Marrying My Bestie's Ferocious Brother - He Calls Me His Baby!

Chapter 346 - 344: Stunning Intervention

The greenhouse in the backyard of the city bureau was filled with a pungent and sour smell.

Bai Tingting pinched her nose and stepped back two paces. The three enamel basins in front of her were filled with soil, with a layer of white saline frost on the surface. A few green-headed flies buzzed above the basin edges, refusing to be driven away.

For the past three days, she poured half a kilogram of urea and phosphate fertilizer into the basins every day.

The day she stole the discarded draft from Lin Wan Yi’s desk, it not only detailed the proportion for improving saline soil, but also wrapped a dozen shriveled wheat seeds in the center, with the note "Special Cold-Resistant Experimental Seed" written on the outer packaging in red ink.

She treasured them like gold, burying the seeds in the basins overnight and watering them relentlessly with the specified amount of fertilizer from the draft. When Director Chen asked about her plans, she locked the greenhouse door mysteriously, promising a major breakthrough in three days.

Bai Tingting picked up a stick and poked the black soil in the basin. A few murky bubbles emerged from underneath, and the stench intensified.

She discarded the stick and wiped her hands on her new Dacron shirt. Surely, it must be the fertilizer that’s still insufficient. She would add some potassium fertilizer tomorrow, and this "special seed" would surely grow into golden wheat spikes. By then, that capitalist lady would only be left to watch in awe as she scored a major success.

At the same time, in the second-floor general office.

Lin Wan Yi capped her fountain pen, organized several weather data reports from past years on her desk, and filed them. The end-of-day bell rang on time, and people in the office gradually began to leave.

She walked with her canvas bag to the women’s restroom at the end of the corridor and bolted the door. In a shift of thought, the surroundings around her transformed.

In the Spiritual Spring Space as big as half a basketball court, the air was refreshingly sweet. At the center of the black soil, a small patch of green wheat seedlings swayed in the wind.

Lin Wan Yi went to the end of the field, squatted down, and parted the wheat leaves. The roots were thick, robust, and firmly gripping the soil underneath. For the past few days, she entered the space after work each day, diluting the advanced spiritual spring water in different proportions to water this batch of genuine experimental wheat seeds.

The advanced spring water greatly shortened the growth cycle. Wheat, which usually required several months to sprout, had now already yielded full ears of grain. The wheat grains were vibrant and contained faint spiritual energy, making them much larger than ordinary wheat.

She took out a pair of small scissors, clipped several of the most representative samples, and packed them into a prepared wooden box along with the soil and roots. She also took out a kraft paper notebook and detailed the growth cycle, cold resistance indicators, and water requirements from the past few days.

This data was what Dean Li and the city bureau genuinely needed. As for the discarded draft and a few cooked dead seeds that Bai Tingting took, they were merely a pit she dug casually.

Exiting the space, Lin Wan Yi washed her hands and walked out of the office building.

Outside the main entrance on the street, a dark green jeep was parked under the sycamore tree. Gu Yanshen leaned against the car door, his military uniform immaculate, with a cigarette unlit between his fingers. Little Grey obediently lay down beside the rear tire.

Bai Tingting had just come out of the greenhouse and immediately noticed the man beside the jeep. She smoothed her permed wavy hair, intentionally unbuttoned the top button of her shirt, and sashayed towards him.

"Mr. Gu, here to pick up Technician Lin after work?" Bai Tingting stopped a meter away from Gu Yanshen, her voice soft and fine, "Wanyi is so inconsiderate, making you wait outside for so long. Unlike me, quick about my work, I’ve already finished my greenhouse experiment early."

Gu Yanshen didn’t even look at her and directly looked over her shoulder towards the office building door.

Being ignored, Bai Tingting gritted her teeth. She leaned forward, taking half a step closer: "Mr. Gu, I am particularly interested in military affairs, and during your routine..."

"Stop."

Gu Yanshen finally spoke, his voice devoid of warmth. He turned his head, staring at her as if examining a suspect.

"Comrade, your current behavior is suspected of illegally approaching a military vehicle." Gu Yanshen stood up straight, gesturing to the guard sitting in the driver’s seat.

The guard immediately opened the door and exited with a registration book in hand.

"Name, unit, position." Gu Yanshen looked at her, reciting the regulations with businesslike detachment, "According to Article 3 of the Security Regulations, unauthorized inquiries about military personnel movements or approaches to military vehicles require identity verification. Non-cooperation will lead to a direct transfer to the Security Division."

Bai Tingting froze where she stood. Her act of feigned vulnerability hadn’t even begun to play out when the other party directly cited security regulations.

