Chapter 04 Barren Land

He Shan stood at the staircase, his gaze lingering on Meng Siqi before casting a nonchalant glance at the telephone next to her. Meng Siqi quickly suppressed the resentment in her eyes, approached with a smile, and said, "Old He, are you heading to North City?"

"Mm."

He Shan let Meng Siqi straighten his coat buttons.

"How many days?" asked Meng Siqi.

"About ten days," He Shan replied leisurely.

"Then you must take your medicine on time, don't stay up late, and don't eat anything cold..." Meng Siqi's voice was gentle as she instructed him.

"Don't worry, Mr. Xiao Zhang is keeping an eye on it."

Having said that, He Shan walked toward the door, but stopped at the threshold, turned around, and looked at Meng Siqi solemnly, "Siqi, I know what you are thinking, but things have reached this point, and there's no possibility of change. I, He Shan, have lived my life without owing anyone or anything, but the person I owe the most is her. This is what the He Family owes her!"

Meng Siqi's expression instantly darkened.

He Shan seemed to ignore her expression and continued to instruct, "Life in the Northwest is tough. Although Qingyu was born in the countryside, she hasn't really suffered much. Send her some food and clothing..."

Meng Siqi nodded with difficulty, "Mm, I understand."

He Shan glanced at Meng Siqi and then left with long strides.

Meng Siqi collapsed on the sofa, her well-maintained face contorted in anger.

He Shan had always pined for Han Xianglan, and she had tolerated it because, after all, he hadn't deceived her initially. Over the years, she had devoted herself to taking care of him and the family, believing that as time passed, everything would fade away. Yet, who would have thought that in their old age, Han Xianglan's daughter would marry the son she loved the most.

She beat her chest, feeling nauseated. How disgusting! What was this supposed to mean? The He and Qiao families were meant to have nothing to do with each other for generations, yet now they had become related by marriage. It was as if their spirits couldn't be exorcised!

At that moment, Meng Siqi felt like she had a fishbone stuck in her throat.

If she couldn't drive Qiao Qingyu out of the He family, she would go mad!

Far away in the Northwest, Qiao Qingyu, of course, had no idea about the depth of Meng Siqi's hatred. She ate her egg and flour noodles with a frown.

The house really didn't even have a single leaf of vegetables.

Not to mention any green onions for seasoning.

She entered the 001 Seed Laboratory again, this time examining closely—once she finished, Qiao Qingyu stood up straight, thinking the lab nearly had a compendium of all plants.

She had counted and there were more than seven hundred thousand kinds.

From towering ancient trees to ground mosses, various grains, vegetables, fruits, and naturally flowers and wild grass...

As far as she knew, there were three hundred and fifty thousand known plant species on Earth, but the Seed Laboratory had twice as many, including rare plants that were already extinct.

Qiao Qingyu looked around and couldn't help but sigh. If the laboratory continued to exist, she might possess wealth capable of creating a whole new planet.

Of course, that required hard work.

In the early eighties, before the widespread use of machinery, farming was not a simple task.

Qiao Qingyu decided to give it a try first.

After all, each seed came with detailed instructions.

She left the laboratory and found a metal shovel in a corner of the yard before heading outside the residential compound's walls with a wicker basket in hand.

What she hadn't expected was to be stopped halfway by a woman riding a bicycle.

Qiao Qingyu searched her memory—this short-haired, slightly plump woman was named Liu Qiao Wen, Chef Song's wife, and in her thirties this year.

"""It must be one of the few acquaintances the original host had around here."""

"""This woman indeed contributed significantly to the original host's self-destructive path."""

Qiao Qingyu planned to bypass her, but Liu Qiao Wen followed and blocked her way again. Liu Qiao Wen had left the bicycle at the entrance. Qiao Qingyu nonchalantly glanced at the yellow mud on the bicycle tires and asked softly, "Sister Qiao Wen, did you go to the commune?"

Liu Qiao Wen was stunned.

"Your name contains the character 'Qiao' for 'cunning,' and you're really quite cunning in what you do. I remember the last time I attempted suicide, Sister Qiao Wen, you also went to the commune. And this time it's the same…" Qiao Qingyu continued.

Liu Qiao Wen's back broke out in a cold sweat, looking at Qiao Qingyu as if she had turned into a different person.

Qiao Qingyu stared at Liu Qiao Wen and suddenly smiled, her eyes curving into crescents, "Sister Qiao Wen, He Xiuyu has come back..."

Liu Qiao Wen's mouth hung open, and finally regaining her senses, she said with a hint of seeking credit, "Qingyu, wasn't I right? A woman can't be too honest. To catch a man's heart, you need to show him what you're capable of. The old saying, 'one cry, two fuss, three hang,' isn't wrong."

"Sister Qiao Wen is the smartest, but the old saying also mentions, 'don't do it more than three times.'

"What do you mean?"

"It means this is the last time," Qiao Qingyu said, and then shyly hung her head, "Sister Qiao Wen, my He Xiuyu said he wants to have a good life with me."

Liu Qiao Wen was shocked.

Her face turned pale. If He Xiuyu was scared by Qiao Qingyu's suicide attempt and decided to settle down with her, Dean Meng would tear her to shreds!

This had been her very own advice to Qiao Qingyu.

How had He Xiuyu agreed to it?

Qiao Qingyu bashfully turned away, "Ah, it's a bit embarrassing to talk about this, I have to go."

"You..."

Liu Qiao Wen was left speechless as she watched Qiao Qingyu walk away.

Liu Qiao Wen felt something was off. She hadn't finished speaking and was about to call her back when Qiao Qingyu suddenly stopped in her tracks, her voice crisply louder, "Sister Qiao Wen, last week I lent you fifty yuan. You said you'd return it by the end of March. Now it's the beginning of April. Please bring it to my house tonight."

Afterward, Qiao Qingyu strolled away leisurely.

A few women who had gathered around looked at Liu Qiao Wen with suspicion.

One of them scoffed, "I wondered why you were always with Qiao Qingyu. Turns out there was something in it for you."

"Didn't you say you looked down on Qiao Qingyu the most? Why would you borrow money from her?"

Liu Qiao Wen's face alternated between shades of green and white. Seeing that Qiao Qingyu had walked far away, she irritably shoved aside the women and slammed the yard door shut.

Her heart thumped uneasily as she furrowed her brows tightly. If Qiao Qingyu really settled down with He Xiuyu, her own days would be difficult.

...

Ten minutes later, Qiao Qingyu stood in front of a dirt slope, clutching a handful of soil, and sighed softly. The Northwest's barren land resembled a starved, skeletal old man, with only the sparse wild grass proving there might still be a sliver of vitality.

No matter how good the seeds are, without fertile soil, it's wasted!

Thus, Qiao Qingyu had no intention of cultivating land here.

She had to return to the Qiao Family Team, where the soil was so rich that even sticking a chopstick in it might cause flowers to bloom. Only such fertile land could better enable the seeds from the laboratory to bear plentiful fruit.

Now the only difficulty was how to repair her relationship with her biological parents.

After all, she had been driven out of the Qiao Family Team by them.