Chapter 34 - The Farm in Irttat
Chapter 34: Lament of the Deep Sea 10
Regarding the fallen merfolk, the dissipated Merfolk King, and the return of hope to the merfolk race, Lucita trimmed and edited these three days' experiences, telling Violet with "appropriate detail and brevity."
At the end, looking at Violet's expression, she explained pleadingly: "Going to sea with Lily was a last-minute decision. Time was tight, so I didn't have time to tell you."
Violet listened with a slightly darkened expression and sighed nostalgically: "Acquanetta... Though we only met once, she was still an old acquaintance."
Her gaze flew through the light, shadows, and window to who knows where.
Only at this moment did Lucita suddenly realize that in a certain sense, Violet was the same kind of person as herself: possessing a past no one witnessed, living alone here.
So much so that a person she met only once held an "old acquaintance" identity, and it was more important to Violet than the so-called ancient Merfolk King identity.
For a long time, neither spoke.
After leaving for three days, Irttat's scenery was as usual, but Lucita's heart, having experienced that dream, quietly harbored many secrets.
Continental civilization forever attracted creatures from forests and deep seas.
Of course, mainly for food.
And the elves' epics and merfolk's songs and dances brought different colors to townspeople's lives.
Driven by various reasons, a small group of merfolk moved from the deep sea to the shallow sea, starting a fish-selling business to exchange food and various novelties with humans.
For a time, relying on townspeople's curiosity and the widespread belief that "fish caught fresh by merfolk must be fresher," their business was surprisingly good. Sylvette's fish shop suddenly became much quieter.
Sylvette refused to lose her business like this and made an amazing move first: posting a notice to hire merfolk to work.
You must know, before this, having experienced the great purge five hundred years ago and the history of merfolk unable to return to the sea being separated from their kinswomen, current merfolk rarely spent long periods on land.
Willing to live in the shallow sea was already an unexpected thing.
But unexpectedly, probably because Sylvette's offered compensation was too generous, after a few days, a merfolk really came to apply.
By the way, her generous compensation was three meals a day, one afternoon tea and one midnight snack, plus silver coins.
For Sylvette, such compensation wasn't generous. But for merfolk who caught fish to sell for money then went to Lily's tavern to buy food, this choice was obviously much more economical.
After about half a month, people gradually got used to red-haired merfolk with fish fins behind their ears walking around the small town.
Fish prices stabilized. Various fish meats began appearing more frequently on people's tables.
Meanwhile, the merfolk singers grew inspired.
They brought their harps to the town square, transformed their tails into legs, and every afternoon sat in the square swept by flocks of pigeons, playing and singing.
At first they sang of the ocean and fish schools.
Songs from the deep sea drifted over the continent again after five hundred years. Their rhythm was fast and passionate, like a sailboat racing across the waves for seven days and nights.
Children in the square listened spellbound. Surrounding residents opened windows one after another.
Later, people from distant places came as well, drawn by reputation.
Every afternoon, a crowd gathered in the square to listen to the music
Still later, they composed new songs—about nightingales, about forests, about primroses on the grassland and wind-bell flowers on fences.
It was said that the little merfolk Linnea, with her distinctive voice, had become a rising star admired by many.
Beneath this surface cultural exchange was knowledge exchange decided by high-level authorities on both sides.
Almost all knowledgeable town residents were "requisitioned." Everyone rushed to make new scrolls, copying the merfolk race's collection to place in their own library. The merfolk race did the same.
In the end, even the elven High Priestess joined this activity.
Merfolk and elven figures quietly appeared in the town's school…
Of course, all this didn't attract much of Lucita's attention.
After waking from that dream, with many thoughts weighing on her mind, she still proceeded with her original plan: starting her spatial backpack business.
After all, heaven and earth might be vast, but earning money was the most important thing.
Since she intended to sell them, she could no longer use crude stones as containers for spatial backpacks. Even though Lucita had little business sense, she still understood the basics of product packaging.
Current spatial backpacks could only be considered disposable items. Their storage space lasted a little more than ten days. For hunters who spent several days in the mountains, most of that time limit would already be used up.
