The thought, once it appeared in his mind, took root and germinated uncontrollably, becoming clearer and more distinct.
Shiller, after all, had been Chinese in his previous life, and his love for the land was inherent; in fact, he truly knew how to farm. It's just that the situation between Gotham and New York previously did not allow him to showcase this skill.
Shiller recalled the time when he was a child at the research institute, the door to the rooftop was always locked, and the cleaning lady warned him not to go up there, making him wonder what was on top of the building.
Of course, he had many terrifying speculations, like there being some strange laboratory up there, or perhaps the spaceship of aliens.
So, one day, he followed the dean, who was carrying a hoe to open the door to the rooftop, and Shiller saw various plastic greenhouses and rows of ridges filled with vegetables on top. They did not want Shiller to go up for fear he would pluck the young plants.
Latter on, the dean noticed Shiller's interest in this mysterious plot of vegetables and would occasionally take him up there to teach him how to create furrows, set up greenhouses, sow seeds, fertilize, and water the plants.
At that time, Shiller still couldn't really do anything, but he remembered all these things, and later, when he became a professor at a university, he even practiced them at the agricultural college.
In reality, his farming skills were average among Chinese people, just good enough not to kill the plants, but over here, he counted as a semi-professional farmer, especially since mechanical farming in America became prevalent so early that even many professional farmers no longer knew how to plant by hand.
It's undeniable that the agricultural conditions in America are truly enviable. Shiller had only glanced at a farm on the East Coast suburbs once, where even standing atop a tractor, one could see the endless wheat sea.
Buying a farm also had a benefit: it wasn't a one-time deal. Although taxes had to be paid, the farm produced an output, and the money earned—though not making one extraordinarily wealthy—generally covered the taxes, and depending on the state policies, acquiring some poorly-managed farms could even be tax-exempt.
This type of high-society, sociable farm has been very popular in the recent years, categorized by low input and high output with additional industrial value.
The only complication was, after all, it involved primary industry labor, prone to problems; wealthy people typically leave the management entirely to the farm manager, whereas Shiller, if he didn't hire professionals, would have to spend a lot of time on farm operations.
Then Shiller thought, could he combine the sanatorium with the farm? As far as he knew, there were also many farms around the West Coast. They might not be as large as the ones in the middle region, but the climate and convenience were much better.
Thinking this, Shiller took out his phone and opened the map of California, then he discovered two farms for sale in the Moss Landing District; they were larger than he'd anticipated, only the prices were also much higher than those of farms in the middle region.
He looked closely at the map and found that one of the farms was not far from the famous 17-Mile Drive; even from the map, one could see the area's natural scenery was quite stunning.
California has exceptional natural conditions, ideal for various types of fruit trees to thrive, and with its long coastline and beautiful scenery, many of the farms here produce both offerings for agriculture and tourism—a tool for social networking.
Shiller noted down the sale contact number. After getting off the shuttle, he followed his memories to the place he used to stay, knocked on the door, but nobody responded. He thought it might still be unrented, so he checked the mailbox.
The invitation from Stark was indeed stuffed in there. He didn't immediately open it but put it in his coat pocket. After he returned to the shuttle, as soon as he opened the invitation, a burst of colored ribbons sprayed his face.
True to Stark, there had to be some trickery involved with his own invitation. Shiller looked closely and saw it indeed invited guests to go to a hotel in Los Angeles on the 5th, then they would all head to Hollywood to attend the wedding.
Normally, the two of them could have gotten married first and then held the complex wedding, but in reality, for both Stark and Pepper, even getting a marriage license was not simple; they had to each do an asset certification and sign a myriad of contracts, so it took until next month to become a legally married couple.
Shiller felt he could take the opportunity of attending the wedding to check out California, and if he really could find a suitable farm, transforming it into a sanatorium was also a good idea.
Additionally, he happened to have a group of energetic teenagers here. Building a villa might not interest them, but renovating a farm? They would probably get crazy over it!
After returning to the nursing home, it was just time for lunch. As expected, not one of the few who went out to enjoy themselves returned; they probably ate outside.
An expected yet logical visitor came to Arkham Sanatorium, and that was Stark with a child.
"You can take a look." He looked both bright and a bit worn at the same time, very much fitting the state of a loving, rookie father; bright because his daughter was indeed adorable, worn because she was really hard to take care of.
Shiller picked up Little Morgan, the newborn barely a month old, who really didn't show much. Still, Stark excitedly said beside him, "Look, her eyebrows and eyes look like me, her mouth and chin look like her mom, perfectly inheriting the best of both of us."
"I heard there was a little problem during the delivery."
"Oh, yes, because she is a lively little one. Just before she was about to be born, she flipped over in the womb, resulting in a somewhat incorrect fetal position, but luckily, it was safe in the end."
