The next morning, Shao Nan and others were surprised to find that Song Kaiji was missing.

"He has something to deal with, so he'll leave first." Shen Qing said calmly. Since he said so, no one else asked any more questions.

After all, Shen Qing and his group were just traveling with them, and they were not obliged to report everything to them. Only the soldier on night watch was a little confused. He didn't doze off? Why didn't he feel anything when Song Kaiji left?

Hou Weimin also looked at Shen Qing twice more. Song Kaiji took the first step at this juncture, which made him think more.

Sure enough, when they arrived at the gate of the base and were waiting in line for testing, Song Kaiji came over and pulled Shen Qing aside to whisper. At the same time, after hearing the news that Shao Nan had returned, some military personnel also came to Shao Nan.

"We have sent people to investigate the research institute, but they do not admit that the new product they developed previously was hybridized with seeds obtained from the outside world. They also said that the new variety is already under development and will be available soon." The military personnel who came to report to Shao Nan were not sure whether this was true or not. The research institute said with certainty: "Could it be that the information you received is wrong?"

Shao Nan thought for a while, then looked in the direction of Shen Qing and Song Kaiji. The two of them were talking quietly with their heads close together. After interacting with Shen Qing and Song Kaiji over the past two days, Shao Nan trusted them from the bottom of his heart, but was it possible that they were also misled by some news?

Could it be that the mysterious beauty who passed by Hongcheng and left was just speaking irresponsibly, and Shen Qing and the others took it too seriously?

Shao Nan was a little unsure: "What about above? What do they say?"

"It is suggested that we take their seeds first. We are willing to take the ownership of a shop and one thousand crystal cores in exchange. Even if their seeds cannot play a role in the research institute, as long as their seeds can be kept stably, the food in Hongcheng will no longer be monopolized by the government, and we can gain more initiative." As for the low yield of the seeds, it doesn't matter. It just costs more wood-type mutants.

The visitor conveyed the above meaning to Shao Nan: "Besides, what the research says may not be true. We won't lose anything if we hold this seed, so we can wait and see. What if the research institute doesn't come up with anything by the time limit?"

Shao Nan nodded.

On the other hand, official people also found Hou Weimin and said almost the same thing, but the message they conveyed was also to ask Hou Weimin to help get the seeds from Shen Qing.

Hou Weimin held a cigarette in his hand and sniffed it for a long time, but he was reluctant to light it. "Since the research institute is so sure that it can develop new products without the help of foreign seeds, then are the seeds in Shen Qing's hands still important?"

"It's not important to the institute, but it's very important to the government." The person who came to see Hou Weimin was a team leader from the government patrol team. "The reason why we can suppress the military now is because we control the farms and seeds. The military can only be controlled and manipulated. Once they have their own seeds and farms, they will not be so obedient even if the yield is lower."

In addition to food, the military has many advantages over the government. They have many soldiers who are fearless and constantly searching for supplies on the edge of the city. A large number of crystal cores and daily necessities are exchanged by the military with the government for food, including gold bars in the vaults of several banks in the city. And because of the refugee issue, the refugee camp outside the base has always supported the military for rescuing them and hated the government for not allowing them to enter the city. Once the military no longer needs to exchange food with the government, the status of the government in the Hongcheng base will plummet.

"It would be best if they are willing to hand over the seeds. Even if the institute doesn't need them, more samples may speed up the process or breed better seeds. We are still willing to pay them a certain amount of compensation. But if they are unwilling to hand them over... no matter what, these seeds cannot fall into the hands of the military. Even if they have to be destroyed."

Hou Weimin paused, smiled bitterly and pointed at himself: "Me? Leave this to me? You think too highly of me. When I led people into the hospital, they had already established contact with Shao Nan. It's too late to say anything now. This team's combat power is not too high, but their defense is first-class. They went into the hospital to ensure that so many of us were safe and sound. First of all, I can't attack them. They helped so much, and I still have to ask them to teach us how to defend ourselves. Secondly, I won't succeed if I attack them."

