Cheng Zhen was slightly taken aback, then laughed: "What? Is this guy surnamed Li really a good-for-nothing?"
"He's not exactly a good-for-nothing; he did get into university through proper channels, but later..."
Jiang Wan thought for a moment and found an analogy, "It's like if my classmate was a medical student who slept in class, no matter how talented he was, I would never ask him to treat me or perform surgery."
The analogy was very vivid, and Cheng Zhen understood.
"So you're really just going to let it go? What if Li Siming does something reckless? Wouldn't all your previous efforts be wasted?"
Jiang Wan said to him seriously, "So, it all depends on your skills. Don't let him touch those 31 dawn redwoods, water hyacinths, broadleaf golden chrysanthemums, and those mosses. As for the rest, let him do whatever he wants with them."
There are hardly any green plants left inside the city's protective shield. If Li Siming wants to show off his skills, he has to go outside the shield. He wants to contribute to the human world, and she won't stop him.
After finishing her meal and cleaning up, she took out a 12-inch flower shears from the lab and asked Cheng Zhen to help her move the ladder.
"You want to cut the metasequoia branches?" Cheng Zhen took the scissors directly from her hand. "I'll cut them."
Jiang Wan waved her hand: "You don't know how to pick branches."
Metasequoia trees are generally propagated by hardwood or softwood cuttings, but since it is now an extreme winter, she chose to use hardwood cuttings. She selected suitable hardwood branches, cut them off, cultivated them to take root, and then planted them in suitable soil.
Cheng Zhen didn't carry a ladder; he could easily send the person safely up to the tree branch with a simple jump.
Jiang Wan didn't stand on ceremony. She first observed the tree from below, then gestured for Cheng Zhen to help her up. She found the right spot to cut the branches and used the prepared reagent to treat the wounds left on the tree trunk.
She picked up a total of thirty branches, basically plucking one from every tree.
Cheng Zhen asked, "Why not cut more at once?"
“I’ll give it a try first. The old cultivation techniques for dawn redwood trees were flawed, which is why they failed. I’ll take this opportunity to take them back and study them.”
In addition, these trees also need to be repaired, especially now that the weather is extremely cold. In fact, these plants need to put in twice the effort to survive. In such an environment, even a small cut is the limit of what they can endure.
Jiang Wan carried the flower shears, and Cheng Zhen carried the thirty flower branches she had cut. The two walked back together, and he was thinking about how to persuade her again.
After all, he was worried about her safety if they returned to the inner city.
But before he could figure out how to start the conversation, Li Siming suddenly appeared and blocked their way.
"Jiang Wan." He must have been waiting for a long time, deliberately waiting here for her.
Jiang Wan disliked him, but was somewhat surprised to see him appear in front of her. She nodded lightly, took a few steps, turned around, and prepared to leave.
She felt that there was nothing left for them to say to each other.
"Why do you refuse to work with me?" Li Siming tried to grab her arm, but Cheng Zhen blocked him in time, so he could only ask directly.
Jiang Wan snorted through her nose: "Because we've never been on the same side."
"But it turns out you're wrong! You're the one who should be fired!" Li Siming suddenly roared, his tone venomous and his face contorted with rage. But in an instant, he switched to a warm, gentle smile and spoke to her in a very gentle tone, discussing the matter.
"Jiang Wan, all those things from the past are in the past. In the whole of Xiangcheng, we are the closest comrades-in-arms. We should fight side by side and overcome the difficulties together!"
He became more and more excited as he spoke, as if he were about to personally usher in a new era.
Jiang Wan remained calm and composed throughout, watching detachedly. Only after his initial excitement subsided and he realized no one was paying attention, leaving him feeling awkward, did he finally speak seriously to Cheng Zhen:
"If he can be considered a botany expert, then our undergraduate classmates who graduated with us, as well as the students at Xiangcheng University now, can all be your help."
Her sincere suggestion prompted Cheng Zhen to seriously consider its feasibility, and then she nodded: "I'll talk to Lao Chen about it in a bit."
"Jiang Wan!" Li Siming was surprised to find that after not seeing her for several years, her personality had become even colder and she was even more difficult to get along with. With just one sentence, she belittled him as a useless person!
Watching her leave without looking back, he gritted his teeth and secretly vowed that one day he would make her look at him with new eyes and regret rejecting him both then and now!
Back when he was still an undergraduate student, he pursued Jiang Wan, but was rejected.
He thought he had hidden his thoughts well, but Cheng Zhen was no ordinary person. He saw through his resentment at not being able to have a woman the moment he appeared!
As a result, he swallowed back all the words of advice he was going to give and instead became very supportive of her returning to the Silver City VIP Lounge.
Therefore, he made a special trip to see Old Chen and said, "I already have a clue about Chaoyang's batch of medicines, so please assign the recent tasks outside the city to someone else."
This was probably one of the few times in all his years working under Lao Chen that he had a proper and respectable attitude, truly befitting a squad leader.
But because they had known each other for so many years, Old Chen knew his temperament well and directly exposed him: "You're going back with Jiang Wan, aren't you?"
Beauty Pass, Hero's Tomb!
He used to worry that this guy wouldn't love women and would cause problems, but now that he has a woman, he's worried that he'll become obsessed with her and mess things up!
Cheng Zhen's expression instantly turned very serious: "Old Chen, I really did it for that batch of medicine. The plague in the city is so severe. If we can't find the medicine, everyone's life will be difficult in the future."
"Moreover, I suspect that Yu Tongguang was also involved."
Old Chen disagreed, thinking he was just making excuses.
Cheng Zhen ruffled his short hair that was plastered to his scalp in frustration and cursed, "So what if I went to chase after a woman?"
"So you still haven't won her over?"
Old Chen gave him a knowing look and mocked him for a while. Then he patted him on the shoulder and earnestly advised, "Keep it up. A woman like Jiang Wan is cold-hearted and has a fiery temper. You really need to put in more effort."
You're not a child anymore, don't act foolishly. You two already have two kids, what hurdle can't you overcome? Admit your mistakes, humble yourself. It's not shameful for a man to apologize to his woman!
"What, don't you think she's being disobedient now?"
Old Chen laughed angrily: "She's not one of my soldiers!"
"Besides! If you put in a little more effort and whisper sweet nothings in my ear, it'll make my job easier!"
Cheng Zhen pursed his lips noncommittally, then repeated Jiang Wan's words.
Old Chen's eyes lit up: "So, as long as it's a plant, we can just dig it up and bring it back? Anyway, as long as it's a green plant, it can photosynthesize! Let's get the city residents out here, and I'll apply to the higher-ups for crystal vouchers for them right away!"
Cheng Zhen intuitively felt that Jiang Wan probably didn't approve of doing this, but couldn't think of any reason to object, so he remained silent.
Then they rolled up their bedding and followed Jiang Wan and her two children back to the Silver City Private Room.
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