Chapter 71
Xiaocao's performance is very stable.
After attracting 12 customers and bringing Tang Yu'an 28 experience points and 99 points, the system prompts from her stopped temporarily.
Tang Yu'an was a little curious. How could she attract so many customers so early in the morning? Did they set up a stall at the market?
But this amount...
He remembered that the first time there were 13, then 11, and now 12...
Tang Yu'an touched her chin. Could it be that she and Shitou were cutting the guards' hair? Because the guards seemed to be organized into teams of six people.
Hehe, no matter what, this is a good thing!
He looked at the experience bar: lv8 (20/160).
Tang Yu'an smiled again, then looked at Zhou Qi and said, "Brother Xiaoqi, I've leveled up again!"
Thinking of something, he glanced at the staff panel again.
Xiaocao's current employee experience value has reached level 2 (17/30). This day has just begun. If she can attract 13 more customers, she will be able to reach level 3 in the evening.
Zhou Qi’s employee level is lv4 (5/50), and it feels like it will only take a few days for him to be caught up.
"Brother Xiaoqi, Xiaocao is almost catching up with you." Tang Yu'an said casually.
Zhou Qi nodded.
"Well, it would be a good thing for us if she could always be so capable."
Zhou Qi is very clear about his position in the grocery store. He is An An's employee, but not a real subordinate.
certainly……
He is now somewhat glad that he has awakened his superpowers. At least he still has other uses and ways to advance, and he doesn't have to worry about becoming completely An An's vassal in the future.
Although he knew that even if he really became a vassal, it would not affect the relationship between them, Zhou Qi also had his own pride.
As if sensing his thoughts, the parasite that had been silent for a long time became active again.
Zhou Qi frowned, but he was no longer as easily controlled as before. As his will became stronger, it became increasingly difficult for the parasite to affect him.
Soon, the parasite that had not gained any benefit lurked in his body again, and no one knew where it was hiding.
"Brother Xiaoqi, are you feeling unwell?"
Tang Yu'an noticed something and quickly checked his employee panel, but there was nothing unusual on the panel.
Zhou Qi shook his head: "It's okay now."
That means something almost happened!
Tang Yu'an looked at him worriedly.
Zhou Qi reached out and touched the top of his head, wanting to comfort him, but when the words came to his lips, he asked inexplicably: "An An, if one day I can't catch up with you, what will you do?"
Tang Yu'an blinked, confused at first, but soon realized something.
He asked, "Did I upgrade too quickly and make you feel stressed?"
Zhou Qi shook his head.
Tang Yu'an looked at him, suddenly pouted, and said dissatisfiedly: "Brother Xiaoqi, you said you would take me home."
He reached out and hugged Zhou Qi's arm, "If you can't catch up with me, I will just hold on to you tightly, pulling you to be with me, and I won't let go even if I die!"
Zhou Qi looked at him and slowly smiled.
"You are being a scoundrel," he said.
Tang Yu'an raised his chin and said proudly, "Humph, if I were really better than you, of course I could be as scoundrel as I want!"
Zhou Qi raised his eyebrows slightly.
Without him saying anything, Tang Yu'an quickly restrained his smug little tail and changed the subject: "Let's go, let's go find Granny Guo and Kang Kang."
Zhou Qi was dragged away by him without saying anything more.
He didn't know why he asked that question just now. Maybe... he was really feeling a little pressured.
After all, as more employees are recruited, the gap in level between him and An An will only get bigger and bigger, and he will never be able to catch up on this road.
-
Tang Yuan closed the grocery store and told Wangcai and Yinbi to look after the house. As for Yuanbao...
It had vanished from sight while they were talking.
Tang Yu'an quickly opened the map and took a look.
Fortunately, Yuanbao didn't go after Brother Chihao. He probably had been stuck in the shop for a few days and could finally relax, so he ran out to play.
"Let's go, let's go!"
Tang Yu'an used the light body technique on Zhou Qi, and then jumped onto his back skillfully.
Zhou Qi carried him on his back and ran and moved quickly among the ruins.
His speed was even faster than before. Tang Yu'an faced the whistling wind and felt the pain on her face. She quickly buried her face in his shoulder and felt better.
That's it, and you still say you can't catch up with him!
Tang Yu'an grumbled in his heart, but his hands hugged Zhou Qi even tighter.
What he said was serious. No matter what Brother Xiaoqi thought, he was determined to rely on him. No matter what happened in the future, Brother Xiaoqi would never abandon him!
