Visiting Jones Farm

Luo Mu remembered that after a Tera Orb completed one Terastallization, all the Tera Energy stored inside would be depleted, preventing a Trainer from using Terastallization a second time.

There were two ways to replenish Tera Energy.

The first was to visit the Pokémon Center in various towns and use the Tera Energy replenishment device, a supporting facility invented by Professor Olin and Professor Turo, to recharge it.

However, because Tera Orbs had yet to be fully mass-produced, Tera Energy replenishment devices were only available in several major cities across the Paldea Region. Los Platos was not among them.

The second method was to search for the rare Tera Crystals scattered across Paldea Region's vast lands. When a Tera Orb came into contact with a Tera Crystal, Tera Energy would automatically be replenished within the Orb.

This method was much more practical. Unfortunately, Luo Mu had not encountered any Tera Crystals near the farm yet, so he could only wait a while before recharging it.

At that thought, Luo Mu sighed. He could only abandon the idea of figuring out the Tera types of his other Pokémon besides Swampert.

Luxray and Serperior were definitely Tera Electric and Tera Grass. The only uncertain ones were Ceruledge, Mimikyu, and Dragonite.

Arven tugged on Luo Mu and asked curiously, "So we can plant crops and harvest ingredients like this?"

Luo Mu pondered for a moment before answering, "How should I put it? Generally, as long as the land has been cleared and the plants aren't ones that can only be grown in specific seasons or soil conditions, we can."

"I only know a little about this myself. I haven't decided what to plant first yet."

Arven wore a speechless expression. Even though he was only ten years old, he could tell just how unreliable Luo Mu was. He seemed to know absolutely nothing about professional farming knowledge and was practically a complete amateur.

"Brother Luo Mu, you..."

Arven held it in for ages, but he didn't know what to say.

Luo Mu smiled and heavily patted Arven's shoulder twice, nearly making him stumble. With a mysterious smile, he said, "I know what you want to say. Actually, I know perfectly well that I'm an amateur. So why don't we just ask a professional?"

Arven rubbed his slightly sore shoulder and tilted his head.

Jones Farm was one of Los Platos's largest suppliers of agricultural produce. All kinds of crops grown here were distributed to people's dining tables throughout the town and were even transported to major cities in the Paldea Region for sale.

With such enormous sales channels, it was naturally a major taxpayer in Los Platos and received preferential treatment from the town's administrators in every respect.

Jones Farm lay some distance west of the land Luo Mu had bought. It was likewise located on the outskirts of Los Platos and bordered part of the wilderness.

Yet whether in terms of facilities, environment, or staff expertise, it was far beyond Luo Mu's empty farm.

At the guard booth outside the farm, not long after noon, an old man could be seen through the glass sleeping soundly in a recliner.

Luo Mu looked at the ordinary watch on his wrist that had cost him a few hundred dollars, confirming that it was already past two o'clock, the end of the lunch break. He lightly knocked on the glass and said, "Sir, visitor registration."

The old man had a straw hat covering his face, apparently to block out the afternoon sunlight. Only after Luo Mu knocked three more times did he slowly wake up and look blearily at the visitors.

A young man and a child. And a dog?

The strange combination left the old man somewhat confused, but he still dutifully stood up, yawned, took out a registration form, and asked, "Name?"

Luo Mu smiled. "Luo Mu. I made an appointment to visit earlier. Please take a look."

Hearing that, the old man raised his head and examined Luo Mu. His aged fingers did not stop moving as he rustled through the pages, then put on his reading glasses and took a look. He chuckled. "Hey, it's true. You booked for two this afternoon. Looks like this old man overslept."

"My apologies."

"It's fine." Luo Mu shook his head, indicating that he had not taken it to heart. Then he reminded him, "As agreed earlier, please help us contact someone to show us around."

"No problem, no problem." The old man let out a sigh of relief and replied repeatedly, immediately picking up the landline to contact someone inside. Suddenly, his fingers paused as he entered the number. Looking at Arven and Mabosstiff, he hesitantly asked, "Who are they?"

Luo Mu looked at Arven and Mabosstiff before explaining without changing expression, "They're a relative's child and Pokémon. They happened to need me to look after them. Could you make an exception?"

The old man hesitated briefly before finally dialing the number.

Once the call connected, someone arrived very quickly.

The newcomer was in his early twenties, with a close-cropped haircut and bright, lively eyes. There was an inexplicable clarity about him.

He seemed to have just come in from the fields. Fresh, damp mud still clung to his pant legs, and a large straw hat was slung across his back. He looked a little like an enlarged version of the Bug Catchers Luo Mu had once seen in games.

The young man flashed a broad smile. After taking over from the elderly guard, he led Luo Mu and the others through the gates of Jones Farm.

Jones Farm specialized in cultivation, producing all kinds of fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables according to the time of year. The farm was not large, only about half the size of the land Luo Mu had bought.

However, Luo Mu had divided his land into sections. In truth, the Farming Area was considerably smaller than Jones Farm.

Along the way, the young man briefly introduced himself. His name was Peter, and he was in charge of fruits and vegetables at Jones Farm. He was involved in most planting-related work, making him the professional they had come to consult.

Peter said that when the Jones Couple heard that a fellow farmer had come to seek advice, they felt honored but also somewhat regretful. They were currently negotiating business at the market in Porto Marinada and could not spare the time to return and receive them.

In the end, the matter fell to him.

"I heard from the bosses that someone recently bought that abandoned wasteland nearby. I never expected it to be you, little brother." Peter looked grateful as he grasped Luo Mu's hand. "The bosses had been eyeing that wasteland for a long time and were hesitating over whether to take it off the market. Didn't expect you to beat them to it, haha!"

Luo Mu felt a little awkward. He remembered that when he had gone to see the town mayor, the man had indeed mentioned that quite a few people besides Luo Mu had been watching and waiting because of the price. Luo Mu, meanwhile, had saved up quite a bit of money during his year of traveling and simply bought it outright without hesitation.

He had not expected the Jones Couple to be among them.

"First come, first served. Don't worry about it!" Peter squeezed Luo Mu's hand a little harder and said frankly, "Personally, I should be thanking you. Good thing you bought that wasteland. Otherwise, my workload would have at least doubled!"

"So if there's anything you want to know, just ask!"