Chapter 84 The Hot Air Balloon is Powered
The thought that his whole family knew he had given Cheng Mohua made Cheng Zhiyu so embarrassed that he wanted to dig his toes into the ground. He tried his best to stop them, saying, "It's not necessary. Does it matter if the vase is pretty or not? As long as it can hold flowers, that's fine."
Cheng Mo was displeased: "How could you say that? Besides, is that a vase?"
Cheng Zhiyu: "...Don't you feel embarrassed? You go out and ask for a vase, and everyone knows I gave you flowers..."
As he spoke, he noticed that Cheng Mo's eyes were gradually brightening, and he knew something was wrong.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Cheng Mo immediately felt even more eager to show off.
Cheng Zhiyu: "..." My mouth!
He gave up and said, "Whatever, go ask for it yourself, you'll only embarrass yourself."
But clearly, Cheng Mo didn't think it was shameful, and went out with the flowers in his hands.
Cheng Zhiyu reached out his hand: "Give me the flowers, there's no need to carry them out."
Cheng Mo refused: "No need, I'll take it myself."
Cheng Zhiyu: "..." Ahhh!
He could only numb himself and pretend he didn't know what Cheng Mo had gone to do.
Cheng Mo carried the flowers out the door and first found her mother in the yard: "Auntie, Zhiyu gave me flowers. Do you have any vases at home?"
Cheng's mother glanced at it, smiled, and thought for a moment. Her family didn't have any artistic talent, and they didn't have any vases at home: "Let me look for you and see if I can find a pretty vase."
After Cheng's mother left, Cheng Mo looked at Cheng's father.
Mr. Cheng: "?" Why are you looking at me?
Cheng Mo repeated what he had just told his mother.
Mr. Cheng looked completely bewildered: "I heard everything you just said, why are you repeating it again?"
Cheng Mo: Okay, find someone else.
Next, everyone knows that Cheng Zhiyu gave Cheng Mo flowers, and Cheng's mother also found a beautiful bottle, which used to hold wine, a very pretty bottle.
In the room, Cheng Mo poured water into the bottle, placed the flowers inside, and frowned, saying, "This bottle used to hold wine; I hope it won't kill the flowers."
Cheng Zhiyu glanced at it and said, "Even if it has never been used to store wine, it will still die. It's not an immortal flower; it will wither."
Cheng Mo frowned upon hearing this. He carefully tended to the flowers, watered them, and placed them by the window where they could get some sun.
Cheng Zhiyu found it amusing to watch from the side.
Cheng Mo asked, "Mom, this bouquet of flowers has wilted. Can you give me a new one?"
Cheng Zhiyu touched his nose: "Uh... I'm afraid that won't work."
Cheng Mo: "Why?"
Cheng Zhiyu explained, "Once these wither, the flowers on the fruit trees in the space will probably fall off too. After a while, I can send you some fruit."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Mo sighed slightly: "...Alright."
Seeing his expression, Cheng Zhiyu couldn't help but think, "Um... why not plant some real flowers in the space?" He had just found some flower seeds at a seed shop outside.
Cheng Mo takes great care of this flower, checking on it almost every day as soon as he returns to his room.
But inevitably, the flowers began to wither.
Every time Cheng Mo came back and saw the fallen petals on the windowsill, he would frown, then collect the petals and press them between the pages of his book. Zhi Yu said that this could be used to make labels.
——
The base was bustling with activity, and the outer perimeter wall was changing almost every day. Everyone was well-fed, slept well, and had a lot of energy to work.
There's also cotton. The village has cotton-fluffing machines. After the cotton is dried and fluffed, the idle women in the village come over to make quilts and clothes.
You can earn contribution points every day. If you like to gather together and chat, you can collect cotton and then gather together to work.
Some people prefer quiet, so they can take the cotton home and work with it.
However, they are all weighed before being taken away, and the quantity is always counted.
Someone at the base said, "Although it's quite cold at night, this blanket is a bit too warm. It feels like sewing it up is pointless."
"Yeah, it's already winter, but it's still so hot during the day. I guess the weather will stay like this from now on, it won't get too cold."
"How did you know? You think you're so smart."
"Hey? How can you talk like that? I just said I feel that since it's winter now and it's still so hot, I don't feel cold."
"Why are you all saying all this? Just do the mission the base gives you, and you can earn contribution points in the process."
