Flowers Blooming in the Wasteland

Fu Yunlan knew that Cedric's trip was definitely not just to send him a piece of meat, so she hastily brushed off the broken hair on her head, sat down and asked, "I remember that there are only four cows in the farm, why? And killed one?"

Cedric sighed: "There is not enough fodder for the winter, the calf is still growing, one cow is producing milk, and the other is pregnant with a calf, so I killed the bull."

Fu Yunlan poured him a cup of hot water: "That's the only breeding bull, kill it now, what will happen next year?"

"I hope the pregnant one will give birth to a calf, if not, I'll have to figure out a way later." Cedric held the water glass with his callused rough fingers, his gray beard trembled, and murmured He said, "As you know, winter came early this year. Not only is the grain output less than before, but the farm has not saved enough forage for the winter. If we don't want to do anything else, we have to kill all the cattle and sheep this winter." More than half must be killed to ensure that the remaining animals will not starve to death."

Fu Yunlan knew that most of the few small farms in Hummingbird Town could only raise some chickens and ducks. The dozen or so animals of Cedric's family were almost the only source of meat for the whole town. Judging from the living conditions in the settlements where the survivors live, if they kill all the cattle this time, I am afraid that the people in Hummingbird Town will not be able to eat beef for many years to come. If the situation is worse, people in other places will also fall into the same situation. Difficulty, after that, it is very likely that there will be no such animals as cattle in the wasteland.

Water pollution and land pollution, coupled with insufficient light, have already made the growth of crops very difficult. Even if the delicious and unpalatable parts of the food grown are all waste recycled to the extreme, it is not enough to eat at all. If meat eats If the source of resources is further reduced, the future is bound to be even more difficult.

"... There should still be a lot of weeds in the wild." Fu Yunlan said.

"In places closer to the town, as long as the grass taller than a pencil has been picked, we have already picked all the grass. The workers are not willing to go further away, and it is indeed too dangerous. I heard from the scavengers that there are several places where the weeds grow as long as the grass. It’s still lush, and I’m thinking about picking as much as I can before the frost, but this must be done with the help of the mercenary group.”

Fu Yunlan nodded: "I can send mercenaries to escort them."

"I came to you just for this matter. You know, this year's grain production is not good, and the farm has done its best just to pay taxes. I'm afraid there is nothing more that can be used as reward." Cedric was a little embarrassed Said, "Leader, let's see... can we owe it first, and make it up when the situation is better tomorrow."

"Okay." Fu Yunlan said, "Go and gather the workers. As long as there are no other tasks during this time, I will arrange people to escort them out to pick grass."

"Thank you so much!" Cedric heaved a sigh of relief, and suddenly smelled an irresistible smell of meat.

Celeste was frying steak in the kitchen, and the smell of meat made Cedric, who hadn't eaten anything good for a long time, swallow involuntarily.

The farmer with the most land and livestock in Hummingbird Town can be so greedy for meat, and the living standards of other people can be imagined. Fu Yunlan sighed: "Let's stay for dinner."

"Thank you, Captain..." Cedric swallowed, and worried that Fu Yunlan would be unhappy because of this, so he added, "Tomorrow... I will send some more eggs."

Celeste brought the fried steak to the table. The fried steak was charred on the outside and tender on the inside, and was drizzled with homemade mushroom sauce. The old man in front of him didn't seem to know that it was hot, so he couldn't wait to cut a piece and put it in his mouth.

Celeste also made mashed potatoes, toast, and mushroom soup. It was not the first time that Fu Yunlan had seen his good cooking skills, so she was quite calm, while Cedric was eating, Tears welled up in my eyes unconsciously.

Celeste looked at Cedric speechlessly.

"Sorry, I really...haven't eaten such a delicious thing for a long time." Cedric said with some embarrassment.

Fu Yunlan drew a tissue for him, and Cedric thankfully took it and wiped his eyes, "It's been too long... For so many years, eating seems to be just to live, I almost forgot that food can be so good have eaten."

Celeste asked puzzledly: "You are a farmer, so you shouldn't be short of meat."

"But no one can make meat so delicious, and they have no time to study how to make it more delicious." Cedric has calmed down a bit, and he cherishes the beef in his mouth, reminiscing about the uniqueness left by meat Taste and aroma, "I almost forgot what a fried steak taste like...it reminds me of the good old days when my wife, my kids were alive...and now I'm just a bad old man , Sometimes I don’t even know why I’m still persisting.”

