Considering that the event would last two days, plus the time lost in travel, many people might not be able to attend. Tong Zhanyan specifically set the entry period for the giveaway to 24 hours and appropriately relaxed the fan level requirements.

After posting the giveaway, Tong Zhanyan went upstairs to wait until the same time tomorrow to announce the winners.

In the live stream chat, a group of people was discussing exactly when the next giveaway would take place, when a message suddenly popped up.

With the experience from the previous two giveaways, they didn’t even wait to read it clearly—they all rushed to click on it.

Then they realized they had succeeded.

Overwhelming joy swept over them, and countless people screamed as they jumped up from their chairs.

But their laughter soon turned to silence, because in just that brief moment, the number of participants had already reached 40,000—and the figure was skyrocketing.

Watching the count climb past 50,000, then 60,000, and heading straight for 100,000, the crowd began to panic.

With so many people, how low must the odds of winning be?

Did they really stand a chance?

“Help… don’t tell me they’re going to hit over 100,000 again?”

“No… I suspect we’ll pass 200,000 this time. Haven’t you seen how the number of followers in the livestream has been skyrocketing lately?”

“Last time, only a little over 400 people met the requirements, but this time, in just a short while, we’re already nearing 100,000… the criteria must be really lenient. ”

“It’s not that the criteria are loose—it’s just that there are so many people in the front row.”

“Waaah… I feel like there’s no hope again. I’m so sad.”

……

Yang Hong, who was scrolling through the comments section, saw the giveaway pop up. He almost instinctively reached to click it, but just as his finger was about to touch the screen, his hand froze.

Damn it, is this really a good idea?

What if he hurt Senior Da Liu…

He was no longer in control of himself; not to mention major emotional swings, even the slightest disturbance could send him over the edge.

Yang Hong withdrew his hand.

He looked on enviously at the crowd in the comment section wailing their hearts out as the winning odds kept getting pushed lower and lower.

At least they still had a chance.

Early the next morning, Boss Bai delivered the two sweet potatoes from Old Jin.

They were similar to the ones Tong Zhanyan had bought earlier—both were only about the size of a child’s fist and looked a bit wilted.

By evening, the sweet potatoes from the Planting Alliance had also arrived.

The Planting Alliance’s sweet potatoes were clearly not harvested from a single source; they varied in size and condition.

The best ones weren’t all that great either.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t plant them directly like before. Instead, after soaking them in water for four hours, he found a basin, lined it with wet towels both at the bottom and on top, and prepared to sprout them before planting.

That night, Tong Zhanyan announced the results on schedule.

He sent out the instructions one by one, and after confirming that everyone could make it, he provided the address and contact information.

Two days later, at the entrance.

Tong Zhanyan welcomed the third batch of workers arriving at his base.

They were even happier than he was.

Tong Zhanyan, having gained confidence through practice, led the group back to the small building. He first let them move about freely for a while, then organized them to feed the chickens before explaining how to pollinate the flowers.

The work wasn’t difficult, but everyone was so nervous that their efficiency was so low it made Tong Zhanyan sigh.

Fortunately, they had the advantage of numbers. Even if five of them worked as efficiently as one of them, combined with the three already-skilled workers—including Tian Xinqing—they still made impressive progress by the end of the day.

Figuring they should be able to finish smoothly tomorrow, Tong Zhanyan called it a night early, had everyone feed the chickens one last time, and let them experience the “joy” of scooping chicken droppings.

Everyone was indeed having a great time.

It was just that the chickens looked at them with a bit of a blank stare.

When Tong Zhanyan shoveled the droppings, it was purely business; yet these people scrambled for them as if they’d discovered some treasure, and those who missed out looked utterly disappointed.

……Shouldn’t they have pooped a little more?

The excitement of the first day had eased their fatigue, but their bodies wouldn’t be fooled. When Tong Zhanyan went to pick them up at the entrance the next day, every single one of them was suffering from muscle soreness.

Especially when walking, they looked like a group of clumsy zombies.

However, the smiles on their faces didn’t fade, and no one asked for a break.

This left Tong Zhanyan quite moved.

Workers this dedicated are a rare find.

While Tong Zhanyan was working himself to the bone on pollination, the livestream’s viewership hit a new high.

