Chapter 15
The two couples had distinct characteristics. One was taciturn, honest, and reserved; they were Fernhead's parents, Li Kangwen and Du Yun. The other, standing at the doorway and constantly glancing inside with shifty eyes, were Yaya's parents, Zhu Yuanfu and Wang Bifang.
There were many things in the inner room, so Xiyue naturally couldn't let them in, so she asked Xipo to move the square table outside.
Xiyue's offer included three meals a day, so she put Xiyao in charge of preparing breakfast. She opened several bags of compressed food, broke them apart, and placed them on plates, carrying them out. She also poured each person a half-cup of water.
The brand new pots, pans, and utensils were all bought together when I purchased the growth liquid yesterday.
While both families were eating, Xipo pulled Xiyue aside and said, "Sister, the survival barrier hasn't been resolved yet. Do we really want them to start working?"
If the fundamental problems are not addressed, all the work will be in vain.
Xi Yue patted his arm and said, "It can be solved quickly. Let them reclaim the land first, and then consider it as the preparatory work."
She said it would be soon, but she wasn't sure. When she woke up, she checked the remote control and saw that the pollution level was still Level 4, not Level 3 as expected.
The countdown from level five to level four shortened by 24 hours, and now another 24 hours have passed, and it still hasn't reached level three...
Perhaps the higher the level, the longer it takes for the remote control to accumulate "energy", which means that if you want to deal with Shi Liheng, you still need to wait.
I watched the four people working in the morning. They were all quite honest and used small stone hoes to turn the soil on the land that Xipo had selected.
From their actions, it was clear that Yaya's parents were unfamiliar with farming. Conversely, Fentou's parents were quite experienced. Xiyue hadn't purchased farm tools in advance, so Li Kangwen volunteered a few hoes.
It is said that after Li Kangwen and his wife moved to Sector 29, they tried to support their family by growing crops, but unfortunately they were unsuccessful. In the end, they could only go out to find temporary work every day with Du Yun.
By the afternoon, Xiyue had stopped going over, and Xipo was in charge of the work. When Xipo occasionally left, the difference in how the two couples approached their work became immediately apparent.
Wang Bifang threw the hoe to the ground and rubbed her red palms. "How could these three siblings be so careless and waste their money on a place like this? If it were you, they should have a whole room full of food. At least enough to last a year, right?"
Du Yun was close by and frowned when he heard this. He didn't say anything and continued to turn the soil.
"I'm talking to you, Sister Du." Wang Bifang didn't let her off. "Didn't you and Brother Kang Wen plant some crops the year you first moved here? This hoe was made by Brother Kang Wen. Tell me, there's nothing in this ditch. Is it true that you can't grow anything?"
Du Yun suppressed his disgust and said firmly, "The big boss is a capable man."
Apart from anything else, just looking at his words and actions, he doesn't seem like an ordinary trash citizen.
Wang Bifang curled her lips. "How could they have landed in the garbage zone? In my opinion, they might be fugitives. They have weapons and money, but they dare not let anyone find them. So they can only be rats in the ditch like us..."
"Bifang!" Du Yun scolded in a low voice, "You three are still eating the food given to you by others!"
Wang Bifang fell silent. Instead, her husband Zhu Yuanfu dropped his hoe and started to choke her: "You're talking as if the three of you haven't had anything to eat."
Thinking of the compressed chicken he had just eaten not long ago, he couldn't help but swallow his saliva and began to look forward to dinner.
Du Yun was furious: "You!"
"Ayun." Li Kangwen walked over and pulled his wife to his side. "Let's do our thing."
At the same time, Xiyue and Xipo stood in a corner, avoiding Xiyao.
It took Xipo a while to digest the shock, and she nodded: "Okay, I'll go with you, but I'm worried about Yaoyao being home alone."
"Then take it with you."
"But the supplies at home..."
"You don't trust Yaya's parents?" Xi Yue laughed, "I don't trust them either. So before we set off, we have to think carefully."
"How do you decide?"
"Of course, I'll magnify their greed and then give them a hard time. Don't worry about it, I have a plan."
After Xipo left, Xiyue took out the remote control from her pocket and pressed the display screen.
That's right, after 48 hours, the pollution level finally rose to Level 3. Assuming the pollution level doubles with each level, it would take another 96 hours—a full four days—to reach Level 2.
The remaining countdown is enough, but Xiyue can’t wait any longer.
We finish work at 6pm and dinner starts on time.
A group of people gathered around the table. Zhu Yuanfu and his wife and their two children looked at the food on the table and couldn't help swallowing their saliva. This made Xiyao feel very accomplished. She deliberately increased the speed of stirring with the spatula to make the aroma spread faster.
Among the supplies Xipo brought back yesterday was a heating pot. The heating pot works similarly to a stone lamp: a sliding rod at the base generates intense heat from the specially formulated flint powder. This heat is then transferred to the pot via a special stone material with excellent thermal conductivity.
Although it won't be hot enough to boil the water, it's still warm enough.
To some extent, compressed food is also considered an ingredient. First, pour water into the stone pot, then add compressed chicken and compressed vegetables.
The compressed vegetables are naturally granular, and the compressed chicken is also granular. Dissolve them in hot water and mix well, and you'll have a delicious pot of mashed potatoes, vegetables, and diced chicken. Finally, add seasonings like chili powder and pepper to your taste. The taste is a hundred times better than eating it cold.
I didn't make any hot food at noon simply because the filter was inefficient and it took me a whole day to collect enough water to fill a pot.
Xiyao: "Okay, it's done!"
Zhu Yuanfu couldn't wait to raise his bowl: "Thank you, second boss, thank you, second boss."
