Chương 122: A Dream of Harvest

Seeing the Tree Lady's strange expression, Roland tilted her head in confusion.

Ms. Shu's lips twitched, but she finally revealed a helpless yet indulgent smile and waved to the side.

A vine immediately drooped down from the harvest tree, bringing with it a report and some plant samples.

She controlled her magic, and a table made of vines grew beside the dining table, on which she placed the reports and samples.

"The breeding of plants is progressing very well. If we continue in the current direction, a bumper harvest in the greenhouse is a sure thing."

Ms. Tree couldn't help but look at Roland with admiration.

"I must say, your idea is truly amazing. I only just realized that plant successive breeding can have such a great effect."

"In the past, we focused too much on the effects of magic and neglected the potential of the crops themselves."

"If you had been born in my time, the high priest would have treated you like a saint of the Harvest Church."

This is not just idle talk.

After the greenhouse project was launched, Roland found the Tree Lady and asked her to use ripening magic to select and breed seeds.

The specific method involves rapidly ripening commonly used seeds and selecting those with plump ears, high yield, and strong adaptability for further planting.

Then, they are ripened again, and the best ones are selected as seeds for the next round of ripening.

To put it simply, it's just routine selection and breeding on Earth.

As for why we didn't use hybridization breeding, it's because it involves areas where our knowledge of Roland is lacking.

Although she still has some memories of high school, unfortunately, her university life and work have made her forget all the knowledge she learned from her teachers.

Fortunately, with the help of magic, even conventional selective breeding yielded quite good results.

After all, there was natural magic that defied science, and the Tree Lady, the divine tree of harvest.

Without regard to cost, crops can mature in just one day.

If agricultural scientists on Earth saw this, they'd probably worship the Tree Lady.

Ms. Tree praised Roland and then began to introduce the plant samples at the front of the vine table.

"Miss Roland, look, this is a specialty of the southern kingdom of Sumeru, and it's also the staple food we've ultimately chosen: Fire Wheat."

"Its characteristics include its ability to easily absorb the elements of nature and accelerate growth, but its disadvantages include its inability to withstand cold, poor taste, small grain size, and average yield."

"After 233 generations of breeding, its cold resistance has been significantly improved, its yield has increased by nearly 90%, and its taste has also been improved, making it not much different from traditional wheat."

"The effect of absorbing elemental power has also been significantly enhanced. Although it is still mainly fire element, it can now accept other elements, and its growth rate will reach a new level."

As Ms. Shu spoke, she couldn't help but cheer and took a hearty sip of wine.

"It's unbelievable that this level of achievement can be accomplished without magical modifications or alchemy, simply by selectively choosing seeds."

Roland reached out and picked up a sample of [Fire Wheat].

The difference between fire wheat and regular wheat is not significant. Fire wheat is taller than regular wheat on Earth, with thicker stems and fuller, golden ears.

The only difference is that it has more and wider leaves with unique pale red patterns.

This is the change in appearance that occurred after absorbing the fire element.

Roland reached out and pinched the plump ear of wheat, feeling its weight, and a relieved and happy smile appeared on her face.

"This is the most wonderful news I've ever heard. With this kind of fire wheat, our future food supply will be fully guaranteed."

"Without any worries about the expansion of residential areas, we can further accommodate the poor in the outer ring area."

Roland smiled like an old farmer enjoying a bountiful harvest by the edge of a field, and got up to personally pour Ms. Tree a glass of wine.

At the same time, he filled his glass to the brim and then raised it to Ms. Shu.

"Thank you for your efforts, Ms. Tree."

"This glass of wine is for you, a toast to a bountiful harvest!"

Ms. Tree clinked glasses with Roland, but her gaze went beyond the glasses and landed on Roland.

At this moment, Roland's cheeks were flushed, her eyebrows were curved, and her heart-shaped pupils were filled with joy.

Ms. Shu was somewhat dazed.

"Miss Roland really values farming."

Roland burst out laughing.

"Of course, there is nothing more important in this world than farming. Food is the most important thing for people."

"If this kind of farming is done well, no one will go hungry."

"Only when hunger is eradicated can people have the resources to do other things, and only then can society develop. Don't you think farming is very important?"