Even setting aside the condition of the crops, such large-scale cultivation is a rare sight.

The seedlings were all in remarkably good condition, so once the flowers bloomed—whether red or white, large or small—they stretched as far as the eye could see, making it feel as though one were in a fairyland.

Not to mention the topic of the “harvest” still to come.

“Twenty-six thousand concurrent viewers… and it’s only the afternoon. Is this really just a livestream and not some official event?”

“Twenty-six thousand? That’s nothing. You didn’t see the traffic spike yesterday at 11 a.m.—I remember it was almost forty thousand.”

“Don’t even get me started. My grandpa suddenly asked me yesterday if I knew about Senior Da Liu. He doesn’t even go online much, let alone watch livestreams…”

“Same here. My parents are watching too—it’s totally thrown me off.”

“It feels like it’s become a national phenomenon.”

“The number of concurrent viewers is secondary. Haven’t you seen how fast the follower count is growing? I remember it just broke two million a few days ago, and now it’s almost three million.”

“The post above about noon really got me riled up. Why doesn’t Senior Da Liu install some streetlights at the base? It’s pitch black at night, and you can’t see a thing… I’m at work during the day and don’t have time.”

“No time during the day +1”

“After watching so many live streams, Senior’s is the only one where the daytime viewership is higher than at night.”

“That’s so Senior. Everyone else is terrified of losing fans, but he couldn’t care less.”

“I looked it up—the lights in his base can be turned on. Just flipping the switch on the ceiling would do it, but he’s just too cheap to pay the electricity bill.”

“Senior said plants need rest too; they can’t be exposed to the sun all the time.”

……

Due to muscle soreness, everyone worked until 4:00 PM before finally finishing up.

After letting everyone have another half-hour of free time, Tong Zhanyan treated them to dinner, handed out gifts, and walked them to the gate.

The next day, Tong Zhanyan gave Tian Xinqing and the other two the day off as well, while he went through the flower and leaf cuttings again.

Finally, he took a look at the sweet potatoes.

Of the fourteen sweet potatoes, half had already sprouted buds, while the other half showed no signs of life.

In the evening, Tong Zhanyan uncovered the seedlings of the bok choy and cherry radishes he had planted earlier; they were already nearly ten centimeters tall.

The seeds for this batch were selected from the previous one based on low infection rates, particularly those from a small plot where the infection rate had dropped to 43%.

As he removed the plastic sheeting, Tong Zhanyan took a closer look.

There was no noticeable difference.

Over the next two days, Tong Zhanyan paid little attention to the crops that had already been pollinated, instead focusing his attention on the crops grown from Old Jin’s previous batch of seeds and the Alliance’s low-infection-rate seeds.

The corn, string beans, carrots, and chili peppers were already the second batch of seedlings; though they were a bit behind the cherry tomatoes, they were nearly ready for pinching back.

There were fewer than five hundred of them in total, so Tong Zhanyan finished the task in a single morning.

Aside from those, the pumpkins had begun to climb outward, the Chinese cabbage leaves had unfurled, and the heads were starting to form, and the rapeseed plants were already half a person’s height.

Tong Zhanyan left the Chinese cabbage and rapeseed alone. As for the pumpkins, he trimmed off the shortest vine—which was nearly half a meter long—and pinched off the tips of the remaining two.

The Chinese cabbage, rapeseed, and pumpkin were the first batch, primarily intended for breeding.

There were ten varieties of seeds with a low infection rate in total. The cherry radishes and bok choy were far ahead; they had already begun to flower and would be ready for harvesting in a few days.

As for the others, aside from watermelons—which Tong Zhanyan hadn’t planted due to seasonal constraints—cherry tomatoes, dwarf cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, string beans, carrots, and chili peppers had all just entered the stage of flower bud differentiation.

Tong Zhanyan waited another two days before pinching off the side shoots.

Meanwhile, new flowers had already bloomed on the cherry tomatoes, but those that had been successfully pollinated were either falling off or wilting.

Tong Zhanyan called Tian Xinqing and the other two back and began pollinating again.

The largest batch had already been pollinated, so the rest was relatively easy.

