The Overlord Flower's Guide to Intercepting a Woman's Wife's Death and the Male Lead&

Zhang Cuihua dragged her along, running all the way to the east wall.

Su Xingmian looked down.

In the gaps between the straw, tender seedlings broke through the soil crust, thin and weak, with two cotyledons embracing each other, arranged evenly and neatly, a few inches apart.

Zhang Cuihua was already lying down by the edge of the plot and counting.

"Forty-seven, forty-eight... this row has just over fifty trees! There are still a few bulging bushes in the middle; they'll surely sprout by the afternoon!"

Zhao Hongmei and Li Xiuying rushed over upon hearing the noise, and the three of them gathered together to count the trees one by one.

Su Xingmian squatted down beside him and touched the ground with her palm.

With a probe of demonic power, the roots had already penetrated the sandy layer three meters deep, and the deepest roots had touched the underground water veins.

The water flowed upwards along the roots.

It doesn't matter if the buds on the surface aren't strong; as long as there's water underneath, they won't starve.

She clapped her hands, stood up, and glanced at Ma Chunlan standing not far away.

Ma Chunlan's lips moved, but she didn't say anything, and turned to leave.

Zhang Cuihua went to invite Wei Guodong like the wind.

After Old Wei arrived, he squatted in the field for a long time, parted the straw, pinched the stems of the seedlings, and dug up the soil around the roots.

She looked up at Su Xingmian, her brows furrowing but not more deeply.

"It has sprouted, but look at the stems, they are thin, the cotyledons are small, and the color is pale."

He gestured with his thumb and forefinger.

"Normal spinach seedlings should have fully unfolded cotyledons by the second day after sprouting. Yours are still clinging to the ground, which means the base isn't strong enough."

Wei Guodong stood up and patted his trouser legs.

"There is still a foundation-building period to come."

"The seedlings emerging from the soil does not mean they are alive; we need to see if they can survive the next two weeks."

He looked at Su Xingmian and softened his tone.

"Comrade Su, I'm not trying to discourage you, I won't stop you from planting it, but don't be too upset if the seedlings wither and die."

Su Xingmian nodded.

"Thank you, Uncle Wei."

Wei Guodong took two steps and then stopped, turning back to look at the newly turned soil.

His lips moved, but he didn't say anything.

Zhang Cuihua stood up for her.

"You're saying the foundation isn't good enough? It's already sprouted, why are you still finding fault!"

Su Xingmian smiled.

"Uncle Wei is telling the truth, the seedlings are indeed weak, let's see how they grow."

Another batch came out the next day.

On the third day, two-thirds of the seedbed was covered with seedlings.

On the morning of the fourth day, the first batch of seedlings that emerged from the soil encountered a problem.

The edges of the cotyledons are turning yellow, and the whole seedling is drooping and leaning to one side.

The wild onion, on the contrary, grew the best, taking root in the worst corner, with a dense and deep root system.

Cilantro is the next best choice.

Spinach is the most widely planted crop, and it's also the most worrying right now.

Su Xingmian squatted down and probed the ground.

The plant appears withered on the surface, but its roots underground are desperately pushing deeper, drawing all the nutrients from the above-ground parts to supply the roots as they break through the saline-alkali layer.

This is the most crucial period of building up strength.

When she withdrew her demonic power and stood up, Ma Chunlan arrived at some point, standing on the ridge of the second paddy field, her arm resting on her knee as she looked down.

"Your spinach sprouts."

She pointed to the largest tree in front of her and grinned.

"The leaves are turning yellow."

Su Xingmian did not respond.

Li Xiuying and Zhao Hongmei came from the other end of the alley, and Ma Chunlan waved to them.

"Look, the spinach seedlings' leaves have all turned yellow."

Li Xiuying went closer to take a look and found that the leaves were indeed turning yellow.

Zhao Hongmei also squatted down and poked at it.

"And this one, its stem is all soft."

The two looked at each other and sighed.

Ma Chunlan found an audience and opened her voice.

When Zhang Cuihua emerged from around the corner, that's what she heard.

"Sprouting doesn't mean it's alive, Political Commissar's wife. Look at these seedlings, they're so thin they'd break in the wind, the leaves are so yellow, and the roots are full of salt and alkali, they're absorbing all that poisonous water."

She looked around at everyone present, including the wives of two soldiers from the neighboring company who had just come over to check on the seedlings.

"It's easier to just pull it out; leaving it is just a waste of water."

Zhang Cuihua's face turned bright red. Just as she was about to speak, Su Xingmian grabbed her sleeve.

"Sister Ma, this is called 'sit down the seedlings and drain the salt'."

