Chapter 54
Prosperity shook his head. “Boss, I haven’t seen Fei Fei today.”
After saying that, his attention went right back to the rose trellis.
Xie Xingchen didn’t know if it was because he’d praised Get-Rich for cooking and Long-Life for planting—while Prosperity hadn’t gotten any serious praise—but these past few days, the one who was good at racing had started?ing Long-Life’s work.
Xie Xingchen could only feel helpless about it.
And yet he couldn’t really say anything.
Because what was there to say?
Isn’t it every boss’s dream for employees to work hard?
Xie Xingchen: Sigh… I’m exhausted, anyway.
Prosperity lowered his head and looked at his boss seriously. “Boss, do you need anything else?”
Xie Xingchen shook his head expressionlessly. “No. Go back to your work.”
The moment he said it, he saw Prosperity happily running off toward the flower fields—forming a sharp contrast with Long-Life, who was steady and composed in the other field.
Even Prosperity hadn’t seen Fei Fei. Now Xie Xingchen was completely out of options.
He ran around everywhere trying to find that fat rabbit. He even went to the rabbit’s “home” several times, but still couldn’t catch the bunny that kept darting all over the place.
Sitting on the ridge between fields, Xie Xingchen stared into the distance at the robots working, his tone growing heavy.
“Xiao Mo… shouldn’t you tell me why your postcards get delivered so slowly?”
With no one else to blame, Xie Xingchen could only choose to “provoke” the system.
If the system acted even a little weak—if he could find a loophole (sweet-talk it)—he could solve the problem perfectly.
But Xie Xingchen was dreaming.
Forget letting players exploit loopholes—the system just played mute.
Xie Xingchen frowned. “Xiao Mo, don’t stay quiet. I know you don’t log off.”
After harassing the system for ten minutes, Xie Xingchen finally brought out his killing move.
Xie Xingchen smiled. “Xiao Mo… about that probability issue.”
The system freaked out; it was obvious it was angry.
[System Notice: The system cannot control probability. Player, mind your words and behavior, or you will be punished!]
Xie Xingchen calmly continued, “I think it’s probably not an issue.”
Yeah, right!
Now that he’d managed to drag the system out, he immediately returned to the real topic:
“Xiao Mo, Xiao Mo—where is my bunny companion?”
He couldn’t even pull up Fei Fei’s location from the player panel anymore, so he could only pin his hopes on the system.
After all—Fei Fei was already a “mature” fat rabbit now. It was not only elusive, but sometimes it could even go traveling with an empty bag without Xie Xingchen preparing anything.
If he couldn’t find Fei Fei soon, he was afraid it would run off again.
[System Notice: Please explore on your own.]
Xie Xingchen slapped his thigh, annoyed. “I did explore, but I seriously can’t find it!”
What kind of rabbit even is this?
Its stealth ability is ridiculous!
It’s so tiny—how can it be so good at running away?
[System Notice: If fate wills it, you will meet again.]
Xie Xingchen sneered and changed the subject. “Then just tell me the coordinates where Fei Fei took that postcard photo.”
Wild tea tree—the plant in Fei Fei’s postcard was a wild tea tree!
Xie Xingchen didn’t need to explain how valuable tea was. Just look at how prosperous the ancient Tea-Horse Road had been—that alone proved its importance.
He had a feeling that as long as he found the wild tea tree, he’d roll a milk-tea machine the very same day!
Milk tea… Back when he worked part-time at a milk-tea shop, he drank plenty whenever he met a generous boss.
At the time, after too much, he felt it was just “so-so.” But after going without it for so long, thinking about it made him crave it like crazy.
[System Notice: This service is not available at present. Please explore on your own.]
Xie Xingchen smiled.
Unable to force the system, Xie Xingchen could only drag Prosperity—who was obsessed with farming—into searching for the fat bunny with him.
He didn’t roam everywhere. He simply camped out at Fei Fei’s rapeseed flower field and waited, like “guarding a tree stump for a rabbit.”
He stayed near the rapeseed flowers for nearly two hours and still didn’t see Fei Fei.
