Qiu lived in a shantytown like Yang Zhilan, how could she have the conditions to cultivate such good fruit?"
"Speaking of which, we sowed them at the same time, and my 'Wood Edge Flower' hasn't even formed any buds yet, how come it's already bearing fruit?"
"Could it be that he's actually very talented...?"
At this moment, Qian Cheng's breathing became slightly rapid, and the sounds around him grew increasingly noisy and chaotic. He turned and walked away with a stern face, saying, "You guys go look around on your own. I'll go see if anyone is buying Muyuan flowers and fruits elsewhere."
"Ah? Oh, take care, Brother Qian Cheng..."
As the sounds behind him faded into the distance, Qian Cheng noticed Zhang San and Li Si snickering in the corner. He snorted coldly, his fist clenched with veins, and turned into a deserted alley.
Bang! He slammed his fist against the wall, dust falling onto his shoulder. "Damn it! Why is it that Jiang Qiu's [Wood Edge Flower] has a shorter growth cycle than mine, yet the quality of its low-grade fruit is higher than Brother Wang's? He's trying to steal my apprentice spirit plant master spot!"
Even though Director Wu had already issued a notice in the group, instructing him to enter Courtyard No. 17 for advanced training ahead of schedule, which almost hinted at who would be qualified as the trainee spirit plant master, the real assessment had not yet arrived.
Originally, apart from Brother Wang and Jiang Qiao, the difference in everyone's results wouldn't be too great, so it wouldn't hurt for Director Wu to stand out.
But now, Jiang Qiu's first generation of achievements has shown extraordinary potential and made a name for itself.
Ask yourself.
Qian Cheng himself couldn't cultivate such good low-grade fruits with his first-generation [Wood Edge Flower], and they weren't even fully ripe yet. He was so frustrated that he scratched his head and cheeks.
"Those two idiots, Zhang San and Li Si, don't like me. If my performance is significantly worse than Jiang Qiu's during the assessment, they'll definitely nitpick and find fault with me. Director Wu is unlikely to give me a spot in front of everyone!"
"Holy crap! Where did Jiang Qiu get this skill from?!"
"With the first generation of [Wood Edge Flower] achieving this result, the second generation will definitely be able to produce mid-grade fruits. At his cultivation speed, he can cultivate at least two more generations in two and a half months. If we wait until then—"
Qian Cheng grimaced, his heart pounding, when a greeting suddenly interrupted his thoughts: "Lower-grade wood-elemental flowers and fruits, for sale?"
"Huh?" Qian Cheng paused, his pupils refocusing as he realized he had unconsciously walked to a secluded stall. The stall owner was a middle-aged man in a black robe, his figure hidden in the shadows of the eaves. "You want to buy?"
"Not fresh, don't want it."
"Are you fucking messing with me?" Startled, Qian Cheng's anger surged to its peak. "Damn it, I forgot to check the almanac before I went out today..."
"Wait, didn't you want to stand out in the assessment? Buy a bag of spirit seeds and plant them. I can teach you how." He turned to leave when these words suddenly came from behind. He was struck dumb, turning back in surprise and disbelief, his mind a jumble of emotions: "You were eavesdropping!"
"You were pounding on the wall and talking to yourself over there, and I didn't find it noisy. Are you going to blame me for having good hearing?" The stall owner in the black robe smiled smirkly, tapping his fingers on the table. "I'll ask you one more time, are you buying or not?"
"How could anyone hear that..." Qian Cheng broke out in a cold sweat. The few words he had just complained about were like whispers, not actual shouts. At a distance of over a hundred meters, the sound had long been dispersed by the evening wind, so how could an ordinary person hear the details?
Unless—a cultivator?!
The thought struck him like a thunderbolt. Qian Cheng's eyes widened as he looked again at the simple and unadorned spirit seed bags on the stall. His blood boiled, and he forcibly suppressed all the shame and anger in his heart, bending down slightly.
His voice was deep: "You just said you could make me stand out in the assessment, so do you also sell spirit fertilizer that can transform spirit plants?"
"No, I'll sell the spirit seed right now."
"So you're basically telling me to use the spirit seeds you bought to cultivate, and then use the results to participate in the assessment?" Qian Cheng frowned in dissatisfaction. "Putting aside whether your spirit seeds are unique or not, do you know that the director in charge of the assessment is a formal spirit plant master who can tell at a glance that I used something of my own accord!"
"Heh, such good eyesight? Not necessarily."
The black-robed stall owner chuckled: "Each plant master has their own strengths, and I specialize in the art of grafting."