Moreover, in order to fight for power, he destroyed the seeds that could allow so many people to survive... Hou Weimin considered himself a seasoned man, but he could not and did not want to do such a thing.

The patrol captain frowned and said, "It is not necessary to attack them. It is best if we can get them."

Hou Weimin looked up at the sky in silence: "I'm afraid it's impossible to get it. You and I know how important this seed is to the military. The military people must want it too. If I were in the military, I would support Shen Qing and his team right now. Even if Shen Qing and his team want to get a job in the military, I would consider it. Can we give so much? You still want to take action against Shen Qing and his team. Do you think Shao Nan and his team are vegetarians? If this matter is exposed, the contradiction between the military and the government will no longer be able to maintain superficial peace, or it will be irreconcilable... This matter has already lost the initiative. If anyone thinks they can get it, they can try. I don't have such great ability." He glanced at the patrol captain: "Unless I am given a higher authority, I can double the benefits promised by the military to Shen Qing and his team."

The patrol captain frowned. He was just here to pass on a message. How could he make such a decision? But it was too late to report back now. They watched Shao Nan and the other two walk towards Shen Qing and Song Kaiji, but unexpectedly, Shen Qing did not follow Shao Nan immediately.

After listening to what Shao Nan conveyed, it turned out that just as Chen Jiaqian said, the research institute was unwilling to admit the lie it had told before. Shen Qing smiled and said, "Didn't they say that the new product will be released soon? There must be a deadline. These seeds won't go bad if they are kept in space, so why not wait until the deadline is up and I'll take them out. Of course, if the research institute doesn't develop new products by the deadline, I'm willing to give these seeds to the military for free, without asking for anything."

Shao Nan was very surprised: "Are you so determined to study all the problems? If you give me the seeds now, our military will still give you very favorable conditions." Just the permanent use right of a shop is worth how much!

However, Shen Qing was so sure.

Shao Nan thought for a moment and then smiled: "Alright, I'll go talk to our leader. How can these few days be so short?" Anyway, Shen Qing has already promised to give them the seeds. It's not a matter of a few days earlier or later. It's better to recruit wood-type mutants in the next few days, just as a change of work order. He still has a bag of rapeseed seeds given by Shen Qing in his pocket, which is enough to prove that he didn't lie and can explain to his leader.

As for this bag of rapeseed seeds, Shen Qing also took extra care: "Be careful and watch it carefully. Don't let anyone sneak away with even a few seeds."

Shao Nan stared at Song Kaiji for a while: "You came back early, did you know the news? Do you have an insider in the institute? What is the problem between you and the institute?"

Is there a feud? Shen Qing thought about it. Actually, it's not really. The research institute bought the vegetables sold by Qu Weiwei and got the seeds by themselves. This is their good luck. They want to find Qu Weiwei. According to Chen Jiaqian, they plan to confiscate Qu Weiwei's house on a random charge, take the seeds for themselves, and take all the credit for themselves.

But all this is still at the fantasy level of the research institute and has not really happened.

There has never been any real confrontation between them and the research institute.

But Shen Qing was not happy. He was not happy with this state where he could be manipulated at will, and he hated the feeling that his things were coveted by others as if they were in their pockets. This reminded him of when he was still very weak, the fruits he picked were targeted by the village boys, who wanted to rob him; he took his silver jewelry to the pawnshop, but the pawnshop owner slandered him as a thief and coaxed and threatened him, and even tried to follow him.

"There is no conflict, we don't know each other at all." Shen Qing said, "Just think of me as a very serious person, just wanting justice."

The justice he didn't get when he was weak, he still couldn't get it after he became strong. Isn't it a joke that he spent so much effort to learn, improve and become stronger?

Under pressure from the military, the institute was forced to give a deadline of one month to develop new varieties. If this was not achieved within a month, the military would search for researchers in the civilian population to join the new variety research and development project. At the same time, the military would also test the research process of the cabbage, radish, and celery seeds that have already been released to see whether they were independently developed or hybridized with foreign varieties.

