Hii readers, sorry for the late upload, there were some issues with the site our account nearly got banned due to five translators logging in simultaneously and uploading all at the same time from different computers for one translator account, thankfully, we managed toresolve it. Enjoy the rest of the bonanza.

Chapter Bonanza (6/10)

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

With the sowing finished and still some time before the pruning of flowers and leaves, Tong Zhanyan had thought he’d have a few days of peace and quiet. Little did he know that early the next morning, there was a commotion downstairs.

Tong Zhanyan looked out the window.

Ning Langdong and his two companions, Old Xu, Old Wang, Yang Hong, Devil King, and the group of guards behind them had all gathered beside the small building to harvest the crops they had planted themselves.

Their seedlings were from the same batch as his, but apart from Old Xu and Old Wang’s, the others hadn’t received a single drop of fertilizer.

On top of that, the seedlings were weak to begin with. At first, the differences weren’t obvious thanks to the seeds’ inherent vitality, but the gap grew wider as time went on.

By the time the plants reached the flowering and fruiting stage, he had already harvested more than half of his crop, while theirs had only just begun to bloom.

Now, his new batch of seeds had been planted, and they were finally ripening in large numbers.

Even so, the group was still quite excited.

Apart from Old Wang and Old Xu, everyone else was planting for the first time.

Tong Zhanyan had originally planned to go down and join the fun, but on second thought, he decided not to spoil the mood.

In his eyes, those crops really weren’t all that impressive.

He opened his livestream for the first time in a while to take a look.

The livestream was quite lively.

“Before, when the senior kept emphasizing the importance of seed viability, I didn’t really get it, but now I finally understand. Just a little plant ash—not even eggshell powder—and no fertilizer. Relying solely on the seeds’ own vitality, they’ve actually produced fruit…”

“I feel like some of these are even better than the ones Heihei Yixiao has been carefully tending to.”

“Heihei Yixiao just finished planting his third batch. He didn’t have much experience with the first two, so this is the only one worth looking at… Senior’s seedlings have already been through many cycles.”

“Don’t even mention it. I’ve only just recovered. Those people who went to the transplant during the giveaway not only got gifts but also received a bunch of seedlings…”

“Shut up, you up there.”

“Shut up, you up there.”

“Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve heard of anyone besides Senior lowering their crop infection rate? It seems like Senior’s crops only started showing a decrease starting with the third batch?”

“I haven’t heard of it either.”

“I guess we’ll have to wait until next time. Even with the same planting method, there’s still a difference.”

…

During this transplanting session, Tong Zhanyan weeded out the weak and inferior seedlings as usual; the discarded ones were divided up among Ning Langdong and the others, along with those who had come to help via the raffle.

Tong Zhanyan began to consider the possibility of holding another raffle to give some away to the audience next time.

After all, he had plenty to spare.

By midday, the group downstairs had finished harvesting.

When Tong Zhanyan went downstairs, he immediately saw the crops packed into boxes of all sizes, piled up under the eaves.

Ning Langdong and the others planned to give it all to him.

Although the crops weren’t as good as Tong Zhanyan’s own, a single gram of them could still fetch several hundred yuan on the open market. Together, they weighed dozens of pounds and were worth a fair bit of money.

The soil was Tong Zhanyan’s, the seedlings were Tong Zhanyan’s, and Tong Zhanyan would sometimes even guide them on how to plant them. They were happy just to experience the entire process.

Plus, during this transplanting, Tong Zhanyan had given them a whole bunch of seedlings.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t want them.

He didn’t eat this stuff anyway; he didn’t need the money from selling it, though it could be used to feed chickens or pigs or as fertilizer…

But Ning Langdong and the others had worked so hard to grow them.

After confirming time and again that Tong Zhanyan didn’t want them, the group left carrying the crops, their faces flushed crimson and their eyes filled with mixed emotions.

The land was lent to them, the seedlings were given to them, and the harvested crops still belonged to them…

In the live stream.

“I shouldn’t have opened this live stream.”

“Is this the punishment for not taking my job seriously and daydreaming?”

“I’m so annoyed.”

