The sun gradually set.
“Is the accordion music still drifting from Sixth Star Street…?”
Zhou Qi rubbed his eyes, turned off the alarm that had gone off, and checked his phone; it was already 2:30 PM.
He got out of bed, drank a bottle of mineral water, and opened the Evolution Space.
Current Evolution Points: 18.42
“So many, over 10 Evolution Points increased in two hours,” Zhou Qi exclaimed in surprise, quickly opening the light screen to record and see what was happening.
“Ding, your Five-Tier Ant killed a cockroach. Congratulations, you’ve gained 0.5 Evolution Points.” …
Zhou Qi looked at the several notifications showing cockroaches being killed and immediately understood.
The breeding farm happened to be infested with cockroaches, and now he could thoroughly clean them out.
With that, Zhou Qi got up and walked outside. Looking at the tiny red dots displayed like radar on the light screen in his mind, he soon found these Five-Tier Ants under the feed room.
One Five-Tier Ant’s antennae twitched slightly, and it crawled towards the ground covered by feed bags on one side, just as a large, black-red bodied cockroach scurried out from inside.
The Five-Tier Ant’s thick legs jumped, pinning the cockroach beneath it. Its metallic-sheened mandibles clamped onto the cockroach’s abdomen.
Its Ant Strength talent activated, and with just one bite, it tore open the abdomen of the cockroach, which was more than one and a half times its size. Like a giant crocodile tearing prey, the cockroach was severed into two sections.
“This is too violent! Five-Tier Ants are already so strong,” Zhou Qi exclaimed in delight.
As expected of the Five-Tier Ants that cost 3.1 Evolution Points to advance!
Zhou Qi looked at the Evolution Points in his hand, which had now risen to 22.45, enough to fill the remaining 7 Five-Tier Ant slots.
He then had the Five-Tier Ants summon 7 larger soldier ants.
In the ant colony’s hierarchy, soldier ants are stronger in both size and aggressiveness compared to worker ants, making them suitable for enhancement.
“Ding, ding, ding~” sounds rang out continuously, one after another.
The 7 ants in Zhou Qi’s hand also grew steadily, and soon 7 broad-bean-sized Five-Tier Ants covered Zhou Qi’s entire palm.
“Ding, a certain type of your subordinate has reached Five-Tier with 10 units, reaching the limit of Level 1 Evolution Space. You can consume 10,000 Evolution Points to upgrade the Evolution Space to Level 2,” the light screen notification sounded.
“10,000 Evolution Points? How long will it take to accumulate that much!” Zhou Qi sighed.
He then put down the 7 newly enhanced Five-Tier Ants, urging them to quickly mobilize summoned ants to sweep and kill other insects.
— — — — — — — —
After giving orders to his subordinates, Zhou Qi went back into the breeding rooms.
There were six breeding rooms in total, almost side by side. To save on labor, Zhou Qi’s family basically only hired temporary workers when the market pigs were ready for sale.
Normally, he was responsible for feeding rooms 1-3, while his father, Zhou Haidong, was responsible for feeding rooms 4-6 and tasks like breeding boars.
His mother, Li Xiumei, used to be a veterinarian, and now she is responsible for vaccinations and common illnesses at the farm.
Zhou Qi also has a younger sister named Zhou Xia, who is three years younger than him and is currently a sophomore at a university in their provincial capital.
In the afternoon, the gradually yellowing sunlight streamed into the pig farm. Zhou Qi pushed a cart full of feed, the pungent smell mixing with the grunts of pigs.
He skillfully opened the feed trough and poured in the feed, his movements swift and precise.
The pigs instantly became restless, large and small pigs swarming forward, squeezing together.
Some rooted for the feed with their noses, devouring it; others were pushed aside, grunting anxiously, yet desperately trying to squeeze in.
Before long, the feed trough was empty. The pigs contentedly chewed on the remaining feed. Zhou Qi clapped his hands, looking at the full pigs with a satisfied smile on his face.
“If these pigs could turn into Evolution Points, then just one of them would be enough for me to upgrade to Level 2 Evolution Space.”
Zhou Qi mused, then shook his head. If Old Zhou knew his thoughts, he would definitely beat him to death.
In just over an hour, Zhou Qi had put all the feed into the troughs, completing this stage of work.
Then he went to find a shovel to start his least favorite job: shoveling manure.
As soon as he walked behind the house, he saw someone approaching. “It’s hot, you should rest before working. You didn’t come to eat the lunch I made for you,” a voice with a distinct Zhongyuan Province accent said. It was Zhou Qi’s mother, Li Xiumei.
“Mom, it was too hot at noon, I really couldn’t eat,” Zhou Qi said helplessly.
“You’re not a child anymore, and you still don’t have a partner. In a few days, I’ll ask your second aunt to find you a match, and then you…”
Before she could finish, Zhou Qi felt a headache coming on and quickly grabbed the shovel and ran away.
Only Li Xiumei was left, yelling in anger.
Zhou Qi was busy until 5:30 PM, finally finishing his work.
He then took a shower and prepared to go home for dinner.
As he walked out the main gate, intending to lock the outer gate of the farm, Zhou Haidong happened to arrive at the farm.
“No need to lock the gate, you go home and eat first. Your mother has already prepared dinner,” Zhou Haidong said.
“Alright, Dad, I’ll head back now,” Zhou Qi said, then strode towards home.
About ten meters ahead of the farm gate was a national highway. Zhou Qi waited for a green light and crossed.
After crossing the national highway, he arrived at Zhou Family Village. In the fields, wheat waves swayed with the wind, complementing the scattered red-brick tiled houses in the distance.
Under the large locust tree at the village entrance, several elderly people sat on small stools chatting, occasionally with children laughing and running by. Not far away, agricultural tricycles “putt-putted” through the village roads, loaded with farm produce, everywhere filled with a strong sense of life.
Zhou Qi greeted acquaintances along the way. Everyone in their village shared the surname Zhou; it was said their ancestors were all from the same lineage.
Zhou Qi’s family lived on the edge of the village in a common two-story house found in Zhongyuan Province.
“Hurry and wash your hands, it’s time to eat,” Li Xiumei said to Zhou Qi as soon as he arrived home.
Dinner was served at a small table set up in the courtyard.
The setting sun cast its afterglow on their small courtyard. Li Xiumei and Zhou Qi gathered around the table.
On the table, golden corn porridge steamed, next to a basket of freshly steamed white flour buns, plump and white. Their homemade pickled vegetables were cut into fine shreds, dotted with a few drops of sesame oil, refreshing and palate-cleansing.
There was also a large plate of stir-fried green beans and a plate of braised pork, fresh and delicious, cooked to perfection.
Zhou Qi picked up his porridge bowl, gently blew on it, took a big sip, his face full of satisfaction, then took a bite of a bun with the pickled vegetables.
He chatted with Li Xiumei about the latest village news, while praising his mother’s excellent cooking, saying she could open a braised meat shop.
Only after a round of flattery did he manage to dissuade Li Xiumei from bringing up the matchmaking topic.
After dinner, Zhou Qi called Zhou Haidong, suggesting he would stay at the pig farm to guard tonight. Zhou Haidong was relieved that Zhou Qi had finally grown up.