Chapter 88

[Amir Workshop] was an achievement-based reward. Qin Yun scanned the options and clicked on [Autumn Winds Bring New Life].

[Autumn Winds Bring New Life]: Grow ten different plants around an Acid Rain hybrid plant. (Limited to hybrid Acid Rain plants)

Since this achievement was related to external plant growth, Liu Wensheng reported it immediately. Half an hour later, according to the Longxia Team’s investigation, after the pesticide spraying, twelve provinces including Shanhe in Shaanxi began to show varying degrees of weed growth. The weeds were mostly common types like foxtail grass and broadleaf weeds, concentrated in areas where the locust plague had broken out.

“Can it promote plant regrowth?” Liu Wensheng’s first thought was that FSA2 might stimulate plant regeneration.

He didn’t bother with the [Amir Workshop] and went straight to the Biological Laboratory. If the pesticide could improve soil fertility, it wouldn’t just benefit Longxia—there was hope for global soil recovery too!

“Probably not…” Half an hour later, inside the Biological Laboratory, Xiang Qingchuan shook his head regretfully. Ever since acquiring the farm’s lake, the Biology Group had conducted comprehensive experiments on the lake water. While it could enhance fertility in acidic soil, it couldn’t alter the soil’s acidic nature.

“Maybe we haven’t researched it thoroughly enough?” Liu Wensheng pressed further.

Xiang Qingchuan pulled up the data sent by the Longxia Team. According to high-definition video footage, sparse weeds had indeed sprouted around the locust-affected soil. Though their growth was scraggly, they were clearly new.

“We need professional data analysis…”

Realizing the significance of the weeds, Xiang Qingchuan immediately led a team to the nearest farmland.

“These sprouted in the last couple of days.” At 7 p.m. in Yunxiu County, Gan Province, a local villager guided Xiang Qingchuan and his team to a nearby cornfield. Yunxiu County was one of the worst-hit areas in Gan Province, and due to its proximity to the farm, it had been a pilot site for the farm’s pesticide trials.

Xiang Qingchuan crouched down to inspect. Tiny foxtail weeds had just begun to sprout in the field, barely a centimeter tall—easy to miss if you weren’t looking closely.

“These just started growing?” Xiang Qingchuan asked.

“I’m sure of it,” the villager said confidently, patting his chest. This was his cornfield, and he’d been out here catching locusts before—there hadn’t been any weeds then.

Xiang Qingchuan used a trowel to uproot the foxtail grass. Beneath it was grayish-brown soil, mixed with corn residue and locust remains.

Half an hour later, the research team set up a temporary investigation site in the cornfield. Some staff stayed behind to continue fieldwork, while Xiang Qingchuan took the weed samples back to the lab.

“These are definitely newly sprouted.”

“It’s probably related to the soil.”

…

The research team began working overtime to run tests. These were relatively simple analyses, and with the Seed Laboratory’s cooperation, the results were ready by early the next morning:

1. The new weeds were more resilient than ordinary ones.

2. The soil around the weeds contained 2–3 times more organic matter than regular soil, making it fertile in certain areas.

“These organic materials likely came from corn stalks and locust corpses,” Xiang Qingchuan said, reviewing the data.

Locust corpses could be turned into bio-fertilizer, which not only enhanced soil fertility but also improved organic content. However, that applied to regular soil. After the global Acid Rain catastrophe, the team had tried to rehabilitate Acid Rain Soil specifically. Those efforts had largely failed—yet now, unexpectedly, mutated locusts might offer a breakthrough…

“Could we use locusts to improve soil nationwide?” Liu Wensheng asked the key question.

“No, we can’t.” While Locust Fertilizer could boost fertility, it only treated the symptoms. To achieve sustainable soil cycles, the excess heavy metals from Acid Rain had to be completely removed.

“Would the plants grown in this soil exceed heavy metal limits?” Liu Wensheng followed up.

“There are trace amounts of precious metals in the weeds. We’ll need more testing for the rest,” Xiang Qingchuan replied, then dove back into his research.

Liu Wensheng watched for a while, then left the lab.

At that moment, back at the farm fields, Qin Yun was experimenting with planting hybrid seeds.

“How’s it going?” Liu Wensheng walked over and asked.

“Still no progress.” Over the past two days, Qin Yun had tried planting some Acid Rain Seeds at the farm, but the mission progress remained stuck at 0%.

“Let’s take a break from it,” Liu Wensheng sighed. It had been fifty days since the [Twenty Types of Agricultural Labor] mission was issued, and it felt like an unsolvable task. The team decided to shelve it for now.

“Commander Liu!” As the two chatted, a young assistant came running over.

“What is it?”

“The team just sent over some documents.”

Qin Yun and Liu Wensheng headed straight back to the office.

