Chapter 126: Leave and plant the fire of hope! (Third update)
"Why are there babies?"
Somo gritted his teeth when he spoke, but he was afraid of disturbing the women and children inside, so he suppressed the anger in his heart and spoke softly.
Chen Shen who was behind was also startled and said quickly:
"Brother Lu, don't be angry. She was about to give birth when she first traveled through time. With the help of Dr. Song, the child born in this camp was not directly transported..."
Listening to Chen Shen's explanation, Sumo closed his eyes and said nothing.
After a while, Sumo turned around and walked out of the den and opened the shed of No. 3 den.
Fortunately, there was only one pregnant woman and her child in the entire camp who had just given birth.
"What do you usually eat?"
Stepping down the hillside and looking at the supplies on the ground, Somo's tone was no longer heavy and cold.
This time, there was no need for Chen Shen to answer. The man who was still slumped on the ground pointed to the looted supplies next to him and whispered:
"We usually eat bark and grass roots, and then they give some muddy water to boil, and everyone can barely eat half full."
"Then there will be a snack every four days, and the food will be potatoes, and each person can get half..."
Potato?
Somo lowered his body and dug the bag on the ground. Sure enough, the bag was filled with potatoes.
Occasionally, there are a few potatoes that have sprouted but have not rotted among them.
Sumo is very familiar with this thing. In fact, when he first planted vegetables in a medium, Sumo hesitated whether to plant potatoes, but in the end he chose to give up.
Once upon a time in the Earth Age, almost everyone knew that growing potatoes in large quantities would keep them full, taste delicious, have many ways to cook them, and would keep them alive.
Therefore, in most time-travel novels, once food is insufficient, the solutions almost proposed are:
Plant potatoes!
Compared with other crops that require pampering, potatoes are cold-resistant and filling. The starch in them can provide a lot of calories and nutrients. It is indeed the best crop to grow in this environment.
Coupled with the yield of several thousand kilograms per mu, it seems that everyone thinks it is a magical thing.
But the reason why Somo gave up was very direct and very real.
Energy is conserved. The exaggerated yield and nutrition of potatoes must be converted by other energies.
This energy is land fertility in a broad sense!
In general, barren land, the potatoes grown are small and the yield is low. Without suitable fertilizer, the yield will continue to be greatly reduced.
And the lessons from history clearly tell us: if you plant a large amount of potatoes, once you get sick, you have to finish it.
"Let's cook it. Boil all the potatoes. Let's talk after we have a full meal!"
There are about one and a half bags of potatoes on the ground. If they are distributed to everyone, they can basically get about two.
Although some potatoes have sprouts and may produce solanine, in this environment, after hearing Sumo's words, no one showed any concern on their faces.
Tremendous cheers rose from the center of the camp. Everyone did not take action immediately. Instead, they all bent down and bowed gratefully before starting to perform their duties.
Those who were looking for pots were looking for pots, those who were lighting fires were lighting fires, and a group of people went to uninhabited places and came back with handfuls of slightly clean snowflakes.
Every refugee who passed by Somo had a look on their face that showed the joy of surviving the disaster and the joy of having a big meal soon.
Two potatoes per person...
"So this is the simple happiness of ordinary people in the apocalypse?"
Looking at these people, Sumo suddenly understood why, from ancient times to the present, even several catastrophes on earth have failed to wipe out humankind.
"Perhaps, I am a decisive and decisive person, but I... am definitely not a cold-blooded person, at least, not now!"
Soma stood quietly in the middle of the camp.
Seeing the people around him busy, for a moment, Sumo even had the idea of bringing all these people back to the base to live in them and forming a small camp.
People are always lonely.
Even with the company of Oreos and Little Sparks, after half a month passed and I returned to collective life, a sense of community that had disappeared came back again.
This feeling is hard to explain.
Even when he looked at the smiling faces on the faces of similar people, Sumo couldn't help but want to smile.
"However... my current camp has not solved the food problem at all, and I don't have anyone I trust enough to manage these people. Once they rebel, I have no way to counterattack!"
Silently looking through his own apocalyptic rules, Somo's heart, which had just become heated, gradually returned to calm.
Anger can make people lose their minds.
Excited, too!
Except for family members, no strangers are allowed to enter the three-kilometer radius of the shelter before they have a clear understanding of the other person's character and style of doing things.
Otherwise, they can only be enemies!
Standing in the corner, Sumo was lost in thought, like a sculpture, with the words "No strangers allowed to enter" carved on his face.
Of course, no one will come and disturb you at this time.
At this time, the pregnant woman in the underground nest was also helped out by everyone. The baby in her arms seemed to feel the cold outside and screamed.
All the men spontaneously formed a circle, protecting the pregnant woman in the middle, until they reached the center of the camp.
The aroma of salt evaporating in the water, the round potatoes, and the strong firewood below all made pregnant women extremely curious.
On the dark face, a pair of eyes full of deathly silence also regained a trace of vitality at this time.
Then, she saw Somo standing in the corner again, with a trace of expectation on her face.
