Ch 106: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

The “extremely frail” Mu Xing was urged by the whole family to go rest. The all-purpose butler robot even came over to perform a simple scan and checkup, concluding that Mu Xing had no real health problems—just weak, needing more rest, and forbidden from exertion.

Rest well, avoid strain. Which of course meant he couldn’t handle the harsh climate.

After the three coaxed Mu Xing to “sleep,” they went to the hall to discuss serious matters.

“We can’t borrow money for the time being, so we have to think of our own solution,” Mu Rongrong said.

Mu Yue was already counting on her fingers how much her dresses and handbags could sell for. Hearing this, she said: “We can probably manage by selling some things.”

“But that’s only a temporary fix. Sooner or later, everything will be sold out,” Lan Xi disagreed. “And we don’t know how long we’ll be staying here.”

“Tomorrow, let’s all go out and see if we can find suitable work,” Mu Rongrong suggested.

Lan Xi and Mu Yue nodded gravely.

The next day, Mu Rongrong told Mu Xing to stay home and rest: “Mom, Dad, and your sister have some things to do outside. Xingxing, don’t run around. The butler will prepare lunch for you.”

Mu Xing obediently nodded.

He watched the three leave, then sat on the swing in the yard and opened the star-net.

Mu Xing didn’t place his hopes on those three who had never worked a day in their lives. Translated on Hololo novels. He browsed the star-net to see if there was anything he could do to earn money.

Unfortunately, after searching through many listings, he found that with artificial intelligence so advanced now, most basic jobs had already been replaced—such as tutoring children and checking homework.

Mu Xing thought about himself and the other three of the Mu family, sighed.

He kept scrolling, when suddenly a headline popped up on the front page:

#Huading Galaxy’s Miracle Hand, Fu Yunrong, Creates Another Wonder! Successfully Cultivates a Blue Rose#

Clicking it opened a shared holographic video.

A rose was carefully nurtured in a greenhouse, two buds half-open, their color elegant and mysterious, truly beautiful.

But what followed confused Mu Xing.

The blue rose in the video had been bought by the immensely wealthy Bai family of Huading Galaxy—for nearly ten million credits.

Mu Xing: ???

He scrolled down to the comments. To his surprise, no one thought the price was strange. Instead, they were full of envy:

【Such a beautiful flower, I really want to see it in person.】
【Being rich is so nice. Even if I can’t afford a top-grade blue rose like this, someday when I strike it rich, I should at least be able to buy an ordinary flower for tens of thousands, right?】

Mu Xing read in puzzlement for a while, making sure they really were talking about credits.

Flowers… were this valuable?

He belatedly realized—despite how extravagantly his parents lived, the only flowers at home were a few unimpressive ones in a small vase on the dining table, which the butler robot diligently refreshed with water and nutrient solution every day.

The huge villa courtyard only had a lawn, some trees, and a vine.

No flowers.

Searching his original body’s memories, sure enough—even in the Mu family’s grand estate on Ice-Blue’s main star, flowers were rare. Each one was carefully cultivated in a greenhouse.

Before, Mu Xing had only focused on memories important to the original body, so he hadn’t noticed this detail.

In this world, flowers were extremely scarce.

He thought of the climbing rose vine in their yard that had spread across half the fence, and realized he should be more precise: in this world, plants did not like to bloom.

No blooms, therefore few flowers.

With rarity came value, making flowers extraordinarily expensive.

Mu Xing turned his head, looking at the greenery in the yard, faintly sensing he might have found a business opportunity.

He quickly searched the star-net for reasons why plants here didn’t bloom.

Nothing.

Biologists had been studying the phenomenon for years, but they discovered no issues with climate, no differences in plant species compared to ancient times, and no problems with cultivation methods.

Plants simply refused to bloom.

No blossoms meant no fruit.

The fruits sold on the market nowadays were mostly artificial.

With current technology, people could replicate fruits almost perfectly—the appearance, taste, even nutritional content identical to natural ones.

Of course, they were expensive, far beyond what ordinary people could afford.

If fruits could be artificially made, then flowers should be even easier, right?

Even back in the low-tech modern world Mu Xing had once reincarnated into, there had been all kinds of realistic fake flowers.

Now too, artificial flowers existed.

But for some reason, despite a technology powerful enough to build starships capable of crossing galaxies, not a single real flower could be replicated.

Mu Xing pulled up countless flower images online. At first glance, there was nothing wrong—lifelike in every way, even with fragrance.

But the instant one looked, the eye knew: fake, man-made.

They could never compare to true blossoms.

That was why real flowers were so valuable—because to cultivate one that bloomed required enormous effort, resources, and fortune.

And it depended on the person.

That Fu Yunrong in the news had become the most famous master cultivator of the present age.

…

After an entire afternoon of research, Mu Xing’s thoughts inevitably began drifting toward less scientific explanations.

