Forced to marry a disabled man in the countryside? I'll repay you tenfold!

He became increasingly excited as he spoke: "Moreover, we have isolated a alkaloid from the aquatic plants, which has significant analgesic and anesthetic effects, perfectly filling the current gap in anesthetic drugs. Our preliminary exploration suggests that the aquatic plant reserves at the bottom of Sayram Lake may reach several thousand tons. If artificial cultivation can be achieved, it would be entirely possible to build a rubber factory with a capacity of a thousand people, producing rubber, rubber shoes, and other products worth hundreds of thousands of yuan annually! Even the scraps can be processed into sealing parts, waterproof materials…"

Su Wanqing listened quietly, secretly marveling – the "monster" that had been talked about in Sayram Lake for so many years actually concealed such an underwater treasure trove. This was only the economic value at the end of the 1970s; if the medicinal components were further developed, the prospects would be immeasurable.

The others were dumbfounded. Qin Xiao and his sister looked completely bewildered, Ding Dajiu remained relatively calm, and Zhou Yanshen calmly protected Su Wanqing by his side throughout—he didn't understand the technical details, but he knew that protecting his wife was enough. After all, they were just saving someone, but his wife seemed to know a lot, even about things like seaweed, which had so many functions.

Zheng Guodong spoke until his throat was dry, and finally concluded: "In short, this is a fantastic thing! If we can achieve large-scale production, it can support tens of thousands of workers and drive the industry of the entire region!"

Su Wanqing nodded: "It is indeed a good thing that benefits the country and the people."

Jiang Zhiping sighed, "It's a good thing, but that's also the problem—we collected these aquatic plants and tried cultivating them for a few days, and they all died." He rubbed his temples. "The higher-ups brought in top aquaculture experts from the central government, and we tried hydroponics, soil cultivation, and simulating the lake bottom environment in the laboratory... but not a single one survived. Now our only hope is to let it reproduce naturally in Sayram Lake, but wild resources can only last for six months at most, which is far from keeping up with the pace of development."

Professor Wu Jingwen adjusted her glasses, her tone serious yet tinged with helplessness: "According to my research, this aquatic plant is extremely dependent on the special water quality and microbial community of its native environment. Once transplanted, it quickly loses its activity. It grows extremely slowly, like an underwater tree, and currently... it is basically a one-time resource."

Su Wanqing understood—the problem lay in the breeding techniques. No matter how good a treasure is, its value is greatly reduced if it cannot be artificially bred.

Jiang Zhiping looked at her expectantly: "Disposable rubber and a continuous supply of rubber as a cash crop are two completely different things. Comrade Xiao Su, you have a real talent for animal husbandry; you can even raise protected animals so well... Do you have any ideas?"

Professor Wu Jingwen also looked over, but secretly shook her head—if even she, a professor in the field, was helpless, what could an outsider possibly do?

Su Wanqing hesitated for a moment: "Actually... after bringing it back that day, I just casually planted it in the puddle next to the well in the backyard. How about... we go take a look together?"

She almost forgot about it—after the space was upgraded, she moved the aquatic plants into the space pond, fed them some random food, and let them grow on their own.

Hearing her say that, none of them had much hope. Jiang Zhiping still nodded: "Okay, let's go take a look. But Xiao Su, you're good at raising animals, but this aquatic plant... I'm afraid it'll be difficult."

Wu Jingwen was even more direct: "It's been so many days, it's probably withered and died long ago."

The group then moved to a corner of the backyard. There, they found a shallow, muddy pit. Zhou Yanshen picked up a shovel: "Bury it right here—"

"Wait!" Wu Jingwen suddenly called out urgently, crouching down to examine it closely. "This is... newly grown?!"

Without her saying anything, everyone could see it: in the puddle, a large clump of dark green aquatic plants was intertwined and growing, and from some of the broken stems, tender green new branches were sprouting, fresh and full.

