The two of them sat together eating watermelon. Lin Huanyan was eating with great focus, while Gu Yincheng was eating elegantly, though not slowly.
Not long after, the two of them finished eating a watermelon weighing about seven to eight pounds.
Gu Yinchen picked up the black seeds that had been spat out on the lid in front of him and was about to throw them away when Lin Huanyan quickly stopped him.
“Don’t throw those away. I’ll collect them later to keep for planting. This way, we can grow our own watermelons in the future.”
Upon hearing this, Gu Yinchen stopped what he was doing.
He watched as Lin Huanyan poured the black seeds from the two small plates into one, then rinsed them with clean water, filtered them, and put them in a small beaker.
She turned to him and invited, “I’m planning to plant them. Would you like to join me?”
Such a good opportunity was not to be missed, so Gu Yinchen naturally agreed. The two of them went to the plant cultivation rack.
“Actually, planting these plants is quite simple. See this one? It’s a lotus seed, called bowl lotus. As the name suggests, it can be planted in a bowl. Of course, we don’t have bowls in the lab, but we have cultivation bottles, so the effect is the same.”
While speaking, Lin Huanyan gestured for Gu Yinchen to extend his hand, then poured some bowl lotus seeds from the bag into his palm.
She then took many cylindrical cultivation bottles, about the height of her palm, from the nearby cabinet. Skipping over the row with stone flowers, she began arranging them from the second row.
Gu Yinchen stood by and watched her movements with focused eyes. He was curious to see how this so-called otherworldly plant was being planted.
Lin Huanyan roughly counted the bowl lotus seeds, around 30 in total, and only arranged 10 cultivation bottles. Based on her experience from university when she grew bowl lotus in the dorm, she compared the size of the bottles and decided to plant three seeds in each.
She took a kettle from the nearby table, filled it with water from the faucet next to the plant rack, and poured some water into each cultivation bottle.
Next, she took a bottle of plant nutrient solution from the cabinet—an ordinary small green bottle.
With her sharp eyesight, Gu Yinchen could even read the label that said “Basic Nutrient Solution.”
Lin Huanyan pulled out the dropper that came with the bottle, gently pressed it to draw some nutrient solution, and then added two drops to each cultivation bottle.
She turned to Gu Yinchen and said, “Alright, let’s put the seeds in. Three seeds per bottle.”
Following her instructions, Gu Yinchen placed his seven seeds into three of the cultivation bottles. The last one didn’t have enough space, so he took two more from Lin Huanyan’s hand.
After finishing, he saw Lin Huanyan take out a stack of shallow, flat, cylindrical petri dishes from the cabinet, much shorter than the previous ones.
He casually asked, “Huanyan, what are these petri dishes for?”
“Of course, they’re for planting watermelons.”
“Plant watermelons? Aren’t the bowl lotus seeds done already? No other steps?”
Perhaps his surprise was too evident, as Lin Huanyan, busy placing petri dishes in the third row, looked up at him and smiled.
“No other steps, the bowl lotus seeds just need to be placed directly in water.”
Gu Yinchen found it hard to believe. He had previously visited the interstellar rare plant nursery, where even the most ordinary plants were irrigated with dozens of different nutrient solutions. Every moment of sunlight, humidity, and temperature had to be carefully controlled.
As for the rarer plants, he had seen one so precious that it occupied an entire room, with six researchers monitoring it 24 hours a day. The nutrient solution used was a special grade with an extremely low yield, more valuable than most things.
He was astonished that these plants only needed a simple process. He asked again, “Are you sure we don’t need to add more nutrient solution? I noticed you only used the basic one.”
Lin Huanyan understood that her planting method seemed too simple compared to the interstellar nutrient-drenched techniques, and it was natural for Gu Yinchen to have such doubts.
However, this was how it was done on Earth. When starting to plant, it wasn’t necessary to add much nutrition because the seed itself contained a special structure to store nutrients, enough to meet its growth needs.
Thus, during the germination period, it wasn’t necessary to provide too much nutrition. In fact, excess nutrients could lead to the risk of burning the seedlings.
Lin Huanyan patiently explained, “It really isn’t necessary. I’ve observed that too much nutrition can actually hinder growth.”
Gu Yinchen fell silent upon hearing her words. Indeed, these seeds were not from the interstellar world, but from another world. They shouldn’t be judged by the same standards. He realized he had been too limited in his thinking.
And Huanyan had successfully grown a thriving, pollution-free plant before, so when it came to this, she was the expert, and he was just an outsider.
Gu Yinchen was quite self-aware. In fields where he was not skilled, he wouldn’t casually give his opinions but would humbly ask for guidance.
