Chapter 78
After hearing Kang Kang's words, Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi were stunned.
Plant it? Is that what they meant?
Kang Kang held the leaf in his arms, his thin little face flushed red, and his big round eyes became exceptionally bright. Just by looking at his expression, one could tell the child was excited.
Tang Yu'an then asked tentatively: "Kang Kang, can you use this leaf to grow a blue beard tree?"
That’s amazing!
Kang Kang looked up at him, blinked his eyes and said, "I want to... grow it!"
Oh, it was just a thought...
Tang Yu'an felt that his mood of taking off fell back to the ground.
Whether it can be done is still unknown, but since Kang Kang has such an idea, he naturally supports it unconditionally.
"OK!"
Tang Yu'an patted the child's shoulder and said with certainty, "As long as Kang Kang wants to do something, he can definitely do it."
When Kang Kang heard his words, he couldn't help but grin.
"Um!"
He nodded his head and seemed very confident in himself.
"Then I'll leave this leaf to you. Take your time to study it. There's no need to rush."
Worried that the child would tire himself out, Tang Yu'an touched his little head again and warned him earnestly: "Don't tire yourself out. Eat well and rest well."
He knew that this matter would be very difficult.
After all, even ordinary plants, except for some special varieties, rarely have the ability to shed their leaves and take root.
As a mutant plant, the blue beech tree is even more difficult to cultivate.
If Kang Kang can really grow it, it would be a real pleasant surprise. With such a mutant beech tree that can regulate temperature, their lives will definitely be greatly improved.
If you can't...
So could he trade tree species with the little boy in Lanhu Town?
Tang Yu'an couldn't help but wonder, even if there were no tree species, wouldn't branches be easier to grow than leaves?
If such a practical tree species could be promoted in the wasteland, how many Blue Hu towns could be created? Even if he only planted it in the wasteland, he would be able to live more comfortably.
However, thinking of the dangers of species invasion, Tang Yu'an's heated mind calmed down again.
The mother plants of the mutant lantern fruit have developed intelligence, and the blue beard tree is probably not much different. When facing such unknown life, we should still be cautious.
But it’s too early to say that now.
In any case, let’s wait until Kang Kang is grown.
Next, Kang Kang showed unparalleled enthusiasm for the blue beech leaf.
Even when Tang Yu'an was teasing him, he was a little absent-minded. While playing, he began to stare at the leaves in a daze, which made Tang Yu'an very curious about what the leaves looked like in his eyes.
And the previous cool fruit tree has naturally fallen out of favor.
After asking Kang Kang, Tang Yu'an placed it properly under the window so that it could get sunlight.
The blue beard tree had not even started to bear fruit yet, but a new batch of refreshing fruits had already grown out from the branches and leaves. Tang Yu'an counted them carefully and found that there were five of them this time.
One is worth 100 points, that’s 500 points!
And you can earn 500 points repeatedly!
Unfortunately, Kang Kang was fascinated by the leaves of the blue beard. He squatted in the corner, holding the leaves and looking at them as if he had got a new toy.
"Brother Xiaoqi, can you see anything?" Tang Yu'an couldn't help but ask Zhou Qi.
Among the crystals that the owner of the Jade Pavilion gave them before, there was one with wood attribute. Zhou Qi also reacted to that wood crystal, so theoretically, he should also have wood-attribute abilities.
Unfortunately, Zhou Qi shook his head.
He could feel the fluctuations of wood energy around Kang Kang, but he couldn't understand any more information.
He had also seen Granny Guo promote the growth of plants, but he couldn't do it just by watching like he could with the gold and fire elements. This might be the limitation of his talent.
"It's okay, you're already amazing!"
Zhou Qi nodded and took out a tape measure to measure Kang Kang's size.
Seeing that there was nothing he could help with, Tang Yu'an opened the small map and began to study the location of the branch.
