Inheriting a Farm Made Me an Internet Sensation - Chapter 51

With a helper available, Tan Xiao was naturally more than willing and nodded immediately. “You are more than welcome.”

Gao Jie smiled, leaning forward slightly with her neck extended as she whispered, “So, has your mood improved a little?”

Tan Xiao was momentarily stunned. It turned out Gao Jie had seen right through her; she thought she had hidden it well enough.

“Everyone has their own troubles, but what can you do? Life must go on, and work must continue,” Gao Jie said. Her implication was clear: since life continues regardless, there was no sense in wallowing in internal friction.

Tan Xiao twitched the corner of her mouth and nodded slightly, acknowledging the truth in Gao Jie’s words.

Acceptance was one thing, but the discomfort in her heart couldn’t be dispersed all at once. Fortunately, she wasn’t as despondent as she had been the previous night.

Since she had already suffered a setback in her love life, the only thing she could do now was find fulfillment in her career, even if it was just to distract herself.

Thinking this way, she lifted her spirits a bit and began to meticulously observe the growth of the vegetables.

Seeing this, Gao Jie quietly gave Liu Bin an “OK” hand gesture, signaling that they could begin recording.

Soon, everyone at the farm knew the reason for Tan Xiao’s poor state over the past two days—it was because they hadn’t seen Lin Muhan at the farm for two days.

Though they saw the truth, they didn’t speak of it. No one mentioned Lin Muhan in front of Tan Xiao, fearing they might poke at her wound.

Tan Xiao noticed their deliberate avoidance. After three days of continuous adjustment, her mood had improved significantly. At the very least, she no longer spaced out while recording data.

Where should her relationship with Lin Muhan go from here? Her answer was to let nature take its course.

This might be unfair to Muhan, but she truly had no way to tell her secret to her right now.

As for the agreement with Zhu Manli, looking at the current situation, she was destined to end in failure.

Meanwhile, at Huangtian International.

The secretary stood before Su Han’s desk with her head bowed, hesitating to speak. “The Sales Department Manager sent word… neither of the two companies intends to renew their contracts.” She looked up and added, “The manager said he will follow up again.”

Su Han dropped the pen she had been spinning and remained silent for a while before saying, “You may go.”

Since that dinner party ended, Huangtian International had been restricted at every turn. Currently, panic had spread within the company, and rumors were even circulating that Huangtian International was seeking its own destruction.

And all of this was because of Tan Xiao.

Su Han pinched the bridge of her nose and thought for a moment before picking up her phone to call Tan Xiao. “The rice experiments must be put on the agenda. If you need anything, you can speak directly to Sister Chen.”

“President Su, it’s winter. The climate conditions aren’t suitable.”

“Then use greenhouses.”

“Rice is different from vegetables. Using greenhouses for experiments won’t yield ideal results,” Tan Xiao paused, then added, “Can’t hold on anymore?”

Su Han gave a light snort and asked back, “What do you think?”

“Next, I will recruit another batch of people for the farm, expanding the target to the whole country this time.”

“I’ll give you the list later.”

Su Han put down her phone, her fingers tapping on the desk. Putting national green ecological planting on the agenda would inevitably deal a blow to the fertilizer and pesticide markets. This impact would force President Tu and President Zhang to reconsider their stance. However, this wouldn’t solve the immediate problems Huangtian International was facing.

If President Zhang and President Tu chose this moment to sabotage Tan Xiao, then…

Thinking of this, she had an idea. She picked up her phone and called Wang Mo and Wu Yue. She intended to use Tan Xiao’s new arrangements to make the fire burning over the heads of Zhang and Tu even hotter.

At Muwen Foods.

Led by the receptionist, Zhu Manli arrived at Lin Muhan’s office.

The office was decorated simply: a desk, a bookshelf, and a set of sofas. No other furniture was visible.

Hearing the movement, Lin Muhan pulled herself away from her thoughts and stood up to look at Zhu Manli. “Mom, why are you here?” As she spoke, she gave the receptionist a look.

The receptionist understood and quietly left.

With the receptionist gone, Zhu Manli no longer had any reservations. She walked to the sofa in her high heels and sat down, placing her bag beside her before saying slowly, “I was handling some business nearby, so I thought I’d drop in.”

She looked up at Lin Muhan, noting the dark circles under her eyes and her dazed expression. Softly, she said, “If you’re tired, come home. Only home is your safe harbor.”

Lin Muhan gave a bitter laugh and sat opposite Zhu Manli, looking down at her clasped hands on her lap. “That isn’t a safe harbor; it’s a prison I want to escape from.”

Zhu Manli’s pupils dilated, and she said anxiously, “How can you say that? Your father is indeed a bit strict with you, but why does he do it? Isn’t it for your own sake, to keep you from going down the wrong path?”

Lin Muhan’s hands tightened and her eyes reddened. She looked up at Zhu Manli. “Listen, it’s those words again. You tell them every time.” She pursed her lips and gritted her teeth. “Did I ask you to do that? I am an adult now; I can take responsibility for my own life.” She took a deep breath. “So, can I please ask you and him to stop interfering with me?”

“How did you become like this? You’ve truly disappointed me,” Zhu Manli said with a pained expression. “Your father and I have an eye for people that doesn’t miss. That Tan Xiao is not someone worth entrusting your life to. Now, that has been proven.” Her implication was that if Muhan had listened to them, she wouldn’t have been hurt by Tan Xiao.