He picked up the stack of petri dishes in Lin Huanyan’s hand and asked, “How should I arrange these? Teach me, and I’ll do it.”
With a serious expression, he expertly handled the petri dishes, which Lin Huanyan had struggled with earlier. He even managed to stack a few layers.
“Then you can put them in this compartment in the third row, right under the lotus bowl,” Lin Huanyan said.
So, Gu Yinchen arranged the petri dishes while Lin Huanyan placed the cultivation paper into the arranged dishes. They worked together seamlessly, and before long, the task was finished.
Next, they added water. Unlike the lotus seed, which is an aquatic plant, watermelon seeds are more drought-tolerant. Therefore, not too much water was needed, as excess water could cause the seeds to rot.
Lin Huanyan demonstrated by adding five drops of water into a petri dish, just enough to soak the cultivation paper.
Gu Yinchen quickly learned the process as well. His long fingers moved fast, and by the time Lin Huan Yan had completed one-third of the task, he had finished the remaining two-thirds.
It was time to add the seeds. Lin Huanyan poured half of the seeds to Gu Yinchen and told him to place five seeds in each petri dish, and they began.
Unlike Gu Yinchen, who worked swiftly, Lin Huanyan would pick out a few seeds from each dish after placing a few.
Curious, Gu Yinchen asked, “Yanyan, why are you throwing away those seeds?”
“They lack vitality and won’t grow properly,” she replied.
“How can you tell which seeds lack vitality?” he asked.
“Just look at them directly. Seeds with poor quality are different from the others; you can tell right away,” Lin Huanyan explained.
Gu Yinchen leaned in to take a look at the discarded seeds and then at the seeds placed in the dishes. They all looked the same—black and similar in size. He couldn’t see any difference. Watching Lin Huanyan focus so intently on her work without noticing him, Gu Yinchen suddenly felt a little aggrieved.
He leaned closer and said, “Yanyan, I can’t tell the difference at all. I even put some of those seeds in. What if they don’t grow?”
Lin Huanyan felt a warm breath on her neck, accompanied by the fresh and pleasant scent of the man. Her hand froze for a moment, causing several seeds to fall into a single petri dish.
Looking into Gu Yinchen’s concerned eyes, she quickly reassured him, “It’s fine. Don’t worry. This step is meant to screen out the poor-quality seeds. I’m just picking some, but it’s okay not to pick them.”
Hearing Lin Huanyan’s soft and gentle voice, Gu Yinchen couldn’t help but feel happy. Yanyan is so gentle.
So, as Lin Huanyan placed each petri dish, Gu Yinchen leaned in to observe, ostensibly to learn more.
At first, Lin Huanyan felt uneasy with his proximity, but soon, she grew calm and at ease. She didn’t even realize that she had become accustomed to his closeness and had crossed the usual social distance.
Gu Yinchen noticed, but instead of feeling awkward, he was pleased and didn’t want to be foolish by pointing it out.
Together, they spent several hours planting all the seeds.
Afterward, they went to pick up the furniture that had arrived. Several large packages filled the delivery room. Gu Yinchen easily lifted the heavy furniture and placed it in the living room according to Lin Huanyan’s design.
With Gu Yinchen’s help, the large and heavy pieces of furniture were easily arranged in the positions Lin Huanyan had envisioned.
As the empty living room gradually filled up with exquisite side tables, footstools, cabinets, and other decor, harmonizing with the lace curtains and figurines that had already been there, Lin Huanyan felt ecstatic. It was exactly the feeling she had wanted, and she was glad that all those home design cases she’d saved on Xiaohongshu were finally coming to life in her own home.
She turned to Gu Yinchen, asking, “How is it? Does it look good?”
Even though it was a question, her eyes clearly conveyed, “Praise me, praise me!”
Of course, Gu Yinchen, being clever, would never spoil the mood. He used nearly all the words he could think of to compliment Lin Huanyan, making her smile brightly.
It wasn’t forced; Gu Yinchen genuinely liked the new style of decoration. Though it was unfamiliar, it was still pleasing to the eye. He could tell it was a unique style, but it still had an elegant and noble vibe.
“Yanyan, how did you come up with this design? It’s different from any style I’ve seen before,” he asked, intrigued.
“Of course it’s different. This is an alien style, one I designed based on some furniture that fell out of a black hole,” she replied playfully.
Discord
@dogfoodplease or @dogfoodplease#8837translation works:
ARTTEDSBGT (After Rebirth The True Eldest Daughter Starts Brewing Green Tea):
main story – completed translating
extras/side stories – i still dont have money and account to access this
ATISIUP:
ongoing
