CHAPTER 117: CHAPTER 117: THE SPACE HAS AWAKENED

At noon, they stir-fried vegetables using rapeseed oil, and used the heated oil to prepare a cold cucumber salad. Perhaps it was the first time they tried it, but everyone thought it tasted quite good. It had a different texture compared to animal fat.

At noon, while the children took their naps, the second aunt washed the chrysanthemums Xiaoxue picked in the morning, steamed them, and then set them outside to dry in the bright sun. They would dry within a couple of hours.

She also prepared the large bone, placing it in a pot to be stewed later in the afternoon by Xiaoxue, so it would be ready to eat by the evening.

Ever since Jiang Yu started school, their family had switched to eating delicious food in the evening, so Jiang Yu could join them when he returned.

In the afternoon, the couple carried cut sweet potato vines and went up the mountain to plant sweet potatoes. The second aunt planted while Jiang Hu fertilized and watered.

These tasks were beyond the help of Xiaomi and Xiaoxue, so they stayed back to avoid distracting their parents in the fields.

Jiang Xiaoxue, having just received her new book, didn’t even feel like napping. She kept flipping through it after lunch, even though there were words she couldn’t recognize. The illustrations were very detailed.

From threading needles to how to start and finish stitches, everything was thoroughly explained.

Mimi wasn’t interested in this, so she pretended to sleep and then entered the secret space.

The space had transformed greatly, with fields of crops and flocks of chickens, ducks, and geese. Occasionally, wild pheasants would fly overhead, landing to compete with the poultry for food.

Apart from the initial few wild and domestic chickens, the rest were all raised by Mimi from eggs.

Now, Mimi’s attention was on the quail and pigeon eggs she had placed in the chicken coop.

Earlier, a hen wanted to hatch eggs, so Mimi left two or three eggs in the nest and added several pigeon and quail eggs.

Two batches had already gone bad before; this was the third attempt.

Seeing Mimi approach, the hen clucked and jumped out of the nest. Mimi quickly scattered a handful of wheat, drawing the chickens over to feed while she headed towards the chicken coop.

She touched each egg individually, feeling their warmth, wondering if they would hatch successfully.

The hen, having eaten its fill, moved around before returning to its nest to continue incubating the eggs.

Mimi rewarded the hen by summoning some Spiritual Spring water, feeding it to the hen with a bamboo tube, allowing it to drink while incubating the eggs.

"Whether we can raise quail and pigeons at home all depends on you, Mother Hen. If it works out, next time we’ll hatch peacock eggs. Soon, even peacocks will be your children - imagine the pride!"

Mimi earnestly spoke to the hen, even patting its back as if they had already hatched peacocks.

Unfortunately, the hen didn’t understand, and after drinking, it seemed to disdain Mimi’s chatter, clucking while shaking its head vigorously.

Mimi set the remaining water aside and went to check on the ducks and geese, also hatched by the hen. There weren’t many, but she had saved up a number of duck and goose eggs.

She made a small pond for the ducks and geese to swim in.

Two duck eggs lay by the pond, and Mimi only needed to use her mind to return them to the basket.

There was a set number of bamboo baskets at home, so Mimi didn’t dare take them into the space. However, there were plenty of plastic crates and cardboard boxes used for storing supplies that were perfect for holding the eggs.

Turning around, there was a large group of rabbits of all sizes, and the ground was riddled with burrows.

Mimi sighed deeply, "These are growing too fast. I need to figure out how to take some away, or they’ll overpopulate."

Rabbits reproduce quickly, typically maturing at six months and able to have litters monthly.

The two initial small rabbits had nearly burgeoned to a hundred!

Yet, rabbits being so large, her parents always knew exactly how many they had, so she couldn’t sneak any out.

Luckily, no matter how much these wild rabbits reproduced, their living area was confined, and they didn’t run wild around the space. She only needed to plant grass and vegetables for them regularly.

Feeling puzzled over the rabbits for a while, Mimi circled the space before sitting back down on the roof of the courtyard.

Supporting her chin with one hand, she furrowed her brow, "Why does it seem like this space has grown bigger?"

Could the space actually grow?

That would be too far-fetched!

’Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling’, a gust of wind stirred the wind chime hanging under the eaves, producing a crisp sound.

Mimi froze at first, then, in surprise, she descended from the rooftop with a thought, standing level with the still-swaying wind chime, her eyes wide open.

"Wind, how is there wind here!"

When she first tried using an incubator, she realized there was no seasonal change or weather variation here.

She loved the wind chime the first time she saw it and hung it under the eaves.

But for the past two years, this was the first time she heard it make a sound!

Amidst her amazement, another gentle breeze blew through her, bringing with it the sound of the chime.

Astonished, Mimi seemed to faintly hear a voice in the wind: "Hello, Master."

"Who is it?" Mimi quickly spun around, but there was nothing behind her.

Yet Mimi was certain the voice wasn’t an illusion; she had definitely heard it!

The gentle breeze brushed past again, and the voice in the wind continued: "Master, keep planting."

Mimi’s hair was on end, especially with the constant ’ding-a-ling’ of the wind chime, it was just like a horror movie!

But after this, the entire space fell silent again. Not even the wind chime or leaves stirred.

Mimi resumed her spot under the eaves, rubbing her arms until she felt better, then pondered over what had happened.

"Could it be that this space is alive?" Mimi shockingly muttered, "Was it the space communicating with me?"

What did it mean by telling her to keep planting?

Mimi surveyed the crops in the space. Here, she didn’t need to do manual labor; she only needed to think about it to make it happen.

So far, at least five or six acres of space had been cultivated.

"Could planting crops in the space awaken its consciousness?" Mimi speculated, growing more convinced of this hypothesis.

After all, she had experienced crossing over herself; a bit more mystical wasn’t so hard to accept.

The more Mimi thought, the more certain she became, her motivation swelling. Looking at the empty patch of land left, she summoned a bag of rice seeds from storage and thought, ’Let’s do it!’

It took over a year to awaken the space’s consciousness. In another two years, perhaps the consciousness might appear entirely!

Mimi grew increasingly curious about this space.