Chapter 150: You Won't Understand Even If I Explain

Mo Lie took Lin Manzhi's words to heart, and after sending her back to a safe place under his control, he turned and left.

The purchase of Xiong Kui's side in Central City went surprisingly smoothly; once Jia Jian is controlled, the lifeline of the entire commercial hub of Kuangsha City will also belong to Mo Lie.

In the original book, the antagonist Mo Lie, after seizing Kuangsha City, was completely blackened and treated everything with a destructive attitude, never having the patience to manage the city's commerce.

However, the Beastfolk warriors under his command indeed require immeasurable resources.

His solution was also brutal: leading the Kuangsha City Beastfolk legion, they relied on force to seize whatever they lacked from other lands, instantly becoming the public enemy of all continents.

If only one or two lords harbored hatred toward Mo Lie, then the Kuangsha City where he resides would not be destroyed, as if once again, like a thousand years ago, it would be forever buried by the desert.

Lin Manzhi pondered in her mind.

Nowadays Mo Lie's methods of expanding his influence in Kuangsha City have become unrecognizable, bearing no resemblance at all to the original story.

Thinking carefully, she realized this change was inseparable from herself, and she ought to do something about it!

She set aside thoughts of what style of glass bottle to custom‑make, and hurried to have a guard summon the two Deputy Escort Heads of the Fierce Sand Escort Bureau.

Ning Tie and Xi Ze arrived, bringing the recent revenue of the Fierce Sand Escort Bureau; the two already knew that the Lin Manzhi before them was the leader's Wife Master and was greatly favored by the leader.

With the leader and Boss Hua absent, who could keep them in check, the two dared not act recklessly, instead showing the same respect as before.

Upon hearing her summon them and treating her as a superior, the two silently competed, each trying to make a good impression on her and outdo the other.

Ning Tie spoke first: "The Fierce Sand Escort Bureau has two escort squads totaling six hundred escorts; in the past seven days we signed 132 new protection contracts, and together with the previous arrears the bureau brought back, we have collected 8,000 kilograms of food and 260,000 Beast Coins."

Lin Manzhi was very pleased with this profit; after deducting the food processing costs for the six hundred escorts, the remainder went to the leader's warehouse as earnings.

Having food revenue in Kuangsha City is indeed quite good.

She called them over today not mainly for this matter; after glancing at the bill in her hand, she set it down and asked, "You know about the recent stir in Xicheng Qu, right?"

Such a big stir, Ning Tie had certainly noticed.

From the complaints he heard from Xiang Sa, they concluded that this female actually wanted to plant vegetation here—a notion unheard of on other continents, and placing it here was even more impossible than a dream.

If it truly grew, he would be willing to peel off his own head and use it as a ball to kick.

Ning Tie admitted that the female before him was indeed impressive in establishing the Fierce Sand Escort Bureau, thanks also to the useful male beasts trained by Mo Lie, but planting vegetation here was a delusion.

Sigh... the female before him was so favored by the leader that she could do whatever she wanted; Ning Tie could only silently dissent in his heart.

Xi Ze and Ning Tie thought alike.

Deep down he thought it didn't matter whether the planting succeeded or failed; since the leader had approved, whatever she wanted—whether it succeeded or not—was not his place to speak, so he just stood aside in silence.

"Whatever you do is a wise decision," Kuang Tie said with a mocking grin, flattering, "I absolutely believe you can grow food in the sand!"

"…"

Lin Manzhi sensed that the other's words were merely flattery; anyone hearing her intend to farm in the desert would probably think she was insane.

The second planting base is already under construction; the last time, over a thousand people were seen building the planting site, so at this rate the base will be completed soon.

For a planting base, the most, most, most important thing is soil.

Desert soil is a killer for plants; not to mention the extreme temperature fluctuations, making seeds and seedlings hard to adapt.

The desert's sandy soil has pores that are too large, causing water to seep or evaporate rapidly; for example, after a downpour, moisture may vanish within hours, leaving roots no time to absorb it, resulting in poor water retention.

Lin Manzhi had considered these two points: water shortage could be solved with artificial irrigation, and temperature could be managed by building greenhouses.

However, the desert is extremely barren, lacking organic matter, with soil that almost contains no humus or nutrients.

Essential elements like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are severely deficient, so growing crops in weathered mineral sand cannot support plant growth at all.

She had inspected the sand at her planting site; merely trying to plant in the desert, even with river irrigation within her domain, was utterly impossible.

To build a desert planting base using modern techniques—drip irrigation, greenhouse cultivation—still requires soil transformation, and the cost and time needed are extremely high.

Lin Manzhi now wants to save time; she has no time to soak and amend the soil, so it's time to consider taking the "evil cultivation" path.

Too lazy to explain the desert planting plan in detail, she said directly, "When you take on escort missions lately, send two extra strong escorts each time. After reaching other territories, wherever you see lush vegetation and dark, moist soil, dig out as much of that soil as possible—the more, the better—and bring it back to me."

Just as modern projects like the South-to-North Water Transfer move resources, now she intends to bring nutrient‑rich soil from elsewhere and replace all the soil in her own planting base.

After half a day of silence, Xi Ze said, "... ah?"

Ning Tie's mouth hung open, looking at Lin Manzhi in disbelief, "What? Dig up soil and bring it back...??"

Lin Manzhi gave them a look that said "You wouldn't understand even if I explained," and stared quietly at Ning Tie and Xi Ze.

Ning Tie: "…"

Xi Ze: "…"

The two fell silent; given Lin Manzhi's status, no matter how foolish her request, they either chose to obey now or wait for a terrifying order from the leader.

The correct choice was obvious, and they certainly wouldn't be so clueless, especially since the leader's aura was truly intimidating.

"Yes, we'll arrange it right away and bring back the soil you want as soon as possible," Ning Tie nodded, saluted, and left with Xi Ze.

After ordering the Fierce Sand Escort Bureau to collect fertile soil, Lin Manzhi returned home and headed straight to her own domain.

Currently, the Spiritual Field mainly cultivates two thousand‑year‑old medicinal herbs, while the corn and wheat in the four ten‑day plots have not yet ripened.

However, the Cherry Tomatoes planted on two plots in the Hundred‑Day Spiritual Field mature in a single day, and she plans to bring this cherry tomato as her second crop to plant in reality.

Consequently, in recent days Lin Manzhi has discovered a problem.