Chapter 10

It was already past noon, and his stomach was protesting from hunger. After consulting the beautiful woman beside him, the two of them headed to a rice noodle shop called Xinxin House.

Xinxin House, though not large, was clean and hygienic. With its unique and delicious broth, it had become an important culinary spot in the coal market. If it weren't for the delay caused by the earlier incident, Wang Hai Ming and his companion would surely have been part of the long queue. The chewy rice noodles, rich and fragrant broth, topped with pickled vegetables, shrimp, and a drizzle of sesame oil, were mouthwatering. Along with the shop's specially prepared side dishes, the two of them dug in without a word, savoring every bite.

"Hey, how's your farm doing? Can you manage it? Have you hired any help? You still call yourself a general manager, but you don't even know how to be ashamed."

"Haha, it's still okay. Although the members are just a few people from my family, I'm basically in charge, so of course, I'm the general manager." After chatting for a while, Li Na had to go to work in the afternoon, so she hurriedly left, leaving her phone number. Only then did Wang Hai Ming realize that Li Na no longer worked at the hotel; she had been helping out before and now ran a small advertising company.

After seeing Li Na off, Wang Hai Ming headed to Dongfang Supermarket. As the largest chain supermarket in the coal market, Dongfang Supermarket offered a wide variety of items, and the third floor was the electronics section. After browsing for a while, Wang Hai Ming chose a Lenovo phone and bought it.

The Lenovo Yoga 11S uses an Intel third-generation IVB platform i5-3339Y processor with a clock speed of 1.5 GHz. It also comes with 8GB DDR3 memory and a 256GB solid-state drive. The operating system is Windows 8 Standard Edition, achieving a perfect balance between size and performance. The exterior design features a matte finish, providing a pleasant touch, and the lid is made of metal, ensuring durability.

Although Wang Hai Ming didn't consider himself a nationalist, supporting domestic products was still necessary.

With both tasks completed, Wang Hai Ming didn't hesitate and decided to go home. Compared to the fast-paced and noisy city, he felt that he still preferred the peaceful and serene countryside.

Just as the car left the city and entered the suburbs, Wang Hai Ming suddenly called for a stop and jumped out. A farmer was digging up strawberry plants.

Strawberries, also known as red berries, foreign berries, and ground berries, are red fruits. Strawberries are a general term for plants in the genus Fragaria of the family Rosaceae, which are perennial herbs. Strawberries have a heart-shaped appearance, are fresh and tender, and are juicy with a unique and strong fruit fragrance. They are highly nutritious, rich in vitamin C, and aid digestion. They also help strengthen the gums, freshen the breath, and moisturize the throat. In spring, when liver fire is often more active, eating strawberries can help suppress it. Additionally, it's best to eat strawberries after meals because they contain a large amount of pectin and fiber, which can promote intestinal peristalsis and aid digestion.

Strawberries were also one of Wang Hai Ming's favorite fruits. Seeing the healthy seedlings being destroyed, he felt a bit heartbroken and wanted to buy some to take home.

"Uncle, why are you digging up these healthy seedlings?" Seeing the humble expression of the visitor, the old farmer didn't hide anything.

It turned out that the city was attracting investment and had its eye on the land nearby. With sufficient compensation, the old farmer had no complaints, but he was reluctant to part with the seedlings he had worked hard to cultivate.

Hearing this, Wang Hai Ming had an idea and wanted to buy some seedlings. He said loudly, "Uncle, I'm from the countryside too. I have an empty plot in my backyard and want to plant some strawberries. Why don't you sell me the seedlings?"

"Ah, young man, what's this about selling? I was just going to throw them away. If you want them, take them. Consider it a gift." Wang Hai Ming, of course, wouldn't agree. As a rural person, he knew how hard farmers worked. After some debate, Wang Hai Ming bought a thousand seedlings at one yuan each.

In the evening, sitting in his small bedroom, Wang Hai Ming felt it was time to take stock. He had 80,000 yuan in savings, 130,000 yuan from selling his house, and 30,000 yuan from selling fish, totaling 240,000 yuan. He had spent 90,000 yuan on various fruit tree seedlings, 40,000 yuan on building a cement bridge, 40,000 yuan on a floating bridge, 10,000 yuan on cleaning the fish pond, 40,000 yuan on buying fish seedlings, and some on hiring workers and daily expenses, leaving him with only 5,000 yuan. The huge disparity made Wang Hai Ming feel quite helpless. Over 200,000 yuan in two months—was he a prodigal son? Although his savings were almost gone, Wang Hai Ming wasn't worried; income would soon come in.

