Read Novel Full Chapter 577: The Farm is Robbed
Chapter 577: The Farm is Robbed
Sure enough, He Tianming didn’t miss the chance and brought Chief Ling into the situation.
One handled government affairs, the other was in charge of public security.
They’d worked together back in Fengcheng and knew each other well, so teaming up again should be seamless.
Jiang Ning walked over. “Chief Ling.”
Director Ling nodded, “You arrived just in time.”
Seeing Rong Tingting looking both angry and helpless, Jiang Ning asked, “What happened?”
“Sister Ning, someone stole poultry from the farm.”
Jiang Ning was speechless.
So… the chief of the Investigation Bureau came all the way here just to look into a poultry theft?
This was Chief Ling, a major figure in Fengcheng’s law enforcement who usually handled high-risk, serious cases. Now he’s investigating chickens and ducks?
Then again, in a world full of natural disasters, human life seems to hold less value.
It wasn’t a joke. Livestock was now a valuable resource, not just because of human consumption, but because they played a critical role in maintaining ecological balance.
To put it bluntly, they weren’t just animals—they symbolized the survival of civilization itself.
Over twenty birds had gone missing overnight, including chickens, ducks, geese, quails, and button quails.
All of them were about to start laying fertilized eggs. Losing them was a huge blow.
To make things worse, the thief had knocked out the night guard.
It was freezing cold, and the poor guy bled out and froze to death in the snow.
The base was tightly controlled, with a strict ban on firearms. Petty theft happened here and there, sure—but this farm was owned by the daughter of one of the high ranking official, and the base held a 20% share in it.
Rong Tingting couldn’t understand who would be bold enough to cause trouble in such a place.
Nearby, the guard’s family had just arrived, crying their hearts out in grief.
Jiang Ning frowned. “Chief Ling, any leads on the suspect?”
The officers had already examined the scene, and Chief Ling had a plan. Calm and composed, he said, “It’s not a big problem, but it will take some time.”
This kind of case was child’s play for him, so Jiang Ning wasn’t worried. “Alright, I’ll leave it to you.”
Chief Ling requested that the body be taken back to the station. He also asked the farm to fully cooperate with the investigation and make sure the victim’s family was taken care of.
Jiang Ning agreed without hesitation.
As he walked away, she asked, “Do you have faith in the Fengcheng base?”
He looked back at her, a faint smile on his lips. “Do you?”
Jiang Ning replied without missing a beat. “Of course I do.”
“That’s good enough for me.”
He adjusted his cap and strode off.
Watching him go, Jiang Ning turned to Rong Tingting. “So, how do you plan to handle the victim’s family?”
Without blinking, Rong replied, “Don’t worry, Sister Ning, I’ll take care of it.”
Despite her young age, her words were mature, and Jiang Ning curiously asked, “Tell me about it.”
“In times like this, human life isn’t worth much. They’re making a big scene because they want more compensation, that’s all.”
Rong Tingting already had a plan. “I say we give them a breeding pair of chickens as condolence and offer the victim’s son the guard job. It’ll give him a stable income.”
Jiang Ning asked, “And if they refuse?”
Her voice was firm and unwavering. “The one who should be paying is the murderer. The farm’s a victim too. This offer is out of humanitarian concern, and it’s already generous. If they keep pushing, they’ll get nothing.”
Jiang Ning almost gave her a thumbs-up. Now that was the real heir to the Rong family.
“Alright, you handle this. If there’s anything you can’t manage, come to me.”
Jiang Ning arrived at the neighboring farm. Despite the heavy snowfall, the workers were calmly and efficiently heating the greenhouses and clearing off the thick snow piling up on the glass roofs.
Doudou was busy somewhere inside one of the greenhouses, but Jiang Ning didn’t disturb her—she just started checking things on her own.
The mulberry saplings were growing fast, lush and vibrant green.
Inside the greenhouse was an agricultural expert assigned by the local government. He looked to be around fifty, though his hair was already graying at the temples.
He was carefully observing the mulberry and honeysuckle saplings, a smile forming on his weathered face.
When he saw Jiang Ning, he came over with a cheerful greeting. “Comrade Jiang, this snow’s a good omen for a bountiful year. The base has real potential now—it’s time to start prepping land for reforestation.”
While the unexpected snowfall had caused many survivors to fall ill and wiped out most of the open-field crops, he seemed to be the only one genuinely excited.
His enthusiasm was contagious, and Jiang Ning asked, “Uncle, how come you’re so optimistic?”
“The mulberry trees are frost-resistant, and honeysuckle can even survive temperatures as low as -20 degrees. Now that they are planted with both soil and roots, once the snow melts, it will nourish the barren land and help them survive the planting phase. These two plants are also drought-resistant and love the sun.
Once the forest takes root, we can keep expanding the green area. In a few years, this place could be covered in green.”
The old man smiled warmly. “You probably know a bit of agriculture too. The saplings raised in the greenhouses are almost all cold and drought-resistant, which is great.”
He was a regular at the farm and clearly close with Doudou and the others. “Young people are the future. With your perseverance, there’s real hope ahead.”
The man spoke with such calm wisdom that Jiang Ning couldn’t help asking, “Uncle, what’s your name?”
He replied, “He Xinchi, a national-level agricultural expert.”
He was a survivor from the Xiang Province government base. What shocked Jiang Ning even more was that he was the legendary scientist behind the dream of “cooling under the rice fields.”
As they chatted, Jiang Ning suddenly asked, “Mr. He, if I managed to get you some hybrid rice seeds, do you think you could bring hybrid rice back?”
He Xin Chi froze for a moment, then after a long pause, replied, “It’s difficult, but if there really is, give me five years, and I am confident I can do it.”
She did have the seeds. Quite a lot, actually.
She had scavenged them years ago from a site owned by a major agricultural company. She never really planted them, and still had several hundred jin stored away.
He Xinchi didn’t know this. Lost in painful memories, he said, “When the disaster struck, a few of us rushed back to our company headquarters. But the place had already been looted—we only managed to save a few precious hybrid rice seeds…”
With his students, they treated the seeds like their lives. Later, even though some people were starving to death, no one ever thought of taking the seeds.
But during the evacuation, bandits stole everything.
His arm was injured, and a colleague was hacked to death.
“If we want to feed people properly again,” he murmured, “we need hybrid rice.”
Jiang Ning said, “I’ll find a way to get it. When I do, I’ll give you a greenhouse, and you’ll be responsible for the research.”
He Xinchi looked at her in surprise, then said thoughtfully, “To develop hybrid rice, we need more than just hybrid seeds. We need other rice varieties too—the more we have, the better the chances of success.”
“No problem. Write down everything you need, and I’ll figure out how to get it. But until we succeed, I hope you can keep it confidential.”
Besides the hybrid seeds, she also had stockpiles of other rice varieties—some from the official Fengcheng base, some from the Southern Military Base, and even more from early trades when the disaster first hit.
She’d also kept all the data she found at the agricultural company—information she was sure would help him with his research.
At first, He Xinchi didn’t quite believe her. But thinking about what Jiang Ning was capable of, he eventually nodded and said, “Alright.”