Chapter 52: She’s Just Lazy

At 11:30 PM, Shen Yanming and Bi Qiao’an, clad in thin cotton pajamas and plastic slippers, grabbed their stools and basins and ventured out into the rain. They followed the familiar narrow path to Qingning Mountain, a ritual they performed every night.

Upon reaching their destination, they arranged their stools and basins, sitting close to each other as they awaited the stroke of midnight. 

The dense raindrops fell relentlessly, but at this specific hour, the rainwater underwent a mystical transformation. As the droplets touched their skin, they felt incredibly comfortable, devoid of any coldness. Their spaces absorbed the tremendous energy from the rain, leading to noticeable changes day by day.

Bi Qiao’an grasped Shen Yanming’s arm, her curiosity piqued. “What do you think? If we didn’t have our spaces, could we still absorb the energy from the rain?”

Shen Yanming shook his head, pondering the question. “I don’t know. I mean, who would willingly get soaked in the middle of the night? Even if someone got caught in the rain, they might not notice anything unusual or keep quiet about it.”

An idea suddenly struck her, and she tugged at him urgently. “Yanming, quick, get me some mushroom bags. I want to scatter them on the ground and see if mushrooms will grow.”

Shielded by their bodies, Shen Yanming swiftly retrieved two large, brown mushroom bags from his space and handed them to Bi Qiao’an. She eagerly opened the bags, revealing the dark, rich substrate and the white, thread-like mycelium. With care, she evenly distributed the contents around her, hoping for a bountiful harvest.

After finishing, Bi Qiao’an mumbled, a hint of regret in her voice, “Why didn’t I think of this sooner? We’ve wasted so much energy rain.”

Shen Yanming comforted her, his voice gentle, “We don’t even know if this will actually grow mushrooms yet. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“We’ll find out in a couple of days,” Bi Qiao’an replied, her excitement building. “Mushroom bags can produce mushrooms pretty quickly. Maybe with the energy rain, their growth cycle will be even shorter, and the yield greater. The mushrooms might even retain some of the energy.”

Shen Yanming nodded, a distant memory surfacing in his mind. “You might be onto something. In my previous life, the fruits after the rain always tasted especially good, as if they were infused with a special essence.”

Bi Qiao’an’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. “If we can really grow mushrooms, let’s plant them every day from now on. They grow the fastest!”

“Okay, we’ll keep some of the picked mushrooms to dry in the kitchen as a cover,” Shen Yanming agreed, his mind already planning ahead. “Also, let’s not pick them all. If others in the community are interested, they can take some home.”

However, Bi Qiaoan was sceptical. “I doubt they’ll come out to pick mushrooms. On the one hand, no one wants to get caught in the rain, and on the other hand, everyone is quite wary of poisonous mushrooms. Even if they find mushrooms on Qingning Mountain, I’m afraid they’ll immediately assume they are poisonous.”

Shen Yanming reassured her, “They probably wouldn’t assume that. The mushroom bags I got contain the most common oyster and shiitake mushrooms, known for their safety and delicious taste.” 

He paused, considering the bigger picture. “The higher-ups in Qinghua have already taken action. Maybe after a while, they’ll mobilize everyone to search for food in the mountains and the sea and stockpile it.”

As the energy rain came to an end, Shen Yanming and Bi Qiao’an collected the precious rainwater into their spaces. They carried their stools and plastic basins, walking hand in hand towards Building 6 in District B, their hearts filled with hope and anticipation for the future.

Once they reached the bottom of the building, they set down their belongings and wrung out the excess rainwater from their clothes. They gathered their things and took the elevator back to their room, eager to shed their wet garments and enjoy the comfort of their home.

After a refreshing hot shower and changing into clean, dry pajamas, the couple realized it was already 3:00 AM. 

Despite the late hour, Bi Qiao’an couldn’t contain her curiosity. She pulled Shen Yanming into the planting space, her voice filled with wonder. “I feel my connection with the space is deeper, and I always sense that something different has appeared in the space.”

