The Gears of Fate Are Turning!

The next morning.

Bureau Chief Li, accompanied by five people, arrived at the door carrying large and small bags of gifts.

There was only one goal: the fields in the three villages were so dry and cracked that even clods of earth could now be used as bricks to build walls.

We earnestly request the Dragon Maiden Empress to come and bring rain to alleviate the disaster!

At this moment, Comrade Lao Zhou was sitting at the dining table eating Storm's special breakfast, listening intently to the conversation among the others.

Storm nodded repeatedly, her expression serious, and immediately indicated that they would set off right away.

Sing Sing didn't go this time; he planned to say goodbye and leave.

He declined the offers to stay from Storm and Bureau Chief Li.

In fact, with Daluo's abilities, she could easily fly to the arid region on her own and then use her weather control to make it rain.

But this will raise new problems, such as entering low-altitude airspace without approval.

Local airports, civil aviation routes, and air force radars—all of these had to be readjusted to suit her needs.

If she had flown any faster, she might have been targeted by an air defense unit as an unidentified flying object, which would have been a greater loss than a gain.

Moreover, artificial rainmaking isn't something you can just do whenever you want.

Clouds, water vapor, wind direction, air pressure... all of these must be calculated by the meteorological department.

Where does the moisture from the rain in these three rural areas come from?

Will it drain the clouds from the neighboring county?

If the neighboring county also experiences a drought, will the county heads of the two counties end up fighting over a single cloud?

The amount of rainfall cannot be controlled by Daluo's mood.

Too little rain and the crops won't survive; too much rain and the drought will turn into a flood.

Who knows, the villager who was calling her "Empress" just a moment ago might be blocking the ditch with a shovel tomorrow.

Agricultural water use also involves project approvals, disaster assessments, insurance payouts, and government funding...

If she flew over alone and made it rain with a wave of her hand, how would the meteorological department fill out the artificial rainmaking record?

How should a disaster report be written by the Agriculture Department?

Should the insurance company pay or not?

Should the drought relief funds that were originally applied for by the local government be continued or withdrawn?

Finally, and this is the most troublesome point.

Do the local people really believe her to be a deity?

Today people kowtow, tomorrow someone might bring their child to her for treatment, and the day after tomorrow someone might build a temple and collect incense money.

To put it in the worst-case scenario, what if Daluo has a bad mood or loses control one day, causing a sudden downpour, hail, or even a tornado in some area?

Whose responsibility is it?

This is her personal explanation; the organization failed to properly manage those with special abilities.

The fact that it's from the 749 Bureau indicates that the country entrusted natural disasters to a foreign expert.

Is it the local meteorological department?

Those people are wronged too; they don't even know when the Dragon Maiden Empress sneezes!

Therefore, every time Storm carries out a rainfall mission, the meteorological department must provide an opinion, the water resources department must coordinate the operation, and the Agriculture Department must confirm the scope of the disaster.

Local governments are responsible for evacuating the public and maintaining order, and they also need to issue advance notices to nearby airspace.

Finally, 749 Bureau will sign a special ability use registration form.

Once she takes flight, it won't just be a few clouds following behind...

Leave the courtyard.

Lao Zhou headed straight to the station, saving every penny he could on travel expenses.

After much deliberation, Sing Sing still bought a hard-seat ticket.

The train traveled westward, and the colors outside the window became increasingly monotonous.

Upon arriving at a small station near the seedling base, Sing Sing immediately felt the heat of the wind and the sandy soil as soon as he stepped off the station.

After some twists and turns, Sing Sing finally arrived at the seedling base.

"Director Zhou, you've finally arrived!"

A middle-aged man, tanned dark by the sun, ran out of the house, grabbed Sing Sing's hand, and pulled him back inside.

"Sister Martha and Flower Bud have been waiting for you! We're counting on your expertise to judge these seedlings today!"

"Hey, what are you saying? I don't interfere in your work. How can an outsider instruct an expert?"

Walking along the seedling shed, I saw Oasis carrying a bamboo basket, distributing baked cakes to several workers in the distance.

Flower Bud squatted beside the seedbed, writing and drawing on a record board in her hand.

Two people, decades apart in age, managed to take excellent care of this seedling nursery.

"Stephen!"

Flower Bud's eyes lit up with joy as she stood up to greet him, her steps becoming lighter involuntarily.

"You're finally here! Here, Grandma Martha baked some new cookies today, have a taste."

"Oh, Flower Bud is so sensible, she knows your Brother Zhou has a hard time traveling."

Sing Sing took the pancake, took a bite, and exclaimed in amazement.

Oasis then walked over with a smile, "Zhou'er, it's been a long time since you've come."

Flower Bud smiled, her previous restraint completely disappearing.

Dinner was mutton noodles.

Oasis came out carrying a large, steaming basin. "Little Zhou, eat more! Look how thin you are, your cheekbones are practically protruding!"

Sing Sing buried his head and took a big slurp, panting heavily from the heat, and mumbled a response.

