Chapter Bonanza (7/10)

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

In the twilight, in front of the small building.

A group of several dozen people exchanged silent glances; in each other’s faces, they saw a mix of complex emotions, shock, excitement, and disbelief.

The next moment, the group turned in unison to look at Tong Zhanyan.

There had never been a precedent of someone who had already entered the deep frenzy stage waking up again.

Unlike suppressing the impulses of someone who had just entered the deep frenzy stage, this was no longer suppression—it was healing.

The cure they had so desperately longed for.

Under the gaze of all those eyes, Tong Zhanyan had no choice but to pour cold water on their hopes. “He hasn’t been in the full-blown frenzy stage for very long. I think we need to find more people to test this on, to rule out the possibility of coincidence.”

Unlike Yang Hong and the others, this event hadn’t shaken him as deeply, which allowed him to remain level-headed.

Hearing this, the group immediately grew restless.

“I’ll make the arrangements right away,” Qing Jiyue said as he left.

Seeing this, Qing Suifeng and Chu Yi hurried after him to offer their help.

Tong Zhanyan turned to the others. “Don’t let this get out yet—especially not to the livestream.”

His livestream already had nearly twenty million followers; the concurrent viewership never dropped below five hundred thousand, and during peak hours like noon and evening, reaching a million was commonplace.

Even the slightest hint of this would undoubtedly trigger a massive wave capable of engulfing everyone.

Pulling someone in the depths of frenzy back from the brink—he didn’t need to spell out what that meant.

If it turned out to be nothing more than a coincidence, it would be a disaster for those who were so full of hope.

The group slowly came to their senses and nodded in unison.

Tong Zhanyan sighed silently and added, “If it’s true, the results will be clear very soon.”

Although Qing Jiyue’s grandfather and the others had been brought here six months ago, they had previously been eating only ordinary crops with reduced infection rates. The total time they had consumed crops with infection rates below 20% amounted to just over a month.

If it really worked, it would only take a little over a month.

The group nodded again.

Tong Zhanyan glanced at Qing Jiyue, who was busy working in the twilight, abandoned his plan to go over, and headed toward the small building.

Tian Xinqing, Old Xu, and the others hurried to follow.

In front of the small building, a group of people who had come through a live-stream giveaway was already waiting impatiently.

Seeing him return, they immediately surrounded him.

“What happened?”

“Did those severely infected people who entered frenzy wake up?”

“What’s the situation?”

…

“No, someone just entered frenzy and almost attacked others,” Tong Zhanyan explained.

“Frenzy? Attacked others?”

Hearing this, the excited crowd froze in surprise, as it was far from what they had expected.

“The situation is under control now. No need to worry.”

“It’s getting late. Everyone, come over here…”

Su Yanran and Tian Xinqing hurried out to speak.

After feeding the chickens and pigs and distributing gifts, two hours later, as it neared eight o’clock, they escorted the group out of the base.

In the Live Stream.

“I just can’t help but doubt it—does one person in a frenzy really require this many people?”

“I think it’s a bit odd, too.”

“But if it really is someone with a deep infection waking up in a frenzy, that’s entirely a good thing. There’s no need to keep it a secret, right?”

“True.”

“Made me get my hopes up for nothing.”

“My heart nearly leapt out of my chest just now.”

…

With the farm work finished, Ning Langdong and the others returned and quickly headed back to the dormitory building in the rear.

After grabbing a bite to eat, Tong Zhanyan went to bed early.

He slept soundly through the night.

In the morning, Ning Langdong and his group arrived on time.

They clearly hadn’t slept well last night, especially Ning Langdong, whose dark circles were pronounced and his eyes bloodshot.

With the security cameras present, the group didn’t discuss it openly.

However, from their scattered remarks, Tong Zhanyan gathered that Qing Jiyue had already found suitable candidates and was making arrangements.

Ning Langdong and the others went about their respective tasks—feeding the chickens and pigs.

Tong Zhanyan looked at the plot of land that had been used for green manure.

