Chapter Eleven

With the farm’s land limit set at 2,000 mu, Qin Yun chose again and purchased 200 mu of land. He placed the new 200 mu right next to the existing fields. After this operation, the System Points stood at 90,000.

“Hopefully, these wheat crops will be useful…” Liu Wensheng gazed at the wheat fields with a sense of emotion. The system’s wheat exceeded Longxia’s own planting in both quality and fullness, but grain planting is fundamentally about people’s livelihood. Following a bold hypothesis and cautious verification, the state had not yet released the grain to the market. Instead, Longxia’s research team studied it seriously to ensure the grain was safe to eat before it could be supplied to the public.

The six stayed at the farm for a while before heading back to their rooms. Fengshan is located in northwest Longxia, with large temperature differences year-round. Now in late October, everyone wore cotton shoes and pants. Qin Yun returned to his room, lit the stove, then opened the system interface.

Host Name: Qin Yun.

Current Location: Poor Building.

Building Level: 0 stars.

DEBUFF: Cold +20%.

System Upgrade: 10 million.

The building’s maximum rating is five stars; from 0 to 1 star requires 10 million points. Qin Yun hadn’t cared before, but as the weather grew colder, the farm’s current insulation measures were insufficient to survive the winter. That afternoon, he discussed with Liu Wensheng that earning points to upgrade the house needed to be prioritized…

Qin Yun warmed himself by the stove, then turned on satellite TV.

The news showed recent interviews with leaders from various countries. After watching for a while, Qin Yun glanced at the calendar on the desk. It was October 29, three months before the Harma Storm. The farm’s planting was now on track, and Longxia had already received early warnings about the storm. Even if a food crisis arose, Longxia should be able to protect itself…

Meanwhile, the Longxia Agricultural Research Institute was brightly lit late into the night.

“Academician Song, this is the analysis report from Academician Zhou.” In Laboratory 306, the assistant with glasses handed over the latest report.

“Put it on the table first.” Song Yueshan was observing the wheat’s components under a microscope.

Time passed bit by bit. When Song Yueshan felt his shoulder stiffen, he stretched his arm. “Getting old, the body just can’t keep up.”

“You’re still stronger than my grandfather,” the assistant said, handing him a cup of hot water.

The Longxia Agricultural Research team consisted of seventy-eight people. Over the past two months, everyone had been working overtime at the institute, with all-nighters like this becoming routine. Song Yueshan sipped his water and took the document: “Fengshan Wheat Composition Report [23].”

Wheat is one of the world’s three major grains, with starch content at 70%, protein at 10%, and dietary fiber at 2%. The farm’s wheat data showed 62%, 17%, and 5% respectively. This was the twenty-third report this month, confirming that the farm’s wheat better matched human dietary needs than other wheat varieties.

After finishing his water, Song Yueshan asked, “Have Professors Li and Wang arrived?”

“They’re already in the conference room.”

Song Yueshan changed clothes and, with his assistant, headed to the research meeting.

Professors Li and Wang are renowned geneticists and biologists in Longxia. Recently, everyone had been focused on wheat research, and today marked their fifth research summary meeting.

“Academician Song!”

“Professor Wang.”

Song Yueshan entered the conference room and exchanged greetings.

“Where’s Old Zhou?” After some casual chatting, Song Yueshan asked curiously. Zhou Yuanheng was the lead for the wheat research and had previously chaired all meetings.

“He went back to the office to get some documents,” the assistant answered quickly after the question.

Just then, the conference room door opened.

“Hello everyone, welcome to today’s special meeting…” Zhou Yuanheng took the stage and introduced the session’s topic: discussing the edibility of the farm’s wheat.

“This is a biological experiment report. The farm’s wheat is rich in carotene and vitamins with no adverse reactions.”

“The farm’s wheat product meets standards.”

“The wheat is of international A-grade quality.”

After Zhou Yuanheng finished, others began to speak.

According to the discussion, the farm’s wheat quality was normal. During its growth, the time flow rate had apparently been accelerated. For example, a wheat plant that normally matures in nine months was shortened to five days under the altered time flow.

The time flow rate originated from outside the universe, affecting only the wheat’s timing without changing its quality.

“This is a great discovery!” The scientists were amazed. This was a monumental breakthrough in agricultural and human history. With the emergence of system wheat, they looked forward to more system plants.

“Thank you all for your thoughtful discussion.” The meeting lasted three hours.

This high-level meeting confirmed two key points—

1: The farm’s wheat was officially named Fengshan No. 1. It met Longxia’s quality and safety standards and was approved for circulation in Longxia’s market.

2: To further ensure wheat’s analytical accuracy, Longxia would cooperate with designated breweries and bakeries to produce a special edition of Fengshan wheat products.

Although the global economy was developed, Longxia still faced a 150 million ton food deficit, much of its wheat and soybeans imported from abroad. If Fengshan wheat performed well, it would greatly reduce Longxia’s food shortage, allowing Longxia people to control their own food supply.

