Chapter 381: After Binding the Child-Bearing System, Becoming a Winner in Life Chapter 382: Wasteland Gathering Daily Life (10)

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

"Hey, next time when we're free let's rent a car too; having a car to get around is just convenient."

It beats walking or taking the bus, and they can go wherever they want without worrying about time or distance, and they don't have to worry about not being able to carry back too many supplies.

Shen Yu grumbled softly, "Mom, those cars are all the Base's treasures; even the Patrol Team people might not be able to drive them out, let alone us."

Cheng Qi having ability doesn't mean the Shen Family has connections; we should just honestly follow the crowd.

Song Ling, hearing this, got angry and slapped Shen Yu, "You child, do you know how to speak? Deliberately trying to anger me."

Shen Yu: ……

Shen Yu pouted, looking wronged, thinking to herself that telling the truth doesn't work either; Mom is really hard to please.

Shen Jiancheng turned and tugged Song Ling, "How about we go to the Sweet Potato Garden in North City?

There should be some sweet potatoes that weren't harvested in time over there, and sweet potato leaves are edible too; even if we only pick leaves it's not a loss."

Song Ling froze, "Sweet Potato Garden? Does anyone still dare go there? Isn't it said there are wild boars?"

Earlier the Base had rumors spreading, which then grew wider and wider, and afterward no one went there anymore.

Sweet potatoes, second only to the Base's staple grain as treasures, stave off hunger and taste good; who wouldn't want to dig some up to bring back?

And after mutation the sweet potatoes are huge, starch content extremely high, and the flour yield rate is quite considerable.

Recalling last winter's roasted sweet potatoes and the vermicelli put in the stewed meat, Song Ling licked her lips, tempted.

"Let's go, we'll take a look; worst case if there's danger we run back. Anyway that Sweet Potato Garden is vast, visibility is wide open, if there's any sign of trouble we can escape in time."

Having decided today's destination, the family of four ran to the North City gate to catch a ride.

The vehicle was still packed with personnel, only most of them weren't getting off at the Sweet Potato Garden but rather swarmed en masse to a place called Black Mountain Gully ahead of the garden.

"Black Mountain Gully has small beasts; the big guys have all gone over there to hunt."

Song Ling watched the bus leave, whispering secretly with Shen Yao.

Shen Yao looked up and saw only car exhaust; just smelling it was choking.

"Black Mountain Gully isn't dangerous; I heard Cheng Qi say their Patrol Team goes over every few days; medium and large beasts have all become dead souls under the Patrol Team's wooden rifles, which makes Black Mountain Gully liked by ordinary people, routinely occupying the top few of the Base's most popular collection points."

They set out too late today; the people going to Black Mountain Gully had already arrived long ago.

"Never mind that, let's go check the situation at the Sweet Potato Garden ahead.

The soil geology here is good, very suitable for mutated sweet potato growth; pity mutated wild boars often appear, especially when the sweet potatoes ripen."

Them coming over now only counts as scavenging leftovers; whether they find anything depends entirely on heaven's will.

Shen Yao skillfully stepped through the weed-covered Sweet Potato Garden, her gaze scanning the surroundings inch by inch.

Confirming no sweet potato leaves appeared, Shen Yao immediately moved to the next plot, striving to fill her back basket before the heat rose.

Bang—

Under her foot a dirt clod popped up; Shen Yao accidentally tripped and fell to the ground.

The back basket and the tools inside were all flung out; Shen Yao reacted dazedly for two seconds before getting up to look at the thing tangled around her feet.

It was a cluster of sweet potato leaves; she had been longing for them for a good while, and in a blink she met the real thing.

Reaching out, she pulled the sweet potato leaves down, then opened her wristwatch to test.

In the end Shen Yao collected eight palm-sized leaves and ten stems bundled together into a handful.

Putting them all into the back basket, Shen Yao stood up and dug down at the spot where the sweet potato leaves emerged.

The black soil was dug away, revealing a basketball-sized sweet potato inside.

Pity after all that effort digging it out, a test showed it couldn't be eaten.

Shen Yao: ……

Fine then.

A sweet potato this big, if it were edible there'd be a ghost; it must be a slipped-through-the-net fish from the Cold Season that wasn't recycled in time. The whole Sweet Potato Garden is too large; digging through it completely isn't very realistic.

Besides, last year there were still wild boar rumors; other planting gardens are much safer than here. As long as people aren't too stupid, they'll have a preference in choice.

Heave-ho heave-ho.

Shen Yao didn't give up, continued burying her head and digging hard, striving to unearth the sweet potatoes inside and test them.

After bad luck comes good luck; Shen Yao harvested two small sweet potatoes a size larger than an adult's fist from this cluster of sweet potato leaves.

Light mutation, edible.

With goods in her back basket, Shen Yao's mood was very good; she continued rummaging for the next cluster.

Maybe she really welcomed a lucky start; Shen Yao quickly found another patch of sweet potato leaves.

Hidden quite securely, but the lush green leaves couldn't block Shen Yao's eyes at all.

