Because of the safe zone’s auto-cleaning setting, she failed at first. The compost pit was labeled as trash and cleaned up after her return.
Nanzhi: Seriously, System?!
[It’s not my fault.]
Nanzhi sighed.
On her second attempt, Nanzhi abandoned the direct soil-planting method and placed a landscape fabric and wire mesh underneath each raised bed. Finally, it worked.
The estimated decomposition time of her compost pit was supposed to be two to three months, but in less than 10 days, the compost pit had already decomposed.
She seemed to have discovered something about the safe zone.
The time dilation here must follow the same principle as the Virtual Farm.
This must also explain the higher productivity of the animals.
System, I wouldn’t be affected by the time dilation, right?
[Yes!]
Good to know.
Nanzhi wasted no time and planted cabbage, carrots, and other vegetables in the raised beds. She observed their speed of growth and found that although they couldn’t compare to the efficiency of the Virtual Farm, they could reduce harvest time by 30 to 35 percent.
For instance, a crop with an average harvest time of 90 days could reach maturity in just 63 days.
As for their benefits and side effects, since the crops in the raised beds hadn’t matured yet, she could only test the sunflowers and jasmine she had replanted prior.
She made them into lavender and sunflower herbal tea, lavender-scented almond cookies, sunflower and lavender osmanthus jelly, and lavender and rice flower congee.
Their benefits were about 30% of the stamina recovery of the crops from the Virtual Farm.
The research facility possessed the Bingdi Lotus. No doubt, their innovation of the Bingdi Lotus wouldn’t stop at just improving the soil. If she contributed, perhaps she could get some perks in the future.
Lin Weihao was handed a sack of soil.
"Zhi Zhi, what’s this for?" He opened the bag.
"A fertilizer," Nanzhi replied.
Lin Weihao blinked. "A fertilizer?"
Moments later, the researchers at the farm were smiling ear to ear. "Thank you so much, Base Leader!"
Lin Weihao cleared his throat. "It’s not free. The hermit farmer said that if you make a groundbreaking discovery about the lotus in the future, make sure to share it with him."
The researchers nodded eagerly. "Certainly! We can even invite him for tea!"
Meanwhile, after a day of contemplation and preparation, Nanzhi had just finished the vending machine designs, price settings, purchasing rules, and currency system.
Then the system chimed:
[Where do you wish to place the store?]
A virtual map of the military base popped up in front of her. Nanzhi picked the same spot as the jade store.
[Do you wish to place the store here?]
Nanzhi agreed.
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A minute later, the noises stopped.
Ding—
Nanzhi heard the familiar ring.
[Vending Machine is successfully placed!]
At dawn, she and Lin Weihao snuck in to see what the vending machine looked like.
The vending machine stood sleek and tall, almost reaching the ceiling. Its black metallic surface gleamed. A transparent window displayed the twenty products inside: a cattie of rice, bottled water, various fresh and dehydrated vegetables, eggs, herbs, spices, and firewood.
Below the window were the prices.
The odd thing was that the vending machine wasn’t connected to any socket or generator, yet it was somehow operating.
"Zhi Zhi, are you an alien?" Lin Weihao couldn’t help but ask with a teasing grin.
"Yes, I’m an alien who likes spars and jade!" Nanzhi replied with a wink.
She tried out the machine, and the operation was very user-friendly. The LED screen displayed her purchase and the jade evaluation.
Lin Weihao circled around it, growing more intrigued with every step.
"This is amazing, but the problem is the stock. Do you need me to assign someone to handle the stocking task?"
"No need! It’s alien technology. There’s cutting-edge space folding technology inside, just like the jade you possess."
Since she couldn’t exactly say "game terms," she just decided to bluff.
Lin Weihao, being a beneficiary of the space, was more open-minded when it came to this stuff. He believed her immediately and kept the secret to himself.
"What about security? Do you need me to hire a team?" Lin Weihao asked. "It would be bad if the vending machine gets destroyed by unruly base residents."
The system said the vending machine was capable of tending to and defending itself.
"You don’t need to worry about that either. This alien technology is more ferocious than me."
"Alright," Lin Weihao said. "But just in case, I’ve assigned a team for tomorrow’s opening."
Nanzhi made sure everything was in place before they both headed home.
The next morning, the shop opened, and Nanzhi was there. Lin Weihao, Yu Baoyin, and Feng Ran were watching from a distance.
The line of people could see the new interior of the shop from where they stood.
The counter was gone. The shelves and storage room were gone. In the center stood a two-meter vending machine. Green neon signs reading "Open 24 hours" lit up, and the display window flickered.
Lao Song, who had been living in the countryside, didn’t know how to buy from the machine. He was the first in line.
He stared at the prices of the products.
[1 cattie of rice - 3 points][1 bottle of 500 ml water - 2 point][1 cattie of potatoes - 3 points][1 cattie of cabbage - 3 points]
There was no change in the prices.
His hands hovered over the buttons, unsure of what to do. This morning, he had come out, tried his luck, followed the army for leeks, and found some jade ornaments at shops.
"Do I need to wait for someone to evaluate my jades?" he asked, looking around.
"The vending machine will evaluate the jades and spars itself," the guards replied, as they had been instructed.
"What?"
"Can a machine do that?"
"Are the officers joking?"
The crowd murmured.
A person from behind the line pointed out, "Brother, there’s a smooth rectangular slot below the screen on the left that says ’Jade Slot.’ Try placing your jade there."