Darkstone Code-Chapter 802 - 800: Pure Color, Custom-Grown

Speaking of Kleve...

Lynch thought of Pure Gold among the pure colors, the kind of top-tier pure color that comes from a neighboring country, reportedly with very complex processing techniques.

The various components within the top tobacco leaves are higher in content than ordinary leaves. This results in the top Kleve, if made into products directly without processing, giving a somewhat overly astringent and spicy taste when smoked.

To alleviate this, during tobacco leaf processing, they would soak the leaves briefly in milk to neutralize the overly stimulating components, making smoking less uncomfortable.

This led to the creation of three top-tier Pure Gold Kleve varieties.

Original Flavor—short soaking neutralizes those components, and then they are air-dried in segments, rolled into Kleve, wrapped in gold foil, and boxed.

Milky Flavor—long soaking allows the fragrance of colostrum to permeate the tobacco leaves, then air-dried, offering a smoother taste with a distinct milky aroma during smoking, but losing the stimulation that high-grade Kleve tobacco leaves should have.

Flavored—after the first process, some spices or even various famous liquors are added, with a second roasting of the tobacco leaves to ensure these aromas deeply penetrate the leaves.

Brands like "Ancient Snake" and "Deep Red" are among the outstanding ones that fall outside the original or milky flavor categories.

Since high-end pure colors are custom products, it can be said that each named high-end Pure Gold is unique.

Every year, the Federation consumes at least a few hundred million, sometimes over a billion Kleve, which is why tobacco smuggling is rampant.

The immense profits allure both domestic and international smugglers into the industry, including Ghost Face Mushroom, an intoxicating and highly hallucinogenic mushroom, which has become extremely popular in underground channels.

For these highly profitable goods, the border has never known peace.

Lynch initially thought this was just a...small piece of trivia, but didn’t expect this trivia to have connections with him today.

In the afternoon, a company called "Every Moment" called him. Initially, Lynch didn’t realize what Every Moment Company did; he vaguely felt like he’d heard of it somewhere but didn’t have a strong impression.

It wasn’t until they introduced themselves that he remembered Mr. Wardrick had mentioned this company.

"...We are one of the world’s largest Kleve manufacturers, Mr. Lynch, you have qualified for the custom Pure Gold service; do you need this custom service?"

The phone salesperson—let’s just call her a "Salesperson"—said that due to a recommendation, along with Lynch’s personal influence in the Federation meeting the custom standards for Pure Gold, he could order a batch from Every Moment.

Late February to early March is the next planting season for tobacco leaves. It seems like three months away, but in reality, time doesn’t wait that long.

After the New Year, they’ll begin selecting the best seeds for nurturing, transplanting the best-growing original tobacco plants into the fields for natural catalysis after spring arrives.

Strictly speaking, if there’s no word by late January, one might as well not expect to get Pure Gold next year.

Of course, some special varieties are sown before the first snowfall, which Lynch can no longer catch up with.

With Mr. Wardrick’s recommendation and Lynch’s recent actions further elevating his influence, he has qualified for the "Pure Gold Club."

This top-tier luxury consumer group doesn’t just require wealth to join; it also considers reputation, societal influence, and the customer’s impression in social circles.

There’s no requirement for it to be outstanding, but at least not overly negative, or it would cause discomfort to the company and other high-end club members.

Lynch didn’t hesitate much and agreed, "What should I do?"

The salesperson’s voice became friendlier, "If you are sure you need this custom service, we will arrange a special envoy to serve you. When would you be available?"

"How about today..."

"Okay, I will arrange for a special envoy to visit you right away. Would you mind leaving an address?"

"..."

"A special envoy will be serving you shortly, Mr. Lynch. Have a pleasant life, goodbye!"

It turns out the power of money is indeed great; this "shortly" was really shortly, not just lip service.

In less than fifteen minutes, the guard post at the community entrance called to say that an employee claiming to be from "Every Moment" wanted to visit Lynch. After Lynch confirmed, the guard let them in.

Three minutes later, the villa door was knocked.

Austin answered the door, now fully taking over the Senior Soldier’s duties. She first scrutinized the girl outside the door, then identified herself, hoping to check the girl’s belongings.

For a stranger proactively visiting, it was very difficult to see Lynch directly without passing a security check, unlike Lynch suddenly feeling the urge to visit someone else.

