Huge thanks to KoshkaHP for the Kofis. Enjoy the Bonus Chapter. Lots of love!

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Amidst his mixed feelings, Yang Hong noticed the moving notice.

Planting livestreams generally fall into two categories: those with money and those without.

The well-funded ones usually start with greenhouses, while the cash-strapped ones begin by planting just a few seedlings. After selling the harvest, they gradually buy more seeds and upgrade their setup. Tong Zhanyan clearly belonged to the latter group.

The thought that Tong Zhanyan’s relocation funds came from those five tomatoes made Yang Hong feel uneasy all over again.

After a good nap at noon, Tong Zhanyan was unusually energetic in the afternoon—so much so that even Devil King gave him a couple extra glances.

Then he earned more extra training than usual.

That night, Tong Zhanyan was dragged back after a long time.

After lying down for an hour, he finally mustered the strength to get up and pack his things at around eight o’clock.

Since ventilation should be avoided during the decomposition process, Tong Zhanyan placed some of the leaves directly into an empty bucket along with the bag, while setting aside others in a separate large box.

Tools, lamps, and empty pots went into one box, while the seedlings were divided between two small empty crates. Finally, Tong Zhanyan didn’t forget to stuff the camera in as well.

After finishing these tasks, Tong Zhanyan glanced back at Qing Jiyue. His large tail swished back and forth as he approached, “Xiao Qingqing…”

Nighttime offered longer rest periods, and the corridors bustled far more than at noon, making stealth impossible.

Tong Zhanyan and Qing Jiyue descended the stairs separately. Qing Jiyue carried the other items, while Tong Zhanyan brought down the seedlings five minutes after him.

The plan went smoothly. Qing Jiyue’s status as the Qing Family heir and his extraordinary abilities commanded respect from everyone. Even if they saw him, no one dared to approach and ask questions.

A few minutes later, when Tong Zhanyan arrived at the training room, Qing Jiyue was staring blankly at it.

His silhouette stretched long under the streetlight, looking somewhat sad.

Tong Zhanyan deliberately made some noise before hurrying over to open the door.

After entering and setting down the seedlings, Tong Zhanyan retrieved two sets of clothes from the pile he’d bought earlier and handed one over.

He’d enabled the anti-face-capture setting on the camera, but their clothes bore the school emblem.

Qing Jiyue didn’t take it. “I’m going back to study.”

Tong Zhanyan didn’t insist. “If Tian Xinqing or the others come looking for me, tell them I’m in evening self-study.”

“Mm.”

Watching Qing Jiyue leave, Tong Zhanyan quickly changed clothes and walked toward the two boxes holding the seedlings.

The moment the boxes opened, the camera drifted up on its own.

The unfamiliar surroundings left it somewhat bewildered.

Glancing down, it spotted the familiar seedlings and hurried over.

This time, it would protect these little companions well.

Tong Zhanyan moved it aside—it was blocking his view.

After removing and separating all the seedlings, Tong Zhanyan retrieved the plastic wrap and resealed the containers for all except the tomato seedlings.

Many had only just sprouted and were nowhere near ready to have the plastic removed.

This meant they had to be moved; otherwise, Tong Zhanyan would never have disturbed them at this stage.

As for the tomatoes, their third true leaves had already emerged. Keeping the plastic on would only hinder their growth.

With the seedlings arranged, Tong Zhanyan stood up and switched on the lamp suspended directly above them—one he’d hung long ago. He intended to test the timer switch and adjust the distance while he was at it.

Direct sunlight wasn’t suitable for young seedlings, but complete darkness was equally problematic.

The timer switch worked.

Tong Zhanyan turned off the lamp, fetched the hose, and headed to the bathroom.

After repotting, they needed a thorough watering to help them settle in. Subsequent watering would be required at regular intervals. Tong Zhanyan filled several industrial pots without drainage holes and a bucket to capacity.

Amidst Tong Zhanyan’s busyness, the livestream room buzzed with activity for the first time in ages.

After briefly scanning Tong Zhanyan’s overly sparse new home via the camera, viewers didn’t even have time to comment on his lack of moving ceremony before their attention was drawn to the tomato seedlings on the floor.

Previously covered by plastic sheeting with trapped moisture inside, they could only be seen vaguely. Now, they finally got a clear look.

The condition of those tomato seedlings far exceeded their expectations. Not only did each one exceed ten centimeters in height, but several of the main stems were nearly three to four millimeters thick, looking exceptionally sturdy.

While they couldn’t say they’d never seen such seedlings before, they were certainly rare. At least Yang Hong, who’d been in the game for ten years, had only seen a handful.

Yet here, at Tong Zhanyan’s station, five or six such specimens stood tall, accounting for a full quarter of his plants.

The remaining seedlings, while not quite as robust, were all vibrant and healthy. Even the weakest among them surpassed the best specimens seen in most live streams.

The chat exploded with astonished comments.

These were all newcomers who had joined the stream later.

As for veterans like Yang Hong, they were momentarily at a loss for words.

They simply couldn’t fathom how someone like Tong Zhanyan could cultivate them so exceptionally well.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t linger long in the training room. After refilling the water and repositioning the camera, he headed out.

He didn’t head straight back; instead detouring to the cafeteria. His target remained the trash bin, but this time he wasn’t searching for eggshells.

Nutrient solutions came not only in bags, but also in cups, bottles, and buckets.

The cup-sized ones were pricier because they contained not just nutrient solution but also other synthetic food additives, much like bubble tea with extra toppings.

Tong Zhanyan’s target this time was one particular cup.

It was about the size of a medium bubble tea cup, perfect for temporary planting.

Though plant roots and leaves form a single entity, they can be viewed as two mutually balancing components. Only a sufficiently developed root system can support more leaves, and only lush foliage can encourage deeper roots.