"Brother Xiaoqi..."
Amid the whistling wind, Zhou Qi heard the young man's soft voice. Although it was clearly cut into pieces by the wind, he could still hear it clearly.
"You are the person I want to cherish the most. Let's never be apart, okay?"
His voice was still childish, but it carried the warmth and sincerity unique to young people. To Zhou Qi's ears, it sounded like the most beautiful words in the world.
No matter which world he is in, he is alone.
Only Tang Yu'an... Only him...
"I just said the wrong thing."
Zhou Qi's running speed gradually slowed down. He whispered, "You are right. We will never be separated."
Tang Yu'an laughed when he heard that.
"We agreed on this." He stuck his head out and put his face against Zhou Qi.
Feeling Zhou Qi's warmth, he couldn't help but squint his eyes and rub against him, his actions were very intimate.
Zhou Qi paused for a moment before saying, "Well, it's settled."
Tang Yu'an couldn't help but cheer.
This was the purest promise made in their youth, but they all decided to keep it firmly in their hearts and to keep it for the rest of their lives.
After a while, Zhou Qi finally calmed down and asked, "What's the reward for this upgrade?"
Tang Yu'an opened the system panel and shared it with Zhou Qi.
"The map has been upgraded! The terrain display function has been unlocked." He said as he operated the map. "If I zoom out, I can see the terrain."
However, the unlocked areas are still shrouded in fog, and they don’t seem to be of much use unless they reach new areas unlocked for them by customers.
"If it were in the mountains, it would be able to play a big role." Zhou Qi said.
"Yeah, yes." Tang Yu'an said, "The vertical space can also be checked."
The same is true in high-rise buildings. For example, if one person is on the roof and another is at the bottom, they used to be displayed on the horizontal plane, and the distance looked very close, but now by pulling up the 3D map, you can see the position clearly.
"In addition to the map upgrade, the air pickup function has also been upgraded to level 7, and the range of air delivery has been increased from 1 meter to 2 meters."
Speaking of this, Tang Yu'an couldn't help but complain.
"How stingy, it only increased by one meter!" Compared with the previous 10-fold increase with each level up, this increase is indeed less.
"An inch longer is an inch stronger, and an extra meter is an extra meter." Zhou Qi comforted.
"That's true."
Moreover, this skill improves as the level increases. It is effortless to obtain, so it seems that it is really hard to complain.
"We now have two seven-day sale refresh cards. Do you want to use them now?" Tang Yu'an asked again.
Zhou Qi calculated the time and shook his head, saying, "The refresh time will come tomorrow, let's see then."
The number should increase significantly with this refresh.
They don't have any special needs right now, so try to put the refresh card off until later, as it will be more valuable.
"Yeah, okay."
By the time they finished talking, they were almost at Grandma Guo's house.
-
"Kang Kang, grandma is going out. Do you want to go out with me?"
Grandma Guo looked at her grandson, who was huddled in a corner with a flower pot in his hands.
Hearing her words, the child looked at her dazedly. He was yawning and looked very tired.
However, compared to half a month ago, his face was obviously more energetic, and the sunken cheeks were not as serious. If he hadn't hugged the flower pot as soon as he woke up these days, perhaps his complexion would be better.
Grandma Guo felt very distressed, but it was the first time she discovered that her grandson had such a stubborn character.
"Well, go out... and soak up the sun..."
Kang Kang picked up the flowerpot and was about to go outside, but was stopped by Grandma Guo.
"Put down the flowerpot." Grandma Guo said with a stern face.
Kang Kang immediately hugged the flower pot tightly and said in a low voice: "Brother Tang...is coming back..."
"Come back if you want, it won't take more than a few days!" This was the first time that Grandma Guo spoke to her grandson so sternly.
As soon as she finished speaking, Kang Kang pouted.
The little child held the flower pot, tilted his head back and looked at her aggrievedly, tears welling up in his eyes.
Grandma Guo immediately softened her heart.
"You're too tired." She softened her expression and said, "Mother-in-law is worried about you."
Grandma Guo naturally knew that her grandson had awakened the wood-related ability just like her. If not, she would not have tried so desperately to rush out of the small yard.
She didn't want Kang Kang to repeat her path, she wanted to give him a broader world and future.
But Kang Kang's condition these days made her very worried.
Kang Kang lowered his head, moved closer to her and said, "Mother-in-law... I'm sorry..."
