With the matter that had been weighing on his mind finally resolved, Tong Zhanyan slept exceptionally soundly that night.

The next day, he felt refreshed and alert.

Ning Langdong, however, had dark circles under his eyes—it was clear he hadn’t slept a wink all night.

Tong Zhanyan found it both amusing and exasperating.

Thinking it over, he didn’t offer any words of comfort but instead focused his attention on the plot of land in front of the small house.

Bringing people in to stay for a while or attempting to treat those in a state of frenzy were still just plans; at this stage, his most important task was still taking care of his own crops.

The early morning air was crisp and cool.

After feeding the chickens and pigs and filling his own stomach, Tong Zhanyan hopped into a small utility vehicle and began circling the existing plot of land, mapping out the areas he planned to clear next.

Taking into account the new seeds he would soon receive, as well as the string beans and carrots—which were already in their fourth planting cycle—and the corn and pumpkins he planned to plant on a large scale…

This time, he would need to clear at least another eight mu.

That meant he would have to consider issues regarding fertilizer application and setting aside space for paths.

He currently makes liquid fertilizer using buckets—they came free with a previous soil purchase, and since he doesn’t have much composting material and the time required varies greatly, buckets are the most practical option.

But with this many crops, buckets definitely won’t be enough; he’ll have to build a septic tank.

Considering the smell, the septic tank will definitely have to be built near the pigsty, but that would put it even farther from this plot of land…

Even with a car, driving back and forth such a long distance would be a hassle.

In the livestream.

The number of viewers in the livestream never dropped all night long; in fact, as more people heard about the situation, the concurrent viewership even surpassed five million around 1:00 a.m.

That also meant millions of people had been unable to sleep all night.

By dawn, the crowd’s excitement had finally subsided.

As drowsiness set in and they were about to go to sleep, they saw that familiar figure driving around in a small car, surveying the area.

“…Is it what I think it is?”

“Getting ready to clear the land?”

“I knew it.”

“Plowing? But haven’t we just started harvesting this crop?”

“He did the same thing last time—he started plowing before the crops in the field were even finished. By the time the harvest was complete, the next batch of seedlings was already ready to be planted.”

…

The live chat feed went silent for a moment because at that instant, everyone couldn’t help but stare at the tiny figure on the screen.

Even though he’d been criticized all along, he shared everything he knew without holding back. Whenever someone asked a question, he’d answer without fail, never keeping anything to himself.

Even after growing crops with reduced infection rates, he didn’t seek to maximize profits; instead, he sold them without a word, refusing to accept any premium.

Cooperating with research, participating in raffles…

Just last night, things had been so chaotic—he’d even nearly been cornered at his doorstep—yet today, he was already rushing to prepare for the next planting…

At that moment, their emotions were incredibly complex.

At that moment, their eyes stung, and they even felt like crying.

“I really am…”

“Senior…”

“I declare that from this moment on, Senior is the person I like and admire most in my entire life—without a doubt.”

“From this moment on? Senior has long been number one in my world.”

“I’ve been that way for two months.”

“I’ve been that way for five months.”

“Childish.”

…

In front of the screen.

Changge tried to hold back, but her vision blurred involuntarily, and her cheeks grew wet and burning.

She had taken up farming to save money, to provide food for her family.

But in the end, none of it came to pass.

Now she was the only one left in the world.

If Senior had appeared sooner…

Changge didn’t feel resentment; she was just sad, and she was just happy.

She was sad that they hadn’t made it in time, but she was happy because there was hope—happy that at least her family’s tragedy might not have to repeat itself.

In the bottom right corner of the live stream, someone in the Victims’ Alliance group was speaking. Changge grabbed two tissues to try and wipe away her tears so she could see, but the tears simply wouldn’t stop.

After wasting two more tissues, she gave up and buried her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

Tong Zhanyan quickly selected the plot. He went back to the warehouse to fetch a few stakes and some used plastic sheeting, then marked out the area.

He didn’t start digging right away because the strawberries in the greenhouse needed their leaves pinched back.

