There can't be a Harvest Moon in the RimWorld.

The tavern was still filled with a cheerful atmosphere. Old Sebala was squatting on the floor, pawing at a chair, reeking of alcohol, and making a mocking noise at me.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner... I really didn't expect this priest to be so unreliable... Where is his professional ethics and morals as a clergyman!"

Frustrated, I scratched my head and angrily questioned him.

Lin passed by and brought me back a cleaned-up robe and a towel to wipe my face.

I quickly returned a grateful look.

As soon as I entered the tavern, Lin noticed that I was covered in dust, my face was dirty, and I had an angry expression on my face. She took the initiative to arrange for me to wash up and cleaned my clothes.

Although I am deeply grateful, I still can't help but feel compelled to offer a word of advice...

"Boss Dart, you'd better shut down those two money-losing dorm rooms upstairs as soon as possible!"

Boss Dart's expression turned serious, and he tried to pull his hand back from the plate, but I stopped him, placing the tray firmly on the table. We were now locked in a power struggle. "Alright, I was just saying it offhand, boss, don't be angry. Your business plan is flawless..."

Mr. Dart then withdrew his hand with satisfaction and said with a sigh, "We originally thought you wouldn't be interested in the church, so we didn't tell you about it. Since you brought it up today, I'll give you a brief overview."

I took a couple of bites of rice, then quickly assumed a listening posture, looking at Boss Dart with gratitude.

"Ahem, actually, the previous priest of this church in town was a very old pastor who built this magnificent church through his own fundraising. At that time, the people in the town liked to gather at that church on weekends to chat, have parties, and listen to his sermons. Many important festivals in the town were celebrated there."

"More importantly, the church at that time also had the responsibility of supporting the town. The children in the town that you see, such as Rick, Karen, Ellie, Poppy, and Gray, all received their education in the church."

Mr. Dart spoke with a sigh, as if recalling the church's former glory, "You could say that in the town back then, the church was a place where birth, aging, sickness, death, joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness were all intertwined."

I couldn't help but ask, "But as far as I know, these days residents hardly go to church, not even on holidays, let alone on ordinary days. Why is it like they're avoiding a plague?"

Sebala's startled cry rang out as he lay on the ground, drunkenly stammering, "What...I...I'm not going to church...I'm not going..."

After saying that, he hugged a wine bottle, started snoring on the spot, and fell asleep again.

What's going on? Does Sebala suffer from church-related PTSD? Or did the church undergo some kind of renovation that cast a long shadow over him?

"Well... that's quite common..."

"When Father Carter first arrived, everyone had a very good impression of this young and kind pastor, and they all went to the church to talk to him," said Mr. Dart awkwardly.

"Father Carter's performance was also very witty and humorous, completely different from the old priest's rigid and serious demeanor. This made it very novel."

"But the problem arose during that Mass. After a long sermon, Father Carter suddenly started talking about some terrifying rumors and inexplicable events from various places. The originally sacred occasion immediately turned eerie, and two children were even frightened into tears."

Lin suddenly interjected, "I remember it was Poppy who was scared and cried, right? Karen thought Rick was bullying her, so she beat Rick up and made him cry."

...This is truly an extremely violent incident. Brothers, quickly type "fear" in the chat.

Boss Dart frowned as well: "Is that so? I don't seem to remember it very clearly either. In the later Caesars, not only were there ghost stories mixed in, but there were also many instances of people falling asleep in the church. For example, this old Sebala on the ground was the first person to talk in his sleep during Mass."

"Then, for some reason, people became less willing to go to church. After one or two people left, others gradually lost the habit and preferred to stay at home, enjoying a quiet and peaceful weekend without ghost stories."

At this point, Mr. Dart looked at me and asked, "When you went there today, did you have the same feeling?"

To be honest, I was not only tricked into listening to the ghost story, but I was also almost fooled by his VR movie, which gave me some unrealistic fantasies about him.

I think Father Carter's stories to me today were just a result of him getting tired of being fooled by no one coming to his house for so long, which triggered his mischievous impulse. As for his earlier ghost stories, they were clearly intentional, meant to drive away the residents who were disturbing his nap. The fact that the residents suddenly fell asleep during Mass was definitely his doing!

"Boss, I understand. I'll stay away from this guy from now on." Following the drunkard duo, the town's blacklist has added another church charlatan.

"Not only that, there's also a gossip club in town, so you have to be careful. Anyone who gets targeted by those women will have a bunch of weird rumors circulating in town."

