"I'll go with you." The old man glanced at the car: "Are there any seats?"
Shen Yanming nodded: "Yes, you can sit in the passenger seat."
The group followed the path to Xiaoshi Town. The old man pointed to the location and told Shen Yanming to stop the car.
"This is where the victims are buried."
The couple got out of the car and looked at the densely packed tombstones, their hearts filled with sorrow. Looking into the distance, they saw rocks scattered across half the town, and could imagine how devastating the disaster had been.
Shen Yanming and Bi Qiaoan were very depressed, and even An An and Nuan Nuan remained silent.
The old man walked to a tombstone, brushed away the dust, and said sadly, "Old friend, I've come to see you again..."
The couple's arrival here was purely by chance, so they made no preparations whatsoever.
Bi Qiaoan glanced at her surroundings, handed An'an and Nuannuan to Shen Yanming, and then walked away into the distance.
Since there were few people around, Shen Yanming could spot her at a glance, so he didn't stop her.
Bi Qiaoan walked about two or three hundred meters before picking a few blooming wildflowers from a patch of weeds.
Shen Yanming saw her action and slightly curled the corners of his lips.
Of course, he didn't notice that his wife had done something underhanded.
While picking flowers, Bi Qiaoan casually scattered the seeds that had been nourished by spiritual energy from her spatial storage.
Mixed among a clump of weeds, there was no guarantee that the grain seeds would even take root, sprout, or grow. But she wanted to try, so she did.
Bi Qiaoan walked around and picked all the wildflowers she could find, arranged them simply, and finally tied them into a small bouquet.
After returning, they handed it to Shen Yanming, and the family of four devoutly bowed to the cemetery.
As Shen Yanming was offering his prayers, he thought, "I hope that in your next life you will be reborn in a peaceful and joyful world. I hope that you will have a smooth and successful life."
What Bi Qiaoan was thinking was: "I hope that if you are watching over me from heaven, you will bless the seeds I sowed to blossom and bear fruit. I don't know what the world will become in the future, but as long as there is food, there is hope for humanity."
An'an and Nuannuan didn't know what was going on, but they still bowed like their parents.
After finishing his conversation with his friend, the old man wiped his tears with his arm and asked Shen Yanming, "Are you still going to watch? If not, let's go back."
Shen Yanming nodded: "I'll take you home." It's very oppressive here.
The old man smiled through his tearful eyes, "Thousands of victims are buried here. Young man, you have a kind heart."
Shen Yanming smiled. What could he say? He couldn't say anything.
The group returned to the town they had come from, dropped the old man off, and then wandered around the outskirts of town.
When they saw wildflowers and weeds, Bi Qiaoan asked Shen Yanming to stop the car so she could get out and pick a couple.
At first, Shen Yanming didn't realize what was happening. But after it happened a few times, he figured it out.
Just as Bi Qiaoan was about to get out of the car again to sow some seeds, Shen Yanming stopped her: "That's enough, too much is as bad as too little."
Bi Qiaoan smiled and said, "You knew everything?"
"You made it so obvious, how could I not know?" Shen Yanming really wanted to hug his wife and kiss her, but the front and back seats blocked his way, so he gave up the idea.
Bi Qiaoan felt a little guilty: "I was just thinking that the environment here is too harsh, and if we don't do something, the local residents may not be able to survive."
“You can’t plant spiritual energy seeds so frequently.” Shen Yanming explained patiently, “If you only plant a few, or a few seeds, you can say it’s the result of environmental changes leading to genetic mutations. But if they bloom everywhere, it’s obviously telling others that it’s man-made.”
Bi Qiaoan nodded: "I know, so we only planted some spiritual seeds in Xiaoshi Town. In other places, we only planted high-quality seeds produced there."
If it's discovered later, they can give the spiritual seed a 'miracle' label, saying it's the thousands of victims protecting the people of Qinghua Kingdom.
Hearing her say that, Shen Yanming breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, don't be reckless in the future. If you have any ideas, discuss them with me first."
"Okay, okay, I got it."
The couple drove around the suburbs for two hours, found a suitable place to sow a batch of seeds, and then left North Harbin.
They came and left so quickly, that's really something.
Next stop, Simon City.
There are many ranches here, and the couple asked around before driving to one with a very good reputation.
Hearing that they were guests from afar, the rancher warmly welcomed the family of four. However, no meals were provided; they would have to find their own food.
Shen Yanming had no objection to this, as they had plenty of food in their space, including the food they brought with them.
So when the rancher saw the two men take the dried meat, eggs, and noodles out of the car, his eyes widened in astonishment.
They have a lot of land here, but it doesn't produce much grain.
Especially in the last two years, the weather has been bad, and even a lot of pasture grass has been frozen to death, not to mention wheat seedlings.
"Guest, is all this wheat flour?" the rancher asked Shen Yanming, pointing to the flour sacks in the trunk.
"Yes, this is food we brought from our hometown, for the journey."
The rancher hesitated, unsure whether he should speak.
Shen Yanming's eyes darted around, and he asked, "What do you need?"
"Well, I... I'd like to exchange some wheat flour with you. I know this request might be a bit abrupt, but we really haven't had any noodles in a long time. Here, besides beef and mutton, we can only eat potatoes and sweet potatoes that have a short growing season."
"Sir, if it's convenient for you, could you exchange some grain for me?"
Shen Yanming feigned difficulty: "How many do you want?"
The rancher was overjoyed. "Let's see how much you can give us, and whether we have anything you need here."
The rancher vigorously promoted his products: "Although most of our livestock now belong to the Alliance, they haven't cut off our livelihood. One-third of them are mine."
"I have cows, sheep, horses, and donkeys. What kind of meat would you like to eat? We can slaughter it on the spot."
Shen Yanming went to take a look and found that the livestock in the ranch were thin and listless.
The rancher said with some shame, "Alas, summers are too short and winters are too long here. The pasture doesn't grow well, so the livestock have nothing to eat. We only managed to save their lives by storing fodder starting in the spring."
Shen Yanming asked, "Since it's so difficult, why not give it all to the guards? Or transport fodder from the central and southern regions."
"We'd like to, too, but we already have a whole troop of guards to support, and we're all struggling to keep up. As for the fodder you mentioned, we've tried it, but the cost doesn't match the output. We tried it twice, and then we couldn't afford it anymore."
Raising these animals is purely a matter of habit now. If they can survive, we keep them; if not, we keep a few for meat and milk, and the rest we just slaughter.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
