This Is My Planet - Chapter 14

Yin Xiaoru’s villa was situated on the outskirts of the city, and the so-called ecological garden was actually not far away. It encompassed a vast area comprising hills, flowing water, lakes, grasslands, and various ecosystems.

Walking side by side on the cobblestone path, Yin Xiaoru and Xia Guixuan strolled past the lakeside with drooping willows. The flowers bloomed vibrantly along the lake, exuding a tranquil fragrance. The cry of cranes echoed, and as white cranes soared over the lake, several goldfish leaped, causing ripples in the water.

In the distance, small hills covered in lush green trees gave a sense of misty tranquility with clouds swirling around.

Xia Guixuan was slightly surprised, unexpectedly finding such a celestial scene within the city.

Yin Xiaoru, on the other hand, felt a bit like she was on a date with a man in the park… because she was too familiar with the scenery here, it didn’t evoke much feeling. The only difference was the very good-looking man walking beside her.

It felt quite nice.

But stealing a glance at Xia Guixuan, who seemed completely absorbed in the scenery, made her want to curl her lips.

What’s so great about it, fool? Is the lake more appealing than me?

…Maybe in his mind, that’s really the case.

You’re not even that good-looking! What’s there to be proud of, hmph!

Never mind, he came to see the ecological garden, there’s business to attend to… What am I thinking?

Yin Xiaoru retracted her rich thoughts and began explaining:

“The Yin family has long wanted to sell this land, but whoever buys it would either turn it into a golf course or real estate. I’m not willing to do that, so I’d rather spend money maintaining it… I understand their thinking though. If it’s not developed for tourism, it holds little value… Initially, it was to nurture Earth’s migrants, but now they are widespread in the Great Xia. As a research facility, it’s too expensive to maintain, which is quite awkward.”

“I think it’s excellent,” Xia Guixuan complimented, a rare acknowledgment. “This is the place I’ve seen and liked most since I left seclusion.”

Yin Xiaoru pursed her lips, “What’s the use? Maintenance is too expensive, and relying on my main business to fund it feels like pouring money into a bottomless pit. I can only gradually reduce the scale; some difficult-to-maintain flora and fauna will no longer be brought in. But now, the family uses this as a pretext to criticize me.”

“They aren’t really criticizing your management; they just don’t value this old industry and want to exchange it for something more profitable,” Xia Guixuan explained.

“Yes, the ecological garden and me,” Yin Xiaoru said indifferently.

Xia Guixuan glanced at her.

Yin Xiaoru was gazing at the lake, her eyes somewhat hazy, but there was a hint of a cold smile on her lips, “It’s okay if I make them a fortune… but if it’s big money, they’ll definitely find ways to push me out and pluck the peaches. This financial balance I maintain, coupled with Sister Yan’s protection, generally keeps things from getting too ugly. But I didn’t expect them to resort to the tactic of arranged marriage; it’s really shameless.”

“Is this related to your injury?” Xia Guixuan inquired.

Yin Xiaoru finally asked, “Did you see my fight last night?”

Xia Guixuan chuckled.

Yin Xiaoru pursed her lips; perhaps he had saved her life, and suddenly, the sense of superiority over this ‘little demon’ couldn’t rise anymore.

Should this little fox practice returning favors? Hmph.

“They might not know that the person who fought them last night was me, so it probably has little to do with this,” Yin Xiaoru suddenly laughed. “Most likely, it’s just because the young master of Zhou family has taken an interest in me, Yin Xiaoru.”

Was he angry or nervous? Yin Xiaoru sneakily glanced at him.

Xia Guixuan was about to speak but stopped.

Yin Xiaoru gave him a sideways glance, “Say what you want to say.”

“Do you want me to be honest?”

“Yes, it’ll help me analyze.”

Xia Guixuan was honest, “I think this Zhou person is only interested in the ecological garden, the woman is just an addition.”

Yin Xiaoru almost wanted to kick him into the lake.

Xia Guixuan said leisurely, “Your submissions to the military, if rejected repeatedly, it’s like a step down each time, causing frustration. I guess the Zhou family is also involved in related industries. You might have heard about their technological advancements, tried to steal their samples, and accidentally stumbled upon the serum for human modification, hence being pursued. If we calculate the timeline, it seems like you provoked the Zhou family first.”

“You…” Yin Xiaoru suppressed the rough words, “The Zhou family must have been planning to merge with my company for a while. Otherwise, why would my second aunt rush over here? Even Yin Zhongxiang’s report claiming I have a man is at most a trigger for her hasty visit. There’s no way I’m the one who started this!”

After a moment of silence between them, neither said a word.

The whole situation was simple: Yin Xiaoru wanted to steal Zhou family’s technology, and the Zhou family wanted to directly merge with Yin family’s subsidiary, taking everything. The headquarters of the Yin family had wanted to sell the branch for a while now, so it was a perfect match.

