Chapter 390: The cabbage in the Special Zone is small and wilted

"Wife, believe me, Ye Heng's Bi Hu Suo is probably good—it has human warmth, everyone is very friendly, and most importantly, he has special channels to obtain very precious supplies; look at the milk, fruit, and earlier pumpkin he gave—those are scarce goods even the Special Zone cannot buy."

"I trust Ye Heng's character; joining his Bi Hu Suo won't make you and the child worse off than here—it will only be better."

"Moreover, their Bi Hu Suo was recently upgraded and renovated, so it might not be worse than the Special Zone."

"Xu Ya was half-believing, half-doubting."

"I definitely trust his character; if it weren't for his help, this time not only would you be bullied by your older brother and them, but this injury of yours would also be hard to deal with."

"Xu Ya paused, as if making up her mind, and her tone became firmer."

"Okay, I'll listen to you; let's follow Ye Heng and leave here. I'll go cook first—you need to replenish nutrition and get better quickly……"

"Ye Heng returned to the Special Zone Chief's office again and immediately learned the handling results of Lü Feng and Luo Song, elder brother."

"Chen Yu handled things fairly efficiently, did not cover for them, and imposed the harshest punishment, uniformly expelling them from the Special Zone."

"Chen Yu apologized to Ye Heng again."

"In my management of the Special Zone over the past few years, I have indeed been negligent, which allowed this to happen; rest assured, I have dealt with those who bullied Luo Song, stripping them of their upper-citizen status."

"However, the Special Zone also has its own difficulties; don't be fooled by its size—people dress neatly and appear to live well, but in reality resources are concentrated in the hands of a few, and upper citizens without exceptional strength or background actually have a tough time."

"After saying that, Chen Yu looked at Ye Heng, wanting to speak but hesitating."

"Ye Heng had never lived as an upper citizen, but hearing Chen Yu say this, he also knew that inside these high walls, class divisions were strict; for ordinary upper citizens, life was indeed not easy as Chen Yu said, and the title 'upper citizen' merely sounded lofty."

"Dust citizens are lowly, but it also depends on where they are."

"Ye Heng felt that the dust citizens of his Bi Hu Suo might be the happiest in the world, because they have a goddess."

"Brother Ye Heng, I don't know how much of my daughter's Holy Medicine you can still provide?"

"Chen Yu thought it over and still asked his most pressing question."

"That Mist Agent could not possibly be developed by the current medical research team."

"Moreover, the top medical talents in the Special Zone must devote more energy to researching a more effective anti-variant vaccine."

"Although he holds the title of Chief of One Area, he dare not privatize resources."

"Upon hearing this, Ye Heng flipped his hand and took out three vials of medicine, saying to Chen Yu:"

"Special Zone Chief, I came this time precisely to make this deal with you—I can long-term provide Mist Agent for your daughter, in exchange for letting me inspect your ecological breeding, allowing me to purchase soil and seeds, and teaching me planting methods."

"Chen Yu hesitated only a moment before agreeing; he still had this authority."

"I heard your Bi Hu Suo has been renovated and also possesses a simulated ecological environment?"

"Ye Heng nodded and said:"

"Although the site is small, if planting goes smoothly, self-sufficiency should not be a problem."

"Ye Heng planned all the land along the mountainside in the valley for ecological breeding; the area is not small, the ecological system has already begun operating, air quality meets standards, temperature is suitable, and we are just waiting for soil and seedlings to arrive."

"Chen Yu seemed thoughtful, then nodded, and while bringing Ye Heng by car to the Ecological Base, he gave a brief introduction."

"Your idea is not bad; many large dust-mens' Bi Hu Suo also have their own farmland, with technology and soil naturally purchased from the Special Zone."

"However, you need to be mentally prepared; don't set your expectations too high—nowadays seed quality is generally poor, each field's yield is low and quality poor, the once tender green vegetables can no longer be grown."

"As for those chickens, ducks, geese, livestock, etc., they also cannot compare to the civilized era."

"These edible animals, affected by the catastrophe, have poor meat quality, low fertility, raising a litter of young costs too much with poor results; thus, in our Special Zone only upper-class people can afford to eat meat every few days."

"For most upper citizens, nutrition comes from nutrient solution; the supply of vegetables and meat is rationed daily, and one must also spend points to purchase them."

"Chen Yu described the current state of the Special Zone, furrowing his brows and sighing inwardly."

"Ye Heng felt shocked and his heart sank."

"Upon arriving at the Special Zone's strictly controlled Ecological Base, Ye Heng was completely dumbfounded."

"All that could be seen were isolated planting fields with sparsely growing yellowish-green vegetables, small in size, wilted leaves, some so unrecognizable as to what vegetable they were, looking half-dead."

"In the relatively better cabbage patch, the cabbages were far smaller than those Lin Meng gave, with loose, soft, wilted leaves—not watery crisp, but shriveled like an old man's cabbage."

"This…… is cabbage?"

"Chen Yu quickly nodded, seeming a bit proud as he said:"

"Indeed it is cabbage; the best cabbage we grow in the Special Zone looks good and tastes crisp, sweet, and refreshing—I'll have someone pick two for you to take back."

"Ye Heng was greatly shocked that this could be called good-looking; Special Zone Chief Chen Yu probably has never seen a good one."

"He originally wanted to refuse, but after thinking, he still agreed."

"It can be taken back to cook and compared with Lin Meng's cabbage."

"Chen Yu quickly had a professional vegetable farmer pick two and carefully handed them to Ye Heng."

"This is a little token of my heart; please accept it."

"Ye Heng: ……"

"Afterwards, he and Chen Yu examined the other vegetable fields; after observation, Ye Heng concluded that the vegetables here are not only poorly grown but also limited in variety—many of the leafy greens Lin Meng gave are absent here."

"Such as water spinach, chives, etc., they are nowhere to be seen here."

"Also, sweet potatoes and potatoes—Lin Meng said these substitute staples have extremely high yield, planting conditions are not harsh, and they are easy to grow."

"The Special Zone has them, and Ye Heng saw them too, but their yield is far from what Lin Meng described as high."

"Here the sweet potato and potato patches are sparse; the mature tubers dug out are small and thin, looking rather pitiful."

"Ye Heng couldn't help but ask Chen Yu."

"Special Zone Chief, I've read that sweet potatoes and potatoes are obviously easy to plant and high-yielding; why are they like this here?"

"Chen Yu sighed upon hearing this and said:"

"There's no way; during the civilized era there were many kinds of fertilizer, but now they're all gone; natural fertilizer can't be used too much—it's too filthy; the most important thing is……"

"Saying this, Chen Yu paused a moment, raised his head, and let out a long sigh."

"The most important thing is that without good seeds, although the soil and water have been purified, they still retain some toxins; thus planting becomes even more difficult……"