Chapter 17: Heart Disease! I've Heard It's Hard to Cure

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Jiang Chengan looked helplessly at Gu Xiaomai, who was laughing so hard her stomach hurt. What a girl!

The red-bellied golden pheasant following behind them wore a look of immense bewilderment in its tiny eyes.

[Is this woman insane?]

Gu Xiaomai stiffened at once, repeatedly sending daggers over her shoulder with her eyes, yet she could not see so much as a chicken feather.

While they stood there, the corn came before them.

“How is everyone? Are you hurt?” Corn examined the two of them. Seeing no sign of injury, he finally relaxed.

“I’m fine.” Jiang Chengan shook his head.

Gu Xiaomai did not know whether to say she was fine or not.

If she said she was fine, there was an unusually powerful chicken following behind her.

If she said she was not fine, at least the chicken was not some vicious, savage corrupted creature. Even after she had infuriated it moments ago, it had merely shouted in its heart instead of attacking her outright.

The three continued searching for purifying plants, while the red-bellied golden pheasant followed at a measured distance.

Gu Xiaomai had no idea what it wanted by trailing them, so she remained on guard.

As she walked, she went over every detail from the moment she had plucked the astragalus plant to the moment she had begun hearing the chicken’s thoughts.

Then a thought struck her. The chicken seemed to have said something about it being “delicious,” about “water,” and had even urged her to “give it some more.”

She had been too frightened at the time to think clearly. But now that she considered it, could the chicken have meant that when she flung out the bone-cleaving knife, she had also splashed out some kind of “water”? Had drinking that water enabled her to hear its thoughts?

Yet she had not noticed anything strange about her hands then.

Gu Xiaomai stared at her right hand, examining her palm, the back of her hand, her fingernails, and every other part of it, but found nothing unusual.

In an instant, she thought of her peculiar body.

Could it be that her body produced some miraculous water, which had been flung out through her hand?

But why had nothing like that happened before? Why only today?

No, that was not right. The last time she had gone up the mountain to search for purifying plants, she had heard a cry of pain.

At the time, she had assumed she had misheard it or imagined it. But now that she thought about it, there was a strong possibility that the purifying astragalus plant had absorbed the same kind of special water. That was why it had cried out when she pulled it up—and why she had heard it.

Judging from the chicken’s reaction, this special water held an immense attraction for it.

Then the great purified catfish she had encountered before had most likely been drawn there when she washed the astragalus roots.

Once she had pieced together the cause and effect, Gu Xiaomai was no longer afraid of the chicken behind them, which claimed to be a phoenix.

Lost in thought, she followed Jiang Chengan and Corn without paying attention to where they were going. Before long, they arrived at the place where she had first encountered the corrupted lop-eared rabbit.

The sweet-potato vines had grown considerably and now covered nearly two acres.

Gu Xiaomai thought there ought to be at least five or six purified sweet potatoes here.

In the end, after searching the area, they found only one.

She was somewhat disappointed, but quickly rallied and consoled herself. One was better than none, and a single sweet potato could be propagated into many more vines.

Gu Xiaomai dug up the sweet potato along with the root beneath it, which could be used as seed stock.

“When the settlement is tallied, can you take this plant?”

“What makes this one different? Aren’t they all purifying plants?” Corn asked in confusion.

Jiang Chengan also looked at the purified sweet potato in Gu Xiaomai’s hands. He could not see anything special about it either.

“These are sweet-potato vines. Their runners can be planted to grow more vines, which will yield more purified sweet potatoes.”

“When the base was first established, someone had the same idea as you. They transplanted a purifying plant back to the base, but as they tended it, the plant turned into a corrupted one and impaled the entire family of three. Because no one discovered what had happened in time, many people in District Eleven were killed or injured. My parents died in that disaster, when purifying plants turned corrupted and began killing people.”

As Corn spoke, his eyes slowly reddened.

He blinked rapidly, forcing back the tears that were about to spill over.

“Brother Chengan, I’ve never told you why I wanted to see what corn looked like or what it tasted like, have I?”

Jiang Chengan shook his head. He only knew that Corn had always wanted to learn what corn looked and tasted like; he had never known why.

Gu Xiaomai had already grown curious because of Corn’s reaction the last time they planted corn.

“When the disaster of corrupted purifying plants killing people occurred, I was six years old. Our family had only recently stopped wandering from place to place and entered the sanctuary base. My father often went on missions with his unit, while my mother found odd jobs within the base. Little by little, our lives were beginning to improve…”

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That day, his mother told him that once she received that day’s points, she would buy him some purified corn to eat. She said that when she had given birth to him, it had been just before the disaster, when tender corn had first become something people could boil and eat. She had wanted to taste it terribly back then. Now that she finally had the chance, she was determined to let her little Corn know what corn tasted like.

He had just walked his mother to the entrance when he watched helplessly as a corrupted plant killed her. His screams brought his father and the members of his unit, who had just returned to the base, rushing over.

