Pastoral Daily Life
chapter-66

The evolution of plants is a very mysterious process. In contrast to the few hundred thousand years of human existence, the earliest plants, algal mats, appeared on earth three billion years ago.

From the earliest algal mats, to terrestrial bryophytes, lycopods and ferns, to the complex gymnosperms and angiosperms, plants developed in five major stages. Over three billion years, the entire plant world evolved through genetic variation and natural selection. From the low level to the high level, from the simple to the complex, new species had been created and adapted to the changing environment, while old species had died out and become extinct.

Throughout the evolution of the plant world, it was easy to see that plants did not evolve singularly, but interacted with each other. This kind of influence was very magical, and what Yan Yue needed now was this kind of magic.

At seven o’clock in the evening, Yan Yue drove Lu Lingxi around Fengcheng. As the Hongfu Community was in the north of Fengcheng, Yan Yue deliberately chose places in the east, south and west of Fengcheng to purify the soil. All of these places were around the key remediation projects that the new mayor had been working on since he took office. This way, even if there were any initial changes, they would be taken by the nearby residents as the effect of environmental remediation and would not cause an instant sensation. At the same time, the common geographical characteristics would hide the special features of the Hongfu Community.

Having chosen the general area, the specific purification places Yan Yue intentionally chose were all the ones where there were willow trees planted. What he had to do now was to remove Lu Lingxi out of possible suspicion, and the fastest way to do that was to find another target of suspicion. As for how people would interpret this target when it was discovered, it was not in the realm of Yan Yue’s concern.

Having used up the five points of power of nature rewarded for the willow evolution system last time, Lu Lingxi felt a bit in a low mood. He leaned against the car window and looked outside. Fengcheng was brightly lit in the night. The daytime smog was hidden by the night, and the car window separated the floating dust in the air. At this moment, Fengcheng didn’t look heavily polluted at all, and under the neon lights, it looked clean.

“Unhappy?”

Yan Yue kept an eye on his mood.

Lu Lingxi originally wanted to shake his head, but after thinking about it, he nodded honestly.

Yan Yue pulled the car to the side of the road and rubbed Lu Lingxi’s hair with his free hand, “Is it because of what I said this afternoon?”

Lu Lingxi shook his head quickly this time. It had nothing to do with Yan Yue’s words, and he couldn’t say why he was depressed. Yan Yue sighed, somewhat regretting that what he had said this afternoon was too serious and scared Lu Lingxi. He gently patted Lu Lingxi’s face and asked seriously, “Do you like plants very much?”

Lu Lingxi nodded.

“Do you like evolving plants?”

Lu Lingxi nodded hesitantly. Although plants evolved in all sorts of directions, most of them still tended to be practical. For example, chlorophytum absorbed formaldehyde +20%, and caryophyllum absorbed sulphur dioxide +20%. He used to think that if plants could evolve in this way, the natural environment would be much better in the future. But now, to avoid trouble, would he have to use the panel as little as possible, and the plants would not be able to evolve as before?

Yan Yue saw what he was thinking and said softly, “Xiao Xi, just do what you like, you don’t need to worry about the rest.”

“But will there be trouble if someone finds out?” Lu Lingxi was a little uneasy.

Yan Yue laughed lightly and deliberately joked, “Xiao Xi, you have sold so many pots, isn’t it a bit late to worry about being found out now?”

Lu Lingxi: “……”

Yan Yue looked at him and smiled, “The plants sold by Tiny Garden are all planted in the plant nursery. Even if they are found to be abnormal, people will only suspect that it is caused by the surrounding environment. They will not suspect Xiao Xi for no reason.”

Lu Lingxi reacted a little, “Big Brother Yan, you are my partner, if there is a suspicion, we both will be suspected.”

Yan Yue held back a smile and nodded, “Yes, we are accomplices, you see, I’m not worried.”

Seeing such a relaxed expression on his face, Lu Lingxi completely calmed down.

“However.” Yan Yue changed the subject, “We’ll have to consider cooperating with Xue Yongtong.”

“Why?” Lu Lingxi didn’t understand.

Yan Yue patiently explained, “I’ve heard some things about Gao Yongliang before. He’s a bit stubborn in nature, I’m afraid he won’t give up those begonias easily. I am worried that he will pursue the matter to its roots and it will be troublesome then, so we might as well take the initiative.”

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Lu Lingxi had great trust in Yan Yue and nodded obediently, “Then shall we go and find him?”

“No, let him come to us.” Yan Yue said meaningfully.

The consideration of working with Xue Yongtong was not a whim of Yan Yue, but caused by a serious weighing up in the afternoon. The plants of Tiny Garden were a bit eye-catching and it would have been much better if they had been replaced by Luxuan Gardening. He was going to be selective in the things he revealed to Xue Yongtong and some of the “truths” they showed him. He believed that the best way to keep a secret was to have a mutual interest and, more importantly, Xue Yongtong’s involvement would take half the pressure off Lu Lingxi. In his mind, the collaboration with Xue Yongtong was only the first step; he also planned to set up a plant research institute with Xue Yongtong. He remembered that there were many similar institutions abroad, specialising in the breeding of new plant varieties and turning the research results into tangible economic benefits. In the long run, this would be one of the best ways to hide Lu Lingxi’s secret.

These ideas were Yan Yue’s preliminary plans, and since Lu Lingxi didn’t want to give up the panel, they would simply make the matter bigger. Only when they had the right to speak would they have enough power to protect Lu Lingxi.