“Aaaah—”

…

After seeing the group off, the small house fell silent once more.

Tong Zhanyan made a quick round of the chicken coop to collect eggs, then headed to the watermelon patch.

Over a month had passed; based on normal growth patterns, the vines should have reached about forty centimeters by now, but the longest ones in the field were barely thirty centimeters.

This instantly reminded Tong Zhanyan of his early days growing plants in the training room—the first batch of seeds was always both poor and slow to grow.

At this stage, watermelons thrive best at temperatures between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius.

After confirming the plants were still alive and well, Tong Zhanyan returned to the small building and adjusted the temperature in that area slightly higher.

A few days later, the holiday ended, and Tian Xinqing, Su Yanran, Old Xu, and Old Wang returned.

Learning that Ning Langdong had moved to the dormitory building in the back, the four of them discussed it and decided to move as well.

Back door.

Qing Jiyue was trying to communicate with his Spirit Beast when he spotted Tong Zhanyan helping with the move from a distance.

He went over to help as well.

He didn’t use his abilities; instead, he ran back and forth, trip after trip.

With so many people, the move was finished in no time.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t stay long; he left soon after.

Qing Jiyue watched his retreating figure for a moment. Just as he was about to resume communicating with his Spirit Beast, he turned and met the thoughtful gaze of his father, Qing Suifeng.

Qing Jiyue walked away.

Qing Suifeng followed him.

Qing Jiyue had no choice but to turn back.

“Have I ever told you how I got to know your mother?” Qing Suifeng asked with a smile.

Qing Jiyue shook his head.

Qing Suifeng looked around and chose a relatively secluded spot to head toward.

After hesitating for a moment, Qing Jiyue followed.

Seeing this, his Spirit Beast trotted over to join them.

Upon reaching the corner, Qing Suifeng summoned his Spirit Beast—a fully grown white tiger.

Ever since entering the deep frenzy stage, he had rarely summoned his Spirit Beast to prevent sudden outbursts.

Once summoned, it first stretched lazily before turning to look at Qing Suifeng.

“The one Ji Fei likes,” Qing Suifeng said.

A human-like expression of reluctance flashed across the big tiger’s furry face.

“Hurry up,” Qing Suifeng urged.

The tiger looked at Qing Jiyue, then at its Spirit Beast, resignedly lay down on the ground, and then rolled over onto its back, exposing its fluffy, soft belly, its two front paws kicking the air in a flower-like motion.

After finishing, the tiger climbed to its feet, its eyes hollow with the despair of having been trampled by society.

Beside him, Qing Jiyue’s Spirit Beast looked completely dumbfounded.

Qing Jiyue looked at Qing Suifeng in astonishment.

Qing Suifeng, however, didn’t feel the least bit embarrassed; instead, he began earnestly sharing his experience: “The key is not to be too forced—you have to seize the right moment…”

The day after the holiday ended, Old Xu and Old Wang went out to inspect the fields, and just as Tong Zhanyan had predicted, they found weeds growing there again.

And this time, they found as many as seven or eight of them.

In the ancient era, grass and trees were just as difficult to grow as crops; previously, they’d tried planting them specifically but couldn’t get them to survive, yet now they’d sprung up on their own. Though their feelings were mixed, the group was also quite excited.

They transplanted all the grass as carefully as possible to the edge of the forest, then began inspecting the fields even more thoroughly.

They really liked the grass, but with a shortage of fertilizer, they still had to prioritize the crops.

Grasses compete with crops for nutrients.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t bother with them.

They had already collected enough eggs.

He selected fifty of them and placed them all in the incubator.

Knowing that the chicken coop was about to welcome new members, Su Yanran was the most excited; he couldn’t wait to stand guard in front of the incubator twenty-four hours a day.

A week later, just as they found another seven or eight weeds in the fields, they began to spot weeds sprouting on the relatively fertile soil near the chicken coop, pigsty, and septic tank.

Now it wasn’t just Old Xu and the others—the crowd in the livestream chat was getting excited too.

“We couldn’t even get them to grow when we tried before, but now they’re popping up on their own… Now I finally understand why Senior insisted on using this soil.”

