Daily Life in the Countryside After Being Reborn

Chapter 798: Chapter 115: There’s Something Fishy Inside

The first thing Xiao Xian did when he arrived at the pharmacy was to ask about the recent sales situation. Huang Yaoshi had some quirks, but remembering Xiao Xian’s timely "helping hand" not long ago, he didn’t overthink it and gave a rough account of the pharmacy’s recent status.

"Business at the pharmacy is good. To be honest, I’ve been with the proprietress for decades, and I’ve never seen her so attentive to the pharmacy’s affairs before," said Huang Yaoshi. Mei Nian and Mei Xiang, the two sisters, have slightly different personalities, but they share a common trait: they both love their freedom and don’t like to be constrained by the pharmacy’s affairs.

In previous years, they were mostly involved in matters related to the collection of rare medicinal materials for the pharmacy and wouldn’t interfere excessively with its daily sales and profits.

But this time, after returning from Changbai Mountain, and perhaps enraged by the Xu Family, Mei Nian began to fully suppress the Xu Family in the field of traditional and Western medicine.

"First, they released a statement saying the quality of the pharmacy’s traditional medicine had improved while keeping the prices the same. Then, they increased investment in converting traditional medicine into Western medicine, especially after the Xu Family’s recent failed cooperation with a large foreign company to develop ginseng lozenges. The proprietress developed the idea to research ginseng lozenges. She’s been in and out of the Huake Institute frequently these days, discussing collaborations with related personnel." Huang Yaoshi didn’t have many objections to this, knowing that the Xu Family’s actions last time were indeed excessive.

"The son-in-law?" Xiao Xian had anticipated all of "Mei Nian’s" actions, but Huang Yaoshi’s sudden change in addressing Yu Gang took Xiao Xian by surprise.

"Yes, I see the proprietress and Mr. Yu have been getting close lately, which is a good thing. Haven’t you noticed that Mr. Yu has been smiling joyfully every day? Just seeing him makes others happy for him," Huang Yaoshi’s old face smiled like an old yellow chrysanthemum.

"What’s wrong, aren’t you happy for them?" Seeing that Xiao Xian didn’t look pleased after hearing this, on the contrary, looked even more worried.

"No... I’m happy for them," provided that the person Yu Gang intends to marry is the True Mei Nian, inside and out.

"That’s good, Xiao Xian. The ginseng you supplied last time isn’t needed for now. The proprietress found a lot of high-quality ginsengs, so despite encountering some danger on her last trip to Changbai Mountain, it seems she really gained something," Huang Yaoshi said, rambling on, though Xiao Xian was no longer listening.

After some thought, she decided to contact Yu Gang.

When Yu Gang received Xiao Xian’s call, he was in a good mood: "Xiao Xian, Uncle Yu was just thinking of inviting you out for a meal. I’m at the Huake Institute now, and your master uncle is also here with me."

Xiao Xian’s heart skipped a beat. Huake Institute? "Fake Mei Nian" going to the Huake Institute for what?

She hurried back to the Huake Institute as told over the phone by Yu Gang, and Xiao Xian arrived at a newly-built high-tech biological plantation in the Southern Campus of the Huake Institute.

The high-tech biological plantation project located in the Southern Campus was jointly initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Huake Institute, aiming to develop a new 21st-century agriculture featuring national characteristics.

Since Xiao Xian returned to Beijing, it’s been over two months. The tree-lined path on the South Campus of the Huake Institute is full of cherry blossoms of various colors—red, pink, and soft white.

The semi-oval biological plantation is located right next to the North Campus. It covers a total area of ten acres and is divided into different zones: the vegetable and fruit zone, the flower zone, the medicinal herbs zone, and the endangered plant zone, based on the needs of the crops to be planted.

The most special aspect of this project is its external structure. It has an internal and external dual-layer circle. The outer circle is made of insulating alloy colorless glass forming the internal and external walls, with the top sealed, and only several filtration openings on the walls. The workers’ areas and some delicate greenhouse flowers are all located in the outer area, while the inner area is an open-air planting zone.

As soon as Xiao Xian walked into the botanical plantation, she felt like she was stepping into a modified Spiritual Fruit Garden. The only difference was that the staff inside were just ordinary people.

After inquiring with the reception staff at the entrance, Xiao Xian found out that Yu Gang and Mei Nian were in a vegetarian restaurant inside the plantation at the moment.

The supporting facilities at the Huake Institute’s Southern Campus were indeed impressive. Take this vegetarian restaurant inside the new plantation, for example, which catered to the increasingly popular vegetarian dining trend in society nowadays.

Mei Nian used to have diverse tastes, enjoying all kinds of food. But after returning from Changbai Mountain, claiming digestive disorder, she stopped eating meat. Therefore, Yu Gang chose this vegetarian restaurant as the place for their lunch.