"It's alive?! And it's even sprouting new buds?!"

The group could hardly believe their eyes.

"Not only did it survive, it's grown even thicker and stronger than the original plant." Wu Jingwen looked up, her gaze towards Su Wanqing completely changed. "Comrade Su, how did you do that? We couldn't keep it alive even with careful control in the lab, but you just casually planted it... and it survived?"

Su Wanqing was secretly surprised. She immediately used her consciousness to check the spatial pond—even with the tenfold growth rate and the blessing of the spiritual spring water, the aquatic plants were not growing as well as the mud pit she had casually dug in the backyard!

What's going on?

She scratched her head: "I really don't know... I haven't paid any attention to it since I got it back. Maybe... I should observe it for a few more days? I'll take a look at it too."

Wu Jingwen adjusted her glasses and said decisively, "It is worth studying in depth. Old Jiang, I request to stay here so I can observe from nearby."

Jiang Zhiping looked at Su Wanqing: "Comrade Su, is this convenient? Will it bother you?"

Su Wanqing: "...Convenient. Elder Shen is here too, and there are still empty rooms at the planting site."

Jiang Zhiping slapped his thigh: "Alright! Professor Wu, you can stay here and focus on your research. If we really break through the artificial cultivation technology, we'll immediately apply to build a factory and start production as soon as possible—from now on, we won't have to be dependent on others for rubber anymore, that's a big deal!"

The matter of the aquatic plants was settled. Wu Jingwen acted swiftly and decisively, moving into the empty room next to Old Shen's that very day and setting up her research setup, wishing she could stay by the mud pit in Su Wanqing's backyard 24 hours a day to observe it.

When Jiang Zhiping left with his men, he left behind a huge pile of rewards, including rice, flour, oil, and grains, which were carried in in front of the whole village. It was quite eye-catching. Of course, the most eye-catching thing was a bicycle that was taken off the big truck.

Su Wanqing only collected the tickets, and handed the rest to Uncle Ding to organize. The family already had a bicycle that Li Aiguo had given them, and two bicycles seemed a bit too many... Should we do an experiment with this new one?

Zhou Yanshen had taken the day off, intending to take Qin Xiao and his sister for a stroll nearby, but now it seemed unnecessary—the two were too stunned by the series of "grand scenes" to move.

Qin Xiao felt a mix of emotions: he had been transferred from afar, hoping to help his brother through his difficulties, but when he arrived, he found that his good brother didn't need his help at all. He was living a prosperous life, making merits and receiving awards, discovering treasures... It was as if he was the one who came to "benefit" from his brother's success.

Qin Xue, resting her chin on her hand, gazed at Su Wanqing with sparkling eyes, even changing her form of address: "Sister Su, I used to think you were lucky to be with Brother Zhou... but now I realize it's him who's lucky to be with you. Can I follow you around from now on?"

Su Wanqing: "..." This girl's thought process is really not like that of people from this era.

Zhou Yanshen wasn't angry at all; instead, he had an expression that said, "You have good taste," which made Qin Xiao shake his head.

At noon, Su Wanqing was too lazy to cook again, so she simply put together a farewell meal using ingredients she had prepared a couple of days ago using "Craftsman's Choice": fried rice, large meat buns, fried meatballs, and freshly made braised eggplant. Everyone enjoyed a lively meal, and in the end, except for a large portion of meatballs left untouched, all the other dishes were devoured—it seems that even in this era of oil scarcity, eating meatballs for several days in a row can get tiresome.

At the dinner table, Qin Xiao said to Zhou Yanshen, "You know where my workplace is, so feel free to come find me anytime if you need anything. Although I don't think you really need my help right now..."

Zhou Yanshen nodded: "I know what I'm doing."

Su Wanqing continued, "I've prepared some food for you to eat on the road, including meatballs and steamed buns, so you can eat them anytime."

Just then, Lin Tingting suddenly spoke: