Still hoarding supplies in the apocalypse? I'll just go on a killing spree and looting!

Shunzi's trousers were rolled up to his knees, and his feet were covered in wet mud.

Mu Xue sat on a small stool, her back against the metal rack by the door where tools were kept. The bone shield lay flat on her knees as she wiped the scratches off its surface with an old cloth.

Lin You went inside, squatted down beside him, and looked at the potato sprouts in Shunzi's hand.

After the soil around the base of the seedling was removed, several small rhizomes were exposed. They were not fully grown yet, but the skin had already turned yellow.

Lin You found it unbelievable, after all, plant mutation was an inevitable trend.

However, even five years after the apocalypse, Lin You rarely saw potatoes that grew at such a rapid pace.

For any human base, these mutated food seeds are invaluable, a vital strategic resource for the survival of a group of people.

If the planting is successful, the base will have an abundance of grain.

That means countless people can survive after the apocalypse and live a life where they have enough to eat.

Shunzi looked at Lin You beside her, "What's wrong, Sister Lin?"

"I'm going on a long trip tomorrow to a military base." Lin You paused. "It'll take about four or five days. Mu Xue is coming with me."

Shunzi gently covered the potato seedlings with soil and patted the mud off his hands.

Shunzi didn't stand up immediately, but squatted down and looked at the neat row of potato rows in front of him with a smile on his face.

"I'm not going." Shunzi rubbed the dirt off his hands, stood up, and looked into Lin You's eyes. "It's not that I don't want to go. I just can't bear to leave all this food. I don't know why these potatoes are growing so fast. I'm afraid if I leave, no one will know how to take care of them."

Lin You smiled and said, "There are plenty of people in the base, surely we can find some who know how to grow crops?"

Shunzi curled his lip and said disdainfully, "I'm not bragging, but those city people don't know how to farm at all. They talk a lot of nonsense all the time, but they can't do anything. They're such a disgrace."

Lin You hesitated before saying, "After all, they have some agricultural experts. I've seen them with Team Leader Song."

"Agricultural experts? The like?" Shunzi's face was full of disdain, an expression rarely seen on him. "My village has an agricultural demonstration village's farmland, and what is that? Not only is it a waste of land, but the crops they grow are barely alive, and they call it scientific farming? A bunch of ignorant city bumpkins."

Lin You was speechless; she had heard about this as well.

It just felt distant to me, but now it seems that I simply hadn't been paying attention.

Looking back now, it seems irresponsible to myself and everyone else to ask those professional agricultural experts to guide planting.

In the post-apocalyptic base, some people planted the most precious food.

No matter how this person dies, it won't be tragic enough. That kind of behavior destroys the very foundation for the continuation of humanity.

Shunzi looked at the potato seedlings with a strange light in his eyes. "They will harvest them, but they don't know which ones to dig up first or which ones can grow a little longer. This batch of potatoes is the first crop planted after the fog cleared, and I have to watch them harvest."

Lin You looked into his eyes.

Shunzi rarely spoke to her in this tone; it wasn't a tone of discussion, but rather a tone indicating that a decision had already been made.

Lin You was surprised to find that Shunzi was so stubborn.

Suddenly, she realized that she didn't quite recognize this young countryman who had been with her since before the apocalypse.

During those days and nights of watering, fertilizing, and turning the soil, Shunzi turned this vegetable garden into his own battlefield.

Lin You knew that Shunzi would not leave this vegetable garden, just as she would not leave An'an, and Shunzi would not leave this greenhouse.

Everyone has their own way of protecting what's important.

His method was to squat on the edge of the field from morning till night, using his fingers to pry open the soil and make sure that every potato was growing well.

Lin You gave up on trying to persuade Shunzi, as Shunzi was someone she could entrust with her trust.

"Then you have to promise me one thing. When harvesting potatoes, don't dig them all up by yourself. Ask Xia Lin and the others to help. Qin Ying and Wang Tao are strong, and Xia Lin and An Yan are meticulous enough; she knows how to sort and store them by size. Also, you'll move to the visitor center for the next few days and share a room with Team Leader Song."