Although she said sorry, her little hands were still holding the flower pot tightly, which made Grandma Guo feel a little amused and helpless.
Just when she was about to persuade him, there was a noise outside the air vent.
"Grandma Guo—Kan Kang—we're back!"
As soon as the cheerful and energetic young man's voice sounded, the eyes of the grandparents and grandchildren in the room lit up and they all looked in the direction where the voice came from.
Grandma Guo also had a smile on her face.
She looked down at the child and said, "Your sugar brother is back, why don't you go quickly?"
Kang Kang then put down the flowerpot in his hand, ran towards the small room with his short legs, climbed onto the stone, and just as he stuck his head out, he saw the two figures outside that he had been thinking about.
His brother didn't lie to him. After he finished eating the steamed buns, he really came back!
"Brother Tang! Brother Zhou!" Kang Kang shouted happily.
"Kangkang, we're back!"
Tang Yu'an asked the child to step back, then jumped into the house, picked him up and said, "Did you miss me?"
"I miss you! I miss my brother!"
Kang Kang reached out and hugged him with full attachment. When he saw Zhou Qi, who was not that familiar with him, he also stretched out his little hands for a hug.
"Brother Zhou!"
Zhou Qi carried him over with quite skillful movements.
For Kang Kang, who has never had a playmate since childhood, these two brothers who are very kind to him are his favorite people in the world besides his mother-in-law!
Not seeing each other for a few days was really painful and difficult for him, who had gained and lost again.
Tang Yu'an touched his head, and then saw Granny Guo coming over, so he greeted her with a smile.
"Mother-in-law~"
Granny Guo uttered an "ah" and quickly pulled them into the house. She looked at them and said, "You've gotten tanned and look a little stronger."
It finally feels like living in the wasteland.
Tang Yu'an chuckled, hugged Kang Kang again, and asked, "How have you been these past few days? Nothing happened?"
"Something happened?" Granny Guo shook her head. "If anything, it was a good thing."
Tang Yu'an was stunned. "Good news?"
Then he saw Grandma Guo take a backpack and gently shake out the contents. A dozen golden potatoes rolled to the ground.
Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi couldn't help but look at each other and saw the joy in each other's eyes.
"Grandma, have you planted the potatoes?" he asked happily.
Granny Guo nodded and said, "Yes, the potato you gave me has grown so many."
These potatoes are about the same size as the original ones, although they can't compare to the fruit trees in number, but...
"I cooked one and tried it. It was soft and sticky, and really filling!" Grandma Guo's face was full of satisfaction.
Although it doesn't taste good, being able to eat your fill is the most important thing. She also added some salt to it, so it tastes delicious.
"How did you grow it?" Tang Yu'an asked curiously.
Aren't potatoes said to be neither cold-resistant nor heat-resistant? He thought they wouldn't be able to grow in such a drastic temperature swing.
"It's time to plant them now." Granny Guo didn't keep us in suspense. "I originally wanted to plant them in the evening, but if I want the plants to grow strong, they still need sunlight."
The best time to stimulate potato growth is between 6:30 and 9:00 in the morning.
Because the sun is out at this time, but the temperature is not that high, and the humidity is also suitable, which is very beneficial for the growth of potatoes.
Grandma Guo also figured out this method just yesterday.
The potato that Tang Yu'an gave her had several buds, but in the end only one plant was successfully grown and more than a dozen potatoes were dug out.
She thought she was going to fail, but she didn't expect to dig out so many potatoes in the end.
Given how filling potatoes are, two a day is enough for the grandparents and grandchildren.
What surprised her even more was that this kind of potato had very strong vitality. As long as it was in the right environment and assisted by a little bit of wood-related ability, it would grow wildly.
Granny Guo felt that with her current abilities, she could probably give birth to three or four trees at a time, which means a daily output of at least 40!
The daily output is enough for her and Kang Kang to eat for 20 days. The key is that after eating it, her stomach feels very comfortable, and there is no sour feeling like eating fruit.
This kind of potato must have a high starch content. She feels that it is similar to rice and is a very good staple food.
Moreover, potatoes do not rely on seeds to reproduce, so they should not be like the previous plants, which would lose their reproductive ability after four or five generations and never bear fruit again.
What's more, what they eat is actually the root of the potato, not the fruit...
But this will require her to study it slowly in the future. It is too early to draw conclusions now.
"I have finally fulfilled my promise to you." Grandma Guo only left one potato as a seed, and put the remaining thirteen into a backpack and handed it to Zhou Qi.
