Two days later, Sylvia walked out of the Adventurers Guild hall alone, holding a book and a small bag of seeds.
These were given to her by Mairin, who reportedly obtained them from Madam Falan in the West District; Madam Falan was said to be a master in horticulture.
Back home, Sylvia sat under the shade of a tree in her backyard, flipping through the nameless notebook. It contained numerous hand-drawn illustrations and small tips.
The book wasn't thick, only recording the cultivation process for four types of flowers:'Spring - Honey Dendrobium','Summer - Blood Wolfsbane', 'Autumn - swan orchid', and 'Winter - white camellia'. The accompanying gift was a swan orchid seed.
Normally, a swan orchid takes nearly half a year from germination to flowering, but there were only two and a half months left until autumn ended.
"This is probably the test Madam Falan has given me," Sylvia said, putting down the book.
If she merely watered and tended to flowers like an ordinary person, Madam Falan would certainly not be satisfied. The Madam likely wanted to see someone aspiring to become a professional Gardener.
"That means I also need to learn the Dew Praying Method to promote plant growth."
Dew Praying Method (Emerald Honey): Collect morning dew at dawn, transform it into emerald dew water. (emerald dew water can promote plant growth and cultivation)
At dawn, when the Blazing Sun essence just emerges, it is at its gentlest, allowing its vitality to be collected and transformed. By noon, it becomes too violent and difficult to transform. The amount of emerald dew water she can collect each day also indicates the maximum number of plants she can cultivate simultaneously.
However, learning the Dew Praying Method requires some emerald dew water as a guiding seed, just as learning the Invisibility Technique requires cold mist wine.
To learn, Sylvia needed money—Gardeners can earn money—to learn to be a Gardener requires emerald dew water—to buy emerald dew water requires money—Gardeners can earn money.
The starting phase was truly difficult. Covering her head with the book, the girl sighed softly.
Mairin, Winnie, and even Vandersea had helped her a lot before. Without them, she would probably be in an even more difficult situation now.
'I won't ask for help this time,' the girl stood up, went to her bedroom, opened a loose brick under her bed, took out her treasured money pouch, and poured the coins onto the bed.
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6…"
The girl knelt on the bed, counting the small silver coins one by one.
"Eighteen silver coins in total." She usually kept copper coins in a drawer for easy access.
She had spent a lot on books and daily necessities before, and now only 18 remained. She heard that emerald dew water could be bought at the Horticulturist Guild, but she didn't know the price. She picked up the silver coins, put them back into her money pouch, and thought silently.
She would go and see. If it wasn't enough, she could only borrow money from Winnie. The girl felt a little ashamed, wondering if she was being too shameless. If it really came down to it, she could only go out and become a singer, because Mairin said her voice was beautiful and she would definitely be hired by a theater and become famous.
Holding her remaining silver coins and wearing her reddish-brown hooded cloak, Sylvia arrived at the Horticulturist Guild.
Finding a dozing clerk inside, the girl lightly pressed her hood and then asked.
"Hello, do you sell emerald dew water here?" Her voice was soft. The clerk slowly opened his eyes, yawned, and replied.
"emerald dew water is 10 silver per small bottle, but you need to pre-order it. I can get it for you tomorrow."
Hearing this, Sylvia breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that emerald dew water was not expensive, probably less rare than cold mist wine.
"Here's a five-silver coin deposit. Do I need to register anything else?" She placed the silver coins on the counter.
"Yes, just fill in your name here, and you can pick it up tomorrow. Oh, and don't come too early." The other person was still very sleepy and casually pulled out a ledger from under the desk for Sylvia to register.
"Okay." The girl briskly wrote her name, 'Tia,' and returned it to the clerk.
"That's all. You can go now." The clerk waved her off, then slumped back down and fell asleep… After returning home, Sylvia went to the backyard, preparing to first clear and turn over the small yard, which was full of weeds and wildflowers.
She first changed into a coarse linen dress suitable for work, tied her hair into a neat high ponytail, then found the shovel she had recently bought and started digging from the corner of the wall… The soil was a bit hard. As she dug, the girl recalled scenes of adults working in her hometown when she was a child, imitating some of their movements, such as stepping on the back of the shovel with her foot to push it into the soil.
An hour later, Sylvia stood under the eaves, wiping the sweat from her forehead, letting out a sigh of relief. She then put down the shovel and sat on a chair to rest.
By now, most of the soil in the small yard had been turned over and was much looser.
Ten minutes later, she stood up again, picked up the dug-out weeds, and placed them on a stone to dry. This way, they would be mostly dry by the day after tomorrow, allowing her to shake off the soil and burn the excess weeds in the fireplace.
After turning the soil, Sylvia soaked the swan orchid seeds in water, then planted them one by one into the soil.
After doing all this, Sylvia changed out of her soil-stained dress and went to bathe.
In the evening, after bathing and changing into her nightgown, she returned to the small courtyard, sitting on a chair to admire the purplish-red sunset. The gentle autumn breeze caressed her slightly damp skin, making it dry and exceptionally comfortable.
Well, this kind of life seems pretty good too… The next day, she went to the Horticulturist Guild.
"This is your pre-ordered emerald dew water. If you use it to ripen flowers, remember to mix it with clear water; don't drip it directly onto the flowers," a new female clerk explained to her.
"The dilution ratio is roughly 10 drops per bucket of water. This bottle contains approximately 30 drops of emerald dew water."
"Okay, here are the remaining five silver coins." Although she wasn't using it to water flowers, she was still a little curious.
"Do other people usually buy this?"
"Yes, some wealthy families occasionally use emerald dew water to ripen flowers for banquets or celebrations, decorating their gardens and mansions," the female clerk answered skillfully.
"Many experienced Gardeners know how to use emerald dew water, but they usually can't afford it."
After completing the registration, the clerk handed the girl a small, exquisite glass bottle.
"Thank you." The girl's eyes moved slightly, examining the quality of the emerald dew water in the bottle.
emerald dew water (Rank 0 - Emerald Honey): Dew that can make flowers and plants grow and bloom quickly. (Concentration 14%)
Only 14% concentration, the girl thought, but it was hard to judge whether such a value was reasonable at this moment.
She could only go back and try it.
After getting the emerald dew water, she was somewhat excited and expectant all night, not falling into a deep sleep until very late… Another morning.
Sylvia opened the window, just in time to see the newly risen sun. The morning air still carried a lot of chill.
She poured a few drops of emerald dew water onto the only celadon plate in her home, then, according to the records of the Dew Praying Method, closed her eyes to sense and learn.
First, she sensed the faint Nature of Emerald Honey in the few drops of emerald dew water on the porcelain plate, then slowly used her spiritual perception to guide it.
Time passed minute by minute. The water droplets on the porcelain plate remained unchanged in the morning light. The girl standing by the window also remained motionless, her soft brows illuminated by the dawn, her face tinged with a faint golden hue, and tiny hairs clearly visible in the pale golden light.
Gradually, the sun rose higher, almost reaching a point where it would be difficult to shine on the girl. Wisps of mist swirled in the air, finally condensing into a small droplet of water that fell and merged with the emerald dew water on the porcelain plate.
(Dew Praying Method completion +6)
[Dew Praying Method Lv.0] (Emerald Honey): An unformed ability, current progress (6/100)
Phew, she finally took the first step. The girl opened her eyes, looking at the extra drop of liquid in the plate.
If she could really become a Gardener, she would be able to establish herself here. As for what comes next… she would take it one step at a time.
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