Chapter 29
Once you tell a lie, you will need countless lies to cover it up.
How would Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi know whether the children in the fortress were educated?
However, if the fortress is a wealthy place, it should have an education system, but the curriculum may be different from what they learn.
Facing Granny Guo's question, Tang Yu'an could only nod vaguely, and then changed the subject: "So now is not the hottest time?"
Grandma Guo looked at him twice, but didn't dwell on the question. She suddenly asked the question because she was thinking of her little grandson.
If Kang Kang had been able to go to school like a normal child before the catastrophe, her daughter wouldn't have left her so early...
Granny Guo blinked, suppressed her emotions, and nodded at Tang Yu'an.
"Yeah, it's not the hottest time yet."
However, this also varies from person to person. After all, among the four people present, including Kang Kang, they only felt a little hot.
Except Tang Yu'an.
He had only been standing outside for a short while when large beads of sweat began to seep out of his forehead and kept sliding down the sides of his face. No matter how hard he tried to wipe them away, they wouldn't stop.
His face, which had originally returned to normal, now showed two blushes again.
Tang Yu'an couldn't help fanning himself with his hands while drinking water.
Kang Kang, who was standing next to him, saw that he was so hot, so he kept fanning his little hands, trying to bring him coolness.
"The temperature will continue to rise for at least the next two weeks." Granny Guo paused and muttered, "But it's hard to say..."
"What's wrong?"
"It will be cooler if it rains."
Tang Yu'an looked up at the cloudless sky above his head. He felt that it was hard to say, because since he came to this world, he had never seen it rain.
It might have rained at night, but he was asleep and didn't know.
"So you don't plan to induce the fruit to grow in the next half month?" Tang Yu'an thought for a moment and asked again, "Will you and Kang Kang... have enough to eat?"
It looks like they are already not getting enough to eat. If they save money just to grow rice and end up starving again, it would be a waste of time and effort.
Seeing the concern and worry in the boys' eyes, Granny Guo was slightly stunned. She suddenly understood why the two boys refused the fruit when she gave it to them just now.
For a moment, Grandma Guo's mood became complicated.
She has been wandering for half her life and has experienced the ups and downs of life. In this wasteland world, apart from blood relatives, few people really care about the life and death of others.
Thinking of her past experiences, she shook her head secretly.
Not to mention caring about the life and death of others, even if you don't harm others, you will be a person with a very good heart and excellent character.
Even though she and Old Li had a good relationship, she knew very well that they were just partners and it was impossible for Old Li to care about her and Kang Kang so much.
It's not easy for anyone to survive in this world.
Such pure concern for others as that of a young boy... She really hadn't felt it in many years.
And she could also tell that the two boys were not pretending, they really expressed their feelings through their actions. Perhaps... only such children could be nurtured in a fortress.
Although she was somewhat disapproving, Granny Guo still felt an indescribable sense of emotion in her heart.
"Of course it's enough, you don't have to worry about that."
Granny Guo said, "I planted this rice just to make sure Kang Kang has enough to eat. I won't put the cart before the horse."
She simply didn't have any extra fruit to give to others, but she still had mushrooms. Although they weren't very nutritious, they grew quickly and consumed little energy, so she could exchange them if needed.
"Oh, that's good."
Tang Yu'an nodded, but he did not accept her fruit again. Although he wanted to use the bug-breaking method just now to gain points, he was worried that Granny Guo would think he was crazy.
This method can only be used when dealing with young Kang Kang, so forget it.
but……
Tang Yu'an opened the map and took a look to make sure there were no outsiders around - as long as a potential customer appeared near him, a green dot would appear on the map synchronously, and he didn't need to have any contact with that person.
Of course, if he doesn’t have time to turn the person into a customer before he leaves, the green dot will disappear with the other person’s departure.
After making sure it was safe, Tang Yu'an looked up at Zhou Qi.
Zhou Qi understood and pretended to take out a bag of refined rice from his backpack, but actually from his personal storage.
This rice weighs about one pound and is worth 5 points.
"Grandma Guo, we want to exchange this rice for mushrooms from you," he said softly.
As mentioned before, Granny Guo and Old Li seemed trustworthy for the time being, so after discussing it, they decided to offer some good things in exchange.
