Chapter 81

“I want a thousand jin of seeds.”

“I want two thousand…”

…

The next morning, when Alatan arrived at the Agricultural Bureau, there were already more than two hundred herders crowding around the service windows. All of them were from Bayan’u County, some having traveled over two hundred li to get here.

Alatan glanced around and picked a window with fewer people to queue up.

At 11:20, it was finally his turn.

“Duomu Ranch, 100,000 jin of seeds.”

Alatan handed over his ranch credentials. In addition to purchasing forage, his feed mill also operated its own ranch. The ranch not only specialized in forage grass but also raised cattle and sheep. Last year, when the Harma Storm hit Meng Province, the ranch had to sell off its livestock to the Meat Processing Plant due to a shortage of feed. Now, all that remained was barren land, not a blade of grass in sight.

“Would you like an interest-free loan?” the staff asked after checking Duomu Ranch’s information.

“Yes!” Alatan quickly handed over the qualification report.

He had leased 20,000 mu of pasture and had long been a major taxpayer in Bayan’u County. After the staff verified Duomu Ranch’s credentials and the stationed bank approved the application, a 500,000 yuan agricultural support loan was processed that very afternoon. The forage seeds would be delivered to the ranch on the 10th.

“That fast?” Alatan was taken aback by the Agricultural Bureau’s efficiency.

“This is part of the national agricultural support policy for the new provinces,” the staff explained. The forage loan was a government initiative aimed at supporting herders. As long as they had proper qualifications and leased land, they could apply for loans—helping to cushion the blow of the economic crisis.

“Thank you,” Alatan said sincerely. As a businessman, he once again felt the care and effort the country was putting into ensuring its people’s survival.

Half an hour later, Alatan arrived at Duomu Feed Mill. Duomu Feed was a mid-sized factory with fifty employees. Due to forage rot, the factory had been shut down for three months. The staff were kept on minimal base salaries and temporarily sent home.

“Boss.” As soon as Alatan stepped into the factory, a middle-aged man quickly stood up. He was a machine operator who had voluntarily stayed to watch over the factory during the past three months.

“Mm.” Alatan wandered around for a bit, then touched the feed crusher. It was new equipment bought just the year before, but now it was covered in dust—everything felt cold and lifeless.

Alatan turned around. “No need to come in tomorrow.”

“I forgot to wipe it down…” the man hurried to explain. His daughter was only five months old, and he couldn’t leave Bayan’er County. He desperately needed this job.

Realizing his words had been misunderstood, Alatan chuckled and said, “Take tomorrow off. We’re restarting the day after. No need to clean the machines now—we’ll do that when we actually use them.”

The man froze. “We’ve got forage again?”

“No forage yet, but we’ve got forage seeds.”

It was mid-July. Once the seeds were sown, they could expect fresh grass by mid-September at the earliest.

“Great!” The man spun around in excitement. As an operator, he cherished his job at the feed mill more than anyone. After chatting for a bit, he went off to notify the other employees, while Alatan looked out at the land beyond the factory.

He was born and raised in Bayan’u. After enduring the devastation of the Harma Storm, the once lush prairie had become a barren desert. He missed the days when the wind blew through the grass, revealing herds of cattle and sheep.

…

“July 10th: 200,000 mu of forage grass seeds have been sown in Tajik City, New Province.”

“Longxia Ministry of Agriculture on-site monitoring: Longfeng Forage Grass Seeds are growing well, with an estimated germination rate of 95%.”

“The second batch of seeds is being expedited and is expected to go on sale nationwide by July 20th.”

…

For the next two days, TV news was filled with reports about forage.

“Looking forward to the forage planting!”

“I want to travel to Meng Province and ride horses!”

…

Netizens, watching the news, were instantly reminded of the excitement during last year’s wheat planting season.

Now that forage was being planted, that meant meat was coming in the second half of the year!

Amid this nationwide buzz, on July 15th, Longxia News released another report:

“On July 15th, Xu’an County in Longnan successfully harvested 20,000 tons of rice—this is the first batch of Acid Rain Rice harvested in Longxia…”

“Ahhh, finally, rice!”

“I’m going to cry.”

“I just want a bowl of rice!”

…

Century egg and lean pork congee, chicken and vegetable porridge, fragrant mushroom porridge… As soon as the rice news dropped, netizens’ minds flooded with images of rice-based dishes. Rice, more common than wheat, was a staple food. Just seeing the word “rice” made their stomachs feel warm and full.

Everyone clicked on the news footage: vast rice fields stretching to the horizon, dozens of red harvesters diligently at work. The red of the machines, the golden hue of the rice, and the blue of the sky—three of the most ordinary colors, yet together they formed the most breathtaking image.

“I want tomato fried rice…” After a year of eating chewy Fengshan wheat, people were now craving rice more than ever.