The plot was a full mu in size, and two crops—cherry radishes, bok choy, and radishes—were currently rotating there. Even if five more people arrived, there would be enough to eat.

But he only had that one mu of land in total.

If that person’s recovery wasn’t a coincidence, then expanding the area as soon as possible was inevitable.

The land he’d cleared and was currently cultivating—not counting the watermelon patch—totaled forty mu. That might seem like a lot, but in reality, it was barely enough to keep the crops alive.

If he really wanted to expand the green manure plot, he’d have to pull up the crops currently in the fields to use as fertilizer and use up all the manure as well.

That way, he could indeed clear another four or five mu in the short term, but it would be no different from killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Most of the fertilizer he currently uses comes from the composted crop seedlings. If he pulls up the seedlings this time, the fertilizer for the next crop will inevitably be reduced.

With less fertilizer, he would either have to plant fewer crops or force the issue and plant anyway. Either way, it would disrupt the current virtuous cycle and thriving situation, causing everything to revert to how it was before.

Tong Zhanyan looked at the pumpkins and corn in the field.

As the two crops sown earliest in this batch, they were only about half a month away from maturity.

After a moment’s thought, Tong Zhanyan returned to the small house.

He sat down on the sofa and contacted the construction crew to request the building of additional pigsties.

They replied quickly, saying they could come over tomorrow.

Once the pigsties were arranged, Tong Zhanyan immediately contacted the farm to reserve sixteen more piglets.

He currently had four pigs: two had been castrated, and the other two—a male and a female—had not. He had originally planned to wait a few more months for the uncastrated pair to breed on their own, but now he had no choice but to move things up.

The farm replied just as quickly, saying they happened to have a batch of piglets available for sale in about ten days.

Tong Zhanyan paid the deposit right away.

After reserving the piglets, Tong Zhanyan got up and went to check the room where the eggs were kept.

He currently has over fifty laying hens, and he collects more than twenty eggs every day. After accounting for those consumed and those used for previous hatchings, he still had over fifty eggs on hand.

Tong Zhanyan pulled out his flashlight, planning to hatch another hundred chicks in two batches.

He now had two hundred chickens and four pigs. Adding the upcoming batch of one hundred chickens and sixteen pigs would bring the total to three hundred chickens and twenty pigs.

The daily consumption would be far more than just “terrifying.”

His current five mu of corn and five mu of pumpkins likely wouldn’t be enough to feed them until the next crop ripened; by then, he might even have to supplement their diet with eggplants and cucumbers.

However, this was undoubtedly the most effective way to break out of the current situation.

This was only the third time he’d planted sweet potatoes, and by then, some might still have an infection rate exceeding 50%, so Tong Zhanyan wasn’t holding out much hope for now.

Tong Zhanyan went through the available eggs, then made a round of the chicken coop to collect a few more, before setting the selected ones to hatch.

By the time he finished, Ning Langdong and the others had already gone out into the fields.

Some of the lateral flower buds that had grown later were ready to be pinched off, and weeds were sprouting again.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t go to help; instead, he headed to the plot where soybeans, peanuts, and red clover were planted.

These three crops started with plenty of seeds, and although this was only the second planting, they already covered nearly two mu of land combined.

Tong Zhanyan had high hopes for them.

Especially the purple vetch, since it has a low infection rate to begin with and doesn’t pose a risk of infection; it will be ready to serve as green manure by the next planting.

Moreover, this plant has an exceptionally strong ability to produce seeds. With just over half an acre now, it should be able to cover five acres next time.

The time after that, it will cover thirty or forty acres.

That’s equivalent to having thirty or forty acres of land that comes with its own fertilizer.

All three crops are currently in bloom.

The purple vetch plants are short, bearing small purple flowers that are quite densely clustered.

There are some bees here as well, but relying solely on them wouldn’t be enough, so Tong Zhanyan spent some time manually pollinating most of the flowers by gently shaking them.

The soybeans and peanuts were a bit more troublesome; he had to use a brush.