Of course, the main reason that prompted Zhou Qi to agree to this decision was that they now had a certain ability to protect themselves.
Not to mention Happy Marbles, even if they only had umbrellas, they could easily escape in the event of an accident. The grocery store is located far away from these customers, so there is no risk of exposure at present.
When Zhou Qi took out the bag of rice and displayed the white rice grains in front of her, Grandma Guo was stunned.
"This rice... for mushrooms?" The old man's voice trembled slightly. "Is this hulled and polished rice?"
As someone who grew up in a peaceful world before the catastrophe, how could she not know that consuming mushrooms and fruits as staple food for a long time would lead to malnutrition and might even induce disease?
But she had no choice. Being thin and sick was better than starving to death.
But it must be said that Grandma Guo has an obsession with food, especially rice, so after getting the good seeds, she cultivated them so resolutely.
She wanted Kang Kang to eat rice, to live a healthy life, and not to repeat his mother's mistakes.
She originally thought that she would have to work hard for a few more months before Kang Kang could eat rice, but in the end... the two young men who provided her with good seeds took out another bag of white rice!
"Yes, this is refined rice and cannot be used as seeds." Tang Yu'an continued.
Granny Guo and her grandchildren have provided them with so many points, and they hope to give them more in return to help them survive better - after all, Granny Guo is so old, and her children are prone to dying, so it is better for her to eat more nutritious food.
Out of caution and to create a good trading relationship, they need to exchange some things——
Mushrooms are great, whether they are used to make soup or stir-fried or fried, they are delicious, and this will not be a big burden for Granny Guo.
“You…you guys…”
Granny Guo looked at the two teenagers and felt a little helpless.
In her opinion, mushrooms are something that can be found everywhere and are particularly easy to grow, but their nutritional value is completely incomparable to that of rice that has been carefully cultivated, not to mention that this is rice that has been finely processed.
Zhou Qi and Tang Yu'an took out fine rice to exchange for mushrooms with her, which was completely to help her and her grandson.
In order to take her feelings into consideration, he even used the excuse of exchanging mushrooms.
The kindness of these two teenagers is not just superficial, but they are really taking action to help their grandparents and grandchildren. How could Grandma Guo not be shocked?
"Mother-in-law, I haven't eaten mushrooms for a long time. Please give them to us instead." Tang Yu'an said with a smile.
Looking at the boy's sincere and enthusiastic smile, Grandma Guo finally nodded. After all, even for the health of her grandson, she could not refuse this bag of rice.
"Okay, you guys wait... Never mind, just follow me into the house."
Seeing Tang Yu'an sweating profusely, Granny Guo quickly changed her words and pulled him into the house.
The house was insulated and had plants planted in it. As soon as Tang Yu'an entered Granny Guo's house, he felt a cool breeze and suddenly felt like he was alive again.
He and Kang Kang sat on the stone bench and drank water, while Zhou Qi followed Granny Guo and poured the pound of rice into Granny Guo's container, and then used the bag to pack the mushrooms.
Granny Guo picked mushrooms and kept stuffing them into his bag until it was full and she wanted to force more on him, but Zhou Qi refused.
"Mother-in-law, this is enough. Come back to me after you finish eating."
After hearing this, Granny Guo gave up.
Employee Zhou Qi completed a profitable transaction with a regular customer, earning +37 points and +1 experience.
Tang Yu'an had just observed carefully and found that Granny Guo had stuffed about forty mushrooms into their mouths. After deducting the 5 points for one kilogram of rice, there were still 37 points left.
So, each mushroom is worth about 1 point? Although the points per mushroom are small, the quantity is huge. Compared to an arrow that costs less than 1 point, mushrooms are really a much better deal!
Looking at such a huge difference in points, Tang Yu'an felt more and more embarrassed.
After completing the transaction, Zhou Qi offered to carry water for Grandma Guo. Grandma Guo didn't want to trouble them anymore, so Zhou Qi just carried the wooden barrel and ran away. She couldn't catch up with him at all, so she had to let him go.
"You really don't want to eat the fruit?" She asked Tang Yu'an again.
"Yeah, I'll just drink some water." Tang Yu'an insisted with a smile.
