Chapter 181: Medicinal Use
Xia Lu Nong had never thought about creating a fruit garden with mutated plants.
He widened his eyes. “That’s way too extravagant. It’s hard enough to find one mutated plant; how could we gather enough to create a garden? Besides, since they are already mutated plants, they probably wouldn’t be too keen on dealing with us.”
Yan Xi Nian countered, “Why wouldn’t they? Even mutated plants are still plants. Since they’re plants, isn’t it completely normal for them to be cultivated by humans?”
Xia Lu Nong furrowed his brow. “That makes sense, but…”
Yan Xi Nian shook his head, interrupting him. “If it makes sense, then that’s good. Besides, this isn’t something we can resolve unilaterally. Why not ask the honeysuckle if there are any mutated plants willing to collaborate?”
Xia Lu Nong thought for a moment. “Sure, I’ll ask it tomorrow.”
Xia Lu Nong was quite familiar with the honeysuckle, so he could ask questions directly without reservations.
The honeysuckle hadn’t anticipated that they would have this idea and asked in return, “Aren’t you worried that mutated plants might pose a threat to humans?”
Xia Lu Nong explained, “We want to plant the mutated plants in a garden, not in our home. As long as they’re far from humans, there shouldn’t be any problems.”
The honeysuckle asked, “How far away is considered ‘far’ from humans?”
Xia Lu Nong thought of the valley where the sheep grazed. “If humans don’t transport them with tools, it should take more than a day for the plants to run from the planting site to a human settlement, right?”
The honeysuckle considered this great distance and paused before saying, “That distance is feasible. But what do you plan to provide for the mutated plants?”
“Watering, fertilizing, and loosening the soil. We can try our best to provide whatever the mutated plants need.” Xia Lu Nong said sincerely, “I can communicate with them, and you said I could become a doctor for mutated plants. If any problems arise, I’ll do my utmost to help resolve them.”
The honeysuckle said, “With all due respect, your ability is indeed useful. If we encounter problems, we could offer some flowers or stems and leaves as payment for your help. But relying solely on that makes it difficult for us.”
Xia Lu Nong nodded in understanding. “So what do you want?”
The honeysuckle replied, “It’s not about what I want; it’s about what you can offer. I haven’t discussed this with other mutated plants, but I feel that simply proposing this condition may not work. After all, plants are generally not fond of moving.”
The honeysuckle shook its leaves and added, “If you can only offer this, I’d feel awkward even bringing it up with my mutated plant friends.”
Xia Lu Nong felt a bit dejected after receiving this cold response.
The two stood facing each other in the spring breeze for a moment.
Xia Lu Nong rubbed his head. “Actually, humans can’t provide too much either. My biggest asset is my ability. If the mutated plants are willing to cooperate with us, I can guarantee that at least once a month, they’ll benefit from my powers.”
The honeysuckle said, “That condition is relatively better, but the appeal isn’t very strong. After all, for plants, their lifespan is so long that growing a bit faster or slower makes little difference.”
Xia Lu Nong shrugged. “That’s the best condition I can offer. If we factor in other things, we can add entertainment options. For example, I can show movies to the mutated plants, tell them stories, or provide them with gaming consoles. If you want, I can offer those.”
The honeysuckle disagreed, saying, “Many mutated plants don’t understand entertainment at all; this proposal might be very unlikely.”
Xia Lu Nong’s fervent heart cooled slightly. “Well, could you help ask if there are any mutated plants that are curious about humans? We could try collaborating.”
The honeysuckle hesitated for a moment before agreeing, “I can bring it up, but I can’t guarantee the outcome.”
“Great!” Xia Lu Nong said happily. “If any mutated plants are interested, I’d like to talk to them personally.”
“Just wait a few days. The mutated plants need to think about it; I doubt they’ll respond quickly.”
“Sure, I’ll be waiting for good news.”
After finishing the discussion about the mutated plants, Xia Lu Nong asked, “Have you thought about the division of your two consciousnesses?”
“Is it that easy?” the honeysuckle sighed. “The issue of consciousness is completely unfamiliar to me. Without absolute certainty, I don’t dare to act rashly for fear of making things worse.”
Since this matter concerned the honeysuckle’s health, Xia Lu Nong didn’t want to meddle too much.
He could only say, “Then take your time to think it over. If you need our help, don’t hesitate to call us. Please don’t feel shy.”
Xia Lu Nong didn’t linger on the conversation with the honeysuckle. He took a look around and returned home with Kong Zhi.
To his surprise, as soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw the rose branches extending out from the greenhouse, covering half of the yard.
Xia Lu Nong was startled by the sight of the half-filled yard with roses. He walked over and asked the rose, “Why are your branches out? Is there something wrong inside?”
“No problem at all; I came out specifically to block you,” the rose shook its branches and aggressively asked, “Did you go to ask the honeysuckle about other mutated plants today?”
“Ah?” Xia Lu Nong was taken aback, and then he realized that this guy might be a bit jealous.
Xia Lu Nong decided to downplay it, lightly coughing before saying, “I just casually mentioned it while chatting with it today. What’s the matter?”