The meeting lasted until 8 p.m., and at 8:30 p.m., everyone dispersed.

“Still going to the lab?” Song Yueshan packed up his documents and saw Zhou Yuanheng heading toward the lab building.

“There’s still some research unfinished.”

Zhou Yuanheng took the documents. The farm wheat had given him a new research direction. He was trying to graft farm wheat with regular wheat. If successful, farm wheat wouldn’t be limited to Fengshan planting, further solving Longxia’s food needs.

“I’ll go with you.” Song Yueshan grabbed a thermos from the table. He had been sleeping only at dawn lately and couldn’t fall asleep if he went back early.

They headed to the lab. Along the way, many lab lights were on. These were self-motivated researchers working overtime. If they could resolve wheat grafting earlier, Longxia’s food shortage would improve. For them, this was not a sacrifice but just ordinary research work.

While studying seriously, they also ate Fengshan wheat specialty flatbreads. Fengshan flour produced dough with great texture, and its digestion and dietary fiber were well balanced. Originally focused on wheat quality, they found themselves addicted to eating it.

At noon, noodles and at night, flatbreads became a staple in the research institute. There was even a strange story about two researchers each taking just one piece of flatbread from the canteen…

The next morning, Qin Yun went to Liu Wensheng’s office.

“This is the lake location, take a look.” Inside the office, Liu Wensheng handed Qin Yun the fax he had just received.

It was the Fengshan Farm layout plan. According to the research team’s scheme, the lake was designated on the south side of the farmland, about fifty meters from the living area. This setup would facilitate water use in both places while preventing the living area from becoming too damp.

After confirming the location, the two headed directly to the lake coordinates.

Farm Growth Spring: a basic item that increases crop quality by 10%, obtainable only through System Tasks. (One hundred mu)

The Farm Growth Spring was a pale blue card. Qin Yun used it immediately.

At the moment he clicked it, the ground before him trembled. Then the earth sank, and when it had depressed about five meters, blue-green lake water gushed up from underground. The water kept rising until it formed a clear blue lake.

The lake was adjacent to the farmland. Looking from Liu Wensheng’s side, it was a vast expanse of blue-green water reflecting the sky and golden wheat fields, the entire scene as exquisite as an oil painting.

Liu Wensheng approached the lake, bent down, and scooped up a handful of the water. It was cool and clear—the cleanest lake water he had ever seen.

Before Liu Wensheng could react, a sharp eagle cry came from the sky, followed by a brown male eagle flying in from the horizon.

The eagle circled twice above the lake, and upon seeing people by the water, reluctantly flew away.

“Is that an adult eagle?” Liu Wensheng was momentarily stunned. Northwestern eagles often appeared in the Deep Uninhabited Zone, but even when they came near human settlements, they usually flew straight past. It was rare to see one circle around like this.

“Totally worth it!” After the eagle left, Liu Wensheng’s gaze returned to the lake. To have a natural lake after just two months was absolutely priceless!

“Is this a system lake?”

“So magnificent!”

At that moment, Zhao Zhishun, Zhang Hu, and others also came out of the room. Though prepared, they were still stunned by the scene before them.

“So hard to achieve…”

Zhao Zhishun was a veteran of the Infantry Camp. He recalled that twenty years ago, when transportation was underdeveloped, everyone carried water bottles to Deer Water Town ten miles away to get water. Conditions had improved, but the Infantry Camp still often suffered water shortages. Now, a hundred-mu lake had appeared in the Uninhabited Zone… this was a gift from the northwest.

That afternoon, Liu Wensheng sent lake water samples to Jinghe, then decided: everyone would get a week off.

With no missions currently, aside from two soldiers staying behind, everyone packed and took their break. Qin Yun looked at the government-issued plane tickets, feeling a bit dazed. Time passed—he hadn’t realized he had been reborn for three months already.

“Manager Li, I didn’t notice when I placed the order… should I try to cancel it?” On Qin Yun’s flight back to Zhuhe County, Li Wenkang at the Sunshine Bakery in Hupo Province lit three cigarettes in a row.

Sunshine Bakery was a small company with about a hundred employees, mainly doing bread OEM for national brands like Qianzhiwei and Kangaroo Baby. After three years of development, Sunshine Bakery’s orders had stabilized, and company profits had been rising yearly.

Just as Li Wenkang was preparing for a big move, three days ago the Hupo provincial government called for bids on a batch of wheat. The procurement manager responded to the government’s call, visited the bidding site, and returned having signed an order for 600,000 jin of wheat.

The wheat purchase price was 0.8 yuan per jin, two mao cheaper than the market price. However, the provincial government required the finished food products to be labeled with the logo: [Wheat Quality: Fengshan No. 1].

Sunshine Bakery used its own packaging equipment and had printed labels before, but now Qianzhiwei’s orders had doubled. The company lacked funds to purchase extra wheat, and Qianzhiwei kept pushing for orders… they were caught in a dilemma.