“This agricultural student seems to have more details about pear rust,” Jin Hai’s wife said, looking at AAA Farmer XiaoZhao’s answer.
Jin Hai stared at the last answer without saying a word. He had been a planting officer for so many years. Whether answering questions or reading answers, he knew one thing: if there are more details in an answer, it usually means the answer is correct.
It’s just… this person’s answer was too organized.
Even though he couldn’t confirm whether the answer was correct for now, it looked very reliable. Step by step, it outlined everything clearly. What’s more, the person even guessed that pine and cypress trees were planted near the pear orchard—something neither of the two researchers had mentioned.
His wife asked, “Have you decided which answer to choose?”
Jin Hai remained silent.
Getting a researcher to answer for only 140,000 points felt like pie falling from the sky. But spending 140,000 points on an agricultural student’s answer felt like a gamble.
“I don’t know,” Jin Hai finally said. “This Farmer Xiao Zhao should be a student from the Ninth Agricultural Base. Logically… if he’s wrong, the 140,000 points will be wasted.”
Researchers, planting officers, and planters on the Central Base Forum all had numbered accounts. The unnumbered ones were students from the Ninth Agricultural Base. Logically, they didn’t have advanced knowledge.
His wife thought for a moment. “But the researcher’s and the agricultural student’s answers are placed together, and you’re hesitating about which one to choose. That means you’re already leaning toward the agricultural student’s answer.”
Jin Hai was startled, then suddenly realized: Yes, the fact that he was hesitating meant he already wanted to choose AAA Farmer Xiao Zhao’s answer.
“Then accept the agricultural student’s answer,” Jin Hai said, letting out a long breath. “At worst, I’ll spend more points later to accept Researcher No. 40’s answer.”
After the bounty holder accepts an answer, they have to follow the suggested method. A video of the process must also be retained for any disputes. If the answer proves incorrect, they can choose another person’s answer at that time.
If the second choice was correct, the bounty holder must pay the full bounty again, and the first answerer forfeits four-fifths of their points as compensation to the second answerer.
This essentially means that the bounty task is reissued.
Jin Hai was willing to take the gamble. After all, if it failed, he could always change the type of fruit trees and start over without losing too much.
He pressed the acceptance button for AAA Farmer Xiao Zhao’s answer, then turned to his wife. “I remember Xiaodong’s cypress trees are scheduled to be cut down and sold?”
His wife nodded. “Next Friday.”
Xiaodong was their son, who had planted a forest of cypress trees next door and planned to sell them to the central base.
“Tell him to cut them down tomorrow,” Jin Hai said, getting up and putting on his clothes. “I’m going to the trading market to buy medicine now. I’ll spray it in the morning.”
“So urgent?” His wife also got up. “I’ll go call Xiaodong.”
The lights in the two-story house were all on.
___
Yuncheng Temporary Camp Center
A young female researcher in a white coat stood in front of the experimental table, staring at her optical computer in surprise. She had just received a rejection message.
This was the first time.
“What’s wrong?” Shan Yun entered from outside and noticed Luo Fanxue in a daze. “Are you tired? Go rest. I’ll watch things here.”
The last time Yan Shengbian had sent researchers to observe and record A-level mutant plants, Luo Fanxue had been assigned to Shan Yun’s team to work alongside her.
Luo Fanxue was talented but young and lacked experience in many areas. Yan Shengbian had intentionally arranged for her to learn from other researchers.
“Not tired,” Luo Fanxue said, shaking her head as she put away the optical screen.
She had some free time earlier and decided to answer a question on the Central Base Forum. She hadn’t paid much attention to the points but just wanted to help.
When her optical computer vibrated, she thought it was a notification that points had been credited to her account. Instead, it was a message from the forum informing her that her answer had been rejected and the bounty holder had chosen someone else.
This was the first time for Luo Fanxue.
She wasn’t angry, just curious.
While Shan Yun went to speak with the guards, Luo Fanxue quietly turned on her optical computer and entered the Central Base Forum. She saw that the bounty question had already been locked.
The forum page didn’t show other people’s answers—only the name of the person whose answer had been selected.
AAA Farmer Xiao Zhao?
Luo Fanxue was surprised. An agricultural student from the Ninth Agricultural Base?
The bounty holder rejected her answer and chose an agricultural student’s answer instead.
Luo Fanxue was certainly not confident that her answer was perfect, but this situation still inflated her curiosity.
Soon, Luo Fanxue thought of the conversation she had overheard between Dean Zhou and Ye Changming in the laboratory of the Ninth Agricultural Base, where they mentioned someone from the Yan family among the freshmen.
“Team Leader Shan, do you know who from the Yan family went to the Ninth Agricultural Base?” After a while, Luo Fanxue walked over to Shan Yun and asked.
“Yan’s family? Yan Jingshui went there this year and should be in Class A of Agricultural Science,” Shan Yun replied immediately. Her unlucky daughter had said bad things about Yan Jingshui in front of her. “Why are you asking this suddenly?”
“I’ve heard of it before, but I don’t know who it is,” Luo Fanxue said simply.
Shan Yun was busy dealing with the matter of the mutated hedgehog, so she didn’t pursue the topic further.
Luo Fanxue walked to the side. She had Yan Jingshui’s contact information, but she knew that Yan Jingshui rarely contacted anyone. Her circle of friends was also empty, without a single post. It was very similar to how Yan Sheng transformed into a student of Yan Sheng.
Luo Fanxue: [Jingshui, how do you use medicine for pear rust?]
Although it was late at night, Yan Jingshui, who was still awake, received Luo Fanxue’s message and replied almost immediately.
