The First Guest at the B&B

"What you're describing reminds me of a pig."

When Xie Luan heard Liang Bo recount how a bird at the front lines used a high-explosive bomb to detonate a supply truck carrying ammunition, she thought of Jiang Li's pig.

Jiang Li had brought her pig to the research institute before. When Jiang Li came to deliver pumpkins, the piglets followed closely behind her, never running around. When they talked, the piglets would listen attentively, as if they were learning human language.

The little pig always had the same expression on its face as a human, which was definitely not something an animal should have.

What impressed Xie Luan the most was that when Jiang Li briefly left for the bathroom that day, the little pig nudged her and pointed to the glass on the table with its nose, meaning that it wanted Xie Luan to give it water.

Xie Luan: "That pig probably has the intelligence of a seven-year-old child."

Upon hearing this, Liang Bo immediately asked, "Can I examine that pig?"

The sudden discovery of mutated birds using human weapons on the front lines has forced humanity to re-evaluate the potential threats posed by animals.

They need to reassess the intelligence of mutated animals and take a series of corrective measures. For example, the high-explosive weapons carried by soldiers may need to be reregulated, and safety modifications need to be made to some throwable weapons to prevent human-made weapons from falling into the hands of animals and causing injury or death to humans.

Xie Luan: "You'll have to ask the pig's owner. I can give you her contact information. As for whether she's willing to let you study her pig, that depends on her."

"..."

After crying on the ground for a while, Zhu Cuihua realized that no one was there to comfort her, so she had no choice but to run off to find Jiang Tang, but Jiang Tang was busy making fruit tea.

Zhu Cuihua wisely went to the potato field alone to dig potatoes. As she dug, she unearthed a stone that was emitting a green glow.

The little pig stared at the stone for a long time before finally choosing to carry it to Jiang Li.

"What are you doing? Don't nudge me."

Jiang Li was busy planting vegetables and watering them.

She felt something nudging her ankle, and without even looking, she knew it was a piglet.

The piglet kept nudging her.

Jiang Li didn't even turn her head. "I'm busy! I don't have time for you. Go play by yourself."

Zhu Cuihua persisted relentlessly.

Jiang Li turned around, intending to slap it hard, but then she noticed that Zhu Cuihua had a green-glowing stone in her mouth.

"What are you carrying in your mouth?"

I took it off and took a look.

Seeds of Abundant Soil

[Item Description: A keepsake left behind by the Goddess of Harvest. Use it to trade with the goddess, and you will receive something unexpected.]

Jiang Li: "?"

What she had been searching for so desperately had actually been found by a little piglet?

"Well, at least you've done something good."

Jiang Li held the seeds of fertile soil with a smile.

Zhu Cuihua could tell from her expression that this was a good thing. She snorted, wagged her pig tail, and ran off to continue digging potatoes.

Jiang Li placed the seeds of fertile soil she had received at the feet of the statue with a devout expression.

"I found what you were looking for."

A beam of light flashed, and the Seed of Abundant Soil vanished.

Instead, there was a palm-sized wooden box, inside which lay a small white flower.

At the base of the flower, there were several golden, thread-like things attached.

Jiang Li curiously picked up the little flower from the ground and placed it in her palm.

This is?

Dodder flower

Jiang Li looked at the small flower in her hand.

Cuscuta, also known as yellow silk vine or dragon whisker seed.

Parasitic herbaceous plants have no roots or leaves and can only survive by parasitizing other plants. To put it bluntly, they are plants that cannot survive on their own through photosynthesis and can only depend on other plants for survival.

Just as she was thinking this, she felt a tickling sensation in her palm. The dodder flower gently scratched her palm with its thread-like stem.

When Jiang Li touched it with her finger, it would shrink its petals, looking very nervous and shy.

This tiny flower is so fragile; although it's alive, it couldn't even survive on its own. Surely such a plant couldn't be as lethal as the vine? Could it help me complete my "mining" mission?

Jiang Li sighed, carefully put away the little flower, and went to find Lu Mingjue to tell him the news.

……

"These are... the seeds of revitalized plants?" Lu Mingjue looked at the small white flowers in the wooden box.

It's not quite what he expected.

He had witnessed firsthand how a single plant had transformed the farmland. Now, with this delicate little white flower placed before him, he found it hard to imagine what it would eventually become.

Jiang Li: "I'm not quite sure what this plant will look like when it grows up; I'll only know after I plant it."

Lu Mingjue put away the box. "I will take the seed to the front line. How to use this seed is up to Commander Song."

