Chapter 02 Seed Laboratory No. 001

Qiao Qingyu had not expected He Xiuyu to give her a guarantee.

This was something the original owner had sought but not obtained.

Unfortunately, even after hearing such words, her heart remained unmoved, as if the original owner had left cleanly and thoroughly.

She pondered for a moment and tentatively said, "Since our beginning was terrible, continuing might turn out even worse. These past days, I've finally realized how impulsive I was initially, so let's get a divorce."

He Xiuyu's expression suddenly froze.

His peach blossom eyes intently stared at Qiao Qingyu, his piercing gaze slicing across her cheek like a blade, as if verifying the truth of her words.

Qiao Qingyu bit her lip, not blinking as she let him scrutinize her.

The absolute truth.

Absolutely the truth!

But then, an almost inaudible chuckle sounded; he laughed, but the laughter didn't reach his eyes, "Qiao Qingyu, marriage is no child's play. This is the first time I'm hearing such words, but I hope it's the last."

Qiao Qingyu, "…"

Her words had sounded decisive, but she regretfully thought that this wouldn't be the last time.

She was about to say it a second time.

What can you do about it!

At that moment, a middle-aged man's voice came from the doorway, "Xiao He, it's time, we need to leave."

Were there still people in the jeep?

He Xiuyu stood up, his brow furrowing as he glanced at the room, messy as a pigsty, his gaze then landing on Qiao Qingyu, who stared back at him with clear bright eyes, "I have to go now. Sister-in-law Li has saved you once again, remember to thank her."

With that, he turned and strode away.

Qiao Qingyu quickly turned to peer out the window, the low courtyard wall not enough to block the tall figure of He Xiuyu. He got into an army-green jeep, and with a roar of the engine, it began to move away, the dust kicked up obscuring Qiao Qingyu's view...

Qiao Qingyu lay coughing on the windowsill for a while, feeling a bit better, then she noticed she was still tightly clutching her right hand.

She hurriedly opened her hand, and an object shaped like a walnut lay in her palm.

She squinted her eyes, a hint of confusion flashing through them.

She had had an accident while saving two children from drowning; she had managed to get the children safely to the shore, but then she had sunk into the cold lake water, weakened.

Before her consciousness faded, a black vortex had appeared before her eyes, and an object floated at the vortex. Clinging to the thought of struggling even in the face of death, she had grabbed the object in her hand.

When she woke up, she found herself transformed into a cannon-fodder female supporting character in a period drama.

Although logically this object should not have traveled with her into the book, since she was already in the book, what else was impossible?

Qiao Qingyu turned the object over and over, not a walnut nor a stone, but rather resembling a plant seed.

Unconsciously, she squeezed it hard.

Suddenly, a sharp pain emanated from her palm; Qiao Qingyu hurriedly opened her hand, but found it was already empty. Shortly after, an electronic voice sounded: "Fingerprint verification successful, Space Device activated, Seed Laboratory 001 at your service…"

Qiao Qingyu blinked and suddenly found herself standing in a space filled with white mist.

She stared wide-eyed in shock.

Before her were rows of five-tier metal shelves lined with thick glass plates, filled with transparent glass jars.

Her eyes lit up as she leaned closer to see that the jars contained freshly sprouted seeds; her heart raced. Could this be a random gift of good luck?

She looked around and then saw a floating panel in mid-air. After accessing it, Qiao Qingyu found out what she had activated.

This experimental lab, built of frosted glass without doors or windows and approximately 800 square meters in size, was also called the Space Device. It had drifted in the universe for countless years, holding shelves of newly sprouted seeds of various kinds—some of which Qiao Qingyu had never even heard of.

With the laboratory space set to be immobile, operating it was extremely simple. Qiao Qingyu slowly came out of her surprise. Was this prompting her to start farming?

She couldn't even tell wheat from grass!

After leaving the lab, the Space Device had transformed into a barely noticeable red mole on the pad of her index finger. By pressing her thumb on it for ten seconds, she could freely enter and exit the Seed Laboratory.

Suddenly, she furrowed her brows, and the next moment, Qiao Qingyu smelled an odd odor. After looking around, she realized it was coming from the bedding and her clothes.

She nearly gagged from the stench.

She couldn't help but think of He Xiuyu's unwavering expression just then, her gaze falling on the stack of money and food coupons on the table.

That was the original owner's monthly living expenses.

The original girl was genuinely gluttonous; having arrived at the family compound just over a month ago, she had already spent all the 800 yuan, food coupons, and meat coupons He Xiuyu gave her.

Considering the strong purchasing power of 800 yuan back in the 80s, that was significant.

But the indulgence wasn't in vain, for she looked plump and tender, especially her eyes, watery as if they could speak.

Putting down the small mirror, Qiao Qingyu pinched her nose and stepped out of the house.

It was currently 10:30 in the morning. The sun shone unobstructed over the land of the Northwest. The experimental base was about a hundred miles from the temporary family compound, surrounded by barren land. Due to it being April, the frigid Northwest only had sprouting grass.

Qiao Qingyu contemplated a bit, then decided to put other things aside for the moment and tidy up the house. Despite being a temporary residence, there was a plumbed pipeline and a large pot in the kitchen. She boiled a large pot of hot water and threw the washable quilt and bed sheet into a large basin containing pieces of lye.

The mud-brick house had the kitchen in the center and one room on each side. Qiao Qingyu stayed on the east side, while the room on the west, which was locked, was said to be where the male lead, He Xiuyu, kept his books and notes.

She glanced over only briefly before turning her gaze away.

In another month, when He Xiuyu would return, she would continue discussing the divorce with him.

It had to be said that He Xiuyu was also a victim in this marriage.

This story started with He Xiuyu's grandparents.

He Xiuyu's father was named He Shan, currently a senior consultant somewhere, and the only child in his family. At ten years old, his parents bought him a child bride, four years his junior, named Han Xianglan.

The two grew up together like childhood sweethearts with particularly fond feelings. Unfortunately, at fifteen, He Shan was conscripted, and that departure lasted ten years.

The year 1950 saw He Shan return home full of hope and dreams, only to find out that five years prior, at sixteen, young Xianglan had been sold by He Shan's parents to a farmer in a neighboring village for a bag of coarse rice.

When they met again, Han Xianglan already had a three-year-old son.

Stricken by a severe illness and filled with hate, rage, and guilt, He Shan left Hejia Village...

Han Xianglan was Qiao Qingyu's biological mother!