Upon hearing this, Ms. Tree's gaze toward Roland once again burned with fervor.

Roland should be my partner; we even share the same interests. As for that violent maniac, Caryl…

Who is it? A completely insignificant character.

……

After Roland's excitement subsided slightly, Ms. Tree seemed to remember something and picked up the report to remind her.

"By the way, Miss Roland, we can't be too happy yet. After the plants were improved, the greenhouse's demand for fertilizer also increased."

Upon hearing this, Roland sat up straight.

"Is there any defect?"

"It's not a defect; it's because increased production and faster growth have created a greater demand for fertilizer."

Ms. Shu patted the report in her hand and added.

"You forgot? We've only prepared the greenhouse, but everything else is a blank slate. We'll probably have to buy the fertilizer from Elizabeth again."

"Elizabeth?!"

Roland let out a strange cry; she had developed a condition that made her jumpy whenever she heard the word "female ghost."

Ms. Shu nodded solemnly.

"Yes, after all, the nutrients for plants don't come out of thin air, unless I use natural magic to fertilize the land."

"But then again, it's just ordinary food crops, so squeezing my magic out of it would be a huge waste."

Roland nodded in deep agreement, and then they began to stare at each other.

Ms. Tree thought that Roland must have some brilliant insights, but to her surprise, she was met with a silent resignation.

"Miss Roland, don't you have anything to say? We've never produced fertilizer on our land."

Roland scratched her chin awkwardly.

"Um, I don't think I know much about fertilizers."

"In my memory, fertilizer was probably something like manure, straw, slaughterhouse waste, and distiller's grains, right?"

"I will arrange for people to set up a composting workshop later, which will provide a lot of jobs. There is a lot of idle labor in the residential area now."

Ms. Tree nodded and continued to add.

"There are also some plants that can be used as fertilizer. You need to recruit some experienced old farmers."

Roland nodded in agreement.

At that moment, as if she had discovered a blind spot, she couldn't help but ask.

"Miss Tree, it seems our hanging garden hasn't been fertilized since you arrived. Has it been relying on your magic all along?"

Ms. Tree shook her head.

"This is my true form, and the surrounding area is all within the halo of abundance, so the Hanging Gardens do not need fertilizer."

Roland grasped the key point perfectly.

No need to fertilize, but it's not that you can't fertilize.

She tilted her head to look at the roots of the Harvest Tree, considering whether to bring back some fertilizer, and hesitated before speaking.

"Wouldn't it grow even better if we added some fertilizer?"

Following Roland's gaze, Ms. Tree was both angry and amused. She stood up, leaned over the table, and reached out to pinch Roland's cheek.

His soft cheeks were slightly warm from drinking, and they felt wonderful to the touch.

Roland's face scrunched up as she was pinched.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Ms. Shu emphasized this earnestly, her face tense.

"I'm telling you to dispel any strange thoughts. We tree spirits don't need such filthy things. Every tree spirit smells wonderful!"

Roland, her face pinched, retorted somewhat indignantly.

"What about before they became spirits? Tree spirits started as ordinary trees, right?"

"The thickest trees in the forest have eaten the most dung... mmm mmm."

Roland's mouth was firmly covered by Ms. Tree's hand, and her little face was pinched by another hand, so she could only make muffled moans.

Ms. Tree's emerald green eyes widened in surprise.

"I am the Harvest Divine Tree, how could I be just an ordinary tree by the roadside? I could cultivate as soon as I sprouted, and I grew this big by cultivating, okay?"

"Also, never say such things in front of other tree spirits in the future, or they'll keep a record of it, you know?"

As she spoke, she pinched Roland's mouth shut, making Roland's expression look ridiculous.

"Honestly! How could you say such nasty things with that cute little mouth of yours? It's practically slandering and spreading rumors about your sister!"

After Ms. Tree released Roland.

Roland covered her cheek, which had been pinched red, and as the alcohol took effect, her little mouth pouted high.

Anger welled up in his heart, and evil thoughts took hold of him.

"What are you pretending for? You were all happy when a batch of farm manure was poured on you before."

"What did you say?!"

PS: Thanks to the owner of 【Wanderer Wanderer】 for the generous "massage" treat! ~OVO