"That's right, we just need to focus on the work. Stop talking and the quilts are sewn crookedly. If they don't meet the standards, we'll have to redo them."
"How could that be? We're careful about what we're doing when we talk."
This work is too miserable to do during the day. The red cotton plants generate heat, making the room hot and stuffy. It's better to do it at night. Although it's still a bit hot, it's bearable.
Unfortunately, it was too dark at night, so we could only do it by the moonlight outside, which was too hard on our eyes.
"I wonder when the base will get electricity. Aren't they installing solar panels?"
“I know that. My son goes there to work every day. I heard it probably won’t be long.”
"Really? That's great! With electricity, we can sew quilts and clothes at night."
"Absolutely, it's much more comfortable to do this at night."
"So, once the power is on, can we make phone calls?" someone couldn't help but ask.
"What are you thinking? Having electricity doesn't mean you have a signal; how can you make a phone call?"
"Sigh, I just want to contact my child."
But that's just wishful thinking. Even if the base has electricity and a signal, her child outside might not have electricity or a signal.
When the topic of this matter came up, everyone fell into a somewhat silent state.
Sigh, everyone has relatives they can't contact, but what can we do? These days, just being alive is a blessing.
"Maybe this apocalypse will end someday, and once we have a signal, we'll be able to contact each other again. Let's not think too much about it and just live well. Maybe that day will come."
"You're right, don't overthink it."
"Yeah, why think so much?"
They comforted each other and started chatting and laughing again, but the atmosphere wasn't as good as before.
The warehouse was piled high with quilts. Lin Kang glanced at them and asked, "Are these quilts even usable?"
He was afraid of working for nothing and then not being able to use his skills.
Cheng Zhiyu didn't know either: "It's better to be prepared for unforeseen circumstances. If we need it but don't have it, that would be terrible."
Hearing this, Lin Kang nodded in agreement: "That makes sense. Even if we don't need it, it's just a waste of some labor."
No worries, the base is different now than before, there's no shortage of food and drink.
We have enough food now, and in a year or two, we might be able to eat meat freely too.
A few days later, the solar power equipment was installed. Cheng Zhiyu and the others went to see it, and everyone nervously prepared for the experiment.
Cheng Zhiyu: "Let's turn on the power."
After he finished speaking, the other party started operating the device, and after a short while, a voice came from afar: "Power is on! Power is on!"
They exchanged glances and smiled. The base was powered on, marking another significant step forward.
That evening, the Cheng family ate dinner under the living room lights. It had been a long time since the night had been so bright, and everyone was still a little dazed.
Even though it's only been less than a year since the apocalypse, it feels like a lifetime has passed.
It's unusually lively outside tonight. In the past, once it got dark, there was no electricity, so everyone had no entertainment and went to bed early. Apart from the patrolmen, there was almost no one outside.
Now, there are sounds of laughter and chatter outside; the power has been turned on, and the base seems to have come alive.
Everyone dug out their electronic devices that had been turned off for a long time to charge.
Cheng Zhiyan charged her phone for a while, held her breath, and pressed the power button. After a moment, a familiar voice came through, and she was so moved that she almost burst into tears: "Thank goodness, it can still be turned on, and the battery isn't dead."
She had quite a few novels saved in there. Even though there was no internet, it was still a form of entertainment.
Cheng Zhiyan flipped through the photo album and sighed. It had only been less than a year, but it felt like an eternity. Looking at the photos she had taken before, it really felt like a lifetime had passed.
"Oh dear, there are still some photos I took of my brother here," Cheng Zhiyan muttered.
Then, Cheng Mo appeared and said he wanted to take a look.
Cheng Mo wanted it after seeing it, but Cheng Zhiyan hesitated: "There's no internet now, so we can't share it."
Finally, Cheng Zhiyan took out her computer, connected her phone to it, and copied the photos onto the computer. Cheng Mo then took Cheng Zhiyu's old phone and transferred the photos to it.
After all that effort, I was completely satisfied.
Cheng Zhiyu watched from the side, speechless, not knowing what to say. Wasn't he a grown man right there? Why did he need a photo?
Cheng Mo saved the photo and said, "It's different. This is the old Zhiyu. I've never seen it before."
Cheng Zhiyu coughed lightly: Okay.
Everyone looked at the "X" in the upper right corner of their phones and accepted the fact that there was no signal; they were lucky to even have any power at all.
