Su Xiaotian was unaware that Song Lingling had witnessed her disembarking from the Dong family's car, nor did she know that Song Lingling had conjured up many scenarios in her mind.
She continued to attend classes diligently. However, at noon, she suddenly received a notification that someone was looking for her.
Who would be looking for her at this hour?
Su Xiaotian went to the school gate with a sense of bewilderment.
Seeing Su Xiaotian heading to the school gate again, Song Lingling's mind immediately went back to her morning speculations. She felt that Su Xiaotian must have done something improper.
She then confided her suspicions to her best friend, Liu Xiaohong.
Ever since Song Lingling had reported Su Xiaotian last time, Liu Xiaohong was now afraid of Song Lingling.
Hearing her speak, Liu Xiaohong wanted to offer some advice but ultimately said nothing, fearing she might offend Song Lingling.
Song Lingling felt a bit displeased with Liu Xiaohong's reaction.
This Liu Xiaohong was becoming increasingly unreliable.
She turned and spoke to others about what she had seen that morning, subtly guiding the conversation towards her own speculations.
Upon reaching the main entrance, Su Xiaotian saw Su Xiaomei and Su Sangong.
She was startled. Her older brother and sister coming together, could something have happened at home?
"Third Brother, Sister Xiaomei, why have you come?" Su Xiaotian hurried forward to ask.
"Xiaotian, my father has already informed your school. He wants you to accompany us to the Agricultural University today."
To the Agricultural University?
Su Xiaotian was confused. What was so urgent that she had to go to the Agricultural University right now?
But since she had already gotten permission to leave, Su Xiaotian left with the two of them.
By the time classes resumed in the afternoon, Song Lingling had not seen Su Xiaotian return to the classroom.
A triumphant smile spread across her face.
Su Xiaoba and Su Xiaojiu, the two brothers, found Song Lingling's frequent glances strange.
How long had it been since Song Lingling was beaten? Why was she restless again?
But there were people like this everywhere.
Even in the Red Heart Brigade, where the folk customs were simple, weren't there people like this?
Therefore, the two did not pay much attention to Song Lingling's peculiar gaze.
Song Lingling, on the other hand, escalated her efforts, spreading gossip among the girls in the class.
Meanwhile, Su Xiaotian was in the experimental field at the Agricultural University, listening to Shen Zizhen explain the problem they were facing.
"Xiaotian, this is the situation. We've reached a stalemate. Can you provide us with a new direction?"
While placing hope in a child seemed excessive, it was their last resort.
Perhaps Xiaotian, with her extensive reading, could find a solution.
Shen Zizhen had not forgotten the years they spent in the experimental fields with Su Xiaotian at the Red Heart Brigade. Every argument Su Xiaotian had made had hit the nail on the head.
He had always hoped that Su Xiaotian would pursue agriculture and seed cultivation with him, but he also knew that Su Xiaotian would likely not enter this field in the future.
"Uncle Shen, I need to think carefully about the problem you've mentioned," Su Xiaotian said. She recalled reading something related to this in a book.
However, the system library had a fatal flaw: once a book was returned after reading, it could never be found again.
The books available in the system library were random, and recently, Su Xiaotian had not drawn any books related to agriculture.
"Alright, what kind of information do you need from our side?" Shen Zizhen asked.
He trusted Su Xiaotian completely, but the people around him might not.
Shen Zizhen's team currently had five members.
Besides Shen Zizhen himself, there were Su Sangong and Su Xiaomei. Additionally, there were two young men, both university students from the past two years, who had been working with Shen Zizhen on seed cultivation since they arrived at the school.
These were students Shen Zizhen had identified as talented, and he intended to nurture them diligently so they could become independent in the future.
In daily life, the students performed well and were respectful of Shen Zizhen.
When they heard that Shen Zizhen was going to invite outside help, they had expected him to invite a prominent figure.
Because of this, the two young men had been excited for a while, seeing it as a rare opportunity to admire a master.
They even had objections when Shen Zizhen arranged for Su Sangong and Su Xiaomei to invite someone, thinking Shen Zizhen was being biased.
Who would have thought that Shen Zizhen would invite such a green and inexperienced child, and a young girl at that? This wounded their male pride and was unacceptable.
It was one thing for Su Xiaomei, a girl, to be involved in such an important project, but she was Shen Zizhen's own daughter.
However, inviting a mere girl now, what was that supposed to mean?
The two exchanged glances, their faces filled with disdain.
At that moment, they even began to have reservations about Shen Zizhen, thinking he was playing with the project.
"Teacher Shen, can I see your research data from this period?" Su Xiaotian asked after a moment's thought.
Shen Zizhen readily agreed.
"Sangong, go get our observational data from this period. Xiaomei, bring my notebook," Shen Zizhen quickly instructed.
"Teacher, can this little girl even understand it? Besides, that's our hard work. How can we let an outsider see it?" one of the young men couldn't help but question.
Shen Zizhen looked at the young man and said, "Gao Jun, Xiaotian was one of the early researchers with me on seed cultivation. We studied this topic years ago."
However, back then, they were still in the Red Heart Brigade, and their research was done secretly, without the current favorable conditions. The data they could record back then was not as detailed.
The young man named Gao Jun glanced at Su Xiaotian with disbelief after hearing this.
Who was he trying to fool?
A girl around ten years old, and years ago?
Years ago, this girl was probably still drinking milk.
"Teacher, you can't do this!" Gao Jun insisted on his opinion.
"Gao Jun, you've been with me for several months. Is this how you see me?"
Even the gentle Shen Zizhen's expression turned cold seeing the student's agitated state.
This student had talent, but he was a bit impatient. Shen Zizhen had initially thought that by keeping him by his side for a few years, his personality would surely be tempered.
But now, it seemed the child was still too restless.
For the first time, he doubted his own judgment.
Gao Jun tugged at the young man beside him, "Yuan Yang, say something. Isn't that right?"
The man named Yuan Yang hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Teacher, if you were to find someone with more experience to look at our research data, we wouldn't have any objections. But this young girl is too young!"
He also didn't believe that such a young girl could possess any real skills.
He wondered why Teacher Shen couldn't distinguish between personal matters and professional ones.
Su Sangong watched from the side.