Magic Farm 167

Chapter 167: Will You Join Me at the Festival?

Qi Yu watched, almost in disbelief, as two people who had been strangers just moments ago forged a friendship at astonishing speed.

Ten minutes later, the two were already calling each other brothers.

Leslie was even making plans with Jinqian for the next time he’d come to Golden Cave City to hang out.

Jinqian nearly agreed on the spot, but at the last moment his mind cleared. “I… uh, I can’t really say for sure. It depends on what my boss wants.”

This was his first time out exploring, tagging along with the game boss. He had no idea if he’d ever get another chance to come back.

With Jinqian, Leslie could let loose his lively nature completely. If Jinqian had any trouble, Leslie would absolutely guarantee, “If it’s inconvenient for you, I’ll send a caravan to pick you up.”

But when it came to Qi Yu, he was a little more timid.

Qi Yu said, “…If it’s convenient, I’ll bring Jinqian with me next time.”

That “convenient” depended on whether Jinqian still had a party scroll and was willing to use it for Golden Cave City.

But both of them seemed satisfied with this answer.

Seeing the two start muttering together again, Qi Yu reminded Jinqian, “Let’s take care of business first—sell the goods.”

They only had twenty-four hours.

Leslie immediately piped up, “Selling goods, right? Just a moment, just a moment.”

It wasn’t long before President Sean, who had just had “business to attend to,” reappeared.

Qi Yu didn’t waste words and took out a Screaming Lily of the Valley.

President Sean’s eyes lit up. “What’s this?”

“Screaming Lily of the Valley. A mutated plant I cultivated,” Qi Yu explained. “If a mutant creature appears nearby, it will scream an alarm.”

“Adventurers in the Blackrock Mountains might need it.”

“But as for the exact range of its warning, you’ll have to test that yourselves.”

Besides that: “It’s very loud, which isn’t always a good thing.”

It was different from in Survival Game.

Players lived in shelters; if a mutant creature appeared nearby, it was almost always targeting the shelter, so the alarm was only beneficial.

But for adventurers in the Blackrock Mountains, it might not be so—sometimes the monster hadn’t even discovered the adventurers, but the Screaming Lily’s shriek could give away their position.

President Sean, however, was delighted. “Isn’t this a plant version of a mutant beast detector?”

He said to Qi Yu, “You only need to sell the goods. Leave everything else to our chamber of commerce.”

They had specialists to test the effectiveness of products.

As for the screaming problem, the chamber would handle it themselves.

He asked Qi Yu, “Could you give me a stalk of this Screaming Lily of the Valley? Our analysts need to test its properties.”

Qi Yu handed him one and informed him, “For warning purposes, a single flower is enough.”

“No problem!”

Someone came in, took the Screaming Lily, and left.

President Sean looked at Qi Yu with eager eyes. “The Emerald Crystal Peach you sold me last time, and the other plants…”

The reputation was outstanding!

Especially the Emerald Crystal Peach—this “specialty” from Star Forest, with its beautiful appearance and exceptional taste, had, under his management, become known as “the food favored by elves,” and was now the most fashionable luxury food in the Empire.

Nobles were willing to pay hundreds of gold coins for just one.

Some minor nobles had gone out of their way to befriend him, racking their brains to get their hands on one.

If he could buy more Emerald Crystal Peaches from Qi Yu, President Sean wouldn’t even sell them—he’d use them as a universal key to open any door.

Qi Yu shook his head. Most of the Emerald Crystal Peaches produced each day, after keeping some for himself, he sold to Shen Ben Wu Xiang.

The latest batch from the past two days, he’d just given a portion to the Magicians’ Association.

There were still a few left.

He took out a dozen or so from his backpack, and, under President Sean’s delighted gaze, said, “These are for you, Leslie, and your family to enjoy.”

The Borg Chamber was a very good partner.

“This…” President Sean, surprised, instinctively wanted to refuse. Qi Yu probably didn’t know how valuable the Emerald Crystal Peach had become; it was far too precious.

But he held back: with this magician lord’s character, if he gave you a gift, it meant he truly wanted to give you a gift.

There was no hidden meaning.

Such pure goodwill—overthinking it would only make you seem petty.

He laughed heartily. “This is truly a generous gift. Then I’ll shamelessly accept.”

Accept it he did, but he didn’t forget to tell Qi Yu just how valuable a gift he had given.

“You may not know, but right now, even if you priced an Emerald Crystal Peach at a hundred gold coins each, there’d be plenty of people lining up with gold to buy.”

Jinqian, sitting nearby: !

Qi Yu was a little surprised too, but only said, “Still, they’re for you to eat.”

He didn’t understand why the Emerald Crystal Peach could fetch such a high price.

He’d eaten plenty himself and knew it was simply a delicious peach; the survival panel never mentioned any special effects.

That President Sean could sell it for so much was his own skill.

“This time I’m only selling Screaming Lily of the Valley.”

Jinqian was still reeling from his boss’s utter disregard for money, when the boss called on him: “Jinqian has a lot of things to sell.”

Meeting President Sean’s curious gaze, Jinqian quickly nodded. “Y-yes!”

From chatting with Leslie, he’d already learned the scale of the Borg Chamber.

Before heading out with the boss, he’d thought he might spend the whole day selling goods and still not finish.

