Chapter 11 Business Research
"I guess I should focus now on learning as much as possible about herbs and plants and then sell them to professionals," Raiden thought. "Once I am get used to handling and making all sorts of types grow, I can expand my business and activities."
Raiden began to interact with the healers and apothecaries of the villages and asked them all kinds of things. First of all, land or growing space: Access to suitable land or growing space is crucial. Consider factors such as sunlight exposure, soil quality, drainage, and available space for the desired number of plants. Depending on the scale of his operation, he may choose to cultivate medicinal plants in a backyard garden, a greenhouse, or even a dedicated farm. It seemed that no one in the village had access to a dedicated farm.
"Well, we have a large yard at home, and Lenore doesn't use it… I guess I will have to ask for permission," Raiden thought.
Obtaining high-quality seeds or seedlings of the medicinal plants he wished to grow was another important part. Ensure that the seeds are from a reputable source to guarantee their authenticity and viability. If starting with seedlings, he had to select healthy young plants from a trusted nursery. That goes without saying.
The choice of soil or growing medium was critical for the success of his medicinal plant cultivation. Different plants have varying soil preferences, so he had to research the specific requirements of the plants he intended to grow. Ensure that the soil or growing medium is well-draining, fertile, and nutrient-rich. Consider conducting soil tests to determine and optimize its nutrient composition.
"It is getting complicated now…" Raiden thought. "I wonder if my power can help me with that. "I will have to test it."
"Are you interested in medicine, young'un," asked An old man who was making some kind of powder in a wooden cup.
"A bit," Raiden replied.
"Aren't you the one who was adopted by the village leader? Why don't you work and ask her those things?" The old man asked.
"She is a busy person, and I don't want to bother her," Raiden replied. "Anyway, do you sell a lot of medicine to people outside the village as well?"
"Yes, we sell to the people of other areas ninety percent of what we produce," The old explained.
"That explains things," Raiden rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"I have to make a stock of pills that I will have to deliver to a merchant next week; you can come to work with me during this time to learn more and earn some money if you want to," The old man said. "I am too old to carry and do the heavy labor, and my stupid kids all decided to become soldiers, and their kids as well."
"Sounds tough… I won't mind helping out in the afternoon," Raiden said while trying to change the subject.
"That will do. I will see you tomorrow at this hour; if you work hard enough, I can give you some of the old tools that I don't use anymore," The old man said, appealing to make Raiden work harder.
Raiden couldn't believe his luck. Pocket money, knowledge, and even some freebies it was more than he could have ever asked for. He had always dreamed of having such opportunities, but he never thought they would come so easily. In his mind, he had imagined himself spending weeks pleading with the city's healers for a chance like this, but fate seemed to be smiling upon him.
Raiden decided to change his daily routine a bit. Instead of training by himself in the afternoon, he decided to train early in the morning. Maybe it was because of his increased strength, but after two weeks, he could already do handstands for ten minutes. Javier and Ruth were almost there, so it was only a matter of time before they were promoted to the next class.
"I should try to save time by doing something more difficult," Raiden thought when he woke up the next day and then looked around. "While it isn't much, this will work for today."
Raiden grabbed his rucksack that he used to bring his things and field with his clothes. After that, he tried to do his handstands while keeping it at the top of his legs. The balance was a bit off, but it helped him work with that.
"Hey, Raiden, breakfast is ready!" Iri suddenly opened the door of the room and then shouted it.
Raiden lost the notion of time since he got too focused on the practice… he fell and got up a number of times, but he forgot about that. He fell harder thanks to the surprise. He sighed while his face was lying down on the wooden floor… it was the first time that such a thing had happened, so he couldn't blame Iri.
"Well, aren't you smart?" Iri asked while she approached and picked up the rucksack. "Kids around your age do something similar in the tower of mastery."
"That so… can you please knock the next time?" Raiden said while getting up.
"I heard that boys, when they reach a certain age, start to demand that kind of thing, but I didn't expect that they would do that to train in secret," Iri shrugged and then left. "I guess even you want to try to look cool by doing that."
Iri was mistaken in her guess, but it probably wasn't a good idea to correct her assumptions and explain the real reason why teenage boys ask for more privacy.
On his first day of work with the old healer, Raiden mostly worked cleaning a bunch of things in his house and shop that didn't have a single thing related to medicine. It was some manual labor, and it was a bit tiring, but at least he had the chance to see the old man's garden. It was the size of four houses, and that showed how profitable that kind of business was.
Some plants were on the same bed, while others were on different types of vases with different kinds of soils. The old man carefully moved them to get more or less sunlight and also gave them more or less water according to their types. It seemed that while it was profitable, Raiden would need to do a lot of studying.
"All right, this is enough for today; from tomorrow onwards, you will learn the real deal since you have already finished most of the manual and hard labor that I had postponed until now," The old man said and then passed one silver coin to Raiden. "Here is your pay for today's work."
Raiden received the money and then nodded. It didn't seem much, but the journey of one thousand kilometers starts with a single step.
The sun was already setting when Raiden left the shop and then frowned when he saw Javier and Ruth outside.
"We went to check on your house, but no one was there, so we came to check on you," Ruth explained. "We noticed that you have been hanging around a lot with the healer."
"... Do you have to pay rent, Raiden?" Javier furrowed his eyebrows.
"Of course not… what the hell," Raiden said and then sighed. "I just like the idea of making my own money and not over-relying on others. Before you think that you should do the same, you need to at least last longer than me doing the handstands."
"We already can do it for five minutes," Javier said and then smiled, showing some confidence. "My writing style needs some work, but I already can write my name."
"I am on the same boat," Ruth added.
"Good, then tomorrow we can show the results to the instructor. "Let's hope that you won't make a fool of yourselves and then fail."
Their confident smiles froze on the spot… it seemed that they had gained some confidence, but it couldn't be helped. A long nose tends to break easily. Trying to help them overcome their lack of social skills wouldn't work if they didn't find some bumps along the way.
In any case, despite that, they managed to pass the tests the next day, and then the instructor congratulated them. She also guided them to the next level, and they were introduced to another female instructor. It seemed that was the norm for kids until they made their choices when they were ten years old.
The new instructor had a slim and petite figure, standing at an average height. She has short, orange-red hair that falls just above her shoulders. Her eyes were sharp, depicted as serious and observant. She had a fair complexion, and she typically had a composed expression on her face. She was also wearing the same clothes as the previous instructor.