Grandma Guo sighed and said nothing more.
She found a sealed jar and carefully put the pound of rice she had exchanged into it. Then she told Tang Yu'an and Kang Kang to stay in the house to enjoy the cool air, while she continued to look after the rice outside.
Seeing Granny Guo leave and Kang Kang alone with him, Tang Yu'an couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Great, I can exploit the bug to gain points again!
Kang Kang still remembered the three mutated lantern fruits from yesterday, so he got up and ran to get them for him.
"Kankang, let's play yesterday's game again." Tang Yu'an said with a smile.
Kang Kang's eyes lit up. Sure enough, the little brother was playing games with him yesterday!
"Okay." He nodded his head excitedly.
Tang Yu'an did the same thing as yesterday, exchanging a mouthful of glucose solution for a mutant lantern fruit, and earned 147 points from Kang Kang - if the other lantern fruits were not yet ripe and difficult to pick, he would definitely have earned more.
Then, he returned the three mutant lantern fruits to him at a loss, and promised to come again tomorrow.
Kang Kang drank the sugar water and nodded hurriedly.
I don’t know if it’s an illusion, but Tang Yu’an always feels that the little guy’s complexion seems to be a little better than before.
Of course, it's only a small improvement, so it's not very obvious.
"Kang Kang, are you hungry?" he asked.
Kang Kang nodded, then shook his head, "Drink water, it's sweet!"
"Just drinking water won't fill you up." Tang Yu'an said, first washing his hands with clean water, then pretending to take out a steamed bun with red bean paste from his backpack.
The buns were freshly baked in the morning, white and plump. Not long after they came out of the pot, he put them into his portable warehouse. They were still steaming and emitting the unique aroma of rice and flour.
Seeing the big white bun, Kang Kang widened his eyes slightly and began to swallow his saliva subconsciously.
Of course, he had never eaten food like buns, but the aroma of carbohydrates made him immediately understand that the round white thing that Brother Tang took out was edible.
"Kang Kang, this is sweet too, would you like to try it?" Tang Yu'an tore the bun into two halves, stuffed one half into his hand, and said with a smile.
The aroma of rice and flour becomes stronger.
Kang Kang swallowed his saliva, but finally couldn't resist the temptation. He held the hot bun and took a careful bite.
The snow-white bun skin is fluffy and soft. After chewing it, it melts in your mouth and has a light sweetness. Although it is not as sweet as sugar, it is still...
“Gurgle—”
After just one bite, Kang Kang's stomach started rumbling.
Tang Yu'an couldn't help but chuckle, "Haha, delicious, right?"
“Mmm, delicious!”
"If it tastes good, eat it while it's hot. It won't taste as good when it gets cold."
Kang Kang had been hungry for a long time, and children's stomachs were inherently fragile - this was the experience gained from taking care of his younger sister since childhood, so Tang Yu'an didn't dare to feed him too much at one time.
He ate the remaining half by himself.
"Don't look at me, eat quickly." Tang Yu'an puffed out his cheeks and said in a vague voice.
Kang Kang nodded, holding the half white bun that was bigger than his little hand, and imitating Tang Yu'an, he opened his mouth and took a full bite.
He chewed the soft and delicious bun skin in his mouth and felt that he had never eaten anything so delicious. His stomach felt warm and he felt particularly comfortable.
The child narrowed his eyes happily.
"Drink water if you feel choking." Tang Yu'an made a large cup of glucose solution in his thermos.
"Thank you, brother." The child said obediently.
Tang Yu'an looked at him eating so much that his cheeks were bulging like a little hamster. For some reason, he suddenly felt his eyes moist.
Maybe children's voices are similar. When he heard Kang Kang calling him brother, it was like he heard his little sister calling him.
I wonder how that little girl is doing now? Is she listening to her parents? Does she... miss him?
Tang Yu'an felt his nose getting sore, so he quickly shook his head and continued to eat the bun.
Perhaps sensing his emotions, Kang Kang looked at him helplessly, then sat down next to him, leaning his little body against him, as if to comfort him.
"I'm fine."
Tang Yu'an had already suppressed his bad mood and said with a smile, "Eat quickly. Don't just eat the bun skin, the filling inside is also delicious."
