Chapter 49: The Awakening of the NEET Generation 7

Every day, Ren Xin was either feeding the chickens, feeding the pigs, or cooking meals for the three members of her family. She always added special ingredients to their food, things that would nourish the body for ordinary people.

Both Mother Ren and Father Ren said they no longer ached all over when they woke up in the morning, like before. Lately, they slept soundly through the night without dreaming at all.

Ren Xin carried a basket up the mountain and happened to run into four or five young girls, each also carrying a basket and heading up the mountain.

They were probably there for the same reason: to dig up wild vegetables and help out their families.

Ren Xin greeted them with a smile. At first, the girls were shy, but when they saw Ren Xin smile, they immediately started chattering away.

Their conversation revolved entirely around life at university. Was it really as wonderful as they’d heard? What kind of food did she get to eat? Did she have meat at every meal? Were all the other students really talented?

These girls, the oldest barely eighteen and the youngest only fourteen or fifteen, should have been in school, learning. But from what they were saying, their families were already arranging marriages for them.

They said they only hoped their future husbands wouldn’t hit them, that he’d be a good man. If the mother-in-law was easy to get along with and the family had decent conditions, that would be even better…

When compared to the girls at school, Ren Xin felt that people truly led different lives. These girls didn’t even have the right to choose whom they married. For some, a marriage could earn a pig for the family, for others, a bit of bride price. After the wedding, their fates no longer mattered, and they’d have nothing more to do with their own families.

But in their limited world, they didn’t see this as wrong. In their eyes, girls were worth little. Getting married just meant moving somewhere else to work.

After they finished picking wild vegetables, the girls even gave Ren Xin quite a lot. Their smiles were especially bright.

Ren Xin was taken aback for a moment, then smiled as well.

That night, after her parents fell asleep, Ren Xin quietly slipped outside and whispered to Book Spirit Number One, “What exactly does this Heavenly Dewfall mean?”

“It can change the soil and the way crops grow.”

“How long does the change last? And how far does it reach?”

“Ten years. Within a hundred li.”

Ren Xin nodded. That was enough, more than enough to change the future of this village.

The next morning, Ren Xin got up early to prepare breakfast for her parents; otherwise, they’d just grab a quick bite and head out to work.

Lately, she had been giving her parents some energy-boosting pills, and Father Ren said maybe it was because their diet had improved—he felt much more energetic.

Mother Ren didn’t disagree and nodded in agreement.

“Girl, why does it feel like the air in our village has gotten so much better?” she asked.

Father Ren chimed in, “I just went out for a walk, and even the grass seemed greener. The crops have really shot up. Has some cultivator passed through our village?”

Ren Xin was speechless. What kind of webnovels were you listening to last night?

Mother Ren looked surprised and asked, “Really? Do you think it had something to do with the rain last night?”

The whole village started discussing it. Ren Xin just said, “As long as it’s good for us, that’s all that matters. Who cares where it came from?”

Everyone suddenly realized—she was right. No matter how much they speculated, as long as it was a good thing, why bother worrying?

It really took a college student to say something that opened everyone’s minds.

Ren Xin was exasperated. People really did have rose-tinted glasses for college students.

But folks quickly realized something was off. The plants were changing so much they could hardly recognize them. Everything was huge and maturing much earlier than usual. The fruits were bigger and plumper than ever before.

Because Ren Xin had the highest education in the village, the Village Head came to her for advice. “Ren girl, do you think we should report this? But we don’t really have any evidence that anything is different…”

The villagers were shouting, “What evidence do you need? Look at the giant pumpkin growing in my backyard, it’s about to grow a soul, and you still want proof?”

Father Ren added, “Our pumpkins too—they’re getting so big they could fit me inside! And the winter melon, the loofahs—they’re all so huge it’s scary…”

Everyone else joined in, describing all the strange things they’d noticed.

The Village Head took a puff of his pipe and frowned at Ren Xin. He figured she had knowledge as a college student, but who would they report to?

Eight Character Yamen faces south: if you have a case but no money, don’t bother coming in.

With something like this, even the township officials would probably think he was out of his mind if he tried to report it.

Ren Xin thought for a moment and called her teacher directly.

“Hello, teacher? This is Ren Xin. I have something I’d like your help with.”

On the other end was an elderly professor with white hair. He’d always been very kind to Ren Xin. She was good at English, and sometimes, when he needed to translate documents, he’d bring her along so she could earn some extra money.

“You’re not one to ask for favors easily. Tell me what’s going on—I’m at the Tsinghua president’s house right now. If I can’t help, he can!”

Ren Xin chuckled. “Teacher, don’t tease me. Here’s the situation…”

As her teacher listened, his expression grew serious. He immediately said, “Alright. I’ll contact some of my old friends in the field and see if they can get in touch with your local authorities. And take lots of photos for me, I’ll send them along…”

For now, that was all she could do.