Chapter 52

Gao Xiaocheng didn’t know how to console him, so he finally said, “Your country will get better.”

Mike smiled. “It will.”

At 6 p.m., the office closed. Mike packed up his desk, putting away work documents, as well as his teacup and pen holder into a box.

“Packing up this much?” Gao Xiaocheng was surprised.

“I handed in my resignation last week. Just packing up now, planning to leave at the end of the month.”

Gao Xiaocheng was stunned. “You’ve been doing great, why resign?”

Mike was steady and diligent at work, and was likely to be promoted to department head by the end of the year. There was no reason for him to leave.

Mike picked up his box. “I want to go back to my country.”

“Cybera?”

“Yes.”

Cybera was located in the Shuilan Southern Hemisphere, with a total area of 120,000 square kilometers and a population of 12 million. Cybera mainly relied on its fishing industry, but after Harma passed through, the fishing industry was reduced by 90%, and the remaining crops had all perished. Since food crops were all imported, the crisis Cybera faced was even worse than Mali’s.

Gao Xiaocheng hesitated. “Cybera’s situation is pretty chaotic. It’s not the right time to go back.”

“I know, but that’s my country.”

Mike came from an ordinary family. He went abroad for his studies and found a job in Longxia after becoming an adult. He was very satisfied with his current life, but the Harma Storm had disrupted all that peace.

His family and friends were all in Cybera, and for the past six months, they had been relying on emergency rations to survive. It wasn’t that they didn’t have money, but they couldn’t buy food. Cybera had become the most miserable place on Earth. For the past six months, Mike had been hesitating whether or not to return. Now, as Cybera’s situation grew more severe, his inner voice told him that he couldn’t avoid it any longer.

Mike set his chair down and said something in a less common language to Gao Xiaocheng.

“What?” Gao Xiaocheng didn’t understand.

“Treasure what you have now.” Mike translated.

Treasure what you have now, cherish the peace that Longxia provides.

Mike left the office.

Gao Xiaocheng picked up his car keys. His base salary was 30,000 yuan, and with performance bonuses and commissions, he could earn up to 200,000 yuan a month. As an elite, he had always been very self-assured. But with Mike leaving, he suddenly realized that his ability to survive depended on national peace. If Longxia were like Cybera, it was completely unimaginable.

Gao Xiaocheng glanced at the instant noodles on his desk. Right now, 70% of the world’s countries were facing food crises, and food was the most precious resource in the world. After long struggles, Longxia had provided its residents with food and a living environment where they could work. Because of his own success, he had been selective about what his country provided…

This wasn’t something a conscientious citizen should feel.

As colleagues left one after another, Gao Xiaocheng put down his car keys and opened a bucket of instant noodles. These were Qinghe’s premium noodles, which he had bought two boxes of before. Due to the food crisis, it had been a long time since he had eaten them.

Gao Xiaocheng had prepared himself for an experiment. But the moment he took a bite, he was stunned. The noodles were chewy and flavorful, paired with Qinghe’s special sauce—it was a truly royal experience. Before long, he had finished the entire bucket.

“Burp—”

Gao Xiaocheng let out a satisfied burp. It had been a long time since he had eaten so comfortably.

“Qinghe Longfeng 001 is really delicious!”

“My family bought a bag of Longfeng flour, and the noodles we made with it were so chewy and tasted great.”

“Residents of Suzhou and An say Longfeng 001 is selling like crazy!”

…

Gao Xiaocheng quietly enjoyed his noodles, while at the same time, many residents had managed to buy Longfeng 001 products.

Delicious, chewy, with great taste.

This was the online review of the flour, and many residents had posted photos of their Longfeng dishes, looking delicious and tempting.

“Can it really be eaten?”

“Will it cause stomach pain? Does it have a sour taste?”

…

Some cautious online users looked at the pictures and raised doubts.

“What stomach pain can a flour cause?”

“Farmers use manure to fertilize vegetables—does that mean you’re eating manure?”

