Chapter 23
The big parrot looked at Tang Yu'an in disbelief.
Seeing the young man looking at it with his eyes shining, it felt a chill on its butt and quickly shrank back to Lin Jue's head with an expression that said, "I don't know you, I don't know what you are talking about."
Lin Zhen tilted his head, and a big question mark appeared on his head.
Obviously, she had raised Amu for so long and had never been asked such a question.
Amu is a male parrot. Can he hatch eggs?
Lin Zhen touched his chin and recalled the bird couples he had observed before. It seemed that he had indeed seen a male bird incubating eggs, but why did the child ask this question?
"Hatching eggs?" She looked at the boy with a puzzled look on her face.
"Hmm, I have an idea..."
Tang Yu'an looked back at Zhou Qi, and when he nodded, he opened his backpack and pretended to take out an egg from it, but in fact he took it out from his personal storage.
This was one of the few fertilized eggs they had, so Tang Yu'an was extremely careful with his movements, fearing that it would fall to the ground and break.
When he took out the eggs, not only Lin Zhen, but even Old Li was attracted to see what he was going to do.
Lin Zhen stared at the egg in the boy's hand. It looked very fragile.
Most of the mutated creatures have the characteristics of gigantism, but a small number of them maintain their original normal size. Such mutated creatures often have extraordinary abilities.
She observed it and could tell that it was an avian egg, but she couldn't tell anything else.
"Is this the egg of some mutant creature?" Lin Zhen couldn't help but ask.
Then she heard the boy say, "Oh, it's not a mutant, it's just an ordinary egg."
"Ah? Ordinary eggs?" Lin Zhen was puzzled. "Then why do you want to hatch them?"
If this egg was given to Lin Zhen, she would probably choose to eat it directly.
Tang Yu'an said as a matter of course: "If the hatched chicken is a hen, after it grows up, there will be an endless supply of eggs to eat!"
Even without a rooster, hens will start laying eggs during the breeding season, one or two eggs a day, which can last for several months - of course, the frequency of laying eggs will decrease as they age.
"How many months can it last? One or two every day?" After hearing Tang Yu'an's explanation, Lin Zhen was stunned.
Tang Yu'an looked at Zhou Qi, and after receiving his affirmative look, he said with certainty, "Yes, that's it!"
This is the popular science knowledge that Tang Yu'an saw on the agricultural channel. He thought it was amazing and kept this knowledge point in mind.
Fortunately, he remembered it, and now he is using it, isn’t he?
Seeing the young man's solemn oath, Lin Zhen was obviously stunned. She had never raised chickens, and had never even eaten chicken -
There is a nest of mutant chickens in the center of the deserted city, but the chickens are very fierce when they get together, especially the roosters with big red combs, which are extremely powerful in combat, so she didn't dare to get too close, let alone observe their egg-laying patterns.
But chickens and birds are both poultry. She had never seen any bird lay eggs every day before. Generally, they would stop laying eggs and start hatching after two or three eggs in a nest.
Lin Zhen couldn't help but look at Old Li, trying to get an answer from him. The old man is knowledgeable and must know, right?
Old Li was also stunned.
Before the catastrophe, he was just an ordinary teenager living in the city. He only knew that eggs came from farms, but how could he know the patterns of hens laying eggs?
Could a hen lay eggs for such a long time? He tried hard to recall what he had learned in biology class.
However, that happened sixty or seventy years ago, and he could no longer recall it...
Old Li looked at the two young men, and seeing that they had a firm gaze without any evasion, he believed them a little. What's more, they should have come out of the fort, so it was not surprising that they had such knowledge.
"I'm not quite sure, but maybe it's true." Old Li said. After all, the farm can produce eggs continuously, which may really be related to the characteristics of the hens.
Lin Zhen looked at Tang Yu'an again, staring at the fragile egg in his hand, and marveled at it.
Eating one or two eggs every day can provide enough nutrition. Even if it only lasts for three or four months, it is very cost-effective to raise such a hen.
"There are such magical species in the world!" Lin Zhen exclaimed sincerely.
In fact, Tang Yu'an didn't say that if you want the hen to continue laying eggs, the most important thing is not to let it put together a complete clutch of eggs - he remembered it was about 10 eggs.
The reason seems to be related to the hen's vision.
When the hen sees that there are 10 eggs in the nest, it will start to incubate the eggs and naturally stop laying eggs.
But all this has to wait until the hen hatches. It’s a bit too early to talk about this now. And even if the chicks are hatched, they are not necessarily the hen.
Seeing that Lin Zhen looked at the egg in his hand without showing any greed and without any intention of snatching it away, Tang Yu'an felt relieved.
He still had some trust in Old Li. After all, they saved him, so he took out the blue crystal and gave it to them.
A person who repays a favor must not be a bad person.
