Chapter 434: New Cordyceps from Rubber Worms

No fishermen have reported finding the conch that produces pink pearls, so Liszt does not know where to find this conch and can only wait.

Having stayed on Black Horse Island for a week, he is preparing to return to Flower Town.

He also intends to undertake a new smoke mission.

"Mission: The fishermen of Oyster Village are no longer afraid of the shallow waters near the shore and dare to dive into the sea to harvest seafood, but they do not recognize all types of seafood. Why not, as a seafood enthusiast, guide the fishermen in identifying delicious marine creatures? Reward: Mutant variety rubber tree."

The woodworking workshop crafts many high-quality sampans using thorns and rubber, arming the fishermen to fish in the near sea.

However, they encounter many marine creatures underwater but struggle to identify which are edible, still relying on the few types of seafood that can be picked up on the beach.

"I’m no expert on seafood either—I can eat it, but catching it is another story." He thought for a moment and decided to take a clumsy approach: have the fishermen bring up all the creatures they can catch from the sea, and he would then sort through them, identifying the known and unknown, conducting toxicity tests to verify edibility.

Just as he was about to leave Black Horse Island, he suddenly felt a stir.

A faint sense of restlessness came over him, making him quickly open his eyes: "It's the rubber bug triplets." He promptly instructed the footmen to fetch the three rubber bugs.

At this moment, the rubber bug triplets, which usually love to line up and move in sync, had one leave the group, crawling around in the jade box.

It was noticeably more restless than the other two.

This was a rare situation.

"What’s troubling you, little one?" He carefully established a deeper mental connection with the rubber bug, a capability supported by their contract.

Soon, he discerned a unique emotion from the rubber bug's restlessness—it actually wanted to spit out its own rubber tree insect grass.

"The rubber bug’s rubber tree insect grass was planted in the rubber plantation and hasn’t been relocated since the contract. What does this rubber bug mean?" Liszt suddenly raised an eyebrow, "Could it be that it has cultivated a new rubber tree insect grass inside itself?"

Upon reflection, this seemed entirely possible.

Perhaps the rubber bug’s restlessness was the reward from the smoke mission.

Since the rubber bug wanted to spit out the rubber tree insect grass, Liszt naturally wouldn't refuse. He quickly rode his chocobo, Loki, and headed towards the rubber plantation. The plantation is currently planned to span a thousand acres, with ambitions to expand to ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand acres—such a miraculous crop, the more the better.

However, the current rubber plantation is sparsely populated with only a few rubber trees.

The original rubber tree insect grass still stands in the center of the plantation. Liszt roughly measured its radiation range and then moved to a flat area suitable for the next planting of rubber trees. He placed the very restless rubber bug in his hand: "Go ahead, little one, let it out."

The rubber bug crawled around on Liszt's palm, raised its head, and opened its mouth.

It emitted a faint green light, which contained a small seed. The seed quickly sprouted and grew upon landing.

Within three minutes, it visibly grew into a rubber tree nearly as tall as the previous rubber tree insect grass.

Yet, the difference was striking: this rubber tree insect grass was laden with white spherical fruits. Ordinary rubber trees, including the initial rubber tree insect grass, bore no fruit. Moreover, rubber trees reproduce through root buds.

New seedlings often sprout around rubber trees, all stemming from the roots.

Liszt ordered the serfs to dig up these new seedlings and plant them in rows in the rubber plantation, continuously expanding the scale of the rubber trees.

Thus, this plant reproduces asexually.

Therefore, it was surprising to Liszt that the flowerless and fruitless rubber tree insect grass had directly borne fruit. He thought for a moment and, risking damage to the rubber tree insect grass, picked one fruit—once picked, the fruits and leaves of the rubber tree insect grass swiftly lose their magic power, turning into ordinary, albeit superior, plants.

With the tree laden with rubber tree fruits, plucking just one posed no significant problem.

Fiddling with the rubber fruit that was gradually losing its magic power, Liszt couldn't help but marvel: "Spirit bugs are truly full of surprises. It's clearly just one spirit grass, yet it has nurtured three spirit bugs, and now, these three spirit bugs have given birth to a new spirit grass... Does this mean that the next time the rubber bug becomes restless, it could produce another new spirit grass? Or perhaps a mutated one?"

The issue was settled.

He returned to the port town and boarded the Flower, his fast, dedicated vessel already loaded with goods, heading towards Flower Town.

During the monotonous times at sea, aside from teasing the blizzard beasts, he spent more time studying the rubber fruit. When he drilled a hole in the hard-shelled rubber fruit, he discovered it was filled with rubber.

"So, the new variety of rubber tree stores its rubber in its fruits?" He was thrilled, "Does this mean that the new variety of rubber tree will make rubber collection much easier and won't harm the tree itself? Once the new seedlings sprout, I'll have the serfs plant them immediately to test this out!"

Rubber collection is troublesome and harmful to the trees. If the rubber is concentrated in the fruits, it not only makes picking easier but also facilitates storage.

Such a rubber fruit could be preserved for years without spoiling, similar to a coconut.

Its value is even higher.

...

When he arrived at Flower Port, Liszt's excitement about the rubber fruit had waned.

He first hurried to the administrative office to meet the official Isaiah: "The sampan fleet from Oyster Village is already familiar with shallow sea fishing operations, but their knowledge of seafood is still too limited. Isaiah, immediately issue orders to the sampan fleet fishermen from Oyster Village to search for various creatures from the seabed."

"Sir, what do you mean?"

"We need to develop new seafood to reclaim the market in Coral Island, not just depend on oysters and oyster sauce for small profits. I need to revive a seafood market more vibrant than last year's."

"Yes, my lord, I will immediately issue orders to Oyster Village to have them harvest all the marine life they can."

"In addition, you should also send someone to Coral City to purchase a batch of fishing nets and fine nets. There should be schools of fish in the waters near Flower Town, and we can try to catch them."

Currently, the seafood being harvested in Flower Town consists mainly of shellfish, mollusks, and crustaceans, with very few fish being caught.

However, the most abundant resource in the sea is undoubtedly various types of fish, a resource Liszt isn't about to overlook. If this year's expansion order goes smoothly, he is certain to bring back tens of thousands of serfs, and the food supply will surely be insufficient. Therefore, fish will have to be mixed with grains to fill the serfs' stomachs.

"I understand," Isaiah replied, then added, "My lord, the corn grass field you asked me to monitor has led to a new discovery."

"Oh, what discovery?"

"A new patch of mutated corn grass has been found, with thick stems and leaves, and equally large ears that can be directly squeezed to produce a rich oil, which smells very fragrant, much like the butter we're used to."

Liszt's eyebrows raised once again.

Without a doubt.

The oily mutated variety of corn grass, previously rewarded by the smoke mission, has been discovered.