Chapter 296
In simple terms, the Golden Elixir is a sun that Zheng Fa finds even more perplexing... At least the sun only involves fusion.
Tang Mu Dao nodded beside him, saying, "That's true. If all we need is a lot of energy, one of those two reactions would suffice."
Zheng Fa asked again, "I have another question... What is the relationship between spiritual energy and energy?"
This was Zheng Fa's confusion about the essence of spiritual energy:
From his previous cultivation experiences, he understood that cultivators only needed to accumulate spiritual power to control the myriad things in the world—he had pondered where the energy that spiritual energy controlled came from, but with his current cultivation level, he had no means to explore it.
To his surprise, the Golden Elixir actually involved nuclear reactions—meaning that at this stage, cultivators were not just accumulating spiritual power but also attempting to generate a large amount of energy themselves.
But this energy seemed to serve no purpose...
If the cultivators after the Tianhe Zun were using it to practice their life-bound magical treasures, what about the earlier cultivators?
Where did the energy produced by their Golden Elixirs go?
This question could only be understood by modern people.
These two questions left Bai Laotou and the others looking puzzled.
Zheng Fa thought for a moment, then took out his phone and called Team Leader Yang.
"Hello? Mr. Zheng?"
"Team Leader Yang, could you please bring over two people who understand nuclear engineering..."
If the Golden Elixir could be likened to a nuclear reactor, one that might even involve both fusion and fission.
Then the Golden Elixir could almost be seen as a highly refined engineering design...
Engineering design, after all.
Just find some engineers!
After a moment of hesitation, the voice on the other end replied, "Mr. Zheng... the people in this field have confidentiality levels. Even for you, I need to apply... May I ask why you want to contact them?"
"It's nothing much. I have a method of nuclear fusion passed down from my master, and I want them to verify its authenticity."
"..."
There was silence on the other end.
(End of this chapter)
---
**Chapter 276: Being a God**
"Old Hou?"
Just as he hung up the phone, Zheng Fa saw Old Hou running toward him.
He was holding a stalk of rice, which reached up to his shoulder. As he ran, the grains bounced against his smiling face.
Zheng Fa immediately understood what he wanted to say.
"Did it work?"
Old Hou nodded and handed the stalk to Zheng Fa.
Zheng Fa picked it up and examined it.
Old Hou's idea was to use the rice from the nursing home as a parent strain, crossbreeding it with other varieties—aiming to cultivate a type that not only had the taste and yield advantages of the nursing home rice but could also be grown on a large scale outside of a spiritual energy environment.
Now it seemed they had achieved preliminary results.
"We tried over fifty different plans, and it looks like this one has achieved a balance in taste, growth environment, and yield," Old Hou explained.
"We conducted experiments in environments without spiritual energy."
"This variety yields over 1,200 kilograms per mu, has a taste better than almost all varieties on the market, and doesn't require high soil fertility!"
The rice in Zheng Fa's hand was slightly smaller than the previous varieties from the nursing home, but larger than the ones currently grown on a large scale in the country.
The grains were round and long, heavy in his hand, and had a fragrant aroma.
Holding this rice seed, Zheng Fa suddenly felt a sense of calm wash over him, a strange feeling of reassurance.
"You’re a farmer too."
Old Hou looked at his expression and suddenly laughed.
"Huh?" Zheng Fa looked up and then nodded in agreement, "I am a farmer..."
He was constantly reminded that his early life had left a profound mark on him; he loved the land and food from the depths of his being...
Old Hou laughed heartily, a hint of recognition in his eyes.
"Everyone has given me so much praise, but I know deep down that I’m just a farmer... I used to feel a bit regretful. After so many years of research, while the yield increased, people didn’t enjoy eating it..."
Zheng Fa nodded.
Having interacted with Old Hou for so long, he understood the current state of hybrid rice.
In simple terms, hybrid rice hadn’t been widely promoted; instead, most of it had been turned into rice products—largely due to taste factors.
On the other hand, many other scientists were also working on hybrid rice, not just Old Hou's team.
Old Hou's pioneering status meant he was an explorer, pushing the limits of yield—but large-scale planting required market consideration and cost analysis; maximum yield was equivalent to laboratory results, and bringing it to market was another matter entirely.
In the field of hybrid rice, his variety wasn’t the most popular.
