Wheat Ripens, Huge Profits

Grain Rain.

This was likewise a day of great importance among the solar terms.

Temperatures rose, and rainfall increased.

For spring plowing, this was the critical period.

Just as the name of the solar term implied, after the Zi Hour, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky. Braving the rain, Li Ye set several oil-lamp Magic Tools in the courtyard to provide illumination.

He gazed at his wheat, his face full of joy.

The wheat planted across the two mu of land in the courtyard had all ripened. They had clearly still been unripe when he checked the day before, yet once the Zi Hour of Grain Rain passed, they seemed to undergo a sudden transformation and all matured at once.

Every stalk of Start of Spring Wheat stood two meters tall, its ears heavy with grain and golden as far as the eye could see.

"Time to harvest."

"It all has to be harvested today."

"Once Grain Rain has passed, it will no longer count as qualified Start of Spring Wheat."

Taking a deep breath, he picked up a sickle and began harvesting. Naturally, some wheat ears inevitably fell during the process.

But the beavers, who had been waiting for this moment, carried every last one away, even giving some to the Crimson-Gold Dragon Carp along the way.

The harvesting process was quite strenuous.

But according to the mission description given by the Spirit Vine, he had to harvest this wheat himself.

Fortunately, cultivators had strong physiques. He was already at Qi Refining Stage Nine, after all. It would be absurd if he could not even handle a little farm work.

He moved swiftly, spending two hours to harvest all the Start of Spring Wheat. He bundled it up and piled it in an empty patch of ground nearby.

Once the harvested wheat lost the essence of its ears, it swiftly lost all signs of life.

Only the few stalks bound to the Frost Wheat remained alive after their stems had been cut.

He carefully protected those stalks of wheat along with the Frost Wheat.

Throughout the process, Wheat Spirit silently remained on his shoulder, like an old yellow ox that bore hardship without complaint, watching the wheat it had protected for so long be harvested.

After all the wheat had been harvested, Li Ye let out a long breath and began counting how many Wheat Pellets had been produced.

There were 1,150 stalks of wheat in total.

Not a single stalk had died; every one of them had grown perfectly well.

All the wheat ears were exceptionally plump. By his calculations, the yield per mu would probably reach around ten thousand jin... a truly terrifying number, considering there were only a little over a thousand stalks of wheat in total.

As for the number that had produced Wheat Pellets—

There were a full 520 stalks!

Li Ye was stunned by the figure he had counted—but the facts lay right before him. The status columns of the 520 stalks he had separated out all displayed the words: Wheat Pellet fully nurtured.

"Why are there so many?"

He could not quite understand it. Logically speaking, even with the five special stalks bound together, plus Wheat Spirit's catalysis, producing one or two hundred stalks would already have been the limit. Yet there were a full five hundred.

But success could not be replicated.

Too many things had happened during this period of wheat cultivation—the late spring cold snap, the Spiritual Energy in the snow that followed, Peach Blossom Spirit Brew Rain...

It was the convergence of countless coincidences that had created this miraculous scene.

He had done all that he could; now, he had indeed gained an excellent harvest.

"Time to turn in the mission."

Li Ye packed the Spirit Wheat into a special high-capacity Storage Pouch. Then, carrying the Storage Pouch and a few small gifts, he left home.

There were others on the road hurrying along just like him, presumably also heading to turn in missions.

Anyone else might have worried about whether they would need to queue, but the moment he arrived, Su Ya beckoned him over and led him into a quiet room.

Inside sat a Foundation Establishment Cultivator with delicate features who looked no older than a youth.

When he saw Su Ya bring someone in, he smiled. "Senior Brother Su, this must be Fellow Daoist Li, correct?"

Despite being a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he took the initiative to exchange pleasantries with Li Ye. There was even a hint of ingratiation and an attempt to win him over in his words, which Li Ye found rather strange.

"Yes." Su Ya sat to one side, his tone casual. "Fellow Daoist Li, this is Junior Brother He, who specializes in purchasing wheat for the sect. Just take out your Start of Spring Wheat and let him have a look."