"Because survival is a biological instinct," Thurlist said.

The sentimental atmosphere was destroyed at once, and Cedric smiled helplessly: "You child..."

Celeste asked suspiciously, "Isn't it?"

"There's nothing wrong." Cedric sighed again, "It's a pity you were born after the war, and you haven't lived a day like that."

"Is it that good?"

"Although even in that era, people never stopped complaining about life, but compared with now, life at that time was really like a paradise, never worrying about not having enough food, no zombie virus, no radiation sickness ..." Cedric said, "The leader should still have some impressions."

Celeste looked at Fu Yunlan who had been eating silently beside him. Fu Yunlan swallowed the food in her mouth and said, "I was abandoned when I was 3 months old. In that era, even someone like me Orphans can survive, fed and clothed in the orphanage, with snacks and toys."

"Why were you abandoned?" Thelister asked.

"It's off topic."

"……Oh."

After finishing dinner in an atmosphere of reminiscing about the good old days, Cedric left with satisfaction. He said to the mercenary captain at the door in a negotiating tone: "This weather may frost at any time. If possible, we Let's start gathering grass tomorrow."

"Okay." Fu Yunlan agreed.

After Cedric left, Fu Yunlan came back to help Celeste pack the tableware. Celeste suddenly asked, "Can I go tomorrow?"

"What are you going to do?" Fu Yunlan looked at him in surprise.

"...It's nothing." Celeste picked up the plate and went to the kitchen, and Fu Yunlan followed. It's rare for Celeste to express his thoughts, and it's not a difficult thing to do. Of course he won't Splash cold water on the child: "Are you feeling bored? If you want to go, go with you, but you can't run around in the suburbs, it will be dangerous."

"Okay." Celeste turned on the tap and began to wash the dishes.

"The water is too cold, let me come."

"……it is good."

---

In fact, escorting workers out is a very boring job. There is no loot to get, and the commission is not enough compared to some tasks that require fighting. The soldiers inevitably murmured a little, but the regiment leader had already taken over the job, so he had no choice but to go.

Early in the morning, the farm workers and many temporary workers pulled tricycles, flatbed carts and small carts out of the city. Fu Yunlan took Celeste into the small truck requisitioned from the Crimson Bar, Some mercenaries walked with the workers, and the lazy ones squeezed into the truck.

When the cowboy saw Fu Yunlan, he whistled, "Hey, the new hairstyle is not bad."

In fact, when Fu Yunlan asked Celeste to help him cut his hair, he didn't care if his hair would be cut into a dog-eating shape, as long as it didn't obstruct his vision, how could a man in the wasteland have time? He was concerned about whether his hairstyle was beautiful, but more than one person praised his hairstyle, which made Fu Yunlan a little curious.

He took a picture in the rearview mirror, and it was really pretty, neat and stylish.

Fu Yunlan turned to look at Celeste in the passenger seat: "Have you ever learned how to cut your hair?"

"No, I cut it casually." Thelister said.

"...I always feel like you can do everything."

Celeste lowered his head and didn't answer. Fu Yunlan just said casually. He started the car and followed the team of workers.

When they arrived at the meadow mentioned by the scavengers, the mercenaries were scattered around the periphery, alerting to possible dangers, and the workers buried themselves in their work, harvesting the weeds that didn't grow much. Stack it on the cart.

The security work is not difficult, because the terrain here is almost flat. Celeste lost interest after helping to cut a few weeds. He sat next to Cedric and chatted with him: "These places used to be farmland, right? ?”

"That's right. In the past, the entire area was covered with wheat, and the end could not be seen at a glance. At that time, there was no pollution, the sun was abundant, and the ears of wheat grew tall and full. We drove the harvester from one end to the other. You can harvest several tons of grain in one day." Cedric smoked a pipe without tobacco, and looked at the plain in front of him with some cloudy eyes sadly, "Do you know how many tons of grain are, enough for the people in the town We eat three meals a day, and there is still more than a year to eat. We waste the food that we can’t finish. We use tomatoes to smash each other at the Tomato Carnival, and we make pumpkins into lanterns on Halloween..."

"Why don't you cultivate it now?" Celeste said, grabbing a piece of malnourished grass under his feet. "There is long grass on the land, but people are starving inside the city wall. It's unreasonable."