From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 53 - 50: Premeditated

Da Hong was feeling utterly miserable.

After it was all over, it shot the cold, heartless human woman a resentful look. Then, it covered its own butt with its large wings and waddled unsteadily away to find its chicks.

This deeply moved Wei Heng and Qin Yi, who were watching from the side. ’Da Hong is truly a good chicken, disabled but determined! Even after all that, it’s still going to take care of the little chicks!’

When Shen Yue and Qin Shi returned that evening, they found Da Hong sprawled listlessly beside the chicken coop, looking as if it had lost all will to live.

Wei Heng was squatting on the ground nearby, mixing up some tasty food for it.

"What’s wrong with it?" Qi Xiang asked, entering the courtyard a step behind them.

"Da Hong suffered a terrible ordeal today," Wei Heng said with a somber expression.

Qi Xiang: "...?"

Shen Yue and Qin Shi: "...??"

During dinner, Shen Yue asked Gu Xi if she could send another shipment of grain to the front-line troops.

Gu Xi agreed, but also bluntly reminded him that she couldn’t feed that many people on her own.

The most she could do was provide some temporary relief for the troops’ urgent needs.

A permanent solution to this problem would have to come from the scientific researchers.

Only by cultivating improved varieties with low and stable mutation rates could the food problem be solved at its root.

Shen Yue, of course, understood this logic.

But the situation at the front was dire, and his comrades in many areas couldn’t wait any longer.

The topic was too heavy.

The atmosphere at the dinner table grew tense.

Qi Xiang looked from one person to another before suddenly speaking up. "I have some good news, everyone! Experiment No. 1 has had a major breakthrough..."

As she said this, although she didn’t know if she could take any credit for it, Qi Xiang subconsciously straightened her back, looking incredibly proud.

Mr. Zhao had said that Experiment No. 1 stabilized so quickly all thanks to the help of Gu Xi’s ability.

’And Gu Xi... is my captain and my meal ticket.’

’So what if I’m a little proud and smug about it?’

Gu Xi’s thoughts, however, turned to the fruit seeds...

But Qi Xiang told her that the fruit would have to wait. The priority right now was solving the grain problem. However, Mr. Zhao had also said that if Gu Xi wanted to plant them, he wouldn’t object...

But after a moment’s thought, Gu Xi decided against it.

’Let’s deal with Wei Heng’s situation first.’

Just then, Shen Yue suddenly spoke. "When I came back earlier, I think I saw Da Hong eating rice husks?"

’This guy has sharp eyes,’ Wei Heng thought. ’And he’s far too clever.’

Wei Heng glanced up at him, then got up and went to the kitchen. A moment later, he returned with an earthenware pot of rice porridge.

After tasting the fragrant, soft, and delicious porridge—genuine, unpolluted, and pure rice—both Qin Yi and Qi Xiang’s eyes reddened with emotion, on the verge of crying tears of joy.

Although Qin Shi was the level-headed one, even she was itching to get out there and transform all the land along the creek into rice paddies.

Shen Yue paid no mind to the scalding porridge and downed a large bowl in practically one gulp.

Afterward, still looking unsatisfied, he said to Gu Xi, "I used a special channel to get us some pre-apocalypse, high-quality rice seeds. They should be delivered soon..."

Gu Xi immediately thought of the newly cleared rice paddies by the creek and couldn’t help but give him a long, meaningful look.

’No wonder the Qin sisters took it upon themselves to prepare all those rice paddies while I was gone for a few days,’ she thought. ’So... this was all premeditated.’

Shen Yue didn’t flinch. He puffed out his chest and met her gaze righteously. ’So what if I just want to eat something good? The other day when Wei Heng made you that rice porridge, I could smell it from a mile away...’

Gu Xi: "..." ’Fine,’ she thought. ’Everything is for survival. I can understand that.’

...

Time flew by. By the time Gu Xi was more or less done practicing on Da Hong, it was already the end of the year.

During that time, she managed to grow two more batches of grain for the military, and the rice paddies were also set up.

As for Da Hong, despite its terrible ordeal over the past two months, it had recovered quite well. There were no visible changes to its abilities yet, but its intelligence... seemed to have made a subtle breakthrough.

—These days, Da Hong was becoming more and more like a person.

As for the two professors, the mutated dry-rice seed known as Experiment No. 1 had been finalized. It was currently on its way to the Central Base, where it would await final confirmation from the Abnormal Ability Research Institute on whether its stability would last for several generations.

