Chapter 82: The Medicinal Herbs Matured Early

Hu Cuilan withdrew her hand from hitting her son and, noticing An Nan’s slightly downcast expression, suddenly thought of something.

She called out in her loud voice, “Girl! Come inside and eat with us!”

An Nan snapped out of her thoughts. “No need, Auntie, I’ve already eaten. You all go ahead and have dinner.”

As she spoke, she handed her things to Zhao Ping’an and was about to leave.

Zhao Ping’an quickly called after her, “Idol, wait a sec, let me give you something in exchange!”

An Nan waved her hand. “I didn’t take anything from Peipei either, so how could I take yours? Go on, get inside and eat. This meal’s on me.”

Zhao Ping’an didn’t insist. “Alright, next time it’ll be my treat.”

An Nan smiled. “That’s what Peipei said too. Looks like you’ll have to get in line.”

With that, she waved goodbye and headed downstairs for home.

Hu Cuilan watched An Nan’s departing figure and sighed, “She’s really a good kid.”

Zhao Ping’an reminded her, “Mom, didn’t you used to say she cuts people down like vegetables, and might even break my leg if I’m not careful?”

Hu Cuilan gave him another punch. “You little rascal, do you have to contradict me at every turn?”

After hitting him, she headed home, grumbling as she walked, “You have to be ruthless when it’s called for, but you also need some humanity to be a real person with flesh and blood. I think this girl’s got what it takes—she won’t go wrong in the future!”

By the time An Nan finished her errands and got home, it was already completely dark.

The temperature had dropped a bit compared to the daytime, but only just a little.

She adjusted the air conditioning slightly, then slipped into her space with her dog.

As usual, Fugui ran off to drink from the spring. An Nan was used to it by now and didn’t bother with him. She headed straight to the experimental field to check on the medicinal herbs she’d neglected for days.

She carefully compared the plants to the pictures on her tablet and was surprised to find that the isatis root she’d planted was already mature!

What was going on?

She’d done her research before—normally, isatis root takes six months to mature. It had only been three months, so how could it be ready already?

She couldn’t believe it and checked again—sure enough, they were mature.

Could it be that time in the manor was different from the outside world, running faster?

But she quickly ruled that out.

Before sowing, she’d run an experiment with apples, observing their oxidation and decay. The passage of time here matched the outside world exactly.

The only difference was that the manor didn’t have seasons. Even though it was already November outside, the manor was still vibrant and full of life.

Logically, since time flowed the same, the herbs shouldn’t have matured faster.

An Nan thought for a while and figured the reason must be the soil or the irrigation water.

Either the manor’s soil was especially rich, or the spring water she used for irrigation had some effect that promoted plant growth.

She dug up a root to check. The root was long, straight, thick, and even—excellent quality.

Looking closer, she realized that even as a beginner, the isatis root she’d grown looked better than what was sold on the market.

Of course, she wasn’t narcissistic enough to think it was all thanks to her natural talent.

It was probably the space’s doing.

She thought for a moment, then took small samples of the soil and spring water, planning to find a chance to have Zhao Ping’an analyze them and see if he could figure anything out.

Looking at her lush green experimental field, An Nan hadn’t expected her first attempt at growing medicinal herbs to go so smoothly.

Excited, she started harvesting.

First, she harvested the leaves—called Daqingye, which are also medicinal and can be used to treat jaundice, sore throats, fever, headaches, and mouth ulcers.

Only after harvesting the leaves could she dig up the roots—the isatis root itself.

Just as she finished harvesting the Daqingye, she was kicked out of the space.

Seeing that it was still early for bed, An Nan went back to her room, lay on her bed, and continued harvesting the roots using her consciousness.

Mental power could be trained through conscious use. When An Nan first started moving things in the space with her mind, she’d get exhausted quickly.

Now, though, she could efficiently do farm work this way.

She worked for another three hours before finally falling asleep from exhaustion...

The next day, An Nan had a simple breakfast. Instead of physical training, she continued using her consciousness to dig up the remaining isatis root.

After more than two hours of work, she finally finished harvesting all the roots.

Excited, she slipped into the space, touched the fruits of her hard labor, and laid out the roots to dry.

She’d harvested a total of 150 kilograms of isatis root this time—a very good yield.

With this successful experience, An Nan decided to expand the experimental field and open up more planting space.

She got right to work, marking out the area and starting to turn the soil.

After half an hour, she exited the space and switched to using her mental power to continue.

She never used up her entire daily quota of time in the space all at once.

She always saved some, just in case of emergencies.

After all, the space was her way to blink and phase through walls, and her key to survival.

Working with her mind was the same—just more mentally tiring. But since it could train her mental power, why not?

An Nan leaned back on the sofa, eyes closed, turning the soil in the manor with her mind. Fugui, thinking his owner was napping, lazily sprawled beside her.

By the time An Nan finished, it was already noon, and the outside temperature had risen to 42 degrees Celsius.

In just one day, the temperature had nearly reached the pre-disaster extreme.

The scariest part was, it would keep rising—at its peak, it could even reach 60 degrees.

An Nan stood by the window, looking out at the silence that had returned outside.

The residents who’d only just resumed normal life for two days were trapped indoors again, not daring to move.

After all, every household was short on medicine. If someone got heatstroke and didn’t get timely treatment, with the temperature so high, it could easily turn into heat illness.

And if you got heat illness and couldn’t get medical help, your life would be in danger.

An Nan looked at the land outside, which had been soaked by floodwaters but was now completely dried out.

She stared in a daze for a while, suddenly feeling that heaven had left humanity a sliver of hope after all.

After all, it had waited until all the water had receded before suddenly raising the temperature like this.

If the floodwaters, several meters deep, were still there when the extreme heat hit, then everyone—including her—would be doomed.

The building would become a giant steamer, with them as the meat inside, and the water below getting hotter and hotter. Before the water even dried up, everyone would be cooked.

An Nan recalled those food bloggers’ slow-steamed steaks and couldn’t help but shiver."