“Longfeng wheat only grows in acidic soil, but it doesn’t have any acid pollution. Just check the national quality inspection report.”

…

Irritated netizens began to explain. They felt like they were repeating themselves, while some overly cautious people just wouldn’t listen.

[Longxia Daily: Can Longfeng 001 be eaten? Is there any chemical pollution? Professors of agricultural sciences, medical sciences, and biology have thoroughly explained… ] At this time, Longxia Daily published an article addressing the food safety concerns.

“Jinghe Agricultural Research Institute: The research process of Longfeng 001…”

“Luohai Laboratory: A comprehensive analysis of the nutritional content of Longfeng 001.”

“Dr. Xiao Zheng: Acid pollution in Longfeng wheat? Impossible.”

…

As Longxia Daily published the article, some professional influencers also provided data-driven answers.

“Scientific questions deserve scientific answers. Anyone who’s studied elementary biology wouldn’t ask if wheat is edible… please seriously read the quality inspection report!” The netizens explaining were thoroughly exhausted.

“Natal: Regarding the development of more acid-resistant seeds and the Longxia seed reference plan.”

“National Agriculture: Longxia Longfeng 001 has passed global quality inspection; the seeds are safe with no harm.”

“Global Daily: Longxia seeds, the hope for the world’s acid rain.”

…

Amid the intense debunking, some media outlets shared international news.

Since Longxia’s successful harvest in the three regions of Suzhou, Zhe’an, and An, many countries have been watching Longxia’s progress. They were more concerned with Longxia’s seeds and their safety, and through continuous testing, foreign countries had to admit that Longxia had indeed developed acid-resistant seeds—this was world-class research!

“Shuilan Conference: Longxia’s economy is stable and calls for Longxia to use its great power to provide wheat seeds to the world.”

On the evening of July 17th, at 9 p.m., the Shuilan Union held a live conference. The meeting fully recognized Longxia’s research contributions and emphasized that Longxia should provide seeds to the world.

“How shameless!”

“What do you mean ‘stable economy’? I’m a biscuit factory worker, and I just lost my job last month!”

“My family’s feed factory has shut down—what seeds are they offering? They can’t even feed their own people!”

…

As soon as the Shuilan conference ended, domestic news exploded. While Longxia was not as severely affected as other countries, it was still facing a food crisis. People could catch their breath, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a crisis.

“Natal, Sola, Campeshin… which of these isn’t a major food-producing country? They don’t have the Harma Storm, so why aren’t they providing food?”

“Natal’s stockpiled food could last them ten years, how shameless!”

“They don’t even talk about buying food, just saying ‘provide globally,’ it’s a total con game.”

“Longxia, hold your ground, don’t let them bully you!”

…

#WaterBlueConference# became a trending topic, and below were some eager netizens spamming the feed. Those who had been arguing with the cautious crowd the day before were now confused. After carefully reviewing, they realized that those advocating against selling seeds were the same people who had previously spread conspiracy theories…

The shift in public opinion was so sudden that they were having trouble keeping up.

…

At 8 a.m. on July 18th, Gao Xiaocheng arrived at the office on time.

“What flavor did you have?”

“Seafood tonkotsu.”

“Mine was spicy tomato.”

…

As soon as Gao Xiaocheng entered the office, he smelled a delicious fragrance, and a few colleagues were whispering to each other.

There was still an hour before work officially began. Gao Xiaocheng set down his briefcase and asked, “What are you eating?”

“Longfeng instant noodles!”

The colleagues raised their cups of noodles and continued, “The noodles are really chewy!”

The instant noodles tasted better than expected.

Gao Xiaocheng was stunned. “Aren’t you the one who said you wouldn’t eat them?”

This colleague had been the most vocal in criticizing them yesterday.

The colleague slurped up a couple of bites. “We have to eat them, we have to support the country’s research efforts!”

#WaterBlueConference# was still trending, and he had been following the hype the previous night. Now seeing the world rushing to get Longxia’s seeds, he felt one thing: proud of Longxia’s research! As a Longxia citizen, he couldn’t fall behind!