Chapter Eight

Liu Wensheng turned to the system interface.

Current Mission: Purchase three mu of land and successfully plant crops. (30 days remaining)

Mission Reward: Basic Irrigation Machine.

System Inventory: Primary Selection Pack ×1, Random Seed ×1.

System Points: 3000

…

The system interface was concise and clear. Liu Wensheng gestured for Qin Yun to claim the system rewards. Qin Yun didn’t hesitate and clicked directly.

“Congratulations, Host has obtained Primary Selection Pack: Seed Upgrade Card ×1. Random Seed: [Wheat Seed] ×3.”

Seed Upgrade Card: Enhances the quality of any seed. (Unit: mu)

Wheat Seed: It’s autumn, the season of wheat harvest. Please take planting seriously, Host! (Note: Wheat seeds are only valid within the farm area, unit: mu.)

…

[Seed Upgrade Card] and [Wheat Seed] were neatly displayed in the inventory. After reading, the two turned their attention to the current mission: purchase three mu of land and successfully plant crops. The farmland is categorized into four levels: Basic, Primary, Intermediate, and Advanced. Only Primary level and above can be used for planting.

Liu Wensheng was quite frustrated looking at the rules. Since activating the Heart of the Farm, the National Research Institute had studied the farm’s soil. The farm soil was rich in organic matter. If regular soil was one-star, the farm soil would be five-star. And now this five-star land couldn’t be used for farming… He felt it was a tremendous waste.

Qin Yun was equally frustrated. He finally understood why, despite working hard for a year in his previous life, the system had always rated him at Rookie Level… It turns out the land quality didn’t meet the standard.

They turned to the points shop. Currently, the shop had three unlocked items: [Primary Land], [Wheat Seed], and [Seed Upgrade Card].

Primary Land: 1000/ mu

Wheat Seed: 1000/ mu

Seed Upgrade Card: 100,000/ mu (only valid for Primary–Intermediate)

…

Shop Rule: Items in the shop unlock based on the farm’s level.

After reviewing, Qin Yun directly purchased: Primary Land ×3.

As Qin Yun clicked, three land icons appeared in the system interface. Following the beginner guide, he dragged the land to the farm sand table. The residential area was marked in red, other areas in green. Land could only be placed in green zones.

“Should I use it?” Qin Yun asked.

“Send it to the research team first,” Liu Wensheng considered. Both of them were laymen; location selection was better handled by national analysts.

Liu Wensheng sent the video back to the research team. After some back and forth, time had already reached 8 p.m.

“Let’s have some hot pot to warm up,” Liu Wensheng looked at the time and instructed the soldiers to set up the electric stove.

Soon, everyone gathered around two tables. There were twelve soldiers currently on the farm. According to the system rules, during the mission period, the Host could reasonably hire workers. The number of hires depended on the Host’s level and points. Currently, Qin Yun had low clearance and could only hire five people.

Liu Wensheng discussed with the Longxia Team and planned to streamline the farm to five people, sending the rest back to the Infantry Camp for training.

After settling the farm issues, Liu Wensheng dipped mutton slices into the hot pot and sighed, “Now I have a side job too…”

Liu Wensheng, as the Farm System’s general commander, had just signed an “employment contract” with the farm. His coordinate on the sand table had changed from a red dot to an orange one—quite an interesting sight.

There were four remaining slots on the farm. To keep operations running smoothly, Longxia decided to retain two field soldiers and transfer two logistics staff from the army.

At 10 p.m., everyone finished eating and went back to the dorms to sleep.

The next morning, Longxia sent over the analysis report. After thorough study, they designated the farmland coordinates to the south of the residential area. This zone had no DEBUFF and allowed for immediate monitoring of the farmland’s condition.

With the location confirmed, Qin Yun dragged the land icons into the designated area.

“Confirm?”

“【Confirm】.”

…

The moment Qin Yun confirmed, Liu Wensheng and the on-site soldiers felt a cool breeze sweep past. Instantly, the land before them turned into soft, dark brown soil. Sprigs of green grass began to emerge, a stark contrast to the desolate Northwest landscape.

“This is incredible…” Liu Wensheng scooped up a handful of soil. It was soft and moist. Though he wasn’t a professional agronomist, he could see with his own eyes how fertile the land was.

“Send this to the National Research Institute.” Liu Wensheng filled two bags with soil and handed them to the nearby soldiers.

This was the first farmland of the Farm System. After confirming it, Liu Wensheng gestured for Qin Yun to take out the seeds.

Qin Yun opened the system interface. At this point, [Wheat Seed] and [Seed Upgrade Card] appeared as two clear icons on the screen.

Qin Yun clicked to confirm. From Liu Wensheng and the soldiers’ perspective, it looked as though Qin Yun grasped something out of thin air. The system icons transformed into a bag of seeds and a palm-sized card.

“Is this a two-dimensional world?”

It wasn’t Liu Wensheng’s first time seeing the system, but he still couldn’t understand how the interface’s graphics could materialize into physical objects. This was also a major research topic for the national research team.

…

“Commander Wang, I gave the procurement list to Xiao Liu. The vegetables from Xinxin Agrimart weren’t great. Better to buy from Jiangcheng…” At 9 a.m. on August 10, Zhao Zhishun sat in the passenger seat, nagging.

