Everyone in the family, except for the mother who was unconscious due to illness, came out of their rooms, suppressing their heartache and pity for Lin Xiaohe, and greeted Xin Bao.
“Xin Bao, from now on you’re my youngest grandson! Uh… or granddaughter?” Grandpa Lin cast a questioning look at Grandma Lin.
Some plants have male and female plants.
Some plants are hermaphrodites.
Xin Bao looks like stellar wheat, so is it a grandson or a granddaughter?
Grandma Lin shot Grandpa Lin a look, adjusted her reading glasses, and leaned in for a closer look.
Those pitiful two leaves, not even a wheat head grown yet—how could you tell the gender?
Grandma Lin calmly withdrew her gaze and said matter-of-factly, “Too thin. Xiaohe, come to my room later and get a bottle of purified water. Give Xin Bao a good nourishing.”
Xin Bao was overjoyed, its two little leaves trembling wildly.
The Lin family completely ignored Xin Bao’s unusual behavior. Even if it was a mutated plant, so what?
If their daughter/granddaughter/little sister said it was Xin Bao, part of the family, then it was family!
Lin Xiaohe hadn’t expected the Lin family to be so accepting, embracing Xin Bao so simply.
Touching!
The next day, Lin Xiaohe was woken by the warm sunlight.
Walking out of her room, she saw the entire family sitting neatly around the dining table. One empty seat was left for her.
The mother, who had been unconscious, was held by Father Lin, both sitting in the wheelchair.
“Xiaohe, you’re up. Come have breakfast.”
Even though breakfast was just the lowest-grade nutrient solution, the mealtime ritual was a must!
As the lady of the house, Grandma Lin took on the solemn responsibility of distributing the nutrient solution!
Different from usual, this time besides the nutrient solution, Grandma Lin had also prepared a bowl of purified water.
She pushed the bowl towards Lin Xiaohe with a kind smile. “Xin Bao, we don’t know what you like to eat. The family’s circumstances aren’t great, so we can only raise you on purified water for now. We hope you won’t mind.”
[I don’t mind! I love it. Thank you, Grandma,] Xin Bao was deeply moved.
Unfortunately, besides Lin Xiaohe, none of the other Lin family members could hear it speak.
So Xin Bao used actions to show everyone it truly loved purified water.
Lin Xiaohe placed the flowerpot on the table. Xin Bao’s two leaves snapped into the bowl.
Gulp, gulp. In the blink of an eye, the bowl of purified water was gone.
Grandpa Lin chuckled. “Oh ho, an energetic little one with a good appetite.”
Grandma Lin went to the kitchen to get another bowl of purified water. “Is Xin Bao still hungry? Children need to eat a lot to grow tall and strong.”
Knowing the Lin family was poor, Xin Bao shook its leaves, indicating it was full.
But Grandma Lin was too enthusiastic; the purified water was already here. Wouldn’t it hurt her feelings if it didn’t drink?
Gulp, gulp. Xin Bao drank the purified water clean again.
“One more bowl.”
“The last bowl.”
“Really, the last one.”
“Guaranteed, the very last bowl.”
There’s a kind of ‘hunger’ called ‘Grandma thinks you’re hungry.’
Only when the water got cut off because of unpaid bills did Grandma Lin stop feeding.
Grandpa Lin sighed. “The kids in our family are all sickly because they don’t eat enough. You should all learn from Xin Bao.”
Xin Bao, letting out little hiccups of satiety, stood its stalk perfectly straight!
Lin Xiaohe’s slightly agape mouth hadn’t closed the whole time.
Wouldn’t Xin Bao’s roots rot from drinking so much water?!
Worried, Lin Xiaohe secretly checked Xin Bao’s attributes.
Incredible! Its vitality had actually increased to 50!
Everything Grandpa and Grandma said was right.
Lin Xiaohe reflected for a moment. In the interstellar age, even human bodies had changed, let alone mutated plants. She couldn’t keep looking at things with her old mindset.
After breakfast, Lin Xiaohe announced she was taking Xin Bao out to make their fortune.
