Chapter 377 - 368: The Old Farmer’s Wisdom

Chapter 377: Chapter 368: The Old Farmer’s Wisdom

「Seven days later.」

The sky was just beginning to brighten over Minas Tirith Port.

Laine forcefully buckled the leather belt at his waist, then led his transport team to begin a new day’s work. Their mission was to inspect and secure the transport of materials between the various production sites.

These production sites were concentrated in several temporary camps not far outside Mi Port, forming a massive, isolated production base. All personnel involved in potion production were housed there and forbidden from leaving.

Though called temporary camps, the buildings were constructed from Stone Skin Soft Vine and were exceptionally sturdy.

As a chiliarch, Laine always took the time between material deliveries to visit the artisans from his own district. Today, he happened to be going to Greenhouse Three and could also drop in on an old acquaintance.

The moment Laine stepped inside, a wave of hot, humid air thick with the smell of damp earth hit him in the face. As far as the eye could see, rows of planter boxes were neatly arranged. Planted within was the very "Shadowtomb Grass" that held the fates of countless lives.

Catalyzed by Lord Velin’s "Spring Messenger" ability, these plants had already grown to the size of a one-month-old specimen. But they were not thriving. Their leaves were sparse, and their slender stalks looked sickly.

The botany expert, Mage Elvin, stood before a row of planter boxes, deep in discussion with several gardeners. His brow was furrowed into a knot. Laine recognized one of them as Old Man Tom, a farmer from his district.

He walked over and asked in a low voice, "How are things?"

Elvin recognized the chiliarch and transport captain, his face etched with unconcealed exhaustion. "It’s too slow." He pointed at one of the herbs. "The medicinal part is the rhizome. Forcing their growth has channeled all the energy into height, so the rhizomes are accumulating medicinal properties thirty percent slower than we anticipated."

The current bottleneck was still the supply of raw materials.

Laine’s heart sank.

Just then, Old Man Tom, standing nearby, rubbed his dirt-caked hands together, a hesitant look on his sun-darkened face. "Master Mage, I... I have a folk remedy, but I don’t know if I should say."

Elvin didn’t seem to care much, but he maintained his composure. "Speak."

"Back in the countryside, when we grow big-rooted herbs like black sweet potatoes or Earth Dragon’s gall, we worry about them just growing leaves and no roots." Old Man Tom pointed to a Shadowtomb Grass. "I reckon this grass has the same temperament as those things. If you want its roots to grow fat, you have to ’top’ it."

"Topping?" Elvin was taken aback.

"That’s right." Old Man Tom grew animated, holding up a hand to indicate a height. "When it grows this tall, you pinch off the tender bud at the very top. That stops its upward momentum, forcing all its energy down into the roots. The rhizome will naturally get bigger."

A young Mage apprentice standing nearby blurted out, "Nonsense! This is an Extraordinary plant! It’s already fragile from being force-grown. Pinching off its top bud will just kill it outright!"

Old Man Tom choked on his words, not daring to say another peep.

Elvin also thought the method was too crude. He shook his head, about to reject the idea.

But Laine stopped Old Man Tom and pressed, "Is it just pinching off the bud?"

"Oh, that’d never do." Old Man Tom shook his head vigorously. "Just topping it is pushing it to its death. You also have to ’feed it strong.’ A few of us old-timers have been composting a small vat of fertilizer these past few days—ground-up fish bones, rotted seaweed, and some thoroughly burnt wood ash from the stove. That stuff is potent. It’s enough to keep the plant alive, to help it pull through."

He pointed to an inconspicuous earthenware jar in the corner.

Elvin walked over with a frown, the intense, foul stench nearly making him gag.

He used his Mage Hand to lift a glob of black, viscous goo from the jar, suspending it before his eyes. The energy was a chaotic mess... but the life force contained within made him fall into deep thought.

"This is completely reckless!" the Mage apprentice protested. "Such impure elements will severely contaminate the herb’s purity! This isn’t cultivation, it’s destruction!"

Laine opened his mouth to speak. ’It might be worth a try,’ he thought. But seeing the serious expression on the Mage’s face and the apprentice’s confident arguments, he felt that as a layman, he had no right to interfere in such matters, so he swallowed his words.

Being reprimanded by a professional, Old Man Tom instantly lost his confidence. He rubbed his calloused hands together nervously and mumbled, wanting to abandon his reckless idea, "Then... then I’ll just stay out of it..."

"Wait." Just then, Elvin, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke. He waved his hand, dissipating the viscous glob. His gaze pulled away from his thoughts, and he turned to the bewildered old farmer.

"Your method... I’d like to give it a try."

As if he’d been granted a pardon, Old Man Tom walked over to a test specimen. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, he pinched off the top bud, then scooped a small spoonful of the "secret fertilizer" from the earthenware jar, diluted it with water, and carefully watered the roots.

On the morning of the third day, Elvin entered the greenhouse again. He habitually walked toward the "failed sample," preparing to record its death data. But when he reached the planter box, he froze on the spot.

The test specimen was indeed a bit withered, but it was not dead.

What truly shocked him was what he saw through his magical sight—the plant’s life force was continuously gathering from its leaves and branches and flowing into its roots. A dark energy, far exceeding that of the other plants, was condensing and swelling within its rhizome!

"Someone!" Elvin’s voice trembled. "Dig it up!"

He pointed at the young apprentice who had objected earlier. "You, dig!"

The apprentice’s face flushed crimson. He picked up a small shovel and, with everyone watching, began to dig.

As the soil was cleared away, a pitch-black tuber was exposed to the air.

"Gods..." someone gasped.

That tuber was nearly twice the size of the rhizome from the best-growing plant in the control group!

Elvin immediately ran a test.

"The medicinal component content... is 1.7 times higher." Elvin’s voice was unsteady as he stared at the report.

Who would have thought that a country farmer’s "folk remedy" would actually be so effective!

The entire cultivation base erupted in thunderous cheers at the news.

However, Elvin’s gaze was still fixed on the excavated plant. He carefully examined the remains of the plant where the rhizome had been severed.

"It’s not dead..." he muttered to himself.

Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, he shot to his feet and shouted to the cheering crowd, "Quiet, everyone! Look! Its root system is intact! As long as we replenish its nutrients... it can grow again!"

The crowd fell silent.

Multiple harvests from a single plant?

This meant that not only was the growth cycle drastically shortened, but the yield, already doubled, could be doubled again!

No one could have imagined that the bottleneck in raw materials would be broken in such a way!