Inheriting a Farm Made Me an Internet Sensation - Chapter 38

Lin Muhan let out a soft “mm” and took Tan Xiao’s hand, walking back to the small courtyard together.

In the blink of an eye, the day of Tan Xiao’s symposium arrived. She didn’t intentionally change into formal business attire; instead, she wore a white overcoat paired with wide-leg trousers and leather boots. Her hair was swept up with the jade hairpin Lin Muhan had given her as she arrived at Binhai Agricultural College.

Although she had been hired by the college, this was actually her first time visiting the campus.

Less than a kilometer past the school gates, small mounds of earth could be seen everywhere in the flower beds on both sides of the path. Even on the lawns, small dirt piles popped up from time to time. Perhaps some special preparations had been made to welcome the guests, as she didn’t see any livestock running wild along the way.

The lush shrubs and the ubiquitous mounds of earth gave her a sudden, melancholy sense of nostalgia, as if she were returning to her alma mater after many years.

Immediately after, she gave a bitter smile. Sure enough, every agricultural college in the world seemed to have the same “virtue.”

“I was just planning to pick you up, and here you are finding your own way in,” a voice said.

It was Professor Wu. Having finished his arrangements, he had rushed over personally to receive today’s guest of honor.

If it were anyone else, he certainly wouldn’t have gone to such lengths. But there was no helping it; the reason Binhai Agricultural College could break through the ranks and gain the attention of agricultural colleges and experts nationwide was entirely because of Tan Xiao.

He had to make sure this “little ancestor” was well-received.

“I knew you were busy, so I didn’t want to disturb you. Since it’s still early, I figured I could wander around a bit,” Tan Xiao said with a smile. She felt genuine gratitude toward the old man. If Professor Wu hadn’t given her this opportunity, her research project might not have successfully made the shortlist.

Professor Wu hadn’t said it out loud, but she could guess that he had done a lot of legwork and spent a great deal of effort persuading others on her behalf.

This was the norm—people had a habit of being prejudiced, believing that it was impossible for someone outside the profession to surpass those within it and make a breakthrough. Therefore, if she had tried to participate in the project in her own name, people might not have even looked at it closely. After all, slots were limited, and they were naturally reserved for those within the major.

Professor Wu didn’t stand on ceremony with her. He pointed toward the campus and asked, “How is it? Don’t you think our school is quite alright? The students are full of youthful spirit and drive—it’s much more interesting than that farm of yours.”

Tan Xiao followed the direction of his finger and saw a “Lost Sheep Notice” posted on the bulletin board. It read: “If you bring my vegetables back to life, I’ll return your sheep. Otherwise, we perish together.” Seeing those three lines of bolded text, her mouth twitched slightly as she commented, “This method is actually quite good.”

Why hadn’t she thought of that back then?

If you’re going down, you might as well take someone with you.

Professor Wu pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, his old face flushing slightly. He coughed and said, “This… this is an accident. Just the students fooling around.” As he spoke, he strode directly toward the bulletin board and, with the fastest speed possible, tore down the various bizarre “lost and found” notices.

It was a stroke of luck that only Tan Xiao had seen them. If the professors and experts from other colleges had seen them, his—no, the Agricultural College’s—reputation would have been completely ruined.

Only after double-checking that there were no more notices did he return to Tan Xiao’s side and lead her to the new media room.

An hour later, the Student Union led the professors, experts, and students from various departments to the room.

From the moment the first group arrived, Professor Wu began introducing her, followed immediately by academic discussions.

By the time Tan Xiao’s throat felt like it was smoking, the scheduled time finally arrived.

She turned to look at the nearly two hundred people sitting in the audience, feeling a surge of nervousness. Taking two deep breaths, she finally stepped up to the podium and began her lecture.

After speaking for nearly an hour, the interaction session began. The students pelted her with one question after another, and she patiently answered each one.

Eventually, Professor Wu saw that she couldn’t hold on much longer and stepped in to take over temporarily, allowing her ten minutes of rest.

After drinking two glasses of water and sucking on a throat lozenge, she finally felt her throat relax a bit.

After sending a message to Lin Muhan, she returned to the podium.

Meanwhile, at Muwen Food.

Lin Muhan finished giving instructions to her assistant, left her office, and headed to the outdoor parking lot.

Just as she opened her car door, she saw Su Han carrying a bag and heading straight for the clubhouse across the street.

Remembering the incident from the other day, she called out to stop her.

Seeing Su Han pause, she walked over quickly and asked, “What exactly did you mean by what you said on the phone that day? It’s impossible for Tan Xiao to have any contact with Jiang Mo.”

Su Han thought for a moment before explaining, “I saw Jiang Mo in Myanmar. I went there through a friend of Tan Xiao’s. It’s only a matter of time before Jiang Mo targets her.”

“Even so, you shouldn’t have said Tan Xiao deserved it,” Lin Muhan insisted stubbornly. Even though she knew Su Han had never treated Tan Xiao like a cousin, she still didn’t want their relationship to be so strained.