Last time he’d set aside quite a few plants; this time he planted them all, covering about 400 square meters of the 600-square-meter greenhouse.

Since the quantity wasn’t large, Tong Zhanyan didn’t call on Yang Hong and the others; he just got to work with Ning Langdong.

Pruning strawberries differs from other crops; it also serves the purpose of manually replacing old leaves with new ones, so the pruning is quite drastic.

The following afternoon, once the wounds had mostly healed and were no longer at risk of infection, Tong Zhanyan gave them a round of fertilizer.

Once the strawberry work was finished, the crops in the fields were ready for harvest.

This time, it wasn’t just cherry tomatoes; eggplants and cucumbers had all entered the harvest phase as well. With string beans, carrots, and chili peppers already picked, Tong Zhanyan had Ning Langdong go straight to the warehouse to bring out 150 boxes.

He himself took this opportunity to go to the back.

Without Yang Hong and the others, the two of them alone simply couldn’t handle it.

Chu Yi, Wang Yanzhou, Qing Jiyue, and even Qing Suifeng were all gone; they had left last night.

Ever since his explanations had spread, Qing Jiyue’s terminal hadn’t stopped ringing.

While the Alliance members were aware that Qing Jiyue was conducting tests, out of concern for Tong Zhanyan’s safety, only a select few knew the specifics.

Now everyone knew.

Beyond the Alliance members, many who had previously been sitting on the fence could no longer stay put; they began contacting Qing Jiyue one after another.

Tong Zhanyan had anticipated this to some extent and wasn’t surprised.

He looked at the others.

Apart from Tang Shijin and Yang Hong, the ten test participants who had been summoned later, along with the group of guards, hadn’t gone to the small building last night.

This was the first time they had seen Tong Zhanyan since last night.

This caused the emotions that the group had barely managed to calm down to boil over once again.

Tong Zhanyan smiled and motioned for the two of them to follow.

The group silently followed behind.

They wanted to say something—especially words of thanks—but at that moment, they couldn’t make a sound; they could only move instinctively.

By the time they returned to the small building, Ning Langdong had already brought out the boxes and was disinfecting the scissors.

Mr. Bai and the others had already arrived.

Tong Zhanyan divided the group into teams, briefly explained the situation, and then had them spread out.

Of all the crops, cherry tomatoes were the most troublesome to harvest, as they were small in size but numerous.

The group assigned to Tong Zhanyan had the most people.

Tong Zhanyan himself was among them.

With the experience from last time, he adjusted the drone’s cruising altitude to two meters during the first round of cherry tomato harvesting.

While they worked, it hovered ceaselessly overhead.

It took over sixty people working until past six in the evening to finally finish the harvest.

After Boss Bai and a few others dragged the last batch of crops to the entrance, Ning Langdong gathered the remaining boxes and shears, while Tong Zhanyan went to cook.

Though he called it cooking, it was really just boiling vegetables in plain water.

After preparing meals for Yang Hong and his group, the guards, and Boss Bai’s crew, Tong Zhanyan was just about to cook his own when his terminal buzzed.

Qing Jiyue was contacting him to say that Old Xu from the Planting Alliance was at the gate.

Tong Zhanyan was a bit puzzled, but he went out to see him anyway.

Old Xu clearly hadn’t slept well last night; his eyes were bloodshot.

Tong Zhanyan thought he had something to discuss, but Old Xu spoke before he could say a word.

He and Old Wang would apply to have the soybeans unsealed.

Sealed seeds are not permitted to be unsealed again.

They couldn’t lower the infection rate, and there was still no cure for the frenzy—they had to leave hope for future generations.

But all that was before last night.

Now, they would do their utmost to cooperate with Tong Zhanyan.

If Tong Zhanyan felt the soybeans were necessary, then they would be unsealed.

After speaking, Old Xu gave Tong Zhanyan one last deep look before turning and leaving.

He was nearly seventy, and with the emotional toll of failing to overcome the cultivation challenges over the years, he already looked somewhat aged.