However, Lin Zhen was different.
Tang Yu'an still remembered that Lin Zhen followed them when they left yesterday, so taking out an egg now could be considered a small test.
"So, now you want to give this egg to me and let Amu hatch it?" Lin Zhen asked.
Tang Yu'an nodded.
Lin Zhen thought for a moment and asked tentatively, "So, you plan to stay in the deserted city?"
Hatching eggs definitely takes time. Based on Lin Zhen's previous observations of poultry, even if everything goes smoothly, it will take at least a month, right? And it's not enough to just hatch the chicks.
It takes at least four or five months for a chick to grow into a hen, right? There's also the question of how to raise the chicks, and running around on the road is definitely not an option.
So if these two young men want to get a hen that lays eggs, they should stay in the deserted city for at least half a year?
"Well, I will stay here for a short period of time." Tang Yu'an nodded.
The grocery store is in the deserted city, and they can't leave too far away. They will have to deal with the residents here every day in the future. This cannot be hidden, so it's okay to tell her directly.
"So has Amu ever hatched eggs?" Tang Yu'an asked curiously.
"No, it's a male parrot and it hasn't found a wife yet." Lin Zhen shook his head.
The birds in the deserted city are all very fierce and have strong fighting ability, but Amu is a "weakling" eliminated by the flock of birds. He was picked up and raised by Lin Zhen. Perhaps it was the trauma of his childhood that made him very repulsive to the flock of birds.
Now that I have grown up, I am not willing to return to the bird flock. My relationship with the birds is very ordinary, let alone finding a wife.
Amu, who was huddled on Lin Zhen's shoulder, suddenly moved aside.
It looked at Lin Zhen, then at Tang Yu'an, and felt its butt getting colder and colder, so it flapped its wings and was about to fly away.
However, Lin Zhen had predicted its behavior and simply grabbed its feet and dragged it back, not giving it any chance to fly away.
"Amu, when the eggs hatch, you might have a wife."
Amu's eyes suddenly widened and the feathers on his head stood up instantly.
Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi, who were standing next to him, couldn't help but twitch their lips when they heard what Lin Zhen said.
Parrots and chickens...how can they be together!
"Amu is a bird! Amu is a bird!"
Amu flapped its wings, screamed continuously, and bit Lin Zhen's hand with its beak, looking like it would rather die than cooperate.
Seeing its intense reaction, Lin Zhen had no choice but to say to Tang Yu'an, "Wait a moment."
Then, she took Amu and temporarily left Old Li's house, and soon the sound of her and Amu talking came from outside.
"Amu, don't hatch the eggs!"
"Don't hatch the eggs!"
I don’t know how she communicated, but Amu’s angry voice gradually became quieter, and the rest of it was no longer audible.
Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi looked at each other, and finally turned their gaze to Old Li.
They decided to put the hatching of the eggs aside for now and wait until they finished today's trading task.
"Grandpa Li, is your wound still bleeding? Let us check you out." Tang Yu'an walked up to Old Li and said.
Old Li was startled and was about to shake his head when he heard another young man next to him say, "The bandage needs to be changed if it's dirty, otherwise it will easily cause infection."
The words of refusal came to his lips, but he swallowed them back.
Wound infection is very dangerous. In the absence of drugs, once infected, amputation is likely to be necessary. If amputation of one part doesn't work, you have to continue amputating...
In such a dangerous end times, this is almost the same as a direct death sentence.
In any case, Old Li didn't want to end up in that situation, so he really had to be careful these two days. So he didn't refuse again, but asked, "Do you still have bandages on your hands?"
"some."
Zhou Qi nodded, then took out a medical kit from his backpack, which contained bandages, medicine powder, scissors and other tools.
Of course, what he took out was an ordinary bandage - considering Old Li's recovery condition, it would be a waste to use a primary healing bandage on him.
Old Li looked at these clean and brand new medical drugs and finally said nothing more.
Zhou Qi did not mention the transaction immediately, but picked up a pair of scissors and directly cut the bandage on Old Li's wound.
The bleeding has stopped, but after applying the medicine powder yesterday, the wound turned black and formed a thick scab.
Although the recovery speed was considered very fast, it was not like Zhou Qi's, where the wound could be completely healed the next day without any scar.
Could it be that he was overthinking it and Old Li was not infected by the parasite?
Zhou Qi took out some alcohol, dipped a cotton ball in it, and carefully cleaned Old Li's wound. He then said casually, "Such a serious injury... You've recovered so quickly."
Old Li endured the stinging pain from the alcohol, shook his head, and sighed, "Not as good as when I was young..."
"Are you also a person with super powers?" Zhou Qi suddenly asked.
"A mutant?"
Old Li gave him a strange look, causing Zhou Qi's movements to stiffen slightly. Fortunately, Old Li continued, "Is that what everyone in the fort calls people like us now?"