"in addition……"

Lu Mingjue took out a stamped points ticket.

"This is what they promised you: they're willing to pay any price to buy your seed. So you can fill in the amount yourself, and the points will be transferred to your account later."

Jiang Li thought for a moment, "I don't need points, can I change my request?"

"What are your requirements?"

"I need a few people to help me with farming. My farm is growing more and more crops, and I'm too busy to manage it all. It's also hard to find reliable people. People with farming experience would be ideal."

Lu Mingjue: "It's not a difficult matter. I will report it and try my best to arrange a few professional growers for you."

She trusted the people the base arranged, and since she made this request, the higher-ups would definitely select the most reliable growers for her, which was better than her finding someone randomly on her own.

……

"You're going to take my piglets for research?"

As soon as Jiang Li returned to the farm, she saw Xie Luan arrive with people from the Animal Research Institute, who proposed to study Zhu Cuihua.

Jiang Li; "..."

"This is Liang Bo, who specializes in the study of mutant animals. I was the one who mentioned to him that you have a very intelligent pig."

Xie Luan told Jiang Li about how the alien beasts on the front lines had begun to learn how to use human weapons.

Jiang Li was a little stunned after hearing this. "Is this something a bird would do?"

Xie Luan: "Although it sounds unbelievable, it is true. This incident caused Commander Song and his men to lose the batch of ammunition transported from the First Base."

Liang Bo stepped forward and said, "Farmer Jiang, don't worry, I promise I won't hurt your pig. I'll just conduct a series of intelligence tests on it to see just how intelligent the animal is."

In fact, Jiang Li herself was also very curious about how high Zhu Cuihua's IQ really was.

She picked up the piglet and said to it, "Congratulations, because of your outstanding intelligence, you're going to be caught for research."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cuihua's eyes widened immediately, and she struggled in Jiang Li's arms, trying to escape.

It doesn't want to be captured and used for research!

"Look, it seems to understand," Xie Luan said with a smile.

Liang Bo: "It actually knows what some of the words mean."

"It seems we still know too little about animals."

No matter how much Zhu Cuihua struggled, Jiang Li still handed the piglets over to Liang Bo, saying, "Going there will be a contribution to human society."

Zhu Cuihua: "!"

It contributes poop, but it doesn't want to contribute anything.

Liang Bo carried Zhu Cuihua into the car, while Xie Luan stayed behind.

"May I see your farm?"

Compared to when I last came here, this place has undergone tremendous changes, and vines have become the main feature of the scenery.

Jiang Li led her inside, saying, "Feel free to look around."

He also made sure to tell Xie Luan, "I've grown an evolved plant, which is a garlic clove."

Xie Luan saw the candied hawthorns and garlic in Jiang Li's field.

She touched it and exclaimed, "Evolved plants can actually be grown now?"

Jiang Li: "Of course."

It just requires spending more gold coins.

Xie Luan thought for a moment. Jiang Li could even grow living plants, let alone evolved plants. This should be a piece of cake for her.

"If there were more and more excellent farmers like you, that would be great. Evolutionary plants grow quickly and produce fruit frequently. If all farmers could grow such plants, humanity would never lack food."

Jiang Li felt that it was probably unrealistic to expect everyone to grow this plant, but she could grow more of it.

Just then, Jiang Tang came over. "Xiao Li, afternoon tea is ready. Why don't you bring Researcher Xie over for some afternoon tea?"

Jiang Li nodded. "Understood."

Xie Luan looked at her. "Afternoon tea?"

So exquisite? They've even prepared afternoon tea?

Having lived in the apocalypse for so many years, she had almost forgotten what afternoon tea tasted like.

Xie Luan used to come from a wealthy family. Her family was quite rich both before and after the apocalypse. Before the apocalypse, she also had the habit of drinking afternoon tea. But now everything is scarce, and it can no longer be compared with before the apocalypse.

Jiang Li led her into the lobby of the guesthouse.

Looking at the exquisite guesthouse, Xie Luan suddenly felt that the conditions outside weren't so bad after all. In fact, as long as you have the money to build a nicer house to live in, it's not a bad thing.

Once inside, the room was bright and clean.

Some refreshments were laid out on the long table.

"This is……"

When Xie Luan saw the red velvet cake on the table, her mind went blank for a moment.

The cake slices, with their distinct layers and vibrant colors, were arranged in rows on the table. The cake base, with its distinct layers ranging in color from bright red to wine red, was topped with a layer of white cream and garnished with a few berries. The exquisite craftsmanship instantly transported Xie Luan back to the pre-apocalyptic world.

