The Tongjiang River rushes down from the distant plateau, weaving through rugged mountains and steep ridges with rapid currents and continuous dangerous shoals before it arrives at Qingyun Town. Only after plunging down at the Jiaolong Gorge, ten miles west of Qingyun, does it gradually become gentle and continue its journey towards the eastern ocean.

The Little Tongjiang flows from south to north and joins the Tongjiang at Qingyun, naturally making the junction an important hub for water and land transportation, which once played a significant role in history. However, times have changed, and the Tongjiang's shipping capacity during the flood season is only about a thousand tons, which does not offer much advantage in transportation costs. Coupled with the successive completion and opening of the secondary roads, highways, and electrified railways on the north bank, the water transport on the Tongjiang has gradually declined, leaving only these barges ferrying across the river.

The ferry fare is one yuan, plus fifty cents for a bicycle. These barges rely on the meager earnings from the villagers to make a living, which is not easy. Occasionally, if there are cars or agricultural machinery crossing the river, it counts as a big deal.

Because it mostly passes through uninhabited primeval forests upstream and suffers from no industrial pollution, the Tongjiang is still clear today, with its azure waters resembling a blue sapphire. Due to the relatively flat riverbed, the Tongjiang is not very deep near Qingyun, even in the middle of the river, it is only about five or six meters deep.

During the flood season, the river surface of the Tongjiang is quite wide, reaching several hundred meters. The barge, puffing out black smoke and howling for several minutes, finally lurched and docked at the north bank pier.

Liu Rui did not rush to get off the boat with the villagers but was the last one to push his bicycle up the steep concrete slope onto the river embankment along the gangplank.

There were still two kilometers between the river embankment and the secondary road leading to the county town, and the road conditions were slightly better than those from Qingyun to Shangliang Village. The flat gravel road indeed allowed Liu Rui to speed up quite a bit. Upon reaching the secondary road, the route was filled with farmers carrying vegetables, corn, and other agricultural products. Today was the market day in the county town, and everyone was rushing into the city to sell their goods. With quite a few experiences in selling vegetables, Liu Rui rode along the secondary road for six or seven kilometers, and then skillfully made his way through the traffic and crowds to the market located in the east of the city. Before nine o'clock in the morning, it was the busiest time at the market. Liu Rui wasn't fazed; he found the market administrator and rented a temporary motorized stall for five yuan. Although setting up a stall on the roadside outside the market didn't cost money, it was common to encounter urban management sweeps, often causing chaos and turmoil. Besides, without any shelter, the August sun was scorching hot, and the vegetables would completely wilt after being exposed to the sun for just ten minutes, making it impossible to sell them at a good price. After some calculations in his mind, Liu Rui felt that the five yuan was well worth it, so he wasn't so stingy anymore. It was only after Liu Rui laid out the vegetables from the truck bed onto the stall that he immediately attracted quite a few aunties nearby who were picking vegetables. Perhaps due to the miraculous effects of the spatial spring water, Liu Rui's vegetables remained fresh and juicy even without being watered, making a deep impression on anyone who saw them. "Young man, are these tomatoes so big because you've put something in them?" an middle-aged auntie asked, holding a basket and picking up a tomato. "How could that be?"

“These vegetables are all grown by our family, and we only sell them when we have more than we can eat,” Liu Rui said with a smile. “If you don’t believe me, I’ll eat one raw right now to show you!” Since he was tired from cycling and his throat was on fire, Liu Rui simply picked up a tomato, wiped it with his sleeve, and took a crunchy bite. The juice splattered, carrying with it a faint sweetness that wafted through the air. Even in the polluted air of the market, this fragrance was as noticeable as fireflies on a dark night. Seeing Liu Rui enjoying the tomato with such relish, the auntie was also tempted. She picked one up and took a bite, and from then on, she was completely captivated. After just one bite of the tomato, she believed Liu Rui’s words. These tomatoes, with their pure taste, could indeed be found in the days when fertilizers and pesticides were not yet rampant two or three decades ago. With the advancement of technology, the yield of agricultural products has increased, but their flavor has declined. She hadn’t tasted such delicious tomatoes in many years, and she had no doubt that Liu Rui’s claim that they were grown with homemade fertilizer was true. “Give me two pounds of tomatoes, and I also want this cucumber and water spinach!”

The auntie picked out several kinds of vegetables in a row, filling her basket to the brim, and even weighed half of the eggs that Liu Rui had brought. The auntie's big shopping spree quickly drew the attention of the housewives she was familiar with. After hearing her introduction, everyone else also started to scramble to buy from Liu Rui's stall. Seeing the auntie diligently helping him promote his wares beside him, Liu Rui secretly thought that the tomato he had earlier hadn't been wasted after all. Although the crowd in front of his stall grew, Liu Rui wasn't at all flustered. With his excellent mental arithmetic, he could quickly weigh the vegetables and calculate the total in no time, efficiently handling the money and making change with precision and without any mistakes. In less than an hour, the more than a hundred pounds of vegetables Liu Rui had brought were sold out, a speed that even surprised him. Usually, it would take him an entire morning to sell just a few dozen pounds of vegetables, often dragging on and not always selling everything. This time, the housewives didn't haggle much; once they found what they liked, they bought it outright, their decisiveness surprising Liu Rui a bit.

Of course, as a promotional tactic, Liu Rui had given away quite a few free samples of tomatoes and cucumbers. After counting the more than one hundred yuan he had earned, Liu Rui packed up his things, hopped on his bike, and left the market, heading straight for the Agricultural Bureau. Ever since he obtained the Divine Farmer's Space yesterday, Liu Rui had been pondering how to make better use of it! Especially this morning, after discovering that the vegetables watered with the space's spring water grew vigorously and tasted even more delicious, all of this sparked Liu Rui's enthusiasm. Returning to the countryside to farm had become a settled matter, but how to quickly become wealthy had always been a question on Liu Rui's mind. His family was burdened with heavy debts, his younger brother and sister's school expenses were increasing year by year, and his parents' medical bills seemed like a bottomless pit—all of this pressed down on Liu Rui heavily. Although he always wore a smile, his heart still bore considerable pressure. Obtaining the Divine Farmer's Space seemed to open a window in front of Liu Rui. The space had light, water, and air, all of which were very suitable for plant growth. Could he possibly grow some crops inside the space? This time he came to the city, Liu Rui planned to buy some seeds and try planting them in the space. If crops could be grown in the space, it would be like having an extra piece of land, which could hopefully increase his income a bit. Given the miraculous effects of the space's spring water, the crops grown on the black soil should not be too far off in quality. Liu Rui was very looking forward to planting crops in the Divine Farmer's Space!