In response to Xin Wan’s question, Ren Yuanyang smiled and explained, "Because of the Drip Guanyin!"
"The Drip Guanyin doesn’t seem to have anything to do with drying the rice, does it?" Xin Wan said, stunned and looking thoroughly confused.
"Have you ever heard of a Flame-shaped Inflorescence?" Ren Yuanyang countered.
Lu Jiamei and the other two shook their heads, so Ren Yuanyang had no choice but to bring them up to speed.
"It can do that? You learn something new every day!" Lu Jiamei exclaimed in amazement.
It dawned on Xin Wan. "No wonder this freshly harvested rice is so dry. It turns out we have a botanical dehumidifier!"
Qin Haonan whispered, "Can we eat now?"
"Of course. Dig in!" Ren Yuanyang replied with a smile.
Even though their meals were the same every day, they still ate with gusto.
"Boss, this banyan tree is growing so fast. Shouldn’t we intervene a little?" Lu Jiamei asked, looking at the nearby banyan, which had already grown to a considerable size.
Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly. "We do. I plan to leave an exit on all four sides."
Hearing this, Lu Jiamei froze, her brow furrowing. "There are only four of us. We can’t possibly defend four exits."
"Don’t worry. We’re in the Seventh-level Wind Sea Region. Under normal circumstances, no one will come here," Ren Yuanyang replied with a smile. "Even if someone does, I’ll be able to detect them instantly—unless they manage to avoid touching our banyan tree completely. We’ll need to design these four exit passages to be winding. Besides preventing strong winds from gusting in, it will also slow down any potential invaders."
Lu Jiamei was taken aback for a moment, then nodded.
Qin Haonan took a spoonful of porridge and asked, his words muffled, "So how are we going to intervene?"
"We just need to clear out the unnecessary aerial roots," Ren Yuanyang replied. "That includes our living areas and the animal husbandry area. Those need to be cleared out too."
"Animal husbandry area?" Qin Haonan repeated, stunned. "Boss, you mean we’re going to raise the chickens, rabbits, and pigs outside?"
"Yes. You weren’t thinking of raising them on the ship, were you?" Ren Yuanyang countered.
"There are only six of them. It shouldn’t be a problem to keep them on the ship," Qin Haonan replied nonchalantly.
"We’ll need to expand eventually, and there isn’t enough space on the ship," Ren Yuanyang said, shaking his head.
Qin Haonan nodded, not thinking much of it. ’He’s just planning for the future,’ he thought. What he didn’t realize was that this "future" would arrive very soon.
Speaking of animal husbandry, Ren Yuanyang continued, "According to Wang Jun, they should be able to drive off the Feixiang tonight. That means our trade needs to be put on the agenda."
"Boss, how are we planning to trade with them?" Lu Jiamei asked, nodding.
Ren Yuanyang didn’t answer her question directly. Instead, he asked, "How much diesel do we have?"
"About fifty liters. The main problem is we don’t have professional pressing tools, so our efficiency is pretty low," Lu Jiamei answered.
Ren Yuanyang nodded. "This trade is going to consume a lot of diesel. After dinner, we’ll all go press some more."
"Right!" they all replied in unison.
Ren Yuanyang and the others quickly finished their dinner. Xin Wan handled the cleanup while the other three immediately headed to the small boat to resume manually pressing diesel.
With Ren Yuanyang and Qin Haonan joining in, the work went much faster.
"You’ll need to be the one to go for this trade," Ren Yuanyang said to Qin Haonan, all while continuing to press the fruit of the Diesel Tree.
At this, Qin Haonan’s eyes lit up. "Okay!" he replied excitedly.
Seeing his excitement, Ren Yuanyang’s tone grew serious. "This could be extremely dangerous."
"I know. They might try to hold me hostage to force you to hand over the research data, right?" Qin Haonan replied, unfazed. "Don’t worry, Boss. I won’t let them get near me!"
Ren Yuanyang nodded. "You’ll take Xin Wan’s speedboat and bring the inflatable raft. During the trade, have them put the supplies in the raft. If they try to get close to you, abandon the raft and retreat immediately."
"Got it!" Qin Haonan replied.
Lu Jiamei, who was standing nearby, frowned. "What if they want to inspect the goods first?"
Ren Yuanyang thought for a moment before replying, "Just bring the Evolution Potions. Give them one to verify first. Once they’ve confirmed it’s real, proceed with the rest of the trade. As for the research data, I’ll send it over from my end after the trade is complete."
"But what if they insist on getting the research data first?" Lu Jiamei asked, still worried.
"Then we call off the deal," Ren Yuanyang said grimly. "I’ll talk to Wang Jun about this first. If he doesn’t agree, then Haonan doesn’t have to go."
Lu Jiamei nodded and went back to concentrating on pressing the diesel.
The four of them worked together, managing to press a total of two hundred liters of diesel, all of which was then moved onto Xin Wan’s speedboat.
As Ren Yuanyang instructed, Qin Haonan took out his phone and contacted Wang Jun.
"You should be making your move in the second half of the night, right?"
"Yes. We’ll give you a live feed of the situation. Keep your phone line open," Wang Jun replied instantly.
"Good. I’m contacting you to discuss the terms of the trade," Ren Yuanyang continued. "We can provide one Evolution Potion for you to inspect first. If there are no issues, we’ll place the other two on the inflatable raft. After you take the potions, you put the seeds, poultry, and livestock in the raft. Simple as that."
Wang Jun mulled it over for a moment. "What about the research data?"
"I’ll send it to you immediately after the trade is complete," Ren Yuanyang replied.
"Absolutely not," Wang Jun’s rejection was firm.
"If that’s a problem, then the deal’s off," Ren Yuanyang responded, his own tone just as firm.
Wang Jun’s voice tightened slightly. "You don’t want the supplies?"
"We want them. But the safety of my people is more important," Ren Yuanyang replied.
There was a long silence on Wang Jun’s end before he finally conceded. "One potion and one-third of the research data. Give us that to verify first. If there are no problems, we can proceed with the trade according to your terms. That’s our bottom line."
"Deal," Ren Yuanyang said. "However, during the trade, you are not to approach our speedboat for any reason."
"No problem," Wang Jun agreed. "By the way, you’ve seen the updated map, right?"
"I have. And thanks for the reminder, Captain Wang," Ren Yuanyang replied.
"Don’t mention it. Even if I hadn’t, the regional channel is already buzzing about it," Wang Jun said, waving the sentiment away.
"Is the map display accurate?" Ren Yuanyang asked.
"It has been so far," Wang Jun replied, his tone precise.
"Alright, I understand. I wish you success tonight," Ren Yuanyang said with a slight nod.
"Against Lvzhi Country, victory is a must," Wang Jun said, his tone resolute.

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