The next day, the construction crew arrived.

The pigsty retained the previous design of five individual stalls, positioned side-by-side with the old one.

Two days later, the pigsty was completed.

Tong Zhanyan returned to pollinate the crops.

By the time he had finished handling all three crops on his own, Ning Langdong and the others had already gone through the rest of the crops once.

In the afternoon, Qing Jiyue stopped by. The new people he’d recruited were already settled in—five in total, all of whom had undergone Deep Frenzy within the past six months.

Tong Zhanyan was prepared and handed him the crops right away.

After seeing Qing Jiyue off, Tong Zhanyan called Ning Langdong and the others over to the peanut field and explained the task of trampling the peanuts.

Hearing that they were to “harvest” the peanuts, the group looked somewhat bewildered until Tong Zhanyan planted his foot firmly on the peanut seedlings.

Due to apical dominance, peanuts instinctively prioritize the growth of leaves and stems before producing fruit.

Trampling the peanuts artificially forces the upward-growing stems to lie flat, disrupting this dominance and forcing the plants to concentrate their nutrients on fruit production.

Moreover, since peanuts bear fruit by sending their pod stalks downward into the soil, forcing the stems to lie flat actually helps the pod stalks penetrate the soil more effectively, thereby increasing yield.

Last time, there were only about fifty peanut plants, and he had handled them all by himself. But considering they would be planting more next time, he decided to teach Ning Langdong and the others the technique in advance.

Once they understood what was going on, Ning Langdong and the others exchanged glances and sprang into action.

It wasn’t that they didn’t care—they were still very careful with their steps—but over time, they had come to deeply realize one thing: Tong Zhanyan was right.

After watching from the sidelines for a while, Tong Zhanyan joined in.

His approach was much more casual; sometimes, if he felt it wasn’t enough, he’d give it an extra stomp.

There weren’t many peanuts, so they finished in half an hour.

The next day, the school sent over a truckload of leaves.

Tong Zhanyan hadn’t planned on going over, but seeing them haul truckload after truckload all day without finishing, he went over to take a look in the evening.

The person in charge was Dai Shuda. Not only did he lead a team to collect leaves on campus, but he also organized people to go out every day to collect them off-campus.

This week, they collected a full twenty-plus truckloads.

For a moment, Tong Zhanyan was a bit worried about the trees—he feared they might be stripped bare.

But thanks to them, at least Tong Zhanyan didn’t have to worry about running out anytime soon.

A few days later, the crops that had been successfully pollinated began to bear fruit. While Old Xu and the others were making arrangements for another round of pollination, Tong Zhanyan went over to the watermelon patch to take a look.

Those watermelons had finally started to bud.

Tong Zhanyan immediately pinched off the flowers.

Since it was his first time growing them, he left only one or two flowers per plant.

After pinching them off, he went ahead and pollinated the flowers.

It was hot out there, and by the time he finished and headed back, he was drenched in sweat.

On his way back, he deliberately took a detour to check on the situation at the back gate.

Qing Jiyue was organizing people to check on the five newcomers who had just arrived.

They had just entered this stage and were still full of energy, shouting loudly, which forced everyone else to shout back.

Tong Zhanyan watched for a moment before leaving.

After walking a short distance, he noticed Qing Jiyue had followed him.

“That person is staying conscious for longer and longer periods. We’re currently helping him try to regain his human form,” Qing Jiyue said.

“Is it likely to work?”

“Things are looking good,” Qing Jiyue replied.

“That’s good.”

The air fell silent for a moment.

“Gu Yinfeng and I are just friends,” Qing Jiyue said, looking Tong Zhanyan in the eye.

Tong Zhanyan cleared his throat slightly, feeling a bit awkward. “Sorry.”

Silence fell once more.

Just as Tong Zhanyan was about to ask Qing Jiyue if his earlier offer to let him pet the Spirit Beast still stood, someone nearby called out to Qing Jiyue.

They had to open the cage and go inside to take a look.

