Chapter 613: Bound to the Childbirth System, Becoming a Winner in Life Chapter 614: Spiritual Qi Revival Diary (7)

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

In early January, the university went on break.

Shen Shuo returned from the city carrying bags large and small, and with him came the villagers of Sweetwater Village.

It had been said before that the young people who went out to work were all complaining that jobs were hard to find, muttering about going home to farm.

By January the weather was already very cold, and construction sites and the like had shut down one after another to rest.

Unable to find work, and with daily expenses in the city so high, they returned home early to wait it out.

Shen Shuo's break overlapped with theirs, so they traveled together. "Good thing a few uncles from the village were there, otherwise we might have gotten hurt on the road."

Still shaken, Shen Shuo described what he had just experienced to the Shen family in agitated words — including but not limited to the vehicle breaking down on the road, people getting out to repair it and running into animals coming down the mountain, and trees growing wildly all around... Shen Shuo raised his hand and rubbed his arms, which had broken out in goosebumps, utterly distraught.

Fu Chunfang was also startled, patting her thigh as she said that next year when school started the family would go see him off. Their Sweetwater Village was surrounded by mountain forests, with no medium or large wild animals, but groups of small and medium wild animals gathering together were scary enough.

"Aiyo, since you're back this time don't go out. Rest properly for a few days first."

Shen Guozhu disdained Fu Chunfang for spoiling the children with motherly kindness. Both sons would have to shoulder the family in the future; how could they whine over such a trivial matter?

"What would a rough old man like you know? The kids who left the village have all come back."

It wasn't just their own children who were frightened; the others were plenty shaken too.

The couple couldn't see eye to eye, and as words chased words they started bickering.

Shen Yao listened, shaking her head, then quietly asked Shen Shuo about the situation on the road. Her farm still had to sell produce outside; if it was truly dangerous, the things planted in early spring next year would have to be changed to grain crops that could be stored, because if they couldn't be sold they could at least be kept and eaten slowly.

Shen Shuo pursed his lips. "Second Sister, the road really was extremely dangerous. I even saw something inside the mountain that hadn't come out yet," vague and looming, terrifying.

Shen Le buried her head and leaned over to mutter, "I've been watching videos online lately. The animals in them are huge, every single one, and even some livestock. I heard many cities are going to cull stray cats and dogs because they injure people."

Shen Yao was busy with farm matters and, with little time, didn't go online much. Even when she heard the news, it was all major domestic and international events — riots here, shootings there.

Many who previously thought foreign air was sweet and fragrant scrambled for chances to return home; plane tickets multiplied several times over and still couldn't be bought.

"You two stay home and keep Dad and Mom company recently. As for the mountain land at Grandpa's village, we'll go look after the New Year.

But don't rent too much, lest Grandpa and the uncles have a hard time in the village."

Shen Yao instructed, and Shen Shuo and Shen Le both nodded. The two of them were the youngest children in the family and were closer to Shen Yao.

Based on their trust in family and reliability, neither Shen Shuo nor Shen Le thought renting land was wrong. Besides, their Second Sister had earned quite a lot these years; no matter what, she wouldn't deceive them.

This year's Spring Festival fell in late January to early February. At this time every household decorated with lanterns and colorful banners; regardless of money, everyone would eat something good, implying they would make a fortune next year.

"Wang Cai, Fa Cai, Da Fu"

Shen Le held specially made pet food and fed the three animals in the farm.

The two little native dogs had grown a full circle larger, their whole bodies plump and round, exceptionally endearing. Da Fu still had a lithe, slender figure, only he had become more humanized, as if he could understand human speech.

"Da Fu"

"Meow"

The calico cat meowed once, utterly puzzled why the two-legged beasts all liked calling its name.

Not saying anything, just shouting its name when there was nothing else to do. It casually replied once and the two-legged beasts would be happy enough to grin ear to ear.

Raising its little paw, Da Fu pointed at the pet food Shen Le held in her hand, then glanced at the already empty cat bowl.

A pair of amber cat eyes looked at Shen Le. "Meow" — What are you two-legged beasts spacing out for? Hurry up and serve the offering.

Shen Le:...

Shen Le snapped out of it, a suspicious string of moisture trailing from the corner of her mouth.

Hmm, don't know what's going on? Why does she feel hungry every time she hears Da Fu's cry? Da Fu = meat?

Startled by the wild thought that popped into her mind, Shen Le hurriedly filled the three little ones' bowls with the pet food in her hand, then rushed off in a fluster to find her older sister.

Shen Yao:...

Before Shen Yao could speak, Fu Chunfang — who had already decided to spend the New Year at the farm — said this was just Shen Le using gluttony as an excuse. A cat linked to delicious food? Everyone says cat meat is sour.

