pjbooks Chapter 137 Sir, are you lacking nutrient soil? They brought over 9 days' worth of life-giving
Chapter 137 Sir, are you lacking nutrient soil? They brought over 9 days' worth of life-giving
In the courtyard, the sky was just beginning to lighten.
Lin Fan yawned and strolled out of the house.
I slept very well last night, but now my stomach feels a little empty.
The dragon's blood delicacy was incredibly delicious, but unfortunately, it wasn't very filling. The immense energy seemed to have been completely digested overnight, leaving only a deeper sense of hunger.
He walked to the center of the courtyard, his gaze falling on the vegetable patch that the mercenary gardeners had meticulously turned over, and he couldn't help but stroke his chin.
"This land is just sitting there empty, what should we plant?"
He started to make plans in his mind.
The Chaos Spirit Soil has been used up, so it seems unlikely that we can grow the Dragon Blood Treasure Vegetable, a divine vegetable that matures overnight, anymore.
It seems it's time to return to reality and grow some simple, unpretentious vegetables.
Cucumbers? Tomatoes? Or, how about some Chinese cabbage for winter?
"Qingxue".
Lin Fan waved to the slender figure quietly sweeping fallen leaves in the corner of the courtyard.
Upon hearing the sound, Fang Qingxue shifted slightly, the broom in her hand seemingly losing its weight as she silently leaned it against the wall. She moved gracefully, quickly walking to Lin Fan, bowing slightly, her posture perfect as a textbook example.
"Sir, what are your orders?"
After a night of reflection, she had completely immersed herself in the role of "personal maid," and her tone and demeanor were impeccable.
"I have a question for you," Lin Fan said, pointing to the open space. "What do you martial artists usually eat? Are there any vegetables that give you extra strength and keep you full?"
Fang Qingxue's delicate body trembled.
Sir, are you... testing me?
Her brain instantly started working at high speed, and countless records of rare and precious materials from her family's ancient texts flashed through her mind like a stream of light.
"In response to your question, sir," she replied respectfully, organizing her thoughts. "Ordinary martial artists primarily rely on medicinal diets that nourish their qi and blood. However, at the level of grandmasters like ourselves, ordinary food offers little benefit."
"If we're talking about things that can both increase one's power and provide sustenance, they're mostly spiritual roots and immortal herbs that contain the essence of heaven and earth."
Her voice was clear and melodious, as if she were telling a story from another world.
"For example, in our family's medicinal garden, we cultivate a kind of 'Crimson Blood Dragon Ginseng,' which is shaped like a blood dragon coiled up. It takes a hundred years to mature, and eating it can increase one's power by sixty years."
"For example, on the summit of Kunlun Mountain, there is a legend that a 'Nine-Leaf Lingzhi' grows, which blooms every thousand years and bears fruit every thousand years. If one can obtain a single petal, one can cleanse one's marrow and bones and rebuild one's foundation for the Dao."
Fang Qingxue listed all the top spiritual items she knew.
In her view, someone like the gentleman would naturally be inquiring about such divine objects.
However, Lin Fan dismissed the question with a dismissive shrug.
"Ginseng and lingzhi mushrooms? Those are medicinal herbs, can you eat them like food?"
He shook his head, his face showing an expression that said, "You young people just don't know how to live."
"Forget it, it's pointless to ask you."
He looked at the barren vegetable patch and sighed, "In the end, it's still the soil that's no good. We've used up that bag of nutrient soil, and now with this ordinary garden soil, I doubt anything will grow fast."
Nutrient soil?
Fang Qingxue's eye twitched uncontrollably.
Sir, you call that "chaotic spiritual soil" that can nurture a small world "nutrient soil"?
But the next second, she was jolted, instantly catching the crucial information in Lin Fan's words that exploded like thunder.
Sir, we're lacking soil!
This is an opportunity!
It was a godsend, a perfect opportunity for the Fang family to make a name for themselves in front of the master!
Her heart was in turmoil, but she remained outwardly calm, immediately bowing deeply: "Sir, regarding the matter of the soil, Qingxue might... be able to share your burdens."
"Oh?" Lin Fan raised an eyebrow. "Does your family sell fertilizer?"
Fang Qingxue: "..."
She felt that her thoughts could never keep up with her husband's peculiar way of thinking.
Forcibly suppressing the feeling of powerlessness in her heart, she replied with even greater respect, "Sir, our family happens to have a collection of... rather special soil. Perhaps it can meet your requirements."
"Really?" Lin Fan finally showed some interest. "What kind of soil? The black soil of Northeast China? Or the red soil of the South? How fertile is it?"
"Well... even Qingxue can't say for sure." Fang Qingxue didn't dare to speak definitively, for fear of disgracing the divine object. "I only know that the soil is a treasure passed down in my Fang family for thousands of years, called 'Nine Heavens Breath Soil.' Ancient records say that it... has the power of endless life and can nurture all things."