“A bowl of white rice with tomato egg soup—perfection!”

“Eggs might take a few more months.”

“I can wait! I’m dying for some crispy pork belly.”

…

Netizens began reminiscing about the food from before the great disaster. Tomato fried rice, tomato egg soup, crispy pork belly… These were the most ordinary dishes, but after a year and a half of shortages, even a bowl of rice and a single egg had become a luxury.

Ding! Congratulations, Host has obtained a Hope Tree Fruit: Special Upgrade Card x1.

Just as the entire nation was dreaming of Longxia’s delicious food, the System Interface at Fengshan Farm updated.

“It updated?” In the orchard, Liu Wensheng was reviewing fruit tree data with his team when he heard the alert and froze.

“It updated,” Qin Yun echoed, equally stunned.

Three minutes earlier, he had been measuring fruit tree stats with researchers when the System Interface suddenly chimed. This was the second fruit borne by the Hope Tree since the Algae Gate fruit.

“Commander Liu!” A staff member assigned to the Hope Tree came running over, excitement written all over his face.

“Let’s go!” Liu Wensheng decisively set aside his work.

“Here’s the weekly data on the Hope Tree. It experienced a growth surge within one hour and bore fruit in that same hour…” Half an hour later, inside the Hope Tree chamber, the monitoring staff explained the data.

The Hope Tree grows by absorbing the hopes of the people. Five months ago, it reached one meter in height and bore the Algae Gate fruit, which contained 32,000 types of algal spores. Since then, it had only grown to 1.75 meters, with tender seedling leaves—its growth was slow and steady.

The monitoring team had gotten used to this pace. But an hour ago, the Hope Tree suddenly surged in growth, shooting up from 1.75 meters to 3 meters, and bore its second fruit.

After reviewing the growth footage, Liu Wensheng immediately ordered, “Check the news.”

Ten minutes later, the staff compiled all relevant news and trending topics.

News: [Xu’an County in Longnan successfully harvested 20,000 tons of rice…]

Top trending topics: [Xu’an County rice taste], [Tomato fried rice], [Century egg and lean pork congee recipes], [Best porridge cooking techniques], [Health benefits of congee]…

Aside from the first topic about the rice’s taste, the rest were all rice recipes.

Liu Wensheng stared blankly after reading. “That’s it?”

“That’s it,” the staff confirmed.

Everyone in the lab looked at each other in disbelief. It was clear that the collective craving for rice had directly caused the Hope Tree to grow an extra 1.25 meters.

“Where there’s rice, there’s hope,” Liu Wensheng said with emotion. The result was unexpected, yet completely logical.

After inspecting the Hope Tree, everyone turned their gaze to Qin Yun.

Without hesitation, Qin Yun grabbed a chair and gently plucked the Hope Tree’s fruit.

Special Upgrade Card: Can randomly upgrade any unlocked area/equipment/seed on the farm. (Intermediate)

The first fruit from the Hope Tree had been a plant-type card. This one was clearly a tool card.

After reading the description, Qin Yun got Liu Wensheng’s approval and tapped “Use.”

“Confirm?”

“Confirm.”

…

As soon as Qin Yun clicked, the fruit in his hand vanished.

He opened the Farm Sandbox.

A new [Updated] tag now appeared above [Farm Lake].

The farm lake had been a reward from the Beginner Guide phase. It was a perpetual-motion type lake, spanning a hundred mu, and besides its water molecules, it contained some unknown substances.

This had become a key research focus for the Biology Group. However, the lake water was so unique that no breakthroughs had been made so far. For the past two years, both farm life and crop cultivation had relied entirely on the lake’s water.

At 3 PM, after checking the [Update] option, everyone headed straight for the farm lake.

The lake was about two kilometers from the Hope Laboratory. They rode over in an irrigation machine, and as they arrived within the lake’s perimeter, they saw that many researchers had already gathered around it.

“What’s going on?” Liu Wensheng was the first to jump off the irrigation machine.

“The water looks a lot clearer,” one of the researchers said with a puzzled expression. He was a member of the Biology Group. Though the lake water had always been clear, it used to have a faint bluish-green translucence. Now, it was completely crystal clear.

“Xiang Yuan,” Liu Wensheng said after observing for a while, turning to the researcher beside him.

Xiang Qingchuan was the leader of the Biology Group. At fifty-two, he was the youngest academician on the farm and a member of the farm’s Transparency Group.

After Liu Wensheng spoke, Xiang Qingchuan pulled out a sterile test tube and carefully dripped some lake water into it. Half an hour later, the test results came back: the lake water had increased its activity by 20% compared to its previous state, and the unknown components were now more distinct.

“What does this mean?” Liu Wensheng asked, puzzled.