This led to a small regret for Old Hou—his hybrid rice variety was generally seen as a backup option in emergencies and had yet to enter the homes of ordinary people.
Looking at the rice seedlings in Zheng Fa's hand, Old Hou's expression softened. He said to Zheng Fa, "In the past, people called me the father of this or that... I can't help but feel a bit undeserving of such titles."
He paused, not continuing, but suddenly bowed deeply to Zheng Fa.
Zheng Fa quickly supported him.
But this time, the old man straightened up with great effort, as if unwilling to relent.
Zheng Fa was taken aback and let go.
Old Hou deeply bowed to Zheng Fa.
After standing up, Old Hou finally spoke, "Now I understand what it means to die without regrets..."
Bai Laotou and Tang Lingwu stood side by side under the eaves, glancing at each other, smiles spreading across their faces.
---
"This is the new rice variety?" At the dining table, the visiting Team Leader Yang took a bite of the rice in his bowl, his eyes sparkling. "Is this what you cultivated?"
"Our work at the nursing home is complete; we just need to wait for the next phase of experiments," Zheng Fa explained.
Currently, this rice variety was ripened using the Changqing Talisman, and the next step would naturally be to see if it could grow as well in a natural environment without spiritual energy.
But as Zheng Fa said, the work at the nursing home was nearly finished.
The remaining parts could be handled by ordinary agricultural laboratories.
"Wait a moment, I need to make a call." Team Leader Yang suddenly put down his bowl and ran outside.
Zheng Fa turned to Old Hou and said, "Old Hou, I’ll need your and Teacher Tian's help for the next step in cultivating the spiritual plants."
Old Hou nodded at this and replied, "I’m definitely willing, but I’m not the most specialized in the study of cytoplasmic inheritance..."
Zheng Fa understood.
Although Team Leader Yang made calls every day, the confidentiality work was well done—people like Old Hou were highly trusted by the higher-ups, which is why he was informed of the details.
For instance, this time, Zheng Fa wanted to find some big names in nuclear engineering, and the process took a bit longer, with most of the time spent on personnel evaluations.
After a while, Team Leader Yang returned from outside.
She said to Zheng Fa, "The grain company we mentioned has been officially established. Is Lingwu the chairperson?"
Zheng Fa looked at Tang Lingwu, who nodded slightly, her expression filled with determination.
"If you’re not willing..."
Seeing her expression, Zheng Fa suddenly remembered that when he first met Tang Lingwu, she had mentioned that she didn’t like doing business—because she was a bit socially anxious.
"I’m willing!" Tang Lingwu declared.
Zheng Fa was taken aback for a moment, then nodded gently.
Suddenly, Bai Laotou turned to Teacher Tian and said affectionately, "I’m willing!"
Everyone was momentarily stunned, then quickly realized what Bai Laotou meant. Teacher Tian playfully slapped Bai Laotou on the back, saying, "What nonsense are you talking about!"
"I just thought about how we never had our wedding; this phrase is so touching when Lingwu says it! We’ve never said it."
"Old couples like us shouldn’t be saying this; it’s something for young couples!"
As soon as he said that, Tang Lingwu blushed furiously, her social anxiety flaring up.
After they finished their playful banter, Team Leader Yang spoke again, "Also, there’s a national science advancement award being evaluated recently, and I wanted to ask you all..."
She didn’t finish, but Zheng Fa and the others understood.
They were looking to hand out money and awards.
"But... the experiments aren’t even finished yet?" Bai Laotou asked, puzzled.
"Preliminary results are still results," Team Leader Yang said with a smile, as if she found her reasoning quite sound.
Zheng Fa didn’t mind this matter.
He looked at the other people at the table.
Tang Mu Dao was deeply focused on his cultivation, lost in thought at the dining table.
Tang Lingwu was clearly socially anxious.
Teacher Tian didn’t seem very interested either.
Bai Laotou... wait, why does Bai Laotou look so eager?
"Teacher Bai, I see the others are busy, so you’re the only one who can go," Zheng Fa said. "If you don’t want to..."
"I’m willing!"
The three words rang out powerfully, as if to say—let me bear this dirty fame and fortune!
Teacher Tian slowly set down his chopsticks and looked at Bai Laotou.
Table of Contents