If climate, soil, and techniques weren’t the problem, yet flowers wouldn’t bloom…

In such an advanced technological age, where even severed limbs could be repaired and regrown, still they could not reproduce a single flower.
In such an advanced technological age, where even severed limbs could be repaired and regrown, still they could not reproduce a single flower.

There might be some hidden mystery in this.

But when he had just arrived yesterday, he already noticed—this world had no spiritual energy.

Mu Xing thought for a moment, then closed his eyes, letting his divine sense slowly spread out.

From his room, past the window, past the house, out into the endless yellow sand, gray skies, gray-covered roads, two rows of withered plants at the roadside… farther out, a small city…

Nothing.

Disappointed, Mu Xing pulled back his divine sense and opened his eyes.

Yet at the very instant his divine sense returned to his body, the leaves of the tall climbing rose in the courtyard gave the faintest tremble.

Extremely slight—
but Mu Xing noticed.

He quickly stood and walked over to the rose, probing again with his divine sense.

Empty. Nothing.

At that moment, the gate opened, and Mu Rongrong and the others returned, their faces a little weary.

Seeing Mu Xing, Mu Rongrong asked first: “Xingxing, did you eat lunch? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere today?”

She was worried—now that the family had no money for medicine, if Xingxing felt unwell, it would be a huge problem.

Mu Xing shook his head: “I’m fine. I ate. Thank you, Mom.”

The three of them breathed a sigh of relief and sat down at the table.

“Sigh.” Lan Xi was the first to sigh. “In all the nearby towns, I couldn’t find a single student who wants to learn dance.”

Mu Xing softly said: “This is Red Moon Star, after all.”

A border world, a place of exile—anyone with ambition or ability had already left.

The ones who remained were the struggling poor, still fighting for food and shelter. Who had the time or money to study such things?

Mu Rongrong sighed as well: “I didn’t find any suitable jobs either.”

Mu Yue muttered: “I did find an assistant job, but it’s all errands and chores. They only pay fifteen hundred a month.”

Fifteen hundred—might as well kill her with exhaustion.

“Sigh!” The three sighed in unison.

Mu Xing wasn’t surprised by this outcome.

He had looked into Red Moon Star’s situation. Jobs here were scarce, and any that could be found were ones the pampered three of them couldn’t possibly manage.

“Let’s go out again tomorrow,” Mu Rongrong said.

As the butler robot went to prepare dinner, Mu Rongrong suddenly called out: “Ami.”

The butler Ami turned back, its round head lighting up in the eyes: “What are your instructions, Master?”

Mu Rongrong hesitated, then said: “Prepare fewer dishes. From now on, three dishes and one soup per meal will do.”

Ami’s eyes flashed as though calculating, then replied: “Given the current economic situation, I recommend two dishes and one soup for the family.”

Mu Rongrong: “…”

She refused Ami’s suggestion: “The kids are still growing. How can that be enough?”

After Ami left, she looked somewhat embarrassedly at Mu Yue and Mu Xing: “Mom knows you’ve never suffered like this before, but we…” really have no money.

Normally, Mu Yue would have whined like a spoiled child, but after seeing the city today—earning just over a thousand a month, seeing adults and children in ragged clothes, and small vendors eating a single bun under the blazing sun—

She quickly said: “It’s not suffering. I wanted to lose weight anyway. This is enough.”

Mu Xing tilted his head, showing his usual obedient smile: “I couldn’t eat much anyway.”

Relieved at her children’s thoughtfulness, Mu Rongrong felt comforted, yet also heartbroken—resenting, for the first time in her life, her own uselessness that had dragged her children into hardship.

The family finished dinner together. At the scheduled time, Ami went to water the lawn and roses in the courtyard.

Mu Xing stopped it: “Ami, let me water the roses.”

Everyone turned to look at him.

Mu Xing explained seriously: “Didn’t the doctor suggest I should move around a little? I thought, after dinner, if I have nothing to do, watering flowers would be good.”

Lan Xi found that reasonable and told Ami: “Get Xingxing a smaller watering can. Don’t let him tire himself out.”

Mu Xing looked at the not-very-large watering can: “…”

Fine. That’s fatherly love, I guess.

Sure enough, Ami obediently swapped it for a can barely bigger than a drinking cup.

Carrying the tiny watering can, Mu Xing walked to the rose vine and gently patted its leaves like it was a child: “Little rose, hurry up and bloom, won’t you? If you do, you’ll be worth a fortune. Then I can sell you, and our family won’t have to worry about money anymore.”

“Xingxing, what are you saying?” Mu Yue noticed his lips moving and asked curiously.

Mu Xing turned back with a smile: “I’m bonding with it, negotiating. Maybe if it gets familiar with me, it’ll bloom someday.”

Mu Yue: ?

She laughed: Xingxing really was naive. How could this thing possibly bloom?

But she couldn’t bear to discourage him, so she said with genuine encouragement: “Then you make sure to negotiate well. When it blooms, give your sister a flower, okay?”

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