[Employee Zhou Qi completed a profitable transaction with a regular customer, earning +260 points and +1 experience point]
260 points, a good start!
It seems that potatoes are the same as sweet fruits, each worth 20 points.
Tang Yu'an immediately narrowed his eyes and smiled.
When Zhou Qi saw Tang Yu'an's smile, he knew that the points of these potatoes were worth a lot. He took out two potatoes and gave the rest to Granny Guo.
"Keep planting," he said. "Plant more."
They were not short of food, so they just kept two as seeds in reserve, and gave the rest to Granny Guo and Kang Kang. Whether they were eaten or continued to be planted to stimulate growth, it would make their lives better.
Grandma Guo was about to refuse, still immersed in joy, when Kang Kang finally came to her senses and quickly raised her little hand.
"Me! Me too!"
Kang Kang rubbed off Tang Yu'an's legs and fell to the ground, then ran to pick up his flower pot, and then ran back panting.
"Brother, look!"
The child looked at Tang Yu'an with anticipation in his big round eyes.
He wants it too! Brother! Praise!
Tang Yu'an naturally didn't forget Kang Kang's little green seedling. This one was worth 1,000 points! But he didn't expect that in just a few days, this little green seedling had grown so much!
The seedling that had just sprouted had actually grown to a height of thirty or forty centimeters, with complete branches and leaves, and looked like a miniature mutant lantern grass.
However, its appearance is obviously different from that of the mother plant.
Not only is it short, but even the color of its branches and leaves is different. A hint of blue can be seen in the dark green, and only the shape of the leaves can reveal the appearance of a lantern grass.
And on the branch, Tang Yu'an also saw a small fruit.
Such a small lantern grass has actually produced fruit!
Perhaps because the fruit was not yet ripe, it did not emit the same shiny light as the fruit of the mother plant. It looked like an ordinary fruit, but not only the fruit beads, but also the outer layer of gauze-like skin showed a deeper blue.
"It's grown so big already, did you induce labor? Kang Kang is amazing!"
Tang Yu'an knew that Kang Kang had the ability to communicate with plants, so he must have awakened the wood-related ability. It didn't seem surprising that he had the ability to induce childbirth like Granny Guo.
Kang Kang, who was originally looking forward to being praised, became a little shy when he was actually praised.
He put the flowerpot on the ground and picked the only fruit directly.
"Brother, eat!"
The tiny fruit lay in the palm of his hand, even smaller than a child's hand.
Tang Yu'an took the fruit and first looked at it using his basic identification skills.
[Do you want to pay 10 points as the appraisal fee and use the primary appraisal skill on this item?]
The appraisal fee is 10% of the item's value, which means... this small fruit is worth 100 points?
Is it twice as valuable as the previous mutant lantern fruit that glows?
Tang Yu'an was stunned for a moment, then quickly clicked to confirm the payment.
It’s just 10 points, he can afford it now!
【Name: Unnamed】
【Value: 50 points/each】
[Origin: MR176349 plane]
[Description: The second-generation mutant fruit of the mutant lantern plant can continuously emit a cool feeling. After taking it, it can resist high temperatures for a certain period of time. The duration depends on personal constitution.]
Tang Yu'an looked at the appraisal description and was stunned again.
At this time, Kang Kang's baby voice sounded again: "Brother, eat! It's cool!"
So Kang Kang actually knows the function of this fruit?
Or maybe Kang Kang grew this mutant lantern fruit specifically for him?
Because among the people Kang Kang comes into contact with, it seems that no one else is bothered by the high temperature except him, right?
And from the very beginning, Kang Kang said that this little green seedling was a gift for him!
For the first time, Tang Yu'an was so shocked that he was speechless, and at the same time, he felt an indescribable emotion in his heart.
Such a skinny, hungry and cold-clothed child actually grew this kind of high-temperature-resistant fruit for him!
So can Kang Kang's ability control or influence the direction of plant mutation?
“Kankang…”
Tang Yu'an then realized that the child's face was obviously tired. He touched the child's cheek and couldn't help but look at Grandma Guo.
"Mother-in-law, Kang Kang..."
This is both controlling mutation and inducing birth. Can Kang Kang, with such a thin body, withstand it?
Granny Guo glanced at her grandson, her eyes showing a hint of disdain, but more of relief. She said, "It's okay, I'll be watching over him."
