Chapter 36: Instant Transformation  

Jiang Chen rode his bicycle back to Jiangjia Village. His parents had already prepared the sprayers. Seeing that he had brought back the pesticide, they quickly mixed the solution and hurried together to the orchard on the hillside.

Autumn insects chirped all around the pear orchard. The green pears hanging on the trees were nearly ripe, on the verge of turning red. But on closer inspection, each large pear was crawling with bugs.

His mother gently touched a pear and sighed in distress, "Tsk tsk! This is going to hurt the harvest... Jiang Chen's father, if we'd caught the bugs a day earlier, would it have gotten this bad?"

His father's eyes were red with frustration. Hearing her complaint, he stomped his foot and shouted, "I was out picking corn yesterday! How would I know the bugs would go wild in just two days? All you ever do is blame me—what were you doing then?"

"Do I ever stop working? Feeding pigs, feeding sheep, cooking, laundry—inside and out I'm so busy my feet could touch the back of my head..."

"Enough! Arguing won't help. Let's just start spraying," Jiang Chen interrupted, trying to calm them. He put on a mask and bent down to lift the sprayer onto his back.

But his father grabbed it away. "You're still young and childless. This stuff's toxic—stay back."

Jiang Chen wanted to argue, but his mother pulled him aside by the sleeve. "Stay here at the edge of the orchard. This is upwind. You won't smell the chemicals here."

Then his parents, each with a sprayer, began treating the trees.

Their thin, hunched figures moved one after the other through the orchard, surrounded by a cloud of dense pesticide mist.

Jiang Chen was deeply moved. His parents had worked hard all their lives. It was time for them to rest.

He had graduated. It was his turn to support the family.

Thinking this, he clenched his fists and swung his arms.

One fist accidentally hit a pear hanging above.

He turned to look. A pear branch was bent low under the weight of its fruit, nearly snapping.

Jiang Chen reached out to support it, thinking to find some string to tie it up.

But the moment his hand touched the pear, a red glow flashed between his fingers!

Red light?

"Huh?" Jiang Chen blinked, thinking it was just a trick of the eyes.

But then he saw it clearly—something was off. The pear he had just touched had turned red!

Just moments ago, it had been green. Now it was crimson!

A rich, deep red, like a frost-kissed autumn fruit.

Not a hint of yellow or green—pure, blazing red like the evening sun.

It looked so tempting, he wanted to bite into it immediately.

"My touch turned it red!" Jiang Chen was stunned. He opened his palm to inspect it, his heart racing and his back breaking into a sweat.

Damn! Had his mystical "Divine Sense Hands" activated again?

He had used them in the VIP auction room to control the Guigu Qiankun Beads—and now, he could ripen fruit instantly?

If that was true… this orchard could earn them a fortune!

Just imagine—pears this red and perfect, unmatched in appearance, could sell for sky-high prices!

But he had to keep this a secret. Not even his parents could know. What if they let it slip to others?

He glanced ahead. His parents were still busy at the far end of the orchard, unaware of what had just happened.

He looked around—no one nearby.

Jiang Chen, acting like a thief, quickly picked the red pear.

He took a huge bite. Whoa! It was incredibly sweet!

Like canned pears—soft, juicy, and sweet as honey.

To verify, he reached out with his left hand and picked a green pear. One bite—and he instantly spat it out.

Ugh! Sour enough to hurt his teeth!

One green, one red. Jiang Chen held the pears in both hands, his heart pounding like a trapped rabbit.

So, his touch didn't just change the color—it made the pear sweeter too?

He swapped the pears between hands.

The miracle repeated: the green pear in his right hand turned red instantly!

He bit into it—sweet as sugar!

Just one touch, and the pear turned red and sweet!

Whoa. Looks like Jiang Chen's luck was finally turning.

Excited, he finished one pear and tucked the other away in his shirt before walking home like nothing had happened.

Now came the real problem—how to sell the red pears without being discovered?

In the past, his family sold pears through the town's fruit collection center. In bad harvest years, fruit vendors would even come to the village.

But that wouldn't work now. Such vivid red pears would be easily spotted. What if people came asking about the "cultivation technique"?

Worse, the county's agricultural bureau might investigate. Reporters could swarm in. Would he really want to end up like those so-called "supernatural people," studied like lab specimens?

No way.

He had to keep the secret of the red pears.

He needed a discreet customer—someone he could quietly trade with, make money without attracting attention.

Zhao Liang was the one to ask.

Jiang Chen called him.

"Hello? Zhao Liang, it's me, Jiang Chen."

"Hey, Jiang Chen! What new scheme are you up to today?" Zhao Liang's voice had its usual slick tone.

"I've got some special fruit and need your help finding a discreet buyer. Keep it low-key for now."

"Fruit? You're growing produce now? I thought you were doing medical work?"

"Don't ask. Just know it's got serious market potential—sweeter than any pear you've tasted. Can you set up a quiet little stall to test-sell a batch?"

"Haha! Sounds like you've got some rare goods. Sure, I'll arrange it. Jiangcheng Night Market sees tens of thousands daily. One of my guys has a family stall—I'll get you in."

"Great. Start with ten boxes. Don't mention the origin. No questions about the source. If trouble comes up, you deal with it."

"No problem. That's my specialty," Zhao Liang said, patting his chest.

After hanging up, Jiang Chen stood up and looked over the orchard, heavy with fruit.

The sun was setting, and the fragrance of pears floated on the evening breeze. He knew he might have just stumbled upon a new path to fortune.

But with opportunity came danger.

Sudden wealth draws many eyes.

He had to be careful.

He muttered to himself and glanced toward his parents still working in the distance, silently making a vow: poverty would no longer define him.

Just then, a flash appeared in his mind—

The system interface quietly popped up:

[Spiritual Fruit Maturation Path recorded. Would you like to initiate an independent project file?]

Without hesitation, Jiang Chen pressed "Yes."