Shen Yanming followed her gaze and saw a vague outline of a mountain, shrouded in a mysterious white mist. Intrigued, he took Bi Qiao’an’s hand, and together they walked towards the enigmatic sight. After about 15 minutes, they reached the front of the mist, and the mountain’s presence became clearer, standing tall and majestic in the distance.

The couple exchanged glances, their eyes wide with astonishment. Shen Yanming looked down and noticed a hint of green beneath his feet. He squatted down, scooping up a handful of soil and examining it closely. “Look, there’s already a hint of green here,” he said, his voice filled with excitement. “Maybe when the white mist spreads further back, a grassland will appear.”

Bi Qiao’an marveled at the small blades of grass on his fingertips, a joyful smile spreading across her face. “It’s like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates. There will always be surprises waiting for us!”

Shen Yanming smiled and nodded, his own curiosity piqued. He focused his consciousness on his storage space, and sure enough, just like the planting space, new and intriguing elements had emerged.

He led Bi Qiao’an into his storage space, which had expanded to an impressive 50 acres after more than a month of being bathed in the energy rain. The ground remained covered in pristine jade tiles, and the newly added space stretched out before them, vast and empty.

Shen Yanming swiftly retrieved an electric scooter from his space, and together, they rode towards the edge of the white mist, their hearts pounding with anticipation. As they approached, Shen Yanming squinted, trying to make sense of the strange sight before them. Could it really be another mountain?

Bi Qiao’an’s voice broke through his thoughts, her words laced with realization. “It’s not a mountain, but boxes stacked up like a mountain!”

With her keen observation, Shen Yanming took a closer look and indeed saw countless boxes, stacked one upon another, reaching the heights of a small mountain and extending as far as the eye could see, like a vast mountain range.

Bi Qiao’an shared her theory, her mind racing with possibilities. “I guess they might be things left by the previous owners of the space. Maybe this space has gone through many owners. When we first became the owners, what we saw was just the tip of the iceberg of this space’s original appearance.”

Shen Yanming nodded, considering her words. The ring, an unassuming family heirloom, had been passed down through the Shen family for thousands of years. It was highly likely that his ancestors had discovered the space’s secrets long ago, recognizing the ring’s importance and ensuring its safekeeping through the generations.

After a thorough exploration, Shen Yanming and Bi Qiao’an emerged from the space, realizing it was nearly 4:00 AM. 

Shen Yanming pulled Bi Qiao’an into a warm embrace, his voice soft and caring. “Let’s get some sleep. I’ll let you rest in the morning, and when you’re ready, we can go in and collect the fruits and grains.”

Bi Qiao’an yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. “Mm, good night,” she mumbled, her eyelids growing heavy with the promise of a restful slumber.

As the space continued to expand, the couple found themselves with increasingly more areas to tend to. Since planting the fruit trees and grains, they had only harvested them once during the Spring Festival holiday, an experience that left them both with sore backs and waists. The memory of the exhausting labor made them hesitant to repeat the process.

Bi Qiao’an, in a moment of self-indulgence, found excuses to avoid the work, claiming that the grains they had bought from abroad were enough to last them a lifetime, that overusing the space might render it unable to grow crops in the future, and that Shen Yanming’s storage space was already running out of room.

Deep down, Shen Yanming knew she was just being lazy.

However, after witnessing the diligence of his ancestors, Shen Yanming felt a renewed sense of purpose. He could no longer allow himself to indulge in the comfort of idle living. With determination, he decided to pick all the fruits from the trees and store them away the next day, along with harvesting and storing all the grains.

From that moment on, they would harvest once every quarter. Although they had observed that the fruit trees could blossom and bear fruit, and the grains could sprout and mature within a month, Bi Qiao’an’s words of caution echoed in his mind. What if overuse made it impossible to grow crops in the future? 

It would be a troublesome situation, especially considering that when they first became the owners, the space was a mere one acre in size. Until they could unravel the reason behind the space’s expansion, it was wise to proceed with caution.

As sleep began to claim him, Shen Yanming’s mind continued to whir with thoughts of the future. The amount of fruits and grains they would harvest would only continue to grow, and they couldn’t simply pile them on the floor. It seemed that ordering some sturdy cartons would be a necessary task for the next day.