Chapter 21 First Fetal Movement
Firethorn is a plant that thrives in strong light, tolerates poor soil, is drought-resistant, and cold-hardy. It is very easy to grow and can be propagated by seeds or cuttings.
In short, this is the cockroach of the plant kingdom. Its fruit has a high sugar content and is very nutritious. Its only drawback is that it tastes sweet with a hint of sourness, and it's quite sour.
Thinking of this, she stuck out her tongue and licked the half-eaten firethorn berry. In an instant, she felt as if she had eaten a divine fruit. Tsk tsk, it was so delicious!
Remembering how Ding Yi had offered to help her when she was falsely accused, she decided to leave the remaining whole firethorn berry for her to eat, provided, of course, that the radiation level of the branch was tested first.
She opened the testing knife and, luckily, found it only had moderate radiation. She carefully picked the fruit, wrapped it in a soft leaf, and put it in her backpack.
Then begin digging along its roots.
Fortunately, the soil here was relatively loose, and it only took fifteen minutes to dig up the wood spirit core that the chestnut had detected.
It is pale green, only the size of an apricot kernel, and is wrapped in the roots of the firethorn.
Left fan couldn't pry it out, so he dug out the tangled clump of roots along with the soil clinging to them, wrapped it in large leaves, and stuffed it into his backpack.
Perhaps she had used up all her luck in the morning, because in the entire afternoon, she only detected two pine cones with moderate radiation and dug up 16 pine nuts.
Zuo Shan finished work half an hour early, returned to the tent in a huff, and handed over his meager harvest before the others returned.
After Jia Yiming, who was in charge of the acceptance, finished the inspection and made a record, he also showed her her vacuum bag. It was written on it: 27+8 moderately irradiated pine nuts, a total of 35 nuts, and 3 low-irradiation pine nuts.
Seeing that she was in low spirits, Jia Yiming pointed to the pine cones piled up like a small mountain outside the tent and said, "Look, you can fill them up as much as you want now, but you'll have to pay one silver coin for shipping each sack. If you want us to send someone to escort you home, it will cost an extra 50 silver coins."
Zuo Shan's eyes lit up when she heard that she could be escorted home directly! Compared to what she had gained, the escort fee was insignificant. Although she felt a little heartache, she thought it was worth the money to buy peace of mind.
In fact, the mercenary group would also buy their harvest at 20% below market price, but when she thought about the nutritional value of pine nuts, she couldn't bear to sell them.
Zuo Shan took out ten burlap sacks she had brought and skillfully filled them with discarded pine cones. Jia Yiming kindly helped her tie them into the sacks, then tied them all together with a rope, labeled them with her name, and threw them all into the delivery truck.
He thought that although the girl was lucky, she was a bit stupid for being willing to spend 10 silver coins to transport such junk that could only be used as firewood.
After dealing with the matter on the left side, the others also finished work and returned one after another. This time, no one brought back pine cones; they all dug up pine nuts and brought them back directly to save time and go home earlier.
On the way back, everyone sat in the same place they had come from. Zuo Shan presented a firethorn fruit to Ding Yi, the little girl, as if it were a treasure. The little girl took it and was about to taste it when she remembered what she had said before: you must take home the things that others give you before you eat them.
Because once you bring it home, you can test it carefully to confirm that it is non-toxic and harmless before enjoying it slowly.
On the way back, Zuo Shan could clearly feel the joyful atmosphere in the air. Everyone on the bus was tired, but their eyes were filled with undisguised excitement.
She knew they were all excited about today's harvest, and she herself was no exception.
She couldn't help but sigh. She had only been in this wasteland for a few days, but she had already been assimilated by the surrounding environment. She could feel genuine joy just for a bite to eat.
Thinking back, whether at home or dining out, I always found fault with the abundant dishes, complaining about the fishy smell, the tough meat, the salty vegetables, and the bland soup...
She unknowingly missed out on countless billions!
After much painful reflection, Zuo Shan made a firm resolution: if she ever had the chance to travel back in time, she would cherish every grain of rice and every leaf of vegetable, and would never be picky again!
Perhaps due to the intense fluctuations in her emotions, she suddenly felt a ripple in her lower abdomen, as if a small bulge was rolling beneath her.
She subconsciously reached out and gently stroked her abdomen. The little bulge seemed to sense her careful touch and gently throbbed against her palm through her belly.
Without any instruction, she knew that the bulge must be the fetus moving, that it was another life connected to her by blood interacting with her.
At that moment, an indescribable tenderness seemed to overflow from the bottom of her heart. She, who had been struggling with whether to have a natural miscarriage or to take good care of herself during pregnancy, suddenly made a serious decision.
From this moment on, she will take good care of her pregnancy and, no matter how difficult the road ahead, she will give birth to this child and raise it to adulthood.
He (or she) may be her only blood relative in this world, because it is because of him (or her) that her difficult struggle to survive has meaning.
She remembers reading this passage in middle school: People don't live to live, but live to live. The so-called peaceful life is nothing more than a bowl of steaming soup when you come home on a cold night, and a light that is always on for you.
Back then, I was young and only saw it as a bland, unremarkable piece of inspirational chicken soup, and I scoffed at it after reading it.
At that time, she was full of hope for the future, and she wanted to stand on the podium of an international competition one day and enjoy the supreme glory of being the center of attention.
However, at this moment, she suddenly understood that in the vast universe, she, as lonely and insignificant as a speck of dust, had a heart to care about and an infinite motivation to strive for because of the small bulge in her belly.
The little girl Ding Yi, sitting next to her, suddenly sensed that the fan-wielding sister seemed to be surrounded by a ball of light, so gentle, so holy, and so warm, which reminded her of her mother who had passed away early.
If her mother were still alive, she would also have this warm light that makes her want to get closer. Ding Yi's eyes were slightly red, and he pretended to be drowsy, subtly resting her little head on her shoulder.
Feeling the warmth of a fluffy head, Zuo Shan turned her head and saw the little girl's tightly closed eyes. Perhaps it was maternal love at work, but seeing such an unguarded cub, she couldn't help but feel a deep sense of pity.
She gently cradled the little head and laid her flat on her lap. There was still about an hour's drive to home, so she decided to let her get some sleep.
Ding Yi originally pretended to be asleep in order to get closer to her, but he didn't expect to get an unexpected benefit. He rested his head on her soft legs and smelled her faint, indescribable, and pleasant body fragrance. He actually fell asleep without realizing it.
In her dream, the table was full of delicious food, and her mother, wearing an apron, was busy in the kitchen, occasionally turning around to give her a gentle smile. She softly called her name: "Xiao Yi, eat slowly, save some room for the white rice dumplings!"
Ding Yi's lips blossomed into a radiant smile she hadn't seen in a long time, and a trickle of clear liquid spilled from the corner of her lips. Zuo Shan gently wiped it clean for her with his fingers. She wanted to wipe it with a tissue, but unfortunately, there was only rough grass here.
She could only choose relatively soft fingers, even if it looked unhygienic, it was better than scratching the little girl's tender face.
Sitting on her other side, Ding Tai silently watched his niece's expression from beginning to end. While feeling sad, he also felt that his impression of Zuo Shan had improved a bit.
Since leaving the mercenary group, he has rarely felt the kindness of those around him. In this wasteland era where survival is difficult, it is extremely rare for a single girl to be able to be independent and strong, and to show kindness to a stranger who obviously has no background.
If possible, he could also offer her some guidance in the future to help her avoid some unnecessary dangers.
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