Chapter 7: The Fairyland in the Pot
Xiao Ping didn't know that he had already been hated by Wang Jian. After chatting with Liu Jianguo and his wife for a few sentences, he returned to the room to let the Lian Yao Hu absorb the jade stone. Without using much time, the Lian Yao Hu absorbed the essence of the jade stone, leaving only a pile of gray powder.
Watching the jade stone that cost several thousand yuan disappear in an instant, Xiao Ping couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. Although the Alchemy Cauldron could help him make money, it seemed to have a greater talent for spending money. It looked like expanding the planting scale was inevitable. However, this raised another problem - if he planted more vegetables, the spiritual liquid would not be enough again.
After absorbing all the jade stones, the Lian Yao Hu also underwent some subtle changes. The originally pure white and delicate body of the pot became even more lustrous, with a faint layer of light flowing on its surface. What surprised Xiao Ping even more was that the painting on the front of the Lian Yao Hu had also changed. Originally, there was only a small tree and a clear spring in the picture, but now a patch of grass had appeared around the spring! The grass looked like it didn't cover a large area, but it was lush and lovely. If one looked closely, they could even distinguish each individual blade of grass.
"This... is truly amazing!" Xiao Ping gazed at the intricate painting, involuntarily exclaiming in admiration. He had to check on the Lian Yao Hu every day, so he could naturally confirm that it was only after absorbing the jade stone that the painting underwent this transformation. Although this seemed a bit unbelievable, thinking about how the Lian Yao Hu was originally an extraordinary treasure, Xiao Ping felt at ease.
Xiao Ping was very interested in the changing paintings on the Lian Yao Hu, and he couldn't help but stare at them for a few more seconds. However, he soon felt a wave of dizziness and involuntarily closed his eyes. When this feeling passed, Xiao Ping opened his eyes again to find himself in another place.
In front of Xiao Ping was a small tree about his height, with exactly seven emerald green leaves on it. The green color of the leaves was so pure that it couldn't be described, giving people a sense of vitality. Under the tree was a clear spring water, flowing out gently. Strangely, there was no other outlet for the spring, but the water level remained constant, without any sign of overflowing. Surrounding the spring was a lush green lawn, with soft grass reaching up to his ankles, feeling like walking on the best carpet.
Xiao Ping was no stranger to this environment, exactly the same as the painting on the Lian Yao Hu. He immediately understood that he was now inside the Lian Yao Hu and couldn't help but feel very worried.
"This is the Alchemy Cauldron, I hope it won't refine me...” Xiao Ping looked around cautiously, muttering to himself in unease. However, he soon discovered that the air inside the cauldron was fresh and the environment was comfortable, and not only did he feel no discomfort, but he even felt invigorated, his entire body feeling exceptionally well, and finally gradually calmed down.
After ensuring his safety, Xiao Ping began to carefully observe his surroundings. The most attractive things to him were the small trees and the spring water. Although this small tree looked very ordinary, since it was growing in the Alchemy Cauldron, it definitely wouldn't be that simple. As for the spring water, it looked very enticing, and after Xiao Ping drank a few mouthfuls, he discovered that the water was clear and refreshing, with a faint sweetness, and its taste was much better than the mineral water sold outside. More importantly, after drinking the spring water, Xiao Ping felt like his body had endless energy, and his spirit was also lifted greatly. This made him understand that the spring water was also extraordinary, even if its effect couldn't compare to the spiritual liquid produced by the Alchemy Cauldron, it absolutely wasn't an ordinary product.
The only thing that made Xiao Ping a little dissatisfied was that the lawn was very small, no more than ten square meters. There was a misty fog surrounding the lawn, which prevented him from seeing further away. Xiao Ping also tried to walk through the fog, but each time he was pushed back by a gentle force, and after trying several times, he could only give up.
