Chapter 183: Preparation, Steady Development

Bian Changxi nodded. She’d made considerable progress in controlling wood-type abilities. She discovered that she didn’t necessarily have to touch the plant directly to control it—she could transmit energy through other mediums as well.

If the medium was also a plant, it was much easier. If it was soil, thanks to the affinity between plants and earth, it wasn’t too difficult either. But if the medium was stone, walls, or water, it was as if there were a barrier—the energy couldn’t flow smoothly, and splitting her focus to control things through such mediums was nearly impossible.

Of course, if the medium was air, that was a whole different level. Transmitting through air wasn’t about powers anymore, but spiritual force. Right now, she could only look on in awe.

Moreover, even when transmitting her powers, her control wasn’t very strong. To make every blade of grass and every leaf exert great force was still a distant goal.

After reassessing her abilities, Bian Changxi suddenly channeled her energy—not just letting it gently swirl inside the saplings, but actively stimulating their growth potential. The fruit trees immediately shot up, sprouting new buds and leaves, growing strong and lush.

She withdrew her power and let out a light breath, surprised to find sweat already forming on her forehead.

Looking around, she decided to keep up the momentum. Grabbing a shovel, she started digging a branch off the upstream section of the creek.

The soil on the farm was moist and soft, and she was quite strong, so digging wasn’t hard. After an hour or two, she’d dug a shallow channel leading directly to the downstream end, and even made a small pond about two meters in diameter and one and a half meters deep.

The pond was for bathing, with pebbles lining the bottom and high-quality tiles on the walls. The branch stream could be used for raising ducks or doing laundry. As for drinking water, they’d just take it directly from upstream.

She found some frosted sliding doors, like those used in bathrooms, and set them up around the pond to create a partition. Inside, she placed stools, a water bed, a basin rack, a clothes rack, and so on. Just like that, a spacious bathing area was set up. As a civilized person, Bian Changxi had always felt awkward about bathing outdoors. Not to mention, every time she came in, she was usually accompanied by a chubby, clever little beast, which made things even more uncomfortable. She always had to throw some milk outside to distract it before she could bathe, which the creature protested loudly. Now, with this setup, there’d be no more awkwardness.

Once the water had settled and cleared, she quickly took a bath. By then, the chicken soup and fish soup were ready. She and “Milk” (the little beast) enjoyed a hearty meal. By the time she left the farm, night had already fallen and the city lights were just coming on.

Bian Changxi lounged comfortably on her bed, enjoying the cool breeze blowing in from the window, not wanting to move at all. The day’s fatigue seemed to melt away, leaving only a pleasant laziness spreading through her limbs.

She listened carefully. Downstairs, they were probably eating dinner. Earlier, she’d told Aunt Zhao not to call her for dinner, since she had plenty of food in her space. Even if she skipped meals, no one would worry about her starving.

Estimating the time, she heard light footsteps coming up to the third floor. Biting her lip, she jumped off the bed and opened the door—sure enough, Gu Xu was coming up, carrying his jacket.

Their eyes met. He paused slightly, then walked over naturally. “Why didn’t you eat dinner?”

“I ate too many snacks. I’m stuffed.” Bian Changxi replied casually, “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Gu Xu looked a little puzzled.

She added, “It’s more of a business matter.”

A trace of disappointment flashed in Gu Xu’s eyes, but not too much—he’d long expected that, given her personality, she wouldn’t say what he wanted to hear.

Since she wanted to talk business, he was happy to oblige. “Let’s go to the study.”

It was Bian Changxi’s first time in Gu Xu’s study. The overall impression was one of efficiency and simplicity—no clutter, just a sense of order. The bookshelf held hardly any books, just stacks of documents. The desk was covered with various files and two laptops, connected to a mini printer. There were only two or three pens in the holder, all identical, either black or red. There were no unnecessary decorations, but there was a water dispenser. The only empty seats were two guest chairs and a long sofa.

Bian Changxi recalled Aunt Zhao mentioning that Gu Xu often spent the night in his study. She’d noticed that sometimes, once he entered, he wouldn’t come out again—so he probably slept on that sofa. What a guy, she thought, not knowing how to enjoy life, choosing the sofa over a comfortable bed. His bedroom and study were probably just separated by a wall.

“Sit.” Gu Xu hung his jacket on the chair and set down some documents. “I won’t offer you water—after all, it’s from your supply anyway.”

Bian Changxi sat on a guest chair, glanced at the water dispenser, and nodded. “If I want water, I can get it anytime.”

Her gaze shifted to a huge military map on the wall. The capital was marked with a bright red star, and several routes from Sucheng to the capital were drawn in different colors. The lines were bold and steady, as if they could pierce through the paper. She wondered how many times the owner had studied this map.

