kscans

Chapter 248 - The Grand Spring Market ~Third Day of Crop Hunting~ 4. Just Buying Things Until Sunset

Yuri was plagued by guilt, from Yuri's perspective, for having gone on a personal spree buying up Rikutou. However, an opportunity to redeem himself came surprisingly quickly. It was while he was secretly using Appraisal to check the goods at various stalls that he discovered it.

(Wait... what? Is this broccoli?)

According to the divine word from Professor Appraisal, mixed in with the vegetables being sold collectively as cabbage, or Capet in the local parlance, were some specimens with developed and enlarged flower spikes. It seemed that in this world, or at least in this country, there was no custom of eating the flower buds of Capet or kale, and they hadn't been utilized or selectively bred as a crop. They were simply being sold as ordinary leafy vegetables. Fortunately, they were selling seeds in addition to the plants themselves, so after confirming with Professor Appraisal, Yuri bought those as well.

"Hmm? We grow Capet in our village, you know."

"Yes, you shared some with me before. But this seems to be a slightly different variety."

"Oh... Well, if you try it out and it seems promising, will you let me know?"

"Of course. I have my promise with the lord, after all."

Though he agreed readily, Yuri was a little troubled on the inside.

According to his memories from his past life, broccoli was a vegetable that spoiled quickly. He recalled hearing that it had an exceptionally high respiration rate among vegetables, and if left out at room temperature, it would breathe vigorously, turn yellow, and lose its flavor. He remembered his mother from his past life complaining about it. Professor Appraisal instructed that to maintain its freshness, soaking it in sherbet-like slush would be best, but...

(...There's no way I can do something that extravagant...)

If it were just for him to eat, there would be no problem. Besides putting it in things like stews, he could also stir-fry it or eat it boiled with mayonnaise, the classic way. However, making mayonnaise in End Village would be difficult, and he wondered how common the practice of stir-frying was. As he was thinking about this...

(...Hmm? Mayonnaise?)

He had just taught the recipe for mayonnaise to Mand. As a condiment, it was versatile and went well with various dishes, and its taste would likely be well received, but...

(...Combining this newfangled mayonnaise with the equally newfangled broccoli... if used well, couldn't this be profitable for Adon-san?)

Freshness was key for broccoli, but he could manage that with his Magic Bag. The question was whether there was enough merit in transporting it that way. The only way to know would be to have Adon taste-test some that he had actually grown. No, before that, he should have Old Man Audel try it first and ask for his opinion. Besides, he had a promise with the lord that any new crops would be supplied to Baron Darren first. On the other hand, the mayonnaise recipe that would make the broccoli shine would probably be monopolized by Adon. Coordinating their opinions would be essential for distribution.

(...But well, I suppose I don't need to worry about it that much.)

For the time being, Yuri felt a little more at ease now that he had a general plan for the broccoli. He continued to browse the stalls, occasionally taking Old Man Audel's advice and purchasing things like Sepa, Rubra, and various tubers. He likely wouldn't have even noticed the Rubra, a plant he wasn't familiar with even in his past life, if Old Man Audel hadn't pointed it out.

(...Speaking of rhubarb, I think you can make jam with this... Maybe I'll try when I get back.)

As Yuri contemplated this, the next thing that caught his eye, or more accurately, was pointed out by Professor Appraisal, was a type of pea. There were two types of peas, the hard-podded variety and the soft-podded variety. The former was used for its beans, which were harvested when fully ripe and dried. The latter, on the other hand, was eaten with its immature pods, so-called snow peas, or its developed beans were used fresh as green peas without being dried. The peas Yuri had his eye on were of the latter, soft-podded variety. In this world, the custom of eating the fresh, undried beans was known, much like with the Soya Bean's edamame, but the practice of eating the immature pods themselves seemed to be absent, at least in this country.

"Oh, Wild Beans. They're not a bad crop... but you can't grow them in the same field continuously..."

These Wild Beans seemed to be the equivalent of Earth's peas, and they apparently shared the weakness of being susceptible to problems from continuous cropping. A plot of land where they had been grown once would be difficult to use for cultivation for several years. Because of that, they were apparently often avoided as a crop. It was likely they also shared a weakness to acidic soil.

"Well, I suppose that won't be a problem for you, Yuri-kun."

"No, I'll give it a try."

For better or worse, Yuri's village had an overabundance of fields. Changing the planting location every year was no trouble at all. He could probably manage the calcium supplementation with his specialty, monster bone meal. Adon might scream, though.

(I've had a pretty good haul. I'll have to try these out as soon as I get back to the village...)

He would continue to raise his self-sufficiency rate like this and eventually aim for a life as a completely self-sufficient recluse.

And so Yuri held this resolution in his heart, a resolution that would have Adon and Ems rushing to stop him with all their might if they ever heard it.