This video suddenly revealed Zhao Linong’s true background in this world, and the information book she held gave her a reasonable explanation for it.
Zhao Linong opened her mouth to address the person on the other side, but feeling uncomfortable, she hesitated and instead said, “I… I made some money.”
She then lowered her head and quickly operated the optical computer, transferring 50,000 points to Zhao Fenghe’s communication number. It was all the money she had earned at the fifth base, and she gave it to Zhao Fenghe.
The setting on the other end of the call was dim and simple, and it was clear from the surroundings that Zhao Fenghe was in a difficult situation. Zhao Linong’s previous statement only confirmed that she didn’t want to live such a life.
The Mother and daughter were clearly not living easy lives.
Zhao Fenghe had leg issues, and Zhao Linong, having taken over the other woman’s daughter’s body, felt it was only right to financially support her in Zhao Linong’s stead.
“Xiao Nong, I don’t need this money,” Zhao Fenghe said upon receiving the transfer. Her brow furrowed, and she refused firmly. “You keep it. It will cost you a lot to live at the Ninth Agricultural Base.”
“I’ve got enough.” Zhao Linong lifted the information book in her hand. “Money won’t be an issue.”
Hearing this, Zhao Fenghe stopped insisting. She leaned back in her wheelchair, took a deep breath, and smiled. “Your mother worries too much. With this, you’ll be able to enter the Central Agricultural Research Institute in the future.”
“Xiao Nong,” Zhao Fenghe reminded her again, “Read it as soon as you can and commit it to memory. Once you’ve read a page, burn it. Don’t let anyone else steal the chance. Keep it all in your head.”
Zhao Linong nodded. “Got it.”
After hanging up, the frail and pale Zhao Fenghe, flickering like the last flame of a dying candle, gazed deeply at Zhao Linong. “Xiao Nong, I’ll be waiting for you to come and get me.”
…
“Linong, where’ve you been? You’ve been gone for a while,” Tong Tong asked, already in bed. Hearing the door open, he sat up.
“I was video chatting with my family,” Zhao Linong replied, entering the room with the information book and closing the door behind her.
Hearing that, Tong Tong said no more and lay back down.
Standing near the door, Zhao Linong flipped through the pages of the information book one by one. The handwriting was beautiful but grew increasingly shaky toward the end, as if the writer had been in poor health, forcing themselves to continue.
She read quickly, almost skimming ten lines at a glance.
An hour later, Zhao Linong tore off five pages of paper, walked over to Tong Tong’s bed, and knocked on the metal ladder pipe.
“Huh? What’s wrong?” Tong Tong, nearly asleep, turned over and asked groggily.
“This is for you.” Zhao Linong handed over the five pages of paper.
Tong Tong, still half-asleep, sat up and took them. “What is this?”
Rubbing her eyes, she squinted at the papers. As she realized what they contained, her eyes widened, and she quickly looked at Zhao Linong, who stood below. “What is this?!”
“It’s from my family,” Zhao Linong said calmly, holding up the information book. “They used to study agronomy and just sent me this.”
Tong Tong’s eyes grew even wider. She scrambled down from the bed and carefully spread the papers out on the table. “Why did you tear them out? These are—these are…”
“My family told me to burn them after I read them,” Zhao Linong explained. “These pages are about roses, so you can keep them.”
Tong Tong glanced at the information book in Zhao Linong’s hands, a little regretful. “Burn them after reading?”
“Yes,” Zhao Linong nodded. “My family suffered because of this agricultural information. They don’t want me to go through the same thing.”
As soon as she said this, realization dawned on Tong Tong.
Ten years before the mutation, many researchers had gathered in the agronomy department. Later, infighting broke out, and many researchers perished along with their data. Some who had lost faith left the base during its initial setup, concealing their identities and withdrawing from agronomy.
The tenth year after the mutation was the most chaotic. That was when the central base was first established, and many of the researchers who had left were mysteriously kidnapped and forced to hand over all their agronomy research. Many of them died during that time.
To prevent such incidents from recurring, the central base implemented strict and severe penalties the following year. They carried out rigorous investigations and made several arrests as a deterrent. From then on, the kidnappings and murders of researchers stopped.
“So, you’re a descendant of one of the researchers?” Tong Tong asked, finally understanding.
“I just found out,” Zhao Linong explained. “My family never told me before.”
Tong Tong gestured to the papers on the table and asked hesitantly, “Are you sure you want to give these to me? Shouldn’t they be kept private?”
“I’ll let you know what’s on them once I finish reading,” Zhao Linong replied, shaking her head and holding up the information book again. “You can keep these for now. I need to handle this.”
Tong Tong, now fully awake, hurriedly sat down and began to carefully trace each word on the pages with her finger, afraid she might miss something.
Meanwhile, Zhao Linong took the book into the bathroom, tore off a page, lit it with a lighter, and dropped it into an aluminum bucket. She continued until all the pages were burnt.
She had read all of Fenghe’s files and wouldn’t let anyone else see them.
By destroying them, no one except Zhao Fenghe would ever know what was written inside.
It meant that anything Zhao Linong knew about Zhao Fenghe could now be attributed to the information in Zhao Fenghe’s file.
The databook made for an excellent cover.
As the last of the data book burned, there was a knock on the bathroom door. Tong Tong carefully pushed it open, holding the papers in her hands. “Linong, you can burn these now. I’ve memorized them all.”