Grandma Guo and Old Li's homes are located in the same community. There are many abandoned buildings in this community, but it takes some effort to find one where people can live.
If possible, Tang Yu'an still hopes that the branch can be located closer to the two elderly people.
Not long after, Granny Guo came back.
Kang Kang immediately ran towards her with the blue beard leaves, babbling some childish words that Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi could not understand.
Granny Guo listened to him patiently, with a kind smile on her face all the time.
"That's fine, let him be."
Although Grandma Guo was surprised that her grandson had a new "research project", she was also quite supportive.
Her greatest hope for her grandson is that he grows up healthy. Beyond that, it would be great if he could find and persist in doing something he enjoys.
As for other things...what else is there to hope for in such a post-apocalyptic wasteland?
"Old Li went out hunting, and he asked me to pass this to you."
Granny Guo handed Zhou Qi a straw basket with a few arrows and a piece of meat in it.
Although Old Li had formed a tacit understanding with Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi, he knew that they needed to come to him for business every day.
But obviously, he didn't know that the transaction would only be effective if the "person himself" was present.
However, being remembered like this still made Tang Yu'an feel warm in his heart.
“Thank you, grandma!”
After handing the things to them, Grandma Guo continued to tend to the rice in the box. Judging from its growth, it would probably be ready for harvest in another week.
Kang Kang's spirit of studying plants may have been learned from his mother-in-law.
Afterwards, Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi said goodbye and left.
Although Old Li was not at home, they had received something after all, so they still went to his house and stuffed a small bag of salt into the window through the gap.
"Sister Lin is not at home."
Tang Yu'an looked at the map. Lin Zhen was not at home, but wandering in the ruins and woods. He was probably out looking for food like Old Li.
"Well, let's go find Uncle Jin first."
Zhou Qi turned around and headed straight towards Tie Jin's house.
Tiejin's home is not far from Lao Li. If he didn't have the skill of light body, it would probably take him ten minutes to walk there.
They stopped and walked along the way, looking at the surrounding buildings, searching for suitable target locations and recording them. Because they did not need to worry about mutant creatures, their range of choices was much larger than that of others.
Soon, they arrived at Tiejin's house.
"Uncle Jin, let's bring clothes to Lily."
"Okay, okay, come in!"
Despite a small conflict yesterday, Tiejin's attitude towards them did not change, except that his face looked noticeably more haggard than yesterday.
"Is Lily okay?"
Tang Yu'an still felt guilty about making Jin Lili cry yesterday, so he brought some hot milk with sugar today, intending to feed it to her when Tie Jin wasn't paying attention.
"Yeah, it's okay now."
Tiejin nodded, but the smile on his face became a little forced.
He said everything was fine, but last night when he went to cover his daughter with the quilt, he heard her calling for her mother in her sleep again...
This made Tiejin feel complicated.
From yesterday until now, what Tang Yu'an said kept popping up in his mind.
Is Lily behaving so well because she is afraid of being abandoned by him?
Admittedly, he likes his daughter's obedience, but he also hopes that his daughter can become lively, talk and laugh with him, and become a real family member.
Tiejin also knew that this was a problem that needed to be solved with time, but he couldn't help but think about it...
So, he couldn't sleep again last night.
But there was no need to tell these to outsiders, and soon he led the two teenagers to the second floor.
The little girl was lying quietly on the metal box filled with ice, with a mint plant beside her. When she heard the noise, she looked up over here.
When she saw Tie Jin, Tang Yu'an and others appear, there was finally a hint of spirit in her empty big eyes.
"Lily, good morning!"
"Look what this is?"
Tang Yu'an took out the little skirt Zhou Qi made for her from her backpack.
Jin Lili didn't react at all, but Tie Jin, who had been looking gloomy, suddenly brightened up.
"Is this the dress for Lily?"
"So this style is called a skirt? It's so pretty!"
