A Small Profit

After getting Luo Mu's agreement, the strong man took a strawberry from the strawberry basket, sniffed it first at the tip of his nose, and a slight smile appeared on his lips. "Such a fresh fruity aroma, just smelling it makes me imagine its sweet and sour taste."

"And it clearly hasn't been treated with any weird pesticides."

The strong man then handed the strawberry to Infernape. Infernape also brought it to its nose and sniffed it carefully. After a moment, a look of intoxication appeared on its perpetually angry-looking furry face.

Seeing Infernape like this, the strong man looked surprised. He looked at Luo Mu and said with a smile, "Infernape has a very sensitive nose. Even it looks intoxicated by this fruity aroma. I'm quite curious how you managed to grow such successful crops on your first try."

"It's all thanks to the Pokémon," Luo Mu replied with a smile. He didn't think there was anything to hide. In fact, he planned to use this as a selling point for future farm crops.

"I see." The strong man wasn't surprised by the answer. Only the power of Pokémon could have such a magical effect. The quality and appearance of these strawberries were excellent, clearly showing they had been cared for by Pokémon.

Unfortunately, many farms couldn't guarantee that all their crops were tended by Pokémon due to limitations in their Pokémon's energy and strength.

This was also why Arven's Farm's crops were so widely praised worldwide. It had a lot to do with the farm owner who was also a Gym Leader.

The strong man then inspected the crops in the other baskets one by one. After concluding that although the quantity wasn't large, the quality was excellent, his expression became even more enthusiastic.

He extended his hand to shake Luo Mu's briefly and introduced himself, "My name is Sean. As you can see, I'm a middleman who specializes in purchasing goods from farms for resale. That being said, I believe my offer price is comparable to what you'd get selling them yourself at the market. If you think it's acceptable, I'd like to purchase this batch of crops from you."

"Hello, Mr. Sean." Luo Mu shook his right hand back and nodded slightly, signifying his agreement with Sean's offer.

He had contacted Sean through Peter precisely to sell these crops.

"I like farm owners like you who are straightforward," Sean said with a smile. He immediately took out professional weighing tools from his van and worked with Infernape to weigh the produce.

Since it was a small batch of crops, and the man and his Pokémon worked efficiently together, Sean soon gave Luo Mu his quote.

"Cabbage, eggplant, tomatoes, and cucumbers. The strawberries aren't in large quantities, but their quality is good. That comes to six thousand three hundred and fifty-one League currency."

"Not bad," Luo Mu's eyes lit up. The seeds only cost 600 League currency. Even with the cost of fertilizer and time, the first harvest brought such a considerable profit.

Not to mention, some crops could continue to flower and bear fruit after a period of cultivation. Although it looked like he only earned over six thousand League currency after working hard for more than half a month, Luo Mu knew that the cumulative profit from a steady stream of income would be the most substantial.

Sean smiled and said, "After all, the price I'm offering you is a bit higher than that of ordinary crops from other farms. Such high-quality crops are very popular among the wealthy."

Sean took out a stack of cash from his satchel, counted it a few times, and then handed it to Luo Mu.

Taking the first money he had truly earned since starting this farm, Luo Mu carefully counted it, a simple smile appearing on his face.

After putting the small stack of bills into his pocket, Luo Mu asked, "Mr. Sean, do you also purchase items other than crops?"

"Oh? Tell me more!" Sean's eyes lit up. Did Luo Mu have something else good on hand?

Luo Mu retrieved a small box from under a nearby fence. Inside the box lay several clumps of soft and beautiful-looking cotton.

"This is...!" Sean's eyes widened, his mouth slightly agape, as if shocked by what he saw.

Luo Mu smiled and said, "This is the cotton shed by the Whimsicott on our farm. I heard it's quite popular, and we don't have much use for it, so we thought we'd sell it for some money."

Sean took a deep breath, rubbed his suddenly throbbing temples, and tilted his head back for a long moment, a look of regret on his face. "I didn't expect you to have something so valuable here. Unfortunately, I don't have the nerve to purchase it."

Luo Mu looked confused. "Hmm?"

Sean gave a wry smile and said, "Even in the Galar region, Whimsicott aren't that numerous. Only Arven's Farm and a few other top-tier farms have large Whimsicott populations that can stably produce cotton."

"The cotton produced by Whimsicott is exquisitely beautiful, whether it's made into thread or woven into fabric with other materials. I didn't expect to see it in the Paldea region."

"Based on my estimation, the weight of the cotton you have here is only about fifty to one hundred grams. The price per pound is as high as six thousand League currency. Rather than selling it to me, I recommend you accumulate a certain amount and take it to the market in Ziqin Town to sell."

Sean knew very well that if he bought this cotton, he would definitely make some money from reselling it later.

However, his scope of work was limited to Pingdie Town. This small town didn't require such high-grade raw materials, and he couldn't abandon his work, spending time and effort to travel to Ziqin Town to sell such a small amount of cotton.

The effort and reward were not proportional.

Sean's words made Luo Mu fall into thought. He hadn't expected the cotton shed by Whimsicott to be so valuable.

This cotton was shed by the Hoppip that had evolved into Whimsicott today. More often than not, this cotton was used by Whimsicott as a medium to share nutrients with the crops.

In other words, he had been burning money farming all this time!

Suddenly, the six thousand-plus League currency he had just received didn't seem so appealing anymore.

Luo Mu thought to himself, but his expression didn't betray his thoughts. He nodded and thanked Sean for his suggestion.

Since Sean wasn't willing to buy the cotton, he would wait until he had accumulated more and then take it to the market in Ziqin Town to sell.

He seemed to recall that the market there sold items through auctions?

Money exchanged hands, and Sean, with Infernape's help, transferred the five baskets of crops into the baskets on his van.

"Next time you have crops to harvest, just contact me by phone!"

Sean bid farewell to Luo Mu, left his phone number, and then had Infernape drive the van away from the farm.

Luo Mu touched the new money in his pocket and thought about the lushly growing pasture grass in the ranch area, murmuring, "It's about time I made plans for the ranch area."