Chapter Seventeen: For This, You'll Need to Pay Extra
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“Well, you see…” Qian Qi wore a troubled expression.
Zhang Feng saw her look and felt as if the sky were collapsing.
Could it be that Old Zhang really couldn’t be saved? Was there truly no way at all? He had even shamelessly chosen to trust Qian Qi, the class dunce. And yet, even so, Old Zhang couldn’t be saved?
“…It’s going to cost extra.” Qian Qi said slowly.
Zhang Feng: …
Zhang Feng: ???
“Wait a minute? You mean there’s still hope?” Zhang Feng suddenly realized, ignoring the issue of money. Like someone drowning clutching at a last straw, he hurriedly asked, “How much do you want? As long as you can save Old Zhang, I’ll give you this week’s meal money!”
Old Zhang was the dicotyledonous magical plant he had painstakingly cultivated; he didn’t want to give up!
“Ah~ We’re classmates, how could I bear to see you go hungry for a whole week?” Qian Qi comfortingly patted Zhang Feng’s back, holding up two fingers, “Two weeks’ worth.”
Zhang Feng: “…”
Wasn’t that supposed to be merciful?!
Grimacing, he reluctantly transferred 182 yuan and looked at “Old Zhang,” pinning his last hope on Qian Qi.
Qian Qi glanced at the information she had just obtained through her analysis technique.
[Magical Plant Name: Man-Eating Red Grass (Sick)
Rank: E-level
Case Analysis: Multiple leaf loss caused by hunger and lack of microorganisms
Treatment: Feed 1 kg of magical beast meat for nutrition, replace humus soil every 15 days, regularly feed 2 kg of pork weekly.]
“Brace yourself,” Qian Qi kindly reminded, “If you want to save Old Zhang, you’re going to have to shell out a lot.”
Zhang Feng misunderstood. “What do you mean? More money?”
“No, no~” Qian Qi pointed at the large, gaping mouth of the man-eating red grass. “It has a big appetite. You need to prepare one kilogram of magical beast meat first to fill it up.”
“Then replace the humus soil twice a month. Do you know what that is? It’s nutrient-rich soil formed by the decomposition and fermentation of rotten leaves by microorganisms. You should find some where there are trees in the back mountain; if not, you can buy it online.”
“After that, feed it two kilograms of pork every week.” Qian Qi rattled off the instructions and then prepared to leave.
“Wait!” Zhang Feng was confused. “Why do you have to feed it magical beast meat and pork? What’s the principle behind that?”
“This is a man-eating plant, a carnivorous magical plant,” Qian Qi shook her head, chuckling. “If it doesn’t get meat, it can only draw nutrients from the soil, and once the nutrients run dry, the leaves will naturally fall off.”
“Remember to feed it on time. Long-term feeding can build affection; maybe one day it won’t eat you anymore.”
Having said that, Qian Qi glanced at the man-eating red grass with some regret. It was a pity that it was a non-mobile magical plant; otherwise, it could have been a walking killing machine!
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Zhang Feng suddenly understood. He had been focused on planting Old Zhang but had never fed it a single bit of food. If leaf loss was due to hunger, that did make sense.
“Qian Qi, where exactly did you get this information?”
Zhang Feng was very curious. In his and others’ eyes, Qian Qi never attended class and didn’t cultivate magical plants. How could she, with just a glance, identify the illness and prescribe the cure?
“Could it be that you’ve awakened some extraordinary ability?”
Zhang Feng’s eyes gleamed as he looked expectantly at Qian Qi.
Qian Qi’s body stiffened slightly.
After a moment, she suddenly hoisted her hoe and placed her other hand behind her waist.
Zhang Feng tensed instantly, thinking, This is bad. He shouldn’t have asked so many questions!
Could Qian Qi be taking this opportunity to hit him?
But instead, Qian Qi lifted the hem of her leather jacket and, with some effort, pulled out a textbook titled *Magical Botany* from behind her waist.
“Read more, Captain!” Qian Qi waved the textbook earnestly. “There are treasure houses and beauties in books. If you read as much as I do, you’ll naturally know!”
Zhang Feng looked at the brand-new textbook: …
Why did he never believe Qian Qi actually read books???
Moreover, he had flipped through that book nearly eighty times. Why hadn’t he thought of these treatments?
“Well then, Captain, good luck! Your Old Zhang is starving; if you don’t feed it soon, it might just eat you~”
After establishing her studious persona, Qian Qi shoved the textbook back behind her waist, hoisted her hoe, and strode away without a backward glance.
Zhang Feng stood there, bewildered for a moment.
After a while, he turned to look at Old Zhang, which had been stripped bare except for its mouth, and asked, “Are you really hungry?”
A gust of wind blew, and Old Zhang’s large mouth trembled slightly, as if disdainfully answering his question:
If you know, then damn it, hurry up and feed me!
——
That night, in the deep, empty darkness, Su Xingle climbed the back mountain of the Magical Botany Department again. He no longer felt so scared—perhaps thanks to the girl walking ahead, clutching a textbook and carrying a hoe, who inexplicably gave him a sense of security?
Arriving at the experimental field, Su Xingle opened a plastic box and boasted to Qian Qi, “Junior, I got a good deal from a senior. I even bargained the price down to 30 yuan per jin!”
This was undoubtedly a blessing for Qian Qi, who rejoiced and sincerely promised Su Xingle, “Good brother, if you ever fall on hard times, I’ll definitely help you!”
Su Xingle: …
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That promise might as well not exist! How could I ever fall on hard times!
Sitting on a small stool nearby, Su Xingle noticed many bottles and jars around. Qian Qi was squatting in the field, planting seeds, looking very busy.
He couldn’t help but ask, “Qian Qi, why are you planting so many magical plants?”
He had heard that students in the Magical Botany Department only needed to successfully cultivate one magical plant to pass. But from his observation, Qian Qi seemed to have planted no fewer than ten kinds.
“Of course because I love studying!” Qian Qi pulled out the textbook tucked under her arm and deliberately waved it in front of Su Xingle.
Recalling the rumors from before, Su Xingle eyed Qian Qi skeptically.
“Only by loving study can one bring glory to the school!” Qian Qi patted her chest again. “Believe me.”
Su Xingle: … “Alright, I believe you.”
Qian Qi nodded with satisfaction. Good, her studious persona was well established!
As for why she planted so many magical plants, one reason was to add credibility to her image as a knowledgeable scholar; the other was to confuse and mislead.
Qian Qi stroked her chin thoughtfully. Once she concocted the hemostatic magical potion, someone would surely try to spy on the formula. Clever as she was, how could she let them succeed?
She looked forward to it eagerly…
Qian Qi raised a pair of gleaming oversized scissors and snapped them twice sharply in the air, smiling wickedly.
Nearby, Su Xingle shivered involuntarily.
Strange, why did it suddenly feel so cold?
Was it the chill of tonight’s wind, or was the girl in front of him just that terrifying?
Two days later, Qian Qi received a transfer from Li Shuyun—sixty thousand yuan in full.
“It’s money! System, look! It’s money!” Qian Qi stared at the sixty thousand yuan in her quantum brain account, tears welling up.
She, Qian Qi, was finally not poor anymore!
[Only sixty thousand yuan, and you’re this happy (;￢＿￢)]
“What do you mean ‘only’! Do you know how long it takes an ordinary person to save up sixty thousand yuan?” Qian Qi snorted coldly. “You don’t! It’s like you don’t know that when a whale poops, its anus has to open wide and can’t close for a long time afterward, causing great pain. You don’t know because you only care about yourself!”
System: [???]