He took the little skirt from Tang Yu'an's hand, caressed it lovingly, and praised it non-stop, with his beard unable to hide his love for her.
"Did you really make this? The fabric is so soft. Did you bring it from the fortress?"
Tiejin was full of yearning for the civilization before the disaster. This little skirt, which seemed very simple and rough to Zhou Qi, was so delicate and beautiful in his eyes.
After Tang Yu'an helped Jin Lili change, Tie Jin looked at his daughter who had completely changed, and the smile on his face became even more unstoppable.
“It’s really beautiful!”
He couldn't come up with many adjectives, and could only keep praising it for being beautiful.
Jin Lili looked at her new clothes, curiosity written in her round eyes.
She had no concept of beauty or ugliness, but wearing clean, soft cotton cloth was naturally more comfortable than the dirty, tattered cloth she had worn before.
However, when Tiejin wanted to take away the piece of tattered cloth, her little hands tightly grasped the cloth.
Tiejin was stunned and said subconsciously: "This piece of cloth is very dirty, Dad, take it and throw it away."
Jin Lili showed a sad expression, but she quickly let go of her hand, but her eyes were still fixed on the rag.
Tiejin, who is originally carefree, is unlikely to notice her emotional changes.
However, after Tang Yu'an's reminder yesterday, Tie Jin couldn't help but become more careful. When he discovered that his daughter was acting strangely, he was a little at a loss.
"Lily may be nostalgic." Zhou Qi said.
Tang Yu opened his mouth slightly. In fact, he thought Lily might be missing her mother. After all, this piece of rag should have been found for her by A Lian.
He just glanced at Tiejin and ultimately didn't say anything that might irritate him.
Just like what Brother Xiaoqi said, it is more important to try hard to survive in this world. If he said it more, and Uncle Tiejin really sent Lily back to Alian, would it be a good ending?
Tang Yu'an was also very confused, so he decided not to interfere in this matter and let nature take its course.
In the end, Tiejin took the piece of rag away.
The main reason is that it is really too dirty. Even if you want to use it as a quilt, you have to wash it first.
Seeing Jin Lili's quiet and well-behaved appearance, he couldn't help but soften his voice and said, "Daddy will take it to wash, and then return it to you after washing, okay?"
Jin Lili didn't know whether she understood or not. After he finished speaking, she raised her head and looked at him intently.
Tiejin smiled at her, and Jin Lili also curled up the corners of her mouth, revealing a faint smile.
In Tiejin's eyes, this smile was so adorable that it almost melted his heart.
“Nostalgia is good!”
Tiejin picked up his daughter and spun around happily.
Of course he knew that Jin Lili might have wanted to keep the cloth because she was thinking of her mother, but...
He thought, there is nothing wrong with being nostalgic.
Because if that happens, Lily will think of him the same way in the future.
Since he had promised his daughter, Tie Jin would naturally try his best to do it. He looked at Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi and asked, "Is there anything in the fortress that can be used to wash clothes?"
It would be nice if we could save some water. The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and clean water is becoming more and more precious.
Hearing about his troubles, Tang Yu'an took the initiative to take the job.
Not to mention the grocery store's item inventory function, even his newly mastered purification technique can perfectly take on this job!
"Just leave it to me. I promise to return it to you cleanly tomorrow."
Seeing the boy's confidence, Tie Jin was curious but didn't ask any more questions. "Okay, if you can really clean it, I'll trade you half of the metal arrowhead."
Then, Tang Yu'an was judged to have made a profitable transaction and received +1 point.
According to the system, this piece of rag is actually worth 1 point? Tang Yu'an didn't know whether to call the system stingy or frugal.
"You'll have to wait two more days for the hoe you requested. I'll make it for you as soon as possible."
Tiejin was still thinking about Granny Guo's potatoes. "When they're ready, can you recommend some to me?"
He wanted to negotiate the deal directly with Granny Guo.