Only Qing Jiyue could easily control those who had gone mad.

“I’ll go handle this then.” Qing Jiyue walked away.

Tong Zhanyan watched for a moment longer before returning to the small building.

Early the next morning, the people from the farm delivered the piglets.

Tong Zhanyan took Su Yanran to receive them.

After bringing them back, it took them a while to get them into the pigpen.

Finally, Tong Zhanyan discussed the upcoming arrangements with Ning Langdong. He planned to have Yang Hong and his team send ten more people each morning and evening to help feed the chickens and pigs.

With more chickens and pigs came more food to prepare. Washing, chopping, cooking, and feeding took up a significant amount of time every day, not to mention shoveling manure and cleaning the pigsties.

Once the pigs were settled, Tong Zhanyan contacted the team that had previously developed the excavator and commissioned them to create a new item: a large pot capable of cooking enough feed for twenty pigs in a single batch.

In this world, crops are scarce, so naturally, there’s no such thing as a large pot for cooking pig feed.

The small pot they’d used before was fine for feeding four pigs, but now it wasn’t enough for twenty.

The design wasn’t particularly complex, and the pot was delivered to their doorstep a week later.

Su Yanran led a team to haul it back, then couldn’t wait to give it a try.

Seeing the pot, the live stream chat erupted with excitement.

“It looks big enough for a person to lie down in.”

“That’s the biggest pot I’ve ever seen.”

“How much produce does that take to fill?”

“Cherry radishes, bok choy, corn, pumpkin—their meals are so lavish every single time… Just look at the nutrient solution in my hand. Today’s another day where I’m no match for the pigs.”

“I can barely stomach that nutrient solution right now.”

…

With the pig issue resolved, the work in the fields only increased. As the first batch of successfully pollinated crops began to bear fruit, more and more flowers bloomed.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t dare to delay and quickly arranged another giveaway.

This time, it was forty mu of land, and since pollination was such a tedious task, it was impossible to finish in just a day or two.

This time, Tong Zhanyan extended the timeframe to four days.

This was a first in history—for both the livestream and Tong Zhanyan.

Given the extended duration, Tong Zhanyan specifically had Ning Langdong take the people who’d come for the lottery to the cafeteria in the back for a meal.

While they were harvesting in the fields, Tong Zhanyan also handed out two eggs to each person.

The group was quite happy.

Tong Zhanyan was pretty happy too; after all, not many people can be satisfied with just two eggs and a bit of greens.

This did remind Tong Zhanyan of something: Ning Langdong and the others were still drinking nutrient solution.

Those pigs and chickens had to eat dozens of pounds of crops every day; adding or subtracting five of them made no difference.

Tong Zhanyan thought it over and decided to let them eat in the cafeteria from now on—though they’d be served cherry radishes and bok choy with an infection rate capped at 20%.

At this, the group stared at him for a long moment, unable to speak.

Tong Zhanyan was already paying them wages, and now he was letting them eat the crops…

At Tong Zhanyan’s base, the crops seemed particularly worthless—a huge potful was fed to the pigs and chickens every day—but in reality, many people outside the base couldn’t even buy them if they wanted to.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t say anything; many things were already deeply ingrained in Ning Langdong and the others, and couldn’t be changed in a day or two.

With their living conditions improved, Ning Langdong and the others were full of enthusiasm.

However, before they could put that energy to use, the next day, they discovered crops lying flat in the fields.

Judging by the break points, those earthworms had revived.

The group, who had been raring to go, were instantly enraged. They immediately retrieved the scanner from the warehouse and began searching systematically.

The chickens that had been kept in confinement were also called upon to help once more.

They looked determined not to rest until every single earthworm had been found.

Tong Zhanyan, however, took it in stride, since only two plants had actually fallen over.

In his previous world, insect infestations were inevitable.

After several days of hard work, they dug up over thirty nests and confirmed that the earthworms had been cleared out again. Only then did Ning Langdong and his group finally settle down.

By then, the first batch of crops was ready for harvest.

