Inheriting a Farm Made Me an Internet Sensation - Chapter 6

Tan Xiao, who was squatting down digging up tomato seedlings, paused immediately upon hearing those words. Realizing what had been said, she turned slightly and saw Lin Muhan standing not far away, also waiting for her response.

She smiled and stuck the small iron shovel into the soil. “Isn’t this place the best classroom?”

“Sister Xiao, stop joking. My family is from the countryside, and everyone’s planting methods are quite traditional; they don’t even know what ‘false planting’ (transplanting) is. When I went back to the countryside previously and mentioned it to my grandparents, I even got scolded by them.” The girl who had asked the question blushed and lowered her head halfway.

Tan Xiao stood up and spread her hands. “I studied Business Management in university. Ever since I got in touch with how to properly raise flowers and plants, I gradually developed an interest in cultivation. Whenever I have time, I watch open courses on crop science and plant nutrition.”

In reality, the reason she had tested into the Agricultural College was mostly because of her grandfather. Her grandfather had a small courtyard, and every time she visited, she would see him tinkering in that yard, planting flowers and vegetables. Once, she asked him: “Vegetables can be bought at the supermarket, why plant them yourself? Our family isn’t short of that little bit of money.”

Her grandfather said: “This of mine is pure ecology. In the past, everyone planted this way. I don’t know when it started, but everyone began using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and the taste of the vegetables changed.”

It was only then that she realized why the boiled vegetables at her grandfather’s house tasted better than the ones her mother made.

Exactly when did her interest in cultivation begin?

It was after her grandfather passed away, when she could no longer taste those “pure ecology” vegetables. Perhaps driven by longing, she began to take the trouble to plant in pots. After experiencing two or three failures, she not only harvested pure ecological vegetables but also gained a sense of accomplishment. It was at that moment that her interest in cultivation took hold; she wanted everyone to be able to eat a bite of pure ecological vegetables.

Hearing this, both Sun Le and the girl who had asked the question widened their eyes.

The girl took two steps forward, her face full of admiration. “Then Sister Xiao, you are truly amazing.”

“It’s just a hobby, don’t take it to heart.” While speaking, Tan Xiao used her peripheral vision to glance toward Lin Muhan again.

She hadn’t forgotten that she was using someone else’s body. Furthermore, Lin Muhan had seen the original owner’s records. If she didn’t give a clear explanation today, she feared the doubts in Lin Muhan’s heart would not disappear.

She knew that deceiving Lin Muhan and Su Han like this was not good, but what had happened to her was far too bizarre. Once exposed, she would most likely be locked up for scientists to study.

Lin Muhan, having heard the answer, stared at Tan Xiao for a good while before looking away.

Although this explained how Tan Xiao knew so much about planting, her intuition told her that Tan Xiao was still hiding something.

She thought it over repeatedly but couldn’t reach a clear conclusion, so she could only temporarily push the doubt to the back of her mind.

She was wearing a casual tracksuit today paired with white sneakers, which wasn’t as cumbersome as a long skirt. She walked straight toward Tan Xiao and stopped beside her, raising her hand to smile and greet the students. “Hello, everyone.”

After saying that, she maintained her smile, tilted her head slightly to close the distance with Tan Xiao, and asked in a low voice, “What’s going on with them?”

“Oh, I promised to lend them one mu of land,” Tan Xiao replied truthfully.

Lin Muhan’s brow furrowed slightly, her voice carrying a hint of gritted teeth. “Reason.”

“I lend them the land, and they give me seeds,” Tan Xiao added. “The kind you can’t buy on the market.”

Lin Muhan glared at her but didn’t argue.

Sun Le had met Lin Muhan before. Seeing Lin Muhan greeting them now, she immediately beamed with joy. “Sister, you are so beautiful.”

This one sentence made Lin Muhan’s heart bloom with joy, and the corners of her mouth curved up a bit more. “You are very cute, too.”

Tan Xiao was not interested in their conversation. She moved a few steps inward, squatted down again, and began to get busy.

As soon as she moved, the students who came to help couldn’t just stand around anymore; they could only follow her and squat down to work.

