Chapter 38
Xu Na reminded her, "Mom, I'm here with you too."
"Right, right, look at my memory, I almost forgot about Nana."
Wu Xiu nodded: "That's right, I don't believe it. If the whole family works together, we can't make a good living!"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
When Jiangzhi heard her family say that they were working together to make a better life, her eyes instantly welled up with tears.
She glanced at this person and then at that person. The determination and hope for the future on the faces of her family members who usually tolerated and supported her were so genuine.
Jiang Zhi felt a surge of warmth welling up from the bottom of her heart, blocking her throat and leaving her speechless for a long time. She could only nod repeatedly, her heart filled with the reassurance that "there is hope for the future."
Jiang Shu scratched his head: "Then the chores at home..."
Yuan Ying: "There's no rush to do the housework right now, including the winter clothes. We've thought about it. Nana and I are familiar with this area, so we'll start making them when the weather gets a bit cooler. Right now, the important thing is to stock up on food and other things we'll need for winter."
"Even if we don't find anything to eat, we can still gather more firewood."
At this point, no one voiced any further objections.
Jiang Zhi looked at Ye Qingyun, "Mom, are you going too? Aren't you going to work at the clinic?"
Ye Qingyun said with a smile, "I'm not going. I used to want to give my family some points, but things are about to change, so stockpiling food is the most important thing."
Ye Qingyun couldn't sleep last night. When he saw the kerosene lamp lit in the hall, he went out and found that the people from the first and second wives' families were there.
The decision they made today was something they had discussed last night.
The matter was settled by everyone contributing their own points.
Jiang Jun listened silently from the side, making something that looked like a lotus seedpod in her hands, and occasionally glancing at them with a smile.
Jiang Zhi walked over and said with a smile, "Brother, did you make that simple faucet in front of the outhouse? It was so convenient to use when I was washing up this morning."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shu said, "Yes, yes, I was just about to say that. That way we won't have to go to the water tank every time we wash up."
Knowing that people liked what he made, Jiang Jun was clearly very happy. "As long as you find it comfortable to use, that's all that matters."
Seeing her family working so hard for the family these days, Jiang Jun felt a mix of emotions.
He couldn't offer much help, and could only worry anxiously.
Previously, every time he saw Jiang Zhi and the others return exhausted, covered in dust and with weary faces, he felt a deep sense of guilt.
He felt that as the eldest brother, he was a burden to them. Although he knew that Jiang Zhi and the others never thought that way, Jiang Jun still couldn't get over that hurdle in his heart.
He could only do his best to make his family more comfortable at home.
Jiang Shu glanced at what was in his hand and exclaimed, "Big brother, are you planning to make a showerhead?"
Jiang Jun nodded, "It's not convenient to carry a bucket around every time I take a shower."
Jiang Shu was overjoyed. Heaven knows how uncomfortable it was for a modern person who had used high technology to suddenly have his lifestyle reverted to that of the 1970s or 80s.
Every time I take a bath, I have to squat down by the tub and splash water little by little. By the time the water is gone, I'm still not clean.
Now that Jiang Jun has finished making the showerhead, everyone can enjoy a nice shower every night.
"Big brother, our family's future depends on you. It would be even better if you could make a toilet."
Jiang Jun chuckled, "Do you think I'm omnipotent?"
Jiang Shu chuckled.
Distracted by the brother and sister, Jiang Jun also gained motivation.
Although he can't go out with them, he can still make some modifications to the house.
Wu Xiu watched this scene with satisfaction.
After getting up, Grandma Jiang knew their plans, and without even washing her face, she made a large pot of dry rice balls.
Now I'm busy in the kitchen.
She chopped up the extra frog legs she had cut off yesterday and cooked them with barley into steamed rice. Since the barley was too spicy, Grandma Jiang mashed the cooked rice into small pieces, sprinkled it with salt and oil, and formed it into fist-sized balls. Finally, she divided it into eight portions, one for each person, and wrapped them in cling film.
"Each of these rice balls contains diced meat, which will keep you full."