In the night, bathed in the dim yellow light outside the door, his silhouette appeared even more aged.

Old Xu had clearly come all the way from the Planting Alliance specifically for this.

And he had come solely to speak to him face-to-face about the soybeans.

Tong Zhanyan watched his retreating figure for a long time before snapping back to reality.

As he moved, he noticed that the group of people who had been busy outside had all stopped what they were doing and stood up; they were quietly watching him.

Gu Yunyang, the leader of the group, was no exception.

Just as Tong Zhanyan was wondering if he should say something, Gu Yunyang gave him a slight nod.

He looked as if he were about to cry.

Seeing this, the others nodded in unison as well.

Tong Zhanyan said nothing; after nodding back, he silently returned to the base.

As the car reached the center of the bridge, Tong Zhanyan glanced back.

The group was still standing there, all staring at him.

Seeing Tong Zhanyan look back, Gu Yunyang tried to force a smile, but couldn’t manage it.

His eyes had begun to burn the moment he saw Tong Zhanyan, and now his vision was severely blurred.

In that moment, he seemed to hear a beast’s roar.

That roar was filled with both rage and fear.

But he no longer felt the same fear as before.

Night had fallen over the entire world.

Only after Tong Zhanyan had vanished from sight did Gu Yunyang take a deep breath and look at the group of people in the clearing. “Let’s continue.”

This time, there were nearly a hundred crates; if they didn’t hurry, they wouldn’t finish sorting them before the next crop came in.

Perhaps they really should consider Tong Zhanyan’s earlier suggestion.

Just sort them by size, then weigh them by the pound.

Realizing what he was thinking, Gu Yunyang’s breath caught for a moment.

Just last night, the idea of reducing the infection rate was still a pipe dream; now, he was already thinking about weighing crops with reduced infection rates by the pound…

The next day, Tong Zhanyan sent Ning Langdong to dig the ground while he headed over to the pigsty.

He needed to finalize the location of the septic tank so he could contact the construction crew.

He also planned to move the chicken coop over during this relocation.

The chickens purchased later had all reached adulthood, and the previous small coop was no longer large enough.

Moreover, with just a few dozen chickens, it was manageable, but with a hundred, even if the manure was shoveled out frequently, an odor was inevitable.

The location for the septic tank was easy to determine—he simply needed to select an open area next to the pigsty and mark out a few sections.

The chicken coop, however, took Tong Zhanyan quite a bit of time.

He planned to consolidate the chickens during the move, which meant he needed a larger coop.

He was also considering whether to raise more chickens.

There was plenty of land; he could dig as much as he wanted.

What still limited him was fertilizer.

He’d previously always been short on fertilizer, so he’d diluted it with water at a high ratio and made sure to use every drop without wasting any.

With this large crop yield, the seedlings from those crops combined with the chicken and pig manure would mean that, even without considering nutrient content, the sheer volume of the next batch of fertilizer would be significantly better.

But that was based on eight mu of land.

This time he’s working eight mu again. Even if he continues to use the next batch of fertilizer sparingly, there will still be a shortfall for five or six mu.

Even if he manages to accumulate some more between the start and end of the cycle, it’s still far from enough to fill all the gaps.

Moreover, the fertilizer produced by decomposing crop seedlings has a very limited effect; while it’s sufficient to sustain the crops, it’s impossible to use it to increase yields.

He still has to rely on chickens and pigs.

As for the chickens, he has eggs; if he saves them up, he can quickly gather fifty or a hundred, and hatching them is just a matter of twenty days.

However, if the numbers increase further, food will become an issue again.

By the time Tong Zhanyan returned, it was nearly noon.

Ning Langdong was still digging the ground, looking as though he knew neither fatigue nor hunger.

Tong Zhanyan called him back.

Ning Langdong hadn’t slept a wink last night.

He certainly didn’t intend to work him to death, and Ning Langdong’s behavior was really putting a lot of pressure on him.

