Qin Haonan walked to Ren Yuanyang’s room and knocked on the door.
Ren Yuanyang removed the black cover from the Fluorescent Cactus, and his room immediately lit up.
The grandfather and grandson on the distant speedboat were stunned to discover there was a house not far away!
"Grandpa, how can there be a house on the water?" the boy’s eyes widened like a pair of saucers.
The old man shook his head in shock, then instructed in a low, serious voice, "I don’t know. This base is anything but simple. Some things are best left unquestioned, understand?"
The boy paused for a moment, then nodded. "I understand, Grandpa!"
Qin Haonan entered the room and handed the moso bamboo seedling to Ren Yuanyang.
Ren Yuanyang had slept all afternoon and was now wide awake. He had only turned off the light to rest his eyes.
"First, give them each a rice ball and let them rest on the small boat. We’ll deal with everything else tomorrow morning," Ren Yuanyang instructed as he took the moso bamboo seedling.
"Got it!" Qin Haonan replied and turned to leave.
Arriving at the speedboat where Xin Wan was resting, Lu Jiamei handed him the warmed-up rice balls.
"Get them settled, then go get some rest. I’ll take the watch for the second half of the night."
"Okay, Sister Mei!" Qin Haonan responded, heading back to the old man and the boy.
Handing the rice balls to them, Qin Haonan pointed to a small boat nearby and said, "The boss said you two will rest on that boat tonight. Anything else can wait until tomorrow."
The old man was stunned again, then said, his voice thick with gratitude, "Thank you, sir!"
"Alright, eat up and get some proper rest. There’s work to be done tomorrow. I’m going to get some sleep too." Qin Haonan led the two to the small boat, which had a canopy, and then left.
The two of them stayed inside the dry canopy, feeling the warmth of the rice balls in their hands. Everything felt so surreal.
"Grandpa, they’re actually letting us stay on a boat? And they even gave us warm rice balls?"
The old man nodded. "Hurry and eat. Rest up after you’re done. You have to make a good impression at work tomorrow."
"Okay! You eat too, Grandpa!" The boy excitedly unwrapped his rice ball and began to eat with relish.
The old man unwrapped his rice ball, took a bite, and began to chew slowly. He carefully set the rest of it aside.
In the pitch-black darkness, the boy didn’t notice his grandfather’s actions. After finishing his food, he lay down as his grandfather told him to.
Meanwhile, Ren Yuanyang, who had obtained the moso bamboo seedling, immediately began to strengthen it.
Moso bamboo was great stuff. It had strong roots that could stabilize soil, prevent erosion, and conserve water sources. It could also be used to build houses, make furniture, and weave various tools and handicrafts.
The prerequisite for all of this was a large supply of mature moso bamboo.
Although bamboo grows very quickly for a time, it takes a very long time to mature—generally three to six years. The seedling in his hand, however, had been artificially selected and cultivated to mature in just two years.
Even so, for Ren Yuanyang, that was still too long a wait.
So, without any hesitation, he prioritized strengthening its growth speed.
’Strengthen growth speed eight times, and asexual reproduction ability once!’
Bamboo can reproduce via seeds or asexually through its underground stems.
The underground stem of bamboo is the rhizome. Just like the culm above ground, it is also segmented. Buds grow from the sides of the rhizome nodes; some of these buds develop into shoots, while others grow into new rhizomes.
Strengthening its asexual reproduction ability meant increasing the number of lateral buds on the rhizome nodes and its ability to grow new rhizomes.
The moso bamboo seedling before him was tiny, so Ren Yuanyang strengthened it directly to the maximum number of times.
[Strengthening successful.]
[Moso Bamboo (+9): Growth speed strengthened eight times, maturation time reduced from two years to three days. Asexual reproduction ability strengthened once, number of lateral buds on rhizome nodes doubled, ability to grow new rhizomes doubled...]
After completing the strengthening, Ren Yuanyang planted the moso bamboo seedling in front of his house. To prevent the seedling from being washed away by the waves, he secured it with bitter grass before returning to his room.
「The night passed without incident.」
"COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!"
The sudden crowing of a rooster startled everyone awake!
Ren Yuanyang fumbled for his phone and glanced at the time: 6:30.
’Is it already crowing this early? Maybe I shouldn’t have strengthened that little rooster yesterday!’
Ren Yuanyang felt a little helpless, but since he was already awake, he might as well get up.
The banyan tree’s aerial roots outside needed to be cleared again.
Although Lu Jiamei was also startled by the crowing, she didn’t return to the container to check. Instead, she patrolled the perimeter with even greater vigilance.
Xin Wan had already started preparing breakfast, while Qin Haonan emerged from the speedboat’s cabin, rubbing his eyes and carrying the Fluorescent Cactus.
Even though the rooster had crowed, the sky was still dark. The light rain hadn’t stopped and even showed signs of getting heavier.
Wearing a raincoat, Qin Haonan went to the stern of the speedboat. On the small boat not far from him, the old man and the boy were already up and exercising on the bow.
"Are they practicing Tiger Fist?" Qin Haonan watched the grandfather and grandson’s movements with some surprise.
Just then, the old man also saw Qin Haonan and greeted him, "Good morning, young man!"
Qin Haonan waved his hand. "Sir, you can just call me Haonan. Are you two practicing martial arts?"
The old man smiled and shook his head. "No, this is the Five Animals Qigong. It’s for strengthening the body."
"Five Animals Qigong?" Qin Haonan was even more surprised. "Does that stuff really work?"
"Of course. The wisdom of the ancient working people is not to be underestimated," Ren Yuanyang said as he walked over.
Qin Haonan immediately greeted him, "Morning, Boss!"
The old man and the boy hurriedly bowed together. "Good morning, sir!"
Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly and looked at the old man. "Please introduce yourselves."
The old man immediately cupped his hands. "This old one is Hua Lingfang, and this is my grandson, Hua Wen."
Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly and continued to ask, "May I ask what you did before the flood, Elder Hua?"
"Just an ordinary farmer," Hua Lingfang replied, a hint of helplessness in his voice.
"That’s not true! My grandpa is a very skilled doctor!" Hua Wen chimed in from the side, a little indignantly. "Grandpa cured lots of people in our village!"
Hearing Hua Wen’s words, Ren Yuanyang’s eyes lit up.
"Elder Hua, you were really a doctor before?"
Hua Lingfang ruffled Hua Wen’s hair and said helplessly, "I was a doctor, but I was heavily fined once for not having a medical license, so I stopped treating people."
"If you didn’t have a license, you could’ve just taken the exam for one," Qin Haonan said, a little confused. "Being a doctor is better than being a farmer!"
Hua Lingfang shook his head helplessly. "I don’t have the educational qualifications. I couldn’t take the exam."
Ren Yuanyang roughly understood. Hua Lingfang’s situation was similar to that of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners back on Earth; many folk doctors were barred from practicing medicine by various certification requirements.
"You can’t even take the exam without the right degree?" Qin Haonan was even more astonished.
"That’s right. You need at least an associate’s degree in medicine. Without that degree, you aren’t even qualified to register for the exam!" Hua Lingfang shook his head helplessly. "I already have one foot in the grave. How could I go and get a degree first?"
"That’s outrageous! Shouldn’t a medical license be based on medical skill? As long as your skills are good enough, you should be able to practice!"
This was Qin Haonan’s first time learning about this industry, and he found it utterly preposterous. It wasn’t just ridiculous; it was a whole new dimension of ridiculous.

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