Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Scouting for a New Base Location

Xu Qiannian thought to himself, ’If their relationship is really that good, then why is he so wary of my grandson? The way Mr. Zhou Sr. is acting so defensively just proves how wonderful this girl is in every way!’

’And what a coincidence,’ he thought, ’my grandson is also wonderful in every way. He’s just always busy with work and doesn’t have a girlfriend.’

Xu Qiannian was scheming inwardly, but he chuckled aloud, "Isn’t it a good thing that Huaijin gets along well with her? They’re all acquaintances, so it’s easier to exchange experiences. It’s settled then. If there are any real results, I’ll make sure you get a share of the credit."

Seeing that Xu Qiannian had no intention of sending his grandson over again, Mr. Zhou Sr. breathed a sigh of relief and retorted good-naturedly, "Who cares about your credit? I’m off to eat. We’ll talk later."

After hanging up, Mr. Zhou Sr. watched as Chi Wan and Zhou Huaijin brought the dishes to the table one after the other. His eyes crinkled into a smile as he thought, ’Now *this* is what you call a perfect match.’

*

Chi Wan had no idea why Mr. Zhou Sr. seemed to be in such a good mood just from her cooking a meal. She simply assumed he was happy because the Pure Crown Orchid was growing so well.

She smiled and said, "It’s not hot under the tree. Grandpa Zhou, let’s eat in the yard."

Mr. Zhou Sr. naturally had no objections and happily finished his lunch.

Only when Zhou Huaijin went to wash the dishes did he bring up the matter of a friend of his who wanted to invite her to look at some orchids.

"It’s like this. A friend of mine, he’s crazy about orchids, a stubborn old fellow. He previously bought a piece of wood that was said to have grown a Ghost Orchid, and now he insists there might be Ghost Orchid seeds on it. When he saw how well the orchid I posted today was growing, he said he wanted to ask for your help to take a look.

"So, Wanwan, if you’re willing, I’ll give him your contact information. Of course, if you don’t want to make a trip for nothing, it’s fine to refuse. After all, this whole thing sounds a bit unreliable to me too."

But Chi Wan’s heart stirred when she heard this.

It was just one trip. Even if that grandpa had really been scammed, she wouldn’t lose anything.

However, if there really were Ghost Orchid seeds on the wood, with Li Xingye around, the chances of successfully cultivating them were very high!

This was an endangered and extremely rare orchid, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

She couldn’t even think about making money from the Ghost Orchid; after all, it was illegal. But Chi Wan didn’t want to miss this chance to see a miracle of nature up close.

So, with almost no hesitation, she immediately agreed, "Grandpa Zhou, I’m willing. I’ve never seen a Ghost Orchid with my own eyes before. I definitely wouldn’t miss an opportunity like this~"

Hearing Chi Wan say this, Mr. Zhou Sr. thought she was only agreeing out of respect for him. His gaze toward her softened considerably. "You sweet child... Don’t worry, this old man won’t let you be taken advantage of. His family has plenty of fine orchids. Just watch, I’ll fleece him for a few divisions for you to enrich your greenhouse."

Chi Wan wasn’t shy about it at all, smiling as she said, "Then wouldn’t I be making a huge profit~"

When Zhou Huaijin came out after washing the dishes, he saw his grandfather and Chi Wan chatting happily. He walked over with a smile. "What are you two talking about behind my back that’s making you so happy?"

Mr. Zhou Sr. shot him a glance and twitched his mustache. "We’re talking about how you, someone who’s been researching for years, can’t even compare to Wanwan, a first-year college student." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Zhou Huaijin silently rolled his eyes. "Wanwan, please hurry up and explain to my grandpa just how many orchid species separate the fields of agronomy and botany. I mean, Grandpa, don’t you know how hard it is to care for those ridiculously fussy orchids?"

Mr. Zhou Sr. pretended not to hear and spoke directly to Chi Wan. "Wanwan is still the well-behaved one. It’s a pity this is the only grandson I have, and all he does all day is make me angry."

Zhou Huaijin was so annoyed he didn’t even want to talk to him anymore.

Watching the grandfather-grandson duo interact, Chi Wan couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. Then she said seriously, "Grandpa Zhou, I heard from Sister Xiaoyu that the wheat variety Huaijin and his advisor improved greatly increased its disease resistance and boosted the yield quite a bit. He’s incredibly talented."

Hearing Chi Wan’s praise, Zhou Huaijin’s ears turned slightly red. He said softly, "It was my professor who did the amazing work. I just helped out."

Mr. Zhou Sr. looked at Chi Wan, then at the seemingly embarrassed Zhou Huaijin, and stroked his beard. "This old man doesn’t understand any of it, but if Wanwan says you’re talented, then you must be. Huaijin, you’d better keep up the hard work."

Zhou Huaijin looked at his grandfather’s meaningful gaze and for a moment wasn’t sure in what area he was supposed to be putting in more effort. He only felt the tips of his ears grow even hotter.

*

Busy at the base, Li Xingye had no idea that his home was about to be stolen from under his nose. He was currently discussing the base’s future development with Qiangzi and the others.

Cheng Peng pointed to the map on the screen. "Right now, we’re pretty much the dominant power in the Central China region. Lately, more and more small bases want to join us. The only problem is, our current base is getting too small."

Haozi said, "With our current production capacity, our population is already nearing its limit. If we keep taking in more people, we might face another food shortage."

He looked at Li Xingye. "But Boss, if what you said before—about being able to continuously take out soil from the space—is a long-term thing, then after a bit more development, it won’t be a problem even if the base doubles in size."

Duan Qianyu had always been a straightforward person. She asked Li Xingye, "Do you have any plans to relocate the base? If we’re putting down roots here for the long term, we can start planning for a lot of our large-scale equipment. If we’re going to move, we need to prepare sooner rather than later."

Li Xingye smiled. "I do have plans to move."

As soon as he said this, everyone fell silent, looking at him and waiting for him to continue.

"Actually, the location of Frenzy wasn’t a great choice. We only picked it to be safe, staying far away from the gathering places of Sixth-tier Zombies." Li Xingye pointed to a spot on the map. "If we want long-term development, we definitely need to leave this place and find somewhere else to settle."

"The base size that Cheng Zi mentioned is also an issue. After all, the number of ordinary people we take in will only increase, and it’s very likely that more new residents will be born within the base. So recently, while I’ve been clearing out zombies, I’ve also been scouting for a suitable new location."

Hearing this, Qiangzi’s eyes lit up. "Does that mean you already have something in mind?"

After all, knowing Li Xingye, he wouldn’t bring it up unless he was completely sure about it.

Sure enough, Li Xingye nodded. "I’m planning to go straight back to Rong City."

Back then, Li Xingye’s own strength wasn’t as great as it is now, so when choosing a base, the primary consideration was the safety of the majority. The site selection for both Frenzy and Wildfire Base was similar in that regard.

Therefore, they both avoided large cities, opting instead to establish their bases in sparsely populated mountainous areas between cities or on plains along the highways.

That’s because the larger the city, the more zombies there are, not to mention the High-level Zombies that evolved in a dog-eat-dog environment—once zombies reach the Fifth or Sixth Rank, they not only gain the ability to command low-level zombies but also slowly begin to develop intelligence.

And in the city centers, it’s said there might even be Seventh-Rank Zombies.