Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 198 - 98 Lively

Chapter 198: Chapter 98 Lively

Zheng Fa takes a few steps closer, watching the driver unloading the cargo.

One of the trucks is filled with agricultural products.

Mostly vegetables.

Some are common in winter, such as radish, cabbage, and goosefoot.

There are also some tomatoes and the like, probably from a greenhouse.

And then there are some seeds, with various types of rice seeds being the most.

Mrs. Tian had already come up to meet them; she meticulously inspected each bag of vegetables and seeds, nodding only after careful examination. Even with a full truckload, she never showed any impatience.

Sometimes she would shake her head at Zheng Fa and the other, not troubling the unloading driver, but simply setting it aside—clearly, that package was not up to par.

There are also two other trucks filled with experimental equipment.

The largest part of the trucks was actually taken up by the experimental tables.

And several other miscellaneous pieces of equipment.

Microscopes, centrifuges, scales... these were just what Zheng Fa could recognize.

There were about a dozen other equipment boxes.

"Rest assured." Old Man Bai spoke up, "Tian made a list for her, and contacted the suppliers personally, Ling Wu won’t be disadvantaged."

"I’m not worried about her being disadvantaged." Zheng Fa shook his head, "I’m worried that she is spending too much."

"This... I can’t persuade her." Old Man Bai fell silent for a while, seeming to understand what Zheng Fa meant, he then spoke after a long pause: "Only you can persuade her."

...

"How much did she spend?"

Zheng Fa entered the house and approached Tang Lingwu, who seemed to be intentionally avoiding him.

Despite Tang Lingwu being the spender, her expression was somewhat guilty.

"Not much..."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Fa sighed lightly.

He had just asked Mrs. Tian, the value of these three truckloads of goods was at least ten million...

Hearing his sigh, Tang Lingwu immediately explained:

"I didn’t ask my parents for money! I used my own money."

"Your own money?"

Zheng Fa was a bit puzzled; Tang Lingwu’s family indeed had money, but Tang Lingwu was not one to spend liberally.

The card previously used for petty cash had at most only a few hundred thousand:

Compared to others with wealth similar to Mr. Tang’s, Ling Wu’s frugality as a second-generation wealthy was evident...

One could even say she was very rigorously raised.

"My New Year’s money." Tang Lingwu seemed to see his disbelief and added, "Given by elder relatives, it wasn’t much before, but as the family became richer, it gradually increased."

"...How much is left?"

"There’s still some. I didn’t care about this money before, it was just in the card, and I only remembered it these past few days. Do you still need to buy anything?"

Seeing that she was still ready to spend money.

Zheng Fa quickly refused.

"Are you... unhappy?"

Seeing his expression was a bit grim, Tang Lingwu nervously asked.

"Tang Lingwu."

"Hm?" Hearing Zheng Fa calling her name so seriously made Tang Lingwu shiver.

"I am extremely grateful that you trust me so much, and I appreciate your unwavering support for the retirement home."

Zheng Fa’s expression was very sincere.

But Tang Lingwu’s face was a bit downcast.

It seemed she knew that Zheng Fa was about to say something that would make her unhappy.

"But I..." Zheng Fa seemed to be organizing his words: "I want to tell you, perhaps initially, my encounter with you was because I needed your help."

He recalled that when he first approached Tang Lingwu, it was because the talismanic diagram was suspected to be a competition problem, and he wanted to ask her for help.

"Perhaps you, because of bubble tea, gradually got to know me."

"Hm."

Seeming to also remember their initial meeting, Tang Lingwu’s face also showed a slight smile.

"But we’ve known each other for so long." Zheng Fa thought for a moment, but still decided to express the thoughts in his heart: "I’ve already regarded you as a fellow Daoist."

"Fellow Daoist?"

"Yes, a fellow Daoist." Zheng Fa nodded, "So Tang Lingwu..."

"Hm?" Tang Lingwu looked a bit puzzled.

Zheng Fa spoke slowly, he was not adept at expressing his inner feelings.

But to Tang Lingwu... it seemed necessary to be a bit clearer.

"Maybe, in your previous life, because of some things, you needed to be a child who helps the family, to be a student that makes your parents proud."

"But you don’t have to here, you don’t need to think about whether you are useful to me or to the retirement home..." Zheng Fa thinking of Tang Lingwu’s choices along the way: "Whether studying computing or spending money, I am grateful..."

"But I still hope you understand."

"Hm..." Tang Lingwu stared blankly at Zheng Fa, seemingly not expecting him to suddenly say such words.

"You are great, you don’t need to think about pleasing me or anyone else to live." Zheng Fa looked at Tang Lingwu.

She is a girl who has lived for many years beside an abnormal mother.

She is a girl who has never had a close friend.

Therefore, she worries unnecessarily, and in her interactions with others, cares too much about the other party.

Even to the extent of making selfless sacrifices.

Over these days, Tang Lingwu’s choices, always subconsciously made herself "useful".

"You have given me a lot of real help," Zheng Fa continued: "But I still want to say... I don’t know from when, even if you didn’t have money, didn’t choose computing, I am still willing to explore the end of the cultivation path with you."

"Hm." Tang Lingwu sniffled, softly responding.

"At least in the retirement home." Zheng Fa said quietly, "Even without the Wind Control Skill, you are free here."

...

"Ling Wu has changed."

