Chapter 257 It's all because of overindulgence
In the morning, Zuo Shan ran to Madam Gu's house, only to find the door locked.
She went to the plantation again and saw the two old men standing there with solemn expressions. As soon as they saw her, the old housekeeper, Gu Yongzhong, came over with a worried look on his face.
"Little Fan, you're finally back! Ever since you left, the plants in this garden have been wilting more and more each day for some reason."
"Several plants have died since the day before yesterday. I don't know why, but I really took good care of them!" the old man said, looking aggrieved.
Zuo Shan couldn't help but rub his forehead. This old lady really was the legendary plant killer. Look at all the plants in the garden, each one looked like a frostbitten eggplant, wilted and listless. Where was the vibrant life she had when she left?
Pan Duole was heartbroken when she saw this scene. She quickly and secretly asked Sui Sui to give the dying plants a little bit of life, but she didn't dare to do it too obviously.
My sister said that her ability is so extraordinary that if it gets out, she will be kept as a life-extending tonic and never have any freedom again.
Zuo Shan observed carefully but couldn't find the cause for the time being, so he had no choice but to stay in the garden and observe for a whole day before seeing how things went.
"Madam Gu, Butler Grandpa, I've come here today especially to treat you to seafood barbecue." Zuo Shan found the smallest temperature-controlled tent, took out the barbecue grill and various ingredients, and invited them over.
Upon hearing that there was something delicious to eat, the old housekeeper's depressed mood eased a little, and Madam Gu also came over with a smile to help sprinkle seasoning on the skewers.
Xiao Bao hadn't seen Han Han in a long time, so the two of them got together and ran to a relatively open area to chase and fight each other. A Chen also used his ankle bracelet to chase after them.
These two are his good companions. Whenever he sees one of them about to suffer a loss, he will secretly use his mental power to hook the other's leg, causing it to pause or fall.
They're all tough and thick-skinned, so they won't get hurt if they fall.
The three friends had a great time. While the old housekeeper and Madam Gu were busy, they pulled Pan Duole aside and asked her to recount the thrilling experience of fighting against the beast tide.
Yesterday, they saw reports online about District 41 being attacked from both land and sea beast tides. Although they confirmed through the information that Little Fan's family was safe and sound, they still couldn't help but worry.
As the temperature of the barbecue grill slowly rose, the small cubicle was filled with the aroma of roasted meat, and the two elderly people ate with great pleasure.
Just as Zuo Shan was about to send Lele to call the two playful creatures back to eat, a video call request came through his wristwatch.
Zuo Shan saw that the message was from Xiao Bai, so he casually clicked on it. As a result, Xiao Bai, with sharp eyes, saw the barbecue scene and said expectantly, "Can I come over and mooch a meal?"
Thinking back to how many ingredients he had given me, whatever his purpose was, those things were genuine.
"Okay, come on over, I'll send you the address," Zuo Shan said generously. Since he had promised to treat them to a meal, it didn't matter whether he treated one or two people.
Moreover, since Meng Tong is Xiao Bai's guard captain, he will most likely protect A Chen's safety in the future, right? She's just building up connections for her son in advance.
Xiao Bai and the others arrived quickly. Meng Tong had eaten a meal at Zuo Shan's place yesterday at noon, but Zuo Shan wasn't in the mood to cook anything complicated after his long journey.
She took out the wild vegetable and meatballs she had stored, made a stew of meatballs and vermicelli, and heated up some cassava cakes, and ate a simple meal.
Even so, after eating it, Mong Thong almost bit off his own tongue; it was so delicious that he couldn't stop eating it!
If his parents hadn't been disgusted by his embarrassing behavior and coughed a few times to remind him to stop, he might have really burst his stomach!
Today, when he heard that the adults were going to take him to Miss Zuo's place for a barbecue, he was overjoyed! He was so happy that he felt light on his feet and wished he could fly to the plantation immediately.
As Xiaobai entered the plantation, he immediately sensed that something was wrong with the surrounding plants. Being of the ice attribute, he quickly discovered the problem after a brief investigation.
"Fanzi, many of the plants in your plantation have been damaged by the frost," Xiaobai said as soon as he saw her.
Although the barbecue smelled delicious, he knew she valued the plantation more, and she would be very sad if all the wild vegetables here died.
"Frozen? Impossible! The plantation has always maintained a constant temperature range. I check the thermometer every day, and it's mostly around -15°C, never below -20°C!" the old butler immediately retorted.
"I don't know exactly what temperature these plants can tolerate, but my supernatural abilities tell me they are indeed about to freeze to death," Xiaobai said earnestly.
“But we have tested it repeatedly before. As long as the temperature does not drop below -20°C, these wild vegetables can survive and grow vigorously. Why are they freezing to death now at the same temperature?” Zuo Shan was also puzzled.
“Exactly, that’s not fair!” the old butler chimed in.
"Grandpa Butler, please think back carefully. After we left, what things did you do that were different from before?" Zuo Shan asked.
"No, I take good care of them every day. I use a boiler to heat them with steam, bury wood ash at their roots as fertilizer, and water them."
"Let me tell you, I'm much more diligent than you two girls. I water them every three days, and I water them thoroughly. I haven't slacked off at all," the old housekeeper said earnestly.
“Yes, yes, I can vouch for this old man. He’s incredibly diligent. He takes care of these plants with far more care than he does his regular job!” Madam Gu said with a smile.
"Watering every three days? Butler, I remember telling you before I left that you should water it every five days." Zuo Shan immediately noticed something was wrong.
"Five days won't do! Didn't you see how thirsty they are? The soil is so dry it's almost cracked," the old housekeeper said with a pained expression.
"I understand why they're freezing to death—because they've absorbed too much water!"
These mutant plants have special heat cells that, when circulating within the plant, release heat upon encountering frozen water molecules, melting the frozen water molecules.
Normally, watering is done once every five days. When the temperature is above -20°C, the rate at which the heat cells melt the ice is greater than the rate at which the water inside the plant refreezes, thus allowing the plant to grow.
However, if you water them only once every three days, the plants will have excess water, causing them to freeze even more ice. The number of heat cells is also limited, and they simply cannot melt more ice in time.
The ice inside the plant will accumulate more and more, and of course, it will get frostbite.
"Oh? So I meant well but messed things up! What should I do now?" the old butler said dejectedly.
Zuo Shanxin said: No wonder you are a plant killer. Plants are just like children. Overindulging them will also harm them.
"So that's why they got frostbite. I think I might be able to help," Xiaobai said with a smile.
As he spoke, he opened his arms and enveloped the entire garden with his supernatural power, then carefully absorbed most of the ice from the plants.
I don't dare to absorb all of it, because the plants would dry out from losing too much water.
Although the plants that had lost most of their ice were still wilted, Pandora carefully sensed that their vitality had indeed recovered somewhat.
It should be back to normal in another two or three days.
While enjoying the delicious barbecue, Xiaobai sighed, "I never thought that taking care of these plants would be harder than raising children. At least children will cry when they are hungry or thirsty, but these plants are mute and can't express their suffering."
As he said this, he looked at Achen with tender eyes, appearing every bit the kind and loving father, completely forgetting how the baby had made him smelly on the aircraft.
Zuo Shan couldn't help but laugh: They say children remember food but not punishment, but this man is 29 years old, how come he's still like a child?
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