After getting familiar with the environment inside the Alchemy Cauldron, Xiao Ping also came up with a plan to make good use of this place. The space inside the Alchemy Cauldron is so magical that it must be very effective for growing something. However, this land is really too small, and it's a waste to grow vegetables or anything like that. After considering for a long time, Xiao Ping finally found that the most valuable plant he knew was ginseng, and decided to try growing ginseng to see how it would turn out.
After making the decision, Xiao Ping stayed in the refining cauldron's space for a moment, not forgetting to drink his fill of spring water. With a thought, he left this magical place. When he returned to the outside world, Xiao Ping found himself still sitting in the same old spot, seemingly unchanged from when he left. However, the alarm clock on the table told him that it was now deep into the night.
This made Xiao Ping somewhat surprised, he thought he had been in the Lian Yao Hu for no more than ten minutes at most, but outside time had already passed for several hours, with a bit of "a day in the mountains, a thousand years in the world" meaning. This also made Xiao Ping secretly vigilant, and when entering the Lian Yao Hu next time, he must be careful, or else if someone discovered this secret, it would be big trouble.
After discovering the new secret of Lian Yao Hu, Xiao Ping also had a little more expectation for the future. The next day, he went out early in the morning and rushed to the Agricultural Technology Station to buy ginseng seeds. At present, wild ginseng is extremely rare, and most ginseng is artificially cultivated. The Agricultural Technology Station naturally followed the trend and started selling ginseng seeds.
Xiao Ping soon found what he needed and asked the middle-aged man behind the counter: "Boss, how much are ginseng seeds?"
"It's five yuan a pack, ten grains." The middle-aged man took out a packet of seeds and threw it on the counter, looking at Xiao Ping and saying, "Young man, ginseng is not easy to cultivate, can you do it?"
Xiao Ping was taken aback and said: "I really don't know how."
The middle-aged man was also amused by Xiao Ping, shaking his head and saying: "Let's not talk about other things for now. Ginseng seeds must be germinated before they can be planted. The germination period is at least half a year, and the shortest one takes several months. I have to explain this to you clearly, so don't come looking for me to refund after waiting for half a month and seeing that the seeds haven't sprouted."
"Ginseng is so troublesome?" Xiao Ping really didn't think ginseng would be so difficult.
The middle-aged man couldn't help but laugh and say: "This is ginseng, not radish. If it were that easy to grow, ginseng would be the same price as cabbage."
Xiao Ping thought the boss's words made sense, and he also had the powerful Alchemy Cauldron, so he wasn't worried about not being able to grow good ginseng. He bought two packets of seeds and went back to try them out. That night, Xiao Ping entered the Alchemy Cauldron and used the method taught by the agricultural station's boss to sprout the ginseng.
Originally, Xiao Ping thought that even in the Lian Yao Hu, the ginseng seedlings would grow faster, and this step would take at least a few weeks. But on the third night, he found that the ginseng seeds had already sprouted and could be formally transplanted. Xiao Ping cleared a small piece of land beside the spring, carefully planted the twenty ginseng seeds, and then watered them thoroughly with the spring water. He believed that in this magical place, the ginseng would quickly grow luxuriantly and could be harvested soon.
After planting the ginseng, Xiao Ping left the Alchemy Cauldron to collect the spiritual liquid. He was delighted to find that the amount of spiritual liquid had increased again, from the original two drops to a full five drops! This way, Xiao Ping could use two of them to strengthen his body, and the other three to plant vegetables. Xiao Ping had been worried about the lack of spiritual liquid, which made it impossible for him to grow more vegetables. Now that he can get one more drop each time, although it's still not enough, it's much better than before.
"Several thousand dollars was not spent in vain!" Thinking of this, Xiao Ping couldn't help but sigh silently, and he really wanted to know how many surprises the Alchemy Cauldron would bring him. He also knew very well that if he wanted to understand what secrets the Alchemy Cauldron held, he had to make more money to buy more jade stones for it to absorb.
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