Chapter 21: Hypothesis About the Dimension
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Lu Hao was exasperated to hear that. No matter how valuable the dimension was, what use would it be if he monopolized it himself? Was he supposed to live the rest of his life in there, utterly alone?
He and Su Jin were family now, and Su Jin's family was his family. Even if they needed to start their own team of trustworthy subordinates after the apocalypse, who could be more trustworthy than their own family members? Besides, Su Jin was the one who activated the dimension. Lu Hao knew that he would never have been able to open it by himself. After all, the Lu family had gradually forgotten how to use it, right?
Li Xiuying knew what Lu Hao was thinking, so she let the matter rest. True, they were all family now. As his elder, however, it was only right for her to ask him about his thoughts first. Otherwise, she would not be able to bear all the responsibility for it should things go south after this.
"But Lil Jin, Lil Jao, let's not mention the dimension for now. It's enough that the three of us know."
"When do you think we should tell the others, Grandma?"
"When the apocalypse really hits. When that happens, the world will be in chaos, and this dimension will be all we have to rely on. At that time, everyone will naturally guard the secret with their lives."
It was not that she did not trust the rest of the family, but she was worried they would end up letting it slip in their glee. The higher they go, the harder they fall, after all. It would be better for them to experience the terrors of the apocalypse before telling them about this safe harbor!
Su Jin and Lu Hao looked at their wise grandmother. They were absolutely correct to discuss this with her first.
It was not that they could not come up with anything themselves. They just lacked someone who could support them, and it would be best if that someone was a respected elder. When the others found out in time, they would naturally think that the elder's decision was made with their best interests in mind.
"You're so smart, Grandma! Thanks to you, we know exactly what to do now," Su Jin said, trying her best to flatter her grandmother.
"Don't think I don't know what you're up to. You two already planned to do just that, didn't you?" Li Xiuying knew what they were planning, but she was not angry. The two young ones loved and trusted her, which was why they wanted her to help them make the decision. That was not a bad thing. It meant she had yet to lose her edge despite her age. Besides, Su Jin and Lu Hao did not hide this treasure they discovered, instead risking everything to make it into a shelter for the whole family. The others might not have been able to do something so generous with such ease.
"Hehe, I couldn't tell what was the best course of action. Your advice was like a wake-up call to me." Su Jin continued her previously interrupted flattery mission.
"I think what you said makes sense, Grandma. If we tell them about the dimension too soon, they might not work so hard to train and gather resources. After all, they don't know what the world will look like a month from now." Lu Hao was in full agreement with Grandma's suggestion too.
It was like a test at school. No one knew how hard the exam would be, so they would work their hardest to study. Right now, he wanted everyone around him to know that there was a terrifying 'test' up ahead, so they would desperately try to prepare for it. That way, they might be able to take their destiny into their own hands.
However, this was only limited to the people who were willing to trust him. He did not want to waste time and energy advising people who would not even believe him. If he tried, he might end up putting Lil Jin and himself in danger instead.
Su Jin and Lu Hao showed Grandma around the dimension for a while longer. Li Xiuying told them that staying in the dimension made her feel like she had eaten some miraculous medicine. Her entire body was filled with energy.
Su Jin and Lu Hao had experienced that for themselves, of course. The dimension was full of spiritual energy, and the two of them liked staying in here while they could too. Su Jin remembered what the jade tablet said about needing to replenish the space with spiritual energy, which she had not figured out how to do yet.
She mentioned that to Lu Hao and Grandma.
"I see, that makes sense." Lu Hao told them his hypothesis. To him, the spiritual energy was the medium the dimension operated with, and Su Jin just happened to have a special ability. Perhaps the blood of special ability users contained the spiritual energy the dimension needed. That was why Su Jin activated the dimension the first time she accidentally stained it with her blood. As for the stream in the distance and the grey areas, they were not unlocked yet because they did not have enough spiritual energy.