Yan Nuli: [There are several ways to use medicine. What’s wrong?]
The two weren’t very familiar with each other, but Yan Jingshui was always willing to discuss agricultural topics.
Luo Fanxue: [If it was you, how would you use it?]
Yan Jingshui answered the question, and Luo Fanxue carefully noted down her response.
Luo Fanxue frowned and asked the same question again: Why did the person offering the reward choose the agricultural student?
She wasn’t upset about not being chosen, but she was very curious about why the bounty holder had made such a decision.
Luo Fanxue then brought up the matter directly with Yan Jingshui. “I don’t know why Planting Officer No. 34 would choose you. Jingshui, did you answer something else?”
Yan Nuli: [?]
Yan Nuli: [What Planting Officer No. 34? What are you talking about?]
Luo Fanxue froze. [AAA Farmer Xiao Zhao isn’t you?]
Yan Nuli: […]
Sitting at her desk, Yan Jingshui suddenly felt like she couldn’t breathe. She tapped at the keyboard of her optical computer with an expressionless face and replied to Luo Fanxue: [My online name is Yan Nuli, and AAA Farmer Xiao Zhao is Zhao Linong! I don’t want to talk to you anymore. Goodbye.]
Luo Fanxue stared at the screen, puzzled by the unfamiliar name. She slowly read it aloud: “Zhao Linong?” It was a name she had never heard before.
In the outer dormitory of the Ninth Agricultural Base, Zhao Linong didn’t notice the additional 28,000 points in her account. She had answered so many questions that she no longer remembered the exact numbers. Seeing that it was late, she turned off the lights and went to bed with Tong Tong.
At three o’clock…
When she got up, she was still yawning as she climbed into He Yuesheng’s car.
“Didn’t you sleep well?” He Yuesheng tilted his head to glance at her.
“I went to bed at midnight,” Zhao Linong replied, leaning against the back of the co-pilot chair. “I’ll sleep for an hour first, and I’ll drive later.”
“No need. I went to bed early, and I’ll drive straight to the dairy farm,” He Yuesheng said.
Before Zhao Linong could respond, her device buzzed with a video call from Wei Li.
Zhao Linong was surprised. Wei Li was calling at this hour?
She reached out and clicked on the call, but the person she saw wasn’t Wei Li—it was Yan Jingshui.
Wei Li was leaning on her bed, still dozing off. Occasionally, she opened her eyes, her face full of resentment. “She knocked on my door in the middle of the night to call you.”
If it weren’t for the fact that Yan Jingshui was Yan Shengbian’s daughter, Wei Li would have fought with her!
“I added you, but you ignored me,” Yan Jingshui said, looking at Zhao Linong with a serious expression.
“…I was sleeping. What do you want?” Zhao Linong asked.
Yan Jingshui’s face flushed slightly, though it was unclear whether it was from excitement or embarrassment.
She had received an unexpected message from Luo Fanxue early in the morning. Shortly after, she went to the Central Base Forum to check the bounty question of Planting Officer No. 34 and saw the list of answerers.
Planting Officer No. 34 had not locked in the answer from Researcher No. 40 but had instead chosen AAA Farmer Xiao Zhao.
Yan Jingshui was surprised but not as shocked as Luo Fanxue. However, she was deeply concerned about what Zhao Linong had answered.
Unable to sleep or study, she had gone to knock on Wei Li’s door.
Yan Jingshui knew she was in the wrong and had promised Wei Li she would fulfill a favor in the future.
“What is your answer to Planting Officer No. 34?” Yan Jingshui finally asked.
Zhao Linong’s hands, resting on her lap, shifted slightly, but her expression remained unchanged. “What’s wrong?”
She had answered the questions the previous evening—how did Yan Jingshui find out about them so quickly?
She had been very careful about the scope of her answers, ensuring there wouldn’t be any issues.
Recalling all her answers, Zhao Linong still couldn’t figure out what had drawn attention. Even if something were to attract notice, it shouldn’t have been so immediate.
“I…” Yan Jingshui’s gaze shifted slightly. “I want to know why Planting Officer No. 34 didn’t choose the researcher’s answer but chose yours.”
Zhao Linong opened her account and messages, quickly discovering that Planting Officer No. 34 had credited her 28,000 points. She also noticed that the bounty holder had locked her answer.
So, a researcher had been involved—and that had drawn attention.
As Yan Jingshui continued speaking, she discussed all the methods for treating pear rust before asking Zhao Linong about her approach.
“Medication is always the last step,” Zhao Linong said calmly. “The most important thing is prevention. Cypress trees are often planted near pear trees… It’s written in the Zhao family’s data book that winter spores can easily transmit and cause rust.”
Yan Jingshui listened intently, then looked at Zhao Linong seriously. “In this regard, you know more than I do. It’s worth learning from you.”
The top researchers at the Central Agricultural Research Center had their own treatment manuals, where specific diseases corresponded to specific medicines. The methods were straightforward, simple, and often rough but effective.
As for the underlying principles, many weren’t explained. This was either due to missing information or intentional omission.
Yan Jingshui had focused heavily on treatment methods, which meant she only partially remembered the reasoning her father had taught her.
“If you’re willing to talk, add me as a friend…” Yan Jingshui said hurriedly, then abruptly ended the call.
Even so, He Yuesheng, who glanced over from the driver’s seat, noticed her flushed face and laughed. “She’s quite interesting.”
Zhao Linong exited the call, added Yan Jingshui as a friend, and checked the Central Base Forum again. Except for Planting Officer No. 34, there were no updates from the other bounty seekers.
