EFB Chapter 16: Where did Jiang Qiu come from?!
Chapter 16: Where did Jiang Qiu come from?!
"Each contestant may present a maximum of 3 works, and the ranking will be based on the best work. Please be quiet. Now, please welcome Senior Sister Zhao Nan to the stage. She will open the food containers one by one in order to reveal the first work that the contestants are preparing to present—"
The sound subsided, and the crowd quieted down.
All eyes were on Zhao Nan.
She wore a yellow sweatshirt and a white mini skirt underneath, and a black coat over her shoulders.
Tap, tap, tap, long, white legs tapped on the steps with alternating force and rhythm, her high ponytail swayed slightly with each step, and her eyes were clear and serene.
With a snap, Zhao Nan flicked her slender finger, and the lock on the first food container popped open, revealing a bright green, mid-grade fruit. She said in a flat tone, "Nothing special, mid-grade Wood Edge Flower Fruit, 5 points, shortlisted."
*Click*, "Medium-grade Golden Peak Flower and Fruit, 5 points, shortlisted."
Pat, pat, pat...
The boxes displayed only medium-grade fruits, with scores mostly around 4 or 5 points. Only a very few could get 6 or 7 points, and those were likely to be top ten seedlings, which would attract attention. The accompanying shop assistants carefully recorded the scores.
With a snap, as Zhao Nan lifted the first box in front of Qian Cheng's standee, the audience in the front row erupted in commotion. The other plantation contestants all turned their attention to it, and Zhang San and Li Si, who had been "waiting for a long time," also widened their eyes.
"The Wood Edge Flower Fruit barely makes it into the mid-grade category, with an essence content slightly higher than the low-grade Wood Edge Flower Fruit. 1 point, it's shortlisted." Zhao Nan's clear voice instantly ignited the crowd. This is one of the fruits with the lowest scores so far.
The mid-grade fruit in the box wasn't very plump; it looked like a green persimmon that had struggled to grow in a barren desert. Its appearance was somewhat inferior among mid-grade fruits, and it was significantly different from the previous contenders.
Even though it was only a mid-grade specimen and had the potential to be shortlisted, Zhang San couldn't help but laugh: "I thought he was really ruthless. With this quality, if I didn't care about the cost, I could also cultivate one to participate in the event!"
Li Si laughed, "Indeed, it's just a loss-making venture to gain publicity. I don't know how he has the nerve to put two food containers up there."
There are two food storage boxes in front of Qian Cheng's nameplate. One was just opened and scored 1 point. The other will be opened in the second round. Generally speaking, the later the food storage box is opened, the higher the quality of the fruit stored inside.
But in reality, many people put three food containers on the table, and after opening them all, they still got the same portions. The quality difference was not as big as they imagined; it was just a matter of psychological comfort to put three portions on the table.
In the previous batches of plantations, many contestants could score 7 or even 8 points and make it into the top ten, or even win the most lucrative prizes, even with just a single food container.
Soon, no one paid any attention to Qian Cheng. Only Qian Cheng himself, gripping the handrail tightly, glanced coldly at Zhang San, Li Si, and the others in the crowd: "Hmph, do you really think I'm here to embarrass myself? The first one is just a prelude; the real prize is yet to come!"
In the past, he wouldn't have had much confidence to go on stage, and all he had to offer was a single mid-grade fruit that he had painstakingly cultivated.
However, because of buying that bag of level 2 spirit seeds for Director Wu, the family's life had already become very hectic, and the father didn't have any more money to help. If he didn't find a way to make more money, it would be difficult for him to become a spirit plant master.
The winner gets the most money.
There are also top-grade pills worth tens of thousands of yuan!
Qian Cheng took a deep look at the second food container under his signboard, straightened his back, and looked at it with a firm and proud gaze.
