kscans

Chapter 31 - The Brushwood I Wish to Weave, The Harvest

On an early morning in mid-July, Yuri was in the place where the Mao grew, a sickle made with Earth Magic in his hand.

"According to Rural Life Guide-shishou, it should be about time to harvest..."

《To obtain fiber from Mao, cut the stems in mid-July before flowering, remove the leaves, and immediately soak the stems in a river or pond. This is because the bark of Mao becomes difficult to peel once it dries. The cut Mao should be peeled on the same day, or at the latest within a day or two. The peeled bark should also be soaked in water for a while, and once a certain amount has been gathered, the outer bark is removed, and the remaining inner bark is dried to be used as fiber material.》

If he followed the description in the Rural Life Guide, he had to submerge the harvested Mao in a river or pond right away. The problem was that there was no river or pond where the Mao was growing. Carrying a water bucket around the fields was too much of a burden. He could also consider creating a water ball with Water Magic and sticking them in there, but...

(No, wouldn't it be fine to just stick them in Storage?)

If he put them in Storage, their quality shouldn't degrade, so if the only problem was that they shouldn't dry out, that should be enough. He thought so and waited for a while...

"Yeah. It doesn't seem to be drying out. This should work."

In that case,

"All that's left is to cut and cut and cut..."

He was about to say that when he realized. Considering the future, he wanted to cultivate some of this Mao in the village, or at least plant it near the village. For that, he needed to secure seeds, which meant he needed them to flower and bear fruit. In short, it would be bad to cut them all down to the root...

"Whoa, that was close. I almost cut them all down..."

Considering the stress they had undergone from being cut, it might be better to give them some of the compost he was experimenting with, or perhaps use Wood Magic to heal them. However, it was not impossible that the plants, whose growth had suddenly improved due to fertilization, would be eaten by insects. Considering that, should he transplant a few stalks to the village fields just in case?

"In that case, I might as well choose some good quality ones to take back."

He had only been thinking about collecting seeds, but since he had Wood Magic, he might as well try making cuttings. While thinking about such things, Yuri crisply cut down the Mao. If he could preserve them without degradation in Storage, it would be more convenient later on to cut them when he could. After all, this was his first attempt. He didn't know what the yield would be, or in other words, how much fiber he would get. It would be better to cut a large amount of the raw material, Mao.

"I'll have to decide what to make later..."

He would have to judge based on the amount of fiber he got.

He wanted to say a change of clothes, but a futon came before clothes. He could manage with fur for a blanket, but he really wanted a mattress. It might not be a problem now, but considering the winter, obtaining a futon was a top priority. His body ached when he woke up, probably because he was sleeping directly on the hard floor.

"A bag filled with dried straw or hay could be used as a substitute for a mattress or a bed, right..."

For Yuri, who had slept on a soft bed in his previous life, though most of them were hospital beds, their comfort was decent enough, a bed where he could sleep comfortably and peacefully was a quietly urgent problem.