Chapter 199: Expanding the Land, Plant More and More

Thinking of Gu Xu’s expression—like having too much money was such a hassle—Bian Changxi couldn’t help but find it amusing. When this guy joked around, he really looked the part. Even Zhuge Qian was left red-faced with frustration, probably seething with envy.

At the time, Zhuge Qian had said a few noncommittal words, then rolled up his sleeves and left. Gu Xu and Bian Changxi didn’t bother with him, lingering at the scene for a while longer.

Counting the water-ability users in the three hundred-strong hunting group and the five hundred soldiers, there were at least several dozen. With twenty people per group rotating in shifts, they could easily go four or five rounds. It was already past 4:30, almost 5:00 pm—plenty of time before curfew, so there was no need to recruit anyone else.

Seeing that everything was chaotic but still running smoothly, Gu Xu didn’t stick around any longer and left by car.

It was only after getting in the car that Bian Changxi asked, “Is Zhuge Qian going to be a problem?”

In her memory, Zhuge Qian was a ruthless character, definitely not someone who just talked big.

Gu Xu thought for a moment. Since Wu Dalang’s Shadow was also in the car, he figured it was worth letting them in on things. “Zhuge Qian is far from useless, despite appearances. All the units in the base getting off work early today? That was probably his doing. He’s both Zhuge Yunma’s beloved son and his trusted lieutenant. The fact that Ge Jianhua’s only son got schemed against might very well be thanks to Zhuge Qian.”

“From what I know, he’s narrow-minded and holds grudges. He especially can’t stand people his age and status outshining him.”

“So Ge Han?” Qiu Yun asked as he drove.

“Yeah, that’s part of it,” Gu Xu replied. “They’ve been at each other’s throats for a while.”

Speaking of people with similar status, Bian Changxi suddenly remembered someone. “Speaking of equals, wasn’t Qu Nan on the same level as him back then?”

“You didn’t hear? Qu Nan isn’t a ‘prince’ anymore. He severed ties with Qu Shangjin and disappeared,” Qiu Yun chimed in, then added, “Though ‘disappeared’ is just a cover—he’s actually working for our boss now.”

Bian Changxi later learned the whole story: Qu Shangjin insisted on going against Gu Xu, while Qu Nan stubbornly opposed his father. During the poisoning incident, Gu Xu got angry and had Qu Nan fake being poisoned to beg his father for the antidote. In the end, the old man was so focused on fighting Gu Xu that he didn’t even care about his own son. This broke Qu Nan’s heart, and their relationship was officially over. Later, Qu Nan “disappeared”—some said he’d died of illness, but since the illness was fake, he obviously didn’t die. Instead, he’d gone to work for Gu Xu.

But that was all in the past. Now, thinking of Qu Nan, Bian Changxi vaguely recalled that she’d once made a deal with him: he’d show her street surveillance footage to help find Bian Kuang, and in return, she’d help him with her wood powers when he needed them. After all this time, she’d nearly forgotten both the deal and the person.

Thinking of Qu Nan inevitably brought to mind Xiao Jing—the son of the public security bureau chief. He’d probably been through a lot too, and was now just another forgotten figure, lost to history.

Ge Han had fallen from grace; how much longer could Zhuge Qian stay arrogant?

She glanced at Niunai, who was obediently sitting on her lap, bandaged with her vine leaves and resting. It really was survival of the fittest—this world was a constant elimination match, and only those with skill and ability could survive, day after day, year after year. In the end, only the elite remained.

Everyone was striving to be elite. If you let your guard down for a moment, you’d be left behind. Without such fierce, brutal competition pushing people forward, maybe no one would have the courage and perseverance to face such a disaster-ridden, bloody world...

Alright, Bian Changxi admitted, she was getting sentimental again.

The convoy arrived near the residential area, and people got off in groups. Only a few empty vehicles were left to head to the factory’s massive parking lot or return to the military camp under construction.

Gu Xu said he was going to check on the factory, but really, he was delivering cotton for processing, sending wood to be dried for charcoal, and dealing with the mutant beast carcasses. After all, spatial abilities didn’t preserve things—leave them too long and they’d lose their value.

Qiu Yun saw the boss had been busy all day and still had to worry about these little things, so he volunteered to supervise in his place. Gu Xu didn’t insist, and assigned a few others to check on the herbal garden, the planting base, and other places. At a street corner, he got out with Bian Changxi, Wu Dalang, and Shadow. The villa area was just a block away—no need to take the car.

It was already quite late. The sun had long since set, the sky was a vast gray, and the freezing wind howled down the street, bringing a bone-chilling cold.

Bian Changxi looked at Gu Xu and thought, “Here’s a local warlord, and he still has to walk home—no private car. No one would believe it if I told them.” For some reason, she found it funny.

They strolled home, and the four of them went to their own rooms to freshen up. Bian Changxi locked the door, hugged Niunai, and entered the farm. Compared to outside, the farm was so much more comfortable and pleasant. She carefully checked Niunai over again, making sure he wasn’t seriously hurt. His bones were delicate, but his skin was thick.

