"Uh... Grandpa, it's not them, it's a freshman named Qian Qi."
"Qian Qi?" Li Hongsheng frowned slightly, lost in thought, "I've never heard of this person."
Though he, as the department head, rarely returned to the school, he still glanced at the exam results each semester. He truly couldn't recall a student named Qian Qi among the top performers in the first year.
Li Hongsheng couldn't help but ask, "How is her academic performance? Has she submitted any plantation reports? What is she like?"
"Uh... she, actually..." Seeing her grandfather's curiosity, Li Shuyun stammered for a moment.
She knew Li Hongsheng's temper very well; he despised poor students and couldn't tolerate those who had talent but refused to work hard. If he knew that Qian Qi skipped classes and fought frequently, and was the infamous troublemaker of the Magic Plant Department...
He would definitely come to the school himself to admonish Qian Qi to study hard and contribute to society!
And Qian Qi's fiery temper and propensity for violence would surely leave her elderly grandfather beaten beyond recognition!!!
No way, she couldn't mention Qian Qi's situation!
Li Shuyun hurriedly changed the topic, "Grandpa, that's not the point. The point is the other party is willing to sell the plantation method to us. Can you provide financial support from your side?"
"Hmm, the Fire Qilin Fruit can enhance the Flame Dog's strength. Obtaining the plantation method will secure funding for the Magic Plant Research Institute, though that's secondary..." At the mention of this, a gleam appeared in Li Hongsheng's formerly cloudy eyes, like seeing a ray of hope amid the darkness of the apocalypse, filled with excitement and anticipation.
He spoke slowly, emphasizing each word, "The important thing is, perhaps we can find new breakthroughs in cultivating magic plants from this plantation method!"
In the Light Brain, the white-haired old man passionately talked about the future of the Magic Plant Research Institute and humanity's future, causing Li Shuyun, who was already tired of these talks, to twitch her mouth slightly before hanging up the call directly.
This old man couldn't stop talking about humanity's future. Despite his age, he was still like a teenager wanting to save the world.
But...
Recalling something, Li Shuyun gazed at the sky with a deep sigh, "If we can't find a method to quickly enhance the strength of Awakeners and Contracted Magical Beasts, this world might indeed face destruction..."
After all, the instances were becoming more unstable.
——
The day the Fire Qilin Fruit was planted, the Three Scale Orchid also reached its harvest period.
Qian Qi stood at her experimental field, holding a strong flashlight in one hand and a large pot lid in the other.
The bright flashlight was borrowed from the warm-hearted dorm caretaker auntie, and the large pot lid was borrowed from the warm-hearted cafeteria auntie.
How did she borrow them?
With her mouth.
"A person can't live without a mouth." Qian Qi proudly pointed her thumb at her lips, which she relied on like an unbeatable sweet-talker to borrow free tools from sweet-talking the aunties.
After teasing the system, Qian Qi squatted on the ground and positioned the giant pot lid in front of her.
The weak spot of the Three Scale Orchid was strong light exposure. Once its serrated leaves were exposed to direct light, they would become wilting and lose their attack power, whereas the three heavy petals on the bud would shoot out like a shooter attacking its enemy.
Qian Qi shifted slightly behind the lid and pressed the switch on the strong flashlight in her hand.
When the strong light hit the Three Scale Orchid, its previously swaying serrated leaves instantly drooped lifelessly. Sensing the threat, the bud turned sharply in Qian Qi's direction, spewing three petal bullets like a pea shooter.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
The petals slammed onto the pot lid, leaving three shallow dents. Qian Qi was shaken back a couple of steps. Looking at the dents on the lid, she couldn't help but suspect that a strike directly to the head would probably be lethal.
She turned off the flashlight, set aside the pot lid, and bent down to pick up the petals from the ground.
The Three Scale Orchid's petals felt quite heavy and resembled mangoes; they could likely grind into a good amount of hemostatic powder. However, given how hard these petals were, how was she supposed to grind them into powder?
Qian Qi opened the Light Brain and found that there were indeed small-scale rock grinders for sale online, but they were priced at over forty thousand each.
She promptly began searching for second-hand options.
"Tsk, even the cheapest second-hand grinder costs twenty-five thousand."
Qian Qi sighed deeply. She had trouble even affording food, with just 17 yuan left in her pocket, painstakingly saved by catching the constantly dodging Chen Miaomiao.
For now, she would have to wait for a grinder; the other magic plants needed for the Blood Stopping Magic Potion recipe hadn't been planted yet. When Senior Li Shuyun sold the Fire Qilin Fruit and gave her the money, then she'd consider buying the grinder.
For now, she should figure out how to get some money for food, especially since a few magic plants would need feeding with Demon Beast Meat in a couple of days, and she'd have to pay Su Xingle to help her buy it.
But where could she get the money?
Qian Qi scratched her messy hair with worry, and her gaze fell upon the students nearby who were studying magic plants.
At this moment, each of them wore troubled expressions, evidently encountering problems during planting. They wanted to eliminate the magic plants, believing they were beyond help but were reluctant to give up their efforts, and were racking their brains to find a way to save the dying plants.
Qian Qi watched for a while, a suddenly "brilliant" smile stretching across her face so wide that it seemed sinister; the corners of her mouth nearly reached her ears, making her whole face look quite...
Menacing?
[Your expression looks a little intimidating==.]
Qian Qi quickly composed her expression.
As she knew, the Magic Plant Department's final exam included both theoretical exams and plantation reports. If a student didn't cultivate a single plant during the entire academic year, their plantation report would be graded as failing, and to continue studying next year, they'd have to pay a 4,500 yuan tuition fee.
However, most students in the Magic Plant Department came from poor families, and a 4,500 yuan tuition fee could crush their whole family's finances.
In that case...
Once again, Qian Qi's small, rough face broke into a "malicious" grin: as a kind person, she surely needed to kindly "assist" them!
And it was a perfect chance to change her previous reputation as a scoundrel and successfully foster an image of being gentle, kind, and positive!
Great! Let's do it!
Qian Qi picked up a hoe and walked toward a student with a worried look. After adjusting her facial expression slightly, she smiled warmly and patted this classmate's shoulder.
"Hey, classmate, need some help?"