At eleven o'clock deep into the night, Naoki and Koraidon returned to the ranch after a day of work.
Even deep into the night, the ranch remained brightly lit.
Since the day he returned from Casseroya Lake, Naoki began researching the stone path in the ranch.
But without professional machinery, he couldn't grind the stones into plates, so he resorted to using wooden boards to lay a path in the ranch.
These days, they were busy until late at night. For lighting, Naoki made torches using wooden sticks and cloth soaked in oil, placing them on both sides of the wooden path.
Once it got dark, lighting the torches could illuminate quite a large area.
Under the firelight, the entire ranch seemed livelier.
It was so late that when Naoki returned home, the Cyclizar had already fallen asleep under the eaves.
Naoki did not wake it but instead worked with Koraidon to pour the fish from the fishing nets into the small lake in the ranch.
Without a vehicle, their method of fishing was quite cumbersome.
Naoki would spread bait on the lake surface in advance, and after a while, the nearby fish would gather there.
Then it was Koraidon's turn to act; it fished in this waterway while Naoki angled in another, filling the fishing nets before airlifting the full net of fish back to the ranch.
Finally, they dumped the fish into the lake, waiting for Zack to come and collect them the next evening.
As long as Koraidon moved at full speed, it could get the fish to the lake before they suffocated.
Of course, some fish did not survive, and Naoki would often use them to concoct meals as a reward for Koraidon.
For convenience, they had prelaid an oversized fishing net at the lake's bottom.
This way, when Zack came to collect them, he could gather the four corners of the net, catching all the fish in one scoop.
Notably, to make room for the fish, Naoki had placed the few Magikarp he had carelessly tossed there back into the river.
"Good job!"
Naoki used the hem of his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face, smiling brightly at Koraidon.
Koraidon wiped the sweat from its face with its big paw: "Roooo~"
Naoki looked around, noticing it was getting late, and said, "Let's call it a day!"
They returned to the wooden cabin, Naoki waking the Cyclizar to go indoors and sleep, while he headed to the kitchen area to prepare some supper.
The noise woke up Smoliv and Alcremie, who opened their eyes and looked over.
So Naoki had to make two more portions.
The pleasant supper time ended, and Smoliv and Alcremie went back to sleep.
Koraidon was too exhausted today to feel competitive with Cyclizar, returning to its place, yawning and resting its head on its paws to sleep.
While Cyclizar stood by Naoki's side.
"Roar..."
Naoki took off his dirty blue overalls, leaving only a thin white t-shirt.
Seeing Cyclizar's appearance, he reached out to pat its head and said, "Things will get better after this period. Nothing major happened at the ranch today, right?"
Cyclizar, who had been diligently guarding the place recently, shook its head in response, "Roar!"
"That's good." Naoki smiled and said, "You've done a great job; I should thank you properly."
"Roar..."
Naoki patted its shoulder, "Alright, it's late, go sleep. I'll get to bed after I finish recording the accounts!"
Cyclizar obediently went to sleep.
Naoki took out the ledger to record the day's income.
The main source of the ranch's recent significant income came from the fish they caught from Casseroya Lake and the western Paldea Sea.
As for the eggs laid by the hens, Naoki did not sell them, instead making them into steamed, boiled, fried, and scrambled eggs to reward the Pokémon.
After deducting the cost for bait and fishing nets, they earned a total of 43,320 League coins over five days.
Once they sold the fish from the lake tomorrow and added the remaining money, his savings would exceed 50,000 League coins.
Although tiring, looking at the drawer full of money filled Naoki with energy.
The labor day and night had made his body stronger, with more defined muscles and a noticeably tanner skin, making him more and more like a real rancher.
"Just right, I can finally take a good rest for a while!"
Naoki stretched comfortably, leaning back in his chair, contemplating the tasks for the next day.
Now that he had money, he planned to go to the town to find Keri and sort out the Salt House, although he wasn't sure if those Nacli would come to the ranch, but being prepared wouldn't hurt.
Besides, he needed to buy more Poke Balls, so while Keri was constructing the Salt House, he could check out Casseroya Lake to see if he could catch a Skiddo, Gogoat, or Tropius.
Once these things were done, the first batch of crops they planted should be ready for harvest.
After harvesting, they had to plow the fields again to plant the next batch of seeds.
With these thoughts in mind, Naoki glanced at the old clock on the wall, realizing it was nearly one o'clock in the morning.
Naoki: "..."
Time to sleep, time to sleep!
Early the next morning, Naoki went to the friendly store in town to purchase ten Poke Balls.
Although it cost him 2,000 League coins, Naoki believed that the Pokémon he caught with them would surely bring far more value than that.
After leaving the store, he headed to Keri's woodworking shop, located at the edge of town, in a cabin in the woods.
Keri, wearing a light blue work outfit, was chopping wood with an axe.
Seeing Naoki arrive, she raised an eyebrow slightly: "I've heard from Zack about what you've been doing these days. He said you and Koraidon caught a lot of fish and made quite a bit of money. Impressive!"
Naoki smiled, "After all, the ranch has so many Pokémon waiting to be raised, there's no choice but to work hard!"
Keri looked up and down at the young man in front of her.
Compared to their first meeting, his body had become much more muscular, and his skin was tanned, making him look healthier.
Keri admired, "Not bad, you're becoming more like a real rancher! You haven't met the other ranchers in the area, have you?"
Naoki shook his head, "I haven't had the chance to visit them yet. Is there something about them?"
Keri laughed, "Each of them is quite large and muscular, with years of farmwork making them very strong, and I feel you'll become like them one day too."
Naoki shrugged nonchalantly.
He's never been very concerned about his appearance.
After some brief small talk, Keri got down to business, "What do you want me to build this time?"
"Salt House," Naoki replied.
All things considered, raising Nacli to collect and sell rock salt was one of the most profitable ventures.
So, he prioritized the construction of the Salt House.