The Ger's Contract Marriage [BL]
Chapter 109: Yilin Seed

Chapter 109: Yilin Seed

In the middle of winter, a visit to a seed shop was an unusual choice, even for someone as "unique" as Xu Feng. There probably weren’t many other transmigrators running around Donghua, and if there were, they were most likely not wood ability users.

Most people just didn’t have planting plans during this season; they were primarily focused on staying entertained if they were wealthy or simply surviving the cold if they were less fortunate.

Xu Feng exchanged a nod with the older man behind the counter, who initially appeared taken aback by his appearance. As it turned out, this was the same man who had supplied them with seeds during their last visit to Yilin. Xu Feng considered himself fortunate to meet with him again.

It took a moment for recognition to dawn on the shopkeeper as he noticed Xu Feng’s familiar face, or perhaps it was Erlang’s distinctive features that jogged his memory. Regardless, the look of confusion soon gave way to genuine happiness.

"Welcome back, young mistress!" the shopkeeper greeted, unfazed by using the title Si had called him repeatedly on their last trip together. He was obviously eager to make a sale or release his boredom.

"This one wasn’t expecting the young mistress to come by anytime soon," the man continued with a big grin on his face. He was clearly bored trapped in the seed shop all alone.

"Has no one come to visit the master of the shop?" Xu Feng asked back politely. Even though this man recognized him and knew he was a ger, he wouldn’t take off his disguise until he got to the final bookstore.

The storekeeper was excited to have company. In the last ten days since Xu Feng’s visit, he’d had no visitors, not a single one. Not even his wife or their good for nothing son had come to visit him.

It was better to be alone at the store, but he wasn’t alone at home. He was either met with his still angry wife or his unapologetic son. They both felt like the son’s deeds weren’t that bad, and spending some silver on fake seeds wasn’t a big deal.

The boy had been up to trouble in the last ten days, still not admitting his mistake. The storekeeper’s son wanted to follow his father’s footsteps and become a merchant instead of becoming a scholar and doing something honorable.

As the merchant poured his heart out, he repeatedly beat his chest at the injustices of the world. It was unfair that even though his son was prodigal and spent so much money on fake goods, his wife wasn’t on his side.

"What kind of child did I raise for him to spend good silver to buy ’ice seeds,’ what are even ’ice seeds.’" The man lamented sadly. "Even my wife who is always worried about the silver, thinks I should let him off! She won’t let me buy good wine, but the boy can spend our winter savings on fake seeds."

Xu Feng grinned at the chatty shopkeeper, who was as talkative as he remembered. While he was indeed here to make a purchase, it wasn’t anything ordinary this time.

Xu Feng had recently managed to rid the Xuan estate of the troublesome elders and Steward Wu, along with other questionable servants. With a newfound sense of freedom, he was determined to acquire something special for his greenhouse.

"I let him off, a big man, 22 years old with no bride, and what did he do? Only two days ago he bought even more seeds. This time he claims someone sent them from a different kingdom!"

Xu Feng’s already perked up ears peaked even higher. The son was prodigal to the shopkeeper but to Xu Feng he was a visionary.

The shopkeeper lived in a small town his entire life, and surviving and doing business well and proper was his intention. From the first time Xu Feng met the shopkeeper till this time, this had remained true.

He wasn’t an adventurous businessman, ready to chase after new experiences like his son who was born to him and his wife at an older age. His son too full of adventure and chasing after something he couldn’t grasp.

This was a big problem to the shopkeeper, and caused the couple (the shopkeeper and his wife) to fight often, but to Xu Feng this was amazing!

It’s true the seeds could be fake goods, but the seeds could also be real. There were plants in Donghua that weren’t in Dongmen. This was a different world with many parts left unexplored and many species unidentified.

The fact there were also cultivators or at least demon beasts was also important here. These plants could be spiritual herbs or medicinal plants.

Xu Feng’s face flushed as these thoughts raced by in his head. He was in a new world, with three genders, ready to birth some wealthy young master a child, and he was still caught up on the possibility of cultivating immortality.

It’s not even that he wants to cultivate immortality, it’s the curiosity getting to him! No matter the reason, Xu Feng was already here ready to take the seeds home.

In an almost indifferent tone, Xu Feng inquired, "Does the master have any new seeds for sale?" Although his words seemed uninterested, a well-concealed anticipation bubbled beneath the surface.

Xu Feng already knew there were seeds, and the shopkeeper had been chatting about both the new and old seeds for quite some times. It was uncertain if he still had the seeds his son purchased and if he would to be willing to sell the seeds at all.

"What new seeds can there be in winter. If there were new seeds, we would have gotten them at the end of the fall harvest season."

The man seemed to pause as he took in the situation and considered what to do next. After a moment, the shopkeeper looked at Xu Feng with wide eyes and then his mouth fell open slightly.

"The boys spent 50 tales of silver on the first batch of seeds, but he only traded information for the second batch." He looked a bit guilty as he continued. "While it’s a lot of money to our family, we won’t be unable to pass the winter. This young mistress doesn’t need to concern himself with this one’s unruly family matters."

The man continued to trail off about his son being gullible and easily fooled by even foreigners. Instead of worrying about his studies, and winning fame and honoring his family, he was concerned with things he shouldn’t mind.

Xu Feng didn’t interrupt and let the shopkeeper trail on, until he realized the young mistress was still waiting for an answer. "You made a large purchase the last time you came in, I’ll give you the seeds my son got as a bonus...or I can give you a better deal on seeds in the spring."

The man clearly believed his son’s seeds were worthless, but even though 50 taels of silver was a large amount of money, Xu Feng still wanted the seeds. Something in him wanted to try planting them, his abilities might just come in handy here.

"I’ll give you 50 taels for the seeds your son bought, and my house will come back in the spring to buy seeds from you in the spring."

The man seemed flustered, 50 taels of silver for fake seeds were too much. Even if this was a rich young mistress concerned about something novel to pass the time during the winter months...

The storekeeper looked Xu Feng up and down, once again taking in his weird dress and strange puffer coat. He wasn’t wearing anything of inferior quality, yet at the same time he didn’t seem to be made of gold either.

The shopkeeper was clearly and honorable man, and didn’t want to sell Xu Feng fake seeds.

"You can give me a good deal on seeds in the spring," Xu Feng added as he took out a small pouch of silver from his side and placed it on the table.

50 taels of silver was a large amount to a villager and even to the town’s people it wasn’t a small amount of money, but it wasn’t unheard of or unseen.

The shopkeeper narrowed his eyes, before nodding his head, picking up the pouch weighing it in his hands, then smiling at the strangely dressed ger, "I’ll give you a very good deal this spring!"

The man assured Xu Feng that the kindness wouldn’t go unaccounted for. Whether the money would go to his wife or his own private funds, Xu Feng didn’t know, but he agreed to wait for the man to go to the back and retrieve both sets of seeds.

When it was just Erlang and Xu Feng left in the store, Erlang couldn’t keep himself from saying something about his spending habits and a possible new interest. "If the young mistress...master Feng likes unusual seeds, I’ll bring some down next time I go to the back mountains."

Erlang clearly had opinions on his spending habits, but he still tried to placate his new master. Xu Feng’s smile was small but warm, what a good boy, "I’ll be waiting for harvest in the springtime."

Erlang simply nodded, he would get as many seeds as possible to keep Master Feng occupied, he didn’t even mind tending to the seeds either.