Chapter 121. The Seed Plan

The new field looked different in the morning.

There were no crops in it yet, but the rows were straight and dark after the water had settled into the soil. The empty lines waited beneath the early sunlight while people carried seed bags from the store.

Carlos stood beside Rowan with his hands on his waist.

"How much can we put in?"

Rowan opened the first bag and looked over the rows again.

"Enough. Do not ask me to fill every empty place just because it is there."

Carlos looked at him.

"I was going to ask that."

"I know."

Rowan pointed at the field.

"Wheat takes most of it. Beans go beside it. Cabbage and onions get smaller sections. We keep some empty ground for whatever Cosmic finds. If he brings oil seeds tomorrow, you will regret turning every part of this place into wheat today."

Carlos did not like hearing it, but Rowan was right.

"Fine. Keep the space."

The two new Farmers carried the wheat seeds into the first rows. Tarin and Sela came after finishing their morning work at the cucumber bed. Elias checked the soil once more before helping the others measure the spacing.

Nobody rushed this time.

They had spent the whole day getting the land ready. Throwing seeds into it without care would make all of that work pointless.

Carlos watched the Farmers move down the rows, placing seeds and covering them with soft soil.

Mira came over from the kitchen carrying a small basket of seed bags.

"Those are not for the new field," she said.

Carlos looked inside.

There were wheat, beans, cabbage, onions, carrots, turnips and a few packets of leafy greens.

"Then what are they for?"

Mira looked toward the Spirit Farmland.

The Tidal Silverwood stood in the middle of it, its silver trunk rising above the ground around it. Blue-veined leaves moved softly overhead.

"You said yesterday that we need more resources. Seeds are resources too."

Carlos looked at the basket again.

"You want to plant all of these there?"

"Not for food," Mira said. "We take the seeds when they mature. We can plant them in every normal field later."

Carlos did not answer right away.

The idea sounded obvious once Mira said it.

He had been looking at the Spirit Farmland as a place for rare things because that was what Rowan had told him when Ironroot was small.

But a fast-growing Common crop could become more seeds. More seeds could become more fields. More fields could become food.

Carlos turned toward Rowan.

"Can we do it?"

Rowan had been listening. He looked at the seed bags, then toward the tree.

For a moment, he did not say anything.

"We can use the outer sections," he said slowly. "Not near the tree roots. The Silverwood needs its space."

Carlos waited.

Rowan rubbed the back of his neck.

"I should have thought of this before. I kept looking at the Spirit Farmland as land for rare crops. I forgot that it can also give us a faster seed reserve."

"You have been busy too," Carlos said.

"That is not an excuse."

Carlos looked at the bags again.

"Then we start now."

Rowan called the Farmers over and showed them the empty ground around the outer edge of the Spirit Farmland. He marked narrow sections between the tree’s roots and the protected path leading to the Mana Spring.

"These rows are not for eating," he told them. "When the crops mature, we take seeds only. Do not harvest them early because someone wants vegetables for dinner."

Mira nodded.

"The kitchen will not touch them. I will mark their baskets myself."

That made Carlos feel better. Nobody in Ironroot respected food more than Mira did, but she understood why these crops had to stay out of the kitchen.

The planting started in both places at once.

The new southern field received most of the wheat and beans. Cabbage and onions went into their own rows with enough space for the leaves to spread. The smaller bags stayed for the Spirit Farmland.

Carlos helped carry seed bags between the two plots while trying not to get in Rowan’s way.

At the Spirit Farmland, Blue floated above the marked rows near the tree.

"Blue uses Mana Water?"

Rowan looked at the soil.

"A little. Not all at once. We need to see what the land does first."

Blue nodded and brought a thin stream from the Mana Spring. The water fell over the first planted section carefully.

The system panel appeared above the Spirit Farmland.

--

[Common Wheat]

[Common Grade]

[Growth Progress: 0%]

[Base Growth Duration: 8 hours]

[Spirit Farmland bonus: Growth Speed +50%]

[Plot fertility bonus: Growth Speed x10]

[Farmer’s Agricultural Expertise: Growth Speed +10%]

[Estimated Growth Duration: 30 minutes, 18 seconds]

--

Blue looked at the timer, then back at Rowan.

"Blue gives little more water?"

Rowan checked the soil once more before nodding.

"Only the amount I showed you."

Blue held both hands over the wheat row. A thin stream of Mana Water fell onto the buried seeds and disappeared into the dark soil.

--

[Common Wheat irrigated with Mana Water]

[Growth Speed +20%]

[Crop Quality +10%]

[Estimated Growth Duration: 25 minutes, 51 seconds]

--

Carlos stared at the final line.

"Twenty-five minutes?"

"For this wheat," Rowan said. "The other crops will take longer."

Carlos looked at the words for a second before turning to Rowan.

"How fast can we make them grow?"

The Farmers stopped moving and looked over too.

Rowan frowned slightly.

"That depends on the crop. Wheat grows faster than cabbage. Beans need their own space. Water helps, but too much can damage the roots."

"I know that," Carlos said. "I am asking how low we can get the timer."

Rowan stared at him.

Carlos pointed at the rows around the Silverwood.

"This is what I want you all to work toward. Get one crop’s time as low as possible without ruining it. Learn what works. Soil, spacing, water, your skills, whatever it is."

Tarin’s ears lifted.

"Like a target?"

"Yes. A real target. We need seeds now, but later I want every field to grow better because you learned something here."

The two new Farmers looked at Rowan. They were waiting for him to say whether Carlos was asking for something impossible.

Rowan looked back at the field.

Then he nodded.

"We can do that. We will record every crop, every amount of water and every timer. If we improve it, we keep the method. If we make it worse, we stop doing it."

Carlos smiled.

"Good."

Rowan crouched beside the wheat row and pushed one finger into the soil.

"But we do it properly. We are not dumping Mana Water everywhere because we want a smaller number."

"I was not going to say that."

Every Farmer looked at Carlos, and he sighed.

"Okay, I was thinking it a little."

Sela covered her mouth to hide a smile.

Rowan ignored him and continued explaining the work to the two new Farmers.

"One of you watches the wheat. One watches the beans. Tarin and Sela will help after the cucumber bed is done. Elias checks the soil. If you see yellow leaves, water pooling or roots coming out, you call someone. Do not fix it alone because you are scared of looking useless."

The new Farmers nodded quickly.

Carlos heard the last line and looked at Rowan for a moment.

It was not only farming advice.

Ironroot had too many people now. Everyone wanted to prove they deserved food, space and safety. That could become dangerous if they started hiding mistakes.

Mira walked over and placed the empty seed bags into a separate basket.

"I will make a place in Cold Storage for the first seed harvest," she said. "Not beside the normal food."

"Good," Carlos said. "We protect those too."

By afternoon, the southern field was planted.

The Spirit Farmland held small marked rows around the Silverwood: wheat, beans, cabbage, onions, carrots, turnips and leafy greens. They were not there to fill bowls.

They were there so Ironroot would never have to wait for a few seed bags before making another field.

Carlos stood between the two plots and looked at the work everyone had done.

Food was still a problem.

But now it was a problem they had started fighting the right way.