After he was rescued, he knew nothing of what happened next.

The next time he saw his parents, Granny Gu took him to them. The two of them lay silently on the ground, surrounded by many other bodies.

After that, Granny Gu took him to the orphanage, where he lived with her from then on.

Jiang Chengan and Gu Xiaomai had always assumed that Corn was especially attached to corn simply because it was his name. Neither had expected such a story to lie behind it.

“Brother Corn,” Gu Xiaomai said gently, her voice full of concern.

Seeing the worry in Jiang Chengan’s and Gu Xiaomai’s eyes, Corn tugged at the corners of his mouth.

“I’m fine. I just miss them a little.”

Jiang Chengan patted him on the shoulder. “Uncle and Auntie would surely want you to keep thriving. Live well for their sake.”

“In a few months, the corn we planted will be ripe. You can eat the corn Auntie never got to taste in her place! I can also make all kinds of delicious dishes with it for you.”

Gu Xiaomai began describing the many delicacies that could be made from corn.

“Tender corn can be boiled and eaten as it is. It’s sweet and fresh, and the water it’s boiled in can be drunk too—it has a lovely sweetness. You can also coat the kernels in flour, fry them until they’re golden, and sprinkle them with chili and cumin. They’re absolutely delicious. Once the corn ripens, you can dry it, grind it into flour, and make cornmeal buns…”

As the two listened to the succession of corn dishes spilling from Gu Xiaomai’s mouth, their saliva began to flow uncontrollably. They had never tasted any of them, but just hearing about them made the food sound delicious.

In an instant, the sorrowful atmosphere vanished.

“How do you know so many recipes? Is there a chef in your family, or have you eaten these things before?” Jiang Chengan asked curiously.

He had wanted to ask ever since Gu Xiaomai described the various ways to cook chicken.

Corn also looked at Gu Xiaomai with curiosity. Could it be that her earlier claim that she knew how to cook purifying plants was true?

Neither of them knew much about Gu Xiaomai’s family. They had always found it strange that she seemed to know so much about plants and cooking, yet knew nothing about basic common sense.

Gu Xiaomai inwardly groaned. Her father in her previous life had been a master chef, and she had learned to cook as well as eaten all manner of dishes. But in this life, she had no idea what the original owner’s family situation had been.

Good heavens! She had dug herself into a hole. How was she supposed to answer?

She simply said that she had seen the dishes before, then quickly changed the subject.

“Have none of the base leaders ever considered finding out why transplanting purifying plants fails?”

Jiang Chengan replied, “The research institute has studied the transplantation of purifying plants. Unfortunately, the best result they’ve achieved is for a purifying plant to become an ordinary plant. Otherwise, it dies outright. Most of the time, it turns into a corrupted plant. They never released the findings publicly before, but after the incident in District Eleven, the base began advising residents not to grow purifying plants themselves.”

Gu Xiaomai pressed further. “Not one of those studies succeeded?”

“I heard the successful cases involved wood-element ability users doing the transplanting,” Corn said. “They all work in the base’s agricultural division now. Their job every day is to accelerate the growth of purifying plants.”

“There’s no other way?”

Jiang Chengan shook his head. “Not at present.”

“Then why are we coming here to reclaim wasteland? If what we grow turns out to be ordinary plants—or even corrupted organisms—we can’t eat any of it.”

“Ordinary plants can be sold to nutrient companies, which use them to produce nutritional supplements. If a single acre yields even half an acre’s worth of purifying plants, the camp would be ecstatic. As for people like us, most of us are here to search for purifying plants with the camp and earn points.”

Corn nodded along. “I was attracted by the offer of fifty points a day, along with one nutrient ration and five hundred milliliters of drinking water. Any purifying plants we found were counted separately too. Although the work is somewhat dangerous, all things considered, the reclamation teams have better jobs than most positions inside the base.”

[Why have these three humans been standing there without moving? I’m tired of holding this pose and want to shift my legs, but if I move, the leaves on the ground will rustle. Should I move a little?]

The moment she heard the thought, Gu Xiaomai turned her head and caught sight of the red-bellied golden pheasant, which had just poked its head out.

She had not heard its thoughts for some time and had assumed it had left. She had not expected it to still be following them.

Her movement prompted questions from Jiang Chengan and Corn, but she shook her head to show that nothing was wrong.

Gu Xiaomai did not bother with the chicken again. There was nothing she could do about it anyway.

The three ended their thoroughly unpleasant discussion about transplanting purifying plants and continued searching.

The red-bellied golden pheasant flexed its legs, which had grown stiff from holding the same position for so long, and continued following behind them.

It stayed with them all the way down the mountain.

By then, the soldiers and reclamation-team members from Camp E4 who had gone up the mountain were mostly back. They stood in line, waiting for Jiao Yang to inspect their harvests.

“Xiaomai, come quickly!” Wei Xiaoqin called when she saw Gu Xiaomai, hurriedly beckoning her over to the other three women.