Obviously, the name Zhou Qi guessed was not quite right, but Old Li found an explanation himself.
"Now? Wasn't it like this before?" Zhou Qi relaxed and continued to test.
"Yeah." Old Li looked at his wound, his tone filled with emotion, "They used to call us mutants."
"This name...why does it sound a bit unfriendly?" Tang Yu'an muttered.
Old Li smiled and said, "Indeed."
His expression was filled with nostalgia. "Back then, superpowers had just emerged, and those who awakened their powers could easily lose control. That's why ordinary people were very afraid of us, and that's why they called us mutants."
"So that's how it is..." Tang Yu'an murmured.
In other words, Old Li also came from the fort, but many years have passed, so he doesn't know much about the current situation in the fort?
People who have just awakened their superpowers can easily lose control... Why is this a bit like Brother Xiaoqi?
"Are all psychics' recovery abilities so strong?"
Without Zhou Qi's prompting, Tang Yu'an understood what he wanted to ask. He was also very concerned about this question, so he asked it directly.
If this is a common situation among people with special abilities, does that mean that even if they are parasitized, it is benign and there will be no serious consequences?
"That's not the case."
Old Li shook his head and denied it, "Some people with special abilities have weaker physical qualities. Their immunity and recovery abilities are not very good. I don't know why."
"Also..." He paused, then continued, "The more powerful the psychic's abilities, the more likely they are to be in danger."
Tang Yu'an's heart was lifted again.
"Why?" he asked eagerly.
Old Li frowned slightly, his expression becoming strange again, but he quickly nodded and whispered, "Your elders didn't tell you, maybe the fort has already found a solution."
Then he answered Tang Yu'an's question, "I'm not sure."
Then dropped a bombshell.
"The more powerful one is, the faster one dies."
Finally, the old man added, "This is the pattern that existed when superpowers first appeared during the Cataclysm. As for what changes have occurred in recent years... I've been staying in the deserted city all these years, so I don't know much about the outside world."
Although there are many people with special abilities in the deserted city, not many of them are very strong, at least not as strong as those he encountered when he was young, so the mortality rate is not high.
Listening to his explanation, Tang Yu'an's face turned slightly pale.
Xiaoqi's potential rating is SSS, which is considered very strong, right? Doesn't that mean Xiaoqi is in danger now?
Zhou Qi, on the other hand, was very calm. The unknown was the most terrifying thing. Now that he had clues and directions, it was better than being in the dark and confused.
"How do those people usually die?" he asked.
Old Li was reluctant to talk about it, as if he was recalling some bad memories. "It happened a long time ago. If you want to know, you should ask your elders."
Talking too much may have a negative impact on them.
Zhou Qi sighed inwardly, and in order to avoid being caught, he didn't ask any more questions. He lowered his head and continued to help Old Li clean the wound and the surrounding skin.
Old Li's forehead was covered with sweat. Perhaps to divert attention, he continued talking to them: "By the way, which fort did you come from?"
Tang Yu'an looked at Zhou Qi and was infected by his calmness. He quickly calmed down his emotions.
"Grandpa Li, are there many castles outside?" Relying on his young age, he asked innocently, like a greenhouse flower that had just left home and was outside for the first time.
Old Li looked at the child's tender face without any doubt.
"Of course." He smiled and said, "In the southeast area, there are four fortresses: Qingmu, Yanlong, Zitian, and Bingyan. As for places further away... I haven't been there."
What a cheesy name!
"Have you been to these four fortresses?" Tang Yu'an continued to ask.
Old Li shook his head and said meaningfully, "You can't just enter the fortress casually."
Although he really wanted to ask what the specific conditions were, seeing that Old Li didn't seem to be interested in a deeper discussion, Tang Yu'an didn't dare to continue asking.
After all, his current personality is that he came from a certain "fortress", so how could he not know anything?
"So, where are you from?" Old Li asked again.
In fact, what he wanted to ask more was why they were so young and wanted to go out to experience life. Were their elders so confident? But in the end, he didn't ask.
Maybe there was some expert secretly protecting the two children? He just wasn't strong enough to notice.
Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi exchanged glances, then said firmly, "We came from Qingmu Fort."
He remembered that Granny Guo had said that Huangcheng was formerly called Qingmu County. This Qingmu Fort should be the closest fortress to here, right?
Sure enough, Old Li did not doubt his words.
The old man nodded slightly and then asked, "Do you know Xie Shan?"
Tang Yu'an looked bewildered. He was just an "innocent" child. Wasn't it normal that he had no knowledge?
Zhou Qi silently wrapped a clean bandage around Old Li, as if he didn't have time to answer.
"Well, the fortress is so big, it's normal that you don't know each other..." Finally, Old Li laughed at himself, then fell silent and didn't speak again.