Who’d have thought they’d end up trading directly with a major chamber of commerce?

The boss’s connections were truly something else.

Jinqian’s goods were varied and abundant. Qi Yu had no interest in watching someone else sell wares, so he simply went to another lounge and picked up a book about Golden Cave City.

Golden Cave City’s geography, history, famous figures, customs… He flipped to the section on the Spring God Festival.

The Spring God Festival wasn’t unique to Golden Cave City; many cities across the continent shared this tradition.

It was said that, at first, the festival was to celebrate the arrival of a new year with the coming of spring, and the revival of all things.

Qi Yu was actually a bit curious whether the “Spring God” truly existed. After all, there was a Goddess of Nature in this world—wouldn’t a god of spring be plausible too?

But after reading the whole book, he found no description of such a deity.

It didn’t really matter.

In any case, by now, the Spring God Festival had become the most lively event of the year in Golden Cave City.

During the day, life went on as usual, but every household would place two pots of fresh flowers at their door.

When evening came, the residents would change into clothes made especially for the festival. Those who loved beauty would wear flower crowns and bracelets made of blossoms, and go out with family, friends, or lovers to enjoy the night.

It sounded like a lot of fun to go out with friends.

He snapped a picture of the page and sent it to Shen Ben Wu Xiang.

[I Love Survival Game: I’ll probably stay in Golden Cave City tonight to join the Spring God Festival. Shen Ben Wu Xiang, do you want to come?]

[Shen Ben Wu Xiang: I’ll come!]

[Shen Ben Wu Xiang: But I might only be free close to nightfall.]

[I Love Survival Game: That’s perfect. Things only get lively at night.]

Qi Yu felt a little happy inside.

He then opened the 01 Survival Squad chat, intending to ask his other friends, only to see that Jinqian was already flooding the group with photos and messages.

[Need A Bit Of Money To Save: Wow, our Star Forest goods are worth so much out here!]

[Need A Bit Of Money To Save: Correction, it’s really thanks to the boss’s reputation—the Borg Chamber is giving me fantastic prices.]

[Need A Bit Of Money To Save: @everyone, if you have any goods you want me to sell for you, and you trust me, send them over and I’ll see if I can help.]

[Need A Bit Of Money To Save: Of course, if you’re not in a hurry for gold, you can always wait for the wandering merchant.]

[Need A Bit Of Money To Save: I’ll also be shopping later—if there’s anything you need, message me and I’ll see if I can get it for you.]

Jinqian could actually chat with the Borg father and son while chatting in the group at the same time.

[I Love Survival Game: .]

[Need A Bit Of Money To Save: Hey boss, you finally showed up.]

[Need A Bit Of Money To Save: Gosh, I really want to know—how can you live such an exciting life outside and still resist chatting in the group?]

[Need A Bit Of Money To Save: I just can’t hold it in at all.]

[I Love Survival Game: (picture) (picture) Jinqian and I will stay in Golden Cave City tonight for the Spring God Festival.]

[Don’t Dare Open My Eyes: Looks so fun.]

[Need A Bit Of Money To Save: Yes, yes! I haven’t even mentioned this yet—I’m so looking forward to it.]

[Need A Bit Of Money To Save: I feel like this party scroll was so worth it. I wish I could call you all to join us.]

[Need A Bit Of Money To Save: If our first in-person meeting was at the Spring God Festival, wouldn’t that be romantic?]

[Don’t Dare Open My Eyes: It would be romantic, but I don’t have a party scroll.]

[Brother Civil Engineer: I do have a party scroll, but it feels like such an important item would be wasted on fun at this stage. Sometimes I think—I really have become a boring adult, haha.]

[Serenity: I can only wish you all a good time.]

[Need A Bit Of Money: It’s fine, it’s fine. If there’s anything you want, just let me know. This trip has been crazy cost-effective.]

A while later, Jinqian came over, beaming.

“President Sean is treating us to a feast,” he said excitedly. “This afternoon, Leslie will take us shopping. If there’s time after, he’ll show us the city’s most famous sights.”

Qi Yu told him, “A friend of mine will join us tonight.”

Jinqian decoded instantly: “Is it the top player from District 88?”

“Mm.”

Jinqian’s eyes sparkled. “Will he bring his little golden dragon?”

He definitely would.

But, the little dragon was still growing, and spent most of its time sleeping. Even though Qi Yu and Dan Xingyu had met many times, the little dragon didn’t always come out.

Besides… Qi Yu remembered the commotion last time in Ophelia Royal City.

He shook his head. “He won’t let it out.”

There would be a lot of people at the festival tonight; if panic broke out, it would be bad.

“You two are really close,” Jinqian said enviously. “He just comes whenever you ask, and doesn’t even mind using a party scroll.”

Qi Yu explained, “We have a team-up reward from the last Speed Carnival, so we don’t need a party scroll to form a party.”

Jinqian was even more envious after hearing that.

Qi Yu, however, was struck by a thought.

He didn’t know why, but on impulse, he sent a message to Shen Ben Wu Xiang:

[I Love Survival Game: If we didn’t have the Speed Carnival team-up reward, would you use a party scroll to join me at the festival tonight?]

[Author’s Note]

[Food, food, food]—see you at midnight [heart]