Chapter 20: You're Slacking Off~~
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“Commander Mi, what are you doing?”
Mi Tang spread the corn seeds in his palm and held them out for Gu Xiaomai to see. “According to what the instructors at the training course taught us, the corn should have sprouted by now. But there are only two or three sparse seedlings.”
Gu Xiaomai grabbed a handful of soil and clenched it into a ball. When she opened her hand, the clump quickly crumbled apart.
“This soil is too dry. People cannot survive without water, so I suppose seeds are the same?”
And the soil did not seem fertile enough, either.
At that thought, a possibility flashed through Gu Xiaomai’s mind as to why she could not freely condense the special water: her body was not strong enough.
When the soil was too dry and lacked nutrients, the corn seedlings that grew from it would be limp and feeble, looking as though they would never mature. Sometimes, they would not grow at all.
Her body was still not fully recovered from the damage caused by having her blood and bone marrow extracted. Whenever the special water appeared, it would naturally prioritize repairing her body from within.
As for the larger amounts of special water that had overflowed from her body on the previous two occasions, they had probably been accidents brought on by danger, the body’s stress response, and violent emotional upheaval.
After making this seemingly self-consistent deduction, Gu Xiaomai felt she had a grasp of the situation.
“Lack of water?” Mi Tang recalled what he had learned. “The instructors never said anything about watering the seeds before they sprouted!”
Could it be that the people teaching him had never imagined the soil here would be this dry?
“I think there isn’t enough water, and the soil isn’t fertile enough, either. People need water and nutrients to live, so plants should need them as well.”
Mi Tang nodded, finding her reasoning sound.
Fertilizer, however, was out of the question for now. Water was somewhat easier to solve.
It was not that he did not want to use fertilizer. There simply was none. For years, the Agricultural Division had relied on wood-type ability users to grow crops hydroponically or force them to ripen directly.
Research into fertilizer had only begun at the institute toward the end of last year, after the plan for external exploration had been finalized. Apparently, it was still in the experimental stage, so they could forget about using it in the fields anytime soon.
This time, every camp was conducting an experiment by planting crops outside the base. The base could offer very little assistance. Each camp had to find its own way, and the harvest would depend entirely on its own abilities.
Mi Tang questioned several of the older members of the land-clearing team before returning to camp.
When he appeared again, he brought Jiao Yang with him. Together, they handed each member of the land-clearing team a gray metal bucket and a gray metal dipper.
“For the next few days, we won’t be looking for purification plants. Everyone’s task is to water the fields.”
“Water the areas where the corn seeds were planted in small amounts, but do it repeatedly…”
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“Each group will be responsible for the field that originally belonged to it…”
Mi Tang went on and on. The main point was to water every single corn seed without wasting a drop.
Holding a dipper and carrying the bucket of water she had collected from Jiao Yang, Gu Xiaomai walked toward Field Seven with Jiang Chen’an and Corn.
Once they reached Field Seven, Gu Xiaomai could not be sure exactly where she had planted each corn seed. She could only estimate the locations, scoop up a dipperful of water, and pour it down.
“Why not ask the water-type ability users to water the fields as though they were making it rain? That would be faster and more convenient, and it would not waste water.”
Jiang Chen’an estimated the position of a corn seed and poured out the water in his dipper. “The water-type ability users have to guarantee the entire base’s water supply. They generally won’t leave the base.”
“Oh, I see!”
Gu Xiaomai sighed, faintly disappointed. She had thought this might be her chance to meet one of the precious water-type ability users.
After watering the fields that morning, Gu Xiaomai carried her bucket back. Out of nowhere, she was tripped and nearly fell.
Wei Xiaoqin, who was walking beside her, immediately reached out and caught her. “Are you all right?”
Gu Xiaomai instantly looked at her right hand. It was extremely dry and completely empty. She shook her head in disappointment.
Wei Xiaoqin glared at Jiang Chen’an, who was still stretching out his long leg carelessly, and scolded him irritably. “You little rascal, why did you suddenly stick your leg out? Xiaomai would have been hurt if she’d fallen.”
Jiang Chen’an said with a laugh, “I didn’t notice that Sister Xiaoqin and Little Sister Xiaomai were coming over.”
That afternoon, Corn suddenly appeared behind Gu Xiaomai and Meng Xue, who were chatting. He abruptly spoke in a low, eerie voice.
“You’re slacking off~~”
Meng Xue immediately crouched down and covered her head. “I’m not! I’m not slacking off! Don’t hit me!”
Corn stood there at a loss, then looked toward Gu Xiaomai for help. His eyes seemed to ask: Little sis, what do I do?
Gu Xiaomai quickly took Meng Xue’s hand and soothed her gently, a little remorseful. “Sister Meng Xue, no one here is going to hit you! It was Big Brother Corn. Look behind you. The one who just spoke was Big Brother Corn!”
She had never expected Corn’s voice to startle Meng Xue rather than herself.
Corn hurriedly apologized. “Sister Meng Xue, it was me, Corn. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
Only after Meng Xue felt no pain from being struck and heard both Gu Xiaomai and Corn did she lower her hands, revealing reddened eyes. She forced an awkward smile.
“I…I…”
Gu Xiaomai gently patted her hand. “Sister Meng Xue, you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.”
Corn apologized again with complete sincerity. “Sister Meng Xue, I only wanted to play a joke on Xiaomai. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry.”
“It’s my fault.” Meng Xue shook her head and murmured, “I’ll go fetch some water first.”
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Gu Xiaomai had heard the same voice, yet she had not reacted as Meng Xue did. Meng Xue knew that her own response had been excessive.
She pressed her lips tightly together and gripped the handle of her bucket. Sometimes she hated herself for covering her head and waiting to be beaten. Why had she never learned to resist?
Watching Meng Xue’s retreating figure, Gu Xiaomai felt a jumble of emotions. The girl was about the same age as she had been in her previous life, yet she was beaten so often. What a pity.
Corn was watching Meng Xue’s back, too. Reluctantly, he asked, “Little Sister Xiaomai, are we still following the plan? I frightened Sister Meng Xue.”
“Keep going!” Gu Xiaomai said at once.
After several attempts, their reputations were thoroughly ruined.
With a sweet smile, Gu Xiaomai spoke up for them both. “My two wonderful big brothers, thank you for all your hard work!”
“You’re the only two brothers Little Sister can rely on!”
“I will never forget the great kindness you’ve shown me.”
What else could the two of them do?
They had no idea what Gu Xiaomai was trying to accomplish, so they could only carry out the plan.
For several days, Jiang Chen’an and Corn followed the plan and tried to frighten Gu Xiaomai countless times.
Not once did they manage to scare her. Instead, whoever happened to be with Gu Xiaomai at the time was often startled.
That night, Gu Xiaomai tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. Her deduction had been sound. So why had the special water still not appeared?
Could it be that the fright had not been strong enough? Did it require a true life-or-death crisis?
On Mount One, the red-bellied tragopan waiting to make a trade with Gu Xiaomai grew more and more anxious. Perched on a treetop at the summit, it gazed toward the land-clearing team.
Had that woman forgotten about trading for the delicious water with him?
Should he go find her tomorrow?
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