For What

"You're here to buy the unripe fruit?"

The old village chief stared at the village chief of Orange Fruit Village in astonishment, completely unable to understand what the other party intended to do.

I don't even know myself... Daby muttered inwardly, then nodded. "That's right. The price is 5 copper coins per fruit."

Upon hearing Daby's words, the old village chief nodded in confusion, then suddenly realized what he had heard. He looked up at Daby in disbelief.

"You... you said 5 copper coins for... unripe fruit?" the old village chief stammered, his voice trembling.

"Yes, that's right."

Daby nodded again, his feelings extremely complicated.

The old village chief felt like he couldn't breathe. He asked again, twice, before he was sure he hadn't misheard.

Daby sighed. "Don't doubt it. I've brought the gold coins. If you're willing, we can pay a portion of the gold coins upfront."

"Gold coins!"

"We're willing, we're willing!"

Fearing that Daby might go back on his word, the old village chief quickly agreed.

Then, with a speed that belied his age, he ran out of the yard to notify the villagers.

Before long, a large crowd of villagers gathered at the old village chief's doorstep, each with a mix of doubt, confusion, and excitement.

If it was true, as the old village chief said, 5 copper coins for an unripe fruit, then every orchard would have all its fruit picked...

Some villagers had already done the math and found that the money they would receive wouldn't be much less than in previous years!

However, before they actually received the money, they still found it hard to believe. Was there really some fool willing to pay such a high price for unripe fruit?

To them, these unripe fruits were worthless. What else could someone who bought them be but a fool?

"Since everyone has agreed, we can start the transactions now."

"I've brought ten gold coins this time. We can complete the transactions here on the spot. For the rest, you'll need to transport them to Orange Fruit Village yourselves."

Daby looked at the villagers before him and spoke as instructed by Aiven. At the same time, he took out ten gold coins from his backpack.

Looking at the gleaming gold coins before them, the villagers' eyes lit up. However, no one present made a move.

Daby had mentioned earlier that he wanted unripe fruit that met certain conditions. Although their fruit seemed to meet the conditions, no one wanted to be the first to try.

Even though their fruit wasn't ripe yet, it still held the promise of ripeness hanging on the branches. If they picked it now, it would be gone for good.

"As the village chief, I'll go first." The old village chief, Raul, sighed and, despite his children's protests, stepped forward.

Seeing their father's decision, his children had no choice but to return to the farm and pick the obviously unripe fruits.

Looking at the unripe fruits in the cart, they felt a pang of sadness. This was the result of their year's labor.

"Although these fruits are unripe, they have basically grown. They can be traded." Daby nodded after inspecting them, adding, "These few fruits don't count."

He pointed to fruits that had clearly just started to grow, which were distinctly different from the ones that had basically matured.

After the inspection, Daby counted them one by one and paid the agreed-upon amount of gold coins.

Looking at the gold coins in the old village chief's hand, the villagers' eyes widened. Immediately after, they scattered like a flock of birds.

Not long after, villagers arrived pushing carts filled with unripe fruits, some even still attached to branches. It was clear they had picked them in a hurry.

Soon, other villagers arrived with their carts. Seeing the villagers lined up before him, they secretly grew anxious, regretting their own slowness.

Daby didn't say much, continuing to meticulously inspect each unripe fruit. Since he couldn't stop Aiven's plan, he had to ensure the quality.

After the inspection, Daby paid for all the fruit. Although he had brought ten gold coins, they were quickly spent.

Seeing the villagers in front of them leave with their coins, the villagers behind them grew anxious. When they learned that all the gold coins had been spent, they froze on the spot, their regret evident on their faces. Fortunately, Daby added that villagers who hadn't completed their transactions should head directly to Orange Fruit Village, which revived their spirits, and they quickly hurried towards Orange Fruit Village.

That afternoon, something strange happened in the southeastern territory of the City of Ambition. Villagers could be seen pulling carts laden with unripe fruit, heading towards Orange Fruit Village.

"What? You're saying Orange Fruit Village is buying unripe fruit?"

More and more fruit farmers received the news and began picking the unripe fruits from their trees, heading towards Orange Fruit Village.

5 copper coins for an unripe fruit. While it couldn't compare to ripe fruit, for an unripe fruit, this price was unimaginable.

Even in the past, they could only pick a portion of the ripe fruit, and most of the unripe fruit would become food for Magical Beasts.

Now, with all the unripe fruit being picked, this massive quantity meant they calculated that their earnings for the year wouldn't be worse than previous years!

Peter was a villager from East Orange Village.

He had naturally heard the news about Orange Fruit Village buying unripe fruit.

With a "let's give it a try" mindset, he picked the fruits from his orchard that clearly wouldn't ripen before winter.

When he arrived at Orange Fruit Village, he found that the carts filled with fruit were lined up from within the village to outside its borders.

While waiting in line, he also saw villagers from nearby villages excitedly coming out of the village with money in hand.

"It seems it's real."

He heard a fellow villager behind him say excitedly.

Such a fool actually exists... Peter, who had initially approached it with a tentative mindset, also became excited.

Orange Fruit Village.

After learning the news, the villagers also came to help.

Although they were confused by Aiven's actions, since it was Aiven who instructed them, they would carry them out unconditionally!

Uncle Tessi's son, Peter, was also very confused by Aiven's decision, but he knew that if Aiven said so, he would definitely do it.

Just like when he asked them to find Walking Grass before, those little guys had really been a great help in this harvest.

"Father, what do you think Aiven is doing?" Amidst the busy work, he would also chat with his father.

In response, Uncle Tessi fell silent for a long while before suddenly asking back, "Why do you think Aiven is giving us three-tenths of the potion's profits?"