Zhao Linong turned around, her expression calm. “I’ll give them to you. If you don’t want to burn them, do whatever you want with them.”
Tong Tong’s eyes widened again. After a brief pause, she asked, “Can I share them with a few classmates in the horticulture class?”
Last semester, Zhao Linong shared some documents with the freshmen, which had a lasting impact. Tong Tong now wanted to be someone who passed on valuable agricultural knowledge too.
“Sure, just be honest about where they came from.” Zhao Linong replied, avoiding Tong Tong’s gaze. Instead, she focused on the flames still flickering in the barrel. Silently, she apologized to Tong Tong in her heart.
The cover story still needed a foundation, and Tong Tong was going to provide that foundation.
…
The next morning, Tong Tong took photos of the pages and sent them to her gardening group. She made sure to mention that the information came from Zhao Linong.
The few pages described the detailed planting conditions of rose ting, including almost all the diseases and treatments. Anyone who read them would instantly recognize their value.
[Wow, where did Zhao Linong get this? Did she pay to access the answers again?]
[How much would it cost to find information on this many diseases?]
[The key is… some of this content isn’t available for purchase with points.]
The contents of the pages quickly began circulating among the planting teachers. None of them had ever had access to this level of detail before, even though for Zhao Linong, it was just basic information.
In the tool room, Tong Tong found herself surrounded by a crowd of curious classmates.
She responded with the same explanation to everyone: “Linong’s family used to be researchers, but they kept it a secret from her until now. When they saw how hard she was working, they sent her a book of information, and these pages were torn from that book.”
“A whole book?” someone exclaimed. “What else was in it?”
“I don’t know,” Tong Tong said seriously. “Linong burned the rest of it after reading it last night.”
A few people clicked their tongues in disappointment. If they had known earlier, maybe they could have formed a closer relationship with Zhao Linong… perhaps they could have gotten a few more pages.
“Then Zhao Linong could become a researcher in the future,” someone said suddenly.
The tool room fell silent.
“Researcher”—a title that felt distant yet deeply desired. Everyone longed for it, but they all knew it was nearly impossible to achieve.
Zhao Linong had just returned from the trading market, carrying a bag of onion seeds. As she neared the agronomy tool room, she spotted He Yuesheng, who, upon seeing her, rushed over.
“Xiao Zhao!” He Yuesheng exclaimed, his tone filled with mock indignation. “You’re the descendant of a researcher! You gave Tong Tong a few pages of information but didn’t even think to send me a message!”
“What information do you want? There’s still a page left in the information book. I can share it with you,” Zhao Linong replied calmly. The reason she hadn’t given He Yuesheng the information earlier was that, first, his focus wasn’t on agronomy, and second, unlike Tong Tong, he likely wouldn’t share it freely.
“Never mind,” He Yuesheng waved it off. “Since you’ve got the information, just plant well and let me ride your coattails in the future.”
Zhao Linong laughed at this, not surprised in the least.
…
However, one day, word spread about Zhao Linong having the agronomy information. She didn’t try to hide it, even posting a message in the Agronomy Class C group that afternoon:
AAA Farmer Xiao Zhao: [I found a theory in the information called co-prosperity crops. It suggests that planting onions and melons in the same hole can reduce melon diseases and promote growth.]
Life is Important: [Got it! Listening to the expert, I’m buying onion seeds right now!]
Mr. He, the Gossiper: [Already bought onion seeds~ deyi.jpg]
AAA Farmer Xiao Zhao: [I went through a lot of information yesterday and haven’t fully processed it yet. I’ll organize the co-prosperity crop documents in a few days and post them in the group. Feel free to use them as you see fit.]
Her message spread like wildfire across the Ninth Agricultural Base that very night.
By the next day, the freshman group had swelled with several thousand new members, many of them seniors pretending to be freshmen, all vying for a spot in Agronomy Class C to get their hands on the documents. Even some planting teachers disguised themselves as students to sneak in.
For a time, the entire Ninth Agronomy Base was caught in a peculiar mix of silence and excitement. Everyone quietly awaited Zhao Linong’s documents in the freshman group while privately messaging each other in a frenzy, eager to see what she would share.
As for Zhao Linong, she feigned ignorance. She spent her days tending to the new semester’s seeds and her nights writing the documents.
One day after class, however, Kang Anru pulled her aside.
“You might offend some people if you continue this,” Kang Anru said with a complex expression. “The Central Agronomy Researchers earn a significant number of points every year by answering questions. You destroyed a crucial question, and none of the researchers have noticed yet. But when they do… what are you going to do?”
Cutting off someone’s financial resources is like cutting off their lifeline—an age-old truth that still applies in this mutated world.
“Why do you think researchers hide this data?” Kang Anru continued. “It’s all about power and profit.”
“There’s no law at the central base that prevents me from sharing my data,” Zhao Linong replied calmly but firmly. “Besides, if my data can shake the status of the researchers, then they should focus on advancing their research rather than clinging to old information.”
Kang Anru was silent for a long time before quietly advising, “In that case, you might want to build a good relationship with Wei Li.”
Zhao Linong didn’t respond. To her, Wei Li was merely a friend of Senior Sister Ting, known online by the name Mouldy gas can, who enjoyed raising and eating chickens.
As for everything else… it didn’t matter.