Yin Xiaoru said bitterly, “If my research makes progress and the military takes notice, then the branch company will be secure.”

“You care so much about the branch, is it to have a place to avoid the capital, or is there another reason?”

Yin Xiaoru narrowed her eyes at him for a while and slowly said, “Regardless of the reason, this is my company. If someone wanted to take over your home, would you just sell it?”

Xia Guixuan’s gaze seemed distant, fragments of the past flashing before his eyes. After a while, he suddenly smiled, “You’re surnamed Yin, they’re surnamed Zhou, it’s quite amusing.”

Yin Xiaoru said, “Well, you’re surnamed Xia, what of it? You came to see the ecological garden, did you find anything interesting?”

Xia Guixuan pointed into the distance, “I saw Moonlight Grass… You said this is an Earth ecological garden, but this grass is clearly not from Earth. How do you explain that?”

Yin Xiaoru replied honestly, “Due to the spiritual energy of this planet in, many plants transplanted from Earth have undergone mutations. In fact, many animals are changing… Very few Earth organisms remain unchanged.”

Xia Guixuan nodded, “That makes it simpler. Moonlight Grass, combined with the Clear Pond Flowers by this lakeside, extracting pulp, then with…”

“Hold on,” Yin Xiaoru interrupted, “The components of these two plants have nothing to do with the side effects of our potion.”

“I believe your research has reached a very high level… You should also know that multiple different components, combined in different proportions and under different conditions, will produce different effects?”

“…This doesn’t require a high level because it’s common knowledge for middle schoolers.”

“So, have you already comprehensively understood all combinations in the universe?”

“Our technology is far from its peak, no one dares claim complete knowledge. Otherwise, what would we research?”

Xia Guixuan felt a bit relieved, he almost thought these guys were more impressive, “I also can’t claim complete understanding. But fortunately, regarding these particular plants, I happen to know a bit more than you.”

Yin Xiaoru was stunned for a moment.

Despite her saying it was ‘middle school knowledge,’ the vast majority of divine descendants couldn’t articulate it as well as Xia Guixuan. Both sides had different systems; the divine descendants emphasized individual cultivation, inheriting generational experiential knowledge, focusing on “enlightenment” and “cultivation,” rather than the induction and practice of objective cosmic laws.

They knew that combining certain items in a certain way could yield Foundation Establishment Pills, with strict control over the temperature and even the location and time chosen being precise, but few bothered to ask “why”, and even if they did, the conclusions they reached often diverged greatly from the essence.

It usually required reaching a relatively high level of cultivation, the so-called ‘penetrating the true nature,’ to ‘see through the essence,’ and reach a higher level in the Dao.

Yin Xiaoru now felt that Xia Guixuan seemed to have a better understanding. Anyway, she was willing to give it a try.

“So, what combination conditions are required? Don’t tell me it needs some Samadhi True Fire, we can’t produce that.”

“I said, for this kind of low-level potion, it’s not even close to the level of conflicting civilizations. Ordinary fire will do, and there’s no need for any marvelous alchemy furnace, regular heating is enough…”

“To what temperature should it be heated?”

Xia Guixuan paused, “What do you mean by ‘what temperature’?”

Yin Xiaoru didn’t know how to explain it to this illiterate, so she simply held up two fingers.

Whoosh, a flame emerged from the tips of her fingers.

“So, you can still perform a couple of spells,” Xia Guixuan observed like watching a kindergarten kid doing homework, making appreciative noises, “Your fire control is quite stable, acceptable in terms of skill level.”

“I didn’t ask for your assessment of how stable it is,” Yin Xiaoru was exasperated, “The fire is currently at 300 degrees Celsius. How far is it from your requirement?”

Xia Guixuan observed with interest for a moment, “Let’s double it first.”

“…” Yin Xiaoru exerted some effort, and the flames intensified, noticeably less ‘stable’ now.

“Add a bit more.”

Yin Xiaoru’s forehead showed traces of sweat as she struggled to increase the temperature.

“Yes, this heat is right. Remember to heat it evenly, and in an hour, there will be a new change. Try combining it with your previous research then, if it doesn’t work, we’ll see.”

The flames vanished. Yin Xiaoru wiped her sweat, “That was exhausting.”

Xia Guixuan praised, “Precisely controlling the flame temperature is the basis of an excellent alchemist; you have a lot of potential in this area…”

Yin Xiaoru grumbled, “666 degrees exactly… with our technology, we can effortlessly control it. Why bother exerting so much effort to control the fire?”

Xia Guixuan paused, choosing not to say anything.

“The times have changed, Sindy,” Yin Xiaoru patted his shoulder, “I’ll have someone at the research institute give it a try. Don’t wander around on your own; there’s a tiger in the mountains… It’s better to head home first. I’ll call you later.”