Therefore, considering the cost, there was no need for overly refined containers.
After careful thought, Lucita decided to use shells as spatial containers.
Shells were easy to obtain and much prettier and more delicate than stones. When drilled and strung into necklaces, they were also easy to carry.
Lucita commissioned a wooden sign from Skloot to stand at the courtyard gate, with "Storage Necklace" written in plum-colored paint.
In the future, she moved out the tall cabinet Skloot gave her when she first arrived and placed it by the living room fireplace, filling the shelves with finished shell necklaces.
This was an entirely new kind of business. Before this, objects such as “storage containers” had never existed in the townspeople’s understanding.
Though the storage stones Javena distributed in the square laid groundwork, everyone was still not clear about the concept.
If Lucita wanted to get this business started, she first needed to create a market for herself.
She paid ten silver coins to post a parchment notice beside the door of Lily's tavern.
"Hunter friends, are you still troubled by prey spoiling during hunting?
Vegetable farmer friends, are you still worried about fresh vegetables you can't sell rotting?
Uneaten leftovers, fresh meat left from slaughter, we always need to spend many silver coins storing them in frost boxes.
But from now on, everyone needn't worry anymore!
Recently, Lucita discovered a method allowing ordinary residents to use created space. Low cost, no maintenance required...
Therefore, Lucita's Storage Necklace Shop officially opens!
To repay everyone's long-term care, Lucita Farm has decided to give away one hundred storage necklaces for friends to use.
From now on, using alternate dimensions is no longer just legend!
Limited quantity, first come first served!
Just come to Lucita’s Farm to receive them. One per person limit..."
Lucita's main target customers were still hunters. As for vegetable farmers and household users, the amount they needed to store was too much, she really couldn't satisfy that for now.
But her abilities grew quickly. The market could expand sooner or later. Putting out advertisements now to make some preparations was fine.
Residents had never seen such a scene and were immediately stunned by the gimmick of "using alternate dimensions."
For a time, a long queue actually formed at Lucita's farm, with quite a few elves and merfolk among them.
Fortunately, Lucita had prepared thoroughly.
One hundred necklaces, not one more, not one less. She had spent a full seven days preparing them.
Whenever she sent off a visitor who had come to receive a free necklace, Lucita would always add one sentence: “Official products will go on sale in three days.”
As for why three days later...
For no other reason than the fact that Lucita had already exhausted herself creating those hundred necklaces and desperately needed two full days of rest.
At this time, the mental healing technique seemed especially precious. With this technique, she could greatly enhance her mental stamina and create more storage spaces in one go.
Unfortunately, it truly deserved its reputation as a technique only pure-blooded merfolk could master, it was extremely difficult.
Even though Lucita followed the instructional text Amala had given her step by step, she still had not learned it.
Despite her rapid growth, her mental power was still far too weak.
Actually, her spatial power was equally weak. For dragons, a storage space of twenty or thirty liters was practically nothing.
It was only because the size difference between mixed-blood beings and dragons was so enormous that her ability seemed impressive.
As for self-healing talent...
At her level where healing a cut required concentrated effort, growing to Violet's level of repairing even a pierced heart was hopelessly far off.
Incidentally, Violet's heart had almost completely healed.
Recently, as her wound healed, her appetite had already declined significantly. Lucita expressed great relief.
In any case, Lucita's Storage Necklace Shop opened like this.
As she expected, buyers were almost all elven hunters.
As for other vegetable farmers and some other neighbors, after trying the novelty, that was it. Twenty liters capacity was still very impractical for them.
Lucita priced it at ten silver coins per necklace.
This price was very economical for hunters.
One necklace could squeeze in several rabbits. One rabbit could sell for over ten silver coins.
With storage necklaces, hunters could stay longer in the mountains. By preserving their earliest catches, the additional profit far exceeded the cost of the necklace.
Moreover, it had an advantage frost boxes couldn't match: portability.
One hunter going into the mountains would buy three or four necklaces from her.
The elven race produced hunters. Lucita's finances immediately became comfortable.
Soon it was the end of the month. The luo flowers behind the house completely bloomed.
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