Chapter 59: Setting the Trap Net
Each seed costs one point!
Huai Yu was instantly torn.
The seller gave her a glance and curled his lips, “You’re all skin and bones. Don’t waste your time on this stuff. Get something that’ll actually fill your belly.”
He then pulled out a small basket from the side.
“Breeding’s not easy, and it’s too early in the season. It’s hard to grow anything right now. If I didn’t have a rooftop garden before, I wouldn’t have managed either.”
“Little girl, if you don’t have experience, it’s better to buy this.”
“Big potatoes, 15 points each. Looks pricey, huh? But one of these, chopped up and dusted with a bit of ash, can grow several plants! And potatoes are way more filling than peppers.”
The potatoes in the basket clearly had high mutation levels — the price alone told you they were more polluted than the peppers, and they were huge.
Huai Yu sized one up with her hand — one potato was the size of three fists.
If she took it home and sprouted it, she could probably divide it into six or seven seed pieces, right?
Once the potato plants grew and were split again… that could be…
But she looked at her remaining points — so pitiful! She couldn’t even afford two potatoes!
Still, after hesitating for a moment, she picked the biggest one.
The seller warned, “That one’s the biggest, so the mutation level’s definitely high… don’t blame me if it tastes bad.”
Then added kindly, “Why not buy a smaller one? Potatoes take about three months to mature. Maybe life will be better by then, and you won’t have to eat stuff that tastes this awful.”
Huai Yu shook her head. “Better to be full first.”
Her words were quietly bitter, and the seller sighed with her. He scooped up some hay to wrap the potato. “Only one potato in such a big basket. Don’t let it get banged up.”
Huai Yu slung the hoe over her shoulder, glanced at her last few points, and couldn’t help sighing as she got on the bus.
Stall selling was fun and all, but if she really wanted to make a fortune, it still had to be through Boss Tang.
…
She didn’t mind spending two points to go to the Hongsheng Trade Market, but for such a short trip back from Jinyuan District, Huai Yu winced at the cost.
She mentally measured the distance. Riding a bike would take about 20 minutes.
Thinking back to all the carts, bikes, strollers, delivery trolleys, and even some color-coordinated shared bikes people used at the market earlier—
Her own bicycle wouldn’t be too conspicuous now, would it?
The thought alone saved her some points and made her feel safer as life became more orderly.
She’d been bustling around all morning — picking mao sprouts, going to the market — and now it was only 11:00.
Huai Yu couldn’t help but appreciate the importance of transportation and distance. She pulled out the giant potato and purified it, then carefully peeked outside at the sunny and quiet Rose Corridor.
Seeing only a gentle breeze around, she cautiously used a bit of her sprouting power. Before the potato could react, she stuffed it in a plastic bag, tied the top, and placed it on the warm grass by the door.
She covered it with a grass mat — to raise the temperature quickly without getting it sun-scorched.
Back inside, she checked under the damp towel. The next batch of soybean sprouts had already grown about 2 cm — they’d be ready to sell by the day after tomorrow.
With hoe in hand, Huai Yu re-tilled her original 20-square-meter plot and made neat rows.
Then she lightly dug a line of small holes on top — the hoe was even easier to use than her multifunctional shovel.
But as she looked at the dry topsoil and damp earth underneath, she began to wonder.
— Should she pre-sprout the seeds using her powers so they could absorb pollution immediately, or plant them first and purify them bit by bit?
She looked at the soybeans, then at the soil, and firmly chose the first option.
She scooped up a handful of beans, used her energy to gently flush and awaken them, and once she sensed them sprouting, she placed them carefully into the holes.
It had been tiring to dig the 20-square plot, but planting went quickly. Before long, everything was covered with soil again.
She hadn’t used much energy this time, but if her estimate was right, the sprouts would start pushing through by tomorrow or the day after.
Looking at the few soybeans she had left, Huai Yu sighed. Judging by the time, she decided to go to Sanqing Mountain again.
Points… they really disappear fast!
…
Nowadays, selling wild greens still attracted attention.
While in the mountains, she spotted a dandelion that had already bloomed. She picked a leaf and tasted it — far worse than the ones near Rose Residence.
Just one bite, and she made a face like she was in pain.
She guessed the mutation level in the mountains was much higher than down below.
Wild vegetables with such high pollution probably wouldn’t sell well, and purifying them would draw too much attention. In the end, she decided to just dry and store them for herself while the weather was still good.
Sigh.
Humans are so hard to satisfy.
Back when she was drinking nutrient paste, just a bite of leafy greens felt heavenly. Now that she could eat rice and noodles, she was starting to crave meat.
No matter how she prepped the wild greens, without proper seasoning, they all tasted like grass. She felt like if she kept eating them, her face would turn green too.
She sighed, but her hands didn’t stop. She picked everything that grew in clusters or large patches.
Her basket was full and heavy, packed tight.
Just then, she arrived at the pond she’d seen last time.
The water was clear and shallow at the edges, little fish darting around — the meat looked so tender. But she still remembered the sting from that fish slap on her hand last time. No way she’d let her guard down.
Still, the water was really clear.
She reached in and felt the chill. It only looked palm-deep, but the water rose all the way to her elbow.
Looking at the deeper part of the pond, she didn’t dare go in.
But…
Hehe! Huai Yu pulled out the trap net she’d brought. It was in decent shape, with four holes — more than enough for this pond.
If it didn’t catch anything, that was fine. But if it did, she could raise the fish in the pond near her door, so she wouldn’t have to climb the mountain every time she wanted a bite of meat.
Sigh, when cravings hit, even salty little dried fish danced in her dreams.
She set her basket aside and used the hoe to dig around.
The mountain soil was hard. She had to dig for a while before finding two skinny red worms.
They were really tiny. She sighed again, then dug in another spot and found three insect pupae!
That should be enough!
Huai Yu carefully purified them and dropped them into the trap net.
Plop.
With a muffled splash, the green trap net slowly sank into the pond.