“I’m skeptical of Senior, but I get where he’s coming from.”

“But how did their seeds end up here?”

“Wind or water?”

“That soil really has become fertile, especially the plot where Senior planted green manure later on—we’ve already found eight weeds there in just this short time.”

“Those weeds sure know how to pick their spots.”

…

After raising the temperature in the watermelon patch, Tong Zhanyan went to check on it morning, noon, and night for several days in a row, worried something might go wrong.

In the evening, as Tong Zhanyan was heading back after his inspection, he spotted Old Xu and a group of people gathered on the open ground in front of the small building, discussing something.

As they talked, they kept looking down at the ground, looking utterly heartbroken.

Tong Zhanyan parked his car and walked over.

In the middle of the crowd, on the ground, there was a distinct tire track on a small, flattened blade of grass.

Everyone else, including Old Xu, avoided stepping on the grass, but there was one person who didn’t: Tong Zhanyan.

Tong Zhanyan couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time.

When he went out again a little later, the blade of grass had already been transplanted.

The next day, Tong Zhanyan took a stroll through the fields.

It had only been about half a month since the transplanting was finished, but the transplanting process itself had lasted over half a month, so the first crops—the pumpkins and corn—had actually been in the ground for a month.

The pumpkin vines were nearly two meters long, and the corn had grown to chest height.

This time, he had planted about five mu of each crop. From a distance, the sight was quite spectacular, especially the corn—the plants were large, numerous, and thriving.

With the corn, there’s no need to worry about pinching off flowers or side shoots, which saves quite a bit of trouble, but the pumpkins have reached the stage where side shoots need to be thinned out.

That also means a new round of the busy farming season is upon us.

Tong Zhanyan made arrangements that very day.

He called over the forty workers from Yang Hong’s farmstay.

The first batch wasn’t large, and they finished in two hours.

Seizing the moment, Tong Zhanyan had them apply fertilizer to the entire field while they were at it.

As the amount of land continued to grow, fertilizing had become quite a hassle, taking up the entire following day.

While the fertilizing was underway, Tong Zhanyan took a quick look at the yardlong bean and cucumber fields; they were ready for trellising.

That night, he placed another order for a batch of trellises.

This time, he also ordered a batch of plastic clips.

While the clips weren’t very flexible for building trellises, they worked well for securing crops and could be used later for both large and small tomatoes.

There was already a batch of trellises in the warehouse, so Tong Zhanyan didn’t wait; the very next day, he organized a group of people to get started.

Ning Langdong and his four companions, along with Yang Hong and the others, were already seasoned workers and didn’t need Tong Zhanyan to tell them what to do.

Tong Zhanyan mainly instructed the twenty newcomers.

Just as they finished using the trellises from the warehouse, the new shipment arrived.

While they were busy, Tong Zhanyan went to the sweet potato field and cut a bunch of sweet potato vines.

The vines were already about thirty centimeters long, ready for cuttings.

By the time the trellises were finished, Tong Zhanyan had just finished cutting all the vines.

Ning Langdong and the others had pruned flowers and leaves and built frames countless times—nothing new—, but this was their first time taking cuttings.

Tong Zhanyan had no choice but to give a lesson, explaining the principles and points to watch out for.

The group listened with particular attention; Old Xu and Old Wang even pulled out their terminals to take notes.

It was the first time the viewers in the livestream had seen this, too.

“It can survive without even a root?”

“Every time I watch Senior plant things, it feels so magical.”

“I always feel like Senior’s sweet potatoes are different from the ones I know. And aren’t these seeds from the very best batch?”

“They are from the very best batch. I think Senior went out of his way to buy them.”

“Others let them go extinct, but Senior brings them back to life…”

“Don’t get too emotional yet, folks. Senior already said that pumpkins, corn, and sweet potatoes are mainly grown to feed the chickens and pigs.”

“Others let them go extinct, but Senior brings them back to life—to feed the pigs and chickens. I feel like I can almost hear them crying.”

“They don’t cry. The only ones who cry are us, because we’re not even as good as pigs and chickens.”