After lunch, just as Tong Zhanyan was trying to persuade Ning Langdong to take a nap, Tian Xinqing and Su Yanran contacted him.

The two had come to discuss changing their majors.

Ever since last night, people had been staring at them wherever they went all day today.

Everyone in the school knew they were close with Tong Zhanyan, and while people had occasionally stared at them out of curiosity before, they were used to it.

But today was different. Today, many of those people had red eyes, and some even had puffy, tear-stained faces.

That made them clearly recall Ning Langdong’s words once again: he just wanted to help Tong Zhanyan.

They’d been moved when they first heard those words, but that emotion had merely spurred them to work harder; they hadn’t given it much thought.

This time, however, was different. They felt it deep in their hearts.

They knew better than anyone just how difficult Tong Zhanyan’s journey had been.

Tong Zhanyan had already done so much—shouldn’t they do something in return?

Even if they didn’t know much more than the viewers in the livestream, even if they probably couldn’t be of much help, they could still do something.

They’d had this idea before, but they’d never fully committed to it. Now, they weren’t going to put it off any longer.

Tong Zhanyan was about to get busy again with clearing land, planting crops, and other tasks, while they still had a lot to learn.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t refuse.

He was definitely short-handed right now.

With Tong Zhanyan’s approval, the two immediately ended the call to file their application.

Tong Zhanyan put away his terminal and looked up, only to find that Ning Langdong was already gone.

He let out a sigh of relief.

But as soon as he stepped outside, he found Ning Langdong already digging in the ground again.

His lips twitched. After briefly considering the compensation for death by overwork, he silently turned and went upstairs, planning to take a nap after buying the furniture Tian Xinqing and the others needed.

He certainly didn’t want to die from overwork.

That afternoon, Chu Yi contacted him.

Tong Zhanyan made his position clear.

That night, Tian Xinqing and the others excitedly told him that their application had been approved, and they could come over tomorrow to help.

No sooner had he finished talking with Tian Xinqing and the others than, before Tong Zhanyan even had a chance to catch his breath, Qing Jiyue contacted him.

Qing Jiyue had gone back to the Qing Family residence with his father and brought his grandfather over.

In addition, they had brought along two others who were also in a state of deep frenzy, though their frenzy periods differed.

By now, the group had already arrived at the back door.

Tong Zhanyan immediately went over to check.

Under the flickering, dim light, on the other side of the mountain, far beyond the three rows of cages, a group of people was covering three newly added cages with cloth.

Even before he got close, Tong Zhanyan could hear the roars of beasts and the sounds of collisions from a distance.

Because the duration of their full-blown frenzy varied, the three sounds ranged from exceptionally frenzied to very weak.

As he drew closer, Tong Zhanyan immediately spotted the grayish-white tiger in the cage on the far left.

It must have been in a frenzy for quite some time; it was so emaciated that every rib was clearly visible, and its stomach was deeply sunken.

It had obviously been washed before being brought here, yet its fur remained filthy in patches, and a faint stench could still be detected.

In its state of frenzy, it wouldn’t cooperate at all; even the slightest disturbance was a trigger.

Of the three, its voice was also the weakest.

The other two were furiously ramming their cages, but this one was just pacing back and forth, looking as if it barely had the strength to walk.

Qing Suifeng was directing the people covering the cages.

The dark environment would make them feel more comfortable.

Under the dim light, Qing Jiyue stood staring blankly at the cage.

Tong Zhanyan stood beside Qing Jiyue.

“I remember him.” Qing Jiyue didn’t look at him, but Tong Zhanyan’s voice reached him, “In the courtyard, he lifted me high up…”

He stopped his father from doing something foolish.

But he knew full well that if he were in that situation, he would have done the same.

Sometimes, living is a form of torment—not only for oneself, but also for those closest to you.

Tong Zhanyan said nothing; he simply listened quietly.

The roars and clashes gradually subsided only after a long time.

Before leaving, Tong Zhanyan told Qing Jiyue about Ning Langdong; Ning Langdong’s mother was currently in the Inner City.

