Chapter 29: Reliance and Ecosystems

Lin Mo pulled up the backend of the little Bee Robot, activated the seller system, and listed the six freshly made little peaches in the shop. In less than three seconds, they were completely snapped up.

She had listed them at the baseline price for standard pastries, a base of 20 Shells each. However, because the quantity of peaches was so small, the Mall automatically checked the bidding mode option. In the end, the six little peaches sold for a total of 600 Shells.

Lin Mo purchased some packaging boxes to pack them up, along with two sticks of tanghulu and some candies, and mailed the six little peaches out together.

By this time, the steamed bamboo shoot buns were fully cooked. Carrying the steamer of buns in one hand and the two sticks of tanghulu in the other, she walked out of the kitchen.

Seeing Mo Jin in the courtyard, she walked straight over and said thoughtfully, “I made some bamboo shoot buns and added honey inside. Would you like to have some?”

Mo Jin set down the wheat seeds in her hand and turned to look at Lin Mo.

Lin Mo tilted her head up, wearing an expression that practically begged for praise.

Mo Jin looked down and saw the delicate, lovely bamboo shoot buns in the steamer. Their presentation was excellent. She walked over, pinched a bun, and brought it to her nose to sniff. A rich wheat aroma rushed over her, making her mouth water.

Out of the corner of her eye, Mo Jin noticed Lin Mo holding the steamer, staring at her without blinking. She took a gentle bite of the bamboo shoot bun.

Mo Jin couldn’t help but narrow her eyes. The sweet honey had already melted into the bun, carrying a faint floral fragrance. It was sweet but not greasy, and incredibly delicious.

“How is it? Do you like it?”

“I like it.”

Mo Jin wasn’t as mischievous as Lin Mo; she didn’t deliberately keep people in suspense. If she liked something, she would say so directly.

With her eyes curved like crescent moons, Lin Mo looked even sweeter than the bamboo shoot bun in her hand.

Lin Mo became even more confident. She knew the little bear cub would definitely love sweet things.

Mo Jin pinched another bamboo shoot bun and fed it to Lin Mo. “For you.”

Lin Mo’s face flushed slightly. Being fed in broad daylight was quite embarrassing. Instead of opening her mouth to eat it directly, she reached out to take the bun, bit into it slowly, and swallowed it down.

A flash of displeasure crossed Mo Jin’s face, and a cold aura began to radiate from her.

Lin Mo clearly hadn’t been like this before. She used to proactively feed her things, and if Mo Jin fed her, she would eat it directly. She wouldn’t deliberately keep her distance like she was doing now.

Hadn’t she said with her own mouth that she liked giant pandas, and liked grooming a panda’s fur?

Could she have been intentionally lying to a bear?

Sensing the shift in Mo Jin’s mood, Lin Mo hurriedly brought out the tanghulu from behind her back and handed it to Mo Jin. “Here! I bought this tanghulu for you, give it a try.”

Mo Jin reined in the chill in her eyes and looked directly at the sincere Lin Mo. She was a little unable to distinguish Lin Mo’s true intentions.

Mo Jin accepted the tanghulu and took a bite. She happened to glimpse that Lin Mo was still hiding another stick of tanghulu behind her back. Her gaze dimmed slightly as she asked casually, “Why is there another stick of tanghulu?”

Unaware of the hidden danger in the question, Lin Mo answered straightforwardly, “Oh, this one? It’s for the Ginseng Baby.”

Mo Jin slowly set down the tanghulu in her hand and gave Lin Mo a cold look.

Alarm bells instantly blared in Lin Mo’s mind, and she desperately tried to salvage the situation: “It’s a reward for the Ginseng Baby to get it to help me farm. I remember you saying the Ginseng Baby is skilled at cultivation techniques. I happen to want to try out how to plant hawthorn trees.”

Mo Jin didn’t say a word, turning and walking away in silence.

Could she have realized I was lying to her, and that’s why she’s angry?

Lin Mo felt rather vexed. What should have been a good thing had been ruined by her again. She shouldn’t have mentioned that the other stick of tanghulu was for the Ginseng Baby. How could she have known Mo Jin would get angry over a single stick of candied haws?

By the time Lin Mo wanted to chase after her, Mo Jin’s figure was already nowhere to be found.

Lin Mo let out a sigh, turning around only to see a full bag of flour sitting next to the little wooden house.

Could Mo Jin have been planting wheat for her this whole time, deliberately preparing the flour and waiting for her to discover it to give her a surprise? Yet she hadn’t expected to make her unhappy again.

Lin Mo’s shoulders slumped. Dropping her head, she took a bite of the tanghulu in her hand. As she chewed, she felt the candied haws taste sourer and sourer, with a trace of bitterness underlying the sourness—a bitterness that reached the very depths of her heart.

