Part 2
In the end, at Zefaer’s insistence, Zhu Ran signed a contract with him: Party A, Zhu Ran, employed Party B, Z, as an assistant for the “Zhu’s Shadow and Fragrance” shop.
During the employment period, Party B would assist in completing the planning, operation, and basic maintenance of the shop. Party B would test products for Party A and actively provide feedback, with a frequency of at least three times a week. The term of employment was one month, and as Party A, Zhu Ran only had to pay Z a monthly wage of one starcoin.
Zhu Ran glanced at Z’s signature. It was a very forceful “Z.S.,” followed by a complex seal that Zhu Ran didn’t understand.
If someone in a high position in the Interstellar were here, they would certainly recognize this seal as the mark of the Interstellar’s highest ruler. Only one person in the entire Interstellar could use this seal.
However, it was clear that Zhu Ran, who was still hazy on basic interstellar knowledge, had no impression whatsoever of this seal that very few people had ever seen.
With the contract signed, Z officially became Zhu Ran’s assistant. But since Z’s injuries hadn’t healed yet, Zhu Ran agreed with him to start work tomorrow. In the meantime, he planned to ask Huinai for some professional equipment to monitor the state of Z’s spiritual sea.
Zhu Ran went to the balcony. Under his arrangement, it had completely transformed into a mini garden. Natural plants occupied more than half the space—some were in full bloom, while others were fresh divisions, brimming with beautiful vitality and a calming fragrance.
In front of the floor-to-ceiling glass covered in red and black vines sat a lounge chair. A blanket lay on the chair, retaining a faint, lingering scent. This was where Zhu Ran took his daily nap. Every afternoon, the vines would diligently shade Zhu Ran from the sun—specifically, only blocking the bright light shining on his face. This allowed him to sleep longer.
Beside the lounge chair, two pots of synthetic plants sat quietly. A coffee table was placed between them, holding a pot of freshly brewed daisy tea. This sun-drenched corner had been arranged by Zhu Ran to be full of life, with traces of his daily routine everywhere.
Zhu Ran took a sip of daisy tea and first replied to Mu Qingzhou’s message about wanting to visit: [You’re welcome to come over and hang out.]
This was the first time since arriving in the Interstellar that someone had expressed a desire to visit him. The two had exchanged ID cards, so Zhu Ran knew a bit about Mu Qingzhou and felt very welcoming toward his arrival.
After replying to the message, Zhu Ran set about making lavender essential oil. He brought two pots of lavender before him and expanded his spiritual power to envelop them.
The soft, peaceful spiritual power touched the lavender and began extracting the aromatic factors from its cells. With a cycle of spiritual interaction, the original lavender scent grew fainter, while the liquid enveloped by Zhu Ran’s spiritual power gradually became saturated with fragrance.
Sensing that the extraction was nearly complete, Zhu Ran controlled his spiritual power to pour the liquid extracted from the lavender into dark glass bottles. This liquid was lavender essential oil.
With the help of his ability, he extracted a total of half a bottle—roughly 8ml—of pure essential oil from the two lavender plants. Generally speaking, extracting 10ml of essential oil requires about 2 to 2.5kg of lavender, so one could imagine how high the yield was from just two plants.
The lavender extracted by Zhu Ran didn’t wither; it just looked a bit drained of spirit. With another night of proper cultivation, these lavender plants would be ready for further extraction tomorrow.
“Thanks for your hard work~” Zhu Ran kissed the two wilted plants and added spiritual power water to them before putting them back in the sun. The purple lavender shook slightly, and its tips curled—it was likely blushing from Zhu Ran’s kiss.
“Pure essential oil is irritating to the skin and needs to be diluted before it can be used on the body. However… pure oil can be dropped into an aromatherapy machine. Just a few drops can fill the whole room with fragrance, which is stronger than the scent emitted by the natural plants.”
Aromatherapy wasn’t popular in the Interstellar, nor were there aromatherapy machines. Zhu Ran bought a humidifier with a similar principle as a replacement and also purchased some carrier oils for dilution. Before the apocalypse, most carrier oils were extracted from plants, like coconut or grapeseed oil, but in the Interstellar, there were no plant-based carrier oils.
Zhu Ran found high-tech synthetic carrier oils used for skincare products and bought three grades: B-rank to S-rank, planning to see which quality was best for blending.
“It won’t be too late to list the essential oils after I finish the tests. I can use this chance to let Z try the effects of aromatherapy.”
“I hope the Interstellar people like aromatic products too.”
At the same time Zhu Ran finished making the pure lavender oil, the newly listed lavender plants had already reached their new homes.
Fang Ning, who had snatched the lavender using her hamster avatar in the holographic world, was waiting for the spatial corridor to open. Natural plants were said to have a soothing effect on the spiritual sea, and lavender was rumored to aid sleep.
