Feng He probably sighed casually, but Zhao Linong avoided looking around the room again, worried that any unfamiliarity would seem out of place and arouse suspicion.
As the heating took effect, the room’s chill gradually lifted. Zhao Linong stayed with Feng He, chatting about her life at the Ninth Agricultural Base and cautiously bringing up the topic of sharing information.
Feng He’s reaction was a little unexpected.
“If you want to share it, I won’t stop you,” Feng He said, coughing several times. Her frail frame seemed like it might give way under the force of each cough.
Zhao Linong quickly reached out, gently patting her back to ease her discomfort.
After a pause, Feng He held Zhao Linong’s hand and added, “Once the Zhao family’s information was passed on to you, it became yours. Do whatever you think is right, but… don’t let others take advantage of you.”
“I understand,” Zhao Linong agreed.
Feng He’s face was tired. She tried to stay alert and said, “Xiao Nong, go take a shower first. There is a new set of toothbrushes inside.”
“Alright.”
Zhao Linong removed her thick coat, retrieved her clothes from her suitcase, and made her way to the bathroom.
The bathroom was compact but divided into dry and wet areas. Despite the limited space, it was evident that Feng He had put effort into maintaining a decent living environment.
However, Zhao Linong was extremely unfamiliar with everything here.
To familiarize herself with the home, Zhao Linong took her time exploring the bathroom. She opened the mirror cabinet on the sink and found that there was indeed a new set of toothbrushes inside, but there was also a bottle of medicine next to it. Zhao Linong took it down, turned the bottle to see the words on it, and found that it was painkillers. These should be Feng He’s.
She put the medicine bottle back in its original place and walked into the shower room. There were simple handrails on both sides, and there was also a small bench inside. The triangular shelf on the wall was just a decoration. A bottle of old shower gel was placed in the corner, probably because Feng He couldn’t put it on the shelf.
Zhao Linong closed the glass door and looked down at the handrails on both sides. The screws were rusty, and when she grasped them, she could feel them shaking. She bent down to pick up the shower gel and found that there was a sound of water shaking inside. She squeezed it and found that it was indeed mixed with shower gel bubbles and water.
The shower gel had already run out, but Feng He had added water to it.
Zhao Linong checked the bathroom and did not rush to take a shower. Instead, she ordered three bottles of shower gel and shampoo on the Central Department Store website and bought a set of tools and materials.
She had answered so many questions before, and her points were gradually credited to her account. It was not a big deal to buy these things.
When Zhao Linong came out of the bathroom, Feng He had fallen asleep in the wheelchair.
She was too thin and her face was too pale. If it were not for the vague rise and fall of her breathing, it would be easy to think of her as dead.
Zhao Linong walked lightly and pushed Feng He to the bedroom.
There were two wooden planks put together to form a bed in the bedroom, neither of which was too spacious. In the corner, there was an old wardrobe made of nylon cloth, which had already shown signs of weathering.
Stopping the wheelchair by the bed, Zhao Linong bent down and gently lifted Feng He. She was alarmingly light, her legs withered from years of disuse.
“Xiao Nong?” Feng He stirred awake, and subconsciously grabbed Zhao Linong’s hand.
Zhao Linong put her on the bed: “You go to sleep, I’ll go pack my luggage first.”
Feng He was not in good spirits and wanted to say something, but soon fell asleep again.
Zhao Linong looked at Feng He lying on the bed for a long time before turning around to the living room to pack her luggage. She didn’t have much stuff, just took out two sets of clothes, and didn’t stay in the living room for long, so she went into the bedroom and slept on the small bed next to Feng He.
At about six o’clock the next morning.
Feng He woke up, struggled to get up from the bed, pulled over a wheelchair sat on it, and pushed the wheelchair out of the bedroom.
“Xiao Nong, what are you doing?”
Zhao Linong was squatting beside the coffee table, holding a toolbox. Looking up, she replied, “I’m fixing the legs of the coffee table.”
She had some time before the planting officer assessment and wanted to ensure Feng He had a safer living space.
“Did you learn this at the Ninth Agricultural Base?” Feng He wheeled closer, eyeing the now-sturdy legs of the coffee table.
Zhao Linong lowered her head to tighten the last screw, without looking Feng He in the eye: “Well, I’ve done similar things there.”
She had only repaired the farm fence in the original world. But everything was connected, so this was not too difficult to do.