Lynch visiting people is highly random and usually doesn’t lead to terrible incidents.

But when others visit proactively, there is a certain threat, a possibility of danger.

After undergoing a stringent and thorough inspection, the girl from Every Moment entered the villa.

She did not feel any resentment towards Lynch’s bodyguards for checking her personal items or even frisking her. As long as the money was right, she was willing to enter the house naked to talk business with Lynch, let alone go through a routine security check.

She had more or less encountered such situations with other wealthy individuals.

She was a beautiful girl, with very fair skin, and tall stature, appearing to be about five foot seven inches (around one hundred seventy-three centimeters), with a good figure.

What stood out the most were her lake-blue eyes!

"Hello, Mr. Lynch, I am a Special Envoy from Every Moment, my name is Nancy..." She handed her business card and identification to Lynch.

Lynch glanced at the business card, "You’re not from the Federation?"

Nancy sat beside Lynch and shook her head, "I’m not locally born; I come from nearby..."

"Mariluo?"

"Yes, I come from Mariluo."

Mariluo is the Federation’s northwestern neighbor, with populations mainly comprising Mariluo and Marlory ethnic groups. The Mariluo constitute the major societal population, whereas the Marlory, though fewer, were the former ruling class.

The ongoing chaotic situation in Mariluo is closely related to these two major ethnic groups. The ethnic and tribal conflicts are not easily resolved, which is why Mariluo has been continuously turbulent over the years.

The characteristics of these two ethnic groups are very distinguishable; the Mariluo have silver-gray irises, while the Marlory have blue irises.

In the past, they believed the blue irises indicated a more noble status.

The lady Nancy in front of him was a typical Marlory.

"Your eyes are beautiful!" Lynch complimented.

He had no ulterior motives to do anything, merely a simple compliment. Indeed in the Federation, blue eyes are not that common, and not that light blue, but lake-blue, very deep and captivating.

"Thank you!" Nancy smiled as she thanked him and then took out two albums and placed them on the table.

She casually picked up one and opened it.

Inside were some landscapes of Mariluo, vast hills gleaming with vibrant vitality under the sun, even as mere photos, one could feel the life energy emanating strongly.

"This is where we grow the tobacco leaves. Let me first introduce our work and how Kleve transforms from seed into the finished product in our cigarette boxes."

Under Nancy’s detailed and vivid introduction, Lynch comprehended the entire planting and processing procedure. Whether her words contained exaggerations or not was uncertain, but Nancy’s narrative was truly engaging.

"You now meet the criteria for custom service. Next, you can select a plot for planting your personally exclusive tobacco leaves..." She continued flipping through and introducing the different features of each plot available to Lynch.

Some areas have longer sunshine durations, resulting in the tobacco being spicier; some places have shorter sunshine durations, making it less spicy.

The distance of tobacco fields from water sources, soil composition, elevation—all these become essential factors in the final taste of the tobacco.

Expensive things have their reasons for the high cost. Until now, Nancy hadn’t mentioned the price, but Lynch knew it definitely wasn’t a small amount.

However, he did need a symbol of his status now that he had reached this point, and he had no reason to trouble himself over a trivial amount.

With Nancy’s assistance and recommendations, Lynch had chosen the seed variety and tobacco fields, yet the entire process was far from being complete.

Next, Nancy opened another album, filled with pictures of beautiful girls in swimsuits.

"You need to choose two tobacco farmers for your tobacco fields, Mr. Lynch."

"To maximize the avoidance of modern products harming them, when these farmers take care of your tobacco fields, we’ll ensure they have no post-processing products on them..."

Lynch slightly interrupted her, "You mean to say that they’re not wearing clothes while tending to those tobacco?"

Nancy nodded without any embarrassment despite being a woman herself; a diligent Salesperson should be able to handle any situation.

"Clothing, woven materials, contain dyes. If washed, they require detergent; if unwashed, they would stink."

"We do not prohibit tobacco farmers from wearing clothes, but wearing clothes might degrade the final color of your Kleve. To ensure the Kleve you receive is unique in the world and the best, we maintain that they grow without any pollution or interference."

"If interested in these details, you can visit the site to see how they work."

Lynch rubbed the second knuckle of his right hand’s index finger with his thumb; he hadn’t had much time recently.

However, after a while, perhaps once late spring moves into early summer next year, he might have time...