Reborn a day later, I emptied my enemy's possessions beforehand.

Zhou Haibing and Li Su'e were talking when they reached the top of the mountain.

Standing on the mountaintop and looking down, the entire hillside behind the mountain is laid out before you.

From the foot of the mountain to the top, neat rows of vegetable plots and medicinal herb fields covered the entire slope.

The vegetable ridges are laid out along the hillside, one ridge after another like terraced fields, with narrow passageways between the ridges.

The medicinal herb fields are above the vegetable garden, arranged in rows, with the edges of the fields smoothed out with tamped soil, as if they had been smeared with a trowel.

The lush green leaves gleamed in the sunlight, cucumber vines climbed all over the bamboo trellis, bean seedlings grew to chest height, and medicinal herb seedlings stood tall with thick, dark green leaves.

The two of them walked around the west and north slopes again.

Li Su'e squatted down in the medicinal herb field and carefully examined each row of seedlings. When she squatted down, her knees were bent, one hand was on the ground, and the other hand was used to push aside the leaves to look at the soil around the roots.

She discovered that the astragalus seeds she had planted just a few days ago were already about an inch tall, with thick, glossy leaves, straight, emerald-green stems, and moist, soft soil around the roots.

She poked at the soil with her finger. The soil was dark brown and oily; her finger went in up to her knuckle. The soil had a cool, moist feel to it.

She pulled one out to look at it; its roots were white and dense, as if they had just been washed in milk.

She was nothing like the medicinal herbs she used to grow in the production team; they were thin and weak, with yellow leaves, and looked half-dead.

She then went to the south slope to look at the vegetables.

The cucumber vines had climbed up the bamboo poles to a height of more than half a person, with leaves as big as a palm. Several tender yellow flowers were hanging on the tips of the vines, their petals glistening with dew in the sunlight.

The bean sprouts grew wildly, their leaves so dense they almost covered the trellis. The leaves were so close together that the soil underneath was no longer visible.

One bean vine is growing particularly fast; it has already climbed to the top of the trellis, and the tip of the vine is still reaching upwards, as if it wants to find another place to climb.

Li Su'e squatted by the cucumber patch, flicking the leaves with her fingers and then pinching the stems. The expression on her face changed from happy to puzzled, and then from puzzled to confused.

She stood up, turned to look at Zhou Haibing, and frowned:

"Sea Ice, don't you think these seedlings are growing too fast?"

"Is it fast?" Zhou Haibing walked over to her, bent down to look at the cucumber seedlings, and said, "They're doing alright, growing quite well."

"What do you mean by 'okay'?" Li Su'e gestured with her hand towards the vines that had already climbed up the bamboo trellis.

"It's only been planted for a few days, and it's already grown this tall."

When I used to grow cucumbers in the production team, it would take about ten days for the seedlings to emerge, and at least twenty days for them to grow this tall, and that was only in a good year with favorable weather.

You planted them on the back hill, it's been less than ten days since then, including today, right? The cucumbers are already starting to flower.

She then walked to the edge of the astragalus field and pointed to the seedlings that had already sprouted three or four true leaves:

"Astragalus grows even slower. I heard that astragalus only grows a few leaves in the first year, only shoots in the second year, and only roots in the third year."

"Well, look at you! It's grown like this in less than ten days. At this rate, won't it be ready for harvest in the fall?"

Zhou Haibing squatted down and gently touched the soil around the roots of the astragalus seedlings.

The black soil was oily and soft; you could insert your finger up to your knuckle, and it had a cool, moist feel to it.

He knew very well that this soil came from the Shennong Space and was inherently imbued with spiritual energy, making it many times more fertile than the soil outside.

Moreover, he often used the spiritual spring water in his space to irrigate these crops when it was late at night and all was quiet.

The spiritual spring water nourishes all things, and every inch of land it irrigates contains rich spiritual energy. These seedlings are growing up as if they are drinking tonics, so how could they not grow fast?

But he couldn't tell Li Su'e these truths.

He straightened up, patted the dirt off his hands, and smiled somewhat vaguely:

"It's probably because the soil on this back mountain is good. After all, the black soil underneath has been buried for so many years, accumulating enough nutrients, so it's particularly vigorous when it's turned up."

In addition, you planted it carefully, spaced it appropriately, and watered it frequently. With all the right conditions—favorable timing, location, and human effort—it naturally grew well.

Li Su'e glanced at him, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, her expression clearly saying "I don't quite believe it."

But she didn't press the matter. She simply clapped her hands lightly, took out a handkerchief from her pocket, and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

The handkerchief was white with blue checks, folded into a neat little square. After wiping away the sweat, I folded it again and put it back in my pocket.

"Alright, if you say it's good, then it's good."

Anyway, it's a good thing they grow well; I can't wait to eat the cucumbers I grew myself.

Zhou Haibing smiled and was about to say something when his gaze suddenly passed over Li Su'e's shoulder and landed on the dirt road at the foot of the mountain.

His smile slowly faded.

A group of people came along the dirt road, walking in a grand procession. The three at the head walked side by side, their steps quick and hurried.

The one on the left with a square face, thick lips, and a faint, cold smile on his lips is Wang Jinshan.

He was wearing a gray cloth jacket, which was open to reveal a white undershirt underneath. The hem of the undershirt was tucked into his trousers, and a wide leather belt with a brass buckle was tied around his waist, gleaming in the sun.

The one in the middle was short, stocky, and muscular, with a brisk walk and a pair of triangular eyes filled with greedy light; that was Zhou Hailong.

He was wearing a blue cloth jacket with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his thick forearms with bulging veins that looked like earthworms crawling on them.

The young man on the right with a fleshy face, a crooked mouth, and swinging his arms wide when he walks is Sun Guiwu.

He was wearing an old, yellowed military uniform with the collar open, and a bead of sweat hung on his neck, which he wiped away every few steps.

A string of people followed behind the three men. Zhou Fuxiang walked behind with his back hunched, his hands tucked into his sleeves, and his head bowed, as if afraid of being exposed to the sun or being seen.

Beside him stood Sun Deming, his thin face twitching, his hands behind his back, his steps unhurried, his cloudy old eyes occasionally glancing at the hillside.

Behind them were the sisters Sun Guiying and Sun Guixiang. Sun Guiying was wearing a red floral jacket, which was a little small and clung tightly to her body, pressing it against her chest.

Her hair was tied up with a floral handkerchief, her chin was raised, and her expression was both sour and resentful.

Sun Guixiang followed beside her, wearing a green jacket with white flowers, her lips twitching as if she were watching a good show.

Then came a group of villagers dressed in various colors of coarse cloth, at least twenty people in total.

Some people were still holding hoes, the handles covered in mud, while others were empty-handed, but they were all pointing up the mountain and saying something.

An old man was smoking a pipe, the embers in the pipe glowing intermittently.

A young woman was holding a nursing baby, who was squirming in her arms.

A few teenagers were weaving in and out of the crowd, laughing and joking.