After another two days of hard work, Tong Zhanyan didn’t call the three of them back; he could handle it on his own.

Over at the sweet potatoes, four still hadn’t sprouted.

Tong Zhanyan planted the ones that had sprouted.

With pollination finished, the fruit-setting period began.

For crops like eggplant and cucumber, where the fruits are large but few, the changes were relatively slow. But with the cherry tomatoes, they grew in vast clusters—so densely packed that it almost felt like you were searching for leaves among the fruits.

Because there were so many fruits, the seedlings—which had originally been quite sturdy—soon began to bend under the weight, making anyone watching them hold their breath in anxiety.

“Why haven’t you set up the trellis yet, senior?”

“Is there a raffle?”

“Staking… To be honest, I’m actually a bit afraid to do it. They look like they’d snap easily, and we don’t have any experience. What if we break them…”

“I’m a little scared, too.”

…

This time, Tong Zhanyan didn’t wait for a chance—he took care of it himself.

Instead of setting up a trellis like before, he opted for a much simpler method.

He took out the one-meter-long stakes he’d bought earlier, sticking one or two next to each tomato plant, then used string to tie the main stems directly to the stakes, just to prevent them from falling over.

This method was much simpler and more efficient; Tong Zhanyan finished the job in a single day.

The viewers in the livestream nearly gasped in shock.

It wasn’t because there was no giveaway this time, but because this method of setting up the trellis was far too crude—at least in their eyes, many of the bent branches weren’t being supported at all.

“I feel like cursing again.”

“I’m going crazy.”

“What’s the difference between this and not setting up anything at all?”

“If this really doesn’t work, let’s just do a giveaway. At worst, we won’t compete this time—we’ll let people with farming experience take over.”

“It’s actually going to snap…”

“Enough said. I’m going to comfort my grandpa. I haven’t seen him this energetic in ages…”

“…My mom’s been fuming for half the afternoon. I don’t even dare breathe a sigh right now.”

…

After finishing his work, under the setting sun, Tong Zhanyan was staring at the crops with a worried look. He feared he might go mad from all this infection rate testing, when his terminal suddenly rang.

The message was from Tian Xinqing.

Tong Zhanyan answered, but before he could speak, the other person said, “Hurry up and check the news—it’s about the Four Great Families.”

Tong Zhanyan immediately grasped what Tian Xinqing meant. Had something happened at the Qing Family?

Tong Zhanyan hurriedly opened Green Shade.

On the homepage, a video of the Qing Family Head in a state of frenzy, lashing out, had been uploaded half an hour ago, and in just that short time, it had shot to the top of the trending list.

Because this time, the Qing Family Head had actually injured someone.

In the video, a white tiger with a slightly dulled coat was surrounded by a group of people in a fused state. Those around him kept trying to calm him down, but he continued to attack, growing increasingly aggressive.

The video was filmed an hour ago, and according to the uploader, the tiger showed no signs of calming down even as the video was being uploaded.

The Qing Family compound is situated right on the edge of the protective barrier, and even more critically, next to one of the four barrier gates. Many in the comments section expressed unease at the idea of stationing a raving madman—one lacking reason but possessing immense destructive power—there.

The Qing Family has yet to issue a response, but many are already calling for Qing Jiyue to take over as Qing Family Head.

Qing Jiyue is highly capable; in fact, he was ready to take over years ago. They don’t understand why it’s been delayed until now.

Tong Zhanyan ended his call with Tian Xinqing and, as he headed back inside, sent a communication request to Qing Jiyue.

Qing Jiyue didn’t answer.

Tong Zhanyan went back to Green Shade to take a look.

Qing Jiyue was in the video as well. In his fused state, he tried to step forward several times but was forced back each time; his father was attacking him as well.

The video was filmed from a great distance, so Tong Zhanyan wasn’t sure if Qing Jiyue had been injured.

After waiting for over ten minutes, Tong Zhanyan sent another communication request.

Qing Jiyue still didn’t answer.

After thinking it over, Tong Zhanyan left him a message.

That night, Qing Jiyue still didn’t respond, but there was constant discussion on the Green Shade side, though the tone remained one of worry and anxiety.

The next day, the first thing Tong Zhanyan did when he opened his eyes was check his terminal.