Everyone put away their lunchboxes.
Jiang Shu said, "Grandma, remember to eat well at home, don't just drink thin porridge."
Grandma Jiang laughed and said, "I know, our big tree is even more talkative than a girl."
Finally, Jiang Hai and his group decided to go to the No. 9 collection area, where mountain streams flowed and it was said that there were many kinds of food to eat.
Wu Xiu and the others carried baskets on their backs, and either held hoes or shovels in their hands.
These things can be used as tools or weapons, which is very convenient.
Jiang Zhi handed the double-hooked fangs to Jiang Hai: "Uncle, take this. I'm not used to using it yet, and I won't be able to use it many times."
Jiang Hai wanted to refuse, but Jiang Zhi said again, "Uncle, have you forgotten that I still have a long knife? I really don't need this. Even if you don't want it, I'll just leave it at home."
Jiang Hai accepted it after hearing this.
Jiang Shu originally wanted to give the bone stick to them as well, but the elders strongly disagreed. "Alright, alright, you're making it sound like we don't know anything. After all, we all grew up in the mountains."
Before Jiang Hai's father had his accident, Wu Xiu and the others had actually gone out to collect things, but each time they didn't have much of a harvest.
Since Jiangzhi's main job was to find cotton, the family's handcart was given to them.
There were only three people on Jiang Zhi's side. Ye Qingyun originally wanted to go to the No. 15 collection area with them, but Jiang Shuyi refused in a righteous manner: "Mom, the three of us are still young people. What if you go and hold us back?"
Ye Qingyun was so angry that she punched him.
"You brat, you dare to complain before I'm even old!"
Jiang Shu exclaimed dramatically, "Oh my, Mom, you want to be the Empress!"
This caused everyone to burst into laughter again.
After the family finished getting ready, they left the house before 7 o'clock.
The two groups went in different directions and separated after leaving the self-built housing area.
They left the city without telling Niu Dali.
The Niu family needs manpower right now. Although Niu Dali has agreed to work with Jiang Zhi on gathering tasks in the future, there's no rush. They can cooperate when Jiang Zhi is available.
As they parted, Ye Qingyun watched the three children's backs, using all her willpower to keep herself from following them.
As a mother herself, how could Wu Xiu not see her worry?
She slowed down and walked to Ye Qingyun's side.
"Qingyun, tell us how you found food in the wild before?"
Ye Qingyun composed herself, and the two sisters-in-law began chatting casually.
Collection area number 15 is in the direction of the East Gate. There are many people with the same goal as Jiang Zhi and the others, but those walking on the road are all tall and strong, and they can be seen to have some skills.
In contrast, the three of them looked about the same size as children.
Like the South Gate, the East Gate also requires registration.
Moreover, the journey was quite long, so Jiang Zhi and the others decided to spend some points to take the base's vehicle there.
There was really no other choice. The No. 15 collection area was too far from the base, and walking back and forth was simply not feasible.
Upon learning that the three were heading to Collection Area 15, the staff reminded them, "There are some small animals there, and the patrolling mutants may not be able to keep an eye on them all. Please be careful when you go."
Jiang Shu thanked the staff.
The three had just finished registering when they heard someone calling their names—
"Azhi, Dashu! Wait for me!"
Turning around, I saw it was Niu Dali.
Jiang Shu's face lit up with joy: "Brother Dali, what brings you here?"
Niu Dali rushed over to them and said with a simple smile, "My wife asked me to bring you some food, but the old lady said you had gone out, so my wife asked me to go with you."
Liu Xu was very anxious when she heard that Jiang Zhi and the others had set off.
Although she knew that Jiang Zhi and the others were showing consideration for her family, Liu Xu felt uneasy because the No. 15 collection area was so dangerous, and Niu Dali was not doing his part at this time.
So they simply kicked the person out of the house.
How could Jiang Zhi and the others not respond?
Niu Dali is a key player; with him around, it's like adding wings to a tiger.
Niu Dali took the cart, and the four of them got into the base's vehicle—a small bus.