"Did you make this yourselves?" she asked.

Jiang Li: "You can understand it that way."

Xie Luan couldn't help but say, "Your cooking skills are really good. Just looking at it makes it look delicious. The main thing is, where did you get so many ingredients, like cream and cocoa powder?"

Not only that, it is estimated that cheese, coloring, and vanilla extract were also added.

These kinds of cakes and desserts are quite complicated to make, and nowadays nobody eats such delicate food.

"Great, afternoon tea is served." Qiao Wu walked in, took off her straw hat, and sat down.

She glanced around and didn't see her colleague Lin An. Logically, Lin An should have been the first to arrive at this kind of event.

"Lin An isn't here," Jiang Li said. "She went to the front lines to take care of some things. Let's eat first."

He didn't forget to introduce Xie Luan, "This is Researcher Xie from the base's research institute, who is also here to visit the farm."

Qiao Wu and Xie Luan had already met before, so they were not strangers.

Jiang Tang asked Xie Luan, "Researcher Xie, what kind of tea would you like to drink? We have milk tea and pure tea."

Xie Luan blinked. "There's milk tea too?"

Jiang Tang: "Of course, otherwise why would it be called afternoon tea?"

I didn't make milk tea before because I didn't have enough ingredients. Now that I have milk and tea, I naturally have to make milk tea too.

She planned to make it fresh and drink hot milk tea.

Jiang Tang took an electric slow cooker, put the black tea that Jiang Li had just grown into the pot, added a little sugar, and slowly stir-fried it over low heat. Soon, the pot turned a caramel color. She poured in milk and simmered it. As she stirred, the aroma of the milk and tea burst out.

The aroma of caramel combined with the creamy fragrance of cooked milk created a flavor that felt both strange and familiar to Xie Luan.

Hot milk tea is poured into a cup and paired with cakes and desserts; this scene is a rare treat in the apocalypse.

Jiang Li picked up the cake, took a bite of the outer buttercream frosting, and it tasted like a bite of cheese, with a rich, creamy flavor.

"It's been so long since I've had a dessert with this milky flavor."

It's something to miss.

Logically speaking, desserts are a girl's favorite, and if they could have them, no one would not love them.

Chen Ye and Jiang Yan also received a piece of cake and a cup of milk tea, and the two boys ate with great relish.

"It's so sweet," Jiang Yan said. "I feel like I'm going to gain a lot of weight after eating this piece of cake."

Xie Luan: "You guys are actually starting to worry about gaining weight?"

Many people can't even get enough to eat!

"Can I have another slice of tiramisu?" Xie Luan asked longingly, looking at the remaining tiramisu on the table after finishing her red velvet cake.

Jiang Li: "Of course, eat as much as you want, there's no limit."

Xie Luan couldn't wait to pick up a piece and bite into it. The top layer of cocoa powder was slightly bitter, followed by a slight lactic acid sensation, and the texture was smooth and soft.

She ate two pieces in one go and was quite full.

"Only after leaving the safe zone did I realize how good life the people outside are living," Xie Luan said with a sigh.

I wish I could drink milk tea and eat desserts every day.

Jiang Li, thinking that her guesthouse hadn't opened yet and there were still a few empty rooms, suggested, "If you like, stay here for a few days. You can eat cake anytime you want here."

Xie Luan's eyes lit up upon hearing this. "I can still live here?"

"Of course, there are rooms upstairs."

Xie Luan, led by Jiang Li, arrived at the room and immediately made a decision: "I've decided, I'm staying here and won't go back to the safe zone for now."

[Task: The First Guest at the B&B (Completed)]

[Task Description: Greet a guest upon check-in]

[Task Reward: 10 Gold Coins]

Lin An and Qiao Wu are both recognized as [employees] by the system, so even if they check in, they are not considered guests. But Xie Luan is different; Xie Luan is a [tourist].

Xie Luan generously transferred 10,000 points to Jiang Li as payment for the room.

"I'll prepay, and if I want to stay here again sometime, it will be deducted from this amount."

"Okay."

Xie Luan took a few pieces of cake back to the car to give to Liang Bo and the others. She had originally asked them to wait for her to get in the car and leave, but now she had decided not to leave.

"Liang Bo, you guys go back first. I plan to stay here and do some research for a few days."

Liang Bo: "?"

"Are you doing research here?"

Xie Luan casually made up an excuse, "Well, Farmer Jiang has cultivated evolved plants, including the living vines on this farm. I think they are all worth studying, so I plan to record and observe them here for a while."