They said they would have to wait for a month, but the military was actually already secretly searching for researchers. Compared to the smart people in the research institute, there were countless hidden gems in the refugee camp who could only focus on research and had no idea about interpersonal relationships.

The situation has gone beyond Shen Qing's initial plan of just finding a backer. It has developed into a bet between the military and the government, and all the pressure has been put on the institute.

Shen Qing and his team rejected Hou Weimin's invitations several times, saying that they would wait until the results of the research institute came out before letting Tang Wenjie and Qu Weiwei teach the iron cage tactics. During this month, Shen Qing kept going back and forth between Anping County and the Small Commodity Wholesale Market, almost emptying the entire Small Commodity Wholesale Market.

Yu Le has now become the team's housekeeper. She is good at overall planning, dispatching, and human resource management. Knowing that Shen Qing is fascinated by these little gadgets, she did not ask why, but found a few young girls from the families of the superpowers in the outer city to help Shen Qing select.

Those who like to do manicures go to sort out diamonds, those who like to buy necklaces and bracelets go to help Shen Qing distinguish what is agate, what is Xiuyan jade, and what is crystal... A smart girl observed Shen Qing for a while and asked, "I have a classmate who was a hairpin girl before the end of the world. She can also make intangible cultural heritage velvet flowers. She lives in the refugee camp outside the base. But there is no superpower in her family... If the boss needs it, can you give her a chance? You don't have to support her whole family, just let her come to work by herself."

Shen Qing didn't know what a hairpin was, so he learned about it out of curiosity and was immediately amazed. This flower was more delicate than the ones he had seen in the Cuihua shop in the county town! So he readily agreed. The little girl could go to the apartment where her classmates lived in the other city to do the handicraft, or she could take the materials home and do it, and she would be paid by the piece.

His house in Anping County was no longer filled with food, but was now filled with small commodities. Shen Qing began to consider buying another house, firstly to store goods, and secondly to open a Cuihua shop on the street.

Time passed as they moved goods one after another. In half a month, Shen Qing and his team had finished moving the small commodity wholesale market, and the team sent by the institute to Lan Province finally returned.

There was a dead silence in the research institute. Dongniuyi Village and Xiyaotou in Lan Province did have good seeds. The information reported by Chen Jiaqian was correct. Although Shen Qing and his team had already swept through, there were still a considerable number left.

But the varieties they already had were cabbage, radish, and celery. There was not a single grain of other varieties! How could it be such a coincidence?

"Someone must be behind this, it must be! Otherwise it can't be such a coincidence!" The head of the Institute's Agriculture Department began to tremble, but he couldn't figure out who it was. Was it the military? But the military already had the seeds, so they could just open a farm themselves. Why did they go through so much trouble to embarrass them?

People who do wrong will not think that they were wrong from the beginning, and that if they cannot achieve their goal, it means that someone is obstructing or framing them.

They cursed the military for their evil ambitions and why the Shen Qing team, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere and interfered, did not just die. They were terrified of how the official upper echelons would blame them after the failure of the bet, but they were always unwilling to admit or say that they were wrong.

But no matter how they avoided it or how much they didn't want to face it, the one month period was finally up.

Shen Qing was not very clear and did not understand how the military and the government negotiated afterwards. He simply handed the seeds to Shao Nan. As promised, the military announced that the three varieties previously developed by the institute were hybridized with foreign varieties.

The institute was undergoing a major personnel change. The military recruited scientific researchers from the civilian sector to work at the institute, and some of the original middle and senior management were demoted to work at the grassroots level. Many positions were vacant, and Chen Jiaqian also used her abilities to seize the opportunity and took advantage of the chaos to move up to the middle management level.

A glimpse of the whole picture reveals the whole picture. The research institute is in such turmoil, but the Hongcheng base seems calm on the surface, and privately a major personnel change has begun.

