Things weren't looking so optimistic for Chi Wan, however.
Just as Liu Dali was about to snatch the phone from Chi Wan, who couldn't dodge in time, the younger man who had been standing behind her suddenly reached out and grabbed it, leaving Liu Dali lunging at empty air.
"Sir, don't you think this is a bit much?" the young man said calmly, completely unflustered as he faced a heavily breathing Liu Dali, who was glaring daggers at him. "A group of grown men bullying a little girl?"
With that, he turned to the village chief, who had come to his senses and was trying to placate Liu Dali. "Village Chief," he said mildly, "the general conduct in your village is somewhat concerning. I think we'll have to call off the plans for the experimental base. Professor, what do you think?"
The elderly man behind him didn't look pleased either. "I've seen the analysis report. There's herbicide in that soil! If it was found under the fruit trees, just as the young lady's family claims, then these trees are probably done for.
"Given your village's conduct, I wouldn't dare build our experimental base here. Huaijin, let's go."
A bitter smile appeared on the village chief's face. He shot a vicious glare at the defiant Liu Dali before turning to the old man, trying to placate him. "Wait, please wait... Professor Zhang, this was truly an accident, just an accident! It's a dispute between villagers and has nothing to do with the base. Rest assured, I'll solve this matter as quickly as possible.
"As for the base... Brother Zhou, you should help talk some sense into him, too. Where else in this area are you going to find a mountain plot as suitable as ours for the base? You said it yourself—the environment is good, the soil is good, and we'd more or less agreed on a price. And now this whole mess... ugh..."
Professor Zhang ignored the village chief's frustration and said coolly, "Then we'll talk after you've resolved this."
With that, he prepared to leave with Zhou Huaijin.
Before he left, Zhou Huaijin returned the phone to Chi Wan and said in a low voice, "Miss, if all of your family's fruit trees were doused with herbicide, you need to treat them as soon as possible. Otherwise, forget this season's harvest—the trees themselves might not survive."
Chi Wan knew they were in trouble the moment she heard the word "herbicide." As a botany student, how could she not know the damage it could do to fruit trees?
While silently cursing Liu Dali for being so heartless, she said to Zhou Huaijin with sincerity, "Thank you so much for your help today! We'll get it taken care of right away!"
'Thank goodness we found out early. Maybe they can still be saved. But as for this season's harvest... that's another story.'
After seeing Zhou Huaijin and Professor Zhang off, Liu Dali violently twisted free from the villagers restraining him. "Village Chief! What did you tell me before? You promised..."
"Shut up!" the village chief roared. He then forced a smile and turned to Chi Yuanshan. "Yuanshan, you see, this is a critical time for our village. Once that experimental base is built, our whole village will prosper.
"I absolutely will not allow anyone to jeopardize this. Anyone who does is an enemy of the entire village! I know Liu Dali was in the wrong this time, but if this gets blown out of proportion, it'll make things ugly for all of us neighbors..."
Chi Wan sneered, "Then you should be talking to the one who caused the damage! What's the point of saying this to us, the victims?"
The village chief frowned. "Chi Wan, this is a conversation for the men. A kid like you shouldn't interfere. Yuanshan, don't you worry. We'll have Liu Dali help you clean up this mess, and this sort of thing won't happen again. Right, Liu Dali?"
His words only made Chi Wan angrier. She was about to say more but was pulled back by Chi Yuanshan.
'Of course,' Chi Yuanshan thought. He could see it clear as day. The village chief was dead set on protecting Liu Dali and was just trying to smooth things over without assigning any real blame.
'But that's how things were in the village. Everyone was related in some way or another. If they truly burned that bridge, life would likely become very difficult for his family going forward.'
'After his business failed, Chi Yuanshan was counting on the orchard to turn his fortunes around. He really couldn't afford to make enemies of the entire village.'
Glancing at Liu Dali, who was still glaring at him, Chi Yuanshan said with a grim expression, "Village Chief, I can let this slide this time. But I want all my fellow villagers here to bear witness for me. If anything this vicious ever happens to my orchard again, I don't care who does it—I'll make sure they end up in prison!"
"Of course, of course," the village chief readily agreed. "I'll also keep a closer eye on things. We can't let personal grudges get in the way of the village's progress, can we?"
Liu Dali said nothing, but spat on the ground before swaggering away with his wife and a few of his cronies.
Seeing that the show was over, the other onlookers dispersed, leaving the three members of the Chi Family alone.
Chi Wan knew her father didn't want to push things to the point of no return, but judging by Liu Dali's attitude, she had a nagging feeling this wasn't over.
But first, they had to deal with the urgent matter of the orchard.
Chi Yuanshan sighed. When he turned back to Chi Wan, his expression softened. "Sweetheart, you didn't eat anything this morning. Go get some food. Your mother and I will go find someone and see if there's anything we can do to fix this."
Chi Wan thought for a moment. "Liu Dali's goal is to get the orchard back. He probably wouldn't go so far as to actually kill the trees."
Chi Yuanshan thought the same. He smiled and patted Chi Wan's head, his face filled with pride.
The couple went to deal with the fruit trees, while Chi Wan quickly finished her meal and headed into town.
She needed to find a place to get some cash to buy food and water for Li Xingye.
Of course, she also had something else very important to do.
*
The long-abandoned villa district was devoid of life, save for the mutated trees and animals lurking in the shadows, ready to deal a fatal blow to Li Xingye and his companions at any moment.
But as the only Ninth-rank Superpower User in this post-apocalyptic world, these mutated creatures were no match for Li Xingye, provided he wasn't starving.
Giant vines formed a protective barrier around the four men, a warning to the other creatures stirring restlessly nearby.
Li Xingye, Qiangzi, and the others had searched every possible corner, cracking dozens of safes and amassing a huge crate of dazzling jewelry of all kinds.
Qiangzi stared at the jewelry scattered across the floor as if he were looking at a magnificent feast. He closed his eyes and began to chant, "Oh, Space God, please spawn some meat for us brothers to satisfy our cravings!"
Even Cheng Peng, the most level-headed veteran in their squad, joined in. "If not meat, then noodles will do. I'm craving a bowl of noodle soup so bad I can't even sleep at night!"
Haozi watched them, speechless. "Wow, you guys are putting in specific orders now?! In that case, oh Space God, please bless me with some hot pot and a Coke! Isn't a good meal what life's all about?"
Li Xingye found their antics amusing. 'If Qiangzi knew the "Space God" he was praying to was actually a young woman,' he thought, 'his eyes would probably pop out of their sockets.'
Li Xingye carefully piled their haul next to Chi Wan's suitcase, making sure she would see it the moment she entered the space. He then withdrew, deciding it was time to head back to the base.
They had been out for several days now, and the food back at the base was likely running low. If they started back now, Chi Wan might have fresh supplies ready for them by the time they arrived.
But as someone unusually perceptive of his surroundings, he felt something was off. 'This space... does it seem a little bigger?'