Qing Jiyue had no objections.

If not for fear that a food shortage would affect the test results, he had planned to summon even more people.

After returning to the small tower, Tong Zhanyan told Ning Langdong about this.

Upon hearing the news, Ning Langdong’s eyes, fixed intently on him, turned a terrifying shade of red.

Tong Zhanyan gave him two days off to make arrangements.

The next morning, Tong Zhanyan picked a large crate of crops with reduced infection rates for the people sent to collect them to take away.

People in the fusion state don’t eat more, but as the total number grows, the consumption has become quite alarming.

The viewers’ reaction in the livestream was completely different from before.

“Hope this helps.”

“Cherry tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, cherry radishes, and bok choy… what a bountiful spread.”

“So many crops—just looking at them lifts my spirits. It’s definitely going to be useful.”

“Thank you, senior.”

…

A little later, when Tian Xinqing and Su Yanran arrived, Ning Langdong had already gone to the back door.

Knowing what was going on, Tian Xinqing and Su Yanran felt a mix of emotions.

They had seen just how hard Ning Langdong was working.

Tian Xinqing and Su Yanran’s timing was perfect; not long after, the furniture Tong Zhanyan had ordered earlier was delivered.

Tian Xinqing stayed behind to watch the installation, while Tong Zhanyan took Su Yanran to dig the ground.

When not treated as work, operating an excavator was actually quite fun, but once it became work, that was a whole different story.

By noon, when Tong Zhanyan announced a break, Su Yanran visibly let out a sigh of relief.

Tian Xinqing and his team had just finished their work as well.

Tong Zhanyan had arranged for the two of them to stay in a room on the third floor, next to Ning Langdong’s. After giving a few brief instructions, he left them to it and went downstairs.

With more people around, things got lively.

Listening to the commotion, Tong Zhanyan began to ponder the matter of renovating the house.

He’d already put the word out, so a raffle was definitely in order, but where would the winners stay?

The small building by the back door was the same size as the one he currently lived in; there weren’t many rooms to begin with. It wasn’t even enough to house his guards, let alone if he held a raffle…

Buy two hundred cages?

Tong Zhanyan pictured the scene in his mind.

Pillars as thick as a man, three or four stories high, covering nearly a hundred square meters—yet inside the cages lived a group of people the size of ants…

And he’d have to consider daily hygiene and meals as well…

A communal dining hall would definitely be necessary, but wouldn’t a public bathhouse be a bit inconvenient?

Toilets…

Even Tong Zhanyan, who’d only eaten synthetic feed for a few days, found it repulsive—let alone people who’d been eating it for decades…

He’d have to build the septic tank extra thick to prevent leaks from contaminating his land.

Those who’ve had their digestive tracts cleaned out might be worth considering…

Build two toilets?

Tong Zhanyan pictured a scene where a group of people lived in iron cages, ate in a communal cafeteria, used a public bathhouse, and even had to use the restroom according to their arrival times.

Hmm, even prison isn’t this scary.

Tong Zhanyan rubbed the bridge of his nose. Why did he feel like his base was starting to look more and more like a rural resort?

At the live stream chat.

“When exactly is the draw for sending ravers in a state of frenzy to the ‘short-term stay’ facility supposed to start? Another day of waiting for the streamer’s giveaway.”

“I have a feeling it’s going to be super crowded. It’s exhausting just thinking about it.”

“Over here at the Xu family, after that night, we immediately halted all external cleanup operations.”

“Smile. The Gu Family, Qing Family, and Lin Family stopped ages ago. Not only that, but they’ve already started compiling lists of individuals in frenzy or infected.”

“???”

“My stomach’s already in knots. How low must the odds be?”

“All-you-can-eat fresh vegetables and fruits grown by the senior himself. You can check the fields every morning when you wake up, and you might even get called upon to help out at any moment… I can’t even imagine how happy a life like that would be.”

“Aaaah, why did you have to say that? You’re making me so sad, you jerk.”

