Chapter 38: He Might as Well Be Despicable
In the end, Chang Ming failed to invite Jiang Ning back to the shop. He stood frozen in place, unilaterally digesting the news that Jiang Ning, as a plant-based ability user, had engraved a natural spirit tool.
Jiang Ning stood with him in the room for a while. Unable to resist the sleepiness, she said, “I’m going to continue sleeping. If you’re fine…”
Before she could finish, with a ‘thud’, Chang Ming’s knees went weak, and he knelt straight in front of her.
Jiang Ning: “???”
“Master, please sell me a pot of sunflowers,” Chang Ming said, his hands clasped together, his attitude extremely devout.
Top-tier spirit tool masters were all very arrogant. Even so, the line of people waiting to have them customize spirit tools was years long.
And now, there was a ready-made spirit tool master in front of him. He had to seize this opportunity, make a good impression before her fame completely exploded, and build a good relationship with her.
As for why she would condescend to work part-time at his shop, Chang Ming completely attributed it to Jiang Ning’s special quirks.
A master must have her reasons for doing things.
“I’m not planning to sell for now,” Jiang Ning said, seeing through Chang Ming’s little thoughts. But she had summoned too many last night and really wanted to sleep now.
“Those outside…” Chang Ming’s gaze turned to the dozens of sunflowers outside the window. After a few seconds, he said very tactfully, “I understand. Those are the master’s personal collection.”
Jiang Ning did not deny it.
She needed to ensure that the suns she could produce each month were at least around ten to twenty.
“Master, when will you be releasing sunflowers next time? Can you give me a heads-up in advance?” Chang Ming looked at Jiang Ning with expectant eyes.
Chang Ming now wished he could go back five days and slap himself.
He regretted so much why he hadn’t placed a few orders for sunflowers at her online shop back then. A top-quality spirit tool for only 999 star coins.
A good deal that was hard to find even with a lantern.
Now it was all to the benefit of those fans of Jin Jiu who were just watching the excitement.
The more Chang Ming thought about it, the more he disliked his sister’s ex-boyfriend. It was a good thing they didn’t end up together.
“Okay,” Jiang Ning agreed.
If it weren’t for Chang Ming’s blunder this time, she wouldn’t have known that her sunflowers had the effect of enhancing psychic energy.
“Master, please rest first. I’m leaving,” Chang Ming said. Having received the promise he wanted, he left with satisfaction.
Before leaving, he gently closed Jiang Ning’s door.
The neighbors in the slums saw Chang Ming walk out of Jiang Ning’s house with a smile on his face and said with a laugh, “Young man, I could tell at a glance that you’re not Jiang Ning’s boss. How is it, have you made up?”
Chang Ming’s mind was full of thoughts about the spirit tool. He was startled for a moment by the neighboring auntie who had suddenly struck up a conversation with him.
He didn’t even hear what the neighboring auntie had asked. He just nodded in agreement, and as for anything else, he didn’t want to reveal.
He had to keep Jiang Ning’s identity as a top-tier spirit tool master a secret and must not let anyone else know.
He might as well be despicable. He didn’t want to share with others.
After Chang Ming left, Jiang Ning lay back on the bed and entered dreamland.
In her dream, she saw mountains and fields of sunflowers. With a blink of an eye, those sunflowers all turned into white banknotes. She lay in the pile of banknotes, smiling happily.
When she woke up from her dream, her Star Brain just happened to notify her that the shop’s earnings had arrived.
A full ninety-seven thousand star coins.
That night, Jiang Ning decided to be extravagant and planned to eat out.
The location was chosen at the Shi Shang Ju that Ji Fan had recommended before.
Jiang Ning tidied up, went out, and took a maglev bus, successfully arriving at the lower district.
There were quite a few people coming to Shi Shang Ju to eat. Just as Jiang Ning walked to the entrance, she was stopped by the waiter at the door.
“Hello, ma’am. Do you have a reservation?” the waiter asked politely.
Jiang Ning shook her head.
“Then please line up here to get a number and wait,” the waiter pointed to the self-service kiosk behind him.
Jiang Ning walked over and, following the instructions on the kiosk, took a number.
The smart robot broadcasted, “Your current dining number is 428. There are 220 tables ahead of you. The estimated waiting time is about two hours.”
Jiang Ning: “…”
She had glanced at the entrance when she first arrived. There were only a few people in the waiting area. She had thought she wouldn’t have to wait long.
Jiang Ning sat down in the waiting area.
What could she do? Since she was already here, she might as well wait!
It wasn’t that Jiang Ning didn’t want to eat at other restaurants, but most of the restaurants here were Western-style. Shi Shang Ju was the only restaurant that suited her Chinese stomach.
Jiang Ning’s gaze fell on a promotional flyer next to her seat. She picked it up out of boredom and started reading.
The most eye-catching slogan on it was undoubtedly the sentence: Only what you grow yourself can you eat with peace of mind!
The flyer stated that Shi Shang Ju had its own ecological farm, and all the employees on the farm were plant-based ability users.
Jiang Ning carefully looked at the promotional picture of the ecological farm.
The leaves of the newly sprouted cabbage seedlings were all covered in black spots.
Jiang Ning recognized this as the initial symptom of black spot disease. Not only would the quality of the infected Chinese cabbage decline, but its yield would also be significantly reduced.
She immediately took the promotional picture to the waiter at the door, pointed to the seedlings in the picture, and said to him, “The black spots on the cabbage seedlings are black spot disease. Intervention should be done in the early stages to prevent it from gradually spreading into ring spots in the later stages, which would lead to a decrease in yield.”
The waiter was stunned upon hearing this.