Colleagues leaving work gathered around, pointing and whispering about the scene.

"I...I was just saying hello..." Bai Tingting’s face turned red as she stammered and retreated.

Little Grey, who was lying on the ground, suddenly stood up, baring his fangs at Bai Tingting and growling threateningly from his throat.

Frightened, Bai Tingting let out a sharp scream, turned, and fled in her high heels, not daring to look back.

Lin Wan Yi happened to walk out the door, witnessing the entire scene. She approached the car, and Little Grey immediately retracted his fangs, wagging his tail like a fan, rubbing against her trouser leg.

Gu Yanshen opened the car door, shielding her head as she got in.

"Was work smooth today?" he asked, starting the engine after getting into the car.

"Very smooth." Lin Wan Yi patted the wooden box inside her canvas bag, "There should be a good show to watch tomorrow."

Three days later, at the city bureau office building.

The red confidential phone in the director’s office kept ringing incessantly. The director grabbed the receiver and after listening for a few sentences, sweat broke out on his forehead.

"What? The foreign inspection team arrived early? They’re already on the way?" The director hung up the phone and shouted outside, "Old Chen! Director Chen!"

Director Chen rushed in, "Director, what’s wrong?"

"The foreign guests arrived early! They specifically requested to see the preliminary results of the wheat improvement in the suburb of Beijing!" The director was anxious, pacing in circles in the room, "Didn’t Bai Tingting say her greenhouse experiment yielded results? Quickly, take someone to arrange it! This is a major matter concerning foreign exchange and equipment import, it must not falter!"

Director Chen wiped his sweat and hurriedly ran towards the backyard.

In front of the glasshouse, Bai Tingting was staring blankly with a small iron shovel in her hand.

"Quick, open the door! Bring out your experimental results!" Director Chen ran over, panting, "The foreign guests are almost here!"

Bai Tingting’s hand shook, and the shovel fell to the ground. Over the past few days, she had increased the fertilizer dosage, and the soil in the basin had completely turned into black sludge, with even those few dead seeds dissolved and nowhere to be found.

"Uncle... I..."

Director Chen couldn’t wait any longer and pushed her aside, pulling out the spare key himself to unlock the door.

As the door opened, a stench comparable to a cesspool rushed out. Director Chen staggered back three steps, covering his nose and mouth. He craned his neck to look inside and saw that the three enamel basins were filled with acid-bubbling rotten mud, without a single green sprout.

"Is this what you called results?!" Director Chen’s vision went black as he pointed at the rotten mud, his hand trembling, "Did you pickle vegetables with fertilizer?!"

The director arrived in the backyard just at that moment with several clerks. Seeing the scene, the director kicked over a watering can angrily.

"Nonsense! This is utter nonsense!" The director pointed at Director Chen’s nose and scolded, "Is this the talent you recommended? The foreign guests’ car has already entered the gate, and you want me to show them these basins of filth? You’ve completely ruined the city bureau’s reputation today!"

Bai Tingting was so frightened she collapsed to the ground, unable to even cry.

The sound of a car engine shutting down came from the front yard. Two black Volga cars parked in front of the office building. A few fair-haired, blue-eyed foreign guests got out with a translator accompanying them.

Leading the way was the foreign man who had bought red tea at the supply cooperative a few days ago. He was the head agricultural expert of this inspection team, Mr. Smith.

The director braced himself and went forward, inviting them into the conference room on the second floor.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was overwhelmingly oppressive. On either side of the long table, the city bureau leaders all hung their heads low.

Mr. Smith flipped through the empty annual reports on the table, his brows furrowed into one sharp line. He spoke quickly in English.

The translator beside him wiped his sweat and stammered in translation, "Mr. Smith says... these are all theoretical. He needs to see tangible examples capable of surviving in high-saline and alkaline environments, even if it’s just a single wheat seedling. Without tangible results, the inspection team will cancel the subsequent equipment aid plan."

The director’s face turned ashen. If the aid was canceled, his term as director would come to an end.

Standing in the corner, Director Chen dared not breathe heavily.

"Bang."

The heavy double wooden doors of the conference room were pushed open from the outside.

Lin Wan Yi, dressed in a clean white shirt, walked in pushing a wheeled cart. A red cloth covered the cart.

She ignored the shocked faces all around, pushing the cart straight to the forefront of the conference table, stopping in front of Mr. Smith.

"Director, my experimental field has produced results." Lin Wan Yi pinched a corner of the red cloth with one hand, her voice clear and steady, "It’s just right for our foreign guests to take a look."