Transplanting is a method to accelerate this cycle.

Confinement in small pots restricts root growth, forcing rapid leaf development. Once leaves reach a certain density, the plant is transferred to a slightly larger pot, where it uses its foliage to stimulate new root growth.

This step is especially crucial for potted plants, as it also nurtures the root system.

Potted conditions inherently restrict root growth; if the roots aren’t well-established, proper cultivation becomes impossible.

When Tong Zhanyan arrived, lights-out was approaching, yet the cafeteria still bustled with people rushing to finish training just in time for a late-night snack.

Unlike the bins for food waste, the recycling bins for nutrient solution packaging were located at the cafeteria’s front entrance.

Tong Zhanyan steeled himself and quickly rummaged through the bins under everyone’s gaze.

Fortunately, nutrient solution sales were quite high, and in less than three minutes, he had collected twenty containers.

Tong Zhanyan hurried away.

Qing Jiyue was no longer surprised by him occasionally bringing back trash from outside, but seeing him collecting those cups still made him glance twice.

Tong Zhanyan washed the cups clean and set them out to dry.

The next day, Tong Zhanyan arrived at the training room early.

After a night had passed, the seedlings showed little change.

Tong Zhanyan carried a short, stout metal bucket out the door.

Few people frequented this area, so cleaning was haphazard—leaves littered the ground everywhere.

After filling the bucket to the brim, Tong Zhanyan carried it to the alleyway behind the training room, near the back wall.

He dumped the leaves onto the ground and summoned his Spirit Beast.

“Go to the entrance and keep watch. Tell me if anyone comes,” Tong Zhanyan instructed.

Burning leaves produced smoke, and he didn’t want to get caught.

Summoned, the chicken showed no awareness of its status as a spirit beast. It strutted around with its head held high.

“The entrance…” Tong Zhanyan gestured wildly, trying to communicate.

The chicken didn’t even turn its head.

Tong Zhanyan’s mouth twitched, and he gave up.

He lit the fire, carefully adding leaves sparingly each time to minimize the smoke.

Seeing him start the fire, the previously disinterested chicken actually circled back, looking eager to join in.

“Go play somewhere else.”

Tong Zhanyan had gathered only dry leaves, which burned easily but still produced some inevitable smoke.

Halfway through burning, Tong Zhanyan couldn’t help but worry and ran to check the doorway.

It was a holiday, still early, and not a soul was in sight nearby.

Tong Zhanyan hurried back.

Turning around, he saw the chicken diving straight for the bucket.

Startled, Tong Zhanyan rushed forward to block it. “You wanna be roast chicken? Back off.”

The chicken pecked at Tong Zhanyan’s arm and let out a displeased cluck.

Tong Zhanyan decisively pulled it back.

A bucket of leaves had only produced a quarter bucket of ash.

After the fire died down completely, Tong Zhanyan carried the bucket inside.

While setting the bucket down to cool further, Tong Zhanyan pulled out an empty industrial box and began sorting through the decomposed leaves.

Just over a month had passed, yet many leaves hadn’t fully decomposed, leaving little usable material.

After filling four bags, Tong Zhanyan sorted out the uncomposted leaves and mixed in a small amount of ash.

At this stage, the roots were still tender—too much fertilizer could burn them—but it was now safe to add some.

With the soil prepared, Tong Zhanyan retrieved the cups from the previous night and began punching holes in them.

A few minutes later, Tong Zhanyan moved all the cups filled with soil to the area beneath the camera, next to the tomato seedlings.

He dug a hole in the center of each large cup, transferred a seedling from a disposable cup into it, and then gently packed the soil around it to fill any gaps. That completed the process.

After transplanting all the seedlings, Tong Zhanyan placed them in water to drink their fill before returning them under the lights.

The larger cups now made the seedlings appear much sparser, though they were still arranged in neat rows.

But this was only temporary.

Tong Zhanyan washed his hands and returned to the dormitory.

If he disappeared for too long, Tian Xinqing and the others would surely grow suspicious.

That afternoon, just as Tong Zhanyan was preparing to check on the seedlings again, Tian Xinqing invited him to the main city, with Su Yanran joining them.

He hadn’t gone out with Tian Xinqing and the others in quite some time, and there wasn’t much to do at the training room anyway, so he readily agreed.

Upon entering the city, Tian Xinqing made his customary stop to withdraw cash.

Tong Zhanyan and Su Yanran didn’t follow him inside, waiting instead at a street corner.

“What have you been sneaking around busy with lately?” Su Yanran’s voice reached him just as Tong Zhanyan was considering whether to visit Planting Street later.

Tong Zhanyan’s breath caught slightly as he feigned confusion. “What?”

Su Yanran merely glanced at him, neither pressing for answers nor offering explanations.

Tian Xinqing returned quickly. “All set. Let’s go. I’ll treat you to something delicious.”

Su Yanran followed.

Tong Zhanyan hesitated, then followed as well.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t dare mention Planting Street again. In fact, for the next few days, he barely dared go to the training room at all. Even when he did go, he stayed for only a few minutes at most.

Tong Zhanyan had repotted those seedlings in the morning. Many viewers in the livestream only saw it at night. The moment they saw it, everyone went wild.

Especially Yang Hong and the other veterans—they felt murderous in that instant.

After finally growing such excellent seedlings, what on earth was Tong Zhanyan doing?

Then, soon enough, they discovered something bizarre: they weren’t truly mad, but those seedlings had genuinely gone mad.

Yes, mad.

The expected death didn’t come. After two or three days of quiet, the seedlings that Tong Zhanyan had recklessly tampered with suddenly began shooting up and sprouting leaves like mad.

In just a few days, not only did they nearly double in height, but their leaves more than doubled in number.