Humans Shrunk 100 Times

Chapter 129: Sowing

"Is it about the taste?"

Dong Junwei pondered Tang Jing's words. She recalled the celery leaves she had eaten before, with their coarse and fibrous texture, which was difficult to swallow. At the beginning, when there was a shortage of food, it wasn't much of a problem. However, as the days improved and human society gradually recovered, the demand for a higher quality of life naturally increased as well.

If all vegetables were to remain like this in the future, it would indeed be a headache. They couldn't just keep juicing everything to consume.

"Taste is certainly one aspect," Tang Jing smiled and said, "Especially with stem and leaf vegetables. Even potatoes are not as delicate as they used to be. The most troublesome one is tomatoes; perhaps they can only be made into tomato sauce."

"But what I want to say is actually not about that," she continued.

"Hmm?"

"Do you know how potatoes are grown?"

Tang Jing held a potato in her hand, showing it to everyone.

"Potato seeds?" Zhu Hao was puzzled.

"Haha... Can you stop kidding? Potatoes are grown from potatoes," Wei Dalei knew more about this.

"What? Potatoes themselves are seeds?"

"This really confuses me too. Potatoes are roots, right..." Old Wei, who had almost never paid attention during classes, suddenly became tongue-tied.

"They should be stems, tubers..." Chang Junyan scratched his head.

"Can stems be used for planting?"

"Hey, although biology is not in the scope of the college entrance examination, you don't have to be like this. We've learned about this during class," Du Jiajia rebuked the others sorrowfully.

"Oh, then please explain."

"I've forgotten too..."

"..."

The college entrance examination in Shangshi City is different from elsewhere. Apart from the three main subjects, candidates can choose three additional subjects from Politics, History, Geography, Biology, Physics, and Chemistry, with no distinction between arts and science streams.

Biology is probably the most unpopular among the six subjects, and even Du Jiajia, who chose biology, didn't invest much effort into it.

A few mediocre students were discussing the topic with enthusiasm, while Chen Mu and the others were too embarrassed to associate themselves with them.

In the end, it was Dong Junwei who spoke up, "Potatoes belong to the Solanaceae family of plants. They can indeed flower and produce seeds, but generally, we don't use potato seeds for planting. Instead, we let potatoes sprout first and then bury them directly in the soil."

"Just plant a whole potato like that?" Zhu Hao was puzzled.

"This... although I've only read about it in books, Dong Junwei, who has set foot in the fields, was momentarily speechless."

Tang Jing chuckled and said, "Considering the cost, usually they would cut it into pieces before planting."

"Oh..."

Suddenly, everyone realized something.

"Are you saying we can grow vegetables ourselves?"

"While we don't know if shrinking will affect cultivation, it's indeed a necessary idea to try," Tang Jing said.

"If it really works, does that mean we won't have to worry about vegetables in the future?"

Before this, Chen Mu and the others had discussed this issue.

Compared to meat, the problem of vegetables and grains might be more severe.

Although they could obtain a fair amount of edible plant-based food through gathering, there were two significant issues.

First, the taste of the edible plants found nearby was far inferior to regular vegetables. The fact that humans had selected only certain plants as food during their long history indicated that the rest were either inedible or not tasty.

Second, gathering, like hunting, was ultimately not a stable food source, and it was even more dangerous and challenging.

Moreover, fresh fruits were almost impossible to obtain at present.

There were a few peach trees in the school, but they were for ornamental purposes. The fruit they bore was small, not very sweet, and difficult to harvest.

Tang Jing threw the potato back onto the ground and said, "At the moment, cultivating our own food seems like a good direction, but there are still many problems to solve."

"What problems?"

"First, where do we plant them?"

"Uh..."

"If we randomly find a place outside to plant, not only will it be noticed by others, but with such small plants, they'll probably get washed away by the first rain."

"Then, why not plant them at home? There's actually enough space here, and if needed, we can clear out a layer of shelves," Du Jiajia was the most enthusiastic about this idea.

"It seems there's no other way." Tang Jing nodded.

"Shall we start then?"

"It's not that simple." Tang Jing smiled, "There are still many issues to consider. First, we need to bring in the soil, and then we have to plan everything regarding sunlight, watering, fertilizing, pollination... We need a comprehensive plan before we can implement it. Besides, it's already past the planting season for this month. If we want to force it, we'll need to build a greenhouse..."

The people present had a limited understanding of agriculture, and even less so about industry. After Tang Jing finished explaining, they suddenly felt like farming wasn't feasible anymore.

Tang Jing comforted them with a smile, "It's alright. We can take it step by step, and we'll succeed sooner or later."

Dong Junwei also added, "What we're doing, in a broader sense, is a revolution in agriculture for all of humanity. Difficulties are normal, but once we succeed, undoubtedly, we will usher in a new era!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Wei Dalei suddenly started applauding.

In previous meetings, Dong Junwei's closing remarks were often used as the conclusion. As a senior figure at Qiming, Wei Dalei rarely paid much attention during meetings and often spaced out. To prevent any negative impact, Chen Mu gave him an idea: as long as Dong Junwei concluded a particular segment, he should quickly start clapping, which was usually spot on.

So, Wei Dalei increasingly resembled a cheerleader in a variety show. Although he had no idea what was being said, he could always sensitively grasp the atmosphere and lead the applause.

This time was no exception.

When everyone saw him clapping, they naturally joined in.

Due to the habit of attending meetings, the applause from the crowd was rhythmic, and it stopped almost uniformly.

However, after the applause ceased, a faint solitary clapping sound was heard from the back.

Clearly, it was unexpected for everyone that the applause suddenly stopped.

Everyone was stunned and turned around.

They saw a thin girl named Gu Yinglang, who didn't know when, had climbed back into the iron cage, sitting on the ground, and clapping along with everyone else.

Her face remained calm, seemingly not particularly affected by Dong Junwei's words. She was merely following the others' lead and clapping along.

However, as everyone's gaze focused on her, Gu Yinglang's hands suddenly froze in mid-air. After a moment, she awkwardly lowered them down.

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