Shen Qing didn't care too much about these. Although Shen Qing said he didn't need it, he had money, the military gave him the permanent right to use a shop. Shao Nan personally sent a silk banner and hung it in the store to commend Shen Qing's team. With the military's endorsement, Shen Qing's Tianqing team also became famous in Hongcheng Base. Although the scale was still not large, no one dared to provoke them.

In the end times, selling food is still a good idea. Shen Qing learned from other people and divided the shop into two or three parts to make full use of it. He mainly sells fried starch sausage and gluten, and can also sell fried tofu skewers, pies and the like. It is a fast food that you can take away, and it does not require a large store.

Yu Le and Ge's father were in charge of the shop decoration, so Shen Qing didn't have to worry about it. After finishing this, Shen Qing planned to return to Lantang Village to live for a while.

These days, most of his energy has been focused on the Hongcheng base. Even when he returns to Lantang Village, he comes and goes in a hurry. The starch sausage workshop has been almost built, and he is just waiting for Shen Qing to go back to take charge of the affairs and open the business.

"How long do you plan to stay there?" At night, Song Kaiji clung to Shen Qing like an octopus, reluctant to leave. How long have they been together? It was a time of intense love and passion, but Shen Qing was leaving now. Wasn't this going to kill him? QAQ

"At least half a month." Shen Qing calculated that once the starch sausage workshop was up and running, the shop in the county would open soon after. He also planned to buy a mansion to open Cuihua shop. If there was a shortage of manpower, he would have to buy more servants... Oh, it's a lot to think about! "Between half a month and a month?"

Song Kaiji let out a whine and buried his face in the quilt beside Shen Qing.

Shen Qing was reluctant to leave Song Kaiji. Looking at the furry back of his head, she felt soft-hearted: "Well...if I finish work early one day, I will sleep here at night?"

Song Kaiji raised his head sullenly and rubbed his arm: "Well, it's your deal. I won't lead the team to spend the night outside for the next half month. I will wait for you at home every night."

Shen Qing just found his expression funny. Which man in the village would act like a spoiled child with his brother like Song Kaiji? If outsiders knew about this, they would be so amused.

But it's good this way. Song Kaiji doesn't need to be like other men in the village, he just needs to be the way Shen Qing likes him. Shen Qing likes him this way.

Shen Qing lowered his head and kissed Song Kaiji, and soon he became the host. Song Kaiji was very easy to coax, and he became cheerful again after giving him some sweet treats.

He kissed Shen Qing's neck, then moved to his cheek, forehead, and finally gently kissed the mole between Shen Qing's eyebrows.

"Why do I feel that your mole is a little redder than when we first met?"

I don't know if it's a psychological effect, but when the mole on my brother's face was touched, Shen Qing felt particularly sensitive. He reached out and touched it, then fumbled for a small mirror from the bedside table and looked at it: "It seems to be a little bit?"

Shen Qing wasn't sure. He had been told since he was a kid that a dark mole would make him have trouble having children. Now, he didn't know if it was because of the lighting, but it did look brighter. "Maybe I was too dark before? Now that I'm a lot whiter, the mole looks red, right?"

He used to work in the old Shen family, and he was the one who took care of the fields. When it was hot, his skin would be tanned and red, and his mole would not be noticeable. Now it is different. Not only does he not need to work in the fields, but he spends most of his time in the house. Qu Weiwei also taught him how to use various skin care products. They found a lot of cosmetics and skin care products on the basement floor of the small commodity wholesale market. Although there are no big brands and they are all relatively cheap, you can still pick out some good ones among the poor.

For example, all kinds of sprays. Now when Qu Weiwei goes out, she will take the sunscreen spray and spray it on him. It would be strange if it doesn't get white.

It shouldn't be the color of the mole itself that changed. Shen Qing had never seen a boy's mole change color.

Song Kaiji pinched his chin and looked at him for a while: "It's become much whiter, and more and more handsome. I'm so happy." He gently kissed Shen Qing's mole a few more times, making Shen Qing twist and turn uncomfortable. Then he lifted the quilt and rolled Shen Qing in.