Qing Jiyue had already replied.

He was fine, but he might not be returning to school.

He would remain on the front lines as the Qing Family Head.

His father had tried to trade his remaining time for four years of ordinary life for his son at the Sidi Military Academy, but now that agreement was null and void. Whether considering the greater good or his family, he could no longer abandon his father.

Once the third stage sets in, frenzy could happen at any moment, and no one knows if he’ll ever wake up again.

Although his father had been subdued, he still hadn’t regained consciousness.

Tong Zhanyan’s lips trembled; for a long time, he couldn’t think of how to respond.

After a long while, he merely offered a few words of comfort, his face looking slightly pale.

The next day, Tong Zhanyan fertilized the little tomatoes, hoping they would grow quickly.

This batch of little tomatoes was in decent condition, but that wouldn’t shorten their ripening time.

Two days later, only a tiny fraction of the fruits finally began to show signs of changing color.

Five days later, the color change became more pronounced, but this was limited to the earliest batch of fruits; the rest were still in the swelling stage.

Knowing there was no point in rushing, Tong Zhanyan steadied his mind and began to ponder another matter.

What should be done with the fruit after harvest?

The previous batch of various crops totaled less than 500 jin, and even that had Mr. Bai worried sick. This batch—not counting the others—would yield at least 1,500 jin of cherry tomatoes alone; Mr. Bai’s operation certainly wouldn’t be able to handle that.

After giving it some thought, Tong Zhanyan sent a communication request to Qing Jiyue, then paid a visit to Mr. Bai’s shop.

When he arrived, there wasn’t a single customer in the shop; a few employees were playing on their terminals, and the place looked rather deserted.

“Where’s Mr. Bai?” Tong Zhanyan asked.

The group snapped back to attention.

“The boss is in his greenhouse. Shall I call him over?”

They were all familiar with Tong Zhanyan’s farm; they often watched his livestreams, and seeing him now, their eyes lit up with excitement.

“Yeah, I need to talk to him about something,” Tong Zhanyan said.

One of them hurried to contact him.

Tong Zhanyan was then led to the meeting room.

About ten minutes later, Boss Bai entered through the back door.

“What’s up?” Boss Bai asked, puzzled. If Tong Zhanyan had something to discuss, he could have just told him through the terminal.

Tong Zhanyan smiled. “Are you interested in a side job?”

Mr. Bai thought he’d misheard. “What?”

“I’d like to ask for your help,” Tong Zhanyan explained. “The crops at my base are about to ripen…”

There was simply too much of this harvest, and since it had a shelf life, Mr. Bai alone wouldn’t be able to sell it all. That’s why he’d contacted Qing Jiyue directly.

Qing Jiyue would handle the follow-up arrangements.

The Qing Family didn’t engage in this kind of business, so he’d likely have to look for people through the Planting Alliance or other factions.

Tong Zhanyan trusted Qing Jiyue completely, but others were a different matter. Plus, once the harvest began, he’d be too busy to oversee the sales himself, so the best solution was to find another trusted person on his end and have the two of them handle the handover.

He trusted Tian Xinqing and the other two, but they knew absolutely nothing about buying and selling crops.

That’s why Tong Zhanyan thought of Boss Bai.

After explaining his purpose, Tong Zhanyan didn’t rush him but waited quietly.

Boss Bai looked at the man in front of him with mixed feelings.

Tong Zhanyan was undoubtedly the first person to worry about having too many crops to sell.

Mr. Bai took a deep breath. “I’ll help out, but no need to pay me.”

Tong Zhanyan opened his mouth.

Before he could speak, Mr. Bai cut him off: “Once you’re done, could you come take a look at my greenhouse?”

Tong Zhanyan paused.

“I’m growing them the way you taught me…” Mr. Bai’s cheeks flushed slightly.

He had met Tong Zhanyan before the livestreaming thing started, which made it hard for him to view Tong Zhanyan the same way the viewers in the livestream did.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t amazed that Tong Zhanyan could grow crops so well; if anything, it made him feel even more anxious.

He’d long wanted to discuss these matters with Tong Zhanyan, but the more he watched Tong Zhanyan’s livestream, the harder it was for him to speak up…

They weren’t even in the same league.

