Shen Yao, upon hearing Shen Huaimin’s words, felt no worry. She already had many fruit trees in her spatial dimension; if worse came to worst, she could always buy some from the flower and bird market and nurture them within the dimension.
In the evening, Shen Yao connected her phone to her computer and began editing the videos she had recorded that day.
As she prepared to upload the videos to her v account, she discovered a pile of unread messages.
After uploading and publishing the videos, Shen Yao started to open and read the messages one by one.
It turned out that the video she posted yesterday of picking lychees had gone viral, garnering over 30,000 likes and more than 2,000 comments.
Shen Yao skimmed through some of them. Most asked if it was a video from this year.
"Sheer Embarrassment": Wow, these lychees look so delicious!
"What a Day, What a Year 345": I just want to ask, with such high lychee yields, why don't we in the north get to enjoy them.
"Fish Who Doesn't Want to Go Out": Streamer, streamer, where are you from? Can Concubine Smile lychees be eaten now?
"Success Has Nothing to Do With Her": Big blogger, please look at me, this child wants to eat them! *drooling.jpg*
...
Of course, there were also some negative comments.
"Ugly Duckling Transforms": This is obviously fake. How can lychees all grow so uniformly and ripen at the same time?
"Carrying a Schoolbag to School": This looks like fruits from several trees put together. Don't insult our intelligence.
"Confidently Blooming Yellow 813": If this is real, I'll do a headstand and disco!
...
Shen Yao ignored those comments. After a brief glance, she closed her phone again.
Setting her phone aside, Shen Yao grabbed a large mat and headed to the balcony.
Sitting on the mat, Shen Yao closed her eyes and began to cultivate.
The faint moonlight fell upon Shen Yao, as if illuminating her entire being.
Shen Huaisang stood on the adjacent balcony, watching Shen Yao sit cross-legged on the ground, her hands holding a peculiar posture. A inexplicable doubt began to stir within him regarding some of his earlier suspicions.
Ever since her younger sister returned, besides becoming more beautiful, her unconscious actions and movements had sparked Shen Huaisang’s suspicion.
His sister was still his sister, that was beyond doubt. It was just, what exactly happened to her in the capital? What could cause such a drastic change in a person?
Completely immersed in cultivation, Shen Yao was unaware that her third brother had begun to suspect her past. She had finally grasped a trace of spiritual energy and was attempting to guide it into her body.
Finally, as the first ray of dawn appeared, Shen Yao successfully guided the energy into her body.
Shen Yao exhaled a breath of turbid air, feeling refreshed as she stood up.
However, the moment she stood, she saw her third brother leaning against his room's balcony, watching her.
"Third Brother!"
Shen Yao showed no panic at being discovered. Instead, she greeted Shen Huaisang with a smile.
Shen Huaisang, who hadn't slept all night, looked listless, dark circles under his eyes.
"Awake? I'll find you later. Go get some sleep," Shen Huaisang said, yawning as he returned to his room.
What Shen Huaisang didn't know was that meditating and cultivating was far more restorative for Shen Yao than sleeping.
Shen Yao stuck out her tongue and obediently turned back towards her room.
When Shen Huaisang woke up and went to look for Shen Yao, he was informed by Shen Mama, Song Qiuwan, who was watching the little chubby one at home, "Yao Yao went up the mountain with your dad this morning."
Shen Huaisang: She sure is quick to run.
Meanwhile, on the mountain, Shen Yao was perched on a waxberry tree, eating large, red waxberries.
"Yao Yao, stop eating so much. Be careful you won't be able to bite into tofu tonight!" Shen Jun said from not too far away, occasionally turning to swing his hoe and dig out small stones from the mountainside.
Shen Yao pouted. As a cultivator, she shouldn't get a toothache. Thinking this, she popped another waxberry into her mouth.
*(Shen Yao, suffering from a toothache that night, is sadly watching everyone gnaw on pork ribs. Who said cultivators don't get toothaches!)*
This waxberry tree was planted by someone long ago, and it was currently in season. Shen Yao had also dripped some spiritual spring water on the tree when she found it, which explained why the waxberries were growing so well.
With such a large waxberry tree here, Shen Yao certainly wouldn't let anyone dig it up.
The contracted barren mountains were connected to Shen Yao's family's three mountain peaks. Therefore, what was being cleared today was the back mountain of Shen Yao's family.
The back mountain was easier to clear than other barren mountains. Being closest to the village, it was also a place where people often passed by.
Shen Yao had instructed them to clear all the weeds and bushes, and to cut down all the eucalyptus trees, but they had only cleared less than half a mu of land by noon.
Shen Dad had gone down yesterday to find helpers. When the villagers heard they could earn 300 yuan a day, almost no one hesitated; they all agreed.
The daily wage for a skilled worker was 280 yuan. Going to a construction site would only earn them about 200 yuan. Earning 300 yuan here a day, and it being close to home, why wouldn't they take up such good work?
Not only people from their own village, but many from neighboring villages also came. There were even women among them. Don't underestimate those women; they were no less capable than the men when it came to work.
Shen Yao did not treat them differently; everyone received the same wages.
Shen Yao could have used the spiritual energy from her spatial dimension to clear the barren mountains, but she dared not. She only dared to secretly clear away some areas that people didn't pay attention to.
Shen Yao followed them up mainly to see if there were any wild fruit trees she could utilize. As a result, apart from some perennial berries, she only found one waxberry tree.
Having found that, Shen Yao stopped bothering and entertained herself, picking up her phone to record footage!
The subjects of her footage today were the waxberry tree she was currently standing on, and the workers who were "reclaiming the land."
Shen Yao zoomed in on the waxberries one by one, and secretly used her spiritual energy to levitate the phone into the air for a bird's-eye view.
Throughout her series of actions, no one noticed her. Everyone was diligently working.
Having collected enough footage, Shen Yao bid farewell to Shen Dad and headed home with the waxberries. As she left, she reminded Shen Dad to let everyone pick some waxberries to take home when they left.
"Then be careful on your way back by yourself. Shall I escort you back?"
Shen Jun was very worried about his daughter, even though the distance home was only a few minutes away.
Shen Yao politely declined her father's kind offer and quickly hurried away with her belongings!
Upon returning home, she saw Gao Shanshan and the little chubby one playing in the yard.
The guesthouse was undergoing renovations, and it was quite noisy, so Shen Mama, Song Qiuwan, had asked Gao Shanshan to come over to play.
Gao Shanshan, finding it boring, thought she might as well come over to find Shen Yao to play with. She hadn't expected Shen Yao to go up the mountain with Shen Jun as a supervisor.
However, going back alone was also boring. Since Shen Yao's house had a little chubby one, she decided to stay, play with the little chubby one, and wait for Shen Yao to return.
"Anya, you're back?" Gao Shanshan said with surprise.
"Mm, I'm back. Perfect timing, I picked some waxberries. Sister-in-law, come and try some!"