Instead, he saw a lot of Fei Fei’s “relatives,” which really made you marvel at how fast rabbits reproduce.
Shaking off yet another little rabbit that had climbed onto his shoe, Xie Xingchen sat on the ridge and sighed deeply.
Fei Fei used to be like that too—staying obediently in the rapeseed field, climbing onto his shoes to play. But now that Fei Fei had grown up, it no longer stayed home.
Right as Xie Xingchen sighed, Prosperity suddenly stepped forward and grabbed a rabbit from the edge of the rapeseed field.
Xie Xingchen’s eyes lit up. “Fei Fei!”
The bunny in Prosperity’s hand lifted its head, glanced at Xie Xingchen, then calmly lowered its head again and continued chewing the rapeseed flowers.
Xie Xingchen carefully took Fei Fei from Prosperity and held it tightly.
Just in case, he very unfriendly tugged on his companion’s long ears.
He didn’t pull hard, and Fei Fei didn’t care. It simply kept chewing rapeseed flowers in his arms.
Xie Xingchen paused, then, as if nothing happened, gently and lovingly patted the rabbit’s head.
“Fei Fei, your postcard arrived. I looked at it—it’s really pretty. So… can you take me to the place where you took the photo?” Xie Xingchen asked softly.
Fei Fei lifted its head in a very human-like way. It stared at him, dazed, its red eyes full of confusion.
Then it calmly lowered its head again, clearly refusing to deal with this.
Xie Xingchen had already expected it wouldn’t be easy.
He patiently waited until Fei Fei finished chewing, then put on a show and delivered a “jerk-boyfriend” style line of pity:
“Fei Fei, look at other rabbits, then look at yourself. Other rabbits grow up eating carrots—only you, poor thing, you chew rapeseed flowers every day.”
If that line ever got broadcast, Xie Xingchen would be beaten into a pig’s head. Poor, my ass—if eating rapeseed flowers was “pitiful,” then people who couldn’t afford greenery might as well die?
But here, there was only him spouting nonsense, Prosperity silently standing by, and… one rabbit being lured.
Carrots?
Fei Fei jerked its head up, staring intensely at its two-legged companion.
It didn’t know what carrots were, but something deep in its genes stirred!
For once, it moved closer on its own.
Fei Fei rubbed its fluffy white fur affectionately against Xie Xingchen.
Seeing Fei Fei trying to please him, Xie Xingchen smiled and released the rabbit’s ear, his lips curling smugly.
He. Knew. It.
No rabbit in the world could resist the temptation of carrots.
Xie Xingchen coaxed, “Fei Fei, how about we make a deal? If you take me to find the tea tree, I’ll find you carrots. And once I find carrot seeds, I’ll plant an entire mountain full of carrots and move your whole family into the carrot fields—how about it?”
Great. After being a boss for so long, he’d finally learned how to sell big dreams.
Shameless as he was, he was shameless—using imaginary carrots to scam a bunny.
But Xie Xingchen didn’t feel guilty at all, because he absolutely intended to follow through.
If he promised carrots, he’d definitely try his best to find them!
As for whether he could find them?
Xie Xingchen was completely righteous about it: How would I know? I tried, didn’t I?
No one knew how long it took. Only after Fei Fei finished chewing yet another rapeseed flower did it finally lead them out of the field.
It hopped ahead for more than ten minutes, then entered a dense forest. Near the base of a mountain it turned a corner, hopped for about another half hour, and led them to a narrow cave entrance.
Xie Xingchen: ?
Wait. Don’t tell me it’s in there.
His feelings were complicated—speechless and yet oddly relieved.
Honestly, if things were really as he suspected, then he had to be grateful. If Fei Fei hadn’t been wandering around for no reason, he’d never find this place in his entire life.
What kind of nonsense was this—like some cultivation-world “fated opportunity.”
Xie Xingchen was covered in dust as he crawled, nearly breaking down.
“It’s just a wild tea tree—why is its habitat so hidden?!”
A tunnel was one thing, but the entrance was so narrow. If he weren’t slim, he would’ve gotten stuck like Prosperity, wedged at the entrance and unable to squeeze through.