She was busy making a living all day and had no time to guide him, so she just let him play on his own. She hadn't realized before that the glowing mutant lantern fruit was actually the result of Kang Kang's intervention in the mutation.
This time she finally confirmed that Kang Kang's talent was much stronger than hers.
Now, not only can he have enough to eat every day, but he also has brown rice and potatoes, clean refined salt, and the sugar and steamed buns secretly fed to him by the two teenagers. Kang Kang's body is getting stronger day by day.
Although it is not as good as when she was a child, she feels that it is only a matter of time.
If it were before, Grandma Guo would never let her grandson use his supernatural powers so intensively.
"Don't worry about eating it. This fruit should be helpful to you." Although Granny Guo had never tasted it, she had a general idea of it.
Tang Yu'an was not in a hurry to eat.
Maybe because he had been exposed to the sun on the road for a few days, his tolerance to high temperatures had improved. The weather was not particularly hot at this time, and he was still indoors, so he felt the temperature was bearable.
"Wait a minute, I brought you a gift."
Tang Yu'an took out four whole-wheat steamed buns and two dumplings from his backpack.
He first took out a bun and was about to give it to Kang Kang, but when he saw his dirty little hands, he gave it to Granny Guo and then took the child to wash his hands.
"this……"
Granny Guo had seen Kang Kang eating steamed buns these days, so she wasn't surprised, but she didn't know... there were also dumplings!
Looking at the plump, white buns emitting a faint vegetable aroma, she couldn't help but be stunned.
"Mother-in-law, please try it." Zhou Qi said to her.
Grandma Guo couldn't resist the temptation, she pinched off a small piece and put it in her mouth. As she chewed slowly, her expression became more and more wonderful.
This really was a bun... the soft and fluffy bun with the aroma of rice flour that she remembered.
"This is so delicious..." the old man said with a choked voice.
When Kang Kang came back from washing his hands, he noticed something was wrong with Grandma Guo. He quickly ran over, hugged her legs, and called her "Grandma" softly.
Granny Guo lowered her head and looked at him.
Although there were tears in her eyes, her expression was smiling.
Kang Kang knew that his mother-in-law was crying with joy again!
Then he saw the buns in Granny Guo's hand and said happily, "Buns! Delicious!"
But at this time he finally remembered the agreement between him and Tang Yu'an.
Hey, didn’t Brother Tang say that this is a secret and can’t be told to mother-in-law?
Kang Kang looked at Tang Yu'an.
Tang Yu'an immediately understood what he meant. He picked up another bun and said, "This is for you and mother-in-law. This one has sweet filling. Thank you for growing such a useful fruit for me."
Kang Kang grinned.
That’s great, Brother Tang is willing to share the secret with Mother-in-law, so Mother-in-law can also eat delicious buns!
You completed a profitable transaction with a regular customer, earning +84 points and +1 experience point.
Although Tang Yu'an said that it was a gift for Kang Kang and Granny Guo, the system still considered him to have completed a profitable transaction.
Granny Guo watched their interaction and finally accepted the gift with pleasure.
But she didn't eat much. She only ate a small piece and put away the rest of the buns.
"Then you guys play with Kang Kang for a while. I'm going out to plant potatoes and will be back soon."
"Okay, take care, mother-in-law."
Before leaving, Granny Guo gave each of them a sweet fruit, so they earned another 40 points and 2 experience points.
Tang Yu'an accompanied Kang Kang, and Zhou Qi took the initiative to pick up the wooden bucket and go out to fetch water for Grandma Guo.
Although she had potatoes, Grandma Guo did not give up the rice she had planted before. After a few days, the seedlings grew stronger.
Moreover, the number of loading containers has increased. The smaller the container, the less water it can hold. It seems that Grandma Guo has not given up the idea of breeding upland rice.
Looking at these lush and well-growing seedlings, both Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi felt happy.
Speaking of playing, Kang Kang ran over and picked up a new generation of mutant lantern fruit.
There are three in total, and they fell off after naturally ripening in the past few days.
"Brother, let's play games!" Kang Kang said excitedly.
Tang Yu'an laughed and took out the three mutant lantern fruits he had taken away when he left. In front of Kang Kang's surprised eyes, he once again played the "trading game" with him of a mutant fruit for a mouthful of glucose solution.
Finally, I successfully obtained three experience points and also earned 299 points!
So, he really likes coming to Granny Guo's house. After just a short visit, his points have skyrocketed by 429 points!
^O^
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