It wasn’t so much a conversation as it was a one-sided request for advice.

So many people in the livestream were eagerly waiting for Tong Zhanyan to answer their questions, yet he wanted to ask him face-to-face.

That made him too nervous to even speak up.

“I’m free right now,” Tong Zhanyan said with a smile.

Mr. Bai’s eyes lit up instantly. “Shall we go now?”

Tong Zhanyan nodded.

Mr. Bai usually looked quite composed, but at that moment, he was so excited he seemed ready to jump for joy.

He hurriedly led the way. “This way.”

About ten minutes later, they arrived at a greenhouse that was very similar to the one Tong Zhanyan had seen before, but this one was a full 600 square meters in size.

Mr. Bai handed him a pair of shoe covers with a look of excitement on his face, then instinctively straightened his back.

After putting on the shoe covers, Tong Zhanyan didn’t rush inside; instead, he took a moment to look around.

There were quite a few different crops growing in the greenhouse.

The 200 square meters near the entrance were planted earlier and were now in the ripening stage—chili peppers, cucumbers, string beans, and carrots.

The 400 square meters further inside, however, were planted following his example: cherry radishes, bok choy, cherry tomatoes, and eggplants.

This was Tong Zhanyan’s first time in someone else’s greenhouse and his first time seeing how others grew crops with his own eyes; it felt quite novel.

He headed straight for the 200-square-meter section near the entrance.

The chili peppers were sparse and few in number; the cucumbers and string beans had leaves that were small and yellow; and the carrots were no thicker than a finger…

After walking around the entire area, Tong Zhanyan had only one thought: it looked terrible.

Mr. Bai’s face flushed. He tried several times to say something, but couldn’t find the right words.

He had been farming for nearly ten years. As his employees put it, if he hadn’t devoted himself to farming, he might have opened five or six branches by now.

Tong Zhanyan walked over to the crops he’d been learning to grow.

On the surface, they actually looked quite presentable.

But since these were the first batch of seeds, the overall appearance was still a sorry sight.

“Did you over-fertilize?” Tong Zhanyan asked as he crouched down, scooping up a handful of soil to rub between his fingers.

“Yes, it’s over-fertilized.”

“The first batch of seeds has low germination rates, so you need to apply fertilizer in moderation—don’t try to overdo it.” Tong Zhanyan stood up; the ground was still wet, clearly having been watered not long ago.

“Got it.” Boss Bai quickly took note.

He was indeed a bit impatient, especially after seeing the crops in Tong Zhanyan’s livestream.

The cherry radishes and bok choy were fine, but Tong Zhanyan walked over to the cherry tomatoes.

There were both standard and dwarf cherry tomatoes.

“You’ve already started pinching the leaves?” Tong Zhanyan frowned.

Mr. Bai’s heart sank instantly. “Yes… is that not okay?”

He suddenly had the illusion of being back in school.

He was the student, and Tong Zhanyan was the stern and intimidating teacher.

“It’s too early,” Tong Zhanyan said. “You must wait until the first flower bud appears before pinching them off, otherwise you might confuse the plants and cause them to go back to growing leaves…”

“Okay.”

Tong Zhanyan looked at the cucumbers.

Mr. Bai’s palms immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

He held his breath, waiting for the criticism that could come at any moment.

Tong Zhanyan walked around the plants but said nothing.

Mr. Bai looked over nervously.

“Not bad,” Tong Zhanyan said.

A smile immediately spread across Mr. Bai’s face.

“The first batch of crops is mainly for breeding; don’t worry about yield. The key is to concentrate the nutrients in the seeds…” Tong Zhanyan briefly outlined the main points.

Mr. Bai listened with the utmost attention; he was determined to memorize every word.

After finishing, Tong Zhanyan went on to discuss soil cultivation.

Good soil is the foundation of everything.

Half an hour later, when Tong Zhanyan stopped, Mr. Bai’s face was flushed all the way down to his neck.

The look in his eyes as he watched Tong Zhanyan had changed.

Because the explanation was tailored to his needs, the knowledge became much simpler and easier to understand. This made it even clearer to him that Tong Zhanyan wasn’t holding anything back—he was genuinely teaching him.