Luckily, light kept filtering in from ahead. Following Fei Fei, it was hard—but not frightening.
After crawling forward for a while and squeezing through another tight section, the space opened up suddenly.
Before him was a massive underground cavern—at least five meters high and as large as half a soccer field!
The ceiling seemed to have a vent to the outside. Several beams of white light poured down, and one beam shone directly onto the wild tea tree at the center, making it look sacred and majestic.
It was like a miniature ecological garden—flowers, birds, insects, fish, everything.
At the far edge, there was a pool so deep you couldn’t see the bottom. One glance was enough to make you imagine some terrifying creature lurking below.
Xie Xingchen stared at everything in awe.
He couldn’t help rubbing Fei Fei’s head and exclaimed, “Fei Fei, you’re insane. You actually found a place like this to travel to!”
As expected of a magical travel bunny!
And honestly, this place really was perfect for sightseeing. In the old days, it would’ve been a celebrity-level tourist spot.
No wonder Fei Fei took a photo here and mailed a postcard.
Just then, a butterfly fluttered over.
It landed on Fei Fei’s forehead as if it knew the place well, and stayed there without moving.
Seeing the butterfly, Xie Xingchen’s expression turned strange as he thought about Fei Fei’s “butterfly friend.”
Uh… don’t tell me it’s this one?
So… were the camellia seeds from here too?
Pulling his gaze away from the wild tea tree, Xie Xingchen scanned the surroundings carefully. In the far corner, he indeed found a cluster of camellias.
Xie Xingchen: Are there still surprises in this world I don’t know about?!
He grinned and said eagerly, “Fei Fei, go play with your friend. I’m going to… get the wild tea tree.”
Originally, he’d planned to cut a few tender branches and take them back to propagate. But when he approached the wild tea tree, he found the ground littered with tea seeds that had fallen from it.
Tea seeds were the tree’s seeds. If he had seeds, he wouldn’t have to harm the tea tree at all.
Maybe because no one harvested them, tea seeds were everywhere.
After sending Prosperity a message to reassure him he was safe, Xie Xingchen crouched down and started picking up tea seeds without another word.
The seeds were layered thickly. Many had only the top layer unrotted; the layers beneath had decomposed year after year and become fertilizer for the tea tree.
Even so, just picking the top layer, he collected almost a whole basket.
Perhaps because the cave was cooler, the tea tree still had plenty of tender leaves.
Xie Xingchen thought about it, then decided to harvest some leaves on the spot.
No reason—he simply missed the taste of tea too much.
Even if he didn’t make milk tea, drinking plain tea every day would be great.
[Ding-dong. Congratulations, player has discovered “Wild Tea Tree,” completing hidden quest “The Great Tea Tree.” Reward: EXP 1000.]
Xie Xingchen: !
Wait—was this the first time the system had ever given more than 1000 EXP?
Before he could think further, the system continued issuing quests.
[Ding-dong. Congratulations, player has triggered quest “A Hidden World.” Quest: Explore this small realm. Rewards: EXP ×500, Milk Tea Machine ×1.]
Xie Xingchen: !
A milk tea machine—the thing he’d been dying for.
So it wasn’t from refreshing the shop at all… but from a quest?
Already fired up, Xie Xingchen became even more excited.
Explore this little place?
He loved this quest. It was basically free.
Xie Xingchen laughed, then began exploring every inch of the land thoroughly, not letting anything escape.
[Ding-dong. Congratulations, player has discovered “Mint.”]
[Ding-dong. Congratulations, player has discovered “Mugwort.”]
[Ding-dong. Congratulations, player has discovered “Wild Chrysanthemum.”]
“……”
[Ding-dong. Congratulations, exploration progress reached 90%. Please continue exploring.]
Xie Xingchen was so shocked he fell silent.
This place was a treasure vault!
Forget everything else—he’d found three incredible treasures here: mint, mugwort, and wild chrysanthemum.
[Mint: One of the commonly used traditional Chinese medicinal herbs. It can treat influenza, headaches, red eyes, fever, sore throat, swollen gums, etc.; used externally, it can treat neuralgia, skin itching, rashes, and eczema, etc.]
