Chapter 88

With the Shen father and son serving as his financial backers, Ye Chen had no hesitation in reforming his planting methods. After being inspired by the hot article on Agricultural Economy Network, “With This Tree-Planting Wonder Tool, Farmers Are All Smiles,” Ye Chen waved his hand and decisively ordered five specialized pit diggers.

This type of digger could be operated by a single person and ran on diesel fuel. At the top was a motor with two handles, while the bottom connected to a spiraled drill rod with wide, sturdy blades, resembling a twisted tornado potato. With a bit of practice, a user could drill a hole for a tree in just thirty seconds.

Ye Chen gently stroked the new machine’s outer shell, thinking how great it was to have money—he could buy whatever farm equipment he wanted at the snap of a finger.

Standing in a line on an open patch of land on the mountain were Shen Mofeng, Ye Chen, Bi An’an, and Qiu Niu and Chi Wen, who had been overseeing the planting and maintenance of the spiritual trees. Each held a pit digger. The backup member of the tree-planting team, Bi Xi, sat on a tree stump observing. Ye Chen, standing at the head of the line, pointed to the various parts of the machine, explaining to the group, “First thing before starting, check the oil level to make sure it’s between these two marks on the dipstick, and press this fuel bubble here…”

“Got it,” Shen Mofeng listened intently, as if taking direction from a movie director.

“…Then confirm that the choke is closed, stand with your feet slightly apart for balance,” Ye Chen demonstrated, spreading his legs and grounding his stance, “and pull the starter cord twice with a short interval between pulls.” He gave the starter cord two firm tugs, and the digger roared to life with a sputtering rumble.

The pit diggers had only arrived that day, and Ye Chen was more familiar with the operation than the others because he’d spent his downtime on set watching tree-planting tutorials repeatedly.

“Finally, open the choke, press down on the throttle, and apply downward pressure.” Ye Chen added pressure, and the blades sliced through the soil as if cutting through tofu. “Just keep pressing it down like this, and make sure to hold the machine head steady and keep your arms steady.”

For ease of movement, Ye Chen had rolled his jacket sleeves up to his elbows, revealing his lean, fair forearms with taut muscles and faintly visible veins. The way he handled even a pit digger was captivating to watch—not to mention the Skymoon series watch worth over two million on his wrist. The sapphire crystal dial sparkled brilliantly, casting fragments of expensive light with each rumble of the digger’s motor.

Ye Chen normally wouldn’t wear that watch for manual labor; something so valuable getting scratched or chipped would feel more painful than breaking a bone. But Shen Mofeng insisted he wear it. Knowing how much Shen Mofeng enjoyed showing off recently, Ye Chen had obediently put it on.

Bi An’an stared at the watch, deliberately staying silent.

The honest Qiu Niu was also drawn to the watch and blurted out, “Your hand…”

Bi An’an, holding back a laugh, pinched Qiu Niu’s back.

Qiu Niu: “…”

“How about it? Got the hang of it now?” Ye Chen pulled the pit digger out, leaving behind a perfectly smooth, round hole in the ground. “You all give it a go. It’s easy; dig a few and you’ll get the hang of it.”

Just then, a few divine beast cubs who had been nearby planting spiritual herbs in shallow pits ran over on their little legs, having run out of seeds. They eagerly asked Ye Chen for a reward, and he fished some chocolates out of his jacket pocket to share with them.

Shen Mofeng, after a moment’s consideration, raised his hand with sudden enthusiasm. “Got the basics down, but I do have a question.”

Ye Chen turned around. “What is it?”

With a shameless grin, Shen Mofeng asked, “Where’d you buy that watch?”

Bi An’an couldn’t help but snicker.

Ye Chen felt his ears heat up, transforming in an instant from a diligent worker to a shy, soft-hearted cake, murmuring, “Didn’t… didn’t you give it to me?”

Feigning surprise, Shen Mofeng replied, “I gave it to you? I must’ve forgotten.”

To flaunt their affection, the esteemed actor didn’t mind acting senile!

Ye Chen turned away, unable to bear it. “Ge, could you… not do this?”

“Come on, jog my memory a little,” Shen Mofeng’s expression was spot-on, like a man genuinely lost in thought. “When, where, why did I give it to you, and what’s the meaning behind it? Time, place, people, reason, outcome—what feelings did this action express? Go on, tell me all about it.”

Bi An’an burst into laughter, pounding on Qiu Niu’s back, who, after a moment, started laughing too.

Shen Mofeng urged, “Hurry up. I’m on the edge here.”

Ye Chen: “…”

Young Master Shen was used to getting his way and wouldn’t stop until he did. Ye Chen knew that if he tried brushing it off now, Shen Mofeng would come up with an even bolder act.

So, bracing himself, Ye Chen began his little speech. “This past New Year’s, in the middle of the night, you came all the way to Italy to give it to me because…” His face flushed crimson. “It was a gift of confession, and the watch dial encompasses the starry sky of the Northern Hemisphere, which means… I’m your entire sky.” Ye Chen lowered his head, dutifully analyzing the sentimental message. “And what it expresses is… that you like me.”

“Aiya, aiya!” Hou Cub put on an act playfully twitching its rabbit ears. “Chen Chen Gege is so sappy!”

“Ah…ah…” Xuanwu Cub, in human form and unable to retract its head, slowly tucked its head into Qiongqi Cub’s shirt. Qi Ge’s face turned red, and he fiercely held down the corner of his clothes.

