Chapter 123. The Fruit on the Vine

The fourth Lord accepted the reduced agreement before the next morning.

Forty meals would leave Ironroot with less wood and stone than before, but Mira looked much happier when she read the new panel.

Carlos liked that more than he expected.

The kitchen was still busy. The Hearthkeepers were still cooking for Ironroot, Cedric’s group and the three-day agreement. Nothing had become great overnight, but it was bound to get better. They were working for it.

The reserve too had room to grow now. Carlos was walking toward the southern field when Tarin came running from the cucumber bed.

"My lord! Rowan told me to get you."

Carlos stopped.

"What happened?"

Tarin looked excited instead of scared.

"The marked vine. The fruit is ready to inspect."

Carlos followed him immediately.

The protected cucumber bed looked the same from a distance. Wooden frames stood over the rows, and the Living Scarecrow watched from its usual place near the path.

But Rowan, Sela and Blue were gathered around one vine near the back.

Carlos slowed down before reaching them.

The cucumber hanging beneath the blue-lined flower was bigger than his hand. Its skin was clear green, but thin blue lines ran from the stem down to the tip. There was water on it even though the soil around the vine was not wet.

"Do not touch it yet," Rowan said.

Carlos stopped beside him.

"I was not going to."

Everyone looked at him and Carlos took a deep breath.

"Let’s see what happens."

Sela smiled before looking back at the fruit.

--

[Water-touched Clearwater Cucumber]

[Grade: Uncommon]

[Condition: Healthy]

[Cultivation Trait: Stabilized]

[Properties]

[Retains clean water for an extended period]

[Freshness loss greatly reduced]

[Mature seeds may inherit the Water-touched trait]

[Warning: Do not use concentrated Mana Water during seed maturation]

--

For a moment, nobody spoke. Blue floated closer, moving in a slow circle above the vine.

Rowan looked up at it.

"Your water work helped. The Farmers helped too. Everyone who followed the instructions had a hand in this."

Blue’s round body swelled softly. Carlos had to look away before it noticed him smiling too.

Tarin bent down near the vine, but he did not cross Rowan’s marked line.

"Can we harvest it now?"

Rowan looked at the fruit again.

"We can. It will be good food, and it will stay fresh longer than an ordinary cucumber."

Mira, who had come over after hearing Tarin shout, looked interested at that.

"How much longer?"

"I do not know yet."

Mira nodded as if that was expected.

Carlos kept reading the panel.

"Mature seeds may inherit the Water-touched trait."

"If we harvest it now, what happens to the seeds?"

Rowan glanced at him.

"They will not be ready. The fruit needs more time if we want to see whether the trait reaches them."

Carlos looked at Mira.

The kitchen needed vegetables. The food agreement had only been reduced, not ended. A fresh Uncommon cucumber could probably make something useful.

Mira looked at the fruit too, then shook her head as if knowing what Carlos was thinking.

"We keep it on the vine."

Carlos raised an eyebrow.

"You are sure?"

"If I cut one good cucumber today, people eat once. If we get seeds, we might grow more later." She crossed her arms. "I can make do with ordinary vegetables for now."

Carlos smiled.

"That is why you run the kitchen. Gosh, you are too cute when you are serious," Carlos said, patting her head and making her freeze. He had not done that before.

She froze for only half a second before smoothing her face into calm again, with a smile.

Rowan called the two new Farmers over and pointed at the marked vine.

"The water schedule stays the same. The scarecrow stays on the same instruction. Nobody tests anything on this plant. We wait for the fruit to mature properly."

The Farmers nodded quickly. Carlos looked at the Living Scarecrow.

"You heard him. Protect the ground, frames and leaves. Do not hit harmless insects near this vine."

The scarecrow turned its straw head toward him and raised one arm.

Tarin nodded seriously.

"It understands now."

Carlos hoped so. He left the cucumber bed feeling lighter than he had in days.

The fruit would not enter the kitchen today. Its value was waiting inside the vine, in the seeds they might be able to grow later.

When Carlos returned to the Lord’s Hut, a message from Cosmic was waiting for him.

--

[Cosmic Merchant] - I found cooking oil.

[Cosmic Merchant] - The seller has five sealed jars. Enough for a few days at Ironroot’s current kitchen use, according to the listing.

[Cosmic Merchant] - He wants Copper Coins x80.

[Cosmic Merchant] - I also found oil seeds, but the seller only has the seeds. No press, no oil, no idea how to grow them.

--

Carlos read it all, then went straight to the kitchen.

Mira was checking the grain baskets while one Hearthkeeper stirred a large pot near the fire.

Carlos showed her the messages.

She read the cooking-oil listing first.

"Five jars will help."

"For how long?"

"Five jars are very, very good, Carlos."

Carlos nodded. Then she read the oil-seed listing.

"Do not buy these yet. Rowan has to see what they need first. Maybe the seeds do not produce good oil, and we need good ingredients."

Carlos sent Cosmic his answer.

--

[Carlos Goldwin] - Buy the cooking oil. One trade only.

[Carlos Goldwin] - Send the oil-seed listing to me. We will show Rowan before we decide anything.

[Cosmic Merchant] - Done. I will send the seed details after the oil transfer.

--

The market panel appeared soon after.

--

[Market Trade]

[Carlos Goldwin will provide Copper Coins x80]

[Seller will provide Sealed Cooking Oil Jars x5]

[Trade transfer available]

--

Carlos accepted it.

Five sealed jars appeared in his inventory. They were small, but Mira took them from him like they were something valuable.

"Cold Storage," she said. "Only I and the Hearthkeepers use these until we know when more is coming."

"You do not need to tell me twice."

"I do. You get excited about resources."

Carlos could not even argue after what he had said at the meeting.

Mira carried the oil jars away.

Outside, the cucumber bed stood under the afternoon light. The Water-touched fruit remained on its vine, waiting to become something more than one meal.

Ironroot had bought itself a few days.

The next few days mattered.