"This one has red bean paste. It's fragrant and sweet. I'm sure you'll like it."
He pointed at the red bean paste filling and said, "It might be a little hot, so you should blow on it like this before you eat it."
Kang Kang followed his instructions and blew gently before putting his mouth close to it. The red bean paste then stuck to his lips. He licked it lightly and his eyes lit up immediately.
"It's sweet and delicious!" Kang Kang said happily.
"Hey, I didn't lie to you, did I?"
Seeing that Kang Kang liked it so much, Tang Yu'an was also very happy.
But Kang Kang stopped eating half of it and said, "Give it to my mother-in-law!"
Tang Yu'an couldn't help but rub his head. Kang Kang and Granny Guo had a really good relationship. He always wanted to share any good things with her.
only……
"Kang Kang, this is for you." Tang Yu'an said, "Don't tell mother-in-law for the time being."
Kang Kang looked at him in confusion.
"This is our secret." Tang Yu'an said, "Can you keep it a secret?"
Kang Kang thought about it, and although he felt a little disappointed, he nodded.
"Yeah, sure." He said in a baby voice.
Tang Yu'an rubbed his head again, "Kang Kang is so good."
Although he said this, he was not in a good mood.
If only he were still in the original world, he could openly share the buns and steamed buns with Granny Guo and Grandpa Li, instead of having to secretly give them to Kang Kang.
But it's not time yet.
Perhaps later on, when everyone has more supplies, even if they take out more good things, they won't attract covetousness, and they will be able to do as they please.
Zhou Qi went to fetch water, ran back and forth three times, and finally helped Grandma Guo fill the water tank. He also filled a bucket with a plastic box, and then left with Tang Yu'an.
Granny Guo and Kang Kang watched them disappear into the ruins.
She remembered that before leaving, Tang Yu'an asked her not to cook too much for Kang Kang at noon. So she reached out and touched Kang Kang's belly, and sure enough, it was bulging. She could tell at a glance that he was very full.
"Did Xiao An give you anything to eat?" she asked.
Kang Kang covered his mouth and refused to speak. Finally, when pressed, he shouted, "It's a secret. No, tell me!"
Hearing this, Grandma Guo was not angry, but smiled with relief.
"Okay, if you don't want to tell me, then don't tell me."
Afterwards, after she finished tending to the rice, she couldn't help but go back into the house, took out the jar of rice and looked at it carefully again and again. As she looked at it, her eyes began to turn red.
"Mother-in-law..."
Kang Kang ran to her and stretched out his little hands to hug her skinny legs.
"Kang Kang, grandma is fine, I'm just very happy... so happy..." Grandma Guo squatted down, stretched out her arms to hug her little grandson, tears slowly oozing from the corners of her eyes.
This was the first time that young Kang Kang knew that people can cry when they are happy.
-
It was almost twelve o'clock and the sun was high in the sky.
The weather is getting hotter.
As soon as he turned the corner, Tang Yu'an hurriedly took out an umbrella and held it above his head. He felt that if he was a second slower, the hair on his head would immediately catch fire.
"Are you okay?" Zhou Qi asked.
"It's okay, it's okay. I feel much more comfortable." Tang Yu'an felt the coolness brought by the umbrella and couldn't help but sigh.
It really is a wasteland world. The weather can be so hot. No wonder so much land is barren and the vegetation is sparse even without human activities.
"Shall we go find Sister Lin next?" Tang Yu'an asked.
"Well, gain experience points and then look for new customers." Zhou Qi replied.
All other daily tasks have been completed, except for the task of recruiting two new customers.
"Okay, let's go see how Amu is doing."
Tang Yu'an opened the map and began to direct Zhou Qi to go to Lin Zhen's home.
But on the way, he recalled Granny Guo's decision and couldn't help but ask, "Brother Xiaoqi, do you think we should give Granny Guo some other seeds?"
They had previously traded brown rice mainly because it could be exchanged at grocery stores, and since they were used to eating rice, they would think of rice when talking about food, but they had not expected that the wasteland world would have such a climate environment.
In such hot and dry weather, rice is obviously not suitable for planting, and just getting water is very troublesome.