…

After giving it some thought, Tong Zhanyan contacted the team that had previously helped him build the pigsty.

It’s still early for the agritourism project, but the septic tank needs to be built right away.

They were available and could come that afternoon.

Tong Zhanyan scheduled them for tomorrow morning so it could be finished in a single day.

Finally, Tong Zhanyan opened the shopping app and bought the supplies for building the chicken coop again.

This time, it wasn’t just metal bars and netting; he also needed to build a shelter to keep the rain off.

Chickens get sick when they get wet, and previously, whenever rain was coming, he’d have to lock them in the warehouse—a hassle that took ages every time.

Since they were moving anyway, it was the perfect opportunity to get everything in order.

There were only two excavators.

In the afternoon, Tian Xinqing and Su Yanran went to dig the ground.

Tong Zhanyan went to clean the pigsty.

Those two pigs were currently going through the most rapid growth phase; over the past two months, they had doubled in size, and when they raised their heads, they were already above his knees.

That also made their snouts look even more intimidating.

However, perhaps because the vegetables were beneficial to livestock as well, their temperaments had noticeably improved.

Although they still stirred when he entered, they no longer charged directly at him; at most, they would let out a couple of grunts.

While keeping an eye on them and scrubbing the pen, Tong Zhanyan began to ponder the idea of buying more pigs.

The two pigs he had purchased were both castrated; at the time, his main concern had been their ferocity, and he’d assumed castration would improve their temperament.

Now, however, he had to consider the possibility of breeding his own.

If he kept buying them from outside, he’d have to start from scratch every time—cleansing their digestive systems and taming their temperaments—so it would be better to breed them himself.

After finishing the cleaning, Tong Zhanyan went out to check the manure pit again. Satisfied that the nutrient-rich liquid was gradually increasing, he returned to the small house.

The next day, the construction crew arrived early.

Tong Zhanyan led them to the pigsty and gave them a brief overview of the situation.

Compared to last time, the group was noticeably more excited yet also more reserved; they had also seen that night’s livestream.

In fact, they were the first outsiders to arrive since that livestream.

Fortunately, despite their excitement, they didn’t neglect their work; they finished before 3:00 p.m.

Tong Zhanyan went to inspect the site; the four manure pits arranged side by side were exactly as he had envisioned.

When it came time to pay, the group waved him off.

They had agreed before coming that they couldn’t accept Tong Zhanyan’s money.

Tong Zhanyan had gone to such lengths for them; if they took payment now, they wouldn’t be able to look themselves in the eye.

Tong Zhanyan walked them to the gate, then turned around and transferred the money to them.

They were all working-class people; making a living wasn’t easy.

He would need their help many times in the future; he couldn’t possibly refuse payment every time, and besides, he certainly wasn’t short on money right now.

The Alliance had just transferred the payment for the second batch of crops; as for the subsequent payments, those would come once the crops were mostly sold and the funds had been recovered.

With such a large volume of crops all at once, even the Qing Family and the Planting Alliance were feeling the pressure.

The next day, Tong Zhanyan organized the harvest.

With such a large quantity, it couldn’t possibly be finished in just one or two sessions.

This time, the harvest of cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplants was still substantial, and the string beans were also entering their peak harvest period.

Tong Zhanyan summoned the Devil King, Yang Hong, the guards, Boss Bai’s group, and even Qing Jiyue.

With over sixty people, it took them a full day to finish.

If things were this tough for them, the situation at the entrance where Gu Yunyang was stationed was even more dire.

By the time Tong Zhanyan finished his work, and the sky hadn’t yet fully darkened, many of the workers had dark circles under their eyes.

Tong Zhanyan brought up the matter of streamlining the process again.

This time, Gu Yunyang didn’t immediately reject the idea as he had before; he must have been genuinely exhausted.

The next day, the materials for the chicken coop that Tong Zhanyan had purchased arrived. Tian Xinqing and Su Yanran continued digging the ground, while he and Ning Langdong handled the installation.