Shen Le felt wronged; she really hadn't misspoken. Fu Chunfang insisted this was absolutely impossible.

The mother and daughter's daily bickering happened almost every day; once said, it was over.

Only Shen Yao at the side thought perhaps this really had something to do with Da Fu, only it was hard to explain.

The three little animals she raised all belonged to newly awakened ability species.

Wang Cai and Fa Cai belonged to strength-type abilities; they could eat, defecate, and grow large, with astonishing bite force — the undisputed helpers for guarding the home and courtyard.

Da Fu belonged to a mental-type ability; it could sense every person's true emotions and involuntarily simulate them.

The hunger Shen Le sensed was because at that time she herself was hungry. It seemed she still needed to hurry up and train the three little animals. With people coming and going at the farm, too much exposure would do Shen Yao no good.

The Shen family's New Year's Eve dinner was exceptionally lavish, not least because Shen Yao had her own private motives.

Like some spiritual plants that were harmless to the body, Shen Yao put them all into the ingredients as seasonings, along with some medicinal materials that could be used for soups and dishes. After refusing the Management Bureau's purchase offer, Shen Yao simply gave them all as a bonus to the Shen family.

They were, after all, blood relatives of this body. Not to mention all awakening abilities and hugging the official thigh — even just being strong and healthy was very good.

As the Spiritual Qi Revival deepened, this world would become increasingly dangerous. Even Shen Yao couldn't say whether the future situation would be optimistic. Only if the Shen family became better and better could Shen Yao feel at ease.

"Dad, Mom, eat up. This chicken soup has quite a lot of medicinal herbs planted at the mountain foot.

You two are getting on in years and don't sleep well at night. Drink more to nourish your bodies."

Shen Yao ladled chicken soup while coaxing Shen Guozhu and his wife. As for Shen Le and Shen Shuo, a big gluttonous girl and a big gluttonous boy, they had already downed several bowls without Shen Yao saying a word.

The hot, sweet chicken soup drank down and their whole bodies felt comfortable and refreshed. Shen Le and Shen Shuo praised the farm's free-range chicken as truly good, and in overlapping voices said that since they were renting land, they also wanted to raise free-range chickens like Second Sister.

Shen Guozhu and his wife did not object. When Shen Yao first started the farm they had disagreed, but Shen Yao had used actual actions to prove her ability and money-making capacity. Now that it was their little daughter Shen Le, it seemed farming at home wasn't bad either. The cities outside were so chaotic.

The family of six ate the New Year's Eve dinner happily, and after cleaning up they each returned to their rooms to sleep.

As for the eldest son and eldest daughter who remained in the city, each had their own reasons; Shen Guozhu and his wife did not interfere and let them be.

On the second day of the new year, Shen Xin brought her daughter back to her ancestral home, while Shen Liang returned with his wife and two children.

The two siblings ran into each other at the Shen family doorway, neither paying the other any mind.

Fu Chunfang kept muttering about misfortune, saying it must be because she hadn't cultivated virtue in her past life; the one she worried about most couldn't get ahead, while the one she paid least attention to was doing well everywhere.

Shen Yao didn't want to deal with these two immature people, but the three children—whether Shen Wenqi and her siblings or her niece Chen Lili—had decent personalities.

The Shen family had bought plenty of snacks for the New Year, and Shen Le took them out to share; several people sat in the room eating and drinking, unaffected by the atmosphere outside.

"How did the exam go?"

Shen Le played the most annoying relative, bringing up the three children's studies.

Shen Wenqi and Chen Lili had above-average grades, but Shen Wenyu's were poor; this vacation he had spent a lot on tutoring to improve his scores, with little obvious effect.

"Aunt, don't mention these things," Shen Wenyu waved his hand, sighing about his miserable life in the city; if his parents hadn't stopped him, he would have run back to Sweetwater Village immediately to spend the winter break.

"Our school starts early this year, supposedly to avoid the summer."

Chen Lili was starting ninth grade, looking like her mother Shen Xin in figure and appearance, a fresh and beautiful young lady.

"Our school didn't start early, but it's certain we'll move into a new teaching building."

Shen Wenqi was a high school student; she said the old teaching building had been severely damaged by two earthquakes, and the school, fearing accidents, urgently switched to the experimental building that had been built but not yet put into use, and rushed to adjust its interior.

Shen Wenyu didn't care about these things; what he cared about was that the school had torn up the campus facilities and buildings, and even the basketball court was unusable.

There weren't many things boys could play with to begin with; sealing off a few basketball courts was a disaster.

Shen Shuo popped a sugar ball into his mouth. "Why?"

Shen Wenyu waved his hand. "The basketball court is next to the street, and the green belt grows fast, with snakes appearing and hurting people. The school doesn't want to take responsibility and also worries about accidents injuring students, so they simply sealed off the basketball court."