"How is Pepper recovering?"
"The family doctor you introduced is absolutely fantastic. Although that herbal soup is foul smelling, Pepper clearly feels good. I think it's the feeling of being taken care of meticulously that's uplifting her spirits."
Shiller held Little Morgan and rocked her when unexpectedly she cried again. Stark, almost with a reflex, grabbed the formula and bottle from under the stroller to make the formula for Little Morgan.
"Can't Pepper breastfeed?"
"Yes, I heard from the doctor that there seems to be a problem with her lactation system, the milk supply is simply too low. Fortunately, the formula these days is very good, and the doctor said there wasn't a problem during the last checkup."
Watching Stark mix the formula and test the temperature with practiced ease, Shiller knew that he must have been taking care of the child a lot lately. Indeed, Stark began speaking with pride, "Since birth, I have been the one feeding her at night. I think she will definitely call out 'Dad' first. What do you think?"
Shiller felt it was uncertain because the pronunciation of 'mom' is simpler, so most babies call out 'mom' first.
As soon as the bottle was put into her mouth, Little Morgan indeed stopped crying, and Shiller really saw a bit of Stark's shadow in this small face.
Having put the child back in the stroller, the baby, full after her meal, quickly grew sleepy. Shiller hummed a few bars of a lullaby, and she fell asleep with bubbles in her nose.
"That doesn't sound like the kind of lullaby Pepper sings," Stark said softly, then he hummed a few bars in a different tune from Shiller's.
"That's the Eastern version," Shiller said.
He stood up and handed the printed map to Stark, the two of them went to the window to discuss the feasibility of buying a farm.
Stark looked at the map and said, "I never thought you'd also be catching on to the trend. I heard that a lot of people have been investing in farms lately, but not many of them actually make money."
"How about combining a farm with a sanatorium?"
"The concept isn't bad. Many wealthy people in big cities like natural scenery but find managing a farm bothersome. If they could live at a farm sanatorium for a while, it would indeed add to their social capital. The question is, can you manage the farm well?"
"I've been considering that as well, maybe I need to hire a full-time manager."
At that moment, Ultron's voice suddenly appeared, "Gentlemen, is there a chance that I am the most omnipotent manager in the world?"
"You know how to manage a farm?"
"Not at the moment... OK, now I do."
"Then it's settled." Shiller weighed the map in his hand and said, "Next is the most important part, the site visit and bargaining. How much do you think would be a good deal?"
Stark thought for a moment. When pondering, he would subconsciously look left and right, but as he turned to the left, he froze.
He turned his head back, rubbed his eyes, and said to Shiller, "Am I hallucinating, or did I just see Little Morgan flying in the sky??"
Shiller turned his head and was also stunned. He turned back to Stark and said, "I don't think this is a hallucination; she seems to be truly flying."
Both of them immediately rushed over, and Shiller grabbed Little Morgan who had flown over two meters high, checked her, and found no issues – she was sound asleep.
"I feel magic power," Stark said. "She isn't under some kind of magic curse, is she?"
"I don't think so, wait a minute, could she have inherited your Magic Power?" Shiller asked.
"I don't have any Magic Power... you're not talking about the Magic Core, are you?"
Gently, Shiller placed Little Morgan back in the stroller and covered it. He whispered, "After all, you've been elevated to the Iron Demon God, and you're not entirely human anymore. The whole Soul Ignition is somewhat mystical, so it's not strange for Little Morgan to inherit the Iron Demon God's Magic Power."
"Good heavens," Stark said. "How am I going to explain this to Pepper? She might find it hard to accept that her daughter might have to be a superhero in the future."
"You have to help her see it in a bigger picture because without superpowers, she might still want to be a superhero in the future. Now that she has superpowers, at least she is a lot safer, right?"
Stark was silent; he pressed the knuckles of his fingers against his lips, murmuring, "Both of us just hope she can grow up safely."
"But you know that's unlikely. On one hand, she is your eldest daughter, and she is definitely going to inherit the Stark Group. On the other hand, almost all your friends are superheroes. Once she grows a bit and starts mingling in that circle, do you think she won't want to follow in your footsteps?"
At the mention of inheritance, Stark's eyes began to shine as if he was thinking of something wonderful, but soon he became somewhat dejected and said, "It's destined to be a difficult and dangerous path."
"But just because you don't let her be a superhero, does that mean she won't encounter difficulty and danger?" Shiller shook his head and said, "Life isn't easy for ordinary people either. Since she is bound to bear responsibilities, why not nurture her properly from a young age? That way she'll have an easier time in the future."
"I'll discuss it with Pepper, and, by the way, I haven't talked to you about the details of the wedding yet. Take a look at these parts for me and see if there's anything wrong..."