At the current stage, the ranch did not have a high demand for poisonous mushrooms. Only the two Toxtricity brothers really enjoyed eating them. As for the other Pokémon, they could not eat them even if they wanted to, since highly toxic mushrooms could truly be fatal.
Because of this, only half of the cultivation racks in the poisonous mushroom house were kept, while the remaining space was remodeled into a large room. A small side door was also added to connect directly to the outside, ensuring that even after the Toedscool evolved in the future, there would still be enough space for them to live comfortably.
The layouts of the two mushroom houses were almost identical, leaving little room for further adjustments. What they lacked now were mushroom spawn bags and culture substrates. Once those were ready, they could immediately begin growing mushrooms.
After bringing the group of Pokémon out, Silas led them to the berry orchard to start harvesting. There was less than a week left before winter arrived, and if they did not harvest now, it would soon be too late. Not only the orchard, but the crops in the fields also needed to be gathered.
Seeing him approach, the younger sister Indeedee ran toward him and raised a large, bright red Leppa Berry high in her hands.
"Indee!"
"For me? Thank you."
Silas took a bite, and the sweet juice immediately burst across his mouth, perfectly balanced in flavor.
He smiled and gently rubbed Indeedee's head. "It's really delicious."
"Indee~"
Feeling his good mood, Indeedee's eyes curved like crescent moons, and she looked extremely happy.
While munching on the fruit, Silas walked deeper into the ranch, all the while listening attentively to younger sister Indeedee's report.
As expected, the final harvest of the year had been a bumper one. Both ordinary berries and special berries yielded abundantly. Silas had no intention of selling them. Instead, he planned to turn all of them into poffins as winter food for the Pokémon, and he even felt it might still not be enough.
He waved to the Toedscool and the Bug-type Pokémon nearby, praising their work. "You all did great. Later, storing the berries will be up to you, Indeedee."
"Indee~" meaning this was her responsibility.
She lifted her chin proudly, feeling that she could now stand on her own.
"Oh right, set aside one basket of berries," Silas added after a moment of thought. "I'll make candied fruits for the Toedscool."
After confirming there was nothing else to arrange, Silas picked up Litten and left.
He scratched the little cat under its chin and gently squeezed its soft paws. Litten clearly enjoyed the affection, wrapping its tail around his wrist and rubbing its head against his chest.
As they passed the ranch stage, waves of singing drifted over. Cinccino and Jigglypuff were rehearsing with their band.
The invitation for the concert had already arrived by mail, scheduled for the first weekend of the first month of winter. They did not have much time left, so if they did not cram practice now, they would embarrass themselves later.
Silas did not disturb them and instead walked quickly toward the five farmland plots.
Older brother Indeedee stood on the field ridge, coordinating the work. The Mudsdale trio transported goods back and forth, while the three cats, the two Charcadet, Kangaskhan, Dragonite, and Cyclizar all helped with carrying.
Everyone was working hard to finish harvesting all the crops today. As usual, a small portion would be kept for personal consumption, while most would be packed into crates for sale.
Silas observed for a while and asked older brother Indeedee about the exact quantities. In the past, he would have needed to help personally, but now the ranch had enough labor, and the Pokémon could complete the work perfectly even without him.
Of course, Silas would not just sit around doing nothing while everyone else was busy. Since they did not need him here, he decided to handle logistics instead by preparing lunch in advance so that once the Pokémon finished working, they could immediately enjoy a hot meal.
The harvesting work on both sides continued until around five in the afternoon. The ranch suddenly looked rather bare afterward.
During the afternoon, Silas had also been busy relocating the special crop, the Rainbow Gourd Vine, into the greenhouse. The seven fruits on the vine were still growing.
After finishing that, he went to the ranch entrance to wait. Gario and Diggersby usually came at this time to collect the harvest.
After helping load the crops onto the small trucks, Silas did not forget to ask Gario to bring mushroom spawn bags from outside.
Gario readily agreed and took out a notebook and pen. "Silas, since you're planning to grow mushrooms, have you decided which types?"
"Oyster mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms, plus king oyster mushrooms and destroying angel mushrooms."
The first three were the most common and widely cultivated varieties. As long as the environment was suitable, they would grow reliably and ensure a minimum yield.
King oyster mushrooms would be a higher difficulty attempt, and Silas was already mentally prepared for the possibility that they might all fail.
"As for quantities, 100 spawn bags each for oyster, enoki, and shiitake, 80 for king oyster mushrooms, and 40 for destroying angel mushrooms."
"Got it."
Silas nodded to confirm.
Since it was his first time cultivating mushrooms, there was no need to push to maximum capacity. Leaving some space would make adjustments easier.
"I'll bring them tomorrow at this same time," Gario said as he closed his notebook. "The price will be based on the market rate of the day."
"No problem. Sorry for making you go out of your way."
Gario waved it off casually. "It's nothing. And if you succeed, I'll have more goods to collect during winter too."
"See you tomorrow."
"See you."
They waved goodbye as Gario drove off in his truck, while Silas returned to the ranch and headed straight for the mushroom house.
The spawn bags would arrive tomorrow, so he needed to prepare in advance today. Culture substrate was an essential component.
Different mushrooms required completely different substrates. With the help of the Toedscool, Silas began experimenting with formulas for the first time.
The first was the substrate for shiitake mushrooms, made from hardwood sawdust, wheat bran, gypsum powder, and sugar, mixed with water at a ratio of 1 to 1.2.
"Toedscool, I'll need your help now. Mix everything thoroughly."
"Scool~"
The three Toedscool happily jumped onto the mixing platform, extending their tentacles to stir.
The sawdust, bran, and gypsum gradually blended together, while the sugar dissolved slowly in the water. The originally loose materials gradually formed into a moist clump.
The final texture needed to be such that when squeezed by hand, no water dripped out, yet it would not fall apart when released. After that, the mixture was packed into transparent plastic bags one by one.
That was the general process. Silas then proceeded to prepare substrates for other types of mushrooms as well.
By the time they finished, night had already fallen.
Morpeko had been calling outside for quite a while, urging them to come eat.
"Coming, coming. We just finished."
"Morpe~"
Morpeko clutched its stomach pitifully, claiming it was starving.
Silas picked it up and reached out to touch its belly, but Morpeko reflexively dodged and bared its two front teeth.
They quickly returned to the house, where under the warm lighting, the Pokémon were already waiting.
"Dinner's ready, everyone. Let's eat."
After washing his hands, Silas sat at the head of the table and called everyone to start eating.
After dinner, they played and relaxed together for a while, watching a few episodes of an animated show before it was time for bed.
Silas ushered each Pokémon to its own sleeping spot and did a final patrol around the ranch before returning inside.
After such a busy day, everyone fell asleep quickly.
Silas was no exception. The moment he lay down and closed his eyes, the next thing he knew, it was already a brand new day.
(End of Chapter)