The two were clearly waiting for him. As Lin Yi stepped out, Du Hong had his hand raised to knock on the door. Seeing Lin Yi emerge, he lowered his hand somewhat awkwardly.
The chubby man stood behind him. Lin Yi didn’t know how Du Hong had disciplined him after the last incident, but the result was remarkably effective. Although the chubby man still looked at Lin Yi with resentment, he stood properly to the side.
However, the expressions of the two were noticeably tinged with heaviness and embarrassment, as if they had to do something they would rather not.
Earlier, from the window, Lin Yi had seen Du Hong raise his hand to knock, only to lower it again, several times.
Now that Lin Yi was out, the two stood before him, stammering and unable to get their words out clearly.
Finding this strange, Lin Yi asked directly, “Go ahead. What do you want with me?”
Du Hong, a middle-aged man known for being decisive, was now unusually hesitant, his face turning red with effort.
It took a while before Lin Yi finally understood why he had come: the bet from a few weeks ago.
Previously, Lin Yi had made a bet with Du Hong regarding planting methods for the seeds. Nearly two weeks had passed, and the seedlings in the field should have emerged, it was time to settle the bet.
To be honest, Lin Yi didn’t think much of the bet. If Du Hong hadn’t come to remind him, he would have nearly forgotten about it.
But Du Hong was different. He took the bet very seriously and was a stickler for rules.
Even though he already knew from the state of the fields that he would inevitably lose, since the bet had been made publicly before everyone, he felt it necessary to announce the results, to see things through from start to finish.
In fact, if Du Hong had quietly swept the matter under the rug, Lin Yi wouldn’t have minded. Instead, seeing Du Hong willing to swallow his pride and admit failure just to announce the result surprised Lin Yi a little.
After understanding their purpose, Lin Yi followed Du Hong to the planted fields. The chubby man was sent to gather others nearby to witness the outcome.
Du Hong’s field was divided into two distinct sections, separated by a ridge of packed earth.
In the left section, there were only a few dozen sparse seedlings, most of them weak and thin.
Lin Yi had observed the fields of other refugees, most looked like this. The seeds from the interstellar era were already of poor quality, with low germination rates, and even the sprouts that emerged often failed to thrive.
In the right section, however, the number of germinated seeds was at least two to three times that of the left. The lush green seedlings grew robustly and looked very pleasing to the eye.
Clearly, the right section had been planted using Lin Yi’s method.
There was no need to count, a single glance was enough to tell which side was superior.
Still, Lin Yi examined the seedlings closely. With the soaking method, the germination rate had risen to over sixty percent. Although still not high, it was a remarkable improvement compared to the original rate.
By then, refugees who had heard the news were gathering in small groups. They had already learned that Du Hong, a skilled farmer, had lost the bet, and had come out of curiosity to watch the proceedings.
A few of them began teasing:
“Hey, Old Du, you’re slipping, lost to a kid who hasn’t even grown his full beard yet.”
“Hey, Pangzi, weren’t you so sure your brother would win?”
“Hahahaha…”
They burst into laughter.
That laughter seemed to touch a nerve with the chubby man. He glared fiercely at the group, looking like he was about to pounce any second.
At several hundred pounds, the chubby man was quite intimidating. Under his glare, the few men quickly fell silent and gave awkward smiles. “Come on, can’t you take a joke?”
“Enough. A bet is a bet,” Du Hong sighed, stopping the argument between the chubby man and the onlookers.
He turned to Lin Yi. “I lost this time. Just as you said, from now on, no matter what crop it is, I’ll follow your planting method.”
As he spoke, his expression grew even more embarrassed. Losing the bet was certainly humiliating, but aside from that, Lin Yi had demanded no real price from him, instead, Du Hong had gained valuable techniques.
Recalling how arrogant he had been when first making the bet, Du Hong felt increasingly guilty. “This is too much in my favor. Here’s the deal, young brother, name another condition, and I’ll do my best to follow it.”
“If there’s nothing you want…” Du Hong hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth. “How about this: I’ll give you half of my family’s harvest this year?”
As soon as he said this, the onlookers who had been grinning and watching the show froze. Someone was the first to gasp sharply.
These refugees had spent most of their lives farming and naturally understood how heavy the weight of half a harvest truly was.
Living on a barren planet, unable to hunt precious mutant beasts, they relied entirely on their harvests to fill their stomachs and to trade with starships for daily necessities.
“Brother?” The chubby man turned to Du Hong in disbelief, his eyes clearly saying, Are you insane?
“This bet was already unfair to begin with. Just the seed-soaking method we learned alone, I’d gladly trade not just half a year’s harvest but even two years’ worth for it,” Du Hong said.
“I don’t agree! Our family’s grain, why should we give it to someone else…” The chubby man argued vehemently, which was rare for him to talk back.
Just as it seemed they were about to start quarreling in front of everyone, Lin Yi interrupted:
“It’s fine. I don’t want your grain.”
He thought for a moment, then said to Du Hong, “But there is something I do need help with. Could you find me an abandoned building large enough? One that can hold everyone here?”
“Hold everyone?”
Only about forty or fifty refugees lived here. Finding such a place wasn’t impossible, but—
“What do you need it for?” Du Hong asked, confused. Around him, the others, including the chubby man who had been glaring at Lin Yi, all turned to him with puzzled looks.
Lin Yi spoke slowly: “I want to start a school.”