Jiang Chengan and Corn went to join the line, while Gu Xiaomai ambled over.

“Sister Xiaoqin, how did your search go?”

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The four women winked at her and gestured for her to lift their bag.

Gu Xiaomai picked it up.

Oh! It had some weight to it.

Judging by how bulging the bag was, there had to be something heavy inside.

She asked in a low voice, “Dong quai? Codonopsis?”

“Codonopsis!” the four women whispered in unison, their smiles impossible to conceal.

None of them had dared hope that they would definitely find codonopsis or dong quai on this trip. They had climbed the mountain along the left side of the area assigned to them, and if Meng Xue had not possessed such sharp eyes, they would have missed it.

If they had not been worried that shouting would make the soldiers think they were in danger, heaven only knew what frantic reaction the four of them would have had when they saw the distinctive lion-coiled crown.

Gu Xiaomai opened the bag for a look. It really was codonopsis. She gave the four women an enthusiastic thumbs-up, fully acknowledging the fruits of their studies.

“I picked an astragalus plant this time. If we don’t go up the mountain tomorrow, I’ll teach you to recognize it.”

The four nodded repeatedly.

Jiao Yang inspected the purifying plants quickly but meticulously. Before long, he reached the four women, and Gu Xiaomai stepped away to find Jiang Chengan and Corn.

Jiao Yang was momentarily startled when he saw Liu Ju, Meng Xue, Wei Xiaoqin, and Wan Chuncui’s bag. He had not expected the four women to be so lucky as to find so much codonopsis.

Although it pained him somewhat to hand over the points or purifying plants, the thought of the difference in value offered a little consolation.

This time, Liu Ju, Meng Xue, and Wei Xiaoqin made different choices. Wei Xiaoqin chose points, while Liu Ju and Meng Xue chose purifying plants.

Although Jiao Yang did not give them purified codonopsis, and the points were calculated according to the lowest selling price for purifying plants, the three women were still very satisfied.

If they had tried to sell the plants themselves inside the base, being cheated on the price would have been the least of their worries. What they feared was losing both their people and their points.

Wan Chuncui, who received nothing, was also quite satisfied. If the camp accepted codonopsis, it would accept the other two herbs as well.

Moreover, they had already found a new patch of codonopsis. There ought to be undiscovered dong quai and astragalus too.

All she hoped now was that the next discovery of codonopsis, dong quai, or astragalus would come after her labor sentence ended. That way, she could earn a substantial number of points before returning to the base.

The inspection continued, and it was some time before it was the turn of Gu Xiaomai and the others.

Apart from one ordinary plant that lit up yellow, Jiao Yang found none of the rare purifying plant parts—such as dong quai roots or codonopsis roots—in their bag. The anticipation in his eyes turned to disappointment.

Before the inspection, he had already decided that whatever they brought him, as long as it tested green, he would take it all.

And yet…

The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. Jiao Yang clutched his chest, his heart aching.

Gu Xiaomai and the other two stared at him in bewilderment. Why was he clutching his chest with such a pained expression?

“Officer Jiao?” Corn called softly.

“It’s nothing. He’s just feeling the loss. He gets like this from time to time. Do you want points or purifying plants?” a soldier beside them explained.

“Oh, a heart condition!” Corn said with concern. “I hear those are very difficult to treat. Officer Jiao, you must rest properly, keep your emotions steady, and take good care of yourself.”

He had never expected that Officer Jiao, who looked rather plump, would also be a spatial ability user with a heart problem.

What a pity!

Without waiting for Jiao Yang to say anything, Corn turned to the soldier who had spoken to him earlier.

“We’ll take the purifying plants.”

Jiao Yang had still been lamenting his loss, but when he heard his subordinate and Corn, his face filled with disbelief.

Had he just been diagnosed with heart disease?

The soldiers nearby who had heard Corn’s words were all struggling not to laugh. The reclamation-team members did not know what was going on, but everyone who heard Corn came over to offer a few words of concern. Jiao Yang responded with a hollow smile.

The soldier who had spoken earlier struggled to suppress his laughter as he weighed the purifying plants for Corn and Jiang Chengan.

What a sweet, innocent boy with such a kind heart!

Gu Xiaomai looked at Jiao Yang, then at the soldier’s face, and finally understood.

This was one kind of heartache, not the other. Jiao Yang had been saddled with heart disease by his subordinates and the gentle, polite young man Corn.

She could not hold it in any longer.

Gu Xiaomai burst out laughing, earning two icy glares from Jiao Yang and questioning looks from Jiang Chengan and Corn.

She shook her head to show that nothing was wrong. As for Jiao Yang, she simply ignored him.

After all the purifying plants had been inspected, darkness began to fall. The reclamation teams and the soldiers from Camp E4 returned to rest.

The red-bellied golden pheasant followed the group from far behind. When they reached the silver metal bridge, hesitation flickered through its deep-blue eyes.