Su Jin and Li Xiuying both thought Lu Hao's hypothesis sounded likely. As the adage went, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. It made sense that a priceless artifact like this would appear on the eve of a disaster, and it may not be the only one to show up either. Still, that was for them to worry about later. Right now, their first priority was to strengthen themselves and gather resources.
After the three of them left the dimension, they glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that only slightly over twenty minutes had passed.
Lu Hao planned to go buy seeds with Su Jin. The two of them did not understand much about seeds and agriculture, so Su Jin asked her grandmother to tag along again. After all, the latter had spent half of her life in the fields.
Li Xiuying was more than happy to oblige. Seeds, huh? She did know a thing or two about those, and she did not want the young ones to come home with a ton of useless seeds either.
The three of them drove to the largest seed wholesaler in town.
Li Xiuying looked around and led the other two to a shop with a wider range of choices. The shop owner was surprised to see Li Xiuying, with Su Jin and Lu Hao tagging behind her. All of his customers tended to be farmers, their complexion dark after all that time baking in the sun. These three did not look like the farm type at all. Nevertheless, he did not treat them lightly. What if they were big business bosses looking into a new venture?
"Hello, how may I help you? What seeds are you looking for?"
Li Xiuying listed the seeds she needed, including wheat, paddy, corn, and all sorts of vegetables.
So many types, huh? The owner was starting to get an idea of what they wanted, so he brought out samples of everything he had.
"We want to buy in bulk, mister, so show us the actual goods." Li Xiuying did not want to look at the samples, since the owner must have prepared them in advance. She could only judge when she saw the real thing.
"The goods are in the cooler. As you know, ma'am, seeds aren't easy to store. We don't usually take them out. These samples are exactly the same as the real thing." He was telling the truth here. The seeds had to be kept at a constant temperature and moisture, so they could not be carried around that easily.
"Mister, if your seeds are decent, we'll buy everything you have," Lu Hao said, stepping forward.
Gasp! Everything he had? The boy talked a big game.
The owner did not seem to believe them, so Li Xiuying continued to persuade him. Eventually, he agreed because he could see that the three customers were about to try somewhere else if he still refused to relent. There was no way he could let such a big business opportunity slip by. Even if they did not buy from him in the end, all he would have to lose was a little time and effort.
The owner had an employee watch the store for him while he led the three of them into the warehouse behind the store.
"This is where we keep most of our goods. What do you think of the corn seeds here?"
Li Xiuying nodded and opened one of the bags. When Su Jin saw her grandmother frown, she knew that Li Xiuying was not too happy with the seeds.
"Mister, these seeds could be better, don't you think? If they're this damp, won't that affect their germination rate?"
The owner wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had been in a rush to sell these seeds because they were too damp and on the verge of growing mold. It seemed like these people knew their stuff, after all. He finally became serious, showing them his real goods.
Indeed, Li Xiuying was not as clueless as he had thought. Su Jin listened to her conversation with the owner and silently gave her a thumbs-up. If she and Lu Hao had come here to buy seeds by themselves, the owner would have tricked them into buying a bunch of subpar seeds.
Finally, the three of them bought corn, wheat, paddy, and a variety of vegetable seeds. Since they were buying in bulk, the owner happily called over his employee from the front of the store to help carry the seeds.
The young employee's mouth fell open when he saw Lu Hao picking up several large bags of seeds with ease. What was he, a weightlifter? The employee could not even carry a bag on his own, having to rely on a trolley to move them anywhere.
Once they were done purchasing seeds, the three of them bought a few tree saplings from the market too, loading them into the car as well.
Lastly, Su Jin stopped outside a shop that sold flower seeds.
"Lil Jin, don't tell me you're thinking about planting flowers too?" Li Xiuying said rather disapprovingly.
Su Jin just smiled and went in, Lu Hao following closely behind her.
Li Xiuying saw them go in and could only sigh helplessly. Forget it, forget it. Both of them were opinionated young people, so they could surely make their own decisions.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone