Chapter 52

"Upon opening it, there were several glistening sugar cubes inside."

"He shared the sugar with Shen Ningning. The little girl tasted a piece and was instantly captivated by its sweetness."

"'It's so sweet!' Her bright, sparkling eyes widened in delight."

Deng Fugui boasted proudly: "This is loquat candy. Our loquat trees used to grow the best, producing large and round fruits in abundance, more than we could eat."

"My mother turned the surplus loquats into these candy blocks. If you like, I can give all these to you."

"Nowadays, the drought is too severe for the loquat trees to survive. When we plant them again, I'll save all the loquat candy my mother makes for you."

Shen Ningning listened to him, her lively eyes fixated on the candy blocks.

She remembered her grandmother mentioning this before.

The soil in Xiangyun Village wasn't very fertile, and in times without drought, families primarily relied on growing and selling loquats for a living.

Because loquat trees are drought-resistant, thrive in direct sunlight, and are easy to keep alive.

With good care, they can bear lots of fruit from March to July.

At this moment, Grandma Qin, the old village chief, and other villagers were talking as they walked towards them.

Shen Ningning's eyes lit up, and she ran over: "Village Chief! I have a suggestion!"

The old village chief squatted down: "Dear Ningning, what is it?"

"Since everyone is starting to farm, why don't we replant loquat trees?"

"Loquats can be used in medicine, made into candy, and even quench thirst! They're drought-resistant and have a high chance of survival!"

This way, if we face days without food, we won't be struggling to survive.

If we plant sorghum and such, I'm afraid the severe drought might just result in wasted effort.

Even if we store water, how long can it last?

The old village chief was taken aback by the suggestion.

The villagers unanimously agreed that it made sense.

After all, planting loquat trees isn't difficult for any household.

But the old village chief sighed.

"Ningning, let me show you something." He went inside his house.

He came back shortly with a handkerchief in his hand.

Inside it were shriveled and small seeds.

The old village chief, with a helpless look, said: "After the severe drought, many of our village's loquat trees died off in large numbers."

"Even the seeds are shriveled and dry, useless for planting. How I wish we could plant loquat trees again!"

Compared to regular crops, they were more familiar with loquat trees, knew how to care for them, and found them easier to grow.

"Shen Ningning merely glanced down with her long eyelashes."

"Then she lifted her head, her voice soft and relaxed, 'No worries, I have loquat saplings!'"

"The village chief was startled, 'You do?!'"

"Granny Qin immediately stepped in to explain, 'They grow wild in the mountains.'"

"She wanted to keep Ningning’s secret realm hidden from outsiders."

"The village chief suddenly understood."

"Shen Ningning blinked and said, 'If grandpa agrees, in a few days, Wolfy and I will bring the saplings over. There aren’t many.'"

"The village chief thought for a moment and then nodded, 'But… how much silver do you want for them?'"

"She couldn’t possibly give them away for free again, could she?"

"Shen Ningning decisively said, 'If it’s for the people of Xiangyun Village, I don’t want any silver.'"

"Her quick response seemed like she had thought it through already."

"Then, the little girl smiled sweetly, 'But I would like two uncles to help grandma and me with our farm. After selling the fruits, we can split the profits seventy-thirty.'"

"In Xiangyun Village, each household’s land was allocated in advance."

"The Qin family had a small plot of land, just about two acres."

"Without male labor, this plot was bound to be wasted."

"The village chief hesitated for a moment."

"It was uncertain if anyone would agree to farm an additional two acres for only a third of the profits."

"However, Uncle Liu stepped forward voluntarily, 'Ningning, count me in.'"

"Aunt Liu was taken aback, wanting to stop him, but it was too late."

"Following Uncle Liu's lead, another strong villager also offered to help Shen Ningning."

"The little girl, her dark eyes shimmering, asked them, 'Uncles, are you sure about this?'"

"'Absolutely. You've helped the village so much before; for me, it’s just lending a hand. No matter how much land there is, it’s all the same to farm!' said Uncle Liu firmly."

"Aunt Liu quickly interjected, 'Ningning, don’t you think a seventy-thirty split is too little? We’re helping you farm, yet everyone in the village gets your saplings for free. It seems a bit unfair.'"

