Chapter 56
As the flowering season approached, Qingyun was taking extra precautions, but unexpectedly, a servant from one of the estates was lazy and failed to water the plants with pesticides beforehand, resulting in a pest infestation. "I'm not a three-headed, six-armed man! Do I have to watch over them all every day?!" Qingyun lay on the bed in a fit of impotent rage, having worked himself to the bone every day without a moment's rest.
So what do you plan to do?
Qingyun chuckled. His desire to die hadn't been new for just a day or two. [What else could he do but take tonics?]
Before the system could reply, Qingyun seemed to remember something. [Although I empowered the saplings during their early stages, so the survival rate isn't a major concern, the growth rate is far too slow. Creating an oasis would require at least three generations of effort to see results. Are you suggesting I be transferred to another body when this one gets old?]
System: [Host, don't worry, we'll just treat this like a super-realistic game of house.]
Qingyun: [Who ever had a house-playing party where everyone was starving and freezing beforehand?] Disdainful face...
System: [Where is it growing slowly? It's only been two years. Do you think your anti-censorship belt could grow so fast and so well? If the host wants more advanced technology, you can exchange it with points~]
Upon hearing this, Qingyun couldn't sit still. She quickly sat up and opened the electronic panel, intending to check the mall's information. "What's the name? How many points?" she asked, but a bad feeling crept in. She quickly added, "You wouldn't be so heartless as to require so many points to exchange for it, would you?"
Suddenly, a mischievous pixelated grin appeared on the electronic panel: "[Host, you think too badly of me! For just 100,000 points, you can automatically activate a buff. From then on, trees will grow at a five-year growth rate—as long as they don't die, we'll plant them like crazy!]"
"Wait, wait, wait!" Qingyun quickly interrupted the other person's daydreaming. "Ten thousand?! Ten thousand, brother?! What the hell are you doing?!"
Seemingly anticipating Qingyun's response, the system gave a disdainful look. "Why don't you check how many points you have in your account?"
Upon hearing this, Qingyun hurriedly clicked on the avatar in the upper right corner of the page, where it clearly read, "[120,000?! Are you exploiting a bug, bro?]" She reasonably suspected that this AI idiot knew exactly how many points he had in his account.
[And when did you accumulate so many?]
System: [It's been two years. At your daily planting rate, shouldn't you have this many points? You can check your points details. It's not just from planting trees; there are also points for vegetables, cotton, and public satisfaction bonuses – all of these can add points!]
After hearing what the other person said, Qingyun actually started to feel a bit like playing a large-scale simulation game, but it was just too tiring.
The system asked Qingyun again if she wanted to buy it. What could she say? Of course she'd buy it! [I mean, can't you give me something as a free gift? Buying something this expensive should come with some freebies.]
System: [I can give you fifty packets of MSG.]
Damn! What's the point of giving her MSG? Does she think she's some old folks from the village who would be moved by a mere egg?! [Giving only MSG is so stingy.]
The system asked Qingyun what she wanted. Hearing this, she smiled faintly, a slight smile playing on her lips. She didn't ask for much; she held up her hand to indicate a number and shouted in her mind, "[Fifty Life Gift Packs!]"
System: [Damn!] This shows that artificial intelligence can also say "damn!"
The so-called "life gift package" includes not only daily necessities, but also clothing, a fixed amount of food, rice, salt, sanitary napkins, and so on. It covers every aspect of your life, from coal to Band-Aids. Items that used to cost a lot of money are now all free.
Qingyun: [Hey, don't think I'm ripping you off. This buff was supposed to be provided for free by you guys. Do you expect me to stay here for lifetimes? I'm just asking for a big gift, nothing else. What are you trying to do? I advise you to quit while you're ahead.]
system:【……】
After resolving these issues, Qingyun fell into a deep sleep. He had to get up early the next day to find Yinglian. This girl seemed to care a lot about how she had set a trap for someone else, or rather, she cared a lot about Qingyun's opinion on it.
Qingyun naturally felt that there was no right or wrong to distinguish. This was not the era she lived in. Here, the deceit and intrigue were a matter of life and death. If someone else had really stolen that pot of vinegar, and Madam Shu had framed Yinglian without asking any questions, would she still be around today?
She's not a saint, after all, and the little girl doesn't need to worry about her thoughts for so long.
Early in the morning, she took the best modern scar removal ointment and prepared to go to Yinglian. She even had the system package it for her so that people wouldn't be curious if she took out several aluminum tubes of ointment. Originally, she was using the imperial physician's medicine, but a month had passed and there was still no improvement, so she thought she might as well send the good one over herself.
After comforting Yinglian, the two chatted for a while. They heard that Song Chaoli was planning to transfer Yinglian to serve her. To be honest, Qingyun didn't really agree. First, she didn't know this person well, and what if she caused trouble again? Second, Yinglian had already established her authority in the kitchen, so her life would be more comfortable in the future.