Tian Qiao finished charging the tablet and turned it on: "Luckily, I have some games here that don't require an internet connection. Come on, Manman, wanna play?"
Tian Manman wasn't interested in the game, but she still obediently sat down opposite him.
Tian Qiao opened the Minesweeper game, her expression serious and focused, and clicked on the next box.
Tian Manman reached out and randomly picked one.
Tian Qiao frowned again, thought for a moment, and then clicked on the next one.
Tian Manman randomly picked another one.
Seeing this, Tian Qiao couldn't help but say, "Manman, you're wrong to just pick like that. How can you just pick randomly? You have to calculate carefully. There are patterns in Minesweeper."
Tian Manman felt bored, but she still cooperated a little slowly.
However, he ordered randomly and died in just a few hits.
Tian Qiao: "Again, again!"
Tian Manman refused: "It's not fun, I'm not coming."
Tian Qiao: "..."
He had no choice but to call out to Zhou Min, but when he turned his head, he found Zhou Min and Han Ping huddled together, whispering to each other about something.
Turning my head again, I saw Han Tingting and Cheng Zhiyan huddled together, laughing every now and then. I wondered what they were saying, they seemed so happy.
As for the others, none of the elders know how to play games, so there's nothing we can do.
And then there's Cheng Zhiyu and Cheng Mo, who are inseparable.
Ugh, this is so boring. I'll play by myself.
Even if a call comes in, these phones aren't really that fun without internet access.
Cheng Zhiyu said, "There should be a local area network behind the base, so communication can be done within the base."
"Really?" Cheng Zhiyan was quite happy to hear this. Although it was only internal, it was still good. After all, the base was quite large now, and people could still send messages to each other even if they were far apart.
Within two days, the base had a local area network, and everyone received the first official electronic notification from the base since the apocalypse.
The notice stated that Cheng Zhiyu has taken over the base and is responsible for its main overall coordination work.
Lin Kang has now become his deputy.
Lin Kang, who actually just wanted a technical job: "..."
Cheng Zhiyu said, "After the apocalypse, you have been managing the base and know more about many things about the base than I do. You are the most suitable deputy."
Moreover, there is indeed a need for a deputy who can temporarily manage the base, so that he can manage the base when he leaves.
Of course, with responsibilities on his shoulders, Cheng Zhiyu wouldn't easily leave the base, but just in case.
In the end, Lin Kang had no choice but to agree.
The change of management didn't cause much of a stir. In everyone's opinion, the change in base management wouldn't have much impact on them, especially since it was Cheng Zhiyu who was replaced, and they respected him from the bottom of their hearts.
After all, the base has really been getting better and better since Cheng Zhiyu came to the base.
Then there are the base management regulations, which are closely related to them.
Previous regulations were unwritten rules, but this notice was stamped with the official seal of the Xiaohe Base. It stated what the base did not allow, what punishments would be given for making mistakes, that people could report each other, and that if someone knew about something and helped cover it up, they would be considered an accomplice and would also be punished.
Of course, to ensure that people without phones can see this information, it has also been posted on the official bulletin board.
When Cheng Zhiyu heard the system notification that day that Xiaoqi had reached level one maturity, he immediately entered his space to check on Xiaoqi's status.
After the small plant matures, the planting space has been expanded from 22*22 meters to 23*23 meters, and the storage space has also increased to 160 cubic meters.
Then, looking at Xiaoqi's situation, Cheng Zhiyu raised an eyebrow and realized that Xiaoqi was like a hot air balloon, capable of flying and carrying people.
However, under the condition of being at level one maturity, a stingy person can only bring a maximum of two people.
Two people would be fine, Cheng Zhiyu had an idea.
That day, he asked Cheng Mo mysteriously, "Do you want to fly?"
Cheng Mo: "My wings haven't grown yet, I can't fly."
His wings won't grow until he's 100 years old, well... it won't be long.
Cheng Zhiyu was stunned for a moment: "You can grow wings?"
"Didn't you hear what I said before?" Cheng Mo said quietly, "I already said I'm a winged person, how could I not have wings?"
Cheng Zhiyu opened his mouth, his impression was being overturned again. The problem was, Cheng Mo's beast form was now a big dog, a big dog... with wings?
Hmm... thinking about it, it's actually quite interesting.
His eyes lit up as he thought of something: "Do humanoid figures also have wings?"
Although Cheng Mo had never grown up, he had seen it and nodded: "Yes."