This time, Tong Zhanyan planned to build it directly to 200 square meters.

That way, if they got new chickens later, they could just put them in without having to make any changes.

The only hassle was that with a larger area, cleaning up after them would be more of a chore.

Putting up the netting was easy—it took just two or three hours—but the two of them struggled for ages with the rain shelter.

By a little past four in the afternoon, everything was finally in place.

With so many chickens, Tong Zhanyan gave up on moving them a few at a time and called over Tian Xinqing and Su Yanran to try herding them all over at once.

The chickens were incredibly excited to have this rare chance to get out.

Especially the roosters—they slipped out of the enclosure in no time.

Then came another round of chaos with chickens flying and people scrambling.

After herding all the chickens inside and moving the nests, feeders, and water troughs into the new pen, the four of them shoveled off a layer of soil from the old chicken pen and dumped it onto the plot they were clearing.

The soil had taken on a distinct smell from being used as a chicken pen for so long.

With the chicken pen set up, Tong Zhanyan began collecting eggs that very night.

The fifty chickens in the back were also starting to lay eggs one after another; on a good day, he could collect as many as twenty.

It’s not easy to tell right away if a freshly laid egg is fertilized, so Tong Zhanyan decided to save them for now and check them all together in a few days.

The next day, Tong Zhanyan went to the back door to ask Qing Jiyue and Yang Hong for their advice on the farmstay.

Qing Jiyue focused on safety, while Yang Hong and the others offered insights from a practical experience perspective. Qing Jiyue gave him plenty of advice, while Yang Hong and his group simply agreed with everything he asked.

When they heard he was also considering entertainment facilities, the group even seemed a bit anxious, as if afraid that a dream too beautiful would shatter.

As he was leaving, Qing Jiyue handed him a small bag.

Tong Zhanyan took a look; inside was a small bottle of salt.

“Naturally extracted,” Qing Jiyue said.

Tong Zhanyan was astonished. “There’s such a thing? How come I’ve never heard of it?”

He had assumed that only synthetic products existed in this world.

“Materials brought back by the exploration team from outside—you can’t usually buy them.”

Tong Zhanyan’s hand holding the bag felt heavy.

Qing Jiyue spoke before he could ask how much it cost, “It’s a token of my gratitude.”

Tong Zhanyan thought for a moment and said nothing more.

On the way back, he poured some out to taste it.

It didn’t have a plastic taste; it was perfectly normal.

For the rest of the way home, Tong Zhanyan practically jogged.

He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d eaten something with salt.

He still had a few of the chili peppers left over from before.

Two hard-boiled eggs, a bowl of boiled bok choy and cherry radishes, and a bowl of salted chili peppers with dipping sauce…

Tong Zhanyan ate until his face was flushed red.

In the morning, Tian Xinqing and Su Yanran finished digging up the last bit of land; in the afternoon, they officially began the grueling process of tilling the soil.

The soil was hard to begin with, and who knew how long it had been since it was last turned over? Even though the excavator had already dug through it once, there were still plenty of rock-hard clumps the size of basketballs.

Even if Qing Jiyue had been there, he wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it; they could only break it up bit by bit.

After toiling all afternoon, the four of them had managed to clear an area no bigger than a buttock.

The next day, Tong Zhanyan went straight back to call for reinforcements without hesitation.

They had the manpower, but not enough tools. Tong Zhanyan dug out every usable item from the warehouse before they could barely scrape together enough.

So, amid the howls of envy from the crowd in the livestream—people were practically going crazy with jealousy—the group set to work, pounding with sticks, smashing with bricks, and chopping with chairs, busily enjoying themselves.

Seeing how much fun they were having, Tong Zhanyan decided not to compete with them and went back to the small building to sketch out a plan for the farmhouse.

Building the house would take time, so he had to get started right away.

Tong Zhanyan planned to locate the residential area near the two hills by the back gate.

In addition to the existing ones, he planned to add twenty more cages, mainly because there wouldn’t be that many crops in the early stages.