The rose puffed up, clearly agitated. “It’s not like there’s only one mutated plant, the honeysuckle, here. Its range of communication isn’t even as broad as mine. Why didn’t you ask me instead?”
Xia Lu Nong pinched the tips of the rose’s leaves and smiled, “It’s not that I didn’t want to ask you; I just thought I’d ask you when I got back. As a part of the household, I don’t need to be as polite to you as I am with the honeysuckle.”
The rose shook its branches, and the tips of its leaves trembled, clearly feeling quite proud.
It huffed, “Now that you’re asking me, I don’t even want to answer.”
“That won’t do. If you don’t tell us, we’ll be at a loss. It’s a bother to keep asking the honeysuckle; we can’t keep doing that!”
The rose mumbled, “You’re so close to it; how can you be embarrassed?”
Xia Lu Nong laughed, “Well, I’m still embarrassed. This matter requires you to keep us updated.”
The rose was easily coaxed and voluntarily said, “There aren’t that many mutated plants nearby.”
Xia Lu Nong didn’t expect it to say that and asked in surprise, “What makes you say that?”
“It’s so difficult for mutated plants to awaken, and fruit trees are so fragile. When a disaster strikes, they mostly die off. Where would we find that many fruit trees to cooperate with you?”
Xia Lu Nong thought for a moment. “Aren’t there some wild fruit trees outside, besides the domesticated ones?”
“There aren’t many wild fruit trees either,” the rose said. “In any case, delicate plants won’t do. Most awakened plants are those that are easier to survive. Furthermore, there aren’t many fruit trees suitable for this area. If you want to create a fruit garden made up of mutated plants, you can forget about it.”
Xia Lu Nong sensed that the rose’s words had deeper meaning and humbly asked, “What do you mean by that?”
The rose shook its branches. “As far as I know, there are only twenty-three mutated plants with clear consciousness in this area, and only one of them is a fruit tree; the others aren’t. If you want to create a garden of mutated plants, that won’t be enough.”
Xia Lu Nong asked, “Can you tell me what these mutated plants are?”
“I can’t be sure. I can’t distinguish between different types of plants,” the rose replied. “I know there’s a mutated peach tree, a willow tree, and a cactus, but I’m not too clear on the varieties of the others.”
Xia Lu Nong felt a strange sensation welling up inside him as he listened to the rose. He muttered, “Honeysuckle, rose, peach tree, willow tree, cactus… why does it feel like you all have something in common?”
The rose asked curiously, “What commonality? We’re all mutated plants, right?”
Kong Zhi chimed in at the same time, “These plants can all be used for medicinal purposes.”
Kong Zhi’s words struck a chord in Xia Lu Nong.
He suddenly turned back to him, saying, “That’s right! They’re all medicinal plants!”
The rose didn’t quite understand. “Medicinal plants?” Xia Lu Nong explained, “These are plants that can treat illnesses. Throughout history, these plants have been used for healing.”
The rose was puzzled. “So what? Don’t you already have Dr. Ou?”
Having been in the base for a long time, the rose was aware of countless gossip.
It had known about Dr. Ou, a star figure in the base, for quite some time.
In its view, even if these plants were medicinal, they were no match for Dr. Ou’s powers, so there was no need to consider these plants.
Xia Lu Nong shook his head. “Dr. Ou’s powers, like mine, are very limited. Having medicinal plants as a supplement would be very beneficial for our base.”
The rose found it hard to grasp the importance of medicinal plants to humans, but it did keenly pick up on something. “Are medicinal plants particularly important to you?”
Xia Lu Nong thought for a moment. “It depends on the type of medicine. In any case, I’d prefer a medicinal garden over a fruit garden.”
As Xia Lu Nong brought up this topic, he thought of the honeysuckle. They had always regarded the honeysuckle as a supplementary drink for its powers, bringing it along every time they went out.
In fact, the honeysuckle had miraculous effects against colds and heat, and they had always known this in their hearts. They never thought much of it when the honeysuckle tea cured their sore throats and other minor issues.
Looking back now, they might have underestimated the honeysuckle’s efficacy and the potential effects of other mutated plants.
These mutated plants could be incredibly useful in the hands of those in need!
Xia Lu Nong clenched his fist, unable to contain his excitement.
Their base originally had only over three thousand people, and everyone was content with Dr. Ou.
Now that the base’s population was nearly doubling, and their connections with other bases were becoming closer, if they could collaborate with medicinal mutated plants, what they would gain would be more than just economic benefits.
The more Xia Lu Nong thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. He said to the rose, “I’ll go get some paper and a pen. Can you help us organize the locations of these mutated plants? Kong Zhi and I will go ask them personally.”
The rose didn’t have much relationship with those mutated plants and was inclined to support Xia Lu Nong, so it didn’t refuse but reminded him, “These mutated plants may not be willing to cooperate.”
Xia Lu Nong’s eyes were filled with confidence. “No worries, let’s go check it out first. If they’re unwilling to come over, there are still their offspring. As long as we’re willing to engage with them, we’ll eventually reach an agreement.”
