Chapter 293: Chapter 293

Even the luckiest person, if they are unlucky just once, risks losing their life.

It’s possible that Su Malie in my past life didn’t have much to do with Qian Duoduo, Jing Shu mused, deciding not to worry about it unnecessarily.

The energy-saving lights in the base illuminated Qian Duoduo and his family shaking hands with the bigwigs. It was a rare occasion for the entire family to be out together, and Jing Shu finally met the landlord’s "foolish" son, Qian Shengqian, as well as Qian Qianjin and Qian Duoduo’s wife.

This was Jing Shu’s first time seeing Qian Qianjin. True to her name—which sounded like ’thousand jin’—it was an exaggeration to say she weighed an actual thousand jin, but she was easily 150 jin (approximately 165 pounds). She wore a roomy protective suit, idly fidgeting with her clothing. Her skin was well-maintained and tender, though she was a bit on the heavier side.

Qian Duoduo’s wife was quite different from the ’noble lady’ Jing Shu had imagined. Instead, she exuded a quiet elegance indicative of a scholarly family—classy and composed. She was a very charismatic woman who stood behind Qian Duoduo, smiling and nodding along with him, though she also gave off a ’strangers not welcome’ vibe.

As for Qian Duoduo’s "foolish" son, he behaved with unusual seriousness. Dressed in a black cape and red scarf, he solemnly nodded his head at each person he greeted, giving the impression of a leader inspecting his subordinates.

Jing Shu had no idea who the gathered people were or what they did, as Qian Duoduo didn’t introduce them. Similarly, he didn’t reveal much about Jing Shu’s identity.

He only showed an uncommon closeness and favor towards Jing Shu. Qian Duoduo laughed and said, "How do you feel? A bit more surprising than Boss Su’s setup, right? Oh, Boss Su’s daughter is here! Today, you should really enjoy your Uncle Qian’s new territory and give your father a good rundown afterward."

"Okay, Mr. Qian," Su Malie replied, sticking out her tongue.

As usual, Qian Duoduo proceeded to introduce his family. This time, Mrs. Qian didn’t merely nod; she specifically expressed her gratitude to Jing Shu. Even Qian Qianjin bowed to Jing Shu to show her thanks. Many onlookers then realized she must be the rumored person who had saved the ’rare individual.’

Qian Shengqian, however, with a cold, pale face, snorted and glared at Jing Shu, saying, "Bad person."

Jing Shu was bewildered. How on earth did I become the bad person?

While Jing Shu was puzzled, Qian Duoduo blinked, pulled her aside, and explained, "After he ate the spicy strip ice cream you made, he really liked it. Unfortunately, we can’t let him keep eating ice cream like that, so we had to lie and tell him you can no longer make it."

"I see." Jing Shu nodded, thinking it best not to ask too much about his son’s condition.

Having finished the introductions, Qian Duoduo led the group to start the tour on the second floor. The planting base there was vast and utilized modern technology for soilless cultivation, requiring only Pure Water to grow various vegetables.

"Vegetables grown this way can yield six times more on the same land than before," Qian Duoduo explained. "We can use even a small area to cultivate a large quantity of vegetables, significantly reducing our energy consumption. They’re grown under enclosed lights, which keeps all insects at bay, so there’s no need for pesticides. Although it’s still a small scale, we harvest hundreds of kilograms of vegetables daily. These are taken to the fourth floor to be processed into longer-lasting greens."

Su Malie’s mouth hung open as she whispered to Jing Shu, "If I invested, wouldn’t I be able to eat all sorts of fresh vegetables every day in the future?"

Even Jing Shu was impressed, acknowledging that this was much more efficient than the Agricultural Department Mrs. Jing was involved with. But then, Qian Duoduo had wide connections and was able to secure so much equipment.

The third floor was the livestock base, quite spacious though smaller than the second floor. Qian Duoduo’s original farm had been bombed, resulting in almost complete devastation. Yet, in just three short months, Qian Duoduo had amassed a new batch of chickens, ducks, cattle, sheep, pigs, and even a few fish ponds. Judging by the tags on the poultry, Jing Shu knew they must have been sourced from a livestock farm.

Luck was on Qian Duoduo’s side this year. Thanks to the red earthworms, there was plenty of food. Coupled with government-backed breeding efforts, animal numbers had somewhat increased. Still, securing this Domestic Poultry must have cost Qian Duoduo a hefty sum.

Just then, a leopard burst out from the darkness, startling everyone.

"Xiao Hua!" Qian Shengqian rushed forward, patting the leopard’s head affectionately.

"Don’t be afraid, everyone. It’s been tamed and won’t bite," Qian Duoduo said, waving his hand dismissively. He frowned. "Why is it out? Hurry and put it back."

Before anyone could catch their breath, Qian Shengqian, still patting the leopard’s head, pointed at Jing Shu and commanded, "Pounce on her!" The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the 𝗻𝗼𝘷𝗲𝗹•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝕟𝕖𝕥

The leopard instantly sprang forward. Screams erupted. Realizing the leopard was pouncing, people recoiled, shouting in fear, while the bodyguards at the far edge rushed forward, ready to form a human wall—they had no weapons, as none were brought inside. The scene turned to utter chaos.

"Sit!" Jing Shu said coolly, narrowing her eyes.

The leopard, which had been dashing over, screeched to a halt and sat down, mouth open, tongue out, panting.

The once chaotic scene turned deathly silent. Everyone looked on in disbelief, still trying to grasp what had just happened.

Qian Duoduo glared at Qian Shengqian. "Aren’t you embarrassed enough?"

Qian Shengqian stared at the scene incredulously. After a long moment, he hung his head and called out, "Xiao Hua, come back."

The leopard took a couple of seconds to react before scampering back. It then sat on the ground, sticking out its tongue and wagging its tail.

"I’m really sorry for scaring everyone," Qian Duoduo said. "This leopard was raised by a Husky, so... it’s lost its leopard nature but has completely picked up a Husky’s traits. It never bites; it only gets bullied. Did it scare you, Jing Shu? I was terrified you might accidentally strike and kill it. Thank you for sparing its life. I’ll apologize properly for this later."

Jing Shu forced a smile. She had indeed been startled. While debating whether to punch or kick, she suddenly remembered the Illusion ability from her Magic Cube Space and decided to test it on the leopard. I didn’t expect such a good result! Does this mean I can control even larger creatures?

The servants who arrived hurried to lead Xiao Hua away. Of course, reunited with its master after a long separation, the leopard acted spoiled but was successfully lured away with an apple. Only then did the people around breathe a sigh of relief.

"It’s good that it doesn’t bite."

"It just looks a bit scary."

Everyone quickly followed Qian Duoduo away from the third floor to the fourth, the food processing area.

"I must confess to you all," Qian Duoduo announced, "I have already arranged for someone to go to the United States next year to acquire some vegetable dehydration technology and other tools. As you’ve seen elsewhere, there’s still a lot of room for development at the West Mountain One-Stop Base..."