Following her gaze, Gu Xu said calmly, “I’ve planned several routes, but plans can never keep up with changes. After the apocalypse, many roads are destroyed. The journey will be extremely tough—it might take us months to get there.”

He spoke of difficulties, but his tone was steady, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary, as if no matter how hard the road ahead, he wouldn’t waver or change his mind.

Bian Changxi added, “Actually, the longer we wait, the more strange and powerful creatures will appear, and the more dangerous the journey will become. If we set out now, there might be fewer uncertainties.”

Gu Xu nodded. “I think so too. But if we leave now, we could only bring a handful of people. I want to be fully prepared.”

Loyal and capable people, knowledge of the world, suitable advanced weapons, a stable survival model, enough supplies—all these needed time to build. Without them, if just a few people went to the capital, with no influence or power, they’d be constrained at every turn and unable to accomplish much.

That’s why Gu Xu chose to stay in Sucheng for the time being.

It was a decision made after careful consideration of all the pros and cons.

Bian Changxi thought that if she were in Gu Xu’s position, she probably wouldn’t be able to eat or sleep well, always worrying about the situation in the capital. Letting go, biding one’s time, and quietly building strength—this was exactly what was needed.

She figured Gu Xu would definitely approve of the water plant idea.

So she explained it in detail, only briefly mentioning that Chen Yisha was under family pressure and in a difficult situation. But Gu Xu was no fool—she only had to say a little, and he could piece together the rest. Once she finished, he’d already considered the various aspects—expansion, entrepreneurship, profit, influence, and outcomes. After a moment’s thought, he looked at her with approval. “That’s an excellent idea.”

He continued, “When I set up the factory, it was mainly to solve some livelihood and daily life problems, to bring some order to people’s activities on a small scale. But honestly, a lot of the work has been narrow in scope and informal.”

For example, the handicraft factory only hired women and children. The construction workers were mostly people who’d done that kind of work before. The research team was also a small, specialized group.

The biggest flaw was that everything was just small-scale operations within the Jiangcheng group. But Bian Changxi’s proposal would have Jiangcheng people serving the entire base, earning money from the whole base. The market, influence, and profits would be enormous.

Moreover, water plants and power plants could be scaled up and systematized, even turned into chains, building a solid reputation. With this as their foundation, Jiangcheng’s people could truly step out into the base, even becoming the high-end workforce on the production line, reaping the benefits.

He’d also set up a water supply at the factory, gathering water-type users to provide water for those in need, but compared to Bian Changxi’s idea, it was much more limited and small-minded.

Bian Changxi felt a little embarrassed—these were all things she’d seen in her previous life, not her own original ideas.

She said, “Actually, this is just an extension of the factory’s various businesses. You’ve already done most of what needs to be done, just not on a base-wide scale. Your focus probably wasn’t on this area, and besides, this kind of thing takes a lot of energy to manage.” She thought for a moment and added, “In fact, water and ice plants are everywhere in the base. I saw people selling water privately today, but it’s all very scattered. No one dares challenge the base’s authority. In the old days, these industries were supposed to be state-owned. Who would dare run them privately, let alone make them big and strong?”

So if they wanted to do this, they’d face a lot of resistance.

Gu Xu looked at her, a hint of admiration in his eyes. She had sharp and unique insights, and was humble and meticulous. She was even giving him a way to save face. If only she could apply this thoughtfulness to her feelings...

But, oh well. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. No one is perfect. Some people have broad vision and great ambition, but can’t see into their own hearts. Some are willing to take any risk, but are most timid and conservative when it comes to emotions. He couldn’t ask for too much.

He looked away, grabbed a sheet of A4 paper, and started writing quickly as he spoke: “This isn’t actually that difficult. We don’t need much in the way of resources—the most important thing is people. We need management talent to oversee operations, skilled communicators for external relations. The core workforce would be water, ice, fire, and earth-type users, but we’d hire those without combat ability or those unwilling to go out on dangerous missions. For support, logistics, and delivery, ordinary people can handle it.”

He smiled. “If we think bigger, we could even get into express delivery and logistics. I’m sure others have had the same idea. Zhu Yiming, who’s in charge of external rescues, told me that some people are already developing a service process for this—providing rescue equipment, shuttle vehicles, base ‘tours’ for newcomers, hotel recommendations, help with paperwork, and earning commissions from it.”

Thanks to ""Leisurely Tea"" for the safety charm!

And to ""Can't Touch It"" for the pink ticket!

Glad I made the deadline—I'll fix any errors later~~l3l4"