The weather will get hotter and hotter in the future. If it doesn’t rain, the water source may dry up. There won’t be enough water for people to drink, so how can there be enough water to grow rice?
Zhou Qi did not deny his idea, but asked: "What kind of seeds do you want to give her?"
Hearing this, Tang Yu'an began to count the grain seeds they currently had on his fingers. Apart from brown rice, there were wheat, soybeans, red beans, and mung beans...
Wait, beans?
He suddenly thought of something and said quickly, "Brother Xiaoqi, what do you think of potatoes? Potatoes are very filling. One is enough for a meal."
There are five potatoes left over from our previous meal at home.
He remembered his mother saying that potatoes would sprout if left for too long and could not be eaten, so the five potatoes could be used for planting without the need for special potato seeds.
"I just don't know what kind of environment potatoes need to grow? What's the yield like?" As a child who just graduated from elementary school two months ago and started junior high school, this undoubtedly touched upon Tang Yu'an's blind spots in knowledge.
Zhou Qi had never grown potatoes before. He had only heard about it from his teacher in class. He knew that potatoes had a high starch content and strong vitality, and he vaguely remembered that the yield was quite good.
"Potatoes will sprout if left at home for a long time, proving that they are easy to grow, at least easier than rice."
The fact that it doesn't require that much water is already a huge advantage.
"We should ask her next time." Zhou Qi said, "Just say we found it by chance in the wild and ask her if she recognizes it."
"Well, that's a good idea!"
Tang Yu'an nodded. "If we switch to potatoes, then Granny Guo can wait until the weather is not so hot before planting rice."
Now that she has enough money, she can continue to grow fruit!
After making the decision, Tang Yu'an finally had no worries. He held the umbrella in one hand, hugged Zhou Qi's arm with the other, and went to find Lin Zhen happily.
-
It was such a hot day, so Lin Zhen naturally did not go out.
Her house has good insulation - there are two layers of insulation on top, and she has planted many plants, so even in the hottest weather, it is a little cooler than other places.
Yesterday, at Zhou Qi's suggestion, I opened the hole for ventilation. I sat on the ground and didn't feel hot at all.
As for the three eggs, Amu has already hatched them.
I don’t know if the reproductive instinct is engraved in its genes, but the big parrot, which was originally quite resistant to this, quickly became quite capable after starting to incubate the eggs.
It stayed on the eggs very diligently, and didn't need Lin Zhen to remind it. It would get up from time to time to turn the eggs over and then continue incubating them.
But it was really boring to squat in the nest all day, so Lin Zhen stayed beside it to keep it company.
"Okay, big or small? I'm done!"
Amu rolled his eyes, and finally bit a feather out of the nest and placed it on "big".
"Decided? I'm going to start!"
"Open! Open! Open!"
The big parrot shook the feathers on its head and shouted excitedly.
"Okay, let's go!"
"Sister Lin——"
As soon as Lin Zhen lifted up the upside-down wooden bowl, she heard a familiar voice calling out. She looked in the direction of the sound and saw two young men appear outside her window at some point.
And Tang Yu'an, who was standing outside and calling her, also saw it with her own eyes—
The big parrot, which was originally nestled in the chicken coop incubating eggs, suddenly stretched out its neck quickly, used its beak to flip a dice from "1" to "6", and then quickly retracted its neck.
When Lin Zhen turned his gaze back, it quickly pretended to tidy up its feathers.
"Wait a minute."
Lin Jue said to Tang Yu'an and the others, then lowered his head to count the dice in front of him, "236, big!"
Tang Yu'an opened his mouth slightly and saw Amu suddenly turned his head to look at him, blinking at him anxiously with a cute and ingratiating expression.
Lin Zhen said helplessly, "Okay, you win this time."
Then she put the feathers that the big parrot had plucked back into its nest, opened a pocket, and said to Amu, "Pick one."
"Red! Red! Red!"
So, Lin Zhen took out a bright red, quite beautiful feather from the bird feathers she usually collected and stuck it on the big parrot's head.
The big parrot immediately held its head high, shook its feathers and laughed cacklingly, looking very proud.
Tang Yu'an: ...
The author has something to say:
Anzai: This parrot has become a spirit!
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