Tong Zhanyan contacted Gu Yunyang and Boss Bai.

Gu Yunyang had already made all the necessary preparations.

Mr. Bai also rushed back.

Ever since deciding to come help Tong Zhanyan, Mr. Bai had spent the past few days visiting several major distribution points.

The very next day after Mr. Bai returned, the first harvest began.

The first crops planted were corn and pumpkins, and they were also the first to ripen. However, Tong Zhanyan didn’t plan to sell these two.

Without them, the other mature crops weren’t as plentiful; some varieties combined only yielded five or six boxes.

But the fields in this batch were vast.

Even at five or six boxes per variety, harvesting over ten or twenty different crops resulted in nearly a hundred boxes.

And this was just the first harvest of this batch.

In the Live Stream.

“I remember the last harvest—wasn’t the most we ever picked around two hundred boxes?”

“The first harvest is usually small. If we’ve already hit a hundred or so boxes on the first round, how much will we harvest from this batch?”

“I can’t help but feel that the day when Senior Tong can single-handedly feed everyone in need is really not far off.”

“I’m just curious—will there be a discount this time?”

“Same here.”

“Yes, and it starts right from the beginning. The notice has already come down from above.”

…

Ning Langdong and the others were already quite skilled at harvesting. Plus, with over eighty people at the base now, one more or one less made no difference, so Tong Zhanyan didn’t join the crowd.

Taking advantage of the crops ripening in the fields, he turned his attention once again to the plots that hadn’t yet been cleared.

With the crops beginning to ripen, harvest time was not far off.

Previously, these forty mu of land were all in front of the small building. Although they hadn’t filled the entire plot to capacity, there wasn’t much land left.

Tong Zhanyan looked toward the rear and left side of the small building.

Behind the small building lay a vast open area, and to the left, aside from two greenhouses, there were still over ten mu of empty land.

Tong Zhanyan went to the warehouse to fetch some support frames and a few red plastic bags, hopped on his scooter, and headed toward the rear.

Apart from the strip along the riverbank, the entire base was empty, so planning the land-clearing area wasn’t difficult.

Tong Zhanyan focused primarily on planning the roads.

The viewers in the livestream weren’t surprised by this.

Harvesting had only just begun, yet he was already clearing new land—this was Senior Da Liu’s usual approach.

That was how it was.

Until they saw the designated plot growing larger and wider, eventually surpassing the size of the field currently under cultivation.

“Just how much is Senior planning to cultivate?”

“Forty mu? Isn’t that too much? Will we have enough fertilizer?”

“More than that. I’d say at least sixty mu.”

“The fertilizer won’t be enough, will it?”

“One hundred mu… are you serious?”

“A single greenhouse is at most seven or eight hundred square meters—just over one mu of land. This is equivalent to planting the crops of seventy or eighty greenhouses at once… Is he really planning to feed everyone single-handedly?”

“Although I’ve long wondered if Senior Da Liu would one day fill the entire base with crops, isn’t this a bit too fast?

It’s only been about half a year since he moved into this base, hasn’t it?”

“…I’m even starting to worry if this base is big enough for him to farm.”

…

After planting the markers, Tong Zhanyan drove around the planned path once to make sure everything was in order, then switched directly to the large tiller.

He ran the large tiller over the field twice, digging as deeply as possible each time.

After the large tiller finished, he switched to the smaller one and went over the area twice, doing his best to break up all the soil.

Mechanized equipment is indeed more efficient than manual labor. In the past, tilling nearly sixty mu of land would have taken eighty people at least ten days, but now Tong Zhanyan could handle it all by himself in just one afternoon.

By the time Tong Zhanyan returned to the small house, it wasn’t even completely dark yet.

Ning Langdong and the others, who had already finished work, were standing in the courtyard looking at the plot of land he had tilled.

Compared to the crowd watching from behind the camera in the livestream, those actually doing the manual labor all shared the same feeling right now: exhaustion.

