Chapter 164: Preventing Problems Before They Happen

Lunch was roasted eggs and roasted potatoes, served with beer.

The Bear Kids had it better—they got to eat regular meat and vegetables. Otherwise, what was available here probably wouldn’t have been enough to fill the two Bear Cubs’ stomachs.

It was John’s first time trying eggs and potatoes prepared this way, and he ate with great interest. He didn’t even care that his mouth turned black from the food.

After the rather simple lunch, Liu Heming pulled Robin aside and asked, “Robin, is something going on?” He had noticed that Sasha seemed a bit distracted during the meal.

“It’s because of Thanksgiving,” Robin said with a bitter smile.

“Every year during Thanksgiving, Sasha takes Alex back to her parents’ place to spend the holiday together. But this year, she doesn’t know how to handle it.”

“Ah… I see,” Liu Heming said, feeling a bit awkward. “It looks like my appearance has affected their lives.”

Even without thinking too hard, it was obvious that Sasha’s family must be deeply unhappy with him. His marriage to Sasha was unusual, and now because of him, Sasha couldn’t have a normal marriage. In their eyes, he was probably the villain disrupting their family harmony.

Robin looked at him, hesitating to speak further.

Liu Heming patted Robin’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry about comforting me—I understand. No matter how it all started, I bear a lot of responsibility.”

“Here’s the thing: there are some words I can’t say directly to Sasha, so could you pass them on for me? During Thanksgiving, she should take Alex back to her parents. After all, it’s an important holiday in the United States. If needed, I can personally explain things to her parents and her fiancé.”

Sasha had already helped him so much; without her, he wouldn’t be where he was today. Even if Sasha’s father ended up yelling at him, it wouldn’t matter. For Alex’s sake, it was no big deal.

Robin nodded with a complicated expression and patted his shoulder in return.

After collecting himself, Liu Heming found John and helped him install the oil press he had brought along.

It had to be said that modern technology was really advanced. The oil press was compact and very easy to install and use. John had already done a full check on it before transporting it over.

They poured soybeans into the feeding port, and out came oil and soybean cakes from the other side.

These soybean cakes were also valuable. They could be used to feed pigs, chickens, ducks, and geese, and in the future, they would be great for nourishing Charming Girl.

Liu Heming didn’t press too much oil. With so few people around, they could press more as needed—after all, there were plenty of soybeans at home.

“Dexter, during winter, you need to pay extra attention to your greenhouse. Especially after it snows, make sure to clear the snow off the roof promptly, or it could easily collapse,” John reminded him.

“I’ll keep that in mind. When I have more money later, I’ll build another one. Then I’ll upgrade both to have heated roofs, so even if it snows a lot, it won’t be a problem,” Liu Heming nodded.

Although the greenhouse seemed simple, the cost could vary greatly depending on the materials and functions used. Since Liu Heming was still a bit short on funds, he had chosen the most cost-effective method when building this greenhouse—only replacing the plastic with glass for better light transmission.

“Dexter, keep going. I truly believe you can do it. No matter how bad the weather gets in Xiangshui Town, it can’t stay this way forever. One day, things will slowly start to get better,” John said earnestly.

“Have you been spending too much time with George? For a second there, I thought you were him,” Liu Heming said, rolling his eyes.

“Let’s not worry about that for now. Come with me—I want to show you something good. If this works out, it might become another source of income in the future.”

John was curious, wondering what Liu Heming had come up with this time.

After experiencing the rougamo, the surprisingly valuable sweet potatoes, and now the pancakes, John felt it was perfectly normal for Liu Heming to come up with something else unusual.

Liu Heming happily led John into the greenhouse and lifted a corner of the small covering he had set up. John peered inside under the light but didn’t see any crops—only a layer of filamentous material on the ground.

“You’re not raising spiders in here, are you?” John asked curiously.

“Spiders? Even though I like raising small animals, that’s only for my daughter. She wouldn’t like something as scary as spiders,” Liu Heming said, slightly annoyed.

“These are probably fungal mycelium. You know we have morel mushrooms in the forest over there, so I brought some over and planted them here. Maybe it’s because I brought a lot of soil from there, making the environment suitable for their growth. Now, this is what it looks like.”

“If nothing goes wrong from here, I think morel mushrooms might actually grow here. If that happens, I’ll expand the area, and harvesting will be much more convenient.”

“Can these really be cultivated? I remember news reports saying they’re quite difficult to grow,” John said, frowning.

“I’m not sure either. When I came back after working in the restaurant, I found it looking like this. These filamentous things should be mycelium—definitely not spiderwebs,” Liu Heming shrugged.

Whether this cultivation attempt succeeded or not, he needed to let someone spread the word about it. His ranch was likely to become increasingly strange and unbelievable over time, which could draw unwanted attention.

He felt lucky to be in a rundown place like Xiangshui Town. If he were in a larger, more populated town, the more unusual things he came up with, the more trouble he might face.

Once the people of Xiangshui Town grew accustomed to the small, strange occurrences at his place, they’d take it in stride. Even if it eventually attracted outside attention, it would be easier to handle—after all, his entire development process would have unfolded under everyone’s “witness.”

His concern stemmed from the last time Sasha delivered some Small Lake Water to Janet. Fortunately, the water’s vitality gradually decreased; otherwise, things could have gotten complicated.

Now, Janet probably just regarded the water as slightly better than average. If its vitality hadn’t faded and she had conducted further tests uncovering the secret of the Small Lake Water, he had no idea what might happen.

He had shared these worries with the System, but the System couldn’t do anything about it—it didn’t have the ability to make the Small Lake Water appear completely ordinary to others.

So, this was his way of preventing problems before they happened. Whether he could pull it off in the future remained to be seen.