"Shen Ningning blinked her eyelashes and replied, 'It’s fair. Our land is fertile, the fruits will be plentiful!'"

"Aunt Liu, seeing her young age, hesitated to argue."

"The Qin family’s land was so barren that even birds wouldn’t bother with it."

"But Shen Ningning had her plans."

"No matter how barren the land, with her enchanted spring water, it would yield abundant loquats."

"Eventually, their two acres would yield as much as four acres elsewhere!"

"After the agreement, Shen Ningning and Granny Qin rode back home with the pack of wolves."

"On the way, Granny Qin asked, 'Ningning, what made you suddenly decide to have everyone farm together?'"

"The little girl hugged Black Wolf King's neck, swinging her legs."

"Her voice was soft, 'Granny, this weather won’t improve soon, it’s going to get even hotter!'"

"For some reason, she had a feeling that the upcoming drought would only worsen."

"'Everyone in the village knows we’re doing well now. If they run into trouble, they will surely turn to us for help.'"

"'There might be trouble then. Brother said with so many resources I have, I shouldn’t let others know easily.'"

"'So, I remembered a saying I learned a few days ago: It’s better to teach someone to fish than to give them fish. Instead of continuously sharing food and water with the village, it’s better to teach them to be prepared.'"

"She was doing this also to protect the mountains."

"Because the little girl realized that when people are desperate, they are capable of anything."

"Granny Qin was amazed at how quickly Shen Ningning was adapting."

"The little girl had grown wiser, understanding some of the ways of the world!"

"'Ningning, you’re absolutely right, Granny supports you.'"

"After dinner that evening, Shen Ningning entered her secret realm."

"Fortunately, she had planted loquat seeds a few days ago while planting other fruits."

"Nourished by the enchanted rain of the realm, about fourteen loquat saplings stood tall in the soil, each taller than Shen Ningning!"

"With a shovel, the little girl dug out the saplings one by one, laboriously dragging them out of the realm."

"Just excavating the fourteen trees was enough to exhaust her!"

"She was really too small, and the wolves couldn’t follow her into the realm."

"Besides, fourteen loquat trees wouldn't be enough for the whole village."

"So, the next day, Shen Ningning went back to the village and asked everyone to start reclaiming the barren land."

"She planned to use the next few days to repeatedly enter the secret realm and plant trees. Once the saplings were taller than her, she would dig them out."

"The people of Xiangyun Village were overjoyed, each household enthusiastically beginning to clear and till the land before dawn."

"And Shen Ningning's intuition was correct."

"In just the next two days, the sun shone even more fiercely."

"Even though a heavy rain had just fallen, the little green sprouts peeking through the soil were instantly withered by the glaring sunlight."

"Mo Lingwei's carriage, under the scorching sun, went straight to the private school in Guangyang County."

"He remembered he had arranged to meet Shen Ningning today to pick her up after school."

"However, upon his arrival, a servant boy told him, 'Due to the intense heat recently, many students staying at the school suffered from heatstroke. Therefore, the teachers suspended half a month's classes, allowing the students to rest at home.'"

"Mo Lingwei frowned slightly."

"Chen Shaobei, sitting beside him, couldn’t help but let out a snicker."

"This earned him a cold glare from Mo Lingwei."

"Chen Shaobei coughed, 'Apologies, Your Highness, I wasn’t laughing.'"

"'I was just thinking, Your Highness’s fate with Miss Shen seems quite extraordinary.'"

"'Every time you come, she’s gone, and when you follow, she’s not there.'"

"Mo Lingwei’s voice was cold, 'You won’t die from speaking less.'"

"Chen Shaobei raised his hand, indicating he would stay silent."

Looking at the blazing sun, Mo Lingwei pressed his lips together: "Although I've never been to her new house in the mountains, it doesn't mean I can't find it."

Chen Shaobei's expression paused: "With the vast mountains, how does Your Highness plan to search?"

Today's update is a bit late because it's the day we go live, so here are 3 chapters totaling 6K words for everyone to enjoy~~~ Also, I hope everyone supports the official version and avoids pirated versions TUT. My chapter only costs 10 cents, and if you can, please subscribe to the whole thing. If you're a QQ reading member, you should be able to read it for free, thank you!