Chapter 14: Tall-Stalk Rapeseed Flowers! Another 500 Jin

Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Tall-Stalk Rapeseed Flowers! Another 500 Jin

Time passed, and soon it was evening.

In just one day, the two new farmhands had already dug out the basic shape of the trench needed for the reservoir.

Just as Liu De was returning to the steel-paneled house after work, Zhang Lin received a phone call.

It was the used car dealership. The paperwork for the two small trucks was complete.

"Liu De, drive Lin Dawei and Lin Dayou and come with me," Zhang Lin called out after hanging up.

His scooter could only carry one passenger, so he needed Liu De to drive the other two men over. Then, they could all drive the two new trucks back to the farm together.

"Okay, Boss!" Liu De answered, then immediately told Lin Dawei and Lin Dayou to get in the vehicle.

Before long, Zhang Lin and his men arrived at the used car dealership. He collected the relevant documents and had Lin Dawei and Lin Dayou drive the trucks back.

He then rode his scooter home.

「Another night passed.」

The next day, the two new trucks were immediately put to use.

Zhang Lin purchased the peaches, Sunshine Rose grapes, and rapeseed seeds first thing in the morning. By the time he got to the farm, the three-wheeled cargo vehicle and the two new trucks were already parked neatly outside the warehouse.

Not only were Liu De, Lin Dawei, and Lin Dayou loading the fruit, but the two new farmhands hired just yesterday were also helping.

This made things much more efficient.

Once the fruit was loaded, Liu De and the other two delivered the shipment to Lin Tuo. As soon as they returned, they went straight to the planned rapeseed field to continue their work without taking a break.

While Liu De and the others were out making the delivery, the two new employees had already started digging the trench for the reservoir.

Today, Zhang Lin also rode his scooter out to the rapeseed field. He hadn’t checked on it for a few days, so he figured it was time to see the progress.

The first batch had been planted six days ago.

With the special fast-growing rapeseed’s "Growth Speed +1" attribute, they should have grown quite a bit in six days.

Even though he thought he was prepared, his face still showed utter disbelief as he rode closer.

"They’re so tall!" Zhang Lin exclaimed, dismounting his scooter. He stared in amazement at the rapeseed plants from the first day’s planting.

The rapeseed planted on the first day was already nearly waist-high. And since their terminal buds hadn’t been removed, it meant they could still double in height.

At this rate, the rapeseed would definitely grow to over two meters tall, making them a rare, giant variety.

Normally, rapeseed plants grow to a height of 30-90 centimeters. A plant over a meter tall would be considered exceptionally tall.

For the most part, the plants in a typical Flower Sea of rapeseed don’t grow that tall.

The giant variety that grows over two meters tall has much stricter environmental requirements. However, a Flower Sea made of such plants is far more stunning and spectacular than a normal one.

Furthermore, the stalks of the giant variety are thicker, making them more resilient to wind, lodging, and other damage.

Unfortunately, because of the strict environmental requirements, there are only three such giant rapeseed Flower Seas in the entire country.

A place like Min Province, for instance, is completely unsuitable for growing the giant variety of rapeseed.

Min Province has many well-known rapeseed Flower Seas, such as the Hui’an Flower Sea, Lanxi Valley Flower Sea, Minhou Flower Sea, the Flower Sea of the Provincial Capital of Min Province, Putian Flower Sea, Pingtan Flower Sea, and the Ming City Flower Sea. Not one of them is a giant variety. In fact, in several of these seas of flowers, the plants are only about 30 centimeters tall.

’For my rapeseed to be the giant variety, and to even be able to grow here in Min Province... all I can say is that the seeds from the game are amazing.’

’There isn’t a single Flower Sea of this giant variety in all of Min Province. So, once this one blooms, it’s guaranteed to be more spectacular and breathtaking than any other in the province. It’ll attract everyone who loves fields of rapeseed flowers.’

’Plus, my rapeseed has the "Ornamental Value +1" and "Photogenic +1" attributes. It’s basically another cheat code.’

Just imagining it, Zhang Lin knew how stunning the scene would be. It was bound to be a huge hit.

His anticipation for the rapeseed Flower Sea grew even stronger.

The rapeseed planted over the other five days had also grown to various heights.

The view before him was already a dense expanse of emerald green. Even though it was nowhere near time for the flowers to bloom, the sight was already quite spectacular.

Zhang Lin then went to check the location for the reservoir designated by Guo Zhen. The two new employees were hard at work digging the trench, and it looked like they would be able to finish it today.