In the space, Wang Hai Ming was speechless. The peach trees outside had just started to bud, but inside, they were already laden with fruit. Of course, not the small peach trees, but the ones transplanted from the backyard. Seeing the abundant fruit, Wang Hai Ming was very satisfied. He also noticed that the space seemed to have grown larger.

Indeed, life makes the space expand. Wang Hai Ming wondered if he should plant something else.

What does the taste of these leaves? Seeing the 99 leaves on the World Tree, Wang Hai Ming suddenly had the urge to taste one. He picked a green leaf and put it in his mouth. It melted instantly, turning into a warm stream that flowed through his body, followed by a surge of violent energy, causing unbearable pain. Wang Hai Ming fainted, his last thought being, "I've really gone too far."

Dazed, Wang Hai Ming woke up and couldn't help but laugh bitterly. He had almost been overwhelmed by the energy. The dew on the leaves had such a significant effect; how much more so the leaves themselves. Poor Wang Hai Ming only realized this now.

Although he felt his constitution had improved significantly and his mental strength had greatly increased, Wang Hai Ming didn't dare to try the leaves again. After resting for a while, he quickly left the space and checked his phone. It had been 20 minutes. Fortunately, it wasn't too long, or it would have been disastrous.

Unbeknownst to him, he had been unconscious in the space for half a day, but only 20 minutes had passed in reality. He secretly dripped a drop of dew into his mother's water bottle and quietly returned. He needed to think of a better way; otherwise, he would look like a spy every day.

Back in bed, Wang Hai Ming played with his new computer. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. The latest model not only had clear images and good sound quality but also ran very fast.

After browsing a forum called "Travel the World" for a while, Wang Hai Ming thought he could promote his farm. Although it wasn't fully developed, increasing its visibility was necessary. He uploaded some photos, such as the beautiful view of the peach mountain, which was still in bud but already very pretty, along with the farm's fish pond and vegetable garden, especially a photo of Xiong Da riding a tricycle. He left an address and logged out.

No one responded to his post, and he wondered if it would help increase visibility. But he didn't care; sleep was the most important thing. Although Wang Hai Ming wanted to have a good sleep, trouble found him.

Just as he lay down, he heard an argument outside the door and rushed over, fearing something might happen to his mother. He also woke up Xiong Da, thinking if anyone caused trouble, Xiong Da could handle it.

"Li Yihong, what do you want?" Seeing this shameless person again, Wang Hai Ming was furious. He was like a persistent ghost. "I'm not causing trouble; I'm here to give you money. Twenty thousand yuan. Will you sell me the farm?"

"Get lost. Not even for two million or twenty million. Xiong Da, go." Wang Hai Ming was enraged, never expecting Li Yihong to have his eye on his ancestral home.

"Xiao Ming, just sell it. Twenty thousand yuan isn't a small amount." Seeing it was his second uncle, Wang Hai Ming felt his chest was about to explode.

"Get lost, all of you." Xiong Da also waved his large bear paws, scaring the two away. "You wait, if I can't have it, neither can you."

With that, the two fled like rabbits. "Good job, Xiong Da." Throwing him two space corns, Xiong Da happily returned to his den.

"Hai Ming, what should we do? Those two scoundrels are after our ancestral home. It's been passed down from our ancestors; we can't sell it." Hearing his usually gentle mother curse, Wang Hai Ming knew she was very angry.

"Mom, don't worry. I have a plan. I'll handle it." However, his mother, Liu Mei, still looked worried and didn't feel reassured by her son's promise. In fact, Wang Hai Ming didn't have a good plan, but he was confident that if he didn't back down, the other side couldn't force him.

"Damn, this is infuriating," Li Yihong raged when he got home, smashing a glass teacup on the floor. His second uncle, who followed him, was meek and submissive. "I'll contact the mayor and take over that farm. And that kid, daring to let a bear attack me. I'll break his legs to satisfy my anger. I'll have my brother bring in a few bulldozers and flatten it."

"Don't be angry, Brother Li," the second uncle said. "That kid is hiding a bear, which is a national protected animal. We can report him for trading in wildlife, which will be enough to get him in trouble. And I once heard my grandfather say there's treasure in the mountains."

"Don't worry, we'll split it fifty-fifty. Hahaha!"