Pulling them out, weeding bald, digging soil — Shen Yao one-stop service, packing the back basket beside her full to the brim.

Delivering them to Shen Jiancheng's side to let him grab a hemp sack to pack the sweet potatoes, Shen Yao raised a hand to wipe sweat drops, "Dad, how about asking Cheng Qi if we can hire a car?"

The Sweet Potato Garden's harvest was more than imagined; if they keep digging they likely won't be able to carry it all away.

Wasting grain is extremely painful for them; although Shen Yao hasn't transmigrated for long, she has already perfectly integrated into the current environment.

Wanting Shen Yao to give up the grain before her eyes and go back early? That's a dream.

Shen Jiancheng thought a bit, "Let's ask, and appropriately reveal some details; Xiao Cheng isn't an outsider. He's about to become the Shen Family's son-in-law, that makes him family. This Sweet Potato Garden isn't privately owned by the Shen Family; handling things generously now will make getting along easier later."

Shen Yao nodded, turned and used her wristwatch to snap a photo and send it to Cheng Qi.

The two people's chat history isn't much; basically everything that can be said is said face to face.

So after receiving Shen Yao's message, Cheng Qi quickly contacted his own mother, took leave, and drove to the Sweet Potato Garden all in one go.

Of course, it wasn't just him and his mother there; Zhao Xue's natal family was also present.

For that reason, the car Cheng Qi drove was larger and could hold more.

The sound of a car horn appeared behind Shen Yao; turning her head, she could see everyone getting out of the car.

She waved, but before Shen Yao could go over, Shen Jiancheng and Song Ling were already chatting happily with the newcomers.

Cheng Mu looked about the same as Song Ling, but was actually several years older.

"Thank you, Younger Sister Song, for thinking of us." Every family lacks staple food crops; to bring them at such a time speaks well of their character alone.

The Zhao family people are very conscious of their duties; they have no connection with the Shen family at all, and they came only because the Cheng family acted as the glue.

Listening to Cheng Ma and Song Ling chatting a few words, Shen Jiancheng interrupted the conversation, pointed to a large undeveloped sweet potato field not far away, and said, "Let's work first; we can talk about anything when we get back."

The Zhao family people nodded frantically in their hearts. Who would say otherwise? Sweet potatoes are so important—a single root can fill one's belly. During the hot rainy season, when one cannot go out for several months, having some sweet sweet potatoes prepared in advance just thinking about it feels wonderful.

Everyone agreed with Shen Jiancheng's words, turned around, and each took hemp sacks and hoes to start digging.

The later arrivals scattered across the entire sweet potato garden, no different from before.

If one had to say, it was only that having someone by her side let Song Ling's worried heart settle a little—strength in numbers, after all (even though facing mutated wild boars, more people didn't seem to help much).

In short, the newcomers who joined integrated quickly and reaped a full harvest.

The four members of the Shen family filled the hemp sacks they brought, not even letting the back baskets go.

The emerald-green sweet potato stems and leaves looked fresh and vibrant, tender and juicy with a bite.

Crunch crunch.

Tasting them in her mouth, Shen Yao felt that eating raw sweet potato leaves would never have happened in the past, but now it was nothing unusual.

Cheng Qi walked over, took away the hemp sack on the ground, and by the way left Shen Yao some clear water to quench her thirst.

At four-thirty in the afternoon, everyone stopped their work on time and walked back in unison.

The car was loaded with bags of sweet potatoes, as well as the fresh soil they brought.

Shen Yao got in the car, leaned back, and let out a comfortable sigh of relief.

Those who had labored all day had no energy; they all sat in their seats with eyes closed, resting.

Cheng Qi drove slowly, trying to give everyone time to rest, but even so, by the time the car returned to the Base, everyone still had not recovered.

Hemp sacks and back baskets filled the entire Courtyard. Song Ling directed Shen Jiancheng and Shen Yu to cover the things with a layer of reed mats, then paid them no more mind.

Asked whether they would go to the Sweet Potato Garden tomorrow, everyone nodded.

"We have to go. Dig for two more days, and the staple food for the hot rainy season will be enough."

"Yes, sweet potatoes are expensive. If we dig more, we can save a lot of points, and then we can use the air conditioner as we please," without worrying about electricity fees.

Song Ling and Cheng Ma played off each other, occasionally mixed with Zhao Ma's agreement—one could say three women make a play—and they soon settled tomorrow's itinerary.

Not only did Cheng Qi have to continue taking leave, but Zhao Xue and the two children also had to go tomorrow.

The Zhao family was the same; whoever had time should all go. Such opportunities were few; when they came, they had to be seized firmly.

Before leaving, Cheng Qi spent some time alone with Shen Yao. This person was impressive; he did not send all the sweet potatoes back to B District, but left some in C District.

"The keys to our New Home. You can take a look when you have time. If anything is unsatisfactory, we can change it."

Cheng Qi handed a string of keys to Shen Yao, and the two agreed to get married before entering the hot rainy season.

There was no helping it; young men and women at the Base were all very speedy about marriage matters.

