Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 996 - 976. Preparation for "Little Farmer" Evaluation

Chapter 996: 976. Preparation for "Little Farmer" Evaluation

Early Monday morning, Song Tan was packing up, getting ready to head to the urban area to participate in the "Little Farmer" competition.

Wu Lan wanted to dress her up a bit more properly, but after rummaging around, all she found in the house were either the bulky cotton-padded jackets or the weathered down coats left over from past years.

The only remotely youthful and stylish piece was the jacket Song Tan wore home at the end of February—a bargain priced at $79—but even that was now looking worn.

In the end, she had no choice but to wear the down coat.

"Are you sure you won’t be cold? Really don’t want the cotton-padded jacket? The journalist, Yu, sent over the photos yesterday. Isn’t the competition held outdoors, standing in the open?"

Song Tan shook her head: "No need, I’m not afraid of the cold."

With Spiritual Energy nourishing her body, she hadn’t been much bothered by the cold since she’d been discharged from the hospital. Now, she was even healthier—negative three to four degrees. A long-sleeved t-shirt and a three-in-one down coat sufficed. If not for the warmth radiating from her palms, Wu Lan would have already forced her into thermal underwear.

It was winter, and since the event followed an agriculture-themed, simple route, Song Tan was too lazy to fuss over her outfit. She wrapped herself in her fluorescent green down coat instead—of all the bargain options, there seemed to be plenty in that fluorescent shade.

Wu Lan glanced at her, then nodded in satisfaction: "This color’s quite nice. It makes your face look brighter."

There was a bit of self-praise she didn’t have the heart to verbalize: her daughter had a tall and slender figure, strikingly beautiful. Even dressed in a burlap sack, she’d still be stunning. Wearing this jacket made her look like a mannequin—it actually looked quite stylish.

Meanwhile, Song Tan stared quizzically into the mirror—how exactly did fluorescent green manage to brighten a person’s face?

...

Her family was used to waking up early, so when Song Tan drove her pickup truck to the municipal building, it was just past eight. The foggy morning was only beginning to clear.

However, the workers were already bustling about at the venue.

Rolling out the red carpet, setting up flower baskets, hanging the backdrop, rigging the equipment... This "little event," as the leaders described it, certainly left those working beneath them sweating the details. Walking around the venue, Song Tan suddenly regretted having worn the down coat.

If nothing else, these folks clearly took this seriously, but her casual attitude seemed a bit disrespectful. With a sigh, she rolled up her sleeves, exposing her pale arms to the freezing weather:

"What needs to be done next?"

A man managing the logistics looked up from his clipboard, glanced at her unfamiliar face, and assumed she must be a newbie from some department. He didn’t hesitate to give orders:

"Move those steel frames over there behind the backdrop. Otherwise, they’ll mess up the photos later."

Song Tan looked over... They seemed to be spares from the equipment setup. She then scanned the bustling crowd before nodding, "Got it."

She strode over and, without wasting any words, slung one of the steel frames onto her shoulder, carrying it steadily toward the back of the stage without any fuss.

By the time anyone noticed, she was already on her third trip.

The person in charge nearly had his hair stand on end: "Who told you to touch those?!"

He berated her: "Which department are you from? A young girl like you should know better. Do you think this kind of work is suitable for you? Go, go, go, help set up the flower baskets instead!"

Saying this, he reached out to grab the steel frame on Song Tan’s shoulder, but even with the veins in his hands bulging, he only managed to lift it slightly—it was *so* heavy!

After all, it was a solidly welded steel structure!

It was only then that Song Tan took back the steel frame effortlessly, saying calmly, "Don’t worry, I’m used to doing this kind of work."

With that, she breezed onward, completely ignoring the wide-eyed glare of the person in charge behind her.

There were a total of eight steel frames, and the guy insisted on standing nearby to lend a hand... Song Tan thought to herself: "You’re straining so hard your face is turning beet red, and here I am hesitating to toss these frames onto my shoulder out of politeness."

What a waste of time.

But fortunately, it was just those few frames. After a couple of trips, the job was done. She dusted off the prints left on her shoulders—though they didn’t disappear, as the steel frames carried marks of years of grime. Then she heard the supervisor mutter:

"You just joined this year, right? From which department? Making the rookies work like this in such cold weather... Even managing traffic on the roadside would be better than this."

Song Tan couldn’t help but laugh: "I’m not..."

Before she could explain, someone ahead called out again: "We need a couple of people over here to adjust these flower pots. Who arranged them all crooked like this?!"

Oh great! The ceramic flower pots were packed with dense yellow soil, smooth solid walls, and a wide diameter. On top of that was a meticulously pruned kumquat tree. Everyone circled around the pot, perfectly embodying the phrase "like dogs trying to bite a hedgehog."

Moving wasn’t an option, lifting wasn’t plausible, and so the group collectively muttered complaints.

Song Tan was speechless: ... If it weren’t for my family, Secretary Xiaozu probably wouldn’t have bothered promoting this competition.

She squeezed into the circle, offering, "Let me handle it; I’m pretty strong."

This time, she kept a lower profile, avoiding the theatrics of lifting the heavy pot straight off the ground to dazzle everyone. Instead, she clarified the desired position, grabbed one side of the flower pot firmly, and gently lifted it, dragging it smoothly toward its destination.

While this technique wasn’t outside their knowledge, the sheer weight meant any attempt would likely damage either the ceramic pot or the tiles on the ground.

But watching Song Tan’s seamless execution, a couple of men felt emboldened and gave it their own shot. Each hefted up a flower pot, channeling all their effort.

"Hmm!"

"Ugh!"

Awkward.

The two exchanged glances, then looked down at their respective pots. They had managed to lift them—but while the young woman dragged hers with fluid ease like wheels had been invisibly attached, they...

Were now left plodding along like oxen dragging a plow, struggling to cover even a tile’s distance.

How humiliating!

Still stewing over this, commotion began outside the venue. Soon, the host dashed in, dressed in formal attire despite the freezing weather, high heels clicking swiftly: "Hurry up, hurry up! The leaders showed up early! Is everything ready?"

Not long after, photographers began walking backward with their cameras aimed at the "Little Farmer" competition contestants accompanying the leaders on their tour.

The Yun City leader, aged considerably, had accomplished plenty of public welfare projects in recent years. Seeing the venue nearly ready, he grinned as he chatted with those next to him: "Work in agriculture, big or small, should never be overlooked. Our agricultural competition is both innovative and fresh—this is a good thing."

Yun City didn’t have any geographical advantages. Its climate was average, its location unremarkable. It lacked heavy industry, couldn’t sustain a real estate boom, and didn’t have the cultural foundation to support tourism or creative industries...

So when some villagers successfully earned money from home without resorting to migrant labor, any leader with a solid vision would naturally feel delighted.

Turning to the candidates next to him, his expression filled with warmth: "I heard there’s an exceptional entrepreneur this year who returned home less than half a year ago and already earned an annual income exceeding a million dollars?"

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.