My shoulders are still numb from moving two hundred saxaul seedlings this afternoon, so I ate this bowl of noodles with a clear conscience.

Freeloading off the hard work and dedication of the laborers is not Ling Ling Qi's style.

"Stephen, the germination rate of that batch of seedlings increased by another 5% today!" Flower Bud whispered, her ears turning slightly red.

"Absolutely! When our Xiaohua makes a move, the entire seedling industry trembles! Haha!"

Oasis smiled and added another spoonful of noodles to his bowl.

"You're a shy child, so please refrain from making sarcastic remarks."

Sing Sing woke up the next day when the rooster crowed for the first time.

After getting up and washing up, I wandered around yawning.

Inside the seedling shed, the Flower Buds have already begun to work.

His hands gently cradled a row of nutrient pots, his eyes reflecting the newly sprouted buds, his focus unwavering...

Whoever disturbs will suffer the consequences.

Sing Sing leaned over for a look and saw that the saxaul seedlings in the pot had already grown quite a bit, with bright green leaves.

"It grew this much overnight?"

"Yes, it's cold at night, so I covered them with a film and urged them to come again."

Flower Bud said gently, "They're in a good mood today."

Do plants have feelings?

Sing Sing Chow clicked his tongue but didn't dare to reply; every word this girl uttered was laced with emotion.

She said that two plants were drooping the day before yesterday, so she squatted down next to them and coaxed them for half an hour, and they actually perked up.

The morning's work involved transporting seedlings to Sandy Plot No. 3.

Sing Sing carried a bundle of seedlings up the sand ridge. The wind blew sand up his collar, and he sank half a foot with each step.

Oasis followed behind, carrying a bamboo basket.

As she walked, the sand beneath her feet became moist, and moisture seeped up from the soles of her feet, allowing the seedlings to survive with a success rate of up to 90%.

During the midday break, Lao Zhou lay sprawled in the shade of the seedling shed, counting the seedlings he had moved that day.

Before we could finish counting, two unfamiliar faces carrying large and small bags entered the shed, their name tags bearing the name of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of Agricultural Sciences.

The fat man at the head of the group entered with a fawning smile, but upon seeing Oasis, he immediately bent over.

"Consultant Martha! I'm bothering you again!"

"Advisor, the approval from above has come through!" The fat man pulled out a stack of documents. "We've set up a new crop conservation post, specially reserved for you two! The dormitories have heating, and the canteen has its own separate kitchen!"

In fact, neither the Oasis nor the Flower Buds care about these substances.

When Lao Zhou first assigned work to Oasis, he was very worried, wondering if the old lady could handle the environment.

This is the forefront of desertification control!

Located at the intersection of the Badain Jaran and Tengger deserts, the area is surrounded by deserts on three sides, and a large portion of its land is desertified.

Before arriving at the Oasis, Lao Zhou had given the old lady countless instructions, fearing that something might happen to her.

As it turned out, the old lady really liked the environment and even started telling Sing Sing not to give her special treatment at the station.

Finally, after three visits to the thatched cottage, the old lady agreed to the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of Agricultural Sciences' request.

The project here is basically complete. We'll finish up this month, and then we can set off with Flower Bud to leave.

Their next stop was the experimental farm of the Plant Protection Research Institute at the Academy of Agricultural Sciences Institute, where Luke Shaw, the Mayfly, worked.

It gets cooler at night.

Sing Sing squats by the campsite, munching on a flatbread; Oasis sits on a stool, humming a song; a Texas folk song with Gansu accent, off-key yet carefree.

Flower Buds, carrying tiny watering cans, dart back and forth in the moonlight, their shadows swaying.

"Stephen," she suddenly said.

"Back in those places, the plants I touched never survived more than three days; they would deliberately make me watch them wither and die."

"Now they're scrambling to grow into my palm, wanting to sprout as many seedlings as possible."

When this girl first joined the bureau, she would avoid eye contact when talking to people.

Sing Sing stuffed the last bite of his biscuit into his mouth and mumbled, "Okay, from now on, just tell me where you want to go, and I'll keep an eye on things for you."

Oasis chimed in from the side, "Xiao Zhou, you need to work hard, eat your meals properly, and stop taking advantage of public resources."

"Hey! What you're saying? I'm just making good use of the rules. Earth is dangerous; if you don't plan carefully, you'll go bankrupt sooner or later!"

Early on the third day.

Sing Sing was standing at the campsite entrance, ready to leave, but after standing there for two minutes, he realized something was wrong.

They didn't even get a meal when they left; that's not how things are supposed to be!

When has Ling Ling Qi ever suffered such a loss?

Just as he was muttering to himself, Lao Zhao rushed out in a panic and grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Oh dear! Director Zhou! Why did you sneak off like that?! Don't leave yet! We must throw you a farewell banquet! We'll have the biggest restaurant in the county, and you can order whatever you want!"

A farewell banquet at a fancy restaurant; drinks are all you can order.

The gears are spinning again, damn it.