The firewood is still burning, the water has begun to stir, and the potatoes are rising and falling in the water like a swaying boat.
All the refugees seemed to be possessed, staring closely at the white gas coming out of the pot and the flames below.
After looking at the baby, and then at the refugees with longing for survival on their faces, Somo slowly came to the pot that was not yet boiling.
With a move from the void, the remaining 200ml of psionic water appeared in Somo's hand. He opened the lid and watched as the psionic water slowly entered the pot.
A fragrance that was different from potatoes spread out, shocking all the refugees!
No one can resist the taste of psionic water!
As long as they smell it for the first time, almost everyone can feel the desire for this smell in their genes!
Looking at Somo standing in the center and putting down the lid of the pot, these people's faces showed a hint of complicated emotions.
They are used to seeing the ugliness of human nature, and as long as there is a slightly normal person, in their eyes, they are no less than an angel.
"Just think of it as a reward for helping me collect saltpeter!" Sumo thought silently in his heart, and at the same time walked out of the camp and said loudly:
"I will come back later. These pregnant women and children will be divided into four. Anyone who dares to rob them will be responsible for the consequences!"
I was used to eating the food I cooked in the shelter, and these potatoes couldn't provoke any change in Somo's taste.
Everyone watched in awe as Somo walked along the way he came and then walked away from the gate, his bleak back gradually disappearing from sight.
"He is a good man!"
I don’t know who said this, but others nodded and agreed!
But then, as the aroma in the pot became stronger and stronger, everyone turned their attention back and stared at the pot feverishly.
...
"Olio, do you think I should care about these people? I obviously have the ability to do something..."
While walking on the snow, Oreo ran over and rubbed Somo's pants with his dog's head.
Hearing Somo speak, Oreo raised his head, his eyes full of curiosity and confusion.
Woof!
Woo!
Then, unable to figure it out, it showed a human smile again and puffed out its chest.
"You mean I'm great?" Seeing Oreo nodding his head, Sumo laughed, then shook his head.
"You're wrong. I'm not great. If I were, I would have brought everyone back to Earth!"
Stopping, Somo turned his head and looked at the camp behind him, where fire waves were still rising.
This flame, with a single thought, can become a flame that symbolizes hope, or it can become a hellfire that devours everyone.
After a pause, Sumo's eyes gradually became firm.
Walk all the way back to the den where the cutthroat is parked, light a fire, and drive the cutthroat out.
Facing the road to the camp, Sumo estimated the time and drove slowly.
The midday sun shone on the car window, and Oreo lay lazily on the passenger seat, showing a satisfied smile from time to time as the terrain undulated.
When they drove to the entrance of the camp, Sumo honked the horn, waking up all the refugees inside who were still eating potatoes.
Seeing the tiger, these refugees first had a look of disbelief on their faces, and then relief.
"Bring me all the saltpeter and the treasure chest!" Sumo shouted while lying by the car window.
The refugees who were still eating received the order and quickly put down the still warm potatoes in their hands and started working.
Pieces of saltpeter were moved to the front of the car, and were sucked into the storage space of Dihu by Somo.
The treasure chest for killing the kobold was also stored by Somo in the storage space of the game panel.
After all the things were moved, Sumo shook his head when he looked at the refugees holding potatoes in their hands and trying to hand them over. They were wearing masks.
"Chen Shen, come here!"
After greeting the young man twice, he came over. Before Su Mo could say anything, Chen Shen took the first step and timidly spoke:
"Brother Lu, are you leaving?"
After a moment of silence, Sumo did not answer directly. Instead, he reached out and touched Chen Shen's head, looking forward faintly:
"Remember, go out from here, fifty kilometers to the west, there is a human refuge, take all the remaining supplies, go and survive!"
After saying that, Sumo slowly released the brakes, and the Tihu began to slide forward.
The rubber anti-skid chains brought up huge tire tracks on the ground, and they slowly drove forward.
After hearing what Chen Shen conveyed, all the refugees' eyes were full of awe, but also full of hope. They stood at the door and watched the earth tiger go away.
These people still stood there blankly until the cutworm disappeared at the end of the horizon and was no longer visible.
Suddenly, an exclamation "woke up" everyone:
"Look, what is that?"
Others followed the direction of the man's finger and looked curiously. There seemed to be a group of colorful things in the haystack at the entrance of the camp:
Everyone walked over quickly, and among the haystacks, they suddenly discovered the cotton-padded jackets that Somo had collected before and were stained with blood and had not had time to be washed.
On the cotton-padded jacket, there were two stacks of dead-noodle cakes, with a note sandwiched between the cakes.
Everyone looked at Chen Shen, and Chen Shen did not show any timidity. He walked up quickly, picked up the note in the cake, and after taking a look, he could no longer hold back the tears in his eyes:
"Brother Lu said that joining the shelter in the west is a test for us. If one day, he feels that we have passed the test, we can join his shelter!"
"Brother Lu...he...is a good man!"
Wow!
Once again, without anyone suggesting or speaking, all the refugees spontaneously knelt on the ground in the direction where Dihu left.