In truth, it wasn’t just Liu Wensheng—everyone was confused. The Hope Tree thrived on the hopes of the residents. After the first Hope Fruit, they had expected the second to produce something like a moss tree or a seed tree. But now… they were completely stumped.

“Whatever it is, it’s a pleasant surprise!” Though confused, everyone was thrilled by this unexpected gain.

All the labs were now conducting their research in an orderly fashion. The farm had begun a new round of grain storage. Whether it was the farm or Longxia, everything was moving in a positive direction.

“July 17th, Wan’an County in Su Province harvested 300,000 tons of rice and has entered into a targeted grain partnership with Dachuan Enterprises.”

“Chengfeng Rice contains 9% protein, 72% carbohydrates, and 5% crude fiber… Agricultural testing confirms it meets Longxia’s top-grade standards.”

……

For the next two days, the news was still all about the Chengfeng rice. Spurred on by enthusiastic netizens, grain companies ramped up production. On July 20th, the first batch of Chengfeng Rice hit the market.

“Boss Qin, I want to reserve twenty bags of rice. You have to save them for me.”

“There are only ten bags left.”

“Ten is fine. I’m coming over right now.”

……

At 9 AM on July 20th, in Kunming City, at the Blue Sky BBQ Restaurant, Wang Feipeng hung up the phone and rode off to the grain and oil market.

Wang Feipeng was the owner of Blue Sky BBQ. Since the Harma Storm, the restaurant had been teetering between operating and shutting down. In mid-April, the BBQ street launched a vegetarian health BBQ campaign. Thanks to the promotion, foot traffic had started to pick up. But just two days later, the nationwide Dead Meat scandal hit.

The entire food and beverage industry was struggling. Although forage seeds were now available, it would take time for them to grow into livestock-ready feed. After discussing with his family, Wang Feipeng decided to take down the BBQ sign and switch to stir-fried dishes.

The restaurant now focused on dishes like garlic romaine and stir-fried lettuce. While healthy and nutritious, they lacked richness. More importantly, most of the rice on the market was old stock—expensive and poor in taste. After steaming two pots of rice and receiving customer complaints, he switched to serving steamed buns and noodles instead.

As a true Southerner, Wang Feipeng had eaten noodles for three months straight—his customers had too. Watching old videos of his bustling BBQ days, he sometimes wondered if he had forgotten what fresh rice even tasted like… The more he thought about it, the more depressed he became. That’s when Xu’an rice appeared in the news. From the moment he saw it, he kept a close eye on the agriculture channel every day.

Finally, Chengfeng Rice was released.

At 9:20, Wang Feipeng arrived at the Shengwang Grain and Oil Store.

“We got a hundred bags in this morning—they’re all sold out already.” The store owner beamed as Wang Feipeng walked in.

Wang Feipeng asked nervously, “You still have my ten bags, right?”

“Of course.”

Wang Feipeng was a regular, and after some friendly teasing, the owner helped him load the rice. The new rice was priced at eight yuan per jin, but it might drop below five yuan next month. After chatting briefly, Wang Feipeng rode his tricycle back to the restaurant by 10:20.

“Boss, you got rice?” Zhang Dafeng asked in surprise as Wang Feipeng arrived. He was a local resident who had just happened to pass by.

Wang Feipeng patted the rice bags. “Chengfeng Rice—fresh!”

“You’re selling rice at the restaurant?” Zhang Dafeng’s eyes lit up.

“Sure am. Rice is expensive these days—three and a half yuan per bowl.”

Before the Acid Rain storm, rice was commonly two yuan per bowl. Now, three and a half was a fair price.

Zhang Dafeng followed Wang Feipeng into the kitchen to check out the rice. The Chengfeng Rice grains were plump and glossy. He didn’t know much about rice, but even he could tell this was high-quality stuff.

“Want a taste?” Wang Feipeng asked with a grin.

“Absolutely!” Zhang Dafeng didn’t even go home—he called his family right away.

He had a household of six. Half an hour later, his parents, wife, and two kids all arrived.

Wang Feipeng helped set up a large dining table.

“Is there really rice?”

“I want rice…”

The two kids—one in first grade, the other in kindergarten—sat with chopsticks in hand, waiting eagerly.

“Almost ready.” Zhang Dafeng gently patted their heads.

At first, he hadn’t felt much. But now, waiting for rice felt more nerve-wracking than taking a professional certification exam at work.

Amid the anticipation, Wang Feipeng whipped up seven stir-fried dishes. At 12:20, the rice was steamed and served.

“It’s delicious!” The moment the rice hit his tongue, Zhang Dafeng felt a warm sensation spread through his stomach.

“So good.”

“This is the best rice in the world.”

The two kids devoured their bowls with gusto.

“It’s really good,” his parents and wife said, more reservedly, but clearly moved.

