Chapter 91

Zhu Ji took another bite of tomato. "Okay, after the results come out, I'll take them to the ranch, and while I'm at it, I'll stop by your house to mooch some tomatoes?"

Yan Kexing: "Whatever you say."

When Zhu Ji delivered the results to Shi Wen, he was just bringing out the horse to nurse it.

The horse's leg is injured and it can't move, but its coat still needs grooming and its muscles need massaging.

Shi Wen fed the horse a large tomato, which the horse ate with relish, seemingly oblivious to Shi Wen scrubbing it with a brush.

When the horse first arrived, it was in a depressed mood.

Now that it has good food and drink and companions, its mental state is completely different from before, and even its face has become peaceful.

This was the first time Zhu Ji had ever seen this horse. From a distance, he saw the horse being carried on a frame, its coat gleaming with a platinum sheen, and thought it was a sculpture. But when he got closer, he realized it was a live horse.

He asked, "Is this the horse that Baoye A Sai sent? What a magnificent steed! So beautiful!"

"Yes," Shi Wen looked up and smiled, "It's a horse race after all, it's only natural that they're beautiful."

Zhu Ji looked at the horse, a look of regret in his eyes.

The horse keenly sensed his mood and snorted unhappily.

Shi Wen picked up another tomato from the basket and stuffed it into the horse's mouth, letting it continue eating, "Brother Zhu, what do you want from me?"

As they were talking, Shi Wen noticed that Zhu Ji's gaze was fixed on the basket, so she simply took a tomato from the basket and gave one to Zhu Ji as well. "It's washed, it's clean."

Zhu Ji didn't care whether he shared a basket of tomatoes with the horse; he took one and ate it, then casually pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. "The results of the tomato analysis that Old Yan commissioned us to do are in."

Shi Wen wiped his wet hands with his clothes and took the paper.

The paper clearly indicated Tomato's Abilities value in bold black font: only 41.

This indicates that their tomatoes are not Variant Ingredients.

Shi Wen somewhat disappointed.

Zhu Ji noticed his thoughts and said while biting into a tomato, "It's quite remarkable that a regular tomato has this value, okay? Even pork only has Abilities value between 25 and 50."

Shi Wen smiled and said, "That makes sense."

Zhu Ji: "Your tomatoes are really good. I feel that besides the effectiveness of the seeds and fertilizer, your ranch also plays a role."

Shi Wen, puzzled, "What do you mean by that?"

Zhu Ji: "So I'm in the same space as you and Old Yan, and influenced by you?"

Shi Wen, "Then I wouldn't know."

Zhu Ji: "I guess it will have an impact, but we'll have to wait for more research data. By the way, where's the little fox? I wanted to see it today and take a picture of it."

Shi Wen, "It went to graze with the dogs. Do you want to find it? If you're not in a hurry, sit here for a while. It will come back for lunch."

The little fox couldn't stand being hungry and needed to eat three meals a day.

During the day it may go out to play or follow the herds, but wherever it goes, it will come back for lunch.

Zhu Ji wasn't in a hurry. "Then let's wait for it to come back at noon. We can have lunch at your place. Your ranch is so comfortable; I could sit here all day and watch it."

Shi Wen laughed and said, "Then I'll get you a chair."

"I'll go get it myself," Zhu Ji asked. "Could I get another big tomato from your place?"

Shi Wen readily agreed, "Go ahead and pick some. The tomatoes are planted in the backyard; you can pick fresh ones yourself. We haven't picked any today, but there should be some red tomatoes on the branches."

Zhu Ji gave a thumbs up. "That's exactly what I was waiting for."

Zhu Ji ran off to pick tomatoes and get a chair.

A moment later, he strolled out, carrying a large basin in his left hand and a small stool in his right.

Seeing that Shi Wen was still massaging the horse, he said from afar, "I just went to your backyard and saw that there were still ripe cucumbers on the trellis, so I picked them too."

Shi Wen, "Go ahead and pick them. There are ripe cucumbers available now, aren't there?"

"Yes, there are several." Zhu Ji put down his small stool and showed the basin to Shi Wen. "I picked two, one for you and one for me."

Shi Wen scooped water from the bucket, washed his hands, picked up a cucumber, and took a bite.

Instantly, the unique, refreshing scent of cucumber wafted out, fresh and fragrant. Even the horse beside it twitched its big nose and turned its head to try and nibble on Shi Wen's clothes, hissing softly.

Shi Wen the horse getting impatient, Shi Wen broke off a piece of its tail and stuffed it into its mouth, saying, "Cucumbers are really delicious this season."

Zhu Ji took a satisfied bite of cucumber. "Your cucumbers are tastier. I had cucumber salad yesterday, and it didn't taste like this."

Shi Wen, "What you're saying makes my mouth water. I'll have Yan Kexing make a cucumber salad for me tonight."

Zhu Ji immediately raised his hand. "Then can I stay and have dinner with you?"

Shi Wen, "Sure. If you don't mind sleeping in the study or on the sofa, you can stay here."

"I don't mind, as long as Old Yan doesn't mind." Zhu Ji finished the cucumber and then ate the tomato, saying contentedly, "Your vegetables are really delicious. When Old Yan comes back, we'll see if you want to contact the Agricultural Research Institute. It would be great if we could promote it."

Shi Wen, "Is this okay?"

Zhu Ji: "Why not? If you're willing to agree, a whole bunch of organizations will be begging to cooperate with you. I just don't know which organizations will be so lucky."

Chapter 91

As the weather gets warmer, not only tomatoes are ripening on the backyard vegetable rack, but also various fruits and vegetables.

With the addition of eggs and milk from the ranch, and fish and shrimp from the ditches, their standard of living is Shi Wen rising sharply.

Gong Jiang and his friends started coming over for meals even more often.

They would help with chores while getting a free meal.

I often Shi Wen that I like them coming over; young people chatting at home when they have nothing to do brings a unique kind of energy to the place.

Moreover, they are all highly educated individuals, and their conversations often reveal a lot of interesting information.

It rained all day that day.