Chapter 99

“Seal the moisture-proof agent properly—don’t let it get damp.”

While the disaster in Longbei was slowly recovering, at Longxing Port in Jisheng Province, Zhang Zhenghao was directing workers to load goods onto trucks. Zhang Zhenghao was thirty-seven years old and the trade manager at Jier Jiyue.

Currently, Longxia’s grain exports are divided into two main categories: national and corporate. National exports are largely barter-based and include elements of aid. Corporate exports, on the other hand, require companies to obtain export quotas, after which the importing firms handle inspection, quarantine, and a series of related procedures.

The current corporate export price for grain ranges from 30 to 70 yuan per jin. Jier Jiyue is a professional foreign trade agency. Since Longxia relaxed provincial export quotas, they’ve exported a total of 200,000 tons of grain.

Half an hour later, all the cargo was loaded. Zhang Zhengjie came over and said, “Here’s the cargo list—double-check it.”

Zhang Zhengjie and Zhang Zhenghao were brothers. They had joined the company together. Zhang Zhenghao handled administrative work, while Zhang Zhengjie traveled the world accompanying shipments.

After carefully reviewing the list, Zhang Zhenghao said, “All good.”

This shipment was 30,000 tons of corn, destined for Slanton Port, expected to arrive by the end of the month.

“I won’t be going home this year—save me some dumplings,” Zhang Zhengjie said with a grin after chatting for a bit. This year, the New Year falls on the 25th, but because of the long journey, he wouldn’t be able to return until after the seventh day of the lunar new year.

“Stay safe,” Zhang Zhenghao said, patting his brother on the shoulder.

An hour later, the silver-gray cargo ship set sail. In addition to Jier Jiyue’s corn, it also carried some sweet potatoes and wheat. Including the crew and accompanying personnel, there were over 370 people onboard—familiar faces from many previous collaborations.

Watching the ship depart, Zhang Zhenghao wasn’t particularly worried.

…

“I booked a flight for the 20th. No idea how crowded the airport will be.”

“I’m flying on the 21st. My family’s already started smoking cured meat.”

…

At 3 p.m., just as Zhang Zhenghao entered his office, he noticed many employees whispering to each other. Jier Jiyue had 3,000 employees, mainly responsible for customs declarations and inspections. Now that the Slanton shipment had been dispatched, everyone was visibly more relaxed.

Zhang Zhenghao tossed a form to the group. “These are the year-end gifts. Pick any two out of ten, then go register with Finance.”

“Seriously?!”

“There’s even mechanical keyboards!”

…

The employees were thrilled as they looked over the form. After chatting with them for a bit, Zhang Zhenghao returned to his office and opened the curtains.

The Jier Jiyue office building was located in the southern part of Songhua City, Jisheng Province. It had been 27 days since the blizzard ended. The snow on the high-rise windowsills had melted, supermarkets and malls had reopened, and traffic at the intersections was bustling again.

As Zhang Zhenghao watched the scene for a while, his phone rang.

“Guoguo left already?” An elderly woman’s voice came through as soon as he picked up.

“Just left.” Guoguo was Zhang Zhengjie’s childhood nickname.

“He didn’t take any thermal pants. I wonder if he’ll be cold…”

“There’s heating and AC on the ship. Slanton’s at a lower latitude—it’s not cold.”

They chatted for a bit, and then the old lady said, “Pick up some pork and greens on your way back. I’m making dumpling filling tomorrow.”

In Longbei, it’s customary to make dumplings in advance. Last year, due to rising pork prices, they only made one tray. Now that prices had dropped, she planned to make a full batch for the month.

“Got it!” Zhang Zhenghao was starting to really look forward to the New Year.

…

“I’ll take ten jin of pork belly and ten jin of pork ribs.”

“No chicken butts—clean those properly!”

“Give me five jin of sausage… is it fresh?”

…

As Zhang Zhenghao looked forward to the holiday, people across the country began a massive stocking-up campaign.

Since the blizzard in Longbei ended on December 20th, the entire nation had been closely watching the region’s recovery. This year’s snowstorm was more severe than last year’s, and many provinces had already begun organizing relief supplies. But before any aid could be delivered, on December 29th, the Longbei government released a video: Acid Rain Crops After the Blizzard.