That little bus looked like a frail, old ox. The body was covered in scratches, and most of the paint had chipped off.
One of the headlights was broken, and the remaining one was mostly obscured by broad leaves. The four wheels were covered in mud, the rims were wrapped several times by thick roots, the tires were bulging, and they were all covered in black, grime. Despite all this, it could still carry a dozen or twenty people.
There were already quite a few people sitting inside.
The driver in the driver's seat was smoking a cigarette made of some unknown material; from the outside, only wisps of smoke could be seen drifting out.
Seeing Jiang Zhi and the others dawdling, he immediately poked his head out and shouted, "You guys! Hurry up and get up here, don't waste my time!"
That was a harsh tone.
When the bus driver finally appeared, his hair was a complete mess, greasy and matted, like a bird's nest, clearly unwashed for ages. His stubble was haphazard, like a handful of dry grass, and there were bits of leftover rice clinging to the corners of his mouth. His uniform was wrinkled, the collar open, revealing a dark, grimy neck covered in mud streaks, as if he'd just rolled in the mud.
Jiang Shu pursed his lips and muttered under his breath, "Anyone who didn't know better would think he was a manure collector!"
Jiang Wen couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Big Tree, it's one thing to talk about others, but why are you talking about yourself?"
The four walked over and were about to get into the car when they heard the driver say, "15 points per person."
Jiang Wen frowned: "Isn't there a rule at the base that you don't have to pay points for taking the bus, as long as you hand over 20% of the points you earn?"
The driver glanced at him, then said, "This is a new rule. If you don't pay, get off!"
Jiang Wen's face showed anger. He wanted to go forward to argue, but Jiang Zhi pulled him back.
She asked the driver, "Sir, has everyone else paid?"
The driver snorted, "You think you can get in my car without paying?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhi immediately stepped forward and collected the points from the four people.
Niu Dali wanted to transfer his share to Jiang Zhi, but she refused, saying, "We'll settle it when we get back."
After paying the fare, the driver pointed to the cart in Niu Dali's hand and said, "The tools cost money, 30 points."
Jiang Shu's eyes widened. "Are you robbing me? We only charge 15 points, how come the tools cost 30?! Besides, our carts can be folded up and stuffed on the floor, they won't get in the way at all!"
Most importantly, it costs 30 points to go there, and it will definitely cost another 30 points to come back, plus they'll have goods to sell, probably more than that...
The thought of needing one or two hundred points to go out made Jiang Shu feel like the sky was falling.
The driver snorted, "Take it or leave it, but if you don't hand over your tools, you're not allowed to bring them up!"
Jiang Shu gritted his teeth, wanting to continue arguing, but Jiang Wen stopped him, saying, "Big Tree, forget it."
Watching Jiang Zhi pay the points with a heavy heart, Jiang Shu muttered, "I hope I don't end up with nothing today, or I'll cry my eyes out!"
Jiang Zhi: "...Shut up!"
After quickly disassembling the cart, the four men boarded it.
As soon as Jiang Zhi stepped on it, the bus shook slightly and made a creaking sound. When Niu Dali followed, Jiang Zhi could feel the bus sink two centimeters.
Jiang Zhi: ...This car is really dilapidated.
There were only four seats left in the car, and all the single seats were occupied, leaving only the four seats in the middle and back.
The people sitting in their seats glanced at them, and when they saw Jiang Zhi, a girl, they couldn't help but look at her a few more times.
Jiang Zhi and Niu Dali walked to the back of the car and sat down.
The seats were tattered and worn, with the foam bulging out from the cracked outer skin. They were stained, black and brown in patches, looking like skin covered in sores.
The ground was an eyesore, pitch black and sticky, making a creaking sound as it clung to the soles of shoes. The windows were grimy and covered in mottled stains, with a few tattered posters stuck in the corners, dated three or four years ago, rustling in the wind. The entire carriage resembled a chaotic, mobile garbage dump.
The bus started moving in no time.
"I'll say it again, no opening the windows after you start driving. If anyone opens the window and dies, it's none of my business!"