"Huh? The Gossip Club? Why have I never heard of it?" I asked, flustered. I've been in town for so long and have never seen this group before.

Dart's expression was extremely complicated: "Actually, it's just Dick's wife Mana, Jeff's wife Sasha, and Basil's wife Anna. They always meet at Rose Square in the afternoon. If you run into them, remember, pretend you didn't see them and stay as far away as possible!"

Chapter 249 Potato Detoxification

Suddenly, my eyes caught sight of a tightly packed cargo in the tavern, at least two meters tall, leaning against the corner of the tavern's stairs. The symbol of the Navigators' Alliance was painted on the wooden planks on which the cargo was packed.

"Lin, is this something new your family bought? What's inside?"

I asked Lin, who was next to me, out of curiosity.

Lin, with her ponytail, swayed her head from side to side and laughed like a silver bell. Pointing at the TV, she said to me, "Marcus, have you forgotten? That order was from the last TV shopping channel. It finally arrived a week later!"

Boss Dart nodded and said, "Since there are no detailed house numbers in town, these mails and packages are usually delivered by Zack leaving them at the tavern first, and then someone else comes to pick them up. When Zack came over at noon, he only said that this one had your name on it, so I took it."

TV shopping...

If I remember correctly, I ordered a blender back then, right? Ugh, never mind, let's not talk about the machine.

Judging by its size, it couldn't possibly be a mixer. Did the TV shopping program offer a huge discount and upgrade my mixer into a cement mixing plant for free?!

“Boss Dart, do you have anyone you particularly want euthanized? I can use this two-meter-tall mixer to take care of them for you… like Sebala, Sebala, and Sebala?”

On a sudden impulse, I began to give him frantic hints. Unfortunately, although Mr. Dart hesitated slightly and glanced at the drunkard on the ground, he ultimately did not reveal his wish.

After a long pause, Boss Dart finally said, "While I think you're right, Sebala still owes me money for drinks, so even if we don't settle this matter..."

As he spoke, the boss glanced at the cabinet next to the TV, "But that bastard over there who owes me money for drinks, I think we can turn him into fertilizer."

I followed the owner's gaze and saw a winery owner next to the TV who had squeezed into the gap between the cabinet and the wall, with only one arm sticking out.

As soon as I walked in, I noticed that the other side was different!

I always thought it was a potted plant!

"That's not a potted plant!"

A voice came in from outside and stole my line!

I turned around and saw the botanist, Baqir, dressed in dark green, walking into the tavern with a bunch of plant samples. He must have overheard our conversation to make that remark.

"Bakir, you're supposed to be a botanist, how can you not even tell the difference between a person and a plant?"

"I can't believe it," Mr. Dart said with a blank expression.

Baqir hesitated for a few moments before finally confirming that it was a drunk man who had fallen asleep standing up. Only then did he pull out a bar stool and sit down at the bar.

"Sigh, I'm really starting to doubt my professional abilities. Forget about not being able to distinguish between plants and people, I'm afraid I can't even tell the difference between plants and living organisms!"

Baqir sighed deeply and said to us, "I saw a sprouted potato in the kitchen today, and I was surprised to find that it had grown new shoots..."

"Isn't it normal for potatoes to sprout?" I asked.

Baqir covered his face and said quietly, "Have you ever seen a potato that sprouted new shoots and tried to escape? This potato fell into a crack in the storage room during storage and went unnoticed for several days. When I found it, its sprouts had already stretched out the window, connecting the second floor to the first floor!"

Holy crap, wild walking grass has appeared!

...No, this subtle feeling feels somewhat familiar.

“Mr. Baqir, where did you buy the potatoes you mentioned?” I asked tentatively.

"It seems Anna bought it from Zack a couple of days ago; it was much cheaper than elsewhere. She's been complaining to me a lot lately about not being able to buy more to stock up."

"..."

I'm about 80% sure that the potato that tried to escape probably came from my farm.

"Mr. Basil, what are your thoughts on potatoes that mature in six days?"

Although the colonizer system is often illogical, basic biological principles should still be followed, right? Asking this professional in front of me might be helpful.

Baqir's eyes lit up. He took off his hat and said to me with surprise, "I think I heard Zack mention before that you've grown a super-fast potato variety. I thought it was just a rumor in town! Is it true?!"

“The potatoes are genuine. They’ll mature in six days, no doubt.” I nodded, stating the truth frankly, “The town is facing a famine, and I plan to rely on this crop to get through this crisis. Mr. Baqir, what do you think?”