Inside, a new file had just arrived from Longxia. It contained blueprints for the [Amir Workshop]. According to the team’s plan, the workshop could be placed either on the south side of the Tulou or the east side of the laboratory. After discussing it with the lab staff, they decided on the east side.

Half an hour later, Qin Yun took out the [Amir] card and placed it at the designated spot.

“Use it?”

“Yes.”

…

The moment Qin Yun confirmed, the ground trembled. Then, a small, three-story gray-brown building emerged.

“This is Mr. Amir’s Processing Workshop?”

“The most precious treasure?”

…

The moment they saw the little building, everyone in the lab had the same thought: shabby. It was built from large greenish stones, with moss growing on the surface—like something out of a fantasy movie’s slums.

They approached the main door. It was wooden and so dilapidated that there was a fist-sized hole in the left panel. Liu Wensheng gave it a push, and it creaked open with a groan.

The building covered over 700 square meters and had three levels. The first floor was a Western-style fantasy kitchen, with a one-meter-long dining table under a candle chandelier. Around the table were old wooden crates, and in the eastern corner sat a rocking chair facing the window.

After a quick look around, they headed upstairs.

The second floor consisted of simple living quarters—wooden beds, wardrobes, nothing out of the ordinary.

“We should’ve brought someone from the Culture Team,” one researcher joked. The Culture Team was a niche group on the farm that studied potential cultural elements from other planes based on farm details.

Laughing, they continued up to the third floor.

The stairs creaked underfoot, and between the stairwell and the third floor was a small door. They pushed it open, expecting a cluttered attic—but what they saw left them stunned.

The third floor also spanned 700 square meters. Directly opposite the entrance was an antique wooden desk, covered with handcrafted mechanical devices.

From the look of it, they could see traces of physical engineering. But there were also strange devices they couldn’t identify.

“Maybe we should’ve brought someone from the Physics Team too…” the same researcher muttered.

There were thousands of wooden contraptions here—it was clear the previous occupant had been a woodwork fanatic. As they explored, they found not only these mysterious devices but also metal wires, paper manuscripts, and yellowed hand-drawn maps.

The manuscripts contained engineering schematics, annotated with symbols in an unfamiliar script. Everyone glanced at the papers, then turned to Qin Yun.

Qin Yun placed his hands on the manuscript.

“No idea,” he said after half a minute, shaking his head. He had tried calling on the system for help, but there was no response—these documents weren’t within the system’s translation scope.

They turned their attention to the hand-drawn map. It depicted a water-sun-like planetary system, with three main planets at the center and sixteen smaller asteroids orbiting around. One of the smallest planets had been circled in red ink—likely the one the workshop’s creator had lived on.

The researchers stared at the map in silence.

The idea of exploring the universe had always fascinated humanity, but limited technology had kept them from discovering other life forms. The Farm System had shown them that beyond the blue planet, there was a much vaster universe. This map was further proof—other beings might well live on similar spherical worlds…

“Let’s head back,” someone said half an hour later, and the group left, deeply moved.

Soon after, the Culture Team, Physics Team, and Science & Tech Team all arrived. The Amir Workshop, full of both daily life and scientific intrigue, held immense research value.

Over the next two days, Qin Yun worked closely with the Amir Workshop. Meanwhile, the Biology Group focused on studying the safety and reliability of Locust Feed.

September 5th—After continuous research, it was concluded that plants grown with Acid Rain Soil and Acid Rain fertilizer contain certain acidic substances. While these substances make the plants inedible, they do not affect photosynthesis or their ornamental value.

“If we turn over the Acid Rain Soil, could we transplant some trees or flowers?” Liu Wensheng asked directly.

“We can plant a small area with flowers,” Xiang Qingchuan replied.

According to calculations, one hundred tons of locusts can be processed into eighty tons of bio-feed, which can improve the fertility of ten thousand mu of land.

Due to limited soil fertility, these lands cannot support large-scale tree planting, but they can sustain low-density flower cultivation. The soil will need to be turned and fertilized again the following year before it can be reused.

“How many tons of Acid Rain locusts do we have right now?” Liu Wensheng asked bluntly.

“Two hundred tons.”

Liu Wensheng: !!!

“How much?” Liu Wensheng thought he must have misheard. With how thick the locust swarms had been, he’d estimated there should be several thousand tons.

“One ton is about five hundred thousand locusts,” Xiang Qingchuan said helplessly. This time, Longxia had locust plagues across twelve provinces, including Shanhe of Shanxi. The total number of locusts reached one billion. A billion sounds like a lot, but that only translates to two hundred tons. Most of the locusts are scattered across farmland, and only a tiny portion can be harvested and used at scale.

After hearing that, Liu Wensheng had only one thought: There aren’t nearly enough locusts.