Tiejin didn't distrust the two teenagers, but he was worried that if they stopped coming, his daughter would have nothing to eat.
Besides, potatoes are really filling and can be stored longer than meat and eggs. Not only his daughter can eat them, but he can eat them too.
“We’ll ask her.”
This matter mainly depends on what Grandma Guo thinks. She doesn't seem to want to contact others, and Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi can't make a decision for her.
However, Tang Yu'an felt that it would be a good idea for the two families to get to know each other. After all, they both had a child and they could be playmates.
"I'll do my best to help you."
"That's troublesome!"
Tie Jin thanked him solemnly, and then Zhou Qi asked, "Uncle Jin, we want to find a new place to stay nearby. Do you have any good suggestions?"
Hearing this, Tiejin was a little surprised. To be honest, he didn't know where these two young men had settled in the deserted city.
"Where do you live now?"
"It's quite far from here..." Zhou Qi said vaguely.
Seeing that he was unwilling to say more, Tiejin did not ask any further questions. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Are you planning to live here long-term?"
"Yes." Zhou Qi nodded.
"Then I suggest you go find Brother Pashi."
Tiejin said, "He helped me find and renovate my house. He's an earth-type ability user and is very good at reinforcing buildings."
Tang Yu'an felt that the name sounded familiar.
"Does he have a brother named Batu?"
"Right." Tiejin was surprised. "Do you two know each other?"
Tang Yu'an shook his head. "We met him on the way to the market town. Grandpa Li told us about it."
"I see."
Tiejin nodded. "I seem to have heard that Lao Li has an average relationship with them. They had some conflicts during hunting trips before."
This kind of thing is actually quite normal. After all, it is in the wasteland, and there are too many cases of people fighting over food.
"But don't worry, they don't hate each other."
Tiejin knew that the young couple had a good relationship with Old Li, so he explained a little more.
"Yeah, okay."
"So have you found the approximate location?" Tiejin asked.
Tang Yu'an had indeed found two or three places he liked, and he casually told him about them.
Tiejin listened to his description and gradually frowned.
Finally, he shook his head and said, "None of the places you chose are very good."
"Why?" Tang Yu'an asked curiously.
"If you want to live in a deserted city for a long time, you have to find a high place. Low places are absolutely not acceptable." Tiejin said seriously.
After hearing what he said, Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi suddenly realized that the residents of the deserted city seemed to live in high places.
Even the residents of Mount Jufeng live on the top of the mountain.
At the beginning, Tang Yu'an asked Old Li why people built the town on the top of the mountain even though the mountain road was so difficult to travel. He said it was for safety.
At that time, he thought it was to avoid mutant creatures, but now it seems...
Tang Yu'an remembered the small boat he saw on the first floor when he first came to Tie Jin's house, so the real reason was...
"flood?"
"flood?"
Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi said almost in unison.
After they finished speaking, they looked at each other and saw the surprise in each other's eyes.
Their worries became a reality. Tiejin nodded and said, "Yes, if we build our homes in low places, they will be swallowed by the flood in the future."
Hearing this, Tang Yu'an couldn't help but gasp, "Isn't it a drought? How can there be a flood?"
The temperature difference between day and night is so big, are there other natural disasters?
"After a severe drought comes a flood. It's like this every year." Tiejin looked accustomed to it. Born in the wasteland, he had long been numb to these things.
"The water level can usually reach four or five meters, which is about as high as the second or third floor of my house. So the place you live in must first be high, and then strong enough to avoid being washed away by the flood."
He gave sincere advice to the two teenagers.
"You can find a relatively intact building like I did, and then ask Pasig to renovate and reinforce it, so that you can have more space and live more comfortably."
"You have salt in your hands, he won't refuse." Tie Jin patted his chest and said, "With me here, he won't dare to blackmail you."
Tang Yu'an nodded.
If it is true as he said, that there will be floods after droughts, then the locations they found before will definitely not be suitable.
