Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 1027 - 1007. The selection is over

Chapter 1027: 1007. The selection is over

The old lady maintained a composed demeanor, handling the media and colleagues with grace:

"Everyone, for all the crops we’ve tasted today, I personally rate them as gold medal contenders in their categories. No objections, right?"

Everyone present still had full bellies—who could object? The only complaint was that they couldn’t haul the goodies home in large bags.

"I have an objection!" Two elderly men beside her wore stern expressions: "Which strawberry gets the gold medal?"

White strawberries or red strawberries, a moonlit gem or a vermillion mark—someone has to choose.

Well, this.

It was the one problem that left the old lady stumped.

She eventually sighed: "This is too tough to pick. Let’s go back home and score them properly."

The media personnel were visibly frustrated.

"The food’s all gone, and we didn’t even get a close-up shot... How are we supposed to write this story?"

The old lady, however, gave Song Tan a subtle smile: "We’re heading back now to do scoring together. Three days from now, the gold medal winners will be announced on the official website—but there won’t be an awards ceremony. You wouldn’t mind that, right?"

Song Tan shook her head: "Professor Song mentioned that we’re planning to head home overnight."

The old lady nodded knowingly: "I could tell by the way you’re dressed."

Pausing for a moment, she added: "Dear girl, sometimes you don’t have to wear such bright colors..."

She eyeing Song Tan’s neon green rain jacket intently: "Next time you visit, pick a different shade."

Her pale face was so bright it practically looked bruised. Tsk.

...

The media personnel also started to leave.

No choice but to go—the display booth before them was a complete mess, not a shred of material to photograph. They had to hurry on to other booths to see if they could cobble together anything useful...

Putting aside anything else, should this business suddenly go viral later, all their comments and reports would undoubtedly be dug up by netizens.

With that thought, though this year’s evaluation attracted little attention overall, the excitement of contributing to a hot topic quietly stirred in all their hearts.

Exchanging a brief glance, they rushed off with their laptops and started typing away.

Only the newbie reporter from Nongxin remained oblivious to the significance, distractedly scrolling through his phone and muttering in confusion: "There’s nothing in this shop at all..."

Meanwhile, over by the booth, Yang Zhengxi stretched exaggeratedly and let out a huge sigh: "Wow, I’m tired! This was way more exhausting than discussing farm machinery."

Song Tan glanced at him: "Xiaoyang really did a lot today... Do you still want us to send you strawberries when we get home?"

"Yes!" Yang Zhengxi immediately jumped with excitement: "Sis! Dear sister! How could I repay such kindness? Whatever else you’ve got in your greenhouse, I’ll be your humble servant for it!"

Song Tan shook her head: "You’re a guaranteed placement student—don’t you need to spend winter break studying something new?"

Yang Zhengxi: ...Good point.

Winter plans are already sorted.

For now, he still took a step closer, slinging an arm around Qiaoqiao’s shoulders: "Brother! Just tell me how tight our bond is? Go back and talk to sis for me—I don’t ask for much; I’m not picky about food."

"Strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers—whatever’s in stock, I’ll happily take it all."

But just then, Song Tan abruptly realized—

"Qiaoqiao, did we forget the watermelon?"

Since cold storage tends to cause the watermelon’s outer skin to separate, it requires a special section in the warehouse. Now remembering this, Song Tan couldn’t help but grow silent.

A long journey to bring it over, only to overlook it during the evaluation...

As she mulled over this, she suddenly saw someone walking toward them excitedly. The figure first looked at Song Tan, then at Qiaoqiao, then back at Qiaoqiao before hesitantly stepping forward:

"Teacher Qiaoqiao?"

"Huh?" Qiaoqiao blinked, only to hear the other person suddenly exclaim in delight: "Teacher Qiaoqiao! It really is you! Are you here for the evaluation, too? My goodness, why didn’t you mention this on the livestream? This public vote could easily get top scores from us!"

The person was visibly thrilled, leaving Yang Zhengxi baffled: "What teacher? Geez, you’re a teacher too? What do you teach?"

The man and woman opposite him became smug: "Our Teacher Qiao does education! Qiaoqiao! Baobao! Is there anything here you want us to taste, um, I mean, review?"

Yang Zhengxi: ...Are you even saying anything serious? What "doing education" — with Qiaoqiao’s mindset, could he really handle that? One moment it’s Qiaoqiao, then it’s Baobao...

Just how legit are you?

Yet Qiaoqiao suddenly got excited: "Ah! Little friends!"

A moment later, he suddenly felt pity: "Even at your age, you’re still learning knowledge..."

Song Tan: "Pfft!"

The two "little friends" were exasperated: "Teacher Qiaoqiao, we’re only in our twenties!"

Qiaoqiao opened his mouth, and before he could say more, Song Tan intervened:

"Qiaoqiao, go to the cold storage and bring back the watermelon. Let’s invite these little friends to eat some."

Qiaoqiao obediently agreed and headed off with Yang Zhengxi.

Meanwhile, Song Tan looked at the two fans who were now eagerly anticipating and finally let out a breath of relief. She then asked directly: "You didn’t manage to snatch tickets for the pig feast banquet, did you? Later, have some watermelon; you probably didn’t buy any during summer either."

The pair: ...!!

What’s going on? Why does this sibling duo keep hitting us where it hurts?!

The guy looked visibly aggrieved: "Is it my fault I couldn’t buy watermelon or snag tickets?"

He hesitantly approached Song Tan: "Qiaoqiao’s sister, can you give us two tickets to the pig feast banquet? Look, we’ve already come all the way here—it’s fate, a holiday and all..."

He raised his hand solemnly: "I worked overtime on New Year’s Day, so I have time off and can go!"

Song Tan deliberated for a moment: "How about you just eat more watermelon?"

Committing promise for the pig feast banquet was a no-go. They were already up to 15 tables now—with any more additions, the entire pig would be gone... How would their family eat next year?

"Alright." Evidently, the pair understood how valuable it was. At this point, something was better than nothing, and they waited expectantly for the watermelon.

They couldn’t help but ask:

"Do you sell watermelon?"

This time, Song Tan didn’t reject outright. Instead, she earnestly explained: "Selling is possible, but I wouldn’t recommend buying. Winter greenhouse watermelons are expensive—60 a pound. If you save that money, you can buy lots of delicious things during next spring and summer’s livestreams. Buying now doesn’t make sense."

Both of them were just regular workers. Getting carried away while scrambling for goods in livestreams was one thing; however, 60 a pound for watermelon was genuinely beyond their budget. They understood Song Tan’s reasoning and could only lament as they nodded.

And vowed: "In that case, I’ll make sure to eat more later!"

...

By the cold storage entrance, Qiaoqiao emerged holding a box, then asked the staff for an extra bag. He pulled out two watermelons from the box and handed them over, imitating Song Tan’s tone:

"Xiaoyang, you’ve worked hard today; take these two watermelons home to enjoy."

Yang Zhengxi: ...

He immediately threw an arm around Qiaoqiao’s neck: "Educational livestreamer, what did you just call me?"

"Call me Brother Yang!"