Lu Mingming felt some energy return to her spiritual sea after being confined to bed by Olannar for three days to recuperate.
Most notably, her body gradually improved.
Within the first few hours of waking, even walking two steps to the door caused her discomfort and arrhythmia. Now, she could walk around daily without feeling breathless.
"Here's today's medicine."
Olannar had stayed by Lu Mingming's bedside for three consecutive days, tending to her.
The medicine today was still decocted by him personally. A small wooden bowl contained about half a bowl of milky white liquid, smelling faintly fragrant. It was quite viscous to drink but not particularly bitter.
Olannar fed Lu Mingming spoonful by spoonful. During this time, the relationship between the two had eased considerably.
"How are you feeling?"
Olannar carefully wiped the medicine from the corner of Lu Mingming's mouth with a handkerchief.
Lu Mingming's face flushed. "Much better. Walking around is no problem. It was really uncomfortable a few days ago."
After speaking, she took a deep breath, then took the initiative to tug gently on Olannar's sleeve.
"Your care during this time... has been too much trouble. Thank you."
"N-no. Then I'll go call Lu Yan to take you for a stroll. I'm not very familiar with this area."
Olannar stood up stiffly, like a newly wound robot, and walked out, managing not to step on his own feet.
Once he was a distance away, he stood with the wooden basin, lost in thought, his mind suddenly clear.
Thinking of Lu Mingming's long-lost gentle demeanor, Olannar could barely suppress a pair of fluffy ears from sprouting from his head.
"I almost embarrassed myself in front of Mingming...!!!"
Olannar decisively dipped a towel into the cooled water in the basin and splashed it on his face for a calming effect.
Next time, he would definitely restrain himself.
...
Lu Mingming's gaze followed Olannar's figure until he disappeared. Not long after, Lu Yan gently knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Lu Mingming had changed her clothes and was standing, leaning on the wall with difficulty.
Lu Yan stood by, watching Lu Mingming's movements. Only when Lu Mingming showed no signs of distress did his tense expression ease.
"Someone, a certain Highness, mentioned that your body has improved a lot. It seems it's true."
Lu Yan was always one to hide his emotions. Lu Mingming couldn't tell what he was thinking, so she answered honestly:
"Yes, I can walk around the vicinity now."
"Let's go."
Lu Yan didn't refuse. The two of them left the small wooden house.
With Lu Yan, an old acquaintance from Blue Star, accompanying Lu Mingming, the Blue Star people they encountered along the way greeted them warmly.
Blue Star people were easy to identify. They wore rather old-fashioned animal skin clothing, tailored in a style borrowed from interstellar people.
Blue Star was indeed as the bald man had said, its technology was terrible, relying mainly on a chat system to establish basic relationships between people, with nothing else of note.
It was somewhat similar to a combination of Lu Mingming's hometown and a primitive society.
"It's all farmland around here. Blue Star people love farming."
Lu Yan walked with Lu Mingming along the small path.
Along the way, vast fields awaited tilling, and Blue Star people, with their calves bared, worked up a sweat.
Lu Mingming spotted some familiar and some completely new special crops.
"That mountain is entirely covered in tea plants," Lu Yan said, suddenly pointing in one direction.
Lu Mingming looked. The entire mountainside was lush green, arranged in orderly circular patterns like swirls of matcha-flavored Swiss rolls.
Even without getting close, she could almost smell the fragrance of tea.
"It's very magical. This is a planet that really likes to do things themselves. I think they are truly industrious," Lu Yan said, not hiding his astonishment and praise.
Lu Mingming nodded in admiration, a sense of joy rising from the bottom of her heart.
Not far away, a sturdy-looking woman was standing with her hands on her hips, conversing with someone.
She wore a unique chain on her forehead, inlaid with a gem in the center, indicating the woman's unique and noble status.
Seeing Lu Yan bringing a newcomer, the woman boldly raised her hand to greet them, "Is this the little guest who has been resting in the house all this time?"