The video showed that while the snowstorm had been severe, the Acid Rain Seeds had proven remarkably resilient, with a 97% survival rate. Despite the harsher conditions compared to last year, Longxia and its people had responded effectively, resulting in less impact than before.

…

“Move the scaffolding a bit to the side.”

“A little more…”

At 7:30 p.m. on January 24th, backstage at Longxia Television Station, Cui Ning was carefully reviewing his opening lines. It was New Year’s Eve, just thirty minutes before the Spring Festival Gala. The entire station was buzzing with activity.

“Honored leaders, distinguished guests…” At 7:35, Cui Ning recited the opening again.

“You’re never usually this nervous.”

The female host beside him watched him rehearse. The two had been co-hosts for twelve years and had hosted seven Spring Festival Galas together. Normally, Cui Ning would memorize his lines and then wander backstage. This was the first time he was earnestly rehearsing.

“There’s just been too much this year—it’s hard to sum up,” Cui Ning said with a sigh.

The Dead Meat incident, the locust plague, the Longbei blizzard… He mentally reviewed the events and realized that from the beginning of the year until now, so much had happened that it felt like more than in the past ten years combined.

“Just stay calm,” the female host said, trying to ease the tension.

They chatted for a bit, and at 7:50, the director called for the hosts to head to the stage. The female host wore a red dress with elegant makeup. Cui Ning had thought she was calm, but as they walked, he noticed she was slightly out of step…

Cui Ning chuckled to himself.

Turns out he wasn’t the only one nervous—everyone backstage was on edge.

“Honored leaders, distinguished guests. Welcome to tonight’s Spring Festival Gala…”

At exactly 8:00 p.m., the 3030 Spring Festival Gala officially began.

…

“It’s already 3030.”

At 8:00 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, at the Changshunlin Police Station in Longbei, Wang Chen was biting into a dumpling while watching the live broadcast on his computer. Wang Chen was an officer handling cases in Changshunlin. As the old year ended and the new one began, he was on duty with Old Zhao.

“They’re setting off fireworks at the South Plaza—packed with people.”

At 8:20, Old Zhao came back in after a stroll. Changshunlin was a vast, sparsely populated area with large cornfields. After the blizzard, everyone thought the corn wouldn’t survive, but miraculously, it did. To celebrate the unexpected harvest, the town had invited a song and dance troupe. Now the South Plaza was full of music and dancing, and many villagers had traveled twenty li to watch the show.

After chatting for a bit, Old Zhao glanced at Wang Chen’s screen. “How’s the Gala this year?”

“Pretty good,” Wang Chen said, scooting over to make room. This year’s skits were fresh and innovative, with thoughtful stage design and punchlines. The more they watched, the more they laughed.

At 9:20, they heard a creaking sound from the entrance.

“Someone’s here?” Old Zhao looked surprised.

“Doesn’t seem like it.” Wang Chen glanced toward the door. It was pitch black outside—no sign of anyone.

They continued watching the show, but soon the creaking came again. Old Zhao put on his hat and stepped outside. He had barely taken a few steps when he found himself staring into a pair of dark, glassy eyes. It was a fully grown wild sika deer. Its antlers looked like robust seaweed fronds, easily over a meter long.

The deer calmly walked toward Old Zhao.

Startled, Old Zhao quickly shut the door.

The deer didn’t panic. It quietly lay down in front of the glass door. Then, a small sika deer emerged from the corner—probably about a month old, its thin legs barely able to support it.

“Come take a look at this,” Old Zhao called out to Wang Chen.

Wang Chen came out wearing his hat. Two men, two deer—eight eyes locked in a silent standoff. On New Year’s Eve, neither of them had expected this.

Wang Chen quickly called to report to the higher-ups, then notified the Forestry Bureau. Changshunlin was a border town, and it would take at least three hours for the Forestry Bureau to get there—if they left immediately, the earliest they could arrive would be the next morning.

“What do we do now?” Wang Chen scratched his head. Though the blizzard had ended, nighttime temperatures in Longbei were still below minus thirty. The little deer was skinny, with a bony head and legs—clearly malnourished.

Old Zhao carefully examined the adult deer and said, “Let’s bring them in for now.”

The glass door of the police station swung open, and the two of them instinctively stepped back. The adult deer stood up—seemingly sensing they meant no harm—and took the lead, walking into the station.