“Wait, if we can keep growing them like this, once the new cuttings sprout, can’t we just take more cuttings… and keep it going indefinitely?”

…

Someone at the base had thought of the same thing.

“It is possible,” Tong Zhanyan replied affirmatively. “However, long-term asexual reproduction will lead to genetic stagnation and degeneration. Disease resistance and yield will both decline over time, so it’s best to replant seedlings periodically. The same applies to strawberries.”

This knowledge was new to everyone, and the group took some time to process it.

Tong Zhanyan patiently answered every question, and only after confirming there were no further concerns did he proceed to the next step.

He had already set aside the land, right next to the pumpkin and corn fields.

The soil had already been dug up, but Tong Zhanyan still had the smaller tiller run over it one more time.

Finally, Tong Zhanyan led the way, digging out row after row of furrows.

The cuttings themselves were quite simple; all that was needed was to ensure there were enough buds in the soil.

Tong Zhanyan had discarded any sweet potatoes with an infection rate exceeding 50%, so the seed stock amounted to only about half an acre.

After planting the cuttings, the area had expanded to nearly two acres.

There was still space left in the field, so Tong Zhanyan planned to take cuttings again once the leaves had sprouted.

After finishing the cuttings, Tong Zhanyan watered them thoroughly as usual to help them take root.

With the sweet potatoes planted, the tomatoes and eggplants were also beginning to sprout side shoots and flower buds.

Tong Zhanyan walked around the field, found no issues, and then handed the task over to Ning Langdong and the others.

He went to check on the watermelons himself.

The watermelons were also ready for pruning.

Since there weren’t many watermelons, he didn’t ask anyone else for help.

The temperature in that field was high. Tong Zhanyan had previously only stopped by briefly to check on things, so he hadn’t noticed it, but now that he had to stay for a while, he was drenched in sweat in no time.

When he returned after finishing his work, Ning Langdong and the others had gathered again in the open space in front of the gate, their expressions as serious as before.

Tong Zhanyan seriously wondered if he had accidentally stepped on a blade of grass again.

What Ning Langdong and the others were watching wasn’t grass, but an ant hill.

The mound was clearly newly built, with just a small ring of soil on the surface.

When Tong Zhanyan went over to look, the ants were hard at work.

Realizing the ants were still alive, Tong Zhanyan breathed a sigh of relief.

Ning Langdong and the others found it quite fascinating and crouched nearby, watching intently.

The next day, when Tong Zhanyan woke up, a ring of barriers had been erected around the ant hill.

It was clearly meant to keep him out—after all, he was the kind of person who could casually trample even “grass.”

Tong Zhanyan found it both amusing and exasperating.

But he really didn’t dare provoke those ants right now; if he accidentally trampled them to death, they might actually disappear for good.

Tong Zhanyan thought again of those other beneficial insects.

Once this crop was harvested, he would go see if he could bring some more back.

While Ning Langdong and the others were busy pruning the flowers and leaves off the tomatoes and eggplants, the second batch of chicks Tong Zhanyan had hatched broke out of their shells.

They were from the same brood as the previous batch of chicks, so the infection rate was the same. However, since the previous batch was nearly fully grown, there was no way to put them in the same pen.

Tong Zhanyan dug out the swimming pool again.

There were still a few corn cobs and pumpkins left over from before. Tong Zhanyan chopped up half a pumpkin, cooked it, mixed in some chopped greens, and fed it to them.

Freshly hatched, the chicks were curious about everything; before long, they were intently studying the feeding trough.

After tending to the chicks, Tong Zhanyan went to check on the pigsty for the first time in a long while.

The two pigs he’d bought initially were now about six months old—nearly seven months, to be exact. They stood about 1.2 meters tall and weighed over 140 pounds.

They were already half-grown; if raised for meat, they’d be ready for sale in another two months.

Tong Zhanyan had no intention of selling them.

The male and female piglets he’d bought later were only three or four months old, about half the size of the older ones.

Perhaps because they hadn’t been castrated yet, they still squealed at the sight of people.

