Chapter 106: A Master of the Higher Ranks

“Hey, big brother! Welcome home!”
As soon as he got off the car, Zhong Di saw Sun Miao Miao coming straight towards him, her fragrant scent arriving so suddenly that he felt a faint, refreshing aroma linger at the tip of his nose.
A pale green long dress paired with a fresh little round hat blended perfectly with the scenery around her.
Listening to Sun Miao Miao’s tone, Zhong Di couldn’t help but think, what’s this? Is she treating this as her own home? This is obviously my house—why does it feel like I’m the newcomer here?
“How come you’re here?” Zhong Di asked, a bit surprised.
“It’s because of this!” Sun Miao Miao promptly thrust her phone in front of Zhong Di.
An incredibly stunning plant appeared on the screen.
Wasn’t that the tricolor bougainvillea from his own house? Zhong Di recognized the plant at once, and judging from the account name, it was the very social media account his elder sister managed—the “Idyllic Little Farmstead.”
Zhong Di glanced into the garden. There were a lot of people—several familiar faces, like Yang Yi, Su Rou, Lin Xiao, Gao Lei Qiang, and other regular visitors.
The crowd was much denser than usual—were they all here to see the tricolor bougainvillea? What happened while he was away?
On the other side, Su Rou had fixed her gaze on Zhong Di the moment he returned, though she wasn’t as shameless as Sun Miao Miao—she insisted on maintaining her composure.
But seeing Sun Miao Miao act like that, she found it hard to hold back!
“Zhong Di, you’re back! I heard you went to check out someone’s fragrant pear orchard. How was it?”
Su Rou approached Zhong Di quickly and naturally as he entered the garden, determined not to let Sun Miao Miao monopolize him.
“Oh, it was just the usual withered branch disease. I gave some corresponding measures, but the actual results depend on implementation. It’s hard to see much progress in the short term.”
Zhong Di was quite interested in the question Su Rou asked.
He’d just brainstormed at the pear orchard, drawing on observed behavioral information, but he still felt a bit muddled himself. Su Rou’s question helped him buffer his thoughts.
“I’m sure you’ll do well. If I have questions about this in the future, can I ask you?”
Su Rou’s voice was clear and bright, matching her casual attire today, which made her look quite attractive.
“Of course.” Zhong Di didn’t refuse. He’d wanted to mention the consultation fee, but thought it would spoil the mood, so he kept silent.
Sun Miao Miao watched from the side, recognizing Su Rou as a real pro—an advanced opponent, indeed. She was masterful at catering to Zhong Di’s interests.

After entering the orchard and greeting familiar faces, Zhong Di called his elder sister aside.
“Hey, sis, what’s going on?”
“Promotion! Look at all these people today. After we came back from fishing this morning, I took some pictures in the garden—mainly of the bougainvillea. I posted them, and unexpectedly, so many people messaged me privately, then everyone just showed up.”
Zhong Hui explained, a hint of pride in her voice—this was all thanks to her own management.
“By the way, I called three aunts to help—everyone needs to eat, and the guests organized themselves into three tables, so we’re not breaking your rules.”
She remembered to mention this.
“Alright, let’s do it that way.” Zhong Di looked at the crowd—mostly regulars. He’d planned to improve things further and expand capacity anyway.
After a long day, Zhong Di felt a bit tired, so he went straight into the house, lay on the bed, and didn’t bother to greet the guests.
His elder sister, Shao Hong, and their parents were outside, plus the three aunts—so there was no issue. As for himself, he’d rest for now.
While resting, Zhong Di checked his elder sister’s social media account to see what exactly she’d posted that drew so many people.
He opened the app, tapped into the video, and watched.
In just a minute, Zhong Di finished watching and was plunged into deep doubt.
Was this really the farmstead he built? Wasn’t it someone else’s place?
And since when did his elder sister master social media? The video editing, the seamless scene transitions—he had to give her a raise; her efforts far exceeded her current pay.
Raises were necessary—he couldn’t act like a capitalist. Not just for his sister, but for future workers as well: a basic wage increase of twenty yuan across the board.
The video opened with a breathtaking tricolor bougainvillea, a rapid visual impact moving from distant to close, ending in a full panoramic shot.
Next came the state of the garden: the hundred-herb plot, filmed at eye-level, as if the viewer had shrunk and was roaming through, exploring an unknown world.
The camera quickly moved to the background wall, each shot filled with a sense of surprise, as if a new species could always be found.
Lush vegetable patches, vibrant cilantro, all kinds of produce.
A clear fish pond, playful mandarin ducks, loudly honking white geese. Suddenly, a hawk soared through the sky, swooping down and grabbing a rabbit from the ground.
Where did she shoot all this? Zhong Di was full of questions.

But it wasn’t over yet. Next came all sorts of birds at the edge of the property: turkeys with strange calls, uniquely shaped imperial chickens, pigeons that made your mouth water—no, they made you want to play with them. Then the rabbits running everywhere, nests upon nests of eggs.
A hedgehog sneaking out of its nest, looking utterly adorable as it rolled an egg back inside—a special highlight, truly heart-melting.
“Northwestern gray dates, yours for the taking—now on sale.”
At the end of the video, there was even an ad. Those still-green dates made you want to eat them at first glance.
He couldn’t take it anymore—his stomach was suddenly hungry. Wait, after watching the video, shouldn’t he want to go play around the garden? Why was he hungry instead?
Zhong Di resisted the urge to feel hungry and watched the video again, then opened the homepage. Good heavens, so many followers—over thirty thousand already! And it had only been a short while.
Lying in bed, Zhong Di suddenly found the bed less comfortable. Outside, something seemed to be calling to him.
“Zhong Di, quick, stop resting, come help!”
Just then, Shao Hong burst into the room, flustered.
“What’s up, is it that busy?”
“No kidding, three big tables today—come help me prep the dishes.” With that, Shao Hong left the room.
Zhong Di glanced at the time—it was just after six! Why were they making dinner so early? Shouldn’t they wait a bit longer?
But he didn’t waste any more time. The afternoon leisure was lost, but that couldn’t be helped.
Once he entered the kitchen, Zhong Di got busy—free-range chicken was essential, scrambled eggs were a must, and the guests seemed to have ordered the same dishes.
More precisely, every dish currently on the menu was ordered at every table. The only difference was that one table requested three plates of cold cilantro, while another wanted two servings of big plate chicken.
Eggs, eggs! Good heavens, they were running out. Zhong Di had to step out to the chicken coop to collect some more eggs.