“What’s wrong? Didn’t you understand?” Tong Zhanyan looked at him, puzzled.

“No, I understood…” Mr. Bai wanted to say something, but didn’t know what to say.

“Thank you?”

The crowd in the livestream had already said it countless times.

“Tong Zhanyan is a good person”?

Tong Zhanyan had probably grown tired of hearing it long ago.

When Tong Zhanyan got out of the car in front of the base, Mr. Bai still chose to say the very words Tong Zhanyan had surely grown tired of hearing: “Thank you.”

“Mm.” Tong Zhanyan didn’t take it to heart.

“Tong Zhanyan…”

Tong Zhanyan, who had already gotten out of the car, turned back.

It took Mr. Bai a long while to finally blurt out, “I’m glad you walked into my shop that day.”

Tong Zhanyan chuckled.

Mr. Bai’s was the only shop on that street.

Thinking about it, Tong Zhanyan didn’t say anything in the end; he just waved and entered the base.

With that matter settled, Tong Zhanyan refocused his attention on the crops.

That same afternoon, before the cherry tomatoes had fully ripened, he began testing them.

When it came to the issue of reducing the infection rate, he couldn’t ask anyone for help—that would turn this into a massive undertaking all over again.

In the very first batch, Tong Zhanyan detected a problem.

Out of a total of twenty samples, four had infection rates below 45%, and one was as low as 38%.

For a moment, he didn’t know how to react.

Cherry radishes, bok choy, and other vegetables: he tested several hundred samples and found only five or six with infection rates around 45%.

In terms of percentage, the reduction in infection rate was only about 1%, which wasn’t significant.

Cherry tomatoes, however, showed a 10% reduction.

And one of them was even below 40%.

For this batch of cherry tomatoes, the infection rate should have been around 50%; at 38%, that’s a direct drop of 12%.

A reduction of over 10%…

Tong Zhanyan pinched the bridge of his nose, went out, and collected another batch of samples.

None of those were below 40%.

Tong Zhanyan picked another batch.

A few minutes later, he again found one at 39%.

It wasn’t a coincidence.

The infection rate of the cherry tomatoes hadn’t just decreased; the drop was even more dramatic than that of the bok choy and cherry radishes, and the overall percentage was much higher.

This batch of cherry tomatoes was the fourth batch of seeds.

The cherry radishes and bok choy were as well.

So, did abnormalities start appearing collectively after the fourth batch?

But the second batch of cherry tomatoes had shown the same issue, though it was only one plant.

Tong Zhanyan looked at the batch of cherry radishes and bok choy he had planted behind him. If abnormalities appear in the fourth batch, what about the fifth batch grown from the seeds of those abnormal plants?

Tong Zhanyan immediately wanted to collect samples; those bok choy and cherry radishes were already half-grown. But upon reflection, he held back.

The infection rate of the crops increases gradually as they grow; even if tested now, the numbers might not remain the same by the time they mature.

Tong Zhanyan thought for a moment, then contacted Qing Jiyue.

More than a week had passed since that video. The Qing Family Head had regained consciousness, but he hadn’t regained his sanity; instead, he remained in a state of frenzy.

Qing Jiyue’s face had turned somewhat pale.

Upon hearing that the infection rate in the cherry tomatoes had also decreased, he remained silent for a long while.

If recovery didn’t happen in the short term, it would become even more unlikely the longer it went on.

Qing Jiyue appeared more composed than others his age, but his youth was evident; he was far from being at a stage where he could remain completely unaffected by such a tragedy involving a close relative.

“I’ll have someone go pick it up later and send it for testing,” Qing Jiyue said, snapping back to reality.

Tong Zhanyan remained silent.

“Don’t worry,” Qing Jiyue tried to smile; he didn’t want Tong Zhanyan to worry.

“Why not just let him try eating it?” Tong Zhanyan suggested.

Qing Jiyue paused in surprise.

“If the tests didn’t detect anything before, I don’t think retesting will make much difference.” Tong Zhanyan looked at the crops outside. “But these crops have definitely changed…”

Qing Jiyue furrowed his brow, clearly deep in thought.