Zhao Zhishun was the logistics chief of the Infantry Camp. Yesterday afternoon, three senior leaders visited the camp and summoned him. After confirming his identity, age, and military experience, the leaders solemnly asked if he was willing to take on an important mission.

Zhao Zhishun had always hoped to serve the country. He agreed without hesitation the moment the leaders finished speaking. He was mentally prepared for a grueling mission, but to his surprise, the task was: go to Fengshan Farm and grow crops.

Zhao Zhishun knew there was a farm being built in Fengshan Uninhabited Zone. Not long ago, the Engineering Team passed by, and many soldiers speculated about the farm’s purpose. But no matter how he thought about it, he never imagined the mission would actually involve a farm.

“Commander Wang, are they building a satellite base inside?” Zhao Zhishun cautiously guessed. He suspected the farm was just a cover, and there was an important research facility inside.

“It’s just a regular farming farm. No satellite base or anything,” Commander Wang, whose full name was Wang Gang, said with a teasing smile.

“That can’t be right…” Zhao Zhishun scratched his head. He had been in the Infantry Camp for 27 years and had previously been to the edge of the Deep Uninhabited Zone. That place was all barren wilderness, with a climate completely unsuitable for agriculture.

“When you get there, talk less and work more. Stay alert,” Wang Gang reminded patiently. Though he was the commander of the Infantry Camp, he wasn’t clear on the farm project either.

“Understood!” Zhao Zhishun replied seriously. He wasn’t highly educated, but he had one great strength: he was mature, steady, and obedient to orders.

Two hours later, the military-green jeep crossed a hundred kilometers of the Uninhabited Zone and finally arrived at Fengshan Farm.

“Commander and Secretary Qin are in the fields, follow me,” said a soldier who greeted Zhao Zhishun and Wang Gang as they stepped out of the vehicle. The exterior of the farm looked like any ordinary farm.

Zhao Zhishun placed his luggage in the office and went with Wang Gang to the fields. Fengshan Uninhabited Zone was barren, desolate, devoid of any greenery. Zhao Zhishun had long grown used to Fengshan’s environment, but as he followed the soldier past the cottages and saw the scene ahead, he froze in surprise.

In front of him stretched an endless wilderness, but at the edge was a patch of green wheat fields, half a meter high. A light breeze stirred the wheat, rippling through it like a painting swaying in the wind.

“Is this wheat?” At that moment, not only Zhao Zhishun but even Wang Gang stood dazed. Before them was a surreal blend of Longnan’s watery countryside and the deserts of the northwest—jarring yet strangely harmonious in its beauty.

“Commander Wang.” From within the wheat field emerged a figure, dressed like a farmer, his hands and feet covered in dirt.

“Commander Liu!” Wang Gang snapped to attention and saluted. He had seen Liu Wensheng before in the army and knew he reported directly to the top leadership.

“This is the logistics chief?” After a few casual exchanges, Liu Wensheng turned to Zhao Zhishun.

“Commander Liu!” Zhao Zhishun responded nervously.

“How many years have you been in the army?”

“Twenty-seven years.”

“All at the Infantry Camp?”

“The first three years I was with the Guangxi provincial unit, then I was transferred to Jiangcheng…”

Liu Wensheng had reviewed Zhao Zhishun’s records before and had a general understanding of him.

After the brief exchange, Liu Wensheng nodded. “You’ll be staying in room 103, mainly in charge of farm logistics.”

This was the third day of the mission. According to the original plan, the farm retained two field soldiers and had brought in two logistics soldiers from Jinghe. However, one of the logistics soldiers developed altitude sickness and a fever on the second day. Considering the environment, Liu Wensheng wanted someone more familiar with Fengshan, which led to Zhao Zhishun being assigned after thorough selection.

“The growth is fine; they should be mature in another two days,” came a voice from the wheat field as another figure stood up. This one was in his early twenties, with a clean, refined appearance and mud-streaked hands and feet.

“This is Secretary Qin, in charge of the farm work,” Liu Wensheng introduced. Qin Yun held a special status; for ease of internal communication, he was referred to as a military district advisor, solely responsible for farm cultivation.

“Comrade Zhao.” Qin Yun extended his hand.

“Secretary Qin.” Zhao Zhishun shook it. After a brief introduction, Zhao looked at the scene before him, hesitated, then asked, “This was really grown here?”

Ever since he saw the field, he felt his understanding of agriculture had been upended. Coming from a poor background, he deeply understood the importance of grain to Longxia. If wheat could really be grown here… he thought of the annual droughts and strong winds in the northwest. There might be hope for the northwest’s environment.

“It was grown here.” Before Qin Yun could answer, Liu Wensheng responded with emotion.

At the thought of the three-mu wheat field, Liu Wensheng and the other soldiers still felt like they were in a dream. Three days ago, the land appeared out of nowhere. Following the beginner’s guide, they cleared weeds, tilled, and planted.

To observe the wheat field more intuitively, they installed military surveillance next to it. They had been prepared for meticulous care, but on the first day, the sprouts emerged. On the second day, they reached ten centimeters. On the third day, the wheat had grown to fifty centimeters.

They had just measured it—now the wheat was fifty-two centimeters tall. According to Longxia Team’s surveillance records, it was as if time was sped up in the farm’s wheat field… It was a miracle.