Chapter 7: Seedling Cultivation and New Hired Hands
Back at the Orphanage, Bai Feng saw Nanako was holding Rimo in the Courtyard, lost in thought. Ikki sat to her left, and Xiaoyou sat to her right. Their expressions were identical, only Rimo's watery eyes were darting around.
"Brother Bai Feng, you're back!" Seeing Bai Feng walk into the Courtyard, Xiaoyou beamed with a smile, sprang up, and quickly ran to Bai Feng's side.
Bai Feng took out the two Berries Auntie Sara had given him and handed them to him: "Here, you and Brother Ikki can have one each."
Xiaoyou happily took the Berries: "Thank you, Brother Bai Feng." After speaking, he ran to Ikki's side and handed him one of the Berries.
Ikki took the Berry. He smiled shyly at Bai Feng and quietly said, "Thank you."
Nanako said helplessly, "Brother Bai Feng, you should just eat them yourself, why give them to them!"
Bai Feng said indifferently, "It's okay, I don't like eating Berries."
However, Nanako didn't believe him. She felt that Brother Bai Feng definitely couldn't bear to eat them himself and specifically brought them back for Ikki and Xiaoyou.
"There are only two, so you don't get any this time. I'll bring you some next time if there's a chance." Seeing Nanako's disbelieving expression, Bai Feng said helplessly.
"I don't want them," Nanako said stubbornly. "Brother Bai Feng should keep them to eat himself."
Beside them, Xiaoyou wiped the Berry, took a bite, and then said with an exaggerated expression, "Wow! It's so delicious! It's the best Berry I've ever eaten!"
"Hahaha..."
Everyone burst into laughter at his funny antics, and even Rimo giggled along.
After sending the children off, Bai Feng returned to his Room to deal with the Seeds. He didn't plant the Seeds immediately but chose to first use his Golden Finger to sort out the Energy within them.
Although the Seeds hadn't sprouted yet, as long as they still had vitality, they also contained a Tree Diagram for storing Energy internally. It was just that the Seed Tree Diagram was more miniature than that of a Tree, and the Energy stored within was also sparser.
What Bai Feng needed to do was ensure that the Tree Diagrams allowed the stored Energy to flow smoothly.
The Tree Diagrams of Berry Trees and the Energy Circuits of Pokémon were, to some extent, like the meridians of martial artists in the Wuxia novels Bai Feng remembered. Not all martial artists' meridians were unobstructed; blockages occurred, and at such times, the martial artist had to actively clear them.
For example, after a martial artist suddenly cleared their Ren and Du meridians, their cultivation speed would instantly increase, and before long, they would become an unparalleled master.
Bai Feng felt that Fruit Trees and Pokémon were the same, except they didn't have the ability to clear their Tree Diagrams and Energy Circuits on their own. Therefore, they needed Bai Feng to help them using his Golden Finger.
Now, what Bai Feng needed to do was help the Seeds clear the blocked parts of their Tree Diagrams.
He didn't know if this would increase the germination rate and survival rate of the Seeds, but it was an experiment. Whether it would work or not, he would know by trying.
Because the Tree Diagrams inside the Seeds were more miniature, Bai Feng needed to be extremely careful when operating, and it consumed more energy than usual.
By the time he finished clearing all the Seeds, he was covered in sweat.
After doing all this, Bai Feng still didn't plant the Seeds. He found a jar, put the Seeds in it, and then poured clean water inside, completely soaking the Seeds.
He soaked them for several days until the Seed coats softened before planting them one by one.
During this time, Bai Feng went to the Produce Market a few more times with Director Meili. Each time, he would ask Auntie Sara for some Rotten Fruit, then peel out the Seeds and take them home.
During this period, Bai Feng put most of his energy into cultivating the Seeds into Saplings. Bai Ye's Training issues were entirely overseen by the Fletchinder and Fletchling. Bai Feng would only go to their usual Training spot when helping them clear their Energy Circuits.
The Fletchinder and Fletchling were very responsible working Birds. As long as Bai Ye showed even a hint of laziness, they would complain to Bai Feng when he came to see them, making Bai Ye full of grievances.
Because after that, Bai Feng would lecture Bai Ye non-stop for an hour, until the 'old mother' was utterly mortified.
Your son is working so hard for this family at such a young age, yet you, as a mother, are always slacking off. Don't you feel ashamed???
......
After half a month, the Seeds Bai Feng planted began to sprout one after another. The survival rate was surprisingly as high as 90%, and each little Sapling grew very vigorously.