Tong Zhanyan watched them with some concern. Would they really be able to breed?

If not, he’d likely have a headache on his hands.

As he left the pigsty, Tong Zhanyan took a quick look at the septic tanks.

Chicken manure, pig manure, crop stalks, and leaves—except for the one beneath the pigsty, they were all nearly full, and the air was thick with the stench of fermentation.

Weeds had grown thickly around the septic tanks.

On the way back, Tong Zhanyan contacted the construction crew from before, planning to build a few more septic tanks.

The cherry radishes, radishes, and bok choy in the fields were nearly ripe and ready to be turned into compost.

The current supply of manure was nowhere near enough to cover forty mu of land.

And even if it was enough now, it wouldn’t be enough once this batch of crops matured.

Ning Langdong and his group were busy working in the fields.

In front of the small building, Qing Jiyue was waiting.

Just as Tong Zhanyan was about to speed up, he saw Gu Yinfeng emerge from the other side of the building, looking around.

As he walked by, Gu Yinfeng spotted Tong Zhanyan and waved.

Tong Zhanyan smiled in response, “What brings you here?”

Qing Jiyue handed the bag he was carrying to Tong Zhanyan. “Salt.”

Tong Zhanyan took a look. “Thanks.”

He was just about to run out of salt.

After a moment’s thought, Tong Zhanyan added, “Should I transfer the money to you?”

According to Qing Jiyue’s earlier explanation, this stuff wasn’t cheap.

Once was fine, but he couldn’t keep taking it for free every time—and it wouldn’t be good if Gu Yinfeng got the wrong idea.

“No need, it’s a gift for you.” Qing Jiyue refused without a moment’s hesitation.

“I’ll pay you back anyway.”

Qing Jiyue lowered his gaze; Tong Zhanyan always liked to keep a clear boundary between them.

The atmosphere grew awkward for a moment.

Gu Yinfeng looked at the two of them and pointed toward Ning Langdong and the others. “Can I go over there and take a look?”

“Sure.”

Gu Yinfeng walked away.

Tong Zhanyan let out a slight sigh of relief.

As he turned back, he noticed Qing Jiyue staring at him with a complex expression.

“Do you like him?” Qing Jiyue asked.

“What?” Tong Zhanyan froze for a moment.

Qing Jiyue’s eyes were filled with complexity, and there was a hint of hurt in them.

“Never mind. I’m heading back.” Qing Jiyue walked toward the car parked nearby, his retreating figure looking disheveled.

Before Tong Zhanyan could say anything, the car had already driven off.

Tong Zhanyan stood at the door for a moment, holding the salt, then turned and went back inside.

When he put the items down and went back outside, Gu Yinfeng was walking toward him.

“Did he leave?” Gu Yinfeng couldn’t believe Qing Jiyue had just left him like that.

“Yeah, he seemed to have something come up,” Tong Zhanyan explained.

Gu Yinfeng nodded.

Tong Zhanyan glanced at the other vehicle parked nearby. “You can take that one.”

Gu Yinfeng didn’t move. “Did you two have a fight?”

“No…”

Gu Yinfeng looked pensive, about to ask more.

Tong Zhanyan spoke before he could. “I’ll transfer the money to you.”

Gu Yinfeng froze. “Why are you transferring it to me?”

“Isn’t he your fiancé?” Tong Zhanyan said as he opened his terminal. “It’s all the same anyway.”

Gu Yinfeng didn’t move.

Tong Zhanyan looked up after opening the payment page.

The smile faded from Gu Yinfeng’s face, replaced by an expression of someone who’d eaten something strange and wanted to vomit but felt too embarrassed to do so in front of others.

“…Who told you that?” Gu Yinfeng asked.

Tong Zhanyan’s heartbeat quickened for a moment. He thought carefully and replied, “A classmate of mine.”

Gu Yinfeng smiled sweetly. “Which classmate?”

Tong Zhanyan didn’t say a word; he just stared quietly at Gu Yinfeng.

Gu Yinfeng said, “I don’t know where he heard it, but Qing Jiyue and I aren’t in that kind of relationship.”