"Nine Heavens Breath Soil? That sounds impressive." Lin Fan muttered to himself, then waved his hand. "Alright, since you've said so, have your family get me a small bag to try. If it works, I'll pay you the market price."
Pay according to... market price?
Fang Qingxue's lips twitched wildly once again.
Sir, where can you find the price of that thing?
But she dared not utter a word of objection and could only obediently reply, "Yes, sir. I will contact home immediately."
She was about to take out the communication jade talisman when she suddenly remembered that her grandfather had said yesterday that he would come to the capital in person to apologize to the teacher.
Judging by the time, it's probably time by now, isn't it?
Just then, a very slight commotion came from the entrance of the alley.
In the courtyard, Shaka, the foreign man who had been meditating with his eyes closed like a golden sculpture, slowly opened them. His gaze pierced through the courtyard wall, looking towards the alley entrance, and then he softly reported to the courtyard in a strange tone.
"Sir, we have some guests at the door. One of them claims to be your 'project manager'."
Project Manager?
Lin Fan was stunned for half a second before realizing that he was referring to Li Zhenguo.
"Let him in," Lin Fan said casually. "What's he doing here so early in the morning? He's disturbing the peace and quiet."
……
Meanwhile, outside the courtyard wall, at Old Wang's house...
Old Wang got up earlier than the chickens today.
Ever since he witnessed the miraculous transformation of the withered locust tree into spring and the fragrant aroma of celestial vegetables yesterday, he could no longer sit still.
He felt that if he didn't do something for the gods next door, it would be a desecration.
So, before dawn, he got up, ran to the backyard, and pulled out the bunch of scallions that he had carefully tended with the best farmyard manure for several years, the ones that were the most juicy and plump.
He felt that if the cabbage grown by the gods was so magical, then the scallions used when stir-frying it must also be the best in the mortal world!
The scallions from his family are a unique source of pride in this alley.
Carrying the bundle of scallions still glistening with dewdrops, Old Wang, with an almost reverent feeling, tiptoed to the entrance of Lin Fan's courtyard house.
He dared not knock on the door and disturb the gods, so he quietly placed the scallions at the door as a token of his goodwill.
But as soon as he peeked out, he was frozen in place, as if he had been struck by a spell.
At the usually quiet alley entrance, a dozen or so pure black sedans with special license plates—the kind he'd only ever seen on TV news—had suddenly appeared silently parked.
Beside the convoy, a group of men dressed in black Tang suits stood still like pine trees. Although they made no move, the aura of profound composure emanating from them made the surrounding air seem to freeze.
At the very front of the convoy, the "Leader Li" who looked familiar to Lin Fan and often came to see him was bowing slightly and smiling broadly as he spoke with an elderly man in a Tang suit with white hair.
The elderly man in the Tang suit, though advanced in years, stood as straight as a spear piercing the sky. Just standing there, his imposing presence, as if he held the power of life and death over countless people, sent a chill down Old Wang's spine, a man who had once struggled in the martial arts world in his youth.
This is absolutely... a hundred times more terrifying than any martial arts master he has ever met in his life!
However, this terrifying being, who could make the world tremble with a stomp of his foot, was now showing humility, respect, and even... an obvious hint of flattery in front of "Leader Li".
Old Wang's worldview has cracked.
What he couldn't understand even more was yet to come.
After saying a few words to "Leader Li," the old man in the Tang suit suddenly turned around and waved his hand at the group of men in black behind him.
In an instant, the group of men in black, whose auras were heavy and stern, moved.
They began unloading the "offerings" from the trunk of the car.
One by one, ancient treasure chests exuding the fragrance of thousand-year-old wood were carried out, and the runes carved on the chests seemed to flow slowly.
An ancient sword wrapped in black cloth, with only a corner of its scabbard visible, exuded a piercing sharpness that made Old Wang feel a stinging pain between his brows.
A Ganoderma lucidum carefully displayed in a jade box, its entire body shimmering with light, seemed to possess life, gently "breathing" its radiance!
Finally, the car door opened, and out stepped... were three girls dressed in snow-white dresses, untouched by the world!
Their skin was as white as snow, their features as beautiful as paintings, and their steps were light and graceful, as if they were not walking on the dirty alley, but on the clouds, giving this dilapidated alley a momentary illusion of a celestial palace!
Old Wang stood frozen in the corner, holding the bunch of scallions in his hand, feeling a buzzing in his head, as if he had been hit by a meteorite from outer space.
What... what is this for?
Offering sacrifices to the gods?!
He slowly lowered his head, looking at the carefully selected, lush green scallions in his hand, which he was very proud of.
Then look up and see their mythical spectacle, with their magical herbs, divine weapons, and even... offerings from fairies.
Old Wang suddenly realized that the bundle of scallions in his hand...
It seems a bit embarrassing to present it.
His lips trembled, and for the first time, he felt a deep doubt about the scallions he had grown all his life.