Ma Chunlan narrowed her eyes.

"What are you squatting for?"

"Sit down the seedlings and drain the salt."

Su Xingmian repeated it.

"After the seedlings emerge from the soil, they don't grow tall. Instead, they put all their energy into their roots. The deeper the roots grow, the more they can absorb the living water from under the saline layer, and the leaves will naturally turn green again."

She patted the dirt off her hands.

"The leaves are turning yellow now because the roots are drawing nutrients from the above-ground parts, not because the plant is dying."

Ma Chunlan's lips twitched after hearing this.

She has been growing vegetables for ten years, from northern Shaanxi to the Helan Mountains, and has cultivated all kinds of vegetables.

She knew that there was a method for planting crops in dry land that involved not watering them to encourage the roots to grow deeper.

But she had never heard the phrase "soil seedlings growing in saline-alkali soil, spinach seedlings growing in saline-alkali soil" before.

"Comrade Su."

Ma Chunlan stood with her hands on her hips, glancing at the six or seven military wives standing around her.

"I know about 'suppressing' seedlings, but I've never heard of spinach needing to be 'suppressed'? The leaves of your seedlings are already yellow; if you keep suppressing them any longer, they'll all die."

Su Xingmian looked at her.

"Does Sister Ma think she won't survive?"

"He will definitely not survive."

Ma Chunlan was resolute.

Several military wives nearby exchanged glances. Zhang Cuihua clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, while Li Xiuying tugged at her sleeve, signaling her not to act impulsively.

Ma Chunlan glanced at everyone's expressions and perked up.

"Okay, I'll make a bet with you."

"If your seedling survives in two weeks, fourteen days, its leaves will turn green again."

She patted the frost-covered ground in front of her.

"I licked the salt and alkali off the ground."

Upon hearing this, even Zhao Hongmei looked up.

Zhang Cuihua's eyes widened, and her lips moved for a long time before Li Xiuying held her arm down firmly.

Su Xingmian tilted her head.

"Sister Ma, are you serious?"

Ma Chunlan patted her chest.

"I, Ma Chunlan, always keep my word."

Su Xingmian's eyes crinkled into a smile.

"Alright, then let's wait."

She turned and walked away, passing Zhang Cuihua, and reached out to pry open her clenched fist, finger by finger.

"Don't worry, sister-in-law."

"I'm not in a hurry, I'm in a hurry for you!"

Su Xingmian shook her head and walked briskly towards the courtyard gate.

Behind him, Ma Chunlan was still standing at the edge of the ground, hands on her hips, chin raised.

Several military wives dispersed in twos and threes.

Zhao Hongmei walked at the very back, glancing back at the slightly yellowing vegetable seedlings.

The wind blew in from the direction of Helan Mountain, and the salt frost on the ground was dazzlingly white under the setting sun.

In the days following the bet, Ma Chunlan worked harder than anyone else.

He'd stop by to take a look in the morning when he was fetching water, and again in the evening when he finished work. He'd squat down without saying a word, look around, and then leave.

I came six times in three days.

Even Su Xingmian herself wasn't as punctual as her.

That night, Su Xingmian lay on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Zhou Bingheng has been dealing with He Yaozu's case these past few days and has been coming home late.

He unbuttoned his top button and sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), picked up the clam oil, unscrewed the cap, pulled her hand over, and applied it to her finger one by one.

After applying the cream to her hands, he took out some face cream, scooped out a piece, warmed it in his palms, and then applied it to her face.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I want to imagine Sister Ma licking salt and alkali."

The little face under Zhou Bingheng's palm was soft and yielding; he didn't reply.

Su Xingmian rolled over and lay face down.

"Brother, what does salt ash taste like?"

"Salty and astringent."

"oh."

She turned back, chuckled softly, and stared into Zhou Bingheng's eyes.

"So, brother, what do I taste like?"

Blink, "Is it sweet?"

Zhou Bingheng's Adam's apple bobbed. "Sweet."

The lid of the clam oil was knocked to the ground and rolled to the corner of the kang (a heated brick bed).

Nobody picked it up.

……

On the morning of the sixth day.

Su Xingmian squatted down at the edge of the ground, her palms pressed against the ground.

The moment the demonic power probed down, the root system transmitted a signal back.

The moisture delivery channels are now fully open.

The groundwater is steadily flowing upwards along the roots.

The earliest seedlings have already had their root tips penetrate the water layer and sink deeper into the moist sand.

Su Xingmian slowly raised her head and looked at the spinach seedling with the yellowest leaves in front of her.

At the edge of the cotyledon, a very faint green tinge was seeping back.