“My mother and his mother were very good friends. After his mother passed away, my mother often took me over to visit him, and occasionally let me stay at his house or brought him back to ours for a short while. ”

“Over time, rumors started to spread, but he and I have always been just simple friends.”

Tong Zhanyan didn’t know how to react at first; his heart was racing uncontrollably.

Knowing that Qing Jiyue had a fiancé, he had always made an effort to keep his distance from him.

But now Gu Yinfeng was telling him they were just friends?

“So you should just give him the money yourself.” Gu Yinfeng headed toward the scooter parked nearby; he was now eager to see the look on Qing Jiyue’s face when he found out.

Watching Gu Yinfeng’s retreating figure, Tong Zhanyan didn’t snap out of his daze until some time later.

He went back to the living room, took the salt out of the small bag to look at it, then put it back.

Finally, he went to the storage room to fetch a pair of scissors, then headed over to where Ning Langdong and the others were.

The group was bustling with activity.

Tong Zhanyan walked up beside Tian Xinqing. “You mentioned earlier that Qing Jiyue has a fiancé.”

Tian Xinqing, who was busy working, looked up in confusion. “Did I?”

Tong Zhanyan’s grip on the scissors tightened, making them click, and his smile grew even brighter.

“You mean Gu Yinfeng, right?” Yang Hong’s voice rang out.

Tong Zhanyan looked over.

“I’ve heard that too, but it seems the Qing Family and the Gu Family aren’t planning a marriage alliance; they’re probably just friends,” Yang Hong said.

In the back door.

After returning, Gu Yinfeng searched everywhere but couldn’t find anyone. Just as he was about to contact them via terminal, he spotted a figure in the woods at the foot of the distant mountain.

He walked over.

Hearing the sound, Qing Jiyue glanced at him, then continued staring ahead.

Gu Yinfeng sat down beside him.

This matter had nothing to do with Gu Yinfeng, but Qing Jiyue didn’t really want to see him right now. He stood up to leave.

“Guess what Tong Zhanyan just said?” Gu Yinfeng asked.

Qing Jiyue looked over.

“Tong Zhanyan said I’m your fiancé,” Gu Yinfeng said with a smirk.

Qing Jiyue’s brows immediately furrowed. “Who told him that?”

The next moment, his heart skipped a beat. So that was why Tong Zhanyan had been avoiding him all this time?

No wonder he’d acted so strangely whenever he saw Gu Yinfeng before.

Qing Jiyue was about to stand up to go find Tong Zhanyan and set the record straight.

Just as he was about to move, he sat back down.

“I wouldn’t know,” Gu Yinfeng replied, now surprised himself. Was that Qing Jiyue’s reaction?

“Aren’t you going to do anything about it?” Gu Yinfeng asked.

Qing Jiyue stared silently ahead.

“Qing Jiyue?”

“He doesn’t like me anyway.” A pang of bitterness welled up in Qing Jiyue’s heart. Just because he’d figured out why Tong Zhanyan had been avoiding him didn’t mean Tong Zhanyan actually liked him.

Gu Yinfeng immediately wanted to say something else, but the words died on his lips—it really was a different matter.

After a long moment, Gu Yinfeng spoke again, “So you’re just going to let it go like this?”

Qing Jiyue didn’t say a word.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

“You’re in a good mood?” Tian Xinqing looked puzzled at the person beside him, whose lips had been curled into a smile since just a moment ago.

Tong Zhanyan ignored him at first, but then decided to respond, “Try not to pay attention to all those messy rumors online from now on.”

“Oh.” Tian Xinqing was clueless.

With Yang Hong’s group now numbering forty people and Ning Langdong’s five, they were more than capable of handling the initial phase.

After helping out all afternoon, Tong Zhanyan went to check on the septic tanks at the back when the construction crew arrived the next day.

This time, he planned to add four more, right next to the previous four.

Building septic tanks was simple, and with the construction crew’s manpower, they started in the morning and finished by evening.

The next day, Tong Zhanyan went to check on them again, then went to look at the watermelons.

A few days passed, and the watermelons had already grown quite a bit.

