Chapter 315
“Sure, there is... that’s quite normal...” Tang Lingwu noticed that Zheng Fa’s expression was not very pleasant, and she seemed somewhat comforted. Suddenly, she broke into a smile. “Aunt Yang’s choices are actually quite good. I know some people are whispering, but they’re all very polite in person.”
Zheng Fa gradually relaxed his slightly furrowed brow.
Tang Lingwu added, “Whatever they say, whatever they think of me, I don’t care.”
“Then you…”
Tang Lingwu lowered her gaze to the ground, her voice soft: “I just... don’t want to disappoint everyone at the nursing home…”
Beside them, Old Bai nudged Teacher Tian with his elbow and whispered, “Do you think we’re included in that group?”
“…”
“Dad! Mom! Open the door!”
Cheng Yun knocked on the security door, calling out from inside.
The door opened, and a man with white hair peeked out. Upon seeing Cheng Yun, his brows furrowed slightly, as if he were unhappy. “Why are you back?”
“Dad, where’s Mom?”
“She’s getting dinner ready.”
“Don’t start cooking yet! I brought you new rice!”
With that, Cheng Yun pointed to the ground.
Five bags of Jiu Shan No. 1 rice lay at his feet.
“Buying rice? What kind of rice? We don’t need that at home!”
Cheng Yun’s mother also came out. She first shot her son a glance, then looked at the rice on the ground, puzzled.
Cheng Yun’s father shook his head. “What a waste of money! Saving up for your wedding would be much better!”
“Dad, Mom, you don’t understand. This rice is special!”
Having worked at the nursing home for a while, Cheng Yun certainly knew the uniqueness of Jiu Shan No. 1.
“Special? What’s so special about it?”
“Sigh, I can’t explain it to you!” Cheng Yun dared not say.
Zheng Fa, however, was not too concerned about it anymore.
But Team Leader Yang had warned him repeatedly!
“…”
“Dad, I have things to do, so I’m leaving!”
“Eh? Aren’t you staying for dinner?”
Cheng Yun certainly didn’t want to stay—after all, the food at the nursing home was so delicious!
Besides, if he sat at the dinner table... he would inevitably be pressured by his father to get married.
Ever since he turned thirty without even a girlfriend, even the mosquitoes at home had partners in his father’s eyes!
If it weren’t for buying this Jiu Shan No. 1 rice for his parents, he wouldn’t have come back at all.
“I’m not eating!”
Hearing him stomp down the stairs, Cheng’s father grew even angrier. “At thirty, still so reckless! How can any girl like you?”
“Exactly! It’s your face that makes him want to run away!” Cheng’s mother scolded him, then added, “Dinner’s ready, let’s eat!”
But Cheng’s father didn’t move, just stared at the rice his son had bought.
After a moment, he suddenly said, “How about we eat this today?”
“... Didn’t you say it was a waste of money?” Cheng’s mother chuckled, but she didn’t seem surprised. She smiled and said, “I knew it! You’re just pretending—our son cares about us, and you’re secretly delighted!”
Cheng’s father fell silent, listening to his wife talk while cooking. “We only have this one son, and you’re always frowning... Who will take care of you when you’re old?”
“... Isn’t the country allowing two children now?” After a long pause, Cheng’s father suddenly laughed.
“Pah!” Cheng’s mother paused in the kitchen, then said softly, “You? You’re in your fifties!”
Cheng’s father stood up in anger, then, meeting his wife’s knowing gaze, took a deep breath and slowly sat back down.
“…”
A few days later, Cheng’s father woke up early and felt something was off.
He looked down, staring blankly at his blanket...
What’s going on?
He hadn’t really wanted a second child!
…
“Jiu Shan No. 1 is selling like hotcakes!”
At the nursing home, while Zheng Fa was discussing the principles of the Golden Elixir with Cheng Yun and the others, Tang Lingwu suddenly bounced out of her room, happily calling out to him.
“Selling like hotcakes?”
Zheng Fa was a bit confused.
Given the taste and nutrition of Jiu Shan No. 1, it wasn’t surprising that it was selling well.
But it had only been a little over a week.
Had word spread that quickly?
“How is it selling like that?”
“All the major supermarkets are calling to reorder, but our supply is limited... we can’t keep up with the demand.”
Zheng Fa felt increasingly puzzled.
“Do you know why?”
Tang Lingwu’s face turned red.
It seemed she did know.
Old Bai and the others looked over, curious about what Tang Lingwu had to say.