“Have a smooth journey.”
“Be careful.”
Once Lin Xiaohe’s figure disappeared at the end of the village, Second Sister Lin Jingqiu also left, heading to the garbage station to apply for the job.
Big Brother Lin Chiyang was about to stop her when his eyes suddenly changed, becoming sharp and fierce. He dug out his boxing gloves, waved to the family, and walked out the door without looking back.
Grandma and Grandpa Lin, hands clasped behind their backs, walked one after the other towards the Lin family’s wheat field.
After carefully placing his wife back in bed, Father Lin silently picked up the welding torch from the workbench.
On the bus, Lin Xiaohe had no idea that neither her big brother nor second sister had listened to her—they had all gone out to work and earn money!
Fortune’s Arrival Cafe was located in the bustling Xiangjiang District of Wasteland Planet No. 7’s northern hemisphere.
Lin Xiaohe transferred buses three times to get there.
The bustling district lived up to its name. There were more pedestrians on the streets than the entire population of Hengshan Village combined.
Various skyscrapers soared into the sky; looking up, you couldn’t see the tops.
On the aerial rails, flying vehicles of all shapes zipped by like shooting stars.
Looking around, Lin Xiaohe truly felt she had transmigrated to the interstellar age.
Rent in the bustling district was too high. Fortune’s Arrival Cafe could only afford the twelfth underground floor.
Lin Xiaohe found the underground entrance and paid the painful 20-star-credit elevator fee to descend to level twelve.
Just out of the elevator, Lin Xiaohe was almost knocked over by a burly man.
The man’s face was bruised and swollen, his arm wrapped in bandages. “Kid, this isn’t a place for you.”
“I’m here to go online.”
“Pfft.” The man didn’t believe that for a second. The girl before him was covered head to toe in signs reading ‘poverty.’ Could she afford to go online?!
The man couldn’t be bothered to say more and walked away.
He’d had bad luck today, running into that maniac again at the underground fighting club and getting pummeled good. Every bone in his body ached.
Lin Xiaohe had no time for strange, burly men. Her target was Fortune’s Arrival Cafe!
Brother Cheng had really invested, placing the cafe right near the elevator.
The moment you stepped out, you were blinded by its flashy sign!
“Well, if it isn’t our college student, Lin Xiaohe?” Brother Cheng had come to inspect his business and happened to run into Lin Xiaohe standing dumbly at the entrance.
Immediately, someone played the straight man. “What college student?”
“Heh, Federation Central Military Academy. Impressive, huh? This year, she’s the only one from the entire Wasteland Planet who applied.”
A lackey exaggeratedly gasped. “Incredible! Lin Xiaohe’s grades must be amazing, right?”
“Haha, rock bottom. Ambitions as high as the sky, fate as thin as paper.”
Lin Xiaohe turned around, expressionless as she looked at Brother Cheng. In reality, she was communicating with Xin Bao in her mind.
“Xin Bao, do I really have to say that line?”
Xin Bao said guiltily, [You have to for the first skill activation.]
Feeling Lin Xiaohe’s resistance, Xin Bao quickly added, [Once I reach level 2, we won’t have to do this anymore.]
Fine then.
For the star credits, Lin Xiaohe would go all out.
Brother Cheng enjoyed watching Lin Xiaohe’s discomfort and deliberately asked, “Xiaohe, here to go online? Got money? No credit allowed!”
Lin Xiaohe was so embarrassed she could have dug a hundred-story skyscraper with her toes.
Gritting her teeth, she forced out a stiff smile and spoke with difficulty, “I’ll just rub against it… won’t go in.”
The scene suddenly fell silent.
Brother Cheng’s lackeys looked from Lin Xiaohe to Brother Cheng and back again.
Uh… something wasn’t quite right.
Were they the ones with dirty minds?!
But Lin Xiaohe’s embarrassment mixed with a hint of shyness really made people think that way!
A long time later, after Lin Xiaohe had already run off, everyone finally realized.
Oh my heavens! Brother Cheng had just been publicly flirted with by a little girl!