On the way back, as he passed near the back gate from a distance, Tong Zhanyan glanced over but didn’t see Qing Jiyue.

Three days later, the septic tank had dried out. Tong Zhanyan composted the fully ripened cherry radishes and bok choy from the field and took the opportunity to resow the seeds.

After preparing the green manure patch, Tong Zhanyan also pulled up some of the plants, planning to sow another batch in a few days.

Although there were only four people—Qing Jiyue, his grandfather, and himself—eating from the harvest now, he still had to rotate the crops in two batches; otherwise, they would run out of food at any moment.

In the evening, Tong Zhanyan took a look at the sweet potato seedlings.

Sweet potatoes are incredibly resilient; in just about a week, some of the seedlings had already sprouted white new roots.

And the leaves of the sweet potatoes that had served as mother plants had also begun to emerge again.

Tong Zhanyan cut another batch and propagated them again.

Since the quantity wasn’t large this time, Tong Zhanyan didn’t call on Ning Langdong and the others; he finished the work by himself in the afternoon.

In total, the sweet potatoes covered three mu of land.

By the time he finished, Ning Langdong and the others had just wrapped up their work as well.

There weren’t many seedlings to pinch back in the first batch, but as they got started, more crops began to show branching and flower buds.

That was beyond their control, so Tong Zhanyan had asked Tian Xinqing to start preparing for the lottery in advance.

Before that, Tong Zhanyan timed it so that heavy rain fell, providing the final irrigation before flowering.

Rain would wash away the pollen, so it couldn’t rain like this after the flowers bloomed.

The morning after the rain, the crops were covered in droplets, puddles dotted the ground, and the air was thick with the scent of earth.

Tong Zhanyan slipped on his rain boots and took a walk through the fields.

Many of the sweet potatoes had already begun sprouting new leaves; the pumpkin leaves were nearly as big as a face; some of the corn was already taller than a person; and the rapeseed fields exuded their characteristic fresh fragrance.

Tong Zhanyan had planted radishes and carrots together, but their leaves were distinctly different, clearly set apart.

Amid the massive leaves of the Chinese cabbage, the tender hearts were already visible.

Many of the yardlong beans and cucumbers had climbed to human height; the space beneath the trellises resembled a quiet path leading to another world…

Everything was thriving and brimming with vitality.

Including the weeds that had sprung up with the rain.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t pull them out himself; instead, he mischievously pointed them out to Ning Langdong and the others, looking forward to the day they’d be weeding until they cried.

The group still couldn’t bring themselves to pull them up, so they carefully transplanted every weed they found to the edge of the woods.

After being transplanted, the weeds clearly didn’t grow as well as they had in the field, but because there were so many, they still formed a small patch.

Three days after the rain stopped, just as the ground had dried out, Tong Zhanyan held the prize draw.

Two days later, when people arrived at the gate, some of the crops in the field were even beginning to bloom.

This time, Tong Zhanyan drew fifty people again; combined with his own group and the guards, there were over a hundred and thirty people in total.

Two days later, all the crops had been processed.

After seeing off the people who had come for the prize draw, Tong Zhanyan went to check on the watermelon patch, while Ning Langdong and his group hurriedly transplanted the remaining weeds from the field.

A week later, Tong Zhanyan held another lottery.

By the time the winning group arrived at the gate, many of the crops in the fields had already bloomed, so this time Tong Zhanyan specifically selected twenty more people, assigning half to pinch off flowers and leaves and the other half to pollinate.

Two days later, the winners departed, while Ning Langdong and his team continued pollinating.

No sooner had they finished the first round of pollination than Ning Langdong and his team had barely had time to rest before the next group of winners arrived at the gate.

This time, the tasks of pinching off flowers and leaves and pollinating were carried out simultaneously.

At the same time, most of the crops had entered the flowering stage, especially the rapeseed.

This wasn’t the first time Tong Zhanyan had grown rapeseed, but the scale of this crop was larger than all his previous attempts combined, and the seeds themselves were of much higher quality.

Vast clusters of yellow flowers bloomed in bunches, making all the other crops on the farm pale in comparison.