Her father, Fang Hua, hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in years due to a hidden injury in his spiritual sea. No matter how many high-tech drugs they tried, they only achieved temporary pain relief; the agonizing pain would always return after a few hours. When the condition flared up, Fang Hua would stay awake all night. As a former soldier who should have been very resilient to pain, he would even roll on the floor in agony, his face pale and dripping with cold sweat.
To keep Fang Ning from worrying, Fang Hua would pretend to be at ease and try his best to hide it. If it hadn’t been for one night when Fang Ning went for a walk after a losing streak in her games and accidentally witnessed her father’s pain, she would have naively believed his injury was under control with medication.
“Dad is so silly…”
“No matter what, I must find a way to make him suffer less.”
Fang Ning had made that resolution then. And she had indeed found a way.
Now, with a crisp sound, Fang Ning’s spatial package arrived. She took the parcel out of the storage station and opened it. A bunch of vibrant natural plants bloomed before her eyes, their leaves soft and emerald green, their stems straight and upright. The tiny purple flowers at the tips were as small and dense as stars. They clustered together in an umbrella shape, looking like little hats worn by the stems from a distance—elegant and charming.
A tranquil, far-reaching fragrance radiated from them. Fang Ning could bet she had never smelled anything so pleasant—light and non-irritating, carrying a natural aura that couldn’t help but make one feel calm and peaceful. This scent alone left synthetic plants in the dust; they couldn’t compare at all.
“Natural plants really live up to their reputation.”
Fang Ning felt she hadn’t bought the wrong thing. She could sense a faint spiritual power attached to the lavender; this was likely done by the shop owner to protect the plants from environmental influences.
“This owner seems reliable. I’ll take it to Dad first!”
Fang Ning skipped over and placed the lavender on the nightstand in Fang Hua’s room. Fang Hua was currently lying in bed browsing his optical computer. Due to his illness, his originally strong body had become very thin; standing at 183cm, he didn’t even weigh 55kg. His cheeks were sunken, his complexion was greyish-blue, and heavy dark circles hung under his eyes. He looked like someone who had been ill for a long time.
Fang Hua shifted his attention to Fang Ning when she entered the room. Naturally, he also saw the natural plant with purple flowers she was holding.
“Ningning, is this… a natural plant?” Fang Hua was somewhat uncertain. Natural plants were extremely precious and almost monopolized by research institutes. Where did she get one?
“It is! I snatched it on Starbuy.” Fang Ning toyed with the lavender for a moment and moved it closer to where Fang Hua slept. “It’s said to help with sleep. I hope you can sleep well tonight.”
Fang Hua didn’t doubt her: “Natural plants can actually be sold on Starbuy now? Impressive!”
Fang Ning: “You bet! You can’t imagine how hard it is to buy things from this shop. Many artists online have regained their inspiration because of it. Everyone wants one!”
Fang Ning spoke animatedly about “Zhu’s Shadow and Fragrance.” Fang Hua watched her tenderly.
“It wasn’t easy for you to snag this, was it?”
Fang Ning was proud: “My clever self transformed into a little hamster. Before anyone else could react, I reached out and grabbed this lavender.”
“They say natural plants have the effect of soothing the spiritual sea. Today we’ll see if the rumors are true.”
“Alright, alright~”
“Then I’ll leave the lavender here. You have to tell me if it works! I’ll help you snag another one next time.”
After Fang Ning left, Fang Hua couldn’t stop smiling. He immediately took a photo of the lavender and sent it to his old veterans’ group chat.
[Fang Hua: My daughter got me some natural lavender. She’s so filial.]
[Wow, Old Fang is so lucky. I’m envious!] [Daughters are so thoughtful. Unlike that rebellious son of mine, he’s so arrogant.] [Isn’t this the natural plant sold in that ‘Zhu’s Shadow and Fragrance’ shop? Your daughter actually caught one?]
…
Because of the appearance of the natural lavender, messages in the veterans’ group flashed by rapidly, and the count soon hit 99+. Meanwhile, Fang Hua, who had sent the first message, vanished from the group.
Amidst the lingering light fragrance, Fang Hua’s spiritual sea, which often throbbed with pain, suddenly became quiet and peaceful, as if injected with a sedative. And Fang Hua, who had been suffering from insomnia due to the pain, actually fell asleep with his optical computer in hand within seconds.
“Dad…”
Fang Ning was about to enter the room to remind him to speak up if the lavender made him feel uncomfortable and not to hide it. Who knew that as soon as she entered, she would see him nodding off?
Fang Ning was shocked. She covered her wide-open mouth and used the smart home system to raise the room temperature before exiting the room in a state of excitement. Her father had actually fallen asleep that quickly?
Lavender really worked!
She was grateful to “Zhu’s Shadow and Fragrance,” grateful to the owner “Zhu,” and grateful to the largest interstellar forum and her online friends for letting her know about the shop. The nightmare that had plagued Fang Hua for so long was finally being driven away! Her father wouldn’t be tortured by pain for the time being.
This was wonderful… the clouds were parting to reveal the light; the sky was clear, and the sun was bright.
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