Wang Bifang followed closely behind.
The couple were both of the same character. They picked up the porridge and gobbled it up without paying any attention to their daughter who was staring at them eagerly.
Xiyue scooped a bowl for Yaya herself and looked at Fernhead: "Go call your parents to eat."
Although Fern Head was jealous, he still went there.
His parents were restless, and when they saw the pile of dry soil Xiyao had filtered out outside the door, they all started carrying it to the field, saying it would neutralize the soil's moisture and make it suitable for growing corn.
The couple quickly came over with their son. When they saw that Xiyue and the other two had nothing in their hands, they insisted on refusing: "How can a boss go hungry and let his employees eat first? Big boss, second boss, third boss, you guys eat first!"
Only after Xiyao had served all the food did the two of them pick up their bowls with profuse gratitude, and tacitly gave a portion to Fernhead each.
"Enough, enough, I'm only seven years old and my stomach is very small!" Fern Head wanted to hide but didn't dare to, for fear of accidentally falling to the ground and wasting food.
Zhu Yuanfu on the side hurriedly said: "If you can't eat it, give it to me. I have a big appetite!"
Fernhead immediately frowned and glared: "You are so shameless!"
Seeing that they had almost finished eating, Xiyue talked about tomorrow's plans.
"I need to spare two people to go with me to the wholesale market in Sector 28. I didn't think about preparing farm tools before, so I need to buy them all. I also need to replenish growth fluid and seeds, as well as food..."
"I'll go, I'll go!" Before Xiyue could finish her words, Zhu Yuanfu raised his hands high, "I'm strong and can carry a lot!"
Wang Bifang hurriedly said, "I'll go too. I, I, I'm careful and thoughtful!"
Li Kangwen seemed to be interested in moving, but when he saw the other two respond first, he kept silent.
However, Xiyue shook her head and said, "Li Kangwen has experience in planting. There are many things I can't think of, so I need his help to think through them. How about this, Zhu Yuanfu and Li Kangwen will come with me."
Zhu Yuanfu was so cheerful that he didn't even notice his wife's sad look. Xiyue saw it, but sneered in her heart.
After the arrangements were made, the wages for the day were settled, 100 star coins per person per day, which made both families smile.
At night, Xipo tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Seeing that Xiyue seemed awake as well, she whispered, "Sister, I'd better go tomorrow. Yaoyao has Fernhead's parents with her, so she should be able to rest assured. I... am really worried about Zhu Yuanfu and the others."
Xiyue asked him with a smile: "If you go, I can rest assured for one day. If you don't go, I will only be worried for one day. Do you understand what I mean?"
-
The food wholesale market is arranged in a circular pattern, and the passages between the shops are shaped like a spider web. However, the dense crowds of people in the passages make this place look like an oversized anthill.
Yuan Xu looked around aimlessly, only to hear the man beside him say, "General Yuan, please wait a moment. The commander-in-chief will be here soon..."
The man wore the emblem of the 32nd Regiment on his collar. His surname was Shi and his rank was Major. Although his military achievements were not high, he was able to become Shi Liheng's confidant...
Sharing the same surname, perhaps they were relatives? It was said that Shi Liheng had more than a dozen spouses. Could this be his eldest son, born when he was a teenager?
Yuan Xu speculated with evil amusement. Suddenly, Major Shi pointed in a direction and said, "That, that is it?"
Yuan Xuxun cast a glance and raised his eyebrows: "Recognize you?"
"...A bit like her." Major Shi was puzzled. "That shouldn't be the case. Wasn't she said to have died in the contaminated area? General Yuan, that woman might be a fugitive. I'll follow her and take a look. Please wait here."
Unexpectedly, Yuan Xu followed and said as a matter of course: "Number 28 is the star sector under my jurisdiction. Since the fugitive has appeared here, as the commander of the legion, I have no choice but to take charge."
The market was densely populated, with numerous carts carrying goods obscuring vision. However, Major Shi, having arrived at another company's territory, had the foresight to carry his mecha case. The strange gold spread from the mecha case to his head, transforming into a pair of metal eye masks, activating the detection system.
Once locked by the detection system, there is no way to escape the system's tracking unless the target completely changes its appearance.
"there!"
Major Shi pointed to the fork in the road leading to the compressed food area, and Yuan Xu followed, also at a fast but leisurely pace.
The target came out of a remote shop and walked to a corner where there were few people nearby.
"That man, could it be Xipo? His height and build... don't look like him."
Major Shi was distinguishing the man's back projected on his retina. Suddenly, the silver-haired woman in front of the man turned around.
"It's Xiyue! She's not dead?!"
Major Shi was still in shock and didn't notice that Qi Jin was rapidly reorganizing into a gun barrel just a finger's distance from his back.
Suddenly, a scream erupted from not far away: "Gray Hole! Run!"
The panicked sounds of people fleeing spread like a tide.
Yuan Xu turned his head and saw the gray hole in the middle of the tunnel erupt, sending gray mist shooting out in all directions. When he looked back, Major Shi was already fully armored, completely covered.
"General Yuan, I'm going to capture the fugitives. The contaminated area... is up to you? General Yuan, you!"
Major Shi looked down in disbelief, only to see a large hole in his mecha's chest. Because the Juhe core on the mecha's box was damaged, the Qijin began to shrink from the edge of the hole, revealing a fist-sized hole and a bloody mess of flesh.
He even smelled the stench of burnt flesh.
After the sudden change, gray fog surged in, enveloping the two figures.
Yuan Xu grabbed him by the back of his collar and casually threw him into the thick fog, saying with a smile, "The contaminated area is up to you. As for the fugitive, he's mine."
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