The bees seemed drawn to them as well; their figures were particularly lively amidst the sea of flowers.

In the live stream.

“I really want to lie down in there.”

“Screenshotting like crazy.”

“I can’t imagine how happy I’d be if I could see this with my own eyes.”

“So beautiful…”

“It feels so full of life.”

…

Watching them, Tong Zhanyan felt quite happy.

The bees alone wouldn’t be enough to pollinate all the rapeseed, but the flowers were dense enough to allow for mechanical pollination.

That put Tong Zhanyan in an even better mood.

“But seriously, could the streamer step aside for a moment during such a beautiful moment?”

“Flowers blooming wildly above, the streamer frantically slapping away below…”

“Hahaha…”

…

In just one morning, Tong Zhanyan pollinated half the field all by himself.

His palms were red from all the flapping.

In the afternoon, Tong Zhanyan put on gloves and continued.

By evening, when Tong Zhanyan emerged from the woods, his head and body were covered in petals.

From a distance, he spotted Qing Jiyue at the entrance of the small house.

Ning Langdong and the others had just finished work and were chatting with Qing Jiyue.

Just as a smile was about to touch Tong Zhanyan’s lips, he saw Ning Langdong sprint toward the nearby scooter and race straight for the back door.

Is something wrong?

Tong Zhanyan didn’t have time to worry about the flowers on his head and body; he hurried toward the small building.

The rapeseed flowers were in the upper left corner of the field, so it took Tong Zhanyan a while to reach the small building.

By then, Yang Hong, Old Xu, and the rest of the group had already gone to the back, leaving only Qing Jiyue in front of the small building.

“What happened?” Tong Zhanyan asked urgently.

“That person has really woken up.” Qing Jiyue’s voice was noticeably hoarse, and his bloodshot eyes were fixed intently on Tong Zhanyan.

“What?” Tong Zhanyan didn’t understand.

“The one with the shortest duration of frenzy—we just managed to communicate with him. He’s really awake,” Qing Jiyue said.

Tong Zhanyan hurried toward the mobility scooter nearby to check on the situation.

Qing Jiyue followed closely behind.

The back door, behind the mountain.

From a distance, Tong Zhanyan saw a group of people gathered in front of the cage.

And before them, inside the cage, the hunting dog from earlier lay quietly on the ground, watching them.

Under the cover of night, his gaze was completely different from the rage-filled look of before; it carried a complexity distinctly human.

Tong Zhanyan approached.

In the twilight, Ning Langdong and the others, who had arrived first, all turned to look at him.

At that moment, their expressions were incredibly complex.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t look at them; instead, he looked at the hunting dog in the cage. “Can you understand what I’m saying?”

The dog didn’t know who he was, but it clearly sensed the atmosphere. It nodded slightly and let out a low growl from its throat.

Tong Zhanyan was taken aback.

The next moment, Tong Zhanyan turned to look at Qing Jiyue beside him.

If this man could wake up, then Qing Jiyue’s grandfather…

“Roar—” A furious roar echoed from the cage next to them, followed by the sound of a collision.

He was the only one who had regained consciousness; his frenzy had lasted the shortest time.

“Let’s get out of here first,” Qing Jiyue said.

In the livestream chat.

“Is it what I think it is?”

“That can’t be right. Forget about those who haven’t completely lost their minds—the crops naturally suppress frenzy, but for those who’ve already lost their minds…”

“What? What?”

“I’m totally lost here.”

“There were two groups in the experiment: one just entering the deep infection stage who still retained their sanity, and another that had completely lost it… We shouldn’t use the word ‘awake’ for those who still have their sanity.”

…

Watching everyone’s analysis in the chat stream, countless hearts in front of the screen began to race at that moment.

If “awake” isn’t the right word for those who retain their sanity, does that mean Senior Da Liu and the others are discussing those who are in a state of complete frenzy?

Those who are in a state of complete frenzy… have “woken up”?

Everyone’s hearts pounded violently; in that moment, the pounding felt almost painful.

They all turned their gaze toward the back door, wishing there were cameras there and wishing they could follow them.