Baqir's expression suddenly became extremely interesting: "I was right to come to this town! This achievement must be a major breakthrough!"

Then he excitedly stood up, spun around several times, and only after suppressing his excitement did he display the cautious attitude of a professional.

How did you discover this variety? How many times have you planted the same variety before?

I thought for a moment and said, "I don't know where the seeds came from. Mayor Thomas gave them to me. This is the second crop we've planted so far. I also used the harvest from the previous batch to cut up pieces and plant them."

Baqir nodded and said, "I also guess it's some kind of mutated variety. After all, potatoes are widely grown all over the world and thousands of varieties have been developed, so it's not impossible for one to grow this fast."

But then Baqir's expression turned thoughtful: "Do you know about the detoxification of potatoes?"

"I don't know. Is it poisonous if I eat too much?" I shook my head.

“Of course not. As long as you don’t eat sprouted potatoes, you won’t get poisoned,” Bakir explained. “I mean, during potato cultivation, if you see signs such as wrinkled and curled leaves, uneven leaf color, short and weak stems, deformed and cracked tubers, and a year-on-year decrease in yield, it indicates that the potato has degenerated. Seed potato degeneration is caused by viral infection and its accumulation in the tubers, and it is also the main reason for reduced yield and poor marketability.”

He continued, “The special variety you have has only been propagated once so far, and it’s not yet clear whether there’s a degeneration problem. But if potatoes can’t solve the degeneration problem, even the best variety will eventually become mediocre.”

"What should I do? Can I test it now?" I guess the potatoes I planted using the colonist system won't have this problem. But the variety I gave to the jays is a different story. Could they really become more and more stunted, eventually turning into a field full of diseased seedlings?

Baqir took the glass of wine handed to him by Boss Dart and took a swig: "In order to prevent this important discovery from disappearing and to prevent this variety from declining, I will go back tonight and study the detoxification treatment of this new variety!"

A burning flame ignited in his eyes. "Don't worry, leave this to me! I guarantee I'll maximize the quality of this potato variety and fully realize the yield-increasing potential of virus-free potatoes!"

Chapter 250 Disappearance

"Then I'll leave it to you, Mr. Basil!"

I quickly thanked Kong Yi…Bakir, expressing my gratitude for his kindness. Although this middle-aged man wasn't particularly high-status, his professional competence should still be guaranteed. Oh, right, I think he mentioned being a professor at some university in Michigan…?

"Haha, you're welcome! Finding a breakthrough in my research from you would be the greatest help to me!"

Baqir happily drank a glass of wine, his expression completely free of his previous depression and frustration.

"By the way, Mr. Baqir, what exactly are you researching right now? Are there so many plants in this town that you can study?"

I couldn't help but ask. Logically speaking, there shouldn't be any scientific research capabilities in such a remote and impoverished area, and the closed ecosystem of such a small island shouldn't have any complex and unique ecosystems, right? At least an island as large as Australia would need to have species so different from other regions.

“My current research project is actually on those special herbs on the island,” Baqir said, looking down. “Those herbs are varieties that have never been seen outside the island. I heard they also have medicinal value, so I came here to study them.”

Herbs? You mean those things that Dr. Dort collected in huge quantities and kept concocting unknown poisons?

Tsk, if Dr. Dort had followed his previous methods, the best outcome would probably have been developing an anesthetic with this kind of potency, enough to turn someone with a weak constitution into a vegetable on the spot after just one dose. Is this plant even worth researching?

But after I gave my opinion, Basil said happily, "Marcus, you know about this plant too! I didn't expect that you were the one who provided Dort with the method for processing medicinal materials!"

"Hmm? Sir, you know about this too?"

“Of course! The reason I came here is thanks to a letter from Dr. Dort’s mentor. He told me that a student had discovered a special plant on the island, which might be what I’ve been searching for for years, so I brought my family here!” Baqir said to me with a smile. When talking about academic matters, the man’s expression changed from his usual dullness and he became unusually lively.

Dr. Dort's mentor? I remember he was a medical expert who analyzed Mrs. Lilia's condition for Dr. Dort.

"Mr. Baqir, do you also know the doctor's mentor?"

“Yes, before I even entered the University of Michigan Botanical Research Institute, Dort’s mentor was already an industry expert. We had co-authored articles on the classification and cultivation of drugs, so the old gentleman knew exactly what I wanted.”

As Bakir spoke, a look of nostalgia appeared in his eyes.