Her tears rolled down her face, hitting the tanghulu with a soft patter, blurring a small, pale red patch on the glaze.

Lin Mo had never felt this sad before. It felt as though she had lost a treasured piece of her heart, leaving it aching and bitter.

Suddenly, she was pulled into a warm embrace. Lin Mo looked up to see Mo Jin’s face, and she broke down into full sobs.

“I won’t buy two sticks of tanghulu ever again. Please don’t be angry with me.”

Mo Jin silently patted Lin Mo’s back. Only when Lin Mo’s crying quieted down a bit did she say calmly, “I only went just now to experiment whether planting a tanghulu in the ground could grow a hawthorn tree.”

Lin Mo froze. When she realized what was happening, she nearly laughed through her tears, asking with a trace of nervousness, “Did a hawthorn tree grow?”

Mo Jin shook her head. “Growing trees is a very slow process. It will take a long time to know.”

Liar. You can clearly use spiritual energy to accelerate its growth very quickly!

But Lin Mo knew this was a secret between her and Mo Jin. Lin Mo didn’t press the matter, using the back of her hand to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes, her face quickly returning to a radiant smile.

Lin Mo felt a bit embarrassed; she wasn’t usually such a crybaby. Shyly slipping out of Mo Jin’s embrace, the two of them sat down together on the steps.

Mo Jin carved wood, while Lin Mo rested her chin in her hands, letting her mind wander. Perhaps too many things had piled up recently, creating too much pressure, which she had just released through her tears.

From her time at the academy to coming to this deserted island for her internship, she had always been afraid of the dark. If she hadn’t met Mo Jin, who had stayed by her side to keep her company…

She had encountered so many monsters these past few days, and she didn’t know where she had found the courage to argue with them. Falling seriously ill over the past two days had allowed the vulnerability built up in her heart to surge forward all at once, overwhelming her and giving her a sense of helplessness for the first time.

She was worried Mo Jin would leave her. Especially after spending this time together, she had slowly begun to depend on Mo Jin; with Mo Jin around, there was a sense of security. She needed Mo Jin, both for physical and psychological care. She wanted Mo Jin to always stay with her, or at least accompany her during the internship period.

So when she thought Mo Jin was going to leave, she felt panicked for the first time. She feared that feeling.

Back at the orphanage, children who cried and made scenes weren’t liked, so she would force herself to keep smiling and try her best not to trouble others.

But today she couldn’t hold back her tears, and Mo Jin had still held her. Perhaps she could try to continue relying on Mo Jin.

The arrival of the little Lynx cub broke Lin Mo’s deep thoughts. It came bounding over, stopped by the brushwood gate. Poking its head out from beyond the fence, it said excitedly, “I fished a few little tortoises out of the well! The High Priest told me to bring them to you guys.”

The Lynx cub clearly didn’t realize it had interrupted anyone, playing happily with the three little tortoises cradled in its hands.

Lin Mo ran over to open the gate and instantly saw the small tortoises in the cub’s hands. These little tortoises had the same dome-shaped shells as the Angonoka tortoise from her dream, looking a bit like inflated balloons.

Lin Mo couldn’t help but peek at Mo Jin, seeing that she also looked thoughtful upon seeing the tortoises.

Lin Mo asked, “Didn’t you go hunting? How did you fish little tortoises out of the water well?”

The Lynx cub’s brow drooped, losing its enthusiasm for playing with the tortoises. “My brother went hunting with the tribal chief and the others. Two days ago, we failed to catch the elk we were after, and instead, everyone got a bit injured. I haven’t had a full stomach in two days, so I wanted to drink more water. When I was scooping water from the well, I happened to find these little tortoises.”

Lin Mo said in surprise, “Were you guys always like this before? No wonder you’ve been starved so thin now. How pitiful.”

“No, we never used to hunt elk before. Elk are too hard to catch, and it’s easy to get hurt during the hunt. There used to be plenty of wild rabbits on the deserted island, and our Lynx clan used to eat wild rabbits. Now, we rarely see any wild rabbits at all.”

This was a problem. She didn’t have any jerky left here either, so she had no way to entertain the little Lynx cub.

Lin Mo’s gaze slowly drifted to the little Bee Robot. She remembered that live rabbits were sold in the livestreaming Mall. If they could improve the environment of the deserted island by cultivating the soil and nurturing the forest, they could allow the Lynxes to live within a self-sustaining ecological loop, and they wouldn’t have to go hungry.

However, she didn’t have enough money to buy tree seeds and live rabbits. She still needed to find a way to lead the Lynxes in establishing a long-term, sustainable industry chain on the island. Only by selling products could they get the money needed to transform the environment.