Zhang Dafeng finished one bowl and went for seconds. But halfway through, he noticed his wife reaching for tissues.

“What’s wrong?” he asked softly. The food was all vegetarian, and she usually didn’t cry over meals.

“Nothing, I just… feel like crying.” Her eyes were red. She was usually tough, but watching their kids eat rice again—it just hit her.

“It’s okay,” Zhang Dafeng said, trying to comfort her.

Then their son looked up, chopsticks in hand. “Dad, does this mean we can eat rice every day now?”

“Yes,” Zhang Dafeng replied firmly.

Though he sounded confident, he felt the same bittersweet ache as his wife—a kind of sorrow and joy that came from losing something and then getting it back.

……

Wang Feipeng hung a sign at the entrance: “Chengfeng Rice Available Inside.” By 1:10, the restaurant was packed, with a line forming outside.

“Boss, three bowls of rice!”

“Seven bowls for our table!”

“Can we get the rice first?”

Everyone had come for the rice. The rich aroma from the kitchen had drawn them in, and now they were ordering with enthusiasm.

“Boss, you better serve rice every day from now on,” one customer said eagerly.

“Absolutely!”

Wang Feipeng was thoroughly enjoying himself. After twenty years in the food business, he was once again happily taking orders from customers.

……

“A terrible day.”

While Wang Feipeng was joyfully serving meals, in the city of Natal Florosa, James stood gloomily at the entrance of his shop. He owned the Knight’s Egg Tart shop. On July 10th, the city had issued a heavy rain warning—Florosa would face the Harma Storm between July 15th and 30th.

Florosa was a coastal city. Since the warning, the entire city had been preparing for the storm. In just one week, all the fruits and vegetables in the supermarkets had been wiped out. Only a few scattered electronics remained on the shelves. James had lived in Florosa for fifty years and had never seen the city’s residents so frantic. And it wasn’t just Florosa—other parts of Natal were in the same frenzy…

It was now 9 AM local time in Natal. Outside, it was so dark it looked like night, and rain poured down in sheets like broken strings.

James stared at the stormy scene. He had planned to go to the kitchen to make egg tarts, but as soon as he turned on the machine, he noticed water leaking onto the floor. Looking outside, he saw that an underground pipe was backing up.

James quickly dialed the Florosa municipal hotline.

Florosa had the most advanced waterworks system—this kind of catastrophic failure should’ve been impossible!

Furious, James dialed the phone. But half an hour later, his anger had turned into worry. The municipal worker on the other end had explained that there were already over twenty locations across the city experiencing backflow, and with fifteen more days of rain expected, Florosa’s public works teams were racing against time to make emergency repairs.

The worker told him not to worry, but James couldn’t shake the gnawing unease in his gut.

Over the next two days, the Harma Acid Rain only intensified. The flooding spread to cover 77% of the city. At 7 p.m. on July 22, the Florosa municipal government broadcast an emergency announcement: the city’s entire water system had collapsed. Emergency repairs were underway, and all residents were urged to stay safe and avoid going out in the rain.

At 7:20, James repeated the announcement under his breath as he used a vacuum pump to suck water out of his shop.

After a week of relentless downpour, floodwaters in Florosa had risen past knee level. For the past two days, he had put his egg tart business on hold. His daily routine had become nothing but sweeping water, sweeping water, and more sweeping water…

After thirty minutes of pumping, the water level had risen another half millimeter.

Amid this mind-numbing repetition, a loud banging came from the window. James looked up—an abandoned car, swept along by the flood, slammed into the storefront. The impact shattered half the glass, letting even more rainwater pour into the egg tart shop.

“Damn it.”

James gave up on pumping altogether.

“Get out, now!”

“Tonight’s storm will be even worse!”

…

Outside, people were running through the streets, trying to escape. The water had risen to waist level for a grown adult. The entire city of Florosa was in chaos.

“James?” A familiar voice called out. James looked toward the door, his mood heavy.

“Jack?” he blinked, snapping back to reality.

“We need to evacuate.” Jack was a regular at the shop. Rainwater streamed past his nose. He was wearing a raincoat, but it was completely useless now.

“I know.” James glanced back at his egg tart shop with reluctance. Over the past three days, more and more stores had closed. Knight’s Egg Tarts was his pride and joy—his personal business that he had run for twenty years. If there was any way to keep it, he didn’t want to let it go.

“James, you have to be alive to make delicious egg tarts,” Jack said, catching the look in his eyes.

“I know.” James turned to grab his bag from the shop.

The water inside was so deep that as he reached for his bag, a white plastic sack floated up to his waist.

James picked it up. The label read: Fengshan Flour.

You have to be alive to make delicious egg tarts.

Suddenly, James thought—if Florosa could survive this disaster, then he would open a Fengshan Egg Tart shop.