Chapter 67 Finding a Seed (Second Bonus Chapter)
When Pan Duole heard that there would be a reward for exceeding the task target, she immediately became excited, and her little face lit up. Seeing her so motivated, Zuo Shan naturally felt embarrassed to dampen her enthusiasm.
Today, perhaps because she had come to a low-radiation area, she felt quite energetic and didn't feel tired at all.
If they could harvest at least 10 more plants in three more hours, she agreed to Jia Yiming's request to exceed the target and was then assigned to a new area.
Pandora is full of energy, and when the children are enthusiastic, they can often perform exceptionally well, unlike those middle-aged women who become more and more tired and slow down as they work.
Zuo Shan and Pan Duole worked for another two hours and forty minutes and harvested the additional ten plants.
Pandora glanced at her large belly and finally swallowed the thought of taking on another mission.
With fifty minutes left before the work was to be completed, Zuo Shan decided to take a good look at the beautiful sea of budding sunflowers in the distance, which looked like a painting.
Pan Duole excitedly ran off to help Ding Yi and the others; she was so happy today that she couldn't stop.
Zuo Shan strolled leisurely to the farmland about ten minutes away, admiring the light orange flower buds as she approached. She couldn't resist raising her watch, turning on the camera function, and taking a few photos.
To get the shot, she squatted down and looked up to take a picture. Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly noticed a short, small moonflower growing in the ditch next to her.
It is only about 30 centimeters tall, with thin branches that are only as thick as a thumb, and no side branches. If you don't pay attention, you might mistake it for a side branch that has just sprouted from the main branch and has not yet grown.
Its branches are covered with pale purple, oval leaves, each about the size of a Malabar spinach.
At the top hangs a withered purple flower; its wilted petals are only about 3 centimeters long.
At its top hangs a withered purple flower, its petals only about 3 or 4 centimeters long. Below the flower hangs a crescent-shaped seed, dark purple in color and a little over two centimeters long.
But after a closer look, she confirmed that it was indeed a single individual. She identified it as a small moonflower because of the shape and color of its seeds.
I heard Jia Yiming mention before that the small moonflower is the kind of plant where the flowers and leaves don't appear together. It blooms first, and only after the flowers wither does it grow leaves and bear fruit.
Its fruit is deep purple, crescent-shaped, and very beautiful; each flower produces one seed.
Unfortunately, its seeds have no economic value. When the small crape myrtle was first cultivated, the seeds could be used for sowing. However, now the cultivation of small crape myrtle has become large-scale, and its branches and roots will choose to go dormant in the cold.
After enduring a long period of extreme cold, it will revive and bloom again, no longer needing to be planted from seeds.
This small moonflower is either a special mutated variety or a case of atavism, reverting to its unmutated state, which is why it is so short.
But such a variety obviously has no economic value, so it's no wonder that no one pays attention to it.
However, the more Zuo Shan looked at the seed, the more he loved it. It was like a natural work of art. Although small, its crescent shape was beautiful, and it was covered with intricate patterns, like the result of a master sculptor's exquisite work.
If we punched a hole in it, or set it with some kind of metal to make a small pendant, it would look beautiful hanging around Achen's neck.
Beneath the flower grows a crescent-shaped seed, deep purple in color, a little over a centimeter long. If you drill a hole in it and make it into a small pendant to hang around Achen's neck, it would be very pretty.
Zuo Shan casually picked the seeds and stuffed them into the pocket of his heat-insulating suit.
She didn't feel like she was stealing anything from someone else, because the plant was growing in the furrow, and the people in charge of planting in District 46 would pass by here every time they came and could see it at a glance.
Since they ignored it, it proves that its existence is no different from that of ordinary weeds, and it has no value whatsoever.
After enjoying the beautiful scenery and taking a selfie of the sea of flowers, Zuo Shan strolled back home, completely satisfied.
With an extra 180 silver coins on his wristwatch, Pandora was as excited as a headless fly on the return journey, constantly muttering to himself:
"This is the first time in my life that my account balance has exceeded three digits! Sister Fan, I can only count to 100 at most, I can't count any more than that."
No, when I get back, I'm going to study arithmetic diligently with the basic textbook. I need to learn to count numbers after 100. I want to make a lot of money in the future, and I can't be unable to count the money in my account!
Left Fan: That's a strong enough reason, kid. You'll definitely be able to learn arithmetic well.
However, it's still nice to have some income, even if it's not a lot, it's better than just sitting around and eating away at our savings.
The only downside was that the legendary feast was simply too hard to swallow!
It was already dark when she got home, but she wasn't worried about her safety today because she didn't even bring her sack for scavenging; she only brought a cutting knife.
Since no food was harvested, no one would bother with it, especially since quite a few scavengers from District 50 participated in this gathering mission today.
Many people are proud of it, after all, not just anyone can go there. Those who have no connections can only crane their necks to envy them, or secretly curse them behind their backs.
Pandora skipped and waved goodbye to her, then ran home. She probably has a lot to say to her mother tonight.
Zuo Shan returned to his home, and as soon as he entered, he was pounced on by a fluffy cat. Mao Li, who was watching nearby, laughed so hard that his head bobbed and his tail twitched.
"Little Bao, I didn't bring back any treats for you today. I'll take you to the bamboo forest to gnaw on bamboo when we have time!" Zuo Shan rubbed Little Bao's head, her heart full, no longer feeling the loneliness she felt when she first arrived in the wasteland.
Zuo Shan had worked diligently all day. Although she felt that she was in good spirits, she still cooked dinner, shared it with Xiao Bao, and then washed up and went to bed.
But after lying in bed, she still couldn't fall asleep. She looked at the baby sleeping soundly in the crib and was extremely envious.
Reflecting on the day's activities and gains, I realized that the biggest gain was actually the short time spent appreciating the beautiful scenery after the work.
None of the people who went to participate in the collection took photos of the beautiful scenery with their wristwatches like she did.
Or rather, none of them truly cared about the beautiful sight of the blooming sunflowers, because they were only concerned with food and silver coins.
Zuo Shan felt that this kind of life was too terrible. She worried that one day she would become like them, just to survive, and forget about life.
It may sound a bit pretentious to ask someone who is constantly threatened by hunger to appreciate beautiful scenery, but what is the meaning of life if a person cares about nothing but food and money?
Just like the residents of District 46, who are busy farming from morning till night, with no holidays or time to rest, the thought of such a life makes her shudder.
Zuo Shan felt she needed to constantly remind herself that living was for a better life, not just for the sake of living.
She will nurture and influence her baby after the baby is born, teaching it to perceive, appreciate, and enjoy the beauty in life, even if they are still poor, they will not forget this.
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