Cheng Zhiyu looked at Cheng Mo's face, his heart pounding: "Isn't that... an angel?"
Cheng Mo asked, puzzled, "What is an angel?"
Cheng Zhiyu: "It has wings on its back, very beautiful white wings."
Cheng Mo: "But my wings should be black."
Its fur is black; it would be strange if it had white wings.
"That's the Black Angel, he's really cool!" Cheng Zhiyu said with some anticipation.
If... Cheng Mo's ears could also emerge at the same time as his wings, he couldn't imagine how excited he would be.
Yeah, just thinking about it makes my heart pound.
"Then why did you ask me just now if I wanted to fly?" Cheng Mo brought up the question Cheng Zhiyu had just asked.
"Wow... I have a new plant again." Cheng Zhiyu noticed that the system didn't give him any more plants after this one matured, but he wasn't disappointed. He happily shared with Cheng Mo that the new plant could make him fly.
"It should be like a hot air balloon," Cheng Zhiyu said.
Cheng Mo snorted: "I can take you flying too, but it will take some time."
Cheng Zhiyu laughed: "Why are you talking so sourly? You'd be jealous of anything, even plants?"
Cheng Mo: "Eat."
Cheng Zhiyu: "..."
He glanced at Cheng Mo and said, "Do you want to sit down? If not, I'll find someone else."
Cheng Mo: "Yes!"
What a joke! He wouldn't let Zhiyu ride in a hot air balloon with anyone else.
Cheng Zhiyu smiled, glanced at the sky outside; it was already dark, just right.
He didn't want to sit during the day; it felt strange if people saw him.
Summon Xiaoqi, and Xiaoqi will transform into a hot air balloon, complete with a standing area underneath, much like a regular hot air balloon.
The only difference is that the small balloon can fly wherever it wants, making it much more flexible than a hot air balloon.
They found an open space in the yard, and their family came to see it.
Cheng Zhiyu asked them if they wanted to ride, but his parents shook their heads, saying they were scared because the plane was flying so high.
Cheng Zhiyan quickly raised her hand: "I want it! I want it!"
Cheng Zhiyu: "I'll take Cheng Mofei around first, then I'll take you."
Cheng Zhiyan nodded vigorously: "Okay, okay."
My uncle's family moved out, and the Cheng family offered them a place to stay, but my uncle said, "Living here all the time isn't a long-term solution. Besides, the outer ring is allocating houses now, so we have to get them quickly, otherwise we might not be able to get any later."
Liu Pingan had also gone to build the wall, and his aunt had gone to sew quilts; they had been working the whole time.
Zhou Min and his group no longer lived here, but they lived nearby and came over to join in the fun after hearing the commotion.
They were clamoring that they wanted to sit too.
Cheng Mo stared at him with a death stare: "Zhiyu, you didn't need to bring them, did you?"
Cheng Zhiyu also felt that otherwise, if he brought people back and forth, it would take all night, so he simply said, "You two can sit by yourselves when the time comes."
He didn't trust his sister, so Zhou Min and the others didn't have to worry about anything.
Several people: "okok~"
As he spoke, the small amount of money slowly floated up.
Everything around me got lower and lower until I floated up to a height of 20 meters above the ground before I stopped floating upwards.
Cheng Zhiyu looked up and saw the sky filled with starlight, a sight rarely seen before the apocalypse.
Without the lights, the starlight became even clearer.
The temperature was already low at night, and Cheng Zhiyu belatedly realized that he was feeling a bit cold.
Feeling Cheng Mo approach, the other hugged him from behind, holding his hands to warm them.
Cheng Mo thought to himself, "I can fly even better in the future."
Cheng Zhiyu raised an eyebrow: "You don't even have wings, and you're already bragging?"
Cheng Mo lightly bit his cheek in dissatisfaction: "What do you mean by bragging? Our Winged Clan has never flown that low."
Cheng Zhiyu teased him deliberately: "But what if... what if you just can't fly high..."
Cheng Mo laughed in exasperation, stopped biting his cheek, and instead leaned close to Cheng Zhiyu's lips and kissed him, silencing the mouth that was deliberately trying to annoy him.
After what seemed like an eternity, Cheng Mo finally released him. Cheng Zhiyu blushed slightly, thinking to himself, "Luckily it's dark now, so they shouldn't be able to see me from the ground."
Then, he sensed the change in Cheng Mo.
Cheng Zhiyu looked at him: "You...we're outside."
