Rumors stop with the wise
Old Li's wife got the benefit, and remembering the cold treatment she had received from Zhong Ling before, she naturally agreed.
Afterwards, Huang Jianming contacted a few idle people who usually made some pocket money by spreading gossip.
He treated them to a meal, gave them some "hard work fees", and asked them to spread the news in the village and the city that "Yunxi Village's high-priced vegetables use excessive hormones to stimulate growth, and Lvyuan Fresh has given up purchasing them for food safety reasons."
The first to react was Yunxi Village.
When Zhang Qinglan returned to the village, she immediately found a few old sisters who loved to gossip with her.
"Hey, have you heard? Everyone is talking about Xiao Zhong's dish..." She lowered her voice in a mysterious manner.
"They say it's growing so fast, what kind of ripening potion did you use? Eating too much is bad for your health!"
"Is it true? It doesn't look like it." Someone was skeptical.
"Who knows? Anyway, Lvyuan Supermarket originally wanted to buy her vegetables, but later they didn't dare to ask for them, saying they were afraid of eating them and causing problems."
Old Li's wife added fuel to the fire.
As soon as these words were spoken, the effect was immediate.
Lvyuan Supermarket is very famous in the city, but they don’t dare to buy it. There must be something wrong!
Those who hesitated before because of the price, or felt a little sour because they couldn't get the vegetables, now have a reason.
"That's what I was saying. How can vegetables grow so fast? It's like blowing up a balloon."
"Twenty yuan a pound, I'm afraid the medicine cost is also included!"
"Tsk tsk, you can only judge a person by their appearance but not by their heart. She looks like a very honest girl..."
The rumor quickly spread throughout the village.
Those villagers who used to flock to Zhong Ling for the "magic vegetables" no longer went to buy vegetables from Zhong Ling because they believed the rumors.
Originally, people would "pass by" Zhong Ling's house every day, but now it is much quieter outside the fence.
Occasionally, there were a few brave ones, or those who had tasted the sweetness before and still wanted to buy it, but they were persuaded back by their family or neighbors.
"You're still buying it? You're killing yourself! Didn't you hear it's a hormone-rich vegetable?"
"That's right, wouldn't it be nice to save the money and buy some meat?"
The situation in the city is similar.
After deliberate dissemination, the terms "hormone vegetables" and "sky-high price trap" quickly spread among the people buying vegetables.
Green Source Supermarket’s “giving up purchasing” was even interpreted as an official certification.
In just a few days, Zhong Ling and her "magic dish" went from being the object of everyone's curiosity and pursuit to something "problematic" and "inedible".
Zhong Ling was not completely ignorant of all this.
She didn't care at all. No one came to buy vegetables, and she was happy to have some peace and quiet. She had plenty of time to stay in the space and practice.
After traveling to so many worlds to complete missions, cultivation becomes as simple as drinking water. However, due to limitations of the body and rules, one needs to adapt and improve again.
It has been more than a month since she came to this world. Relying on the spiritual energy and natural treasures in the space, she has successfully broken through to the peak of Qi training and is only one step away from building a foundation.
As for the vegetables, she registered an account online and opened an online store with a casual name - "Delicious Vegetable Store".
The picture was taken by her using the original owner's old mobile phone. The pixels were not high and the angle was very random.
The price is a bit high, all vegetables are 50 per pound.
After just a few days of opening, apart from the default number of views received by the system, there was not a single real visitor, let alone an order.
Zhong Ling didn't care and just hung up and left it alone.
That afternoon, the weather was a bit gloomy, and it looked like it was going to rain. Zhong Ling had just emerged from the space, changed into clean cotton and linen clothes, and was about to go to the vegetable patch to check on the newly planted seeds.
Suddenly, the sound of an engine coming from far away broke the tranquility of the village.
Zhong Ling looked up and saw a black Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle slowly approaching the village entrance. Its bodywork was sleek, and its paintwork shone with a steady luster even under the overcast sky, creating a stark contrast to the low, dilapidated farmhouses surrounding it. The car was clearly worth a fortune, more than a notch above Huang Jianming's.
Pedestrians in the village stopped and looked in curiously. A few elderly people basking in the sun outside their homes also squinted their eyes and discussed whose house the distinguished guest was.
The Mercedes-Benz was driving slowly on the village road, as if it was looking for something. Finally, it stopped in front of Zhong Ling's house.
The car door opened, and the first person to exit was a middle-aged woman dressed very smartly. She was in her forties, with a well-maintained complexion. She wore a well-tailored beige suit and carried an exquisite bag. Although her face showed a hint of fatigue and anxiety, her eyes were sharp, and her every move exuded the competence of a superior.
Then, a young man who looked to be about sixteen or seventeen was carefully helped down from the other side of the car by the driver. The young man was thin and pale, wearing a white T-shirt and jeans. His eyebrows and eyes were delicate, but his expression was a little dull.
After getting out of the car, the middle-aged woman quickly scanned the farmyard in front of her. Her brows knitted slightly, as if she was a little uncomfortable with the environment, but she quickly concealed it. She saw Zhong Ling leaning against the fence, watching them.
Unlike Huang Jianming's scrutinizing and calculating gaze, this woman's eyes were direct and probing, with a hint of subtle sincerity.
She motioned the driver to wait there, then led the young man straight towards the gate.
"Excuse me, are you Miss Zhong Ling?" The woman's voice was gentle but powerful. Her Mandarin was standard with a hint of a southern accent.
Zhong Ling nodded, her gaze lingering on the pale-faced boy for a moment. "It's me."
The woman smiled politely and extended her hand. "Hello, Miss Zhong. Excuse me, my last name is Qin, Qin Yali. This is my son, Zhou Zimo."
The young man behind her just raised his eyelids slightly as a greeting, then lowered his eyes again, looking uninterested.
Zhong Ling didn't shake her hand, but just looked at her calmly. "What's the matter?"
Qin Yali withdrew her hand naturally, with the smile on her face unchanged, as if she had anticipated Zhong Ling's cold attitude, or rather, her mind was not on this at all at the moment.
"Ms. Zhong, to be honest, we came all the way from the city to see you." Qin Yali said straight to the point, her tone sincere, "It's for the vegetables you grow."
Zhong Ling raised her eyebrows, said nothing, and waited for her next words.
Qin Yali glanced at her son beside her, a trace of pity and helplessness in her eyes, and then continued: "My son Zimo, he... he has a bit of anorexia and hasn't eaten properly in a long time."
She paused, as if weighing her words. "A while ago, my aunt accidentally bought some vegetables at the market. She said they were grown in Yunxi Village. That night, Zimo ate a lot of them for the first time and said they were delicious."
"I was very happy, so I asked Auntie to buy it again. However, she couldn't buy it anymore, and instead heard a lot of bad rumors..."
Qin Yali's brows furrowed again, clearly displeased by the slanderous words, "What are you talking about? Hormone-rich food! Eating it is bad for your health."
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