They were already frequently exhausted working these forty mu; adding another sixty mu to that…

Seeing that there were still two or three hours before dark, Tong Zhanyan told them about cleaning the septic tanks.

The chicken manure shoveled from the coops was mixed with soil, and over time, a layer of soil had settled at the bottom of the septic tanks.

In the septic tanks specifically used for composting, he had previously mixed in the crop seedlings as catalysts. After a long time, much of it had completely decomposed, so it was time for a cleanup.

As the crops in the fields began to mature, the previously composted manure was gradually being used up. Now, most of the septic tanks were down to just a thin layer at the bottom, making it the perfect time for a cleanup.

A group of people headed over.

The amount of soil in the septic tank used for fermenting chicken manure was even greater than Tong Zhanyan had anticipated—it reached nearly to their knees, making the cleanup exceptionally difficult.

Even more challenging was the pungent odor; even Tong Zhanyan found it hard to bear.

For Ning Langdong and the others, this was their first time dealing with such conditions; they had to step aside every so often just to catch their breath.

Tong Zhanyan had the excavated sludge loaded onto an excavator and transported to the area next to the plot of land in front of the small building that had been set aside for green manure.

This soil, having been soaked in manure, was exceptionally fertile. He planned to mix it into the soil when he expanded that green manure plot later on.

The same applies to the crop residues dug out of the septic tanks used for composting.

Three hours later, when Tong Zhanyan called “Stop,” Ning Langdong and the others sprinted away at full speed.

Tong Zhanyan also hurried to get some distance.

Farming is like that—most of the time, it’s not pleasant, but rather smelly and exhausting.

Chatting and laughing, the group headed toward the small building.

Rounding the corner, they spotted Qing Jiyue from a distance.

Two more of the five men coming up from behind had regained consciousness.

They were the two who had been in the state of frenzy for the shortest time; they hadn’t yet regained full control of their bodies, and their lucidity was only temporary, but they were indeed awake to some extent.

Upon hearing this, Ning Langdong, Yang Hong, and the others immediately headed for the back door to see the situation for themselves.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t join the commotion. After asking Qing Jiyue for more details, he turned his attention back to the patch of land that had been used for green manure.

It was a good thing that it was effective, but this meant the pressure was now shifting back to him.

If possible, he wanted to treat every single inch of soil in the entire base.

That was by no means an easy task.

So, in his original plan, it wasn’t something he needed to consider in the early stages; even if he did, it wouldn’t be for another three to five years.

After getting the full picture, Tong Zhanyan washed his hands and went into the living room, where he activated the camera.

Now that things were settled, Qing Jiyue hadn’t avoided the camera this time. With the usual surge in traffic as night fell, the live stream was already in an uproar.

They’d had their suspicions last time, but the situation was too unbelievable—even if they suspected something, it was just that: a suspicion.

Now, however, they could no longer contain themselves and were hoping someone would come forward to explain.

That was crucial to them.

Among them were many who had persisted solely because of that faint, almost nonexistent glimmer of hope.

After summoning the camera in front of him, Tong Zhanyan simply adjusted the angle to ensure his voice carried clearly, then briefly outlined the situation.

He had never concealed anything regarding the crops.

As for the experiments, he shared everything he knew.

As for the future, he would continue farming, and the experiments would continue. If there were any further developments, he would notify them separately at that time.

For specifics, they could check the Qing Family’s official website; Qing Jiyue would compile a detailed announcement as soon as possible.

After finishing, Tong Zhanyan logged off the backend and went upstairs to take a shower.

Even while speaking just now, he hadn’t dared to get too close to Qing Jiyue.

His entire explanation lasted less than three minutes; he left immediately afterward with decisive efficiency. Yet after a brief moment of silence, the live chat erupted into chaos.

It had only been three or four months since the infection rate dropped, and the internet was still abuzz with discussions. Now, in the blink of an eye, Senior Da Liu was telling them that the deeply infected person had woken up?

Everyone felt a sense of unreality, as if they were dreaming.