Niunai rubbed pitifully against her leg. Bian Changxi tapped his head, laughing, “Alright, drop the act. You think I can’t tell you’re not really hurt? You lazy thing, you’re even learning to play dead just to get out of training.”

Niunai kept rubbing against her, refusing to give up.

Bian Changxi sighed. She really couldn’t spoil him too much—he was turning into a pet dog. No, more like a pet cat; dogs weren’t this clingy.

She tossed him into the creek to wash himself, then got a bowl of machine-processed fresh milk and a sandwich Aunt Zhao had made. She washed up herself, changed into loose casual clothes, soaked her special gear for a while, gently scrubbed it clean, and hung it up to dry.

That’s when she realized she was missing a clothesline and hangers. Before, she’d just tossed dirty clothes or left them for the solar-powered washing machine. Outerwear could be worn straight out of storage, a little damp didn’t matter—she’d never thought about drying clothes.

She searched the warehouse and found a stainless steel folding rack. After hanging up her clothes, she saw Niunai sprawled on the ground, happily eating, with half a fat fish he’d caught himself beside his paw.

Ever since she’d banned him from eating meat, he’d vented his frustration by catching fish and shrimp in the creek every day, and now he couldn’t go a day without fish.

He was picky, too—only eating the back of the fish, not the belly, head, or tail. She’d tried to teach him otherwise, but couldn’t break his spoiled habits. He wouldn’t eat the leftover fish, chicken, duck, beef, or lamb, so she thought maybe she should get a puppy or kitten for the farm, maybe even a sheepdog, so the fish wouldn’t go to waste.

She went to fetch the herbs she’d left in the warehouse and planted them one by one. There were only one or two of each species, but she generously gave them plenty of space, hoping one day this patch would become a beautiful, complete herb garden. Still, she couldn’t help but think her current plants were all low-grade stuff—even if she filled the whole plot, it wouldn’t be that impressive.

She checked on the jade stones she’d left in the creek. The quality seemed even better than this morning’s batch, as if the creek water was some kind of cleanser that could purify the jade from within. She touched them, not sure how much they’d improved, but progress was progress.

She hadn’t even asked Jiang Zhihuan if the jade she’d given him was useful.

Suddenly, she had an idea. She found the broken pieces of her old jade bracelet—the mutton-fat jade felt especially soothing to the touch. Even though they were just fragments, they were still top-quality material. What would happen if she soaked them in the creek? She wrapped the pieces in silk and gently placed them on the riverbed among the pebbles.

She harvested another batch of chives and a basket of strawberries. The events of the day had given her a sense of urgency and inspiration—she should plant more cash crops in the farm, like cotton, and trees that could be chopped for firewood, charcoal, or building. So, she scattered cotton seeds in a corner of the black soil and, after some searching, found what looked like pine saplings and planted them along the newly dug second creek.

She’d scavenged the saplings from the wholesale market—honestly, that market really had everything.

After planting along the creek, she counted only thirty-something saplings. The space was still too small. The farm hadn’t expanded in a long time. She thought for a moment, then brought out her stash of crystal cores—a whole washbasin full, in red, blue, yellow, white, all levels from one to three, quite a sight. She dumped them all into the creek, startling a flurry of fish and shrimp.

Clearly, expanding the farm was the way to go. Winter was coming, and she realized her preparations still weren’t enough. It was fine for just herself, but if there were more people...

She pressed her lips together. Better get ready. Once the farm expanded, she wanted to make a paddy field and try growing rice. With that in mind, she watered the cotton and pine trees with creek water, hoping they’d grow faster—she just wanted them to mature as soon as possible.

By the time she finished, it was nearly dark when she left the farm. She checked the time—an hour had passed inside, forty minutes outside. It was almost six o’clock.

She hurried out with Niunai—dinner was already being called downstairs.

Aunt Zhao saw her come down and grumbled softly, “Don’t tell me you’ve been snacking again. I called you twice and you didn’t answer.”

Bian Changxi laughed awkwardly. “I spent extra time bathing—and had to wash this one, too,” she said, setting Niunai down.

Stuffed full, Niunai didn’t bother joining them at the table. He looked up at his mistress, who was lying through her teeth, rolled his eyes, and went to curl up on the sofa.

At their villa, it was rare for everyone to eat together. Sometimes, when people were cultivating, they wouldn’t even come out to eat, so there was no rule about waiting for anyone. Thanks to Aunt Zhao’s hard work and care, there was always food available, twenty-four hours a day.

Outside of regular meals, there were rice cakes, dumplings, steamed buns, or red bean soup, soybean and red date soup, eight-treasure porridge, and other foods.

Today, not knowing when everyone would be back, Aunt Zhao had made a big pot of red bean, peanut, and red date soup. When Bian Changxi saw it in the kitchen, she immediately grabbed a bowl, pushing her rice aside, earning another lecture from Aunt Zhao about the importance of eating staple foods.