Feng He didn’t seem to doubt her. Opening a drawer in the coffee table, she pulled out two packets of nutrient powder, tore them open, and mixed the powder with water. Handing one cup to Zhao Linong, she said, “Here.”
The liquid in the cup was a dull gray, with no scent or appeal.
“Still hate drinking this?” Feng He seemed to be used to it. “The nutritional powder doesn’t have any taste, but it can replenish energy.”
It was the most common food in Xiacheng District, a survival staple for those with limited means.
“I earned some points at the Ninth Agricultural Base,” Zhao Linong said slowly, looking at the cup. “Let’s go out to eat today.”
“Fresh food is too expensive,” Feng He said, picking up the cup and taking a sip. “Xiao Nong, keep the points for yourself.”
Zhao Linong recalled their first video chat when Feng He mentioned that the original owner left to escape this kind of life. Resolutely, she replied, “I earn points to make us live a good life.”
“Xiao Nong—”
“I’ll install the bathroom handrail later, then we can go out,” Zhao Linong interrupted firmly. After taking a couple of steps toward the bathroom, she turned back, picked up the cup, and drank the nutritional powder inside.
It’s hard to drink.
The chalky taste and gritty texture irritated her throat, but she drank the whole cup without showing any discomfort.
The Central Department Store’s express delivery service was very fast. Zhao Linong went to the lobby to pick up the express this morning. She placed a new bottle of shower gel and shampoo in the bathroom. There were a few bottles left, and she put them all under the sink.
She then replaced the screws on the bathroom handrails, ensuring they were secure, before returning to the living room.
Feng He was mid-session in an online class—or more accurately, giving a lecture. Zhao Linong stood nearby and listened for a while, piecing together what Feng He did for a living. She was an online high school chemistry tutor.
As the student on the other side of the call thought through a question, Feng He turned briefly to Zhao Linong. “I need to finish this class first.”
Zhao Linong nodded in acknowledgment.
At the Central Base, most industries were functioning at a bare minimum, but food was exorbitantly priced, and plant products were scarce. Life revolved around securing basic sustenance.
While Feng He continued her lesson, Zhao Linong scanned a map of the Central Base on her device, searching for a well-reviewed restaurant to take Feng He. The average cost per person in even a modest eatery was steep, but she was determined.
With some free time, Zhao Linong opened the Central Forum’s bounty section, selected a few relevant questions, and answered them to boost her account balance.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Central Base, Li Zhenzhang, who had instructed someone to monitor Zhao Linong, received a message about her activities within half an hour.
“She’s still answering questions in the bounty section, even with the planting officer assessment so close,” Li Zhenzhang sneered.
“Relaxation is good,” he remarked with thinly veiled sarcasm.
“I heard Yan Shengbian’s daughter gave her some materials,” the messenger whispered. “The notes cover content from the second round of the planting officer assessment. I took a look—it aligns almost exactly with recent years’ assessments.”
In truth, the researchers themselves reviewed the content of the annual assessments post-examination. While the material wasn’t complex for them, it could be challenging for students.
Yan Jingshui, following closely under her father Yan Shengbian’s guidance, had access to increasingly extensive resources.
“This year’s questions will avoid those entirely,” Li Zhenzhang sneered. “When Yan Shengbian questions it, we’ll say his daughter leaked the material. For the sake of fairness, we’ll make the test more difficult.”
“What if she still passes?” one of the researchers asked hesitantly. “She’s gone to the Lower City now. Should we…?”
The researcher made a throat-slitting gesture.
Li Zhenzhang shot him a sharp look and hurled the document in his hand at him. “Go ahead and try killing Yan Shengbian’s pick, then see if you survive the night.”
Idiot!
The Yan family might not seem imposing, but Yan Shengbian himself was not a soft persimmon. As the president of the Central Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Li Zhenzhang had to be courteous to Yan Shengbian.
Why? It was because the general in command of the Central Base Army was biased towards Yan Shengbian.
While Li Zhenzhang could lay obstacles in his path, anything more drastic would require the cooperation of multiple factions. Despite Yan Shengbian’s current gentleness, he had previously brought chaos to the Central Base by cutting off cross-level assessment pathways, leaving families scrambling for months.
“Just an agricultural student,” Li Zhenzhang muttered under his breath. “Even if she passes the exam to become a planting officer, she won’t amount to anything significant.”
