Courtyard House: My Hidden Wheat Seeds Caused a National Sensation

His voice cut smoothly into the silence, "This task, you might as well leave it to me."

The room was completely silent; the oppressive air seemed to have solidified.

Just as the silence was about to engulf everyone, Li Jianye's voice rang out.

"I."

One word stunned all the researchers in the room.

They turned their heads, their eyes filled with surprise and doubt, and all their gazes fell on him.

Even Dean Liu, who was standing to the side, widened his eyes, his face showing undisguised astonishment.

It's no wonder they reacted that way.

Li Jianye never attended school, and the topics he studied had absolutely nothing to do with papaya diseases.

"Jianye, you... have some ideas?"

Dean Liu leaned forward slightly, his tone tentative yet tinged with an unyielding expectation.

In his heart, Li Jianye always managed to carve out a ray of light even in the most desperate situations.

What if?

If a way out can be found, it will not only save those dying papaya trees, but also give a solid response to those who are watching from the sidelines.

"have."

Li Jianye answered decisively, a faint smile still lingering on his lips.

He was confident that he could cultivate papayas that could resist ringspot virus without relying on genetic engineering.

He was well aware of the current situation: none of the cultivated varieties currently available contained genes that could resist that virus.

Once infected, the entire landscape withers.

But wild papayas with disease-resistant properties do indeed exist hidden in the mountains and fields.

The problem is that wild papaya fruit is astringent and hard to swallow, and its precious resistance is extremely difficult to transfer into cultivated varieties through ordinary hybridization.

This is why, despite the immense effort of countless scholars, they have still been unable to achieve "disease resistance."

With "delicious"

At the same time, hold it in your hand.

But he's different.

He has a magical farm.

There, time can be stretched out, the seasons can be manipulated, and all variables are under his control.

Even he himself wouldn't believe that he couldn't open the door with such a key.

"I can go to the breeding base to try it out in person."

His voice was steady, yet every word was clear:

"I believe we can deliver disease-resistant varieties."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a moment of silence, followed by a low snicker.

"You make it sound so easy. Anyone can breed crops, but is this something that breeding can solve?"

"Li Jianye, do you understand? None of the papayas currently available have the gene to resist the ringspot virus! Without the gene, what are you going to use to cultivate them?"

"You're good at farming, but this isn't farming."

Stop trying to be a hero.

"Go back and guard your fields; you don't understand what's going on here."

One sentence after another, barbed and laced with a long-standing, unresolved anxiety.

Li Jianye remained unfazed, standing there with a calm expression, his eyes and brows showing no emotion, only the slight smile on his lips lingering.

Dean Liu watched him quietly, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.

"Quiet!"

The old man raised his voice, suppressing all the noise.

"The direction proposed by Comrade Li Jianye is at least a line of thought."

He looked around at everyone and slowly asked:

"Besides this, does anyone have a better way?"

The room fell silent once again.

In the years before genetic engineering technology was invented, they had very few tools at their disposal to face such a desperate situation.

If there had been a way, history might not have taken that unavoidable path.

"Since there isn't one,"

Dean Liu closed his notebook, his voice weary yet resolute, "That's enough for today."

The crowd rose quietly and dispersed.

No one saw the quiet, steadily burning fire in Li Jianye's eyes as he turned away.

As soon as the meeting room door closed, the crowd receded like a tide.

Each of these senior researchers carried heavy research burdens and hurried away, disappearing at the end of the corridor.

Dean Liu did not leave immediately. He turned around and walked towards Li Jianye, who was still standing there, with a gentle and concerned smile on his face.

"Jianye, I heard you went to the Northeast recently? When did you return to Beijing?"

"I just got back two days ago."

Li Jianye replied.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Dean Liu sat down in the chair next to him, his casual tone tinged with a hint of inquiry, "Regarding the papaya resistance breeding program... I've read the materials you submitted."

Besides the conventional hybridization pathway, are there any other considerations in mind?

"Our current thinking is indeed still focused on hybridization breeding."

Li Jianye answered calmly.

"You saw it mentioned in the documents, right?"

Dean Liu tapped his finger lightly on the table. "Over across the ocean, they have found resistant materials from wild species and have also tried hybridization."

However, the results were not satisfactory—the resistance gene was difficult to bind stably and be passed on.

It's like finding a needle in a haystack; the probability is too low.

Moreover, the growth cycle of papaya is much longer than that of rice and wheat, and a single round of selection and cultivation takes years.

The difficulties involved are self-evident.

"I understand these difficulties."

Li Jianye's tone remained unwavering, "But I still think it's worth a try."

Looking at his calm yet resolute expression, Dean Liu sighed softly, the faint expectation in his heart ultimately dashed.

He had originally thought that this young man, who had a history of surprising achievements, might be able to offer some different ideas.

"All right."

Dean Liu stood up, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "I will report this matter to my superiors according to procedure. As for the specific arrangements, we will wait for instructions from above."

Your application will be forwarded by the college as instructed.

"Okay, thank you, Dean."

After a brief exchange, Li Jianye took his leave.

He first returned to his office, made a phone call to Zhonghai, and scheduled a meeting with Mr. H's secretary.

After finishing these tasks, he changed into his work clothes as usual and headed towards his experimental field.

The sunlight moved slowly across the tips of the crop leaves, elongating his busy figure.

When it was time to leave work, he packed a cloth bundle in advance and left the Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Driver Zhang Wen dropped him off at the police station entrance and left on orders. Li Jianye stood alone on the street, waiting for that familiar figure.

"elder brother!"

A crisp sound rang out, and Delilah flew out of the door like a light bird, a sweet smile on her face.

She walked quickly to his side, and when no one was paying attention, she swiftly tiptoed and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Have you been waiting long?"