In addition, the little Tree he planted first had also fully survived, not only sprouting new branches but also growing significantly taller.
Facts proved that his Golden Finger could indeed work on Berry Trees. More accurately, it should be able to work on all magical plants that possess Special Energy Circuits.
In the past half month or so, Bai Feng had successfully planted and grown a total of thirty-six small Saplings.
Looking at the neatly arranged green plants before him, he felt a surge of excitement, and a sense of accomplishment spontaneously arose.
With this Golden Finger, if he were to engage in the planting industry in the future, wouldn't he be able to easily become a Berry tycoon?
One must know that in the Pokémon World, the demand for Berries is huge. Countless Trainers need to use Berries to make Pokemon Food when raising Pokémon, such as Energy Cubes, Fairy Pofflé, and so on.
In short, this market is very vast, and the career prospects are very promising.
(*￣︶￣) Imagining large sums of money flowing into his pockets in the future, Bai Feng couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Hehehe~
But he quickly sobered up. Fantasy was fantasy; making it a reality would be extremely difficult.
Moreover, if the Golden Finger could only help Berries survive and promote Fruit Tree growth, that would be completely insufficient and wouldn't form a competitive advantage at all.
If you want Berries to sell well, the focus is on quality, not Quantity. Otherwise, the Berries you grow can only be sent to the Produce Market like Auntie Sara's.
Only high-quality Berries can catch the eye of Trainers, especially high-level Trainers!
Now, what Bai Feng needed to verify was whether his Golden Finger could improve the quality of the Berries produced by the Berry Trees. If it could, then he truly had a chance to become a Berry tycoon and reach the peak of his life.
It just required time; it could only be verified when the Fruit Tree Saplings grew up and bore fruit.
The plot of land behind the Bluebird Orphanage wasn't large. The Fruit Tree Saplings were still small now, so planting them here temporarily was fine.
When the Fruit Trees grew larger, if they remained so close to each other, it would greatly affect the Fruit Trees' ability to bear fruit.
In short, Bai Feng was currently facing many problems.
Just as Bai Feng was silently planning his future in his heart, Nanako led Youta, Ikki, and Xiaoyou over. Each of them held a small shovel in their hands.
"Brother Bai Feng, we're here to loosen the soil and weed your little Trees," Xiaoyou said, skipping to Bai Feng's side.
Bai Feng rubbed his head and said, "Okay, thank you... for your trouble... today as well!"
Ever since they learned that Bai Feng was planting Fruit Trees, Nanako and the others often came over to help. They could loosen soil, weed, catch bugs, and water, truly helping Bai Feng a lot.
Although Bai Feng had the soul of an adult, his Body was still just a child's. Taking care of over thirty Fruit Trees by himself was truly beyond his ability.
Don't look at Nanako and the others being young; they were very efficient when working. Even Xiaoyou and Ikki, who were only four or five years old, did a decent job.
Moreover, they never acted on their own initiative. They did whatever Bai Feng asked them to do and never caused any damage to any Sapling from beginning to end.
Xiaoyou looked at Bai Feng with an expression of admiration and said, "Brother Bai Feng is amazing! You can actually grow so many Fruit Trees! Does that mean we can eat as many Berries as we want in the future?"
Bai Feng looked at Xiaoyou's drooling, greedy expression and laughed heartily: "That's right, when they bear Berries... the first one... Xiaoyou gets to eat."
Xiaoyou was overjoyed and flattered, "I knew Brother Bai Feng was the best."
"All you know is eating!" Youta, who was beside them, slapped Xiaoyou's butt, causing Xiaoyou to keep making faces at him.
After playing around for a while, everyone started working enthusiastically.
When the Sun was about to set, Bai Feng said goodbye to the children and went to the Small Woods on the Hillside.
When he arrived there, Bai Ye was fighting intensely with the Fletchinder and Fletchling.
Now, facing the simultaneous siege of over ten Fletchinder and Fletchling, Bai Ye was no longer as flustered as before. She moved with ease between offense and defense, occasionally knocking down a Fletchinder or Fletchling.
It must be said that high-intensity Training was very useful. It was truly not easy for someone as soft as Bai Ye to be trained into a valiant female warrior.
Seeing Bai Feng arrive, the Fletchinder and Fletchling knew that today's Training was over. They consciously stopped attacking, then landed orderly beside Bai Feng, lining up to wait for their Healing Treatment.