A few days ago Shen Yao had seen Zhou Ying; even though her belly was already noticeably swollen, she still followed the main group out to gather food.

Listening to Song Ling's muttering, Zhou Ying's days were not going well, and the Zhou family had privately helped her a lot because of it. Pity Zhou Ying's man was truly lazy; relying on the food Zhou Ying had saved herself, it wouldn't be enough for the hot rainy season.

Shen Yao grunted in agreement and nodded, pushing Cheng Qi out as she walked. "After we finish the car later, the Sweet Potato Garden can be appropriately revealed to your Squad."

Having worked together for so long, Cheng Qi definitely had social connections.

The Sweet Potato Garden doesn't fear many people. With this opportunity to do some favors, it's quite good. Their leave days are still many; they cannot offend colleagues.

Cheng Qi touched Shen Yao's head. "Rest assured, I have it figured out. When we return tomorrow, once our few families have dug about the same, we'll lay our cards on the table with them."

By then, not only will we return the favor, but we can also repay the leave favor, and by the way remove ourselves from this matter. After all, the Patrol Team still receives the Base salary; always using public resources for private use will give people talk.

Shen Yao raised her eyebrows. Seeing that Cheng Qi really had it figured out, she stopped worrying.

Agreeing to contact via wristwatch if anything came up, Shen Yao returned to her Room and rested briefly, then followed to lend a hand processing the sweet potatoes and sweet potato stems and leaves brought back.

The sweet potatoes were cleaned and sent to the storage room. Part of the sweet potato stems and leaves were kept to eat fresh, and the rest were boiled, blanched, and pickled. Pity the family's soybean sauce had already been eaten; it is not yet the time for soybeans to mature, otherwise adding some would make the flavor even better.

Busy and stopping, starting and stopping, soft light lit up the Room. Shen Yao pounded her shoulders and knocked her legs, took a bath, and was still not free of fatigue.

Mm, I don't know how long the Pills need to be taken. Is Gene Awakening this difficult?

…………

She fell asleep in a daze, and when she opened her eyes again, it was morning.

The breakfast Song Ling prepared was rather dry: Coarse Flour Mantou with stir-fried meat slices. The family of four ate until their bellies were round and full, then slowly got into the car at the Doorway.

Evidently, there were more people in the car than yesterday. All three families were full of ambition, showing that yesterday's sweet potato harvest had given them confidence.

Cheng Qi drove, bypassing the crowd lined up in front of the gate, and left via the passage.

The Sweet Potato Garden was even more lush than yesterday. After just one night, the dug-up soil had closed again, and there was even a hint of green sprouting.

This was the terrifying regenerative ability of mutated plants—truly horrifying.

After re-dividing the territory, everyone took their back baskets, hemp sacks, and hoes, and dug into the sweet potato leaves on the Ground.

Cheng Qi took his Weapon, walked slowly around the Sweet Potato Garden, shot down two Wild Chickens and four Birds, and only returned on foot after ensuring there was no danger.

"Cheng Qi"

Shen Yao called out, then chatted about the truth of rumors. "Are there really wild boars here?"

"Yes. We dealt with some last year, and a few ran back into the Mountain." I don't know how they've bred this year, or whether the wild boar group has grown stronger.

"Can pork be eaten?" Shen Yao was curious. It had been several months since she came, and she still hadn't tasted pork.

Cheng Qi shook his head. "Not tasty, the fishy smell is too heavy," even heavy seasoning couldn't fix it.

After the Mutation, there was no such breed as domestic pig anymore; wild boars became even more unruly and impossible to tame.

Before, the Base had caught quite a few piglets; regardless of whether they were castrated or not, it couldn't change the wild boar's inherent taste, so among the meats they had eaten, wild boar rarely appeared; even if the Base caught them, they were used as raw materials for Nutrient Agent — after all, Nutrient Agent's taste is indescribable, and everyone in the Base understands that.

Stretching out his hand to take the hoe from Shen Yao's hand, Cheng Qi dug at the ground a few times.

Separating the compacted tight Soil, revealing the round sweet potatoes hidden inside; the two people, one digging and one picking, quickly had goods coming in.

The empty Hemp Sack was loaded full with sweet potatoes, tied up with Rope and put aside.

Before they knew it, Noon arrived.

The two people simply sat on the ground; Shen Yao rummaged through the Back Basket brought over, taking out the dried fruit and Bamboo Tube Clear Water inside, as well as a few hard steamed buns.

"Taste the flavor, this has Nutrient Agent," bought earlier with leftovers, Shen Yao decisively brought them all over; who told Gene Awakeners' Appetite to be far larger than Ordinary People's.

Cheng Qi lowered his head and ate cutely and obediently until finished, then ran back to the vehicle to fetch a box of Pastry.

"I bought this from the Exchange Center, you taste it," expensive price and especially sweet; Shen Yao pinched a piece and put it in her mouth, then couldn't hold back her Expression.

Cheng Qi also tasted a piece. "Don't like it?" He felt the taste was not bad.

Shen Yao: …… indescribable