Following a successful search, all the Level 3 crop seeds were displayed before Shen Xingyan in the Star Source Store.
It was immediately clear that the variety of Level 3 crops significantly surpassed the Level 2 assortment. Shen Xingyan carefully studied each type, noting with pleasure that they included plants with widely differing growth cycles.
As he browsed the options, he mentally cross-referenced information from materials he had previously studied, calculating the cost-to-benefit ratio for each crop. He concluded that most of them were roughly equivalent in value, giving him a general overview of the situation.
Coming to this conclusion, Shen Xingyan defined his goal. To maximize the benefits of his professional skill, his selection principle was simple: the longer the crop's growth cycle, the better.
Guided by this principle, he compared the options again and, after careful study, settled his gaze on the Strawberry Seeds:
Item: Strawberry Seeds
Cost: 5 silver coins
Properties: Maturation period 50 days, planting area 600 sq. m.
Seeing the description of this crop, Shen Xingyan could not suppress a joyful smile. According to the information, the strawberry growth cycle reached an astonishing 50 days, 30 days longer than potatoes.
Having reviewed all the options, he confirmed that this was the longest period among all the Level 3 seeds. Furthermore, Shen Xingyan noted that strawberry plants are generally low-growing and easy to manage, which was perfectly suited for the daily work of his little skeletons. For all these reasons, strawberries became his priority choice.
Having made his selection, Shen Xingyan recalled information about strawberries from the real world. As a Level 3 crop with an extremely long growth cycle, combined with the natural limitations of the Farmer profession, it often suffered from multiple "task stagnations." This led to an average yield of only about 600 kg per mǔ, causing many high-level farmers to avoid cultivating strawberries.
However, such problems did not concern Shen Xingyan at all; on the contrary, he was delighted by the situation. With his skill for accelerating crop growth progress, the longer the growth cycle, the better!
According to the information he had gathered, although the yield of strawberries was significantly less than potatoes, their value and the experience gained were incomparably higher than Level 2 seeds. The Star Source Store purchase price for strawberries reached 500 copper coins per kilogram. At a yield of 600 kg per mǔ, that amounted to no less than 300 silver coins!
Moreover, for every kilogram of strawberries harvested, a farmer received 6 points of professional experience. This meant that from a single mǔ, he could gain about 3,000 Experience Points.
Counting the price and experience from the strawberries, Shen Xingyan was stunned by the massive leap to Level 3 crops. Accustomed to potatoes and wheat, which cost around ten copper coins per kilogram, he had mixed feelings: "Truly, you don't know the difference until you compare! It turns out the low-level crops I was growing before are simply worth nothing!"
Continuing to muse, Shen Xingyan quickly calculated the final result and compared it to the potato harvest he had just collected. He found that even with the average yield of strawberries, the profit would significantly exceed the income from his record-breaking potato harvest!
And that was only the average case. How could Shen Xingyan settle for only an average strawberry yield? With the little skeletons providing round-the-clock care, the final yield would undoubtedly surpass all expectations, reaching a level that even Shen Xingyan himself could barely imagine.
After thorough calculations, Shen Xingyan finalized his choice of strawberries for his "shearing the sheep" plan and began selecting the Level 3 transitional crops.
Filtering the Level 3 crops by maturation time, he ultimately chose six types: Tomatoes (1-day growth period), Cucumbers (2 days), Cauliflower (3 days), Pumpkin (6 days), Pepper (10 days), and Watermelon (35-day cycle). By planting one mǔ of each of these crops, he could harvest one mǔ every day, maximizing the field income and freeing up space for the strawberries.
Among these crops, Shen Xingyan assumed that only Pepper and Watermelon had a chance to break the Star Source yield records. For Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Cauliflower, and Pumpkin, with their short growth cycles, the probability was low; after all, there were many talented people in the world with excellent innate skills, and he had no excessive hopes.
Having finalized his crop selection, Shen Xingyan immediately bought enough seeds for one mǔ of each transitional crop. With the 30% discount from his benefits, he spent about 4 silver coins. He then immediately purchased strawberry seeds for all eight mǔ of land, which cost him 28 silver coins with the discount.
In total, his 30% discount saved him nearly 10 silver coins on the seed purchase. It was easy to imagine that as his professional level increased, the economic benefit of this privilege would only grow!
"Wangcai, come here. I'll tell you how to plant these crops," Shen Xingyan said and began walking the seven mǔ of land with his little helper.
As they walked, they planned the general distribution scheme. They ultimately decided to use the central plot with potatoes as a reference point, distributing the remaining seven mǔ in all directions around it.
Shen Xingyan then pointed out to Wangcai what should be planted in each plot. Fearing that Wangcai wouldn't remember so many different crops, he gave the instructions in the form of clear commands.
After walking around all the fields, Shen Xingyan placed the seeds, categorized by type, in a designated spot, tasking Wangcai with organizing the work, while he himself focused on planting the strawberries.
During his planting, he did not forget to observe how Wangcai was distributing the tasks. Wangcai only slightly shook his small skull, and all the skeletons obediently approached one after another, took their seeds, and headed to their assigned plots to begin sowing.
Watching this highly organized work, Shen Xingyan was extremely pleased, constantly repeating that Wangcai was truly his lucky star!
Following a smooth period of planting, and thanks to the combined efforts of Shen Xingyan and his skeleton team, the sowing on all seven mǔ of land was completed in just half an hour.
Such efficiency would seem like pure fantasy in the eyes of other professionals!