Chapter 40: A Gift for Dixiya

Although he had promised Kantisi that she could serve as the teacher of A Ru Cun.

But Luo De still couldn't assume the post immediately.

He must first finish all the tasks at hand.

Following the plan devised by Tighnari and his own discussion of experience in preventing soil erosion.

For such barren land to be farmed normally, relying solely on these grass slimes is insufficient.

After all, they are merely juvenile grass slimes; the land they improve can't even match the Fertility Blessing, let alone reach the quality of a rainforest region without strain.

In this situation.

Grass grids and berms are still necessary.

Besides that.

He also ordered a batch of date palm trees from Duo Li.

There are mature trees as well as saplings.

The mature trees are for constructing windbreaks, while the saplings fill the gaps between test fields to reinforce the berms.

The date palm tree is a species unique to the Sumeru Desert region.

It features tolerance to high temperatures, flooding, drought, salinity, and frost, loves sunlight, and possesses extremely vigorous vitality.

Moreover, its root system is highly developed.

It is a rare desert plant that simultaneously provides windbreak and water-retention functions.

Furthermore.

That is the fruit of the date palm tree.

The date is a fruit with a thick rind, its flesh is soft and substantial, sweet and tasty, and an important food source for desert dwellers.

Like the jar of sugar cubes in Luo De's home, which is made from dates.

The importance of sugar to the human body goes without saying.

Aside from the edible fruit that can also be made into sugar.

The branches of the date palm can be made into chairs, beds, and baskets for holding items; the leaves can be woven into mats, used to bind brooms, made into trays, etc., and can also serve as fuel; the trunk can be crafted into furniture, used to build farmhouses, bridges, houses, etc.; the date pits can be used as feed; even inferior dates can be used as fertilizer or feed.

It can be said that every part of it is a treasure.

It can be used for personal use or sold.

Therefore, in the desert.

If a nomadic tribe cannot find an oasis to settle, they will try to locate areas where date palms grow densely to use as their gathering place.

A Ru Cun also has date palm plantations.

However, they did not use the date palms as windbreak plants; they are sparsely scattered, simply treated as an economic crop for producing dates.

"Such a good thing, wasted."

After digging a pit, Luo De muttered and rolled his eyes toward A De Ba Yi's house.

After these days of peeping.

He has become quite certain.

A De Ba Yi is a scholar of exceptionally high standing in the Life Theory School.

Moreover, the knowledge he possesses is as precious as a treasure to the desert.

You should know that Tighnari is a scholar who cannot come to the desert.

Simply by relying on the experimental data he obtained at the Academy by simulating desert conditions, Luo De is already able to orderly arrange the new test fields.

From this, one can imagine.

If A De Ba Yi is willing to share the knowledge he holds with A Ru Cun.

A Ru Cun, and indeed the entire desert, would greatly benefit.

"Tsk, arrogant scholar, deserves to be exiled."

Luo De grew angrier the more he thought about it, and couldn't help but spit.

Speaking of which.

His anger-inducing technique is still quite effective; A De Ba Yi has been taking detours to avoid him these past two days.

He also successfully used this method to attract that scholar's attention.

This has happened more than once.

Luo De discovered that this guy was secretly peeking over the wall at his house.

Luo De knows exactly what he is looking at.

Surely the baskets and such that Kantisi sent over.

No matter how arrogant or unpleasant A De Ba Yi may be.

He is also a genuine Life Theory School scholar, and a very outstanding scholar.

The main focus of the Life Theory School is botany and medicine.

Therefore, A De Ba Yi can surely tell at a glance what Luo De's pile of things is for.

If it were the time when the two had not yet known each other.

Even if he discovered that Luo De was tinkering with things related to the Life Theory School's research direction, A De Ba Yi would not show the slightest interest in Luo De's identity as a desert dweller.

Even if Luo De actually produced some results.

Given his personality.

At most he would utter something like "it's just luck," and would never say a word to Luo De.

But now, after Luo De has made him so angry that he's nearly smoking.

He will certainly care more about Luo De's achievements than Kantisi does, and then wait for an opportunity to retaliate and humiliate Luo De.

And this.

This is the effect Luo De wanted.

「——」

Luo De, carrying a hoe, hummed a little tune; as he passed A De Ba Yi's doorstep, he deliberately lifted his chin at him and whistled twice like teasing a dog.

Such provocative behavior.

This made A De Ba Yi, who was sitting at the doorway reading a book, unable to stop the veins on his forehead from bulging.

「Hmph——」

A De Ba Yi decided not to lower himself to the level of this crude desert dweller; he closed his book, filled with anger, and slammed the door shut.

He successfully angered A De Ba Yi once again.

Luo De's mood improved even more.

This new house is considerably larger than the one he previously lived in.

He has ample space to place the things he brought back from the rainforest region.

It's a pity that.

Luo De doesn't know how to concoct poisons or anything like that.

All he can do is, according to the records in the Rainforest Biological Handbook, extract the deadly substances from these toxic materials by various means, then subject them to fire, boiling, drying, etc., turning them into bottles of liquid poison or powder like this.

Of course.

Not only did he bring back toxic things, but also some interesting little trinkets.

Like the insect-repelling grass from the rainforest region.

He used this to make an insect-repellent liquid, similar to the best-selling insect-repelling oil from the rainforest region; however, his purification technique is unskilled, so his liquid has many impurities and doesn't taste as good as the merchants' versions, but the effect is roughly the same and it's still usable.

As for things like soap and perfume that transmigrators in novels often make,

Luo De can't do them and doesn't want to study them.

Moreover, the Teyvat continent itself has better substitutes for these things, so there's no need to waste time on useless stuff.

He spent a little time.

Luo De placed the newly prepared snake-repellent powder into a transparent bottle, sealed it, and put it together with several other bottles, each bearing a label indicating its use and instructions.

These are for his Flaming Light Beast Hunt, or rather, prepared for Dixiya.

Inside are insect repellent, beast repellent, snake repellent, and also poison that can be applied to weapons.

All together, there are about a dozen bottles scattered about.

These items are of great use to mercenaries who can spend all day crawling and rolling in the desert.

"The quality is average and can't compare to what the merchants sell."

"It'll do if we just make do."

Luo De stretched, then neatly arranged these bottles into a small box.

"What a pity."

"Without purification equipment, otherwise I could try to concoct some simple medicinal liquids."

After putting things away, Luo De regretfully said a sentence.

The Rainforest Biological Handbook really is a good book.

As long as a medicinal plant is recorded in it, all its uses and methods are written clearly, from the simplest crushing for external application to various herbal combinations, and even to more complex potion formulas—everything is there.

It's just that he lacks the precise purification instruments used by the Academy.

Luo De really couldn't make those complex liquids recorded in the book, so he simply wrote down the effects and usages of all these herbs, planning to give them to Dixiya when she and her companions return with the quicksand eels.

"I hope you like these gifts."

He muttered a sentence under his breath, then Luo De left the room and went to his little study.

(End of chapter)