Even ignoring its medicinal effects, it was a perfect summer cooling ingredient. From ancient times to today, countless mint drinks had been developed. Two words summed it up: tasty and useful.
As for mugwort and wild chrysanthemum?
These were also classic, widely used traditional Chinese medicinal plants—arguably even more common than mint.
[Mugwort: A commonly used traditional Chinese medicinal herb. It can warm the meridians, dispel dampness, drive away cold, stop bleeding, reduce inflammation, relieve asthma, suppress cough, stabilize pregnancy, fight allergies, etc. Dried leaves can be processed into “moxa wool” for moxibustion. Mugwort powder can be used as a natural plant dye and as a component in ink paste. The whole plant can also be used as an insecticidal pesticide and for fumigating rooms for disinfection.]
[Wild Chrysanthemum: A commonly used traditional Chinese medicinal herb. Slightly cold in nature; it disperses wind-heat and reduces swelling and toxins. It can treat boils and carbuncles, sore throat and swelling, red inflamed eyes, headaches, dizziness, and related conditions.]
Totally worth it.
Fei Fei was amazing!
Xie Xingchen beamed, feeling like the sky had never been clearer.
Well—even if he couldn’t see the sky down here, the sky outside must be crystal clear!
These three plants had come at the perfect time.
Mint could be used for drinks and flavoring; wild chrysanthemum could be dried and sold as flower tea; and mugwort was even more useful.
Forget moxa and moxibustion—it was a natural pesticide and disinfectant. With it, farming would get much easier.
Xie Xingchen dug up one plant each—roots and soil intact—then carefully stored them in his space button.
Only after ensuring everything was secure did he feel like continuing to explore the area.
The remaining 10% exploration progress referred to the bottomless pool nearby.
Not knowing what dangers might be inside, Xie Xingchen didn’t dare jump in. Instead, he took out an underwater detector from his land-clearing kit.
He switched it on, linked it to his light-brain, opened the camera feed, checked the device integrity, and lowered it into the water.
The detector moved like a dragon—smooth and effortless.
It descended steadily from the surface. The deeper it went, the darker the environment became, and the fewer fish appeared.
At first, there were three or five little silver fish. But after who knew how many meters, the water below held nothing but darkness and rock.
It looked like a forbidden zone…
There was not the slightest sign of life.
[Ding-dong. Congratulations, player has completed quest “A Hidden World.” Rewards: EXP ×500, Milk Tea Machine ×1.]
The quest was completed, and the detector couldn’t go any further. Xie Xingchen decisively reeled it back in.
But unexpectedly, just as he was about to retrieve it, a huge fish swam over and smack!—its tail slapped the device.
The underwater detector died a heroic death.
Xie Xingchen: cat sigh.gif
That was the stupidest possible way to die.
He’d already walked ninety-nine steps, just one step away from leaving the water—and then got slapped by a fish. What kind of luck was that?
Hugging Fei Fei—who had been playing with its friend—back into his arms, Xie Xingchen suddenly had an idea.
He took a photo from the same angle and with the same background as Fei Fei’s postcard—and got an unexpected bonus.
[Ding-dong. Congratulations, player has completed hidden quest “Matching Companion Postcard.” Rewards: EXP ×500, Carrot Seed ×1.]
Xie Xingchen reflexively opened his status panel.
[Player Status Panel]
Name: Xie Xingchen
Race: Human
Territory: Earth
Level: LV4
Companion: Fat Rabbit Ji (Fei Fei) [+]
EXP: 2300/6000
Plant Affinity: ? +1
Mental Power Level: A- (?)
Game Progress: 0.1%
Compendium Progress: 0%
Infrastructure Progress: 1%
Seeing his EXP jump to 2300, Xie Xingchen’s mouth fell slightly open.
Was today his lucky day?
The system had actually backed up the bragging he’d made to Fei Fei!
Forget the EXP increase—what mattered was the carrot seed!
He’d said those words to Fei Fei mostly to trick it.
Yes, he promised to plant an entire mountain of carrots for Fei Fei—but only if he could find the seeds!
Seeds weren’t something you could guarantee just by working hard.