However, when he inadvertently glanced at Jiang Qiu not far away, he smiled in a half-smile: "I didn't expect you to be here too. Heh, the quality of my inferior fruit was slightly better back then. Today, I'll let you see my new achievement."
However, the next moment, the first food container in front of Jiang Qiu's sign popped open under Zhao Nan's fingertips, bursting with red light. His smile vanished instantly, and he froze on the spot like a statue, as a deafening roar of exclamations erupted in his ears.
"Holy crap?! This mid-grade Fire Radiance Flower Fruit is as vibrant as red agate, and the essence within it is practically overflowing!"
"How is that possible? Our garden has over ten years of experience cultivating Fireflowers, and only our veteran employees can produce this level of plumpness using mid-grade spirit seeds. What planting employee under twenty-five could cultivate it like this!"
"Could it be that an apprentice plant cultivator got involved?"
"How many points will this get?"
The entire venue erupted in a frenzy, like lime meeting water. Even Zhao Nan on stage paused, glancing at Jiang Qiu's standee out of the corner of his eye, and nodded.
"The appearance is good, the flesh is very plump, and the essence is so rich that it is naturally exuded. It belongs to the best batch of naturally developed mid-grade pills. When refining pills, it may increase the success rate of mid-grade pills of level 1. 8 points, top ten, can be the first choice."
These words caused another uproar in the crowd. While the highest score among all the contestants was 9 points, the highest score in the Jiuzhi Garden division was only 7 points. Whether ranked ahead of or behind Jiang Qiu, all the contestants looked ashen-faced. "Where did Jiang Qiu come from?!"
The young employees in the dozens of courtyards had some interaction with each other, but they had never heard of Jiang Qiu before, nor did they remember any first-level spirit plant master with the surname Jiang who had such a young descendant.
Among the crowd, Zhang San, Li Si, and others were initially amazed that such high scores could be achieved even within the park. However, the moment they saw the name on the sign, their minds went blank: "Who? Jiang Qiu!"
"Isn't he a grower of *Echeveria elegans*?"
Everyone's thoughts were in a jumbled mess, even Yang Zhilan herself was blank, her ears burning: "Huh? So mine was put first...?"
Yang Zhilan never expected that by consuming only 1 wisp of fire-attribute spiritual energy [top level] once, the mid-grade Fire Radiance Flower Fruit she cultivated could achieve a high score of 8 points in the eyes of an alchemist... Oh, no, that's not right.
Jiang Qiu [regenerated hair] 7 times. No matter how you look at it, he contributed the most. Without him, perhaps even the mid-grade fruit would not have grown.
This achievement is less of his own.
It's more accurate to say it belongs to Jiang Qiu.
Well, you could also say that...
Yang Zhilan pursed her lips, her eyes unfocused, everything seemed like a dream, and she secretly felt a little pleased, thinking that she had probably helped Jiang Qiu.
At this very moment, in the contestants' seats, Qian Cheng's veins bulged on the back of his hand as he stared intently at the red fruit in his first box: "I remember he clearly chose the [Wood Edge Flower], how could he cultivate a mid-grade Fire Radiance Flower fruit of this level? Damn it, this guy is suspicious!"
He couldn't understand how Jiang Qiu, a poor boy from a shantytown, could have gotten to this point. But he glanced at his second food container, took a deep breath, and forced himself to calm down.
Eight points is indeed high, but considering Jiang Qiu's background, she must have done her best to cultivate such a fruit. The other two food storage containers only contain fruits to make up the numbers, which are not worth mentioning.
He had seized an opportunity, and although it came in an absurd and unexpected way, the real results were absolutely genuine!
Soon after, the second round of selection began.
Because everyone was still discussing Jiang Qiu's mid-grade Fire Radiance Flower Fruit, they didn't pay much attention to the other contestants' second food storage boxes. It wasn't until Zhao Nan visited Qian Cheng's standee again that Qian Cheng's lips curled into a smile.
*Thud!* A flash of blue light burst from the food container!