Chapter 317 Fear of Sharing Responsibility
The next morning, Tu Yao grabbed a steamed bun and rushed to the base.
While running, he asked, "How was it? How was it?!"
Two farmers also arrived, took a test, and found that their results were still within the normal range.
Tu Yao immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's good!"
The elderly farmer's surname was Liang, and Tu Yao called him Uncle Liang.
"Uncle Liang, I'd appreciate it if you could take care of these dendrobiums this morning. I'll get the temperature control system working as soon as possible with the other uncles and aunts."
"no problem!"
Tu Yao yawned, quickly finished her steamed bun, and blended into the crowd.
But by evening, Uncle Liang sent word that the dendrobium orchids were starting to wilt again!
A humidity test revealed that the humidity in this mountain area had suddenly increased several times over.
This time, Tu Yao was also stunned for a moment, holding the dendrobium, not knowing what to do next.
She touched the ground, then pulled out her phone. On the screen were messages from Tu Chaoxi, Nan Ke, Lin Yue, Cheng Sangsang, and Xu Bai, sent as usual every day.
She replied to each one in turn.
Xu Bai suddenly sent another message: [Big sister, how's your herb planting going? Is it going smoothly?]
Tu Yao paused for a moment, then slowly typed: 【Successfully.】
Then I immediately turned off the screen.
The next second, the phone suddenly rang.
Two words appeared on the screen: Xiaochi.
Tu Yao answered the call somewhat bewildered.
On the other end of the phone was Xu Chi's slightly hoarse voice.
"I need to inform the boss that I will be going on a business trip this week and may not be able to report to the base at any time."
"May I?"
Suddenly, Tu Yao breathed a sigh of relief.
She raised her voice slightly: "Of course!"
"Tu Xiaomao, remember to rest."
Tu Yao clenched her fist: "You too!"
"Don't worry, leave the herbs to me!"
A voice came from the other end of the phone: "...Okay."
Tu Yao hung up the phone, grabbed a handful of soil, and ran to the makeshift laboratory next door to analyze its components.
Two hours later, the results came back, and apart from the humidity, the soil composition was no different from that of other areas.
So it's still a matter of humidity.
Tu Yao frowned, then suddenly thought of something and looked at the mountains not far away.
A few seconds later, she stood up with a serious expression and turned to walk up the mountain.
...
Three days later, the second batch of Dendrobium orchids planted also suffered from root rot to varying degrees.
A few days later, the third batch of dendrobium orchids also began to wilt.
Even experienced farmers were now somewhat baffled.
The group started analyzing the situation again, one after another. Suddenly, Uncle Liang hissed, "Do you think there's water under our feet?"
"Earth water?"
"That's impossible!"
Someone immediately denied it.
"If there is running water underground, then the humidity should be high and stable."
"Our measurements over the past two days have shown that the humidity is more than ten times higher in the morning, while it is normal during the day."
"So what exactly is the problem?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the other side of the mountain!
"I see!"
Turning around, I saw Tu Yao with messy hair, covered in mud, and holding what looked like a painting in her hand, running down the mountain!
"Xiao Mao? What's going on here?"
Tu Yao waved her hand excitedly, "It's okay, Uncle and Aunt, I know what happened!"
She turned to look at the side and said, "Uncle Liang, I'll have to trouble you to help me plant this batch of dendrobiums on the other side this time."
She looked around and pointed to the easternmost part: "It's planted near the gastrodia elata!"
"Also, check the moisture content of the soil beneath this area to see if it's too high."
"Not the surface, but at least three meters underground."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed, and they all thought of another guess.
"you mean?"
Tu Yao gasped for breath: "It's groundwater, but it's also a living stream!"
"There are two streams of water in this mountain, one is a hot spring, and the other is a normal flowing stream."
Normal water flows into the hot springs daily, running down the foot of the mountain and passing right through the area where they grow Dendrobium.
Normally, the water would flow through without any problem, but the issue lies in the flat terrain, which creates a depression every morning.
It is then slowly absorbed by the ground, which results in this area having a higher humidity than other areas.
These past few days, Tu Yao has been squatting near the hot spring at the foot of the mountain every night, drawing two routes of flowing water along the sound of the underground water.
With the roadmap and Tu Yao's analysis, everything is clear at a glance.
Uncle Liang slapped his thigh hard on the spot!
"So that's the reason!"
This group of people had spent half their lives growing herbs in normal growing conditions, encountering only normal environmental problems, and they never expected there to be such a tricky reason.
His gaze toward Tu Yao was a mixture of pride and helplessness.
"Xiao Mao, have you been going up the mountain every night these past few days?"
"Hurry up, go catch up on your sleep!"
"Leave the rest to us!"
Tu Yao was really tired this time. She let out a long sigh of relief and fell asleep right there in the base.
Upon waking up, some people were transplanting Dendrobium orchids, while others were measuring the soil moisture at the bottom of the ground.
Tu Yao suddenly found herself with nothing to do.
She picked up her phone and checked in with everyone's greetings, just like usual.
As she was playing, she looked at the time displayed on the screen and suddenly froze.
Wait, Koike said he has to go on a business trip for a week.
Ten days have passed now, why is there still no news?
...Has he not returned yet?
Tu Yao's eyelids suddenly twitched, and she subconsciously dialed Xu Chi's number.
It connects in a second.
But unlike before, the person on the other end didn't call out "Tu Xiaomao" before her.
Tu Yao's heart suddenly pounded, "...Xiao Chi?"
A slightly hoarse voice finally came through: "What's wrong?"
Tu Yao was taken aback.
She suppressed a strange emotion welling up in her heart and said loudly, "Xiao Chi! I have good news for you."
Have you identified the soil problem?
Tu Yao suddenly couldn't speak.
On the other end of the phone, Xu Chi said calmly, "Then can we rest now?"
Tu Yao clutched the coat covering her and asked cautiously, "Xiao Chi, are you angry?"
The other side suddenly fell silent.
After a while, a slightly deep voice was mixed with a smooth electrical hum.
"Not angry."
"But Tu Xiaomao, are you afraid to let me share this responsibility with you?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