Jiang Zhi felt a chill run down her spine upon hearing this, but she gradually relaxed after seeing the nonchalant expressions on the faces of those around her.
The car drove on, and the scenery outside the window was a mess. Weeds grew wildly on both sides of the road, some so tall they were almost taller than a person, swaying wildly in the wind.
Every now and then you can see undamaged utility poles standing crookedly, with their wires dangling down and getting tangled in the wildly growing branches of trees nearby.
Collection Area 15 is a newly opened area. Even the road leading there is new. It is not close to the base, and it is even more than 50 kilometers away from the base.
Therefore, no one chose to walk.
Jiang Zhi looked out the window, but was thinking about something.
The fact that the mutants at the base were able to clear a path for the No. 15 collection area, which is so far from the base, and that the vehicle could speed through the wild without attracting the attention of large mutant animals, is enough to prove that the base has some special methods.
Jiang Zhi recalled the first two days when her family drove to the base. The four of them had made special preparations for the car before setting off, and Jiang Zhi had even used her "golden finger" to avoid danger. Even so, they still encountered many mutated creatures on the road.
But those mutated creatures seem to have evolved quite a bit compared to the present ones?
Thinking of this, Jiang Zhi felt a little worried.
The bus was very fast, and it was out of the base area in an hour.
Compared to the cleared area, the mutated plants in the field of vision began to proliferate, and the road became narrower and narrower. The car sped past the mutated plants that had grown back, and the branches scraped against the car body, making a piercing "whoosh whoosh" sound.
Fortunately, although the car looked bad, it was of good quality and there were no cracks.
The outside world has long been invaded by mutated creatures, but traces of the pre-disaster era can still be seen in some remaining ruins.
The utility pole was completely covered by thick ivy, with the wires dangling in mid-air, swaying from time to time like a hanged ghost. A few meters away were streetlights, their lampshades stuffed with fuzzy, unidentified green plants.
Jiang Zhi could barely guess from the distance between the streetlights that the path they were currently traveling on was once the main road.
The car continued speeding forward.
The shop signs along the street were mostly obscured by branches and leaves; only the character "老" (old) of "老李总杂物" (Old Li's Grocery Store) was still legible. The steps in front of the shop were cracked, and clusters of small purple flowers, each the size of a face, sprouted from the cracks. When the wind blew, the seeds fluttered and filled the air.
After rounding a bend, an abandoned railway lay across the road. Plant roots sprouted from the cracks between the sleepers, stretching out in all directions like octopuses, a sight that sent a chill down one's spine.
The scenery along the way was breathtaking. No one in the car spoke, but everyone was silently watching the view outside the window.
Looking back from a distance, the cleared road resembled a long snake winding its way into the belly of a giant beast.
The ground, which was originally covered by wildly growing vines and weeds, was cleared away, revealing the undulating ground with weeds sprouting from the cracks, a vibrant green expanse.
Suddenly someone said—
“I used to take this road often to go back to my hometown.”
The car fell silent.
It's unclear whether the others were affected by these words, but no one said another word afterward.
Soon, the car had traveled another ten kilometers or so when Jiang Zhi noticed that there was no road ahead.
She frowned.
Jiang Zhi knew very well that it wasn't that the mutants hadn't been properly cleared out, but rather that they had grown back after being cleaned up.
The driver cursed, then floored the accelerator, and the car roared forward. As soon as the front of the car hit the messy weeds and vines, there was a creaking sound.
The passengers in the car immediately tensed up. "Damn! Is something going to happen?"
No sooner had the man finished speaking than a "whoosh" was heard, and a branch as thick as an arm lashed out at the car window, instantly leaving a crooked white mark on the glass that snaked from the upper left corner to the lower right corner.
Everyone exclaimed in shock: "It's a mutated plant that will attack on its own!"
The thorns and leaves on the branches brushed against the glass, leaving scattered fragments. Before anyone could see clearly, several thin vines wrapped around it, as if trying to tear the entire window off. The driver quickly swerved to avoid them, and the car shook violently.