Qiu Niu, Chi Wen, and Bi Xi also wore gossipy grins, though there was a hint of elder-like satisfaction at seeing the younger generation pair off. Shen Mofeng, feeling entirely gratified, finally stopped his antics and said, “Oh, right. Now I remember.”

With the teasing put aside, they all got back to digging, filling the mountain with lively sounds. In less than ten minutes, they had five neat rows of tree pits lined up on the ground.

Director Ye of Mountain and Sea Realm Greening Office, wiped the sweat from his brow and, feeling quite pleased, declared, “This is nothing short of a leap from the Stone Age straight into the Industrial Age.”

“Without mastering advanced techniques, hardship is inevitable.”

On the other side of the mountain, Li Li operated an excavator under Bai Ze’s guidance, transforming the rugged mountain terrain. They merged fragmented plots, filled ravines with soil from the slopes, and worked toward making the area suitable for machinery.

The goal wasn’t to flatten the mountains into plains but rather to integrate the fragmented plots into larger, manageable tracts, creating paths for agricultural machinery. This fulfilled Director Ye’s grand vision of “driving large-scale farm equipment right into the hen-scratch fields,” significantly reducing labor.

After working with the planting team for a while, Ye Chen handed the pit digger to Bi Xi, who had been observing. “You can take over from here.”

Bi Xi, a slower learner by nature, worked at a relaxed pace, so Ye Chen intentionally gave him extra time to practice.

“I’ve… got it… covered…” Bi Xi assured.

“Really…ama…zing” Xuanwu Cub gazed up at Bi Xi Da Gege with admiration.

Ye Chen then mounted Dang Kang, riding the pig downhill to continue the planting.

After several days of hands-on practice, he was now quite skilled at operating the tractor. Besides him, Bai Ze had also trained Chao Feng and Pu Lao, who previously managed the fields. When Ye Chen was present, he would drive the tractor himself, as infusing plants with Shennong’s power required him to actively engage in the planting process; remote infusions wouldn’t work.

At this stage, Ye Chen was more focused on accumulating divine power than on making money. With the advent of mechanized planting, he chose to cultivate simple crops like rapeseed, leeks, eggplant, and scallions—plants that grew quickly and were easy to care for. These basic crops required much less divine energy than spiritual plants, allowing Ye Chen to spur their rapid growth with just a small infusion of power.

Over a few days of learning and practice, Ye Chen had personally expanded the vegetable fields to nearly five acres. The first two acres of “dual-purpose” rapeseed would be ready to harvest in just a few days. This round would yield rapeseed stalks—the stems and leaves found in stir-fried rapeseed dishes. It was estimated that one acre could produce 200 kilograms, so two acres would yield about 400 kilograms. After harvesting the stalks, the plants would yield rapeseed for oil, and who knew how fragrant the oil from these spirit-infused seeds would be.

Apart from what the divine beasts will consume themselves, Ye Chen plans to select the highest-quality portion of these newly grown spiritual vegetables and sell them online at several times the market price. He’s already ordered a new batch of specially branded produce containers stamped with “Chen Chen Health & Wellness Emporium.” The factory is currently producing them, and once packaging is ready, the vegetables will be listed as premium organic products with assured quality—but also at a notoriously high price and limited in quantity, just enough to cover the cost of seeds and fertilizer, without selling more than necessary.

“It’s not that I want to charge these prices; I’m forced to…” Ye Chen thought, feeling no guilt whatsoever.

After all, with his overpowered abilities, his produce is exceptionally high-yield and of superb quality. While a few hundred pounds now isn’t much, as he grows more, a large-scale release of spiritual plants could create issues: first, he couldn’t easily explain the source of the production; second, it would negatively impact farmers who rely on their annual harvest from just a few acres. If Ye Chen disrupts the market, he might endanger their livelihoods. Third, ordinary customers wouldn’t feel particularly grateful just for tasting a few delicious vegetables, and earning divine power this way would be inefficient.

Luckily…

Since Bi An’an entered the world of commerce, she has been funding the construction of Hope Schools in impoverished areas, with ten schools completed to date. She has dedicated all her earnings to feeding and educating these children. However, with the number of children she supports growing, her resources have long been stretched thin. Her entire wardrobe is now bargain finds from Taobao. While many caring individuals do support these causes, the number of impoverished children nationwide is far greater, so it’s impossible to meet all needs. As a result, the quality of the children’s school meals has been stuck at just barely adequate, something that has troubled Bi An’an for a long time.

Many of these children lack basic nutrition, with long-term malnutrition issues. Donating food to them won’t disrupt any market, and a steady supply of tasty, nutritious meals would undoubtedly earn sincere gratitude from the kids—essentially, a perfect outcome. Ye Chen estimated that the divine power he could gain from their gratitude would far surpass the amount of divine power required to support these few acres of vegetable plots, making it a major win.

Ye Chen squinted at the lush green spiritual vegetable fields in the distance, a satisfied smile revealing a gleaming set of small white teeth.

In the future, these fields would be… glittering gold in divine power!

The author has something to say:

You can’t recklessly disrupt the agricultural market, but you can freely shake up the fake health product market…

Black-hearted Chen Chen: I operate without a license, deceive people, make up sales pitches, and market through WeChat, but I know I’m a good boy.

Tyrant Chen Chen: It’s getting colder, let’s drive other health product scammers to bankruptcy…

Other health product scammers: You’re fucking black eating black^[1]A villain doing another villain dirty! 

There is only one way for Lao Shen to die, flirting to death while still alive…