Shen Wenqi held an orange. "Nowadays, the city's green trees are cut down or moved; our school originally had some flowers and grass, but now everywhere is bald and bare, not pretty at all."

Chen Lili pouted, saying their school was even worse: students were strictly limited in when they could leave the teaching building, as if some places required parents to pick them up and drop them off.

"I said I was fine, but my grandmother insisted on going out, and as a result she fell and lay in the hospital for several months."

During the winter break, Chen Lili still had to go to the hospital to take care of Chen Laotai; after all, both adults were busy with work (Chen Peng was unemployed and had found another job that paid even less, and family conflicts were greater).

The three children each had their own worries, while the several adults outside were also quarreling without giving in to one another.

Shen Xin had come to ask Fu Chunfang for help; Chen Laotai had been hospitalized for several months and cost a lot of money, and Chen Peng had lost his job because of Shen Yao and switched to a job with a lower salary. She had to take care of her mother-in-law and the children, and was simply too busy. Could her mother help a little?

Fu Chunfang:...

"Mom, I'm really tired. Besides, if it weren't for Second Brother's big mouth, how would Chen Peng have lost his job?"

Shen Xin never reflected on herself; whatever the problem, she blamed others.

Zhou Wei couldn't stand it. "Eldest Sister, Second Sister, who is this for? Don't tell me you want to divorce your brother-in-law? It's precisely because he earns little that you can get by. Does Shen Xin have a brain at all?"

"Say less of that. If you're capable, do it; if not, divorce and go home."

Fu Chunfang neither helped nor gave money, letting Shen Xin spout nonsense—all of it empty talk.

Shen Liang took the opportunity to mention his supermarket's expansion, wanting to borrow money to resell and start a business.

Shen Xin retorted, "The family's money isn't only for Eldest Young Master. Besides, business is so hard right now; Eldest Young Master isn't trying to cheat money, is he?"

Shen Xin's main thought was that if she wasn't doing well, neither should anyone else; whatever Shen Liang said, she responded with sarcasm.

Fu Chunfang had already been hesitant and didn't want to take out her savings to squander. Fortunately, these two started arguing, and her money was saved.

The New Year gathering ended unhappily; the adults weren't very happy, but the three children had eaten plenty and were very satisfied with the trip.

Shen Yao contacted the Management Bureau, and after inquiring about possible upcoming changes, she actively adjusted the farm's crop varieties.

Most of the land originally used for melons, fruits, and vegetables was now used for grain crops; the number of chickens, ducks, and geese raised on Back Mountain increased significantly, and she also reached a purchase channel with the Management Bureau.

Anyway, the Management Bureau knew of Shen Yao's abilities, and the farm's output was indeed beneficial to people's health.

The government had the army; using these things to cultivate good seedlings was better than selling them to some local tycoons. Besides, gaining the government's favor could bring greater benefits. What was money? When useless, it was just waste paper taking up space.

On the premise of not lacking money, Shen Yao planned to do her best to close the distance with the government.

The land that had rested and recuperated through the whole winter was turned over by machines.

Shen Yao planted the seeds she had deliberately kept in her space, then rode her small electric scooter to the foot of the mountain.

Several spiritual plants were growing well; they were unaffected by the temperature, and their lush green color was especially pleasing.

There were a few medicinal herbs left; Shen Yao planted some and used wood-type ability to catalyze them.

Busy back and forth, by the time early March arrived, the farm inside and out was full of greenery.

Shen Shuo went to the city to study, while Shen Le ran to Songhua Village, where Fu Chunfang's ancestral home was, spent some money to rent hillside land, and was building a nest bed to raise chickens, ducks, and geese, also planting a circle of fruit trees around it.

Songhua Village was not far from Sweetwater Village; it took just over an hour by bicycle. Besides, Songhua Village had her maternal grandmother and uncles. It was a pity the Fu family was timid; no matter how much they were persuaded, they didn't dare rent land, and now they were just circling around the few mu of land at home.

Regarding this, Shen Yao was noncommittal; people must take responsibility for their own actions.

The matter of Songhua Village was handled by Shen Le herself; what Shen Yao needed to deal with now was Yu Ze Yun, who had rushed back after finishing his mission.

Mm.

"You're back?"

Faster than expected; it seemed the Management Bureau wasn't a department that couldn't do anything well.

Yu Ze Yun nodded and handed the bag he was carrying to Shen Yao. "The Management Bureau's specialty product; inside are all seeds."

Whether they could survive in Yu Ze Yun's hands was unknown, but handing them to Shen Yao required no doubt in a wood-type ability user's skill.

"Are you going out again this time you're back? It's dangerous outside," Shen Yao thought of last year.