With everyone working, no matter how composed Lin Muhan was, she felt awkward just standing there. She moved to Tan Xiao’s side and observed how Tan Xiao dug up the seedlings. Only then did she hesitantly reach out her hand, though her heart resisted getting into close contact with the soil.

Tan Xiao turned her head slightly, saw her conflicted expression, and spoke up: “Could you please go tell Big Sister Song to cook for a few extra people?”

Her words provided Lin Muhan with an escape.

“Okay.” With that, she set off and headed back to the courtyard.

The students noticed her departure, whispered a few words of discussion, and then got busy again.

Sun Le originally wanted to refuse, but thinking about the long way back to school—and that the school cafeteria food would mostly be gone by then—she blushed and thanked Tan Xiao.

Tan Xiao waved her hand. “You guys came to help, so naturally I can’t let you go back on an empty stomach.”

“But we agreed earlier that this was the return for you lending us the land.”

Tan Xiao lifted her head, glanced at the other six students, and then said slowly, “The land is lent to them. You’re a veterinary student, why did you come along with them?”

“I… I haven’t graduated for a long time. My minor is Crop Science, so my supervisor dragged me along to be a teaching assistant.” When Sun Le said this, her head was almost buried in her chest.

Failing to graduate successfully had always been a wound in her heart, which also made her lack confidence in front of her juniors.

Tan Xiao saw her reaction, guessed some of her thoughts, and remarked, “Even I, someone who didn’t attend an Agricultural College, know that graduating from one requires a bit of luck.”

Sun Le nodded like a chick pecking at grain. “Yes, yes, yes! Luck accounts for half of it.” She glanced around and, seeing that her juniors weren’t paying attention to them, opened up completely. “My thesis topic in the first year was breeding a generation of fish fry. Everything went smoothly at first, but unexpectedly, the eggs were all the same sex. You can imagine the result.

“The second year wasn’t as unlucky, but there was a flood at the time, and all my fish fry were washed away. In the third year, I had already made an appointment with my supervisor to come see the fish I raised on Friday. On—on Thursday, they were caught by an oblivious fisherman.” Speaking to the sad part, her eyes reddened, and she looked at Tan Xiao piteously. “My supervisor took pity on me and changed my thesis topic. If I hadn’t met you, Sister Xiao, this year’s thesis would have failed again.”

Tan Xiao’s mouth twitched. While sympathizing with this unlucky soul, the pain of her own six years of non-graduation was mostly relieved.

She wasn’t afraid of being laughed at. Although she hadn’t received her graduation certificate, she had been doing postgraduate research, so she wasn’t truly a “slacker.” What infuriated her was that every time she got closer to her goal, her supervisor would poke at her sore spot, asking when she would get her undergraduate certificate and even suggesting she pursue a PhD while waiting for it.

Was that out of kindness?

Bah, that old man was just watching her fail.

And what was even more maddening was that every time someone from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences came to give her a “green light,” the old man would timely come out to remind everyone that she hadn’t graduated from her undergraduate studies yet.

At the thought of that old man, her heart started to ache again. She took a deep breath and looked up at the sky.

It’s fine now. She had come here, and everything in her original world no longer had anything to do with her. She didn’t have to be stepped on by the old man anymore, and she didn’t have to waste time protecting her thesis. She could verify her research in practice without any worries.

Actually, she had thought about not wanting the certificate before, but both the old man and her parents felt that the certificate was another proof of her years of hard research and was worth the effort to obtain.

After waiting for a while without a reply, Sun Le felt a bit uneasy. “Sister Xiao, do you also think I’m very stupid?”

Her question pulled Tan Xiao back from her thoughts. She shook her head. “No, you just lacked a bit of luck in the previous years. You will definitely be able to graduate smoothly this year.”

Only then did Sun Le breathe a sigh of relief and clench her fists. “Mhm, I definitely can do it.”

Tan Xiao withdrew her gaze, but her heart felt a bit heavy.

She missed her parents again and wondered how they were doing now.