In that moment, they had countless questions and things they wanted to say, but when the words reached their lips, they suddenly didn’t know what to say.

Because for them, this wasn’t just a cause for celebration.

In front of the screen.

Watching the discussions on the screen, Gu Yunyang’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly; he couldn’t snap out of it for a long time.

The person in deep frenzy… has woken up?

“Bro Gu, are you okay?” At the base entrance, Tang Xin, who had come to help, spoke with some concern. Both he and Shen Ye knew about Gu Yunyang’s father.

Gu Yunyang looked over in a daze.

Tang Xin’s face was filled with worry.

Gu Yunyang was puzzled. The man in a state of deep frenzy had woken up—his lifelong dream was within reach. What was there to be upset about?

The next moment, he suddenly realized the source of Tang Xin’s concern.

Under the cover of night, at the back gate of the base.

Yang Hong looked at the people laughing all around him, and his first thought was that his mother absolutely must not find out about this.

He immediately returned to his cell and pulled out his terminal.

The call connected quickly. The doctor was surrounded by people discussing the matter; clearly, they had watched the livestream as well.

Yang Hong didn’t know what expression he used when speaking to him, but his demeanor must have been somewhat frightening, as the doctor quickly stopped laughing.

After receiving a promise that his mother wouldn’t be told, Yang Hong ended the call.

The laughter of the crowd outside continued, while Yang Hong sat alone in the pitch-black room, momentarily unsure how to react.

The next day, when Yang Hong woke up, Wang Yanzhou, Tang Shijin, and the others were already washing up; today, they had to help feed the pigs and chickens.

About ten minutes later, they stood in front of the small building.

Su Yanran was already busy.

This wasn’t the first time they’d done this work; after a few brief exchanges, the group got to work.

Yang Hong was assigned the task of washing cherry radishes.

The early morning water was a bit chilly, but it did help him wake up.

After washing all the cherry radishes, Yang Hong was just about to take them to Tang Shijin to be sliced when his terminal rang.

He suddenly had a bad feeling.

Setting the cherry radishes aside, he deliberately walked around to the side of the small building before answering the call.

It was his mother’s attending physician. She had already heard about the frenzy; her condition wasn’t good, and he should come see her as soon as possible.

It wasn’t him who told her; everyone was talking about it.

Yang Hong couldn’t speak for a long time.

After ending the call, he stood there for a while longer before going to find Su Yanran to tell him he might have to be away for a few days.

By the time Yang Hong arrived, it was already nighttime.

In the hospital room, Li Lu was lying in bed, sleeping peacefully. She looked even more haggard than before.

The doctor spoke at length to Yang Hong, mainly apologizing for not reacting in time. Yang Hong listened absently.

After the doctor left, Yang Hong entered the room.

He sat down by the bed.

Perhaps because he moved too abruptly, the person who should have been asleep opened her eyes.

Recognizing him, Li Lu smiled. “You’re here?”

“Mm.” Yang Hong smoothed the corner of her blanket.

“By the way, have you heard? People in frenzy can be saved—they’ll wake up as long as they eat the crops from Senior Da Liu’s base,” Li Lu asked.

Yang Hong’s hand paused as he tugged at the corner of the blanket, then he continued, “Hmm…”

Li Lu’s eyes lit up. “Your dad can be saved. Thank goodness we didn’t give up back then…”

Yang Hong lowered his gaze. “Mm.”

“I just don’t know where we can buy those crops. They must be in high demand right now…”

“You work for the Gu Family—could you ask someone there?”

“Oh, right. Your dad doesn’t know yet. I need to go tell him.”

…

After finally getting her to sleep, Yang Hong stepped outside and saw the doctor waiting at the door.

The doctor’s face was filled with guilt.

“Her condition isn’t looking good…”

The doctor phrased it delicately, but Yang Hong understood immediately.

The decisiveness of her youth had become a sword that now pierced her in her old age.

Yang Hong wasn’t surprised. “How much time does she have left?”

“…Please spend as much time with her as you can…”