The two of them took a circle around Fengcheng, and Yan Yue drove Lu Lingxi to Xiaohua’s Home Cooking Restaurant. It was now already past nine o’clock in the evening and there were still three customers eating in the small restaurant. Usually Lu Lingxi came over after six o’clock, but today he was late, so Wang Shuxiu grabbed him and asked, “Have you eaten tonight?”

Lu Lingxi rubbed his stomach and said honestly, “Something came up in the shop, so I didn’t bother to eat.”

“Sit down, I’ll go and make you some noodles.”

Wang Shuxiu disappeared like a gust of wind, and Lu Lingxi turned to say goodbye to Yan Yue when he accidentally seemed to see Xiao Feng outside. He was taken aback for a moment before looking again, but Xiao Feng’s figure was no longer there.

“What are you looking at?” Yan Yue asked, looking at his open-mouthed expression.

Lu Lingxi was a little unsure, “I think I saw Brother Feng.”

“Really?” Yan Yue glanced outside quietly, and said with certainty, “Xiao Xi must’ve been mistaken.”

“Oh.” Lu Lingxi also felt that he had been mistaken.

Outside the small restaurant, Xiao Feng stood across the road with a cigarette in his mouth, looking carelessly at Xiaohua’s Home Cooking Restaurant. Ding Er, who was following him, guessed what he was thinking and suggested, “Brother Feng, I don’t seem to have eaten enough tonight, why don’t we go and eat something? It just so happens that Tiger and the others are also inside.”

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Xiao Feng swept him a cold glance, “It’s already late. If you don’t sleep, don’t let others sleep either?”

Ding Er immediately understood what he meant. It was not that Brother Feng didn’t want to go to eat, but he disliked Tiger and the others for staying late and affecting Ms. Xiaohua’s rest. Ding Er felt a bit wronged for Tiger and the others. When Brother Feng said that they should come to the restaurant more often, Tiger and the others came from several streets away to eat every day. They started early and finished late, and then had to make up for it with a late night snack. He thought that after such a long walk, the meal would be almost digested, and it would be the same as not eating at all. As a result, he was also disliked by Brother Feng, which was a bit unfair.

Xiao Feng looked at him for a while, extinguished his cigarette and turned to leave. Ding Er couldn’t decide whether he should call Tiger and the others out. But that would be too obvious, and according to Brother Feng’s nature, he would probably be upset. After a few seconds of hesitation, Ding Er decided to follow behind Xiao Feng, thinking not to forget to remind Tiger and the others tomorrow that they should be early for the evening snack so as not to disturb the rest of Ms. Xiaohua.

Xiao Feng didn’t know that Ding Er had so many thoughts. He was pondering over Wang Shuxiu. After years of being an old bachelor, Xiao Feng had never had much intention of starting a family. He thought it was good to be alone. Sometimes his brother back home would call him to advise him to find a considerate wife. Wouldn’t it be better than being single? Xiao Feng didn’t think much of it. He had been doing well over the years, surrounded by many young girls, and his brothers had urged him to find a girlfriend. But not to mention that he didn’t have the patience to coax any young girl, enough to say that these girls were all very entitled. Xiao Feng felt that he should either not look for a girlfriend at all, or find one that was down-to-earth and could accompany him in his life.

When he first met Wang Shuxiu, Xiao Feng actually didn’t think much. Lu Yishui was an old gambler in his casino, losing a lot and winning a little, but with one advantage, he rarely reneged on his debts. People who are familiar with him knew that Lu Yishui has a capable wife, and with her around, there was no fear that Lu Yishui would not be able to pay back the money. Xiao Feng sometimes heard them joke about Lu Yishui eating soft rice (a man depending on a woman to survive), and Lu Yishui never denied it with a smug expression on his face that said: I have the ability to get money, you can say whatever you like. At that time, Xiao Feng had never met Wang Shuxiu and thought that she was the kind of woman who couldn’t afford to get a divorce because she was too old to work. It was not until once Wang Shuxiu found the card and chess parlour and pulled Lu Yishui to divorce that Xiao Feng realised in surprise that Wang Shuxiu was completely different from what he thought.

The two of them had a fight that time but didn’t divorce. He heard that the son of the family didn’t want them to divorce. Later, Xiao Feng met Wang Shuxiu a few times and slowly came to admire her. It was not easy for a woman to support a family, and Lu Yishui was a puddle of mud. But that was someone else’s family business and it had nothing to do with him.

Later he heard that Lu Yishui’s son had had an accident and it coincided with Lu Yishui losing a large sum of money. That was the first time he really saw how spirited Wang Shuxiu was, and the first time he felt sorry for her. When Wang Shuxiu refused to pay back the money for Lu Yishui, Xiao Feng thought it was time to send Lu Yishui to dig for coal, but a rich sucker came to pay back the money for Lu Yishui. Of course, it turned out that Yan Yue was not a sucker at all and deliberately dug a pit for Lu Yishui to jump into.

In this way, Lu Yishui was calculated to divorce and also went to the northwest to dig coal. Xiao Feng met Wang Shuxiu again in the small market and didn’t know when started to think about her. Wang Shuxiu didn’t look like the kind of woman who would live excessively, and he was not the kind of man to be a womaniser. The two were the right age and had a ready-made son, which Xiao Feng thought was good. His thoughts were clear when he sent the six flower baskets, but the problem was that Wang Shuxiu didn’t seem to have any interest in him at all. She couldn’t still be thinking about that thug Lu Yishui, could she?

Xiao Feng’s face darkened suddenly as he thought of this.