Old Man Bai looked at Zheng Fa, then glanced at Tang Lingwu who was helping Mrs. Tian with experiments in the distance, and suddenly made a judgment.

"Ah?"

Zheng Fa was a bit surprised; the old man really was quite perceptive.

"Before, this girl used to look at you like a pitiful stray puppy."

"..."

"When she looked at you, it was as if her eyes were saying... don’t abandon me."

Zheng Fa felt that Old Man Bai’s description was somewhat accurate.

"Now what?"

"Now she’s still a puppy, but when she sees you, it’s as if she’s grown a tail behind her."

"Ah?"

"She’s not afraid anymore in her eyes." Old Man Bai curled his lips: "All silly happiness."

"..."

"Not quite there." Over there, Mrs. Tian approached Zheng Fa and the others: "From a cellular structure perspective, these plants don’t show any significant changes."

Zheng Fa didn’t feel disappointed when he heard this.

In the last few days, they had performed numerous experiments with these seeds.

One Evergreen Talisman after another was transformed into batches of vegetables, fruits, and grains.

They had experimented with several hundred to a thousand varieties.

Most crops grew sturdier than those in a non-Spiritual Energy environment, and they looked more luscious.

But through the observation of the Void Spirit Eye, they did not contain any Spiritual Energy.

As expected, after Mrs. Tian took some samples for a closer look, she concluded—these were just ordinary vegetables and fruits, nothing special in their structure had developed.

"So it seems," Old Man Bai analyzed with a furrowed brow, "either these modern crops don’t have the innate ability to become Spirit Plants or, as Tian mentioned, there are some special conditions needed."

Everyone fell silent for a while.

These experiment results were definitely not great.

"Alright! We’re researching, so let’s take it slow, since we have more time now that we’re cultivating immortality, no rush!" Mrs. Tian clapped her hands: "Besides, it’s rare to have so many vegetables in winter. I’ll cook a meal, and we can all enjoy it together in a lively way."

Hearing her say this, smiles appeared on the faces of the other three.

Zheng Fa looked at Tang Lingwu and saw her smiling especially happily and carefree, which made him feel very comforted.

Tang Lingwu seemed to notice his gaze, turned her head, glanced at him, and suddenly stuck out her belly, gently patting it as if to say she was hungry.

Her expression was lively and dazzling.

...

"Tian, has your cooking improved again?"

Old Man Bai put a slice of cucumber in his mouth and suddenly widened his eyes to ask.

"You just know how to flatter!" Mrs. Tian hit him with her chopsticks and scolded: "The kids are all here!"

"It’s not..."

"Mrs. Tian, really!" Tang Lingwu’s tone was even more surprised than Old Man Bai’s: "Delicious! It tastes better than any dish I’ve ever eaten before!"

Seeing her sincere expression, Mrs. Tian picked up a dish with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth.

She chewed gently twice, her eyelids twitching.

She didn’t speak, tried the other dishes, and after a long while, put down her chopsticks, her gaze serious: "It’s not my credit."

"...Is it, the Spiritual Energy?"

Old Man Bai understood immediately.

"Yes, the nursing home’s kitchen doesn’t have complete spices." Mrs. Tian explained: "My cooking skills couldn’t have improved so quickly."

Zheng Fa picked up a piece of tomato and put it into his mouth, nodding lightly.

He hadn’t realized before that the food from the Xuanwei Realm might taste slightly better.

Mainly because the crops from both realms had subtle differences.

Now with this comparison, he found — the Spiritual Energy actually did enhance the taste and flavor of these vegetables and fruits.

So, the pig grass leaves he ate before were actually improved versions?

How unpleasant must they taste without Spiritual Energy...

The Spirit Plants were not cultivated, but there were some unexpected delights.

"Zheng Fa!" Tang Lingwu suddenly slapped the table and said loudly: "This stuff is valuable!"

"I know." Zheng Fa had also thought of this, but his output was limited...

"Very valuable!" Seeing that he wasn’t too concerned, Tang Lingwu insisted: "High-end ingredients, more valuable than you can imagine!"

Hearing her say this, Zheng Fa and Old Man Bai exchanged glances, both intrigued.

If the rich young lady says it’s very valuable, then it’s not just ordinarily valuable.

"What do you mean?"

"Some high-end restaurants need unique ingredients that aren’t available elsewhere; the rarer, the better," Tang Lingwu explained. "But they aren’t necessarily tastier."

Zheng Fa looked at the full table of dishes.

He understood Tang Lingwu’s point—

These items, first, are exclusive to the nursing home.

Second, they are genuinely delicious!

A dimension-reducing strike indeed!

...

"I’ll make a call to my dad and ask!"

Tang Lingwu took out her cellphone and walked a bit away as she spoke.

She switched to speaker mode, and the call connected quickly.

"Sweetheart! Missing your dad?" A somewhat greasy voice of a middle-aged man came through.

"Dad! I have a business matter, I wanted to ask you!" Tang Lingwu’s face turned red as she interrupted her father’s words.

"Who is this? How do you have my daughter’s phone?"

The person on the other end immediately became serious.

"...Dad!"

"My daughter has never been interested in business!"

...

Beside her, Old Man Bai, who was even older than Tang Lingwu, curled his lips and said: "That’s because his daughter hasn’t met a blonde."

"..."

"Really, then there’s interest not just in business, but even in having kids," Old Man Bai said this through gritted teeth.

"I’m interested now!"

"See!" Old Man Bai immediately said.