Tong Zhanyan said, “Perhaps the problem isn’t the infection rate, but the crops themselves—the ones with reduced infection rates.”

After a pause, he added, “I mean, just eat these.”

His suggestion was pure recklessness.

After all, if they couldn’t even control the low-infection-rate crops, these forty-percent-infection-rate ones would likely be even more useless. Moreover, abandoning the low-infection-rate crops would be like cutting off their medicine.

But they had no other choice.

Qing Jiyue clearly hesitated, but after a moment’s struggle, he gritted his teeth and said, “Let’s give it a try.”

Once the deep infection entered a state of frenzy, eating crops would be useless. Given his father’s temperament, he wouldn’t let things drag on that long.

Mixing them wasn’t a bad option, but his father didn’t have time to test things out slowly.

“I still have some cherry radishes and bok choy. Have someone come pick them up as soon as possible,” Tong Zhanyan said.

“Alright.”

After the call ended, Tong Zhanyan didn’t continue with the testing; instead, he was racking his brain over another matter.

With the infection rate dropping so sharply all at once, how was he supposed to explain this to Boss Bai?

Once or twice might be overlooked, but if it happened too often, it would inevitably raise suspicion.

Even with his previous lie about buying seeds with a low infection rate, none of his tomatoes from the last batch had rates below 40%—and now this had suddenly appeared…

And judging by the proportions, the quantity wasn’t small either.

Tong Zhanyan looked at the eggplants and cucumbers; this was already the third batch for them.

The second batch of cherry tomatoes had already had one mutant.

Tong Zhanyan had previously worried that the drop in infection rate might not be reproducible, but now that this had suddenly happened with the cherry tomatoes, it was actually giving him a headache.

This was no longer a problem that could be solved simply by excluding Mr. Bai from future business deals.

Qing Jiyue’s people arrived first thing the next morning.

Tong Zhanyan picked out over seventy plants with an infection rate of around 46% for them.

He hadn’t found many with rates below 45% to begin with.

Theoretically speaking, 46% was still considered a reduction.

The people here had small stomachs from long-term consumption of nutrient solutions, so this quantity would be enough for them to eat for a week without needing to drink any more.

That is, assuming they could wake up and turn back into humans first.

They woke up two days later.

By then, Tong Zhanyan had already started thinking about the harvest.

Cherry tomatoes don’t soften quickly once ripe, unlike strawberries, but considering that transportation and sales take time, it’s best to pick them as soon as they’re ripe.

With such a large batch, harvesting—like pollination—can’t be concentrated into just a few specific days.

Seeing that the time was right, Tong Zhanyan immediately called over Tian Xinqing and his two companions, along with Boss Bai.

The people Qing Jiyue had arranged had also arrived, but they wouldn’t enter the base; instead, they would wait at the gate to take over once the harvest was complete.

“The small leaves behind the fruit curve backward…” Su Yanran held a pair of scissors and searched carefully.

After finally finding one, he didn’t dare to cut it right away, examining it from every angle again and again.

Tian Xinqing and Ning Langdong were doing the same.

Compared to them, Boss Bai was much more skilled.

However, perhaps because the difference from the ones he’d grown himself was so great, Tong Zhanyan noticed he looked quite cautious.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t join them; instead, he carried a few shallow pots over to the other side of the plot to work alone.

Tomatoes shouldn’t be crowded, so only shallow pots were used.

The first batch of ripe tomatoes wasn’t large; each plant yielded only a handful or two.

In no time, Tong Zhanyan had picked a stretch several meters long.

After finishing one row, he had filled just over one pot.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t think much of it, but the crowd in the livestream was already excitedly doing the math.

“One row is just over one basin. There are more than ten rows in this batch, so that means…”

“That basin must weigh at least twenty jin, right?”

“Ahhh, and this is just the first batch of fruit!”

“If one batch yields this much, how much will the second batch yield?”

“Back in the greenhouse, the second batch was almost twice as much as the first…”

“This time it’ll definitely be more than double. Last time Senior picked them, he waited until they were fully ripe, but this time many of them are only just starting to ripen.”

“I feel so detached—it doesn’t feel real at all.”

“I just came back from watching Heihei Yixiao’s stream, and I really feel like I’ve time-traveled. ”

“This much? Are we really going to be able to sell it all?”