In the past half month, five more Fletchling had successively evolved into Fletchinder. This made Bai Feng even more certain that his Golden Finger had the effect of promoting Pokémon evolution.
In Bai Feng's conjecture, the essence of Pokémon evolution was a racial leap. To put it more clearly, it was the evolution of the Energy Circuits within the Body.
What about Pokémon that were already in their final form? For example, Bai Ye. If Bai Feng continued to use his Golden Finger on her, compressing and purifying her Origin Energy, and clearing her Energy Circuits, would her Energy Circuits continue to evolve? If so, what would they eventually become?
Hard to imagine...
Because Bai Feng had been using his Golden Finger frequently, his Golden Finger had been trained to become increasingly powerful. Now, he could complete the Healing Treatment for Fletchinder and Fletchling in a very short time.
On the way home, Bai Feng unintentionally saw a small mound bulging on the Ground not far away. He quickly gave Bai Ye a low-voiced look.
The 'old mother' understood instantly. She focused all her mental power onto the small mound. With a miserable cry, a Diggersby was pulled out of the dirt pile by Bai Ye.
"It really is you!" Seeing the Diggersby, Bai Feng said with a gloating expression, "Haha... I caught you again, didn't I?"
He had already heard from the Fletchinder before that there weren't many Pokémon in this area, and they only encountered a fixed few. So, as soon as he saw the small mound, he guessed if it was the same Diggersby that had tricked him and Bai Ye last time.
Unexpectedly, it was!
"Hobi~~~"
() The Diggersby looked at Bai Feng "pitifully," trying to get Bai Feng to let it go again.
"Trying to act pitiful with me? No way."
Bai Feng wasn't buying it. He looked around and found a clump of vines not far away. He walked over, pulled them down, and tied them around the Diggersby's neck.
"Let's see if you dare to trick me again." If it weren't for Bai Ye's Strength making Diglett wary, the mother and son would have been buried alive by it last time.
(ó﹏ò) Nooo. The Diggersby continued to act pitiful, trying to persuade Bai Feng to let it go.
And Bai Feng did indeed let it go.
He put the Diggersby down on the Ground. The Diggersby had only run two steps before it was pulled back by the vine tied around its neck.
Hehe~ I was just pretending.
Seeing this, Bai Feng said to it smugly, "I advise you not to try to escape. Otherwise, if I catch you again... hmph hmph..."
Bai Ye was very cooperative, pressing her aura onto the Diggersby. The mother and son had great chemistry.
The Diggersby was so scared it immediately lowered its head.
"Alright, let's go home."
After speaking, he and Bai Ye continued walking home. The Diggersby could only resignedly follow behind the mother and son.
After returning home, the children were very surprised to see the Diggersby. They didn't understand how Bai Feng had gone out and come back leading a rabbit.
Bai Feng said to everyone, "From now on, you don't need to loosen the soil for the Fruit Trees yourselves. Diggersby will do it, right? Diggersby..."
Seeing Bai Feng's threatening gaze, the Diggersby shivered and quickly nodded its head.
From then on, Diglett became Bai Feng's second helper, besides the Fletchinder and the others, and the kind that didn't get a Wage.
Three months passed in the blink of an eye. Bai Feng was still busy with both Bai Ye's Training and cultivating the Fruit Trees.
Bai Ye's Strength was steadily and rapidly increasing, but because she no longer had the assistance of Energy Cubes, Bai Feng still felt a bit dissatisfied.
Things went even more smoothly with the Fruit Trees. Most of the Saplings had grown to be about as tall as Bai Feng. Looking from afar, they were a lush green, clearly full of vitality.
One day, Bai Feng was walking back and forth among the Saplings, leading the Diggersby, seemingly looking for something. This was because yesterday he had unintentionally discovered several Saplings with jagged circular holes on their Leaves, looking very much like marks left by bugs.
"Hobi~ hobi~"
At this moment, the Diggersby seemed to have discovered something and cried out, pointing in a direction.
Bai Feng walked over to take a look and actually saw two bugs hidden among the Leaves on a Tree, happily eating away.
"Well, look at that, it was you two!"
Bai Feng walked over and pinched one bug from the Leaf with each hand, lifting the two little bugs up.
"Pu~ pu~ pu~" Let go, let go, help!
"Pu~ pu~" Let me go, let me go!
The two little bugs caught by Bai Feng were Scatterbug, each only about the size of his palm.
"You two have some nerve, actually daring to come here and eat my Fruit Tree Saplings!"
(End of Chapter)