Jiang Ning continued, “Black spot disease is generally caused by pathogens carried in the seeds. The initial manifestation is seed rot and necrosis, and a decrease in germination rate.”
After listening, the waiter recalled the situation at the shop’s ecological farm, and it indeed matched Jiang Ning’s description. So he said to Jiang Ning, “Please wait a moment. I’ll go and call our manager.”
Jiang Ning waited outside the door for a moment. Ten minutes later, a woman with neat short hair came out.
“Manager, it’s her,” the waiter said to the woman.
The short-haired woman walked up to Jiang Ning, extended her right hand, and said, “Hello, ma’am. I am Jiang Qing, the manager of Shi Shang Ju.”
Jiang Ning shook her hand back. “Jiang Ning.”
“Regarding what you just told our waiter about the black spot disease on the seedlings, do you have a solution?” Jiang Qing asked.
This situation had been a headache for all of them, and the cabbage yield had been in an extremely low state because of it.
“We won’t let you help for free. As long as you can solve the black spot disease, we will not be stingy with the remuneration,” Jiang Qing took the initiative to bring up the topic of fees.
Jiang Ning thought for a moment and said, “Take me to see your farm first.”
Jiang Qing: “Of course, this way, please.”
Jiang Qing led her to an internal elevator, and the two took the elevator to the top floor.
To facilitate replenishment in the shop at any time, their ecological farm was located nearby.
The elevator door opened, and Jiang Ning’s eyes instantly lit up.
The crisscrossing white corridors were all filled with green vegetables.
Jiang Ning followed behind Jiang Qing, calmly observing the surrounding environment.
This was the first time she had truly experienced a farm in the interstellar era.
Sprinklers sprayed from the white pipes above, and a robotic arm was set up in each area.
As soon as a person pressed the control button, the arm would activate and accurately land on the mature vegetables. A sharp blade would emerge from the side of the claw and cut the entire thing neatly.
Jiang Ning stopped and watched for a while.
Jiang Qing noticed her interest in this and introduced, “This is the fully automated collection system developed in cooperation between our company and the Yuan Xia Group.” Jiang Ning only looked for a moment. “Let’s go and see the cabbage area.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Qing led her to the cabbage area.
Unlike the photos in their promotional materials, these cabbages had already entered the mature stage.
Jiang Ning walked into the field and touched the leaves of the cabbage plants.
As expected, the black spots on the leaves of the surviving cabbages had gradually enlarged, forming blackish-brown concentric ring patterns. Some of the leaves’ ring spots had even perforated and cracked.
Jiang Ning glanced at the field and asked as if unintentionally, “Have you always been growing cabbage here?”
Jiang Qing didn’t understand the connection between Jiang Ning’s question and the cabbage disease, but she still answered, “For the convenience of unified management, we have always been planting one type of vegetable in one area.”
“Understood,” Jiang Ning returned to the white corridor from the field. She patted the dirt off her hands. “The pathogen of black spot disease is generally caused by fungi. I saw that other vegetables also had some similar situations on my way here. To avoid it, it’s safer to use crop rotation, which can effectively interfere with the harm of the pathogens.”
Jiang Qing had always thought that their management method was the best. After hearing Jiang Ning’s words, she finally realized where the problem was.
They had consulted so many experts in the field of plants before, but none could cure it. It turned out the problem was with the soil.
“Excuse me, can it still be saved now?” Jiang Qing asked humbly.
It was already past the sowing season. If they were all discarded, firstly, the cost would be too high, and secondly, the shop’s raw materials would be cut off.
“Apply some phosphate and potassium fertilizer, control the water before the pathogen spreads on a large scale, and then go to the market to buy some control agents to spray,” Jiang Ning said.
Jiang Qing nodded and took careful notes.
What she said was more or less the same as what the experts she had consulted before had said. Jiang Qing’s trust in Jiang Ning instantly increased a little.
“Thank you for your guidance on our farm. May I add you as a friend? If there are any more problems in this area in the future, it would be convenient for us to consult you again,” Jiang Qing said.
Jiang Ning nodded and agreed without thinking.
When it came to crops, she could say she was quite knowledgeable, and she was also very willing to help solve such problems.
Jiang Qing entered her ID and successfully added Jiang Ning as a Star Brain friend.
After Jiang Ning approved, Jiang Qing’s transfer information popped up in their chat box.
【’Boss Jiang’ has transferred 50,000 star coins to ‘Little Jiang Loves Farming’. Please click to receive.】
Jiang Ning blinked and carefully counted the zeros after the 5, confirming that it was 50,000 star coins. She pretended to be calm on the surface, but in her heart, she was already swallowing her saliva in excitement.
“A small token of my appreciation. I hope Teacher Jiang will accept it,” Jiang Qing said politely.
The consultation fees for the experts she had hired before were around 30,000 star coins. Jiang Ning seemed more capable than them, so Jiang Qing had taken the liberty of adding an extra 20,000 star coins.
Jiang Ning beamed with joy. “If you have any problems in the future, come to me.”
Why didn’t anyone tell her that being a farm consultant could earn so much money!
Who would still work so hard to hunt mutated beasts!
Jiang Qing: “Okay.”
Why did she feel that Teacher Jiang looked like she had never seen money before?
An illusion, it must be an illusion!
Jiang Qing composed herself and asked, “Does Teacher Jiang have any other questions?”
Jiang Ning thought for a moment and said, “I actually have a small problem that I need your help with now.”
“Please speak,” Jiang Qing said, paying full attention.
As long as she had a need, it was good.
Jiang Ning embarrassedly took out the queuing ticket from her pocket. “I’m eating here, but there are still over 100 tables ahead of me.”
Jiang Qing: “…”
She thought it was some big deal.