Meanwhile, the official farm project, a joint venture between South City Base and the military, had officially launched.

Shen Yue had already obtained the farm’s blueprints, and Gu Xi saw that its planned area was enormous. It enclosed several hundred thousand mu of the surrounding land, extending all the way to the military garrison in the Heng Mountain Range.

However, the farm’s residential and medical zones were not located near Mr. Zhao’s experimental fields, but a considerable distance away.

In Shen Yue’s words, this was to both protect the researchers by keeping them out of sight and to avoid disturbing Gu Xi’s life.

Clearly, Shen Yue had put a lot of thought into it this time.

Gu Xi was very satisfied.

Everything was on the right track. It was time to deal with Wei Heng’s situation.

One day after dinner, Gu Xi suddenly stopped Wei Heng as he was about to clean the kitchen. "Let’s do it tonight."

Wei Heng froze for a second before he realized what she meant.

After a long silence, he gave a quiet "Alright," then turned and went back into the kitchen.

In the courtyard, Shen Yue and the others, who had been eating fruit while teasing the chickens and petting the ducks, instantly fell silent. In unison, they all looked up at Gu Xi.

Gu Xi casually picked up a slice of watermelon. ’Why is everyone looking at me?’

After tidying up the kitchen, Wei Heng pulled off his apron, dried his hands, and walked over to Gu Xi. "Let’s go," he said. "I’m ready."

With that, he shoved the apron into Shen Yue’s hands.

—’Based on my observations over the past few days,’ Wei Heng thought, ’if I... don’t make it through this, Shen Yue is the only one who can take over the kitchen duties.’

’As for Qi Xiang and the Qin sisters... they were completely hopeless.’

That night, the entire Farming Team stayed up.

Gu Xi and Wei Heng went deep into the forest behind the house, taking Da Hong and two half-grown hens with them.

Qi Xiang had wanted to go with them, but Gu Xi turned her down.

After the pair left, Shen Yue and the other three had no desire to sleep, so they all waited together in the courtyard.

Qi Xiang reclined on Gu Xi’s lounge chair, gazing up at the starry sky. The more she thought, the more something felt off.

After a while, she turned to the others in the courtyard. "Why do you guys think Gu Xi didn’t bring me along?"

"No idea." The Qin sisters shook their heads. Their recent time living together had proven that Qi Xiang’s Golden Carp Luck was very real—for example, if they steamed a pot of sweet potatoes, the one she randomly grabbed was always the sweetest.

Shen Yue, however, was staring thoughtfully in the direction of the mountain behind them.

Deep in the dense forest, Gu Xi led Wei Heng to the spot where she had previously found the Mutated Locust Tree.

In just over two months, all traces of the Mutated Locust Tree had vanished. Even the large crater it had left behind was now overgrown with unfamiliar shrubs.

Nearby, Da Hong’s long neck drooped listlessly, but it kept the two young hens firmly protected beneath its wings. Whenever it managed to lift its heavy eyelids, it would glare at Gu Xi as if guarding against a chicken thief.

Gu Xi: "..."

She turned to look at Wei Heng behind her.

Wei Heng had been silent the entire way.

Gu Xi thought for a moment. "How about I give you another half hour?"

Although she didn’t think she would fail, Gu Xi, who had worked with the military countless times years ago, vaguely recalled that they seemed to have a certain tradition—

Before any major, dangerous mission, they would give the soldiers some time... to call their loved ones, or perhaps... to write a will?

Wei Heng had once been a soldier.

So, after some thought, Gu Xi decided to respect this tradition.

Wei Heng: "..." ’As an orphan, there’s really no need for that.’

’Besides, the most important person to me now, other than the woman standing right in front of me, is...’

After a moment’s silence, Wei Heng opened the personal terminal on his wrist and initiated a video call.

The call connected quickly.

An exquisitely handsome, yet cold, face appeared on the screen.

It was Ye Junhan.

Gu Xi saw the Xidao at the man’s waist, and in the background, a helicopter that was almost out of frame.

Apparently, even though it was late at night, he wasn’t resting. He was fully dressed, looking as if he were either about to leave for a mission or had just returned from one.

Gu Xi only glanced at him for a moment before looking away.

But Ye Junhan’s perception was astonishingly sharp.

Even though Gu Xi had only cast a fleeting glance before looking away, he seemed to have sensed it. His narrow eyes snapped up, and an ice-cold gaze swept toward them through the screen...