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And it wasn’t something that could happen quickly.

Dead leaves and stalks would darken and fall. Then the insects would break them down into a powder. How long would it take for layers and layers of that to accumulate?

 

“Now, put some of the dirt into your mouth.”

“The dirt!?”

Adelia could not hide her shock at his words.

Obviously, she had never eaten dirt in her life. And she knew it was not clean.

 

“Yes, this is a very important part.”

Upon saying this, Qudels’s finger managed to dump some dirt into her partially opened mouth.

 

“Ugggh…pfft…pahh… It’s very sandy.”

“You can spit it all out now. How was it? Sour?”

“Now that you mention it, it was a little sour.”

 

Adelia managed to use her finger and saliva to get the dirt out of her mouth. Then she turned a hateful glare towards Qudels.

This was a most unladylike thing, and she was glad that her parents were not here to see it.

However, Qudels ignored her and continued to talk.

 

“Soil generally tastes sour and bitter. And these two types of soil have properties that erase each other. As for the plants themselves, some of them are suited for sour soil and some are not.”

 

“In the beginning, you said the soil here was no good. In other words, I believe you are suggesting that the crops that are planted here are not suited for sour soil?”

“Exactly. This village primarily grows wheat and barley. Those prefer soil that isn’t sour.”

 

Indeed, the best level of acidity for growing wheat was 6 to 6.5.

It was practically neutral and was commonly called alkali soil.

 

“I was wondering, are there any plants that prefer bitter soil?”

“Well, soil that tastes bitter is incredibly special. It is usually found in places that used to be the sea, or where there was once volcanic activity.”

 

They were called ultrabasic rock weathered soil areas and mainly consisted of limestone, serpentine, and olivine.

 

“But such locations are too harsh for crops, and they are unlikely to grow there. As far as I am aware, they are mostly just wastelands that may as well be deserts. However, it is in such places that plants with special properties grow. A lot of them are used as medicine, for instance. However, they usually have problems in terms of reproduction and growth speed. Also, many are equipped with poison for self-defense. So they are not something that novices should get their hands on.”

 

So saying, Qudels moved on to the next subject.

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