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

However, the original strain of this fungus is extremely rare. Now that she has obtained the "original strain" directly, she can propagate it to a considerable scale in the space in just a few days. At that time, the yield of legumes in the entire army corps—and even the entire Ili Prefecture—is expected to increase by nearly 30%.

"If we take this out when we get back, Old Shen will probably jump for joy, won't he?"

Su Wanqing smiled lightly, feeling exceptionally relaxed. Ever since she inexplicably arrived in this era of scarcity, she always felt that although she could protect herself and benefit a few people around her, she had never been able to truly do anything for this era.

But now, perhaps she can leave a different mark.

Su Wanqing immediately had a thought and returned the newly acquired shiitake mushroom spawn and rhizobium agent tenfold. She stored one part in her spatial storage compartment for later use and moved the other part to the breeding area for propagation.

She is quite skilled at propagating fungi.

Cultivating rhizobia is not complicated. It requires a culture solution made by mixing spring water with brown sugar, wood ash, etc., and then covering it with peat moss as a substrate. With the growth accelerated tenfold in space, dozens of kilograms of active bacteria can be produced within a few days.

Cultivating shiitake mushrooms and white fungus is simpler; she plans to test it successfully within the space first, and then find an opportunity to move it outside. However, there's a problem right now—private mushroom cultivation is not yet regulated, so she needs to find a way to affiliate it with a public institution and apply for a formal project. She's thinking that she should try to finalize the artificial cultivation of shiitake mushrooms and white fungus before winter.

After Su Wanqing had roughly planned everything out in her mind, the train slowly arrived at the station.

The group dragged their bags off the vehicle and, after a bumpy ride by bus and oxcart, finally returned to the 65th Regiment.

It was already late afternoon when we arrived.

The autumn harvest ended early, and the cotton was picked. Only the last crop of alfalfa remained green in the fields. The people in the group had a rare few days of leisure—but that was all. Next, they had to prepare for winter irrigation, fertilize, repair ditches, and level the land. Even in winter, they wouldn't be idle; they had to study, rehearse cultural programs, and attend various ideological summary meetings.

In short, this era is one where you can't be idle.

The educated youth settlement was bustling with activity. Four new educated youths had arrived, and Tian Dahua, unusually, cooked two decent dishes: stir-fried cabbage with vermicelli and cold eggplant puree. Everyone sat together, eating and chatting.

Upon seeing Su Wanqing and her group return, the veteran educated youth immediately greeted them:

"Oh dear, Dr. Su is back! Comrade Zhou is back too!"

"It's good to be back! My back has been really sore these past few days, I was just about to see you!"

Tian Dahua greeted them with great joy: "You're finally back! We've been missing you so much!"

She was truly happy—Dr. Su was back, which made her feel much more at ease during her pregnancy.

Several newly arrived educated youths curiously observed the group, wondering why everyone was so enthusiastic and respectful towards the two. Someone whispered an explanation: "This is our team's miracle doctor! Dr. Su is incredibly skilled and blessed!" Then, they recounted Su Wanqing's achievements since arriving: digging a well during a drought, curing the entire team's diarrhea, and developing mushroom cultivation... The new educated youths listened with expressions of "meeting a big shot."

Su Wanqing replied with a smile, "Yes, I'm back. If anyone isn't feeling well, just come to the clinic tomorrow. I'll be back to work as usual tomorrow."

"Okay!"

After exchanging pleasantries, Su Wanqing finally returned to her own courtyard.

As soon as she pushed open the courtyard gate, she nodded in satisfaction. Since the two rooms were combined to form a small courtyard, the forty-square-meter area in the front yard had been neatly arranged into vegetable plots. The carrot and tomato seeds that Director Wang from the agricultural department had given her had all sprouted, showing that Erzhuzi had indeed taken good care of them.

Moving to the backyard, the chickens, sheep, and pigs were all plump and round, and even the red-bellied pheasants had grown quite a bit.

In the shallow puddles deliberately left in the corner of the courtyard, the algae grew lush and green, clearly indicating that Professor Wu had put a lot of effort into taking care of them.

Zhou Yanshen put down his luggage and said, "Wanqing, you rest for a while. I'll go make some simple lunch. We'll just have something light today, and you can have a good rest."

When Zhou Yanshen said he was just making a simple lunch, he really meant it. He wasn't much of a cook; he could at least get the food cooked through. But the good thing was that everything was readily available and made by the space itself, so it wouldn't taste bad no matter what.

Su Wanqing nodded: "Okay, then you can make something simple."

Zhou's mother should have finished eating and gone to work. It's better that she's not here; it'll be peaceful.

Uncle Ding then began to organize his tools, planning to make two boxes with hidden compartments for the young couple to store the important items they had brought back from Bincheng.

Su Wanqing also got busy: first, she processed the live seafood she had brought back—snails, oysters, and other seafood were kept in the shallow cement pits that Zhou Yanshen had dug in the backyard. This was mainly to avoid suspicion, so she could replenish the good stuff in her space every now and then.

Anyway, if you ask, I'll just say I don't know, I just kept them in the backyard. Don't ask? Then I'll just eat them secretly, stewing them in a pot every few days.

This time, I also bought sesame seeds, dried chili peppers and other seasonings at the Bincheng black market. After I use the "tenfold return" to make enough, I can cook a pot of lard hot pot in winter and dip vegetables and meat in the fragrant sesame sauce. Just thinking about it makes me feel so happy.

As for butter, that's still too luxurious for her to even think about. Su Wanqing doesn't even keep any in her spatial storage yet.

She was contemplating what would be a relatively peaceful and pleasant winter day when Chen Xiuer's hurried shouts suddenly came from outside the courtyard:

"Something terrible has happened! Dr. Su, something terrible has happened!"

Su Wanqing walked to the front yard and saw Chen Xiuer panting as she ran. She said gently, "Don't rush, tell me slowly. Is there a problem at the planting site?"

She wasn't too worried if things went wrong with the oyster mushroom cultivation—she had backups of the spawn, so she could afford to lose some.

Chen Xiuer took a breath and shook her head, saying, "No, that's not it! During the ten days we were gone, Comrade Guo Mingyuan managed the planting site exceptionally well. The accounts were crystal clear, and both shipments went smoothly. Even the mushroom bags were completed by him and Old Shen working overtime together..."

At this point, her face flushed slightly. Comrade Guo Mingyuan was so quiet and reserved; she hadn't expected him to be so capable. He must be exhausted! She really needed to thank him properly… Oh dear, she'd forgotten to bring back any local specialties from Fengcheng this time. How could she have forgotten him?

"If the planting site is fine, then what happened?" Su Wanqing pressed.

Chen Xiuer snapped out of her daze, her tone becoming urgent again: "It's about Elder Shen! The alfalfa seeds we reported, yielding 4,000 jin per mu, have attracted the attention of higher authorities. They've sent an inspection team to record and verify the data, prepare for awards, and promote them nationwide. I heard that after confirmation, they might even receive a national award!"

Su Wanqing nodded. Alfalfa seeds can significantly increase yields, save foreign exchange, and benefit pastoral areas, so it's only right that they receive attention. "That's a good thing, so what?"