Expanding the Business (Part 1)

Expanding the Business (Part 1)

Li Xuan put the seeds into a seed pouch, planning to raise seedlings from them when he had time. After all, there was still a huge pile of flower seedlings in the courtyard waiting for him to transplant. Li Xuan simply could not handle everything at once.

But before that, Li Xuan still had to deal with the three corpses in the courtyard.

Li Xuan thought for a moment, then exerted tremendous effort to drag the three corpses to the backyard. He dug a large pit near the Dark Domain Ghost Orchid, threw the corpses in, and filled it back up.

Corpses were especially likely to produce resentful souls near the Dark Domain Ghost Orchid, and the yin energy released by those resentful souls could nourish the Dark Domain Ghost Orchid in return. The two complemented each other, benefiting and promoting one another.

After burying the corpses, Li Xuan returned to the front courtyard and filled the Clay Pot from earlier with water. Only a little diluted Green Spirit Liquid remained in it now. Once further diluted, the liquid could no longer increase a plant's age; it could only raise the germination rate of these seeds.

Li Xuan evenly sprinkled the water over the seedling trays, then left the seeds alone.

Next, Li Xuan transferred the flower seedlings that had successfully sprouted from the seedling trays into flowerpots, where they could be grown normally.

By the end of the afternoon, Li Xuan had transplanted all the flower seedlings into pots suitable for their growth.

Once he had settled the seedlings, it was already getting late, and Li Xuan was utterly exhausted. He would continue the remaining seedling work tomorrow, so he returned to his thatched hut.

He had already finished today's boxed meal, and he had not stored any food, so he could only go hungry.

Li Xuan shook his head helplessly, not knowing how he was supposed to endure the long night ahead.

Enduring his hunger, he barely completed the day's settlement with the system and received ten points. Not long after, Li Xuan fell asleep.

Early the next morning, the instant the first ray of sunlight shone on Li Xuan's face, he opened his eyes.

Li Xuan did not want to miss breakfast again today. He could not forget how hungry he had been last night.

After getting dressed and washing up briefly, he headed to the dining hall for food.

The moment he arrived at the dining hall, Li Xuan sensed that the way people looked at him was off. But he did not care. He took a Steamed Bun and found a corner to gnaw on it. After all, he was something of a celebrity in the Flower Sea now.

But not long after Li Xuan sat down, several Flower Slaves came over to him, their faces full of eagerness.

Li Xuan raised his head somewhat nervously and glanced at them.

"Brothers, what is it?" Li Xuan stopped eating his Steamed Bun, looked them over, and asked.

"I heard you can raise seedlings. We happen to have some seeds that we don't know how to grow, so we'd like to trouble you to exchange some seeds with us, or help us raise them." One Flower Slave wore a fawning expression as he spoke nervously to Li Xuan.

"So that's what this is about. Let me make this clear first: one out of ten, fair to all. Or, I have a batch of ordinary-quality seeds here that you can exchange for seeds." Li Xuan blinked, immediately relaxing as he looked up and smiled at them.

"It would naturally be best if we could exchange for seeds. Can you let us see them?" another Flower Slave asked excitedly.

Li Xuan did not stand on ceremony. He took a seed pouch from his clothes and poured the seeds onto a large stone.

"These seeds are all fairly ordinary in quality, and they aren't difficult to grow. The exchange rate is ten for nine," Li Xuan told the Flower Slaves.

After hearing Li Xuan's words, the other Flower Slaves also gathered around him, watching the seeds in his hand.

"I'll exchange! I'll exchange! I happen to have ten seeds!" one Flower Slave said excitedly.

"Behave yourselves and line up. Otherwise, I won't exchange with anyone." Li Xuan snorted, then swept all the seeds back into the pouch with a wave of his hand, not leaving behind a single one.

The Flower Slaves were stunned by that move. They obediently lined up and began making exchanges one by one.

Li Xuan knew these seeds like the back of his hand, so he exchanged them in an orderly fashion, trading low-quality seeds for seeds that were more difficult to grow.

But there were too many wolves and too little meat. Li Xuan's more than one hundred forty seeds were all exchanged away within just a few minutes.

Only one-tenth of the Flower Slaves managed to exchange for easy-to-grow seeds, while everyone else continued staring at Li Xuan eagerly.

"I also offer seedling-growing services. There are seedlings in my courtyard as well. You can choose to leave your seeds with me to grow, or take seedlings away yourselves. But let me warn you first: the seedlings grown in my courtyard are somewhat high in quality. If you take them back and raise them yourselves, they're very easy to kill, so think carefully." Li Xuan tucked the exchanged seeds into his clothes, then stood atop the stone and addressed the other Flower Slaves.

After hearing Li Xuan's words, they fell silent for a moment before breaking into small discussions.

After all, leaving their seeds in Li Xuan's hands was far too risky, so they began to hesitate.

Li Xuan was not in a hurry as he watched them. They did not know each other well, so caution was only natural.

"Xuan Ge'er, how about this? In a while, all of us will go to your courtyard with you. We'll take a look at the seedlings you've grown, then decide whether or not to make this deal," one Flower Slave called out.

"Of course. Once I finish this Steamed Bun, we'll go take a look." Li Xuan smiled at the other Flower Slaves.

After hearing Li Xuan's words, the other Flower Slaves dispersed and began gnawing on their Steamed Buns.

Li Xuan finished his Steamed Bun in a few bites, then led them out of the dining hall and back to his courtyard.

The large group followed Li Xuan into his courtyard.

The moment the courtyard gate opened, rows upon rows of neatly arranged flowerpots came into view, and everyone's gaze was drawn to the flower seedlings.

They hurried into the courtyard and began examining the flower seedlings in Li Xuan's yard.

"This is incredible! There are at least a hundred pots here. If we exchanged all of them, wouldn't all our lives be saved?" one Flower Slave cried out excitedly.

"That's right! The seedlings here are all extremely high in quality. As long as we take them back and care for them properly, there'd be no need to worry about not being able to keep them alive!" the other Flower Slaves said excitedly.

"Come on, line up first. You can choose seedlings to take away, or leave seeds here for me to grow. Decide for yourselves. The rate is still one out of ten." Li Xuan took a wooden board from a corner of the courtyard, then found a piece of charcoal to use as a pen, preparing to register their information.

Since Li Xuan was opening a business, he would naturally deal fairly with everyone. Besides, what Li Xuan wanted was far more than merely one out of ten...

(End of Chapter)