In order to facilitate external business, Tang Yu'an chose houses that are easy to enter and exit. Naturally, such places do not require climbing up and down like the houses of Granny Guo and others.
However, they had not originally intended to decide on it just like that. They would ask Grandpa Li before finalizing it. Now that they know in advance the issues that need to be avoided, they can avoid taking detours.
"Uncle Jin, thank you for telling us this." Zhou Qi said, "Let's go back and discuss it first. Can we come back to you later?"
"Hahaha, of course!"
Tiejin waved his hand and told them not to be so polite.
"If you can settle down in the deserted city for a long time, I would really welcome you a thousand times!"
Tiejin was speaking from the heart. He really hoped to learn more from the two teenagers.
Especially after tasting Zhou Qi's cooking yesterday, he truly realized what he had been eating before was just pig food. For the sake of his and his daughter's future happy life, he has decided to work hard to improve his cooking skills.
And it all starts with the wok!
Because the hoe and wok were not finished yet, Zhou Qi did not give Tie Jin any new problems today. After Tang Yu'an secretly fed Jin Lili milk, they said goodbye and left.
The scorching sun hung high in the sky. Tang Yu'an held up an umbrella to shield himself from the sun, but the atmosphere under the umbrella seemed a little heavy.
"Brother Xiaoqi, if there is a flood in the future, what will happen to our shop?" Tang Yu'an said worriedly.
The shop he was talking about was naturally the main store.
There is a protective barrier at night, but the barrier disappears during the day. The flood in this wasteland will not only occur at night, right?
Given the location of the main store, it will definitely be flooded.
"After the store was upgraded, there were no related setting options for the protective barrier?" Zhou Qi also looked solemn.
"No." Tang Yu'an shook his head and said, "Maybe my level is not high enough?"
"If that's the case, then we have to speed up." Zhou Qi whispered.
There is not enough space in the portable warehouse. In order to reduce losses, they must transfer the items in the grocery store to the branch before the flood comes.
Tang Yu'an responded somewhat sullenly.
Ping'an Grocery Store was his home, and the thought that it might be destroyed by the flood filled his heart with sadness.
Zhou Qi thought for a moment and consoled him, "When the flood hit, the grocery store was out of business. Perhaps the protective barrier would have opened automatically?"
After all, the logic behind opening the protective barrier is to welcome customers, and in abnormal weather, it is definitely not possible to operate.
So although they need to be prepared for both scenarios, they don't need to worry too much.
"Um……"
Tang Yu'an nodded and finally cheered up.
"Yes, and the flood won't come immediately. If we continue to upgrade, perhaps we can unlock related functions of the protective barrier."
Thinking of this, the boy immediately became full of energy again.
"Brother Xiaoqi, let's go find Sister Lin!"
Next, you still have to work hard to earn points and experience points, then build branches and upgrade!
Zhou Qi breathed a sigh of relief and replied with a smile, "Okay."
They started to rush towards Lin Zhen's house.
Lin Zhen's home is not far from Tie Jin's home. From the map, we can see that Sister Lin has returned to the vicinity of her home. I don't know what she gained from her outing today.
When they arrived, they saw her carrying a straw basket through the window.
"Sister Lin Zhen!"
Tang Yu'an was the first to greet.
Lin Zhen, who was putting down the straw basket, was stunned and turned around to look at them.
I don’t know if it’s because the weather is too hot, but the hair on her forehead is wet with sweat, her face is red, and her pair of dark eyes reveal uncontrollable excitement.
As she placed the straw basket on the ground, the cloth covering it slipped off, revealing two pale yellow bodies, their surface still caked with mud and filth...
Lizard eggs!
Tang Yuan: 0.0
He couldn't help but widen his eyes.
Isn't this his lizard egg?! How did it end up in Sister Lin's straw basket?
The author has something to say:
Female lizard: Say it again, whose egg is this?!
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