“There’s a post online... saying, saying…”
“What does it say?”
Zheng Fa listened, even more confused.
“It says Jiu Shan No. 1, when eaten... enhances vitality.” Tang Lingwu’s voice suddenly dropped, and if it weren’t for Zheng Fa’s keen hearing, he wouldn’t have caught the last two words.
Zheng Fa’s mouth fell open, scratching his head, feeling unusually bewildered.
“Is that... really true?”
He glanced at Teacher Tian beside him.
Teacher Tian thought for a moment and said, “Whether it enhances vitality or not is hard to say, but Jiu Shan No. 1 is indeed much more nutritious than other rice varieties. It’s not impossible that it has some health benefits.”
“... No wonder it’s so popular. For the sake of enhancing vitality, people would eat new rice, and even the bark would be chewed on!”
“…”
“Actually, our health has improved quite a bit. It’s not just the Jiu Shan No. 1 we’re eating; the vegetables in the fields and the spiritual energy in the air have also helped us adapt.”
Teacher Tian added.
Zheng Fa nodded slowly.
He truly hadn’t expected Jiu Shan No. 1 to become popular in this way...
“Since there’s no stock left, then forget it...” Zheng Fa thought for a moment and said, “Maybe Jiu Shan No. 2 will be out next year.”
Tang Lingwu nodded, a smile on her lips.
Clearly, the success of Jiu Shan No. 1 had eased her worries.
“Jiu Shan No. 2?” Old Hou’s voice came from behind, sounding somewhat puzzled. “Do you all know that the experiment on the fusion of spiritual plant protoplasts has succeeded?”
“They’ve even named it?”
Zheng Fa turned around sharply to look at Old Hou. “It succeeded?”
The fusion of spiritual plant protoplasts was, after all, a technology for cultivating new spiritual plants using existing ones!
This was what Zheng Fa valued most in the agricultural field!
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 293: New Spiritual Plants, Detailed Explanation of the Golden Elixir
Chapter 293: New Spiritual Plants, Detailed Explanation of the Golden Elixir
Beside the experimental field at the nursing home.
A group of people squatted by the edge of the field, lacking the demeanor of cultivators, their eyes fixed intently on a small patch of tomato seedlings.
These tomatoes seemed to have just ripened, their fruits a vibrant red, glistening with droplets of water, proudly shining in the sunlight.
“Beautiful…”
Old Bai sighed softly.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
The tomatoes were indeed beautiful.
But what excited them even more was that this was the first spiritual plant created using modern technology!
Its significance lay not in how precious this spiritual plant was, but in the endless possibilities it opened up for them!
“We tried fusing the previously cultivated spiritual pea with various crops—only this tomato carried spiritual energy, and its offspring traits were the most stable.”
Protoplast fusion—at its core, it involved fusing the cells of two plants together.
Then, through selection, breeding, and backcrossing, they could pick out new crops that combined the characteristics of both plants.
This technology was already relatively mature.
For example, some salt-tolerant wheat was cultivated by fusing salt-tolerant plants with wheat protoplasts.
Zheng Fa and the others had previously explored the cellular structure of spiritual plants and found that what defined a spiritual plant was an additional structure similar to an organelle.
Now, using the idea of protoplast fusion technology, they aimed to transfer this organelle into the cells of another plant.
Old Hou continued explaining, “Through observation, this tomato also contains spiritual energy organelles similar to those in the peas.”
Old Bai furrowed his brow.
“So, from the perspective of spiritual plants, do these two actually serve the same function?”
Old Hou shook his head. “Our understanding of spiritual plants is still too limited. The pea has a strong ability to sustain life, but whether this tomato is exactly the same, we can’t say for sure.”
“However, in principle, they should be quite similar.”
Hearing this, the faces of Old Bai and the others showed a hint of disappointment.
But Zheng Fa’s heart was still soaring.
For the nursing home, this might be somewhat of a novelty.
But for the Jiu Shan realm, the prospects of this technology were quite promising!
There were actually many spiritual plants in the Jiu Shan realm’s medicinal garden, or rather, the thunder-type spiritual plants that should exist in the Xuanwei realm were all present in the Jiu Shan realm’s medicinal garden.
However, the variety of thunder-type spiritual plants was relatively limited, especially those suitable for lower-level cultivators.
For instance, staple food spiritual plants were in short supply.
Qian He rice lacked spiritual energy, and the thunder method also posed certain risks, making it difficult for most lower-level disciples to consume too much in a day.
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