At the very least, they needed to know they wouldn’t be backstabbed during their cooperation.

Given Tan Xiao’s character, Lin Muhan could be certain she wouldn’t betray Su Han. Su Han, however, was another story.

Su Han’s words that day had made her sense that kind of danger.

Su Han looked somewhat helpless. “I didn’t say she deserved it. I just feel that before she made her decision, she should have anticipated the possibility of unexpected situations.”

“And you? Did you anticipate running into Jiang Mo there?” Lin Muhan pressed, making her stance clear.

Su Han raised one hand and glanced down at her wristwatch. “Rest assured, if Jiang Mo poses a threat to Tan Xiao’s life—” she met Lin Muhan’s sharp gaze and continued, “—or poses a threat to your relationship, I will certainly intervene. I have a meeting to get to; we’ll talk later.” Without waiting for Lin Muhan’s response, she turned and walked toward the other side.

Thinking of something, she stopped again and reminded her, “You should know exactly what Tan Xiao is planning to do, right? Tell her to get in touch with me before she puts those ideas into action so that I can be prepared.”

Lin Muhan was confused at first, but after a moment of reflection, she understood the meaning behind Su Han’s words.

Did Su Han know that Tan Xiao was about to start a trade war?

Tan Xiao’s goal was to promote pure ecological cultivation nationwide. This would change the farming models of the past thirty years. Setting everything else aside, the points regarding chemical fertilizers and pesticides alone would touch many people’s “cake” and insult the experts who had originally advocated for those methods.

Once these people realized Tan Xiao intended to overturn this cultivation model, they would surely attack her en masse. When that time came, both Anxin Farm and the Huangtian International behind it would face obstacles.

From Su Han’s tone, it seemed she had only recently discovered what Tan Xiao was up to. Ten to one, Su Han felt that Tan Xiao had calculated against her.

In that case, it was no wonder Su Han’s tone wasn’t pleasant.

If it were her, she would probably have the urge to strangle Tan Xiao as well.

Thinking this way, her resentment toward Su Han lessened slightly. She murmured, “You really are one for making a spectacular debut.”

She withdrew her gaze, got into her car, and set off for the Agricultural College.

This was her first time visiting an agricultural college. For some reason, she felt this school was different from her own alma mater and the other universities she had visited.

She couldn’t quite put her finger on what the difference was.

That confusion was answered when she saw students squatting in the gardens and lawns, digging up the soil.

“You unethical sheep! Spit out my graduation thesis!”

A sudden outburst of angry shouting caught her attention. She looked toward the source of the sound and saw a boy wearing slippers, panting as he chased a plump black mountain goat.

The black goat’s four legs were incredibly agile as it ran, bleating “baa baa” as if mocking the weak boy chasing it.

The passing students seemed immune to this scene. They either kept busy with their own tasks or calmly chatted with their companions, even moving aside for the goat and the person with practiced coordination.

Is this… the joy of an agricultural student?

Lin Muhan was stunned for a long while before withdrawing her gaze. Just as she was about to stop a student to ask for directions, Xiao Ran’s excited voice rang out.

“Sister Lin!”

In just a few blinks, Xiao Ran had run up to her and said with a smile, “Sister Lin, are you here to pick up Sister Xiao Xiao?”

“Very smart,” Lin Muhan didn’t hide her intention.

From the fast run, Xiao Ran’s face was flushed. Hearing the answer, the smile on her face broadened, revealing shallow dimples. “Then I’ll take you there.”

“My pleasure.”

Along the way, Xiao Ran kept praising Tan Xiao, clearly having already made her an idol in her heart.

“Sister Lin, did Sister Xiao Xiao really learn everything just by watching live streams? A lot of the time, I feel she is even more professional than we agricultural students. When she gives a lecture, it’s so well-structured. If someone said she graduated from an agricultural college, absolutely no one would doubt it,” Xiao Ran asked curiously, her eyes blinking.

The smile on Lin Muhan’s lips stiffened. She had thought about this question as well.

But the records clearly showed that Tan Xiao had studied Business Management.

She had considered the possibility that Tan Xiao was a genius, but if she truly had such a high talent for agriculture, why had she entered the entertainment industry in the beginning?

Even her personality seemed to have undergone a massive shift.

While it was true that a person might undergo changes in mindset and character after experiencing cyberbullying, Tan Xiao had changed far too much.

Every time she thought about it, a series of questions would spring up in her mind, but she never found a definitive answer. She had asked Tan Xiao, but the answers she received were no different from what she already knew and did not clear her doubts.

Not hearing a reply, Xiao Ran stopped, belatedly realizing she might have said something wrong.

She raised her hand to cover her mouth and explained in a small voice, “I… I didn’t mean anything else. I—I just wanted to say that Sister Xiao Xiao is too amazing. She’s even more impressive than the most talented seniors in our school. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have drawn experts and professors from all over the country to our Agricultural College this time.”