The little sika deer followed closely behind.

Inside, it was noticeably warmer. The adult sika deer curled up in a corner, while the little one stood alone in the middle of the lobby, both timid and curious as it looked around.

Wang Chen warmed up a bottle of milk and poured it into the plate that had held dumplings earlier.

The fawn drank eagerly, clearly starving.

“Probably came down from the nearby mountains,” Old Zhao said, glancing at the deer’s hooves. Ever since the vegetation started deteriorating, more and more animals had been fleeing down from the mountains over the past two years. Some were driven off by villagers, while others were reported to the Forestry Bureau and taken in.

He’d seen a lot of animals, but this was the first time he’d encountered one with such beautiful antlers.

With these unexpected guests in the station, neither of them dared to sleep. They took turns staying up through the night. Early the next morning, the Provincial Forestry Bureau sent a rescue vehicle, accompanied by a crew from the provincial TV station.

“So beautiful,” the reporter couldn’t help but exclaim upon seeing the sika deer, snapping photo after photo.

By 9 a.m., the Changshun Forest sika deer had made it onto Liaohe News. The report included not just the story, but also a quick-cut video of the deer’s arrival and stay. In the footage, the sika deer looked elegant and regal, its muscles and antlers radiating a powerful beauty.

“So cute!”

“Blessings and prosperity!”

…

Liaohe News had intended it as a light-hearted segment, but by 2 p.m., the hashtag #ChangshunForestSikaDeer# was trending alongside #SpringFestivalGala3030#.

Because “sika” sounds like “lu,” which is a homophone for “prosperity” in Chinese, the deer carried connotations of smooth journeys and abundant blessings in Longxia culture.

Seeing a sika deer on the very first day of the new year made people feel like the year was off to an incredibly auspicious start.

…

“Not bad-looking at all,” Liu Wensheng said thoughtfully, watching the news about the deer at 3 p.m. on New Year’s Day.

With the festive atmosphere sweeping across the country, the farm had joined in by hanging rainbow lanterns. Just last night, they’d held a bonfire party. Some researchers had gone home for the holidays, while others stayed behind to continue their experiments.

After watching for a while, Liu Wensheng got up and headed to the protective greenhouse.

Inside, the Hope Tree sapling had grown to three meters tall, its branches lush with fresh green buds.

“How’s it doing?” Liu Wensheng asked after observing for a moment.

“No change,” Qin Yun shook his head.

Last year during the New Year, the Hope Tree had borne a single Algae Gate fruit. While that had been partly a stroke of luck, after last night’s bonfire party, Qin Yun had still decided to keep watch by the tree, hoping for another surprise. The Hope Tree was clearly more vigorous than before, but for now, it hadn’t borne any fruit.

“As long as it’s stronger than last year, that’s good enough.”

Liu Wensheng spoke with satisfaction. Last year, the Hope Tree had only been a one-meter-tall sapling. Now, it had grown into a sturdy three-meter tree. It was already far stronger than before.

“Absolutely,” Qin Yun agreed with a smile.

After chatting for a bit, Liu Wensheng asked, “Heading to Meng Province tomorrow?”

“Yeah.” Qin Yun had been working on the “Twenty Crops Cultivation” task, which was now 90% complete. Once he finished planting the rice and forage grass, the task would be fully done. Some areas in Meng Province had already started sowing forage, so he was heading there to join the effort.

“I’ve got a meeting in Jinghe tomorrow,” Liu Wensheng added. With the new year underway, it was time to start planning the annual policies.

They talked a little longer before the phone in the greenhouse rang.

“Commander Liu, the plantation’s calling for you,” a staff member said after picking up. Previously, the farm had been affected by a non-farm equipment debuff, but after the farm’s upgrade, the debuff was lifted, and each lab had been equipped with a landline to facilitate communication between research teams.

“Hello,” Liu Wensheng answered calmly. But within thirty seconds, his calm turned into excitement.

“What happened?” Qin Yun asked, curious.

“We’ve got a breakthrough!”

Liu Wensheng took a deep breath. Although the Hope Tree hadn’t borne fruit this year, the plantation and the Seed Laboratory had made a major discovery through joint research: they had successfully developed the Acid Rain Watermelon!

This was the first Acid Rain fruit cultivated without using system-provided seeds as the base—an original creation by the lab.