Cheng Mo nuzzled against his neck, pouting, "Zhiyu, I can't help it."
Cheng Zhiyu's ears burned: "Stop fooling around."
Cheng Mo: "I'll just hug you."
Cheng Zhiyu: "...Oh."
Then don't keep staring at me.
Cheng Mo's voice was a little hoarse: "Zhiyu, what were those things you said I had no idea about when you were drunk before?"
Cheng Zhiyu was taken aback: When did he say that?
No wonder Cheng Mo acted strangely the next day.
Cheng Zhiyu coughed lightly, feigning ignorance: "What do you mean? I don't know anything about it. You believe what a drunk person says?"
Cheng Mo: "Go ahead and pretend."
Cheng Zhiyu touched his nose: "Stop pretending, I don't understand what you're saying."
Cheng Mo exposed him: "Every time you lie, you like to touch your nose."
Cheng Zhiyu paused, then said, "..."
How come he didn't know he had this habit?
Cheng Mo looked at Cheng Zhiyu's guilty expression and couldn't help but laugh, saying in a low voice, "I know everything."
Cheng Zhiyu was genuinely confused this time: "What do you know?"
Cheng Mo leaned close to his ear and whispered something. Cheng Zhiyu's ears turned bright red, his eyes widened, and he almost pushed Cheng Mo away: "You... how did you know?"
Cheng Zhiyu stammered, "Listen, listen to who said that?"
Cheng Mo frowned in disgust: "I'm not going to tell anyone about this."
Cheng Zhiyu: "Then you..."
Cheng Mo pulled a comic book out of his pocket: "Hmm... I read this."
He said, feeling wronged, "I didn't want to see it either, but it's your fault for not telling me."
Cheng Zhiyu glanced at the comic and thought, "Good heavens, it's erotic comics."
After listening to Cheng Mo's words, he thought to himself, how could he possibly say something like this? Did he have to give the other person some pointers?
Cheng Zhiyu's face turned bright red, and she glanced at him: "...We'll talk about it when we get back."
Actually, he also wanted to take things to the next level with Cheng Mo, but firstly, Cheng Mo's thing was a bit scary, and secondly, Cheng Mo didn't know anything about it, so he was too embarrassed to teach him.
Now that we know, perhaps we can take it slow.
Cheng Zhiyu coughed lightly, and then didn't know how to make eye contact with Cheng Mo.
The two walked around the base, checking if the surroundings were safe. They also saw a deer and threw it a cabbage, which the deer ate with great relish.
Then they returned to the courtyard, where Cheng Zhiyan had been waiting. Upon seeing them return, she immediately rushed over.
Then she saw her brother's face: "Hey? Brother, why is your face so red?"
Cheng Zhiyu coughed lightly: "It's a bit cold up there, go find some warm clothes to wear."
Cheng Zhiyan was successfully fooled: "Aww!"
Actually, Cheng Mo's face was also a little red, but since his skin was wheat-colored, it wasn't very noticeable.
Cheng Zhiyu was also wearing thick clothes, and Cheng Mo scratched his palm.
Cheng Zhiyu: "..."
Then, he took his sister for a walk around, and when they came back, Cheng Zhiyan exclaimed excitedly, "So much fun!"
Tian Qiao and his friends yelled like monkeys, "It's our turn! It's our turn!"
Cheng Zhiyu: "...Be careful, call me if there are any problems."
Tian Qiao and Tian Manman went up first to indicate that they understood.
Seeing that they floated up steadily, Cheng Zhiyu felt relieved that there were no problems. Then, Cheng Mo pulled him into the room, where he was greeted by a kiss that was so hot it felt like it was burning him.
Cheng Zhiyu was pinned against the door, his head almost hitting it, but Cheng Mo blocked it with his hand.
The atmosphere was lively, and Cheng Mo's hand moved downwards with unfamiliarity.
Cheng Zhiyu pressed down on his hand, his breathing becoming heavy: "You... wait."
Cheng Mo's eyes reddened, and he kissed Cheng Zhiyu's lips, his voice hoarse: "...Okay."
Cheng Zhiyu went to the bedside table, opened it, and even with his back to Cheng Mo, he could feel the other's scorching breath, which almost burned him through.
Cheng Zhiyu was a bit spineless, feeling weak in the knees. He pulled out a few condoms and some lubricant.
Fortunately... he had prepared beforehand.
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