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

"Of course! You have to come!" Commander Feng was thrilled. He hadn't expected Su Wanqing to not only hand over the bacterial strains so readily, but also to have already come up with the next steps for increasing production. "I'll get on with the paperwork for the external researcher position as soon as I get back. Although this position doesn't come with a permanent post, it will be recognized by the entire agricultural research system nationwide. It will make things much easier for you whether you want to continue working at the grassroots level or participate in projects anywhere else in the future."

Su Wanqing nodded with a smile. She certainly wouldn't refuse such a good opportunity that came knocking on her door—an extra identity, an extra guise, an extra path, an extra layer of security. She was never afraid of having too many titles, only of not having enough opportunities.

And so the matter was settled.

Commander Feng couldn't even wait. He personally followed Su Wanqing to retrieve a small bottle of rhizobium inoculum, solemnly handed it over to the accompanying technical expert, and signed and stamped the handover record. All procedures were completed.

Su Wanqing was quite generous; she still had eight system rewards in her spatial storage, and there would definitely be many other rewards upon handing them in this time. With something so valuable, how could she not receive more rewards? Wasn't this a slap in the face to Commander Feng?!

However, both Elder Shen and Liu Shuqing felt a pang of regret. They probably didn't have much of the original seed left, and they'd only given this one bottle to the doctor. They wondered how much Xiao Su/Dr. Su had left, how much they could propagate, and whether they could guarantee enough for this purpose.

With everything settled, Commander Feng was about to lead his team away when Liu Shuqing quickly stepped forward to stop him:

"Commander Feng, it's getting late. How about we have a quick meal at the regimental canteen before we leave? You haven't tried our local specialty, hand-pulled mutton yet! How can we let our guests travel on an empty stomach? It's still more than two hours back to Ili Prefecture..."

Liu Shuqing was actually still thinking about something else—the tractor that had been impounded. He figured that if he could take this opportunity to ask Commander Feng to put in a good word for him, perhaps there would be a chance for things to turn around.

Commander Feng glanced at his watch; it was past six in the afternoon. He shook his head and said, "I'm not eating. We still need to rush back to reorganize the data and compile the report. We also need to report the matter of Director Zhang in Wucheng truthfully. The task is urgent, so I won't bother you any longer. If your regiment does a good job next year, we will come again."

Liu Shuqing was somewhat disappointed, and quietly moved closer to Su Wanqing, "Dr. Su, about that tractor thing... could you mention it to her?"

Su Wanqing paused for a moment, then shook her head: "They're not from the same system. It's not worth troubling Commander Feng with this favor. The tractor thing isn't urgent, let's put it aside for now. I have a way."

Hearing her say that, Liu Shuqing felt relieved.

Commander Feng sensed something and asked, "Dr. Su, is there anything else troubling you? Whether it's official or personal, please feel free to ask if I can help. More people means more ideas, so please don't stand on ceremony."

Su Wanqing waved her hand with a smile: "Really not. Secretary Liu was just expressing his regret that you came all this way without even having a hot meal. I was thinking that I had dried some apricot kernels earlier—these are dried apricots from our local Xinjiang region, stuffed with almonds, which are sweet and sour and appetizing. I also picked some up when I went to get the mushroom spawn, so I thought I'd share them with everyone and have a little something to eat on the way."

As she spoke, she took out bags of neatly stacked apricot kernels from her basket. The basket was naturally empty, but she had used the Tenfold Return technique when drying apricots a few days ago, and there were still quite a few stored in her storage space, which she was now taking out.

"Come on, everyone, have a taste. These are homemade by our team, so don't be shy."

Commander Feng quickly waved his hand, "How could we possibly accept this? We can't eat and take things at the same time..."

Before the words were even finished, the other specialists accompanying him had already taken the dried apricots, tasted them, and exclaimed in admiration:

"So sweet! The fruit from Xinjiang is truly exceptional!"

"That's right, the raisins I tried last time were sweet, but these are much more refreshing."

Commander Feng glared at his "good-for-nothing" colleagues, but ultimately accepted the money gratefully, repeatedly instructing, "Dr. Su, if you need anything in the future, be sure to send me a telegram." He left several contact methods and added sincerely, "When you go to Beijing in the future, be sure to come and find me."

"OK!"

The inspection team's bus slowly drove away and disappeared at the end of the mountain road.

Liu Shuqing finally relaxed completely, slapped his thigh, and said excitedly, "Dr. Su, we're all counting on you this time! You're truly our group's lucky star! I can't even imagine how much this batch of seeds will increase the group's income this year—I'll go broadcast it right now and let the whole group be happy!"

Old Shen stopped him, saying, "Don't be so happy yet. This year we only planted a few acres of experimental land, and the number of seeds is limited. You should collect all these seeds and put them in storage first. In a few days, when the planting tasks for various farms and prefectures come down, they will all come to us to buy seeds. You must be strict in your supervision. Seeds are scarce, and there can't be any mistakes. Also, we can plant another crop before winter. You should quickly prepare the land and expand the planting area."

Liu Shuqing nodded repeatedly—although he wasn't particularly shrewd, he was obedient and hardworking.

Su Wanqing said at the right moment, "Secretary Liu, this time when we're rewarding those who have done their part, let's first approve the plan to reinforce Aunt Wen's cowshed into an adobe house. We can also build a stove and a small kitchen next to it, so it will be warmer in the winter."

Liu Shuqing immediately agreed, "Of course! I'll send someone to reinforce it tomorrow, and cover the outer wall with a thick layer of mud and straw to ensure it's airtight. We can't openly build a toilet, so we'll just build a public toilet next door; that'll be acceptable in name." He paused, then added, "By the way, Comrade Chen Xiuer's brick house has also been approved; she can move in today! I'll go back and write the report now!"

Good things keep happening one after another.

Grandma Wen stood to the side, holding Gu Zhixing's hand, her eyes already moist. Gu Zhixing gripped his grandmother's hand tightly, his voice brimming with joy: "Grandma, this is wonderful! Last winter, you and Grandpa almost didn't make it through. The house was drafty and freezing cold... Now it's all better. The cowshed has been converted into a mud-brick house, we can even light a fire, and we won't be afraid of winter anymore!"

Grandma Wen nodded repeatedly, choking back tears, "If only your father could see this... Now I don't know if he's run away or..." She paused, not finishing her sentence, but squeezed her grandson's hand tightly, then turned and took Su Wanqing's hand, "Dr. Su, thank you so much, thank you so much, otherwise, at this age, I really don't know..."

Su Wanqing gently patted the back of her hand: "Aunt Wen, you don't need to thank me, everything will be alright."

Even without her, these two elderly people would be exonerated, return to the city, and have their identities restored next year. She was just doing a good deed casually, and also to give herself more options in the future; she wasn't that selfless.