With Lucas's permission, the man took a strawberry from the basket, sniffed it, and smiled. "Fresh fruity aroma—just slling it, I can imagine how sweet and tangy it tastes."
"And clearly, no weird pesticides were used."
He handed the strawberry to Priape, who also sniffed it carefully. After a mont, its perpetually angry face showed a rare look of bliss.
Seeing Priape like this, the man looked amazed. He turned to Lucas and said with a laugh, "Priape has a sharp nose. If even he looks this blissful from the aroma, I'm curious how you managed to grow such great produce on your first try."
"All thanks to the Pokémon."
Lucas smiled. He didn't think this was sothing to hide—in fact, this could be a selling point for his future farm produce.
"I see," the man nodded. Only with Pokémon power could such miraculous crops be grown. These strawberries clearly showed the care of Pokémon.
Sadly, most farms couldn't guarantee that all their produce was cared for by Pokémon, due to limited numbers and abilities.
That's why the Milo Farm's produce was world-renowned—a fact closely tied to its Gym Leader owner.
The man inspected the rest of the baskets, concluding that though the quantity was small, the quality was excellent. His expression grew warr.
He shook Lucas's hand and introduced himself, "I'm Sean—a middleman who buys from farms and resells at the market. That said, my prices are close to what you'd get at the market yourself. If you're interested, I'd like to buy your batch."
"Hello, Mr. Sean." Lucas nodded, agreeing to Sean's proposal.
He'd contacted Sean through Peter for this very reason.
"I like straightforward farm owners!" Sean grinned, then fetched professional scales from his truck and worked with Priape to weigh everything.
Since it was a small batch, and the human-Pokémon duo worked efficiently, Sean soon gave his offer:
"Cabbage, eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a few excellent-quality strawberries... That's 6,351 League coins in total."
"Not bad." Lucas's eyes lit up. He'd only spent 600 League coins on seeds. Even counting fertilizer and ti costs, this first harvest brought in a tidy profit.
What's more, so crops could continue producing after a while. Though it looked like weeks of work for just over six thousand coins, Lucas knew steady, accumulated profits were the real goal.
Sean smiled, "I offered you a higher price than ordinary farm produce—top-quality crops are popular with rich buyers."
He counted out cash from his bag and handed it to Lucas.
Taking his first real earnings since starting the farm, Lucas counted it carefully, a simple smile spreading over his face.
Putting away the wad of bills, Lucas asked, "Mr. Sean, do you also buy things other than crops?"
"Oh? Tell more!" Sean's eyes lit up—did Lucas have sothing even better?
Lucas Mu brought over a small box from under the fence, inside of which were several soft, beautiful tufts of cotton.
"This is...!" Sean's eyes went round, mouth agape in shock.
Lucas smiled, "This is cotton shed by our Eldegoss. I heard it's popular, but we don't have much use for it, so I thought about selling it."
Sean took a deep breath, rubbing his suddenly aching temples, and after a long mont, said regretfully, "I can't believe you have sothing so valuable, but I'm afraid I don't have the guts to buy it."
Lucas was puzzled, "Huh?"
Sean gave a wry smile, "Even in Galar, Eldegoss aren't that common. Only Milo Farm and a few top farms have large Eldegoss groups that can reliably produce cotton."
"Eldegoss cotton, whether spun into thread or woven with other materials, is extrely delicate and beautiful. I never thought I'd see it in Paldea."
"By my estimate, you have only about 50 to 100 grams here. A pound fetches 6,000 League coins! Rather than selling it to , I suggest saving up more and selling it at the market in Porto Marinada."
Sean knew he could make a profit reselling the cotton, but he only worked in Los Platos, where there was no demand for such high-end material. He couldn't spare the ti or effort to go to Porto Marinada to sell such a small amount.
The effort wasn't worth the reward.
Sean's words made Lucas thoughtful. He hadn't realized how valuable Eldegoss cotton was.
This batch had shed right after the Gossifleurs evolved, but usually, Eldegoss used the cotton as a carrier for sharing nutrients with crops.
Which ant... he'd been burning money all this ti just to grow crops!
Suddenly, those six thousand-odd League coins didn't feel so sweet anymore.
Lucas thought this to himself but kept a calm face. He nodded and thanked Sean for the advice.
Since Sean didn't want to buy the cotton, he'd save up more and take it to Porto Marinada's market for sale.
He vaguely rembered that the market operated mostly by auction...
Money and goods exchanged hands. Sean and Priape loaded the five baskets into the truck.
"If you have more crops to sell, just call !"
Sean left his number, then had Priape drive away.
Lucas patted the new cash in his pocket, looked at the lush grass in the ranch area, and muttered, "It's about ti to make plans for the ranch."
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