Yinglian herself seemed to really want to go, so Qingyun really didn't want to say anything.
"Miss," Yinglian stopped walking and looked up at her. "I feel like you're different, but I can't quite put my finger on it."
Upon hearing this, Qingyun's lips twitched involuntarily, and she quickly asked with a smile, "What's different?"
Yinglian lowered her head, fiddling with her fingers, as if considering whether or not to speak. After a long while, she continued, "From the day you came to me, I felt something was different, perhaps because you suffered such a great change."
Good boy, you've found me an excuse.
Qingyun smiled like a loving mother, "That's right, people change. Yinglian, you've changed too, but that's a good thing. It's not good for a girl to suffer too much."
Upon hearing this, Yinglian stared at Qingyun's face, seemingly trying to discern the truth or falsehood of his words from his expression. After a moment, she finally revealed a relieved smile and nodded in agreement.
Perhaps it was because he had seen that woman wielding a sword last time that Qingyun really wanted to learn, so he took time out of his day to come to Song Junwu's place to become his apprentice, and he has made some progress in the past few days.
But before one wave subsided, another arose. It was said that Song Chaoyun was coming back, but Qingyun didn't know that this time he was coming for her.
The cotton harvest is nearing its end, and while the results weren't particularly ideal, they were within expectations. This was mainly due to the different management practices of each estate and the varying levels of dedication from the servants. Consequently, some estates produced high yields while others had low yields. The good thing is that many people have already come to Muyun City looking for these cotton seeds, so it seems like it's not a loss.
Like today, the group finally found this place after a long journey, inquiring about Qingyun's reputation everywhere. The farmers were keeping their cotton seeds and refusing to sell them, or the prices were too high.
This year's harvest was just an experiment. Although there was a cotton harvest, many people were unwilling to sell it cheaply. Faced with this situation, the only solution was to increase national production so that the cotton would no longer be a rarity and ordinary people could afford it. Since some people wanted a share of the pie, she naturally accepted them all.
The price of Qingyun seeds is not high, even cheaper than many common seeds. This is because she doesn't make money from these seeds. Even if she makes enough money to buy a big house, she still has to work hard. Not to mention having people to serve her. She is not used to it and feels that it shouldn't be like this.
However, after Qingyun distributed the seeds, several farmers were unhappy and approached Liu Ruo to ask why she was using the name of good seeds to steal their business. Upon hearing that the seeds were originally provided by Qingyun, they came to her again to discuss whether the cotton seeds could only be distributed to their families.
He originally intended to make a fortune through this, perhaps even get a promotion, but the girl in front of him is foolish and doesn't understand the reasoning behind it.
"We'll just keep farming in Muyun City as a family, why should we let others worry about it?"
"That's absolutely true. This was agreed upon in the first place, so how can we change our minds at the last minute!"
Outside Qingyun's dilapidated hut stood several people, dressed in fine clothes, exuding an air of wealth. Upon hearing their words, Qingyun's previously cold and indifferent face finally showed some expression. She frowned slightly and looked at the person who had spoken earlier, "Was it agreed upon before? I only asked Lord Liu to find a few plots of land to cultivate. What other promises did He Cheng make to you? If so, where is the written agreement? Where are the witnesses?"
Upon hearing this, the men exchanged bewildered glances. One of them shrugged helplessly, "Miss Qingyun, this is what Lord Liu vouched for us the other day. He said that once it was planted, it would be exclusively for our few families. You just didn't know that."
Qingyun scoffed and looked at the other party with mockery, "You don't need to use Lord Liu to intimidate me. I only have one thing to say: produce the written agreement."
How could they not see through their intentions? They just thought that since the girl was young and inexperienced, they could deceive her if they could. It didn't matter whether Liu Ruo said those words or not, but now that they had, what if Qingyun was naive and got tricked?
Seeing this, the group tried everything they could to persuade him, offering houses and cars, and even using their connections to remove Qingyun from his lowly status. They were truly incredibly resourceful.
Qingyun didn't want to waste words with these people. She put her hands on her hips and said loudly, "The seeds are mine. I can give them to whomever I want." As she spoke, she looked around at these people and exposed their little schemes. "You don't need to rely on the recipe I wrote. I can teach you how to plant them, and I can naturally teach them how to plant them too."
Without waiting for them to speak again, he went inside and ignored them.
She's been quite troubled by this matter these past few days. Firstly, while pesticides can get away with being used at the command post, what about farmers in other places? They don't have these things, so what will they do then?
"Then why don't you just become a direct distributor?" the system chimed in at the opportune moment.
[I have pesticides, you have distribution channels; let's grow and strengthen the pesticide business!]
Qingyun chuckled, "[Can you supply the whole country? And you're not planting trees anymore? I'll just mix pesticides and sell them every day.]"
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