The dining hall and bathhouse would be communal.

He planned to build two restrooms.

After selecting a layout he found relatively pleasing from a variety of options, the plans were finalized.

For the early stages, he’d go with whatever was most convenient.

The cages are movable to begin with, and the cafeteria and bathhouse can be dismantled and rebuilt at any time if needed later on.

After all, he has plenty of money right now.

With the plans drawn up, Tong Zhanyan turned around and sought out Qing Jiyue and the construction crew from before.

Qing Jiyue would handle the cages, while he asked the construction crew about the cafeteria and bathhouse.

The cages weren’t a problem; the construction crew had a foreman and a company backing them, so they could take on the job.

Tong Zhanyan could sketch out a rough outline, but detailed architectural layout plans were beyond his capabilities.

The other party could draw the plans.

Two days later, Tong Zhanyan received the drawings.

Considering the possibility of adding more people later on, he planned to build the cafeteria and bathhouse larger.

The bathhouse was fine.

The cafeteria, however, was nothing like what Tong Zhanyan wanted.

The cafeteria here was just a place to sell nutritional supplements, whereas he wanted a proper dining hall where meals could be cooked and served at tables and benches.

Tong Zhanyan spent a considerable amount of time communicating with the other party, particularly regarding details such as the cooking stoves, vegetable washing sinks, and serving stations.

The blueprints were finally finalized, and the crops in the fields were ready for harvest.

Tong Zhanyan immediately arranged for another harvest.

This time, the yield was even greater than before, totaling over 120 boxes.

Gu Yunyang and the others didn’t press the issue further. They decided to weigh the produce uniformly based on quality first, then distribute it to various distribution points, where the specific grading and sales would be handled.

This eased their pressure, but it also created a new problem: if the distribution points falsified their records, it would be difficult for them to detect.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t let it bother him. Since he had already handed it over to Boss Bai and Gu Yunyang, let them worry about it themselves.

If he had to micromanage everything, he wouldn’t have time to do anything else.

During this harvest, Tong Zhanyan also picked the fruits set aside for seed saving.

He had always selected the earliest-blooming, best-conditioned fruits for seed saving, but now he had to add the criterion of lower infection rates.

This time, he saved more seeds—a full twelve cups of cherry tomatoes alone.

After separating the seeds, Tong Zhanyan let them air-dry as usual.

While waiting, Tong Zhanyan ordered some seedling trays and mixed the freshly turned soil with plant ash, eggshell powder, and decomposed soil.

A proper seedling tray consists of a single tray with twenty or fifty interconnected, deep, and long soft cells, each with drainage holes at the bottom.

He had no choice before—this world didn’t have such things—so he had to use disposable cups.

He would be growing more and more plants from now on, and if he continued using cups, punching holes in them would take a day or two each time.

So he simply had a batch custom-made at a factory.

Advanced technology does have its advantages; he received the shipment five days later.

With fifty seeds per tray, he ordered enough to grow fifty thousand seedlings in one go.

The day after the shipment arrived, Tong Zhanyan soaked all the seeds and began preparing by filling the seedling trays with soil.

By the time the seeds had soaked for four or five hours, a pile of soil-filled seedling trays had already been assembled.

Tong Zhanyan and Ning Langdong went back to sow the seeds, while Tian Xinqing and Su Yanran continued filling the trays with soil.

More hands make light work—but that depends on how you measure it.

Last time, Tong Zhanyan spent a full two days on seedling preparation, yet this time, with four people working together, it still took two days—simply because the quantity of cherry tomato seeds alone exceeded the combined total of the previous batch’s cherry tomatoes, eggplants, and cucumbers.

When watering for the first time, Tong Zhanyan didn’t even bother with the soaking method; instead, he simply aimed the faucet skyward and mimicked a rainstorm.

This method could potentially prevent the water from penetrating deeply enough to affect germination, but since he had so many seeds now, he could afford to accept some losses.

He planned to simply discard any seedlings that didn’t grow properly.