The woman looked serious, but a smile softened her features, making her suddenly seem approachable.
Hearing her words, Lu Mingming felt no sense of distance from a stranger and a smile curved her lips.
"Hello, I am Lu Mingming."
"I know. You can call me Chieftain. I'm responsible for the basic work in this area. Speaking of which, my grandmother was someone who traded with Brother Lu Yan, so we're friends across generations."
Lu Mingming looked at Lu Yan in surprise. Was he that old?!
Seeing Lu Mingming's expression, the Chieftain knew she had misunderstood and waved her hands repeatedly.
"Blue Star people have shorter lifespans. You see me now, only a generation older than Brother Lu Yan, but I'm actually elderly."
The woman spoke frankly, without showing excessive fear of life and death.
"We have a lot of wild beasts here, and our food supply is not abundant, so a considerable number die from starvation, freezing, or being bitten by beasts each year. But fortunately, we have the protection of the Sea God, which greatly increases our living space."
The Chieftain clasped her hands together with the surrounding tribesmen as she mentioned the Sea God, expressing their reverence.
"I see."
Lu Mingming then asked.
"May I ask what Blue Star's main crops are?"
Chieftain: "Mainly some wheat and rice. However, the seed quality is poor, so it's very likely we'll have a failed harvest. What we produce annually isn't enough to feed all the people on Blue Star, so we basically rely on Brother Lu Yan's team for supplies every year. We were lucky to receive aid twice this year, so it looks like we'll have enough for winter."
The Chieftain carefully explained some things about Blue Star to Lu Mingming, giving her a general understanding of the living conditions, food, and clothing on Blue Star.
"Thank you for answering my questions. I'm considered a Blue Star person myself, so I feel a natural affinity for Blue Star."
Lu Mingming explained the reason for her concern in the end.
The Chieftain's eyes lit up. It was like meeting a fellow countryman, and more importantly, a fellow countryman who had connected with fashionable interstellar society.
"Perhaps, according to the rules, we should call you an ancestor!"
"Let's not."
Lu Mingming refused awkwardly, saying kindly, "That's too high a generation. Call me Mingming. If possible, I'd like to help you re-establish Blue Star step by step. I happen to know a bit about basic cultivation and have knowledge of food, so perhaps I can be of some help."
"Really? That would be wonderful."
The Chieftain bowed in thanks, her excitement genuine.
"Can I ask what Blue Star was like in the past? We've never had access to our history and can only vaguely understand from the oral traditions of our elders that Blue Star was different from now."
"Blue Star in the past..."
Lu Mingming pondered for a moment and then smiled, "It was a very powerful planet. If it had developed to this day, it would have successfully joined the Interstellar Alliance and secured a place."
After bidding farewell to the Chieftain, Lu Mingming began to focus on researching Blue Star's cultivation methods.
Meanwhile, under Olannar's supervision, she continued to drink her medicine daily, her body slowly recovering.
Blue Star's current situation was dire. There were no large-scale crop yields, and with the number of wild beasts exceeding humans, there was no opportunity to cultivate more land. Lu Mingming felt a headache coming on.
"It's a good thing I asked the Chieftain to send some crops yesterday, or it would be hard to get started."
Speaking of the Chieftain, she arrived.
"Mingming, I'm coming straight in!"
From outside the door, the Chieftain called out, then boldly pushed open the door. Behind her were several young followers, each struggling to carry a large bundle.
With a thud, the bundles were placed on the ground, making a heavy sound.
"This is everything we have on Blue Star. We've brought a little of everything. Take your time looking."
The Chieftain rubbed her hands excitedly and untied the knot of the first bundle.
Instantly, plump crops rolled out and settled quietly under Lu Mingming's bed.
Lu Mingming felt a sense of foreboding.
Before she could stop her, the Chieftain quickly untied the second, third, and fourth bundles... The entire room suddenly became an ocean of crops.
From sesame seeds to fruits as big as fists, it was truly overwhelming.