It was still early. After buying the blueprints from Robin, Ron turned around and crafted a few streetlights, installing them on the path leading from the farm to Pelican Town.
He then paved the ground as well.
Luckily, the synthesized ground was also a concept-level item; just placing it down completed the path.
By the time he finished, it was only nine o'clock. After breakfast, Ron busied himself with the usual farm work.
Meanwhile, Leah, in her cabin, woke up early today.
As winter approached, Leah had been busy preparing for the coming season.
Unlike Linus, who was fine with occasionally visiting the Pokémon Center or general store to buy some vegetables and fruits, and sometimes relied on instant food when obsessed with creation…
…usually, she preferred to gather mountain goods with her own hands.
For example, Hazelnuts could be processed into hazelnut butter.
Peeling and boiling wild-collected Hazelnuts, then adding her own collected Maple Syrup.
Even Leah, who didn't love bread, would bake a loaf over the fireplace in winter when heavy snow fell outside the window.
Steaming hot, soft bread with a slight burnt aroma, wrapped in a layer of sweet and rich hazelnut butter.
Just thinking about that scene made Leah unconsciously squint her eyes.
Pelican Town was getting chilly now, but not yet cold enough for gloves. She rubbed her hands, slung a basket over her arm, and headed towards Cindersap Forest with Deerling.
Besides hazelnuts, the autumn forest was scattered with many mushrooms.
Common mushrooms could be sliced and pan-fried in a small pot, or boiled with corn and cream into cream soup.
As for Chanterelles, Leah needed to clean them carefully after collecting, tear them into strips, and slow-fry them in hot oil.
The resulting jar of oil was amazingly fragrant, whether used for mixing noodles or tossed with vegetables and vinaigrette into a salad.
Planning this out, Leah picked wild plums from a nearby tree into her basket.
"Deerling!" Deerling called out, digging up Chanterelles buried in the soil, then made space for Leah.
"Thanks for your hard work!" Leah said, crouching down to collect the cluster of chanterelles into her basket.
Following Deerling along the way, picking as they went, by the time Leah filled her basket, it was noon.
Thinking about visiting Ron in the afternoon, Leah specifically set aside some chanterelles to make a jar of chanterelle oil to bring along.
After resigning and moving here to focus on art, she really couldn't offer any other gifts.
Although she hadn't visited the farm in a while, she heard Robin had been helping Ron build a new Coop and Barn, plus the farm had recently rented the plot of land behind Marnie's Ranch.
She guessed the farm must be developing quite well now, even having won the championship at the exhibition recently.
"I hope he doesn't mind," Leah said, tearing the Chanterelles soaking in water apart strip by strip with her hands.
The key to making this oil was that the chanterelles had to be in strips; this way, when boiling in the oil, stirring with a spatula wouldn't crush the chanterelle stems.
If crushed, the inconsistent sizes would result in some chanterelles not being fried through while others were already burnt.
"Deerling!"
Deerling, mouth full of leaves, looked at Leah and called out.
Seeing this, Leah wiped the moisture from her hands, took some dried fruit from a jar nearby, and held it out to Deerling's mouth.
"Deerling!"
Deerling quickly chewed the leaves in its mouth, then snatched the dried fruit Leah offered, frolicking happily in the open space.
The autumn wind was bleak; Leah sneezed, washed her hands, hurriedly finished processing the chanterelles, brought them inside, and called Deerling in as well.
Lighting the fire, Leah poured a full pot of oil into the pan.
Once the oil temperature was right, she put all the chanterelles in, then walked aside to pick a suitable jar, washing and drying it.
The pot was making crackling sounds. Outside the window, withered leaves drifted down slowly with the autumn breeze. Leah stirred the chanterelles in the pot while watching the leaves outside.
By the time the oil was done and cooled down, it was already afternoon.
Holding the jar of oil, Leah walked towards the farm with Deerling.
As soon as she entered the gate, she saw Ron harvesting grass with Shane, and Bellossom using Grassy Terrain nearby.
Noticing the movement, Ron turned his head and greeted Leah.
"Good afternoon." Ron paused, glanced at Deerling, and waved at it.
"Deerling?" Deerling looked up at Leah. Seeing Leah nod, it ran towards Ron.
There was also a Miltank leisurely chewing grass in the pasture. Ron held some grass out to Deerling's mouth.
Deerling sniffed it, then began chewing.
Seeing this, Miltank generously made space, enthusiastically inviting Deerling to eat together.
Miltank's situation on the farm was slightly special.
Since there was no work to be busy with, it just ate grass every day and produced some Moomoo Milk.
It was out of place among those busy Pokémon.
Even Ditto had found work under Indeedee's direction during this period—transforming into Indeedee's form and organizing the Barn and Coop together with Indeedee.
It wasn't exactly boring; after all, when there was nothing to do, it could tease those creatures on the farm that looked somewhat similar to itself but were exceptionally stupid and unnamed.
But compared to them, it definitely welcomed these equally intelligent Pokémon who also loved eating grass.
Seeing Deerling and Miltank getting along happily, Leah walked over to Ron holding the jar.
"What's this?" Ron asked upon seeing it.
"Mm, a type of oil." Leah showed him the contents of the jar. "Fried with chanterelles. The taste is quite good. I made a bit extra and wanted to bring some for you to try."
According to naming conventions, this oil should probably be called Chanterelle Oil.
But because it was too awkward to say, Leah didn't mention it.
Ron quickly accepted it.
It happened to be dinner time, so Ron invited Leah to stay for dinner.
Perhaps because she hadn't communicated with people for a long time, Leah was unexpectedly talkative. She chattered about what she had collected today and how she planned to make hazelnut butter later.
Ron listened quietly, following Leah's recommended method: boiling some noodles in water, draining them, then drizzling some oil on top.
It was fried with chili, so besides the unique aroma of chanterelles, there was also a hint of spiciness.
Mixed with the noodles, then placing blanched vegetables on the side, topped with two fried eggs.
A simple dinner was ready. Ron turned his head and saw the Rattatas drooling while listening about the hazelnut butter.
Ron smiled, brought the dinner to the table, then asked, "How about this: tomorrow they go with you to collect hazelnuts, then we make hazelnut butter together at the farm? They seem to really crave it."
Before Leah could respond, the Rattatas nearby were already cheering.
------------------------------------------------------
40+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)