Chapter 65 Unwilling to be Slaved
Then she immediately thought of Pan Duole and asked, "Brother Jia, can I bring another person with me? A child, but very capable, well-behaved and obedient, the kind who won't cause trouble."
"No problem, the people you're willing to bring along are definitely not bad. There happen to be some spots that other people haven't sold yet, I'll just ask you for one."
"Bring your people here promptly at 7 a.m. tomorrow, and pick them up at the central square again," Jia Yiming said readily.
"Alright, thank you very much, Brother Jia!" Zuo Shan thanked him sincerely. Even if he earned little, at least he thought of her, which showed his kindness.
After hanging up the call, Zuo Shan texted Pan Duole to tell her about it. She replied instantly: "Thank you, Sister Shan. The wild vegetables outside have been highly radioactive these past few days, and I was really worried about it."
These past few days, she and her mother have been eating their stored food. Fortunately, they still have some leftover dried wild vegetables from the previous collection. But they can't just sit around and do nothing; even wasteland scavengers have a sense of crisis.
Zuo Shan set Mao Li's alarm for 5:30. After washing up, she first cooked wild vegetable and yam paste, and added some bamboo rat meat sauce. She ate a third of it herself and left the rest for Xiao Bao to make brunch.
After eating and drinking her fill, she packed about 100 grams of bamboo rat meat sauce into a sealed bag, intending to bring it to Jia Yiming.
When she arrived at the central square, she discovered that more than half of the people waiting for the bus were scavengers from District 50. It seemed that this mission was really useless, as most of the mercenary families had given away their spots.
As soon as Pandora saw her, he jumped up and waved his hands, then ran towards her, standing beside her excitedly but obediently.
Zuo Shan also saw Ding Yi and his nephew, who seemed to have taken the place of other mercenary family members.
Ding Yi waved happily when he saw her, and then obediently lined up next to her uncle. The scavengers in District 50 were very grateful to have been given a spot, even though they knew it was a task that required a lot of effort but earned little money.
With mercenaries protecting him, at least his safety is guaranteed.
Today's collection point is relatively far away. Seeing Zuo Shan check her watch several times, Ding Yi, sitting next to her, whispered some information to her:
"Sister Fan, don't rush. We're going to the planting site in District 46 today. It'll take at least four hours to get there."
"Since it's a planting site in District 46, why not let the people from District 46 collect the crops?" Zuo Shan asked, puzzled.
"You don't know this, do you? District 46 is the largest planting area among the ten outermost districts. The residents there mainly focus on planting, and they hire people to help with things like harvesting."
Let me tell you, even though District 46 is considered an outer area, the residents there have no shortage of food, and they are all very strong and healthy.
Moreover, to enter District 46, one must pay 2,000 contribution points plus 200,000 silver coins, something ordinary people wouldn't even dare to dream of," Ding Yi continued.
"Why don't other districts learn from them and start large-scale planting as well?" Zuo Shan asked.
"This can't be learned. First of all, District 46 has large plains and arable land. Secondly, and most importantly, District 46 once produced a high-level gene warrior named Fu Ming."
Master Fu is an earth-type ability user; her awakened ability is to reduce the radiation level of the soil.
Master Fu was born in District 46 and had a deep affection for the place. She had many opportunities to leave and go to District 10, but she never left District 46 in her entire life.
It took decades of painstaking effort to improve the soil of District 46 to a level of low to medium radiation, which is why District 46 is so prosperous today.
By the way, let me remind you, whatever you do, don't even think about stealing low-radiation soil from District 46!
They use special detection equipment to enter and exit; if you're detected, you'll be sent to the underground mines of the neighboring District 45, never to return to the surface!
"My god! Their punishment is too harsh!" Zuo Shan exclaimed in astonishment, while Pan Duole beside him shrank back in fear.
"Look how scared you are! Don't be afraid, we're just going to help collect sunflower seeds. As long as we follow the rules, they'll even give us a good meal," Ding Yi comforted them with a smile.
Upon hearing that a full meal would be provided, Pan Duole's eyes lit up immediately: "Um, if I eat too much, will they still make sure I'm full?"
"Of course not. There was a time when someone was greedy and ate too much, and died on the way back. So the rules were changed, and different portions of food are distributed according to age," Ding Yi said.
"Wow! Xiao Yi, you know so much!" Pan Duole looked at the little girl who was two years older than her with starry eyes.
The two quickly became acquainted. After all, they were children of the same age and could find common ground. Zuo Shan thoughtfully switched places with Pan Duole so that the two little girls could communicate better.
Ding Tai, standing to the side, simply smiled without saying a word, his eyes full of doting affection. Life in the wasteland was already difficult enough, so he was naturally happy to see the children get along well for a little while.
As the truck entered District 46, gasps of surprise rose and fell; most of the scavengers in District 50 were here for the first time.
In their original world, there were tall shrubs and trees growing wildly everywhere, and they had never seen such neat and orderly farmland.
Of course, since these are plants from the Great Cataclysm, their seeds are also from mutated plants, so the plants grown from them are naturally relatively tall, but they are about half the size of those in the wild.
"Did you know? The energy shield of District 46 is also low-radiation. Some people say it's comparable to District 10."
However, the people here are not as wealthy and leisurely as those in the Inner Ten Districts. They have no holidays and are like working machines.
The higher-ups provided District 46 with a low-radiation shield, not so they could retire there.
They have to work on the farm from morning till night every day. If they don't work enough hours, they will be deported at the end of the year. Only when they are over 65 years old can they retire and enjoy a truly comfortable life.
Some say the only good thing about District 46 is that the people there don't go hungry. Ding Yi continued his explanation.
"As long as I don't go hungry, that's enough! As long as I don't go hungry, I'm willing to work 30 hours a day and only have 6 hours to sleep!" Pan Duole said excitedly.
"Sigh! That's because you don't work from morning till night every day, otherwise you wouldn't say that." Ding Yi shook his head and sighed like a little adult.
Zuo Shan couldn't help but laugh, but deep down he also agreed with Ding Yi's words. When people are starving, they feel that the greatest happiness is not to go hungry, and they are willing to sacrifice everything for this goal.
But once they are no longer hungry, they will have higher spiritual pursuits. At that time, they will feel resentful about working endlessly every day.
Just like a besieged city, Pandora outside the city thinks the city is better, and the people inside the city might even envy her, as she can freely scavenge without being forced to work from morning till night.
Zuo Shan, who had initially been somewhat interested in District 46, immediately dismissed the idea after listening to Ding Yi's explanation.
She didn't want to spend a fortune only to end up as a machine enslaved by the upper class.
I wonder if that Master Fu, seeing the current state of District 46, will regret his lifelong efforts to reduce the soil radiation level here to low to medium.
No wonder the environment in District 46 is so good, yet no one from the upper class comes to take over their living space. It turns out that this district has now become the grain and vegetable supply base for District 10.
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