“Where can we buy it?”

“Haven’t you joined the group yet?”

“They’re huge. With quality like this, they can’t be cheap…”

“Is that the point? The point is the giveaway! They’re not going to skip the giveaway this time, are they?”

…

The mention of the giveaway instantly made the live stream even livelier.

Harvesting until their hands ached—something they hadn’t even dared to dream of before—was now just a giveaway away.

What made everyone both excited and frantic was that as Senior Da Liu’s crop began to bloom and ripen, the name “Senior Da Liu” spread like wildfire to every corner.

If “Senior Da Liu” had previously been a sensation limited to the keyword “farming,” now even people who never watched livestreams or went online were inevitably hearing about him.

Especially the crops in his fields, which appeared before everyone inside the protective shield through photos, videos, and other means.

This caused the live stream’s viewership to skyrocket visibly. Just a few days ago, they were marveling that it had already reached 2.5 million; in the blink of an eye, it had surged past 3 million.

They had just been thinking about congratulating the senior while he was reading the chat, but before they could find the right moment, the follower count was already nearing 3.5 million.

And now, with the first harvest underway, the follower count had already surged past four million.

And the growth rate showed no signs of slowing down.

Over four million people—or even more—if they were to hold a giveaway, how low would the odds be?

Even if they filtered out the new followers, there would still be over a million existing fans. One in a million?

Everyone felt like they were going crazy.

With so many helping hands and not many fruits in the first batch, the harvest was wrapped up in just a morning.

A total of fifteen boxes.

Tong Zhanyan contacted Qing Jiyue’s people, loaded the boxes onto a truck, and headed to the base entrance.

When they arrived, people were already waiting in the open area by the gate—over twenty of them, young and old alike.

They had come prepared; tables and chairs were already set up, along with countless scales of all sizes, and no fewer than ten testing machines.

The person in charge wore thin-framed gold-rimmed glasses.

Tong Zhanyan recognized him at a glance—it was the neurotic man who had delivered the seeds to him earlier and then grabbed and pounded his own head.

“Hello, my name is Gu Yunyang.” The man’s body was tense, yet his eyes shone brightly, as if he couldn’t wait to pounce.

Tong Zhanyan felt a chill run down his spine. “Hello.”

After a brief pause, Tong Zhanyan introduced Boss Bai: “…Bai Yu, the person in charge on my end.”

Gu Yunyang looked over.

After a brief introduction, Tong Zhanyan left, leaving Boss Bai and Tian Xinqing behind.

As he walked away, the neurotic man kept staring at him, his gaze so intense it felt like it could burn a hole right through him.

Tong Zhanyan immediately picked up his pace.

Back at the base, looking at the familiar patch of land in front of the house, Tong Zhanyan’s taut nerves finally began to relax.

After a brief rest, he opened his terminal to contact the chicken farm, preparing to buy another batch of chickens.

The other party replied quickly, saying they could hatch as many as Tong Zhanyan wanted immediately.

Tong Zhanyan ordered fifty at once.

He couldn’t raise pigs at this stage, but once he harvested this crop and expanded his land, he would have no choice but to raise more chickens.

The corn would be ready in a little while; though the yield wasn’t large, he could at least set aside some for food.

He could plant a second batch of pumpkins soon, and he’d be able to set aside some of those as well.

Sweet potatoes would follow after the pumpkins.

Pondering this, Tong Zhanyan went to check on the sweet potatoes.

A little over two weeks had passed, and five or six small seedlings were already visible beneath the plastic sheeting.

Tong Zhanyan breathed a sigh of relief.

That night, Tong Zhanyan prepared some bok choy in advance and picked some cherry tomatoes with a lower infection rate.

Early the next morning, he delivered them to the front door.

Qing Jiyue had been keeping a round-the-clock watch on his father during this time, afraid he might do something foolish if he took his eyes off him for even a moment.

Meanwhile, after finishing his harvest, Yang Hong closed the livestream with satisfaction and set off for the nursing home.

This time, he planned to stay an extra day.

Because there wouldn’t be a next time.

The team heading outside the protective shield to hunt down the monsters was leaving in five days; he had already made arrangements with them.