"You're such a sly old man," Jing Shu thought. "To push me into joining so quickly, he actually used this trick. Even if he hadn't, I would've come on my own. Really!"
Everything had gone absurdly smoothly, and that was exactly what made Jing Shu uneasy. Her original plan in joining the Medicinal Herb Association was to borrow their "tiger skin" as a banner. But now it felt less like tiger skin and more like fox fur.
Seeing that Jing Shu didn't object and had more or less accepted it, Zhou Bapi showed his big yellow teeth in a wide grin. He'd struck gold.
"Our president is in seclusion right now," Zhou Bapi began introducing the people in the Medicinal Herb Association.
Jing Shu: "???"
"A president? Who was that? Why go into seclusion? Could this be reliable?"
"The others are all scrambling to head out into the countryside, pulling in anyone who can grow medicinal herbs. Eventually, there'll be competitions too."
Zhou Bapi led her inside, pointing things out along the way. "Here, we're growing plants that are relatively easy to keep alive. This patch is Scutellaria barbata, planted last year for clearing heat and detoxifying. Now that the weather isn't hot anymore, we'll harvest this last batch and stop planting it. Too much waste of resources."
"This section is Ophiopogon japonicus, good for regulating the spleen and stomach. We only planted it because someone sponsored us with energy supplies."
"Over there is honeysuckle. It's a widely used medicinal herb, but unfortunately, these only grow leaves and don't flower. Without flowers, they can't be used in medicine."
"This is aloe vera. A lot of what we planted last year died, but aloe's drought tolerance let some survive."
Jing Shu: "…"
Damn it, she'd just spent 200 virtual coins to buy a segment of aloe. If she'd known there was plenty here, she wouldn't have wasted the money.
Zhou Bapi went on enthusiastically: "Even though we can simulate photosynthesis with artificial sunlight, adjust temperature and humidity with the ventilation system, and mimic bits of climate, we still can't reproduce the four seasons.
Some herbs must be planted in spring and harvested in winter. Others require autumn planting. With the seasons so chaotic now, most herbs stop growing halfway, or they bloom without bearing fruit because the conditions are all wrong."
Jing Shu strongly agreed. You couldn't plant crops meant for spring in the middle of summer and expect results. Ignoring seasonal needs only led to stunted growth. The winter strains they had today were products of years of careful cultivation.
"So how exactly did you grow yours? How did you overcome the seasonal problem?" This was the question Zhou Bapi had puzzled over all night without an answer. Everyone here had constant temperatures, even simulated day-night cycles, but nothing worked.
For such a "philosophical" question, Jing Shu, who understood none of it, simply said, "Secret."
The truth was simple. She just casually planted things, watered them daily with Spirit Spring diluted a hundredfold, and that was it.
So crude, so effective.
At this point, Jing Shu truly felt that her Cube Space was like a heaven-defying cheat. In this apocalypse where no one else could grow anything, only her Cube Space combined with Spirit Spring could produce thriving plants.
With the second form unlocked, comparing her crops to the stunted ones here was laughable. Her lush, fat eggplants made her feel blissfully content.
The only pity was that Spirit Spring only produced a little each day. She could keep her family in vegetables and fruit, but saving the whole country was impossible.
The cultivation base was fairly large, with a wide variety of herbs, though some hadn't survived and others were withering.
Every time people passed Zhou Bapi, they respectfully greeted him with, "President Zhou." None of them were formally on staff, but with a daily wage of 4 virtual coins, it was already high.
"How's that patch of Angelica dahurica?" Zhou Bapi asked.
"Same as before, no progress."
"Alright, I'll find another solution. You may go." Zhou Bapi only felt his authority respected here.
Hands clasped behind his back, he said to Jing Shu, "So, you're now a junior horticulturist of the Medicinal Herb Association. As long as you can cultivate a new variety, you'll get promoted. If you can keep five species alive and solve three major problems, you'll be nominated for vice president."
"Does my pot of Astragalus count?"
Zhou Bapi shook his head. "It has to survive here and be usable in medicine. If random herbs from anywhere counted, we'd be swimming in vice presidents.
Work hard. Vice president comes with high-level data access, and plenty of rights. Even the police and government can't control us. Only the Medicinal Herb Association has jurisdiction. That's a huge privilege. You said you were grabbed by a little officer yesterday—if you were vice president, he wouldn't have dared touch you."
Jing Shu narrowed her eyes. Zhou Bapi was dangling a carrot, but one she actually wanted. From the sound of it, the Medicinal Herb Association stood apart from the usual hierarchy, above food and supplies. In chaotic times, doctors were worth more than antiques in peaceful ones, and medicinal herbs were priceless.
High-level data access—that was authority higher than Su Lanzhi's director-level position.
Su Lanzhi's current direct superior was Niu Mou, equivalent to a minister. Above minister level were only generals like Li Yuetian. High-level data rights were normally at least major-general tier.
So of course this was impressive.
Meaning, even though the association was small, its status was high. A vice president was equivalent to a major general?
Most importantly, Jing Shu realized this was the perfect promotion track for her. Farming was her specialty. The job was flexible, and performance-based monthly checks were exactly what she loved.
Of course, position didn't equal power. Li Yuetian controlled the military, far more influence than Niu Mou managing agriculture, and far more than Zhou Bapi, who had only a lofty title without real forces.
It was just like the ministers of old: some had low rank but real power, others had high titles but no authority.
"But you'll need to hurry," Zhou Bapi warned. "This year is the last round for vice president promotions. Soon, growers from across the province will flood in. Competition will be fierce. You'd better seize this chance."
Jing Shu nodded furiously like a pecking chick. This vice president position—she was claiming it.
"Then let me start by planting my first new variety, Astragalus."
The experimental plot was only ten square meters, but had seven or eight layers of racks, a very resource-saving design. That was why the ceilings were built so high.
Suddenly, a shout rang out:
"Something's wrong! That batch of Gastrodia has been infested with bug eggs! Someone must've irrigated with unfiltered water. The stems and leaves are being eaten alive!"
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虎皮 (Hǔ pí) - "Tiger Skin"
Idiomatic Meaning (借虎皮 - jiè hǔ pí): This comes from the idiom "狐假虎威" (hú jiǎ hǔ wēi), which literally means "The fox borrows the tiger's might." The fable tells of a fox who walks in front of a tiger, making other animals flee not from the fox, but from the tiger behind it.
In Context: Here, "borrow their 'tiger skin' as a banner" means Jing Shu wanted to use the reputation, authority, and influence of the Medicinal Herb Association to protect herself and gain status. She wanted to make others think she was powerful and untouchable because she was associated with a powerful "tiger" (the Association).
狐狸皮 (Húli pí) - "Fox Fur"
Idiomatic Meaning: The fox in Chinese culture is almost universally a symbol of cunning, trickery, deceit, and slyness. It is an trickster figure.
In Context: By saying it now feels like "fox fur," Jing Shu is saying the association feels deceptive, tricky, and insincere. Instead of getting the genuine, powerful protection of a "tiger," she feels she's being wrapped up in the clever, manipulative schemes of a "fox." The Association's smoothness isn't legitimate power; it feels like a trap or a clever plot she doesn't yet understand.
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What she wanted (Tiger Skin): She wanted to borrow the open, raw, intimidating power and prestige of the Association. (A tiger's power is obvious and direct).
What she fears she got (Fox Fur): Instead, she suspects she has walked into a situation defined by deceit, manipulation, and hidden agendas. The "smoothness" of the process feels like the work of a sly fox, not the genuine offer of a powerful tiger. She isn't being protected; she's being handled.