Sure enough, by evening, the two men had finished digging the reservoir trench. The next step was to compact the foundation and start laying the cement and bricks.

He wouldn’t have to spend any money on that part. His father had bought a batch of cement and bricks before he passed away, so they could just use those.

As evening fell and Zhang Lin prepared to head home, he checked the data for his upgrade requirements:

Upgrade Requirements: 1. 6 Employees (6/6)! 2. Earn 500,000 in profit (151,457/500,000)! 3. Develop 200 mu of agricultural land (89/200).

He had already hired the six employees required for the Level 3 upgrade.

However, he was only at 151,457 yuan toward the 500,000 profit requirement. It looked like that would take some more time.

After all, that profit only increased when he wholesaled and sold the items that refreshed from the game.

’By then, I should have enough to pay off my debts. I can start by repaying the money my family owes.’

He hated owing people money.

It was true. Being saddled with debt was a terrible feeling. Even though he was no longer worried about being unable to repay the money, it still felt like a knife was pressed against his back.

That was probably why the saying "debt-free and carefree" existed.

’Once I pay back our friends and relatives, I’ll be in a much better headspace to focus on my business.’

On the other hand, his land development had reached 89 mu. Subtracting the 5-mu vegetable patch his father had developed, the rapeseed field now covered 84 mu.

That meant he was only 11 mu away from the 100-mu land development milestone.

In other words, he could get that reward tomorrow.

Zhang Lin headed home filled with anticipation. He just wondered whether tomorrow’s milestone reward would increase the variety of his wholesale goods or give him more new seeds.

「A night passed.」

The next morning, Zhang Lin once again purchased 1,000 jin of peaches, Sunshine Rose grapes, and rapeseed seeds, spending 9,500 yuan.

However, after Liu De and his men delivered 1,000 jin of peaches and 500 jin of Sunshine Rose grapes, Lin Tuo transferred another 44,000 yuan, bringing his balance to 185,957.52 yuan.

But what he was most excited about today was the milestone reward.

Finally, as evening approached, the game system’s notification chimed:

[Congratulations! You have completed the 100-mu land development milestone and received a milestone reward. The daily wholesale quantity of a random product has been increased by 500 jin. The selected product is: Peaches (effective next refresh)!]

The milestone reward this time was another 500-jin increase to his daily peach wholesale limit.

’That’s good, too.’ His daily wholesale limit for peaches now reached 1,500 jin. However, he had no intention of giving this extra 500 jin to Lin Tuo.

Even though Lin Tuo was being very respectful and knew his place, it was never a good idea to let one person get too comfortable.

Finding another buyer would also put a little pressure on Lin Tuo.

’A little sense of urgency might make him maintain his respectful and compliant attitude for much longer.’

A particular person immediately came to mind. He could wholesale the peaches to him, which would also serve as a way of repaying a favor.

Just as Zhang Lin was thinking about this, he got a call from his mom. He answered, and her urgent voice came through the line, "Lin, come home early for dinner tonight. There’s something I must talk to you about!"

Hearing the urgency in his mother’s voice, Zhang Lin frowned slightly. He thought something was wrong and didn’t dare to hesitate, immediately riding his scooter home.

When he arrived home, he saw that his mother had indeed prepared dinner earlier than usual.

Seeing him return, Lin Yan immediately said, "Lin, eat quickly. You’re coming with me to the hospital afterward!"

"Mom, what’s wrong?" Zhang Lin asked nervously as he picked up his bowl, worried something had happened to her health again.

Lin Yan quickly explained, "It’s Zhang Dong’s father. He was in a car accident and has been hospitalized. You know their family isn’t very wealthy, and they even lent your father 50,000 yuan. Now they’ve had to borrow money from others just for his surgery."

"What..." Zhang Lin was stunned. "I ran into Zhang Dong, but he didn’t say anything about it!"

If he had known, he definitely would have paid back the 50,000 yuan to Zhang Dong’s family first.

In an emergency like this, paying back Zhang Dong’s family first was the right thing to do. The other creditors were all decent people; they would surely understand.

Lin Yan sighed. "When we were in trouble, they never came to us demanding their money back. They knew our situation was bad and didn’t want to bother us over it."

"Even though we can’t repay the money right now, we can’t just pretend we don’t know what’s happened now that we’ve heard. Finish your dinner, and then come with me to the hospital to visit them. If they need anything, you can help run some errands. We have to show that we care."