Jiang Li hurried over and saw Wang Xuelian clap her hands, pointing at a few vegetable seedlings in the yard.
“Look at this weather—it won’t rain, and these little vegetables are getting scorched dry. They’ve just sprouted, and the shoots can’t even grow properly.”
“You saw the vegetables at the supply store yesterday—so expensive! Our allowance still has to go toward the children’s food and clothing. How could we afford to buy those things every day?”
Perhaps finally finding someone to complain to, Wang Xuelian fanned herself while grabbing Jiang Li’s wrist and pulling her to sit on a small stool nearby.
“Just think, this is already summer. If it’s like this now, how are we supposed to get through winter?”
“We still have some garlic harvested from last year. That stuff keeps well. In a few days, we’ll just be eating garlic with every meal.”
Jiang Li had originally wanted to comfort her, but upon hearing this, her eyes suddenly lit up.
A more intimate smile appeared on her face.
“Sister Xuelian, if you don’t mind the trouble, could you sell me some of your garlic?”
Seeing Wang Xuelian’s surprised expression, Jiang Li quickly began counting on her fingers as if doing calculations.
“You don’t know this, but I’ve loved eating garlic since I was little. I’ve been worried about not being able to buy garlic shoots.”
“I’ll pay market price—by the jin. How about that?”
Jiang Li’s eyes were full of sincerity, but Wang Xuelian immediately waved her hands and slapped her thigh.
“What are you saying, girl? If you like garlic, I’ll just give you some. It’s not worth any money!”
“Talking about buying and selling—now that’s treating me like an outsider…”
As she spoke, she stuffed the fan into Jiang Li’s arms and was about to go inside to fetch it.
Jiang Li quickly grabbed her, her smile deepening.
“One thing is one thing, big sister. If you don’t take the money, I won’t feel right about it. And how could I ask you for anything in the future?”
“You girl, using yesterday’s words to shut me up again, huh?”
Wang Xuelian laughed, clearly amused. Seeing Jiang Li’s bright, watery eyes, she stopped resisting and gave her a hearty pat on the back.
“Alright, then I’ll take advantage of you this time.”
“We’ve got plenty of garlic at home. Wait here, I’ll pick out some good ones for you.”
Wang Xuelian quickly went inside, and Jiang Li followed to help.
In just a few minutes, Jiang Li bought dozens of plump garlic bulbs from her at a slightly higher-than-market price.
Wang Xuelian’s smile grew even wider.
To her, this felt like she had gotten a great deal.
“Girl, I’ll also give you some pickled vegetables. I made them myself—goes great even with plain porridge.”
Knowing Wang Xuelian felt a bit guilty, Jiang Li didn’t refuse this time.
Before leaving, she didn’t forget to comfort her.
“Don’t worry. Things will get better. The weather won’t stay this hot forever. Once it rains, these vegetables will survive.”
Jiang Li hurried back to her own yard.
After closing the door, she took out a garlic bulb from the bag and tried channeling that mysterious energy into it.
Within seconds, the garlic began to rapidly take root and sprout.
Tender yellow shoots burst out from the center.
What surprised Jiang Li most was that what grew wasn’t the usual green garlic leaves, but proper garlic shoots.
“It actually worked!”
Jiang Li slapped the table with her other hand, unable to hide her excitement.
Garlic shoots were a rare commodity.
When the weather turned cold, their price would be far higher than ordinary vegetables.
“I should stay low-key for now. Wait a few days and find a good opportunity. That way, I’ll also have a proper explanation…”
A faint dimple appeared at the corner of Jiang Li’s mouth.
After putting away the bag of garlic, she glanced at the bare patch of land in the yard.
Clearly, Si Nanchen didn’t tend to it much—there were only a few tomato plants.
Though they looked fresh and lively, surrounded by weeds, they seemed oddly out of place.
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Li found a set of clothes suitable for working and went out to start clearing the weeds.
But as she dug, she suddenly stopped, staring at a few plants with larger leaves than the surrounding weeds.
“Are these radishes…”
Jiang Li examined the small, shriveled plants and pursed her lips.
“These look like wild radishes. They probably won’t grow into the kind you can eat.”
“But let’s give it a try!”
She touched one of the wild radishes with her finger and once again tried to channel the energy.
Before her eyes, the leaves began to spread out, and the previously shriveled root started to swell.
When she withdrew her hand, the root had already pushed through the soil, revealing a patch of white.
After digging a bit more, she pulled out a radish about the length of her palm.
“It’s not very thick, but it’s fresh and juicy. The quality is actually pretty good.”
Jiang Li muttered softly, weighing the radish in her hand.
Suddenly, information about the radish appeared in her mind.
[Radish infused with energy: drought-resistant, tolerant of moderate sunlight, yield can be about 20% higher than ordinary radishes.]
Realizing something, Jiang Li quickly ran back into the house and picked up the garlic bulbs and shoots.
Just like before, their properties flooded into her mind.
[Garlic shoots infused with energy: tender, yield about 30% higher than ordinary garlic shoots.]
“So this is an additional function of my ability?”
Jiang Li stared at her palm, her eyelashes trembling with excitement.
Not only could she enhance plant growth, but she could also optimize their traits—and even understand their properties.
Looking at the vegetables in front of her, Jiang Li felt her good mood almost overflowing.
But… she still needed to experiment further.
With that thought, she infused energy into some newly planted crops, then went to find Wang Xuelian again.
“Sister, I want to turn over the soil in my yard. Do you have a hoe I could borrow?”
Wang Xuelian nodded warmly.
“Yes, I’ll get it for you.”
She walked to the corner of the yard, rummaging for tools while smiling.
“Girl, with this awful weather, what are you planning to plant? Why till the land now? At this time of year, nothing grows well…”
Jiang Li took the hoe.
“I just want to try. I can’t leave the land empty, and I can’t sit still at home.”
“Oh right, sister…”
Jiang Li smiled and took out a packet of radish seeds from her pocket, handing it to Wang Xuelian.
“I used to work at a seed station back in my hometown. I brought some seeds with me. If you don’t mind, give them a try—these are drought-resistant, and it’s not too late to plant them now.”