In fact, Tang Yu'an remembered the two mysterious men with guns he saw yesterday. The one with brown hair seemed to be called "Lao Xie".
But it couldn't be such a coincidence, could it? That person was much younger than Old Li, so it seemed unlikely they knew each other.
"alright."
Finally, Zhou Qi tied the bandage and whispered, "Don't get it wet for the next two days."
Looking at the neatly wrapped bandages, Old Li thanked them again. He wanted to thank them with dried meat, but Zhou Qi didn't want any. He took a few fruits instead.
They had seen the dried meat in the kitchen yesterday. They didn’t know how long it had been there, and it was hard and looked unpalatable.
It would have been fine before, but Black Pearl delivered bird meat this morning. Fresh meat is better, of course. Plus, the fruit is worth more points in the system evaluation...
All in all, they received 5 fruits, 1 experience point and 43 points from this transaction - 8 of which came from the rewards for completing two daily tasks.
[Congratulations on completing all daily tasks. Your Lucky Wheel draw number +1]
Daily task completed! Tang Yu'an grinned.
He and Brother Xiaoqi had discussed this last night, and their current goal was still to complete daily tasks and gain maximum experience points.
Daily tasks basically include profitable transactions. You can achieve combo achievements by doing both daily and profitable transactions at the same time, as well as lucky wheel spins. Experience points are related to the improvement of merchant levels.
As for the amount of profit points, try your best to get them but don’t force it. At present, daily tasks and experience points are more important.
After all, human needs are limited, and the number of residents and resources in the deserted city are also limited. If they try every means to maximize profits every day, one day they may have to go further away to find customers.
The grocery store is located in the deserted city, which will be very troublesome.
Steady and long-term development is the way to run a business.
So before Lin Zhen came back, Zhou Qi and Tang Yu'an found a way to do two more deals with Old Li.
One profit and one loss, a total of 10 points and 2 experience points were obtained.
Old Li looked at the candy the boy stuffed into his hand. Although this was what he needed, he thought about it and whispered, "You'd better keep more of these supplies for yourselves."
He whispered, "The world outside is not like the fortress. It can't withstand such extravagance."
"Yeah!" Tang Yu'an nodded, "Thank you, Grandpa Li, we know."
Old Li looked at him, then at Zhou Qi, and finally said nothing more. He just hoped that the two children really understood, otherwise they would be in big trouble in the future.
After a while, Lin Zhen finally returned with the parrot.
"We're back!" she said with a smile on her face, and it seemed that she had achieved a satisfactory result.
"Sister Lin, did Amu agree?"
“Well, it agreed.”
Lin Zhen chuckled, and she didn't know how she persuaded Amu to help hatch the eggs. In short, the parrot, which had been resisting just now, now landed on her shoulder docilely.
But when the big parrot heard the conversation between the two, it rolled its eyes unhappily.
Tang Yu'an found it very strange. It was the first time he had seen a parrot with such a high IQ. Not only did it speak fluently, but it could also actually understand their conversation.
"Okay, then tell me, how are you going to cooperate?" Lin Zhen sat down, then looked at Old Li and said, "Old man, please be our witness."
"Okay." Old Li agreed readily.
This was Tang Yu'an's idea, so Zhou Qi didn't say anything and just sat beside him watching him discuss it with Lin Zhen.
Lin Zhen pondered and said, "I can let Amu hatch the eggs, but let me make it clear that Amu is a male parrot and may not be able to hatch them. If the eggs rot, you can't blame us."
"Well, don't worry, sister, we won't."
Tang Yu'an has a total of 23 fertilized chicken eggs and a dozen duck eggs. There is no need to worry about them going bad if they are kept in the portable warehouse, so he can still afford this loss.
Just as Lin Zhen was about to state his conditions, he saw him take out a bag of rock sugar that he had prepared long ago.
This is packed in a relatively large plastic bag, about 50 grams, with a total of 20 pieces - based on 1 point for 1g of glucose, it is worth about 50 points.
Sugar is hard currency in the wasteland world, and Tang Yu'an believes that Lin Zhen will like it.
"I want to use this bag of rock sugar and let Amu help me hatch eggs." He said to Lin Zhen.
Lin Zhen looked at the candy and swallowed visibly.
She had tasted sugar before, which was sweeter than any fruit. It was a great stimulation and enjoyment to her taste buds, and naturally had a huge appeal.
But in the end, she looked away and shook her head to reject the plan.
"Then what conditions does Sister Lin want?" Tang Yu'an had to put away the rock sugar and asked.
Lin Zhen took a deep breath and said nervously, "Let's try another way. If Amu really hatches chicks, I want 10 eggs when they grow up and start laying eggs."
The author has something to say:
Parrot: My butt is really going to get cold [wipes tears]
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