Lin Muhan laughed softly, her eyes shimmering with tears. She turned her head to look out the window. After a long silence, she spoke hoarsely, “Please leave. I don’t want to see you.”

Zhu Manli stood up and looked down at Lin Muhan, saying earnestly, “Muhan, just how long are you going to be this willful?”

These words were like a flame that ignited all the resentment in Lin Muhan’s heart. She stood up agitatedly and stared angrily at Zhu Manli. “I admit I am willful, but what about you two? Are you sure you haven’t done anything wrong?” She sneered. “Every time I want to walk my own path, you interfere. If I disagree, you say, ‘We’re doing it for your own good.’ Did I need you to be good to me? It’s always been your own wishful thinking.”

Zhu Manli was deeply upset by these words, clutching her chest with a look of disbelief. It took a moment before she could gasp out, “What exactly did Tan Xiao say to you? That you would say such things to your own mother!”

Muhan smiled through her tears. “Even now, you’re still shifting the blame onto others. Is it really that hard to admit you were wrong?”

Without waiting for Zhu Manli to answer, she nodded to herself. “Of course, how could Lawyer Lin ever be wrong? Lawyer Lin has seen countless people, handles every case with rigor and care, and is easygoing and tolerant with others—but how has he treated me, his daughter? Has he ever praised me once? Has he ever listened to my wishes even once? Every single time, hasn’t he just denied me in every possible way?”

Tears rolled down from her eyes. Beyond the anger, there was mostly sorrow.

Sorrow for her past self and her current self.

Ha, Tan Xiao “instigating” her? She would have preferred it if Tan Xiao stood by her side and condemned them, but Tan Xiao wouldn’t do that. Tan Xiao only avoided her, hoping they could understand her and ease the stiff relationship between them.

Without even thinking deeply, she knew they hadn’t given Tan Xiao a kind look. They might have even “politely” humiliated her; that was their style.

Her daughter’s accusations left Zhu Manli speechless. She clutched her chest, her tears falling one by one.

She had thought her daughter’s previous words were just spoken in anger; now she understood that her daughter truly resented her and Old Lin from the bottom of her heart.

Where she and Old Lin really wrong? Clearly, Old Lin did everything for his daughter’s good.

Lin Muhan turned away, raising her hands to wipe the tears from her face. Her back was to Zhu Manli. “You underestimated her. She wouldn’t say anything bad about you in front of me.”

Even though she felt resentment toward Tan Xiao for her secrecy, she still didn’t want them to misunderstand her.

She lowered her head, enduring the heartache and reluctance, her voice trembling. “I am the one who isn’t good enough for her.”

From beginning to end, she was the one forcing it.

Ji Fan was right. From the start, she knew Tan Xiao was passionate about experiments. Even knowing that Tan Xiao spent the vast majority of her time in the fields, she had wanted Tan Xiao to change. In the midst of this confrontation, she had wanted Tan Xiao to take more time to accompany her.

Zhu Manli’s eyes were filled with shock. Her always-confident daughter would actually say such a thing.

She took a step back, her body trembling. She opened her mouth, but couldn’t utter a single word. She only covered her lips with her hand and fled in a panic.

The heavy sound of the door closing echoed in Lin Muhan’s ears, but it didn’t take away the desolation in her heart. She sank powerlessly to the floor, gazing out the window. Was she really wrong?

She had thought she was ready to be with Tan Xiao, but in the end, she realized she was only deceiving herself.

Tan Xiao was unaware of the guilt and pain in Lin Muhan’s heart.

After reading the research reports of Gao Jie’s cousin, She Mingcan, and his two classmates, she was full of anticipation for their arrival.

From the reports, it was clear that these three had deep research into ecological planting, which gave her full confidence in the upcoming experiments.

She Mingcan said that after they finished handing over their current work, they would arrive in ten days.

Experiments aren’t completed overnight. Tan Xiao specifically called to ask for Su Han’s opinion. After getting Su Han’s approval, she asked Chen Cuihua to tidy up the rooms on the third floor to provide accommodation for the three of them.

The original study also underwent some changes. New conference tables and a projection screen were added to facilitate their future discussions.

Just as everything was prepared and the new batch of trainees had arrived at the farm, something happened.

A batch of cabbage sold by Anxin Farm caused poisoning after being purchased and consumed by a consumer. It was only thanks to timely emergency treatment that the person’s life was saved.

Two hours after the incident, it was posted online by someone with ulterior motives, successfully sparking a heated debate.

Unlike before, more people were paying attention this time.

Previously, it was just a question of whether the food was truly green and healthy; now, it involved a human life.

That same day, the market supervision department and the police arrived at the farm to investigate.

Currently, there was clear evidence that the cabbage the poisoned patient purchased indeed came from Anxin Farm.

In addition to the patient rushed to the hospital, three more patients subsequently appeared with food poisoning. According to the preliminary police inquiry, those three had also consumed cabbage, and even the place of purchase was identical.

After the police announced this situation, the online condemnation of Anxin Farm became even more severe.

After speaking with the police, Tan Xiao asked Chen Cuihua to gather all the farm helpers and the trainees in the courtyard.