Lin Wanqiu had just finished off Old Madam Shen and she scurried away when she turned around and saw Shen Nian'an standing at the door, clutching the hem of his clothes, his little face still showing signs of panic. She quickly went over and squatted down, pinching her son's soft cheek: "An'an, don't be afraid. Grandma just has a loud voice. Mom has already chased her away."
Shen Nian'an blinked her wet eyes, reached out and hugged her neck, rubbing her little head against her shoulder: "Mom, you're so amazing." This soft praise warmed Lin Wanqiu's heart instantly—with this child around, all the troubles seemed to melt away like snow in the sun.
After coaxing Shen Nian'an to play with pebbles in the yard, Lin Wanqiu turned and went into the kitchen. The sweet potato porridge on the stove was still simmering on a low flame, bubbling gently and filling the entire house with its sweet aroma. She lifted the lid and stirred it, her gaze falling on the jade pendant on her chest—when she was dealing with Old Madam Shen earlier, the jade pendant seemed to have become slightly warm; could it be that something had changed in the space?
Taking advantage of Chen Nian'an's inattention, Lin Wanqiu moved her mind and instantly entered the space. The familiar warehouse came into view, with shelves piled high with rice, flour, and canned goods, and water barrels neatly arranged in the corner, just like always. But when she walked to the plot of land where she had planted vegetables last time, she found that the vegetables that had originally been planted in a small patch had unknowingly spread to the open space next to it, forming a lush green patch that looked very pleasing.
"Could space automatically generate something?" Lin Wanqiu squatted down, her fingertips brushing against the dewdrops on the leaves, the cool touch feeling so real it didn't seem fake. As she pondered this, she suddenly caught sight of a wooden door she had never seen before at the end of the warehouse, with the words "Zhong Zang" (meaning "seed storage") faintly carved on the lintel, as if it had been covered by dust for a long time.
She walked over and gently pushed open the wooden door. A fresh scent of earth and grass wafted out. Behind the door was a small room of about ten square meters, with rows of glass jars neatly arranged on the shelves, each with a yellowed label. Lin Wanqiu picked up a jar, and the words "High-Yield Rice Seeds (Three Crops in One Season)" on the label made her eyes light up instantly—these were no ordinary seeds; they were precious gems!
She examined each seed individually: corn, wheat, soybeans, tomatoes, cucumbers… even seeds for rare fruits like strawberries and grapes. Each label bore the words "insect-resistant," "high-yielding," and "highly adaptable." Lin Wanqiu held a jar of tomato seeds, her hands trembling slightly—in this era where even food was scarce, if she could grow these crops, not only would she and An'an have meat and vegetables for every meal, but they might even be able to earn some money and completely escape the Shen family's entanglement.
"With these seeds, we won't have to worry about not having enough food anymore." Lin Wanqiu put the seed jar back in its place and began to plan. The land in the space was more than an acre. If planned properly, grains, vegetables, and fruits could all be planted. Rice and wheat could be planted near a water source to ensure irrigation; vegetables could be planted in the middle for easy harvesting; and fruit seeds could be sown first, and then transplanted to a corner to cultivate them slowly.
She grew more and more excited as she thought about it, and took out her little notebook (which she had taken from her spatial storage) and wrote down the planting plan stroke by stroke:
1. First, cultivate half an acre of land to grow rice. Select high-yield seeds that can be harvested three times a year. After they mature, they can be kept as food for the people and the surplus can be ground into rice flour.
2. Set aside two-tenths of an acre to plant wheat. After the harvest, we can grind the flour ourselves to make steamed buns and noodles for An'an, so we won't have to secretly take it from our space anymore;
3. Divide the remaining land into small plots and plant common vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplants. This way, we can eat them ourselves and also sell them in town for some money.
4. Fruit seeds should be cultivated in seedling trays first, and then transplanted after the seedlings have grown. After all, the growth cycle of fruit is long, so it has to be done slowly.
After finishing the plan, Lin Wanqiu faced another problem—although there was land in the space, there were no farming tools. She couldn't very well dig the ground by hand, could she? She went back to the warehouse and searched around. Sure enough, she found a hoe, a sickle, a watering can, and even a small planter on the bottom shelf. She tried lifting the hoe; the weight was just right, much better than the rusty farming tools sold at the supply and marketing cooperative outside.
"Now everything is ready." Lin Wanqiu moved the farm tools to the side of the land and was about to try digging the first hole when she suddenly remembered Shen Nian'an outside. She quickly exited the space and had barely stood still when she saw Shen Nian'an running over holding a smooth pebble: "Mom, look, An'an found a pretty stone!"
Lin Wanqiu took the pebble and feigned surprise, "Wow, An'an is so amazing! This pebble is brighter than the stars in the sky." Shen Nian'an blushed with pride and skipped off to pick up more pebbles. Watching her son's cheerful figure, Lin Wanqiu secretly made up her mind: she must plant the seeds as soon as possible so that An'an could enjoy a life with meat at every meal and fruit every day.
Over the next few days, Lin Wanqiu was busy cultivating the land in her spatial dimension while also looking after Shen Nian'an. During the day, she had to go to the fields to earn work points, so she could only sneak into the spatial dimension to work at night after Shen Nian'an had fallen asleep. Time flowed slower in the spatial dimension than outside; one hour outside was equivalent to three hours inside. This allowed her to ensure she got enough sleep while efficiently cultivating the land.
That night, after lulling Shen Nian'an to sleep, Lin Wanqiu quietly entered her spatial dimension. She first loosened the soil with a hoe, then raked it to break up the clods, smoothing it as if it were a mirror. Following her plan, she first sowed rice seeds near the water source, then planted wheat next to them. Working until midnight, she finally finished planting all the grain seeds. Looking at the hope hidden in the dark earth, Lin Wanqiu wiped the sweat from her brow, and a smile involuntarily crept onto her lips.
Just as she was about to get up, she suddenly remembered something—although there was a water source in the space, there was no fertilizer. Relying solely on the soil's fertility, it would probably be difficult to unleash the seeds' full potential. She frowned and pondered: the manure outside was too dirty and could easily cause trouble. There seemed to be organic fertilizer in the space's storage room; why not try using it?
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