Shunzi paused for a moment, then laughed. "I know. It just so happens that An'an has been going to the greenhouse a lot lately. I told him the potatoes wouldn't be ready for harvest for several more days, and he got really anxious. He insisted on digging for me with his little shovel. I told him not to dig, but he just squatted down and watched, saying, 'Brother Shunzi, how come the potatoes you dug up are bigger than my fist?'"

Lin You's eyes softened at the mention of An An's name. "Where is An An?"

Shunzi said happily, "He's in the kitchen. He's helping me pick green beans. I told him we're having braised noodles with green beans tonight, and he was overjoyed. He said the last time he had braised noodles was with his grandma. He even took out the biggest enamel bowl in the cafeteria and put it on the stove beforehand, saying he wanted to fill it to the brim."

Shunzi pointed towards the kitchen, then bent down to pick up the iron shovel from the ground and stuck it on the edge of the field, continuing to look after the precious grains.

Lin You and Mu Xue walked out of the greenhouse together.

In the kitchen, An'an was sitting on a small stool with an enamel basin in front of her containing half-picked green beans.

His woolen hat was askew, and his fingers clumsily pulled off the strings from the green beans. Some strings broke off, and some weren't completely removed, but he was very careful in his selection.

Mu Xue had entered the kitchen at some point and was squatting next to him, using her dagger to trim the tough ends of the green beans.

She shaved very slowly, even more carefully than she would when handling weapon parts.

You have to turn each green bean around to check for any missing tough fibers.

An'an looked up and saw Lin You standing at the door. She immediately put down the green beans she was holding and ran over. "Sister! Brother Shunzi said we're having braised noodles with green beans tonight! He also said you like noodles, so he told me to pick a lot!"

Lin You squatted down and straightened An An's crooked woolen hat.

His cheeks were rosier than before, no longer as pale and almost transparent as when he was first taken out of the house.

He has been taking the medication, and the doctor said his blood test results are slowly improving, although he is still far from being fully recovered.

But at least now An'an can squat in the kitchen picking green beans and be happy all day long over a bowl of braised noodles.

"An'an, your sister is going out tomorrow. She's going to a very far place and won't be back for several days."

An'an's smile froze; her little face couldn't hide her emotions at all.

Although he tried very hard.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a strawberry candy—the wrapper was crumpled beyond recognition. He had kept it in his pocket for the past few days while waiting for Lin You to come back.

He stuffed the candy into Lin You's hand. "Sister, can we not go?"

Lin You saved An An and said with a smile, "Sister doesn't want to go either, but there are some things that have to be done."

An'an said obediently, "Then come back soon. I'll watch over the potatoes in the greenhouse for you every day to keep the bugs away from them. Brother Shunzi said we have to wait until the potatoes are big enough to dig them up. I know how to tell. We can dig them up when the leaves turn yellow, but we can't dig them up when the leaves are still green."

Lin You gripped the strawberry candy tightly and gently smoothed out the wrinkles on the wrapper.

"Sister is going to find someone. She'll come back when she finds them. While you're at the base, listen to Brother Shunzi, take your medicine on time every day, and don't go near the wall alone. Sister Muxue will come with me. Uncle Song and Uncle Shunzi will protect you at the base."

An An thought for a moment, then turned around and picked up the largest enamel bowl from the stove. She held it in both hands and presented it to Lin You, standing on tiptoe to hold the bowl high.

"This is for your food on the road. This bowl is the biggest; it can hold a lot of braised noodles."

Lin You took the enamel bowl.

A small piece of porcelain was chipped off the edge of the bowl, revealing the gray-black iron underneath.

An'an found this bowl in the visitor center's storeroom. An'an always used it to eat because it was the biggest of all the bowls.

Shunzi always felt that a big bowl could hold more delicious food, and that as long as he ate more, his body would become stronger.

Lin You placed the enamel bowl on the table, picked up An An, and let him sit on her lap.