So he specialized in purchasing wheat.

Li Ye immediately understood. During his previous conversations with Su Ya, he had learned about such matters. Nearly every kind of spirit plant in the Four Seasons Sect had dedicated buyers; some entire families even made their living from this trade.

That was precisely why a Spirit Herbalist who could consistently produce outstanding spirit plants was practically a god of wealth to them. No wonder this "Fellow Daoist He" behaved this way.

Li Ye also wanted to see how good his wheat was, so he directly took out all the wheat and piled it within the quiet room.

"!!!"

The moment Fellow Daoist He saw the pile of wheat, his eyes lit up.

"Excellent!"

"This Start of Spring Wheat is brimming with Spiritual Energy, and the grains are plump. Let me see... there are over a thousand stalks, and not one is missing—they all survived."

The youth leaned in for a closer look, picked up a stalk of Wheat Ear, and said in astonishment, "It actually produced Wheat Pellets! Senior Brother Su! These are Wheat Pellets from the Start of Spring Wheat!"

There was more than mere excitement in his voice now—he was plainly stirred, and even his fingers trembled slightly.

"Really?" Though Su Ya was surprised as well, he remained composed and said directly, "Hurry and count them. How many Wheat Pellets are there? If they produced Wheat Pellets, there must be more than one stalk!"

"Yes!" The youth hastily began examining them closely. He took out a jade Wheat Ear and gave the pile of Start of Spring Wheat on the ground a gentle sweep.

A breeze suddenly rose, sweeping up all the Start of Spring Wheat before setting them back down stalk by stalk. The youth immediately obtained the detailed information.

"Five hundred and twenty stalks!"

"Senior Brother Su, this wheat..."

Once the number was out, his formerly suspended heart completely died.

This was no longer a decision he could make. Out of 1,150 stalks of wheat, 520 Wheat Pellets had emerged. The number was simply terrifying.

Only Golden Core elders within the sect could accomplish such a thing.

"What are you panicking for?"

Su Ya rebuked him. "This is Returning Shore Market, Uncle Spirit Vine's territory. Are you afraid someone will suddenly appear and snatch your things away?"

"The urgent matter now is to quickly tally everyone's gains from this Start of Spring Wheat mission, then invite Uncle Spirit Vine back!"

At those words, the young cultivator surnamed He immediately nodded.

"Alright! I'll go right now!"

Before leaving, he did not forget to look pitifully at Li Ye. "Fellow Daoist, you have to let me take in this batch of Start of Spring Wheat! I'm willing to pay two hundred Spirit Stones for every Wheat Pellet, and three Spirit Stones for each remaining stalk of wheat!"

Su Ya truly felt this fellow was being a little too embarrassing. The instant he finished speaking, Su Ya pulled a whisk from his storage ring and lashed it at him.

"Why aren't you gone yet? Once Uncle Spirit Vine returns, will your contribution go unrecognized?"

"Aiya, aiya!" He hurriedly ran out.

Left behind, Su Ya gave Li Ye an awkward smile. "Fellow Daoist, you may not know this: Start of Spring Wheat is planted at the Beginning of Spring and harvested when Grain Rain arrives. It gathers the lingering vitality of winter, then absorbs the life force brewed by spring.

"The Wheat Pellets of Start of Spring Wheat are the essence among essences.

"Ordinarily, Start of Spring Wheat, already formed from gathered vitality, should be unlikely to produce Wheat Pellets. But once it does, they are treasures.

"That price is not excessive."

Li Ye's expression remained calm, but inwardly, he was nearly roaring—two hundred Spirit Stones per Wheat Pellet, and he had a full five hundred and twenty of them!

That was 104,000 Spirit Stones.

To him, it was indeed an oceanic sum of Spirit Stones.

Thanks to big boss Qian Feng for the reward, and thanks to all the big bosses for your monthly tickets and recommendation ticket support~ Thank you all! My utmost thanks!