"I just arrived a little while ago."

Li Jianye smiled and put his arm around her shoulder. "Come on, let's go to the hospital."

They had arranged yesterday to visit Xu Damao today—or more precisely, to visit Lou Xiao'e, who was there taking care of patients day and night.

As for Xu Damao himself, he was not the focus of their trip.

"Brother, what are you carrying in that bag?"

Delilah took his arm and looked curiously at the package in his hand.

"I asked someone to stew a pot of old hen soup. It's a clear broth, not oily."

Li Jianye explained, "Xu Damao's current condition means he can't eat anything too greasy, and his teeth aren't good either, so chewing food is difficult for him."

He might drink a few sips of the soup at most; Xiao'e would have to finish most of the meat.

"That's a really thoughtful idea!"

Delilah's eyes curved into crescents as she smiled and tightened her grip on his arm.

The two boarded a bus, passed through the streets that were gradually lit up, and headed towards the hospital.

……

The door to the ward was gently pushed open, and Lou Xiao'e, who was sitting by the bed, looked up and a warm smile immediately appeared on her face.

"Xiao Di, Jianye, you're here!"

She got up and came over, her gaze falling on the package in Li Jianye's hands.

"Brother Jianye, you're too kind of you to bring gifts."

Xu Damao was almost unrecognizable at this moment; his cheeks were swollen so badly that his features were squeezed together.

When he saw Li Jianye enter the ward, he barely moved the corners of his mouth and gave a mumbled greeting.

"Hey, Damao~ How have you been lately? I brought a pot of chicken soup and a few steamed buns, you can heat them up and eat them later."

"I'm feeling much better..."

Xu Damao gave a mumbled reply, upon hearing "chicken".

He unconsciously licked his chapped lips.

His stomach was terribly empty, but his mouth was full of festering sores and he was missing two teeth; every bite felt like torture.

The doctor also advised that I should avoid oily or greasy foods for now.

"Damn you, you idiot Zhu, it's all your fault!"

He cursed inwardly, but forced a grateful smile at Li Jianye.

These days, a chicken is a precious commodity; ordinary families can't afford to eat it.

Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e thanked him repeatedly. The four of them chatted for a while in the ward before Li Jianye took Dilisilin and left.

"I never expected that Xu Damao's parents would go back like this."

As she walked out of the hospital, Dilisilin couldn't help but whisper.

"Perhaps the feelings were just too weak to begin with."

Li Jianye just smiled.

He remembered clearly that in the original story, Xu Damao's father was literally angered to death by this son—truly "filial piety."

It moved Heaven.

"what?"

Delisilin suddenly spoke softly, pointing to a corner not far away.

"Isn't that Jia Dongxu?"

Li Jianye looked in the direction indicated and indeed saw Jia Dongxu staring intently at the piece of paper in his hand, inching forward step by step, completely oblivious to his surroundings.

"They're probably here to get medicine or see a doctor."

Li Jianye frowned, but without thinking too much, he took Dilireba's hand and slowly walked home along the street.

——————————————————————————————

On the other end, Jia Dongxu couldn't contain his excitement.

He gripped the certificate stamped with a red seal tightly, his fingertips trembling slightly.

"Done! Finally got that leave slip!"

Ever since he conceived the idea of ​​having Qin Huairu take over his position, he had been pondering how to legitimately "step down."

.

After much thought, I decided that faking illness was the safest course of action—if I ever wanted to go back, I could simply say that I was better.

Once he had made up his mind, he began to plan what "illness" he should have.

.

Finally, the diagnosis was a stomach ailment: I told them I had eaten something bad last time and hadn't recovered yet, and I simply couldn't handle the fatigue from working in the factory.

With his plan in place, he took a small red envelope and went to see the doctor.

Sure enough, once the red envelope was handed over, the diagnosis certificate was in hand.

"I'll submit it to the supervisor tomorrow... I'll talk to my mentor first."

Jia Dongxu hummed an off-key tune and walked out with light steps.

As he passed a bookstore, he suddenly stopped.

"Oh right, I also need to buy a copy of 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'."

Just as he was about to turn and go inside, a strangely dressed man suddenly rushed out from the side and headed straight for him—

Jia Dongxu felt a jolt, and two words flashed through his mind: enemy agent!

He was as thin as a bamboo pole, so he dared not confront anyone head-on and instinctively backed away.

Before he could take two steps back, his wrist was grabbed by the man.

"Don't be afraid, I'm not a bad person."

The voice was very low, as if afraid of disturbing something.

The speaker quickly glanced around before slightly lifting the lapel of his old overcoat.

Inside the coat, there was a dense stack of booklets, the edges of which were worn and frayed.

"There are some good things here, picture books that you can't find anywhere else."

He swallowed hard, his voice carrying a hint of coaxing, "The price is negotiable, how about it?"

"Oh?"

Seeing that he wasn't the kind of person who needed to be wary, Jia Dongxu relaxed his tense shoulders and back.

He leaned closer, curiosity in his eyes: "What kind of things do you have?"

"Items that are not available in bookstores."

The man winked, his expression ambiguous, and pulled a book from his pocket. He waved the cover at Jia Dongxu, a grin spreading across his face. "It has illustrations, and it's very detailed."

Jia Dongxu stared intently at the cover, where three characters in black ink read: "Jin X Mei".

The middle character was blurred, as if it had been stained with some greasy liquid, making it difficult to discern.

Although he couldn't make out the words in the middle clearly, in a flash, Jia Dongxu's mind went blank.

With a "whoosh," everything became clear.

"Ha!"

His eyes suddenly widened, and his breathing became rapid.

"How many?"

"The complete set consists of fifty books, each with a color illustration, and the illustrations are incredibly detailed."