On the night she arrived here, she had searched the internet to see if she could go back.

She didn’t find any clear results, only some books. The books had all sorts of settings, but most of them suggested that returning was impossible.

Reaching this conclusion, her heart felt half-cold.

If she couldn’t go back, would she just give up? That wouldn’t do; her goals hadn’t been achieved yet.

The place she was in was no longer a school, but a farm. While applying her previous research to reality, she couldn’t stop researching new topics. Considering that the management rights of the farm were only temporarily in her hands, her first step was to get the farm into her own possession; another research could be delayed slightly.

As for the rules of the world, she checked and found them to be similar to her original world. The only difference was that this world had no people she was familiar with.

“Sister Xiao, do you have something on your mind?” Sun Le asked cautiously.

Tan Xiao suppressed the heaviness in her heart, forced a smile, and shook her head, indicating she was fine.

After lunch, Sun Le led the six students back to school, while Tan Xiao followed her usual routine and went to the second floor.

Among the thirty hired workers, Lin Muhan was only somewhat familiar with Sister Chen. However, due to the age difference, they had no private interaction besides professional matters. Seeing Tan Xiao go upstairs, she followed closely behind.

Returning to the room, she opened a Weibo post recommended by a friend. One look at the title told her it was about Tan Xiao.

She glanced at the content, stood up, and knocked on Tan Xiao’s door.

Receiving a response, she walked in slowly, sat on the single sofa, and looked at Tan Xiao sitting in front of the computer. She teased, “Can I interview you? How did your mindset become as stable as an old ox?”

Tan Xiao didn’t move her gaze, still staring at the open webpage. “If you have something to say, just say it.”

“So you don’t know yet.” Lin Muhan stood up, walked to the computer desk, opened the Weibo post, and placed it in front of Tan Xiao. “I looked at the shooting angle; the person filming wasn’t far from you. Considering the wording used, it clearly didn’t come from the hands of the aunties and uncle’s downstairs. That leaves only one possibility: you’ve been ‘bitten by a snake’ (betrayed).”

Tan Xiao finished reading the content on the webpage, then casually picked up the phone Lin Muhan had placed in front of her. She roughly scanned the content of the Weibo post. The general idea was clamoring that the “black-listed star” who had once attempted suicide had now fallen to the point of farming.

What surprised her was that the popularity of this Weibo post was quite high, with many netizens leaving gloating comments below:

This one finished ruining the entertainment industry and has now gone to ruin the land.

Look at her pretentious look, you can tell she’s just putting on a show.

At least she has some self-awareness. Remember, playing with mud is your ultimate destiny.

I was wondering why she went quiet; turns out she went to farm. But with her character, I really mourn for the piece of land under her hands.

Wake up, everyone. She hasn’t gone quiet; she’s clearly trying to come out and cause trouble again. She hasn’t given up and wants to rely on acting pathetic to gain sympathy. Don’t fall for her tricks

Brand sponsors, you must not let her go; make her pay.

…

After reading a few, Tan Xiao swiped the screen back to the two photos and found that, as Lin Muhan had said, the person filming was indeed very close to her.

So, the person who secretly photographed her was one of those students.

Lin Muhan leaned against the desk, arms crossed over her chest, and smiled. “This is called ‘lifting a rock only to drop it on one’s own feet.’ But I really underestimated how much netizens dislike you.” She looked down at Tan Xiao. “Tell me, when those netizens find out that the tomatoes hitting the market soon are from your hands, will they eat them or not?”

Tan Xiao rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. “Lawyer Lin is not only idle, but also quite bored.”

“You actually hit the mark; I am very idle.”

“Then it seems I have some misunderstandings about the profession of a lawyer.” After saying that, Tan Xiao stood up to leave her chair, but after just one step, her hand was caught.

“What do you mean?”

Tan Xiao gazed at Lin Muhan for a moment and shrugged slightly. “I just simply feel that with Lawyer Lin’s ability, you should be frequenting courtrooms instead of wasting time here.”

These words were half-true. Lin Muhan was unrestrained and didn’t seem like someone who would honestly stay confined to one small place.