Then, all that could be heard was the driver shouting, "Hold on tight!"
With practiced ease, everyone grabbed onto whatever they could hold onto, and Jiang Zhi and Niu Dali followed suit.
Before she could even get a firm grip, her body lurched and she was almost thrown off. It was only thanks to Niu Dali's grab that she regained her balance.
The car left the attacking mutated vines behind at an extremely high speed.
The people in the car were so frightened that their faces turned pale.
One by one, they turned their heads to look back through the rear window of the car. The mutated vines were still flying around in the same spot, and everyone was still in shock.
Fortunately, those who dared to go to the No. 15 collection area were all very brave, and there were no cases of people screaming randomly.
Jiang Zhi heard Jiang Shu calling from ahead, "A-Zhi, are you alright?"
All eyes turned to Jiang Shu, but he remained oblivious, still shouting, "Would you like to switch seats with me? I'm not by the window, it's perfectly safe here!"
Jiang Zhi's lips twitched.
What an idiot!
What if the person next to him isn't there?
Fortunately, the car stopped before she could answer.
"Damn it, get out of the car, get out of the car now!" The driver's expression didn't look good.
"Damn it, the one that was just repaired has been broken again."
As he spoke, the driver crawled under the car to fix it.
After everyone got out of the car, they saw several cleared areas ahead with camping tents set up on them.
It looks like a temporary resting place for mutants.
The surrounding area is covered with wild grass that is taller than a person.
As the group walked over, they discovered that the No. 15 collection area was actually a huge basin.
Looking down, the rows of fields stretched out neatly into the distance, as if measured with a ruler, with no end in sight.
Everyone's eyes widened – there were actually fields in the wilderness.
From a high vantage point, the basin resembles a giant, open pot of earth, with its four sides forming the rim and fields and vegetable gardens scattered throughout.
What's in the distance isn't clearly visible, but you can clearly see that many edible plants are growing in the nearby fields.
Having traveled from the base, their view had been mostly obscured by tangled mutated plants. Now, seeing these fields, which were no different from those before the catastrophe, filled everyone with a surge of excitement.
If all of these were edible, how much grain would that be!
Several men nearby quickly started talking: "This No. 15 collection area is really amazing; it hasn't been overrun by weeds."
That's absolutely right!
It looks like a giant paddy field, with clearly defined blocks.
"The mutants at our base are amazing. They managed to clear the weeds from such a large area so cleanly."
Someone craned their neck to look down, "Why don't I see any vegetables or fruits? Wasn't this area supposed to be a vegetable garden?"
The others were already getting impatient, thinking, "Why don't we go down and see for ourselves?"
Jiang Zhi didn't rush down; she vaguely sensed something was wrong.
Short grasses grew in clusters along the ridges of these fields or vegetable plots, huddled together like a green velvet carpet.
Not a single weed from the surrounding area can get into the field.
Not only that, but there were no weeds in the fields and vegetable gardens either; it was unbelievably clean.
They could even see the dry soil in the ground from above the basin.
The reason for this situation is—
Jiang Zhi stared intently at the short, green grass growing on the ridges.
"Azhi, what are you standing there for? Come here!" Jiang Shu followed the group to the mutants' tents and urged Jiang Zhi when he saw that she hadn't followed.
"Here you are."
At the base, several patrolmen in uniform glanced at them, and the leader said to them, "You are the last batch to arrive today. Let's talk about the rules first. If you encounter any mutated animals after you go in, fire the signal flare if you have one, otherwise run back."
“Since we chose a group of local people to collect samples, we should have known that there would be certain risks. If something happens, we can’t treat you here; at most, we can only take you back.”
"The base bus will be waiting for you here at 5:30. If you don't return by then, we won't wait for you anymore. Before that, there will be a return bus every hour, in order. If there are too many people, you will have to wait for the next one."
"Also, don't go outside the area covered by the red powder, otherwise if you encounter any mutated creatures outside, we might not be able to get there in time to save you."
After the leader finished speaking, he waved his hand and said, "Alright, you can go on your own."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com