Sometimes you had to admit that luck mattered more than effort.
He really had promised… but who knew when he’d ever fulfill it? He’d struggled to find even the flowers in the compendium, and in the end had to rely on his companion bringing souvenirs. As for carrot seeds?
Heh. Fate would decide.
He grabbed Fei Fei, eyes shining. “Fei Fei! Your carrots are happening! I’m going to plant you an entire mountain of carrots!”
A companion this amazing absolutely deserved a whole mountain of carrots.
Hearing that, Fei Fei’s ears shot upright.
It caught Xie Xingchen’s excitement and started hopping around too.
And its butterfly friend fluttered above its head, circling up and down.
Their interaction was so adorable that Xie Xingchen couldn’t resist taking countless photos to admire later.
Once the bunny and butterfly calmed down, Xie Xingchen rubbed Fei Fei’s fluffy head, a little reluctant, and said, “Fei Fei, we have to go now. Hurry and say goodbye to your butterfly friend.”
Realizing Fei Fei was leaving, the butterfly started flying around Xie Xingchen’s head for some reason. Then it suddenly flew into a narrow little passage.
Xie Xingchen watched the passage curiously without moving.
After a while, faint rustling sounds came from inside.
Xie Xingchen immediately assumed Fei Fei’s hospitable butterfly friend was bringing them a farewell gift—and he stopped, unwilling to leave.
However—
He didn’t see any gift.
What he saw was a very familiar squirrel with a big fluffy tail.
The squirrel appeared, froze for a moment, then angrily started throwing chestnuts at Xie Xingchen.
Xie Xingchen: Ah—this scene feels way too familiar!
Back then, he and his robots had been treated like this in the forest too.
Wait… was this squirrel from the chestnut grove?
The squirrel hurled more chestnuts angrily—this time aiming right at Xie Xingchen’s face.
Now Xie Xingchen was sure: it was absolutely one of those vengeful chestnut-grove squirrels.
He’d only gone to the chestnut grove a few times to pick chestnuts. Later, after he cleared land and planted chestnuts on the barren mountain, neither he nor his robots went back. Yet these squirrels still held a grudge.
Every time he passed nearby, a squirrel would bare its teeth and throw chestnuts at them.
Xie Xingchen really didn’t understand this world.
He didn’t know if humans held grudges… but squirrels definitely did.
He turned around and ran. Before the squirrel could chase him down, Xie Xingchen hugged Fei Fei and bolted.
Once inside the cave, Fei Fei—still dazed—froze for a moment before finally reacting.
It wriggled out of Xie Xingchen’s arms and hopped ahead, leading the way.
They passed the widest section of tunnel, and Xie Xingchen had to start crawling again.
Fortunately, he didn’t have claustrophobia—otherwise this long, narrow passage alone would’ve been enough to break him.
Even so, when he crawled back out again, he was completely dust-covered.
His fair face was smeared black and gray. His clothes weren’t torn, but he looked only slightly better than a beggar. His hair was worse—covered in twigs and leaves, plus dust and spiderwebs.
Prosperity stared at the “beggar” boss in front of him, speechless.
After watching Xie Xingchen for a long while, Prosperity hesitated and asked, “Boss… did you get robbed in there?”
“Otherwise, why did you even lose one shoe?”
Xie Xingchen: “……”
With lifeless calm, Xie Xingchen replied, “Oh, I didn’t get robbed. I just got beaten.”
Who would’ve thought a squirrel’s hatred could be that high?
It had charged over and yanked his shoe off!
Xie Xingchen sighed, pulled a new pair of shoes from his space button, and put them on. Then he stepped forward, patted Prosperity’s shoulder, and said in an ancient, world-weary voice:
“Prosperity… from now on, let’s not go to the chestnut grove anymore.”
The words had barely left his mouth when a fat bunny dropped from above.
Xie Xingchen let out a muffled grunt—his chest hurt from being smashed by a rabbit.
Lowering his eyes, he looked at the bunny’s innocent face and poked its ear helplessly.
“Fine. You’re an ancestor too. You’re the boss. I’ll carry you back and plant carrots for you, okay?”
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