Chapter 139

The team went out to fight while Song Jingshuo stayed home to farm.

Aunt Pan had taught him that different vegetables needed different kinds of fertilizer. He had tried them all and was gradually getting the hang of it.

At everyone’s fervent urging for fruit, he started growing strawberries today.

He set aside a permanent plot for them, added fertilizer, and began forcing them to grow.

With the mindset of “fewer plants, bigger yields,” Song Jingshuo forced the strawberries to grow as large as pears.

That ought to be enough for everyone to eat their fill.

Su Yu didn’t join today’s operation either.

The team was divided into groups. Whenever they went out, they had to leave people behind to guard the residential complex, with at least several superpowered individuals staying there in case of emergencies.

Two fire-element superpowered people were among those left behind. Everyone discussed practicing with one another.

Su Yu stood in the little plaza and spread out her protective barrier, expanding it into a huge dome about twenty meters in diameter.

Inside the barrier, the little ones exclaimed, “Whoa!”

The fire-element users launched fireballs at the barrier one after another.

Su Yu could feel the impact of the attacks against the barrier. But while her superpower was abundant and the barrier was operating at full capacity, it canceled out the impacts on its own, so none of the force rebounded onto her.

The two fire-element users used the barrier to practice their aim, hitting whatever they pointed at.

The fireballs smashed into the barrier and scattered like fireworks.

The little ones chased after the fireballs inside the barrier.

Manager Wang took one look, then turned around and somehow came back with two bamboo poles. He tied strips of cloth to the ends and handed them to the children.

“Targets.”

The little ones split into two groups and followed the bamboo poles as they ran around.

At random spots, they poked the ends of the poles through the barrier.

The fireballs came flying over.

Everyone cried, “Whoa!”

The fireballs turned into targets chasing the bamboo poles. Wherever the poles poked out, the fireballs struck.

Pretty good.

When the children grew tired from running, Song Jingshuo called out, “Come eat strawberries!”

Everyone got one. Their mouths were stained bright red with juice as they chattered, “I’ve never seen strawberries this big before!”

It wasn’t only the children who had never eaten strawberries that size. The adults hadn’t either.

The first crop was quickly picked clean by the people who had stayed behind.

Song Jingshuo took one look and realized that this amount of strawberries was nowhere near enough to go around. He was preparing to force a second crop when Zeng Qiang came over.

“Try seeing if you can artificially force the strawberry runners to reproduce.”

He explained to Song Jingshuo what strawberry runners were.

This required controlling the plants so that they would not flower or bear fruit, but instead put all their energy into growing new plantlets.

Song Jingshuo had never tried such targeted control before.

Under Zeng Qiang’s guidance, he began experimenting.

It worked perfectly. The strawberries sent out long runners, and little plantlets grew along them.

Normally, strawberry runners had to be secured with tools and given a certain amount of time to develop. But things weren’t normal now.

Zeng Qiang simply pressed them down with his hand. “Make that plantlet put down roots in the soil. Yes, just like that. Good. That’s enough. Break them off here, here, and here, so they become separate plants.”

They didn’t even need scissors. With a thought from Song Jingshuo, the runners snapped automatically at the nodes where they needed to be separated.

The rooted plantlets became individual plants.

The strawberry field expanded several times over.

Zeng Qiang said, “It worked. Go ahead and force them to grow.”

He squatted beside the strawberry field and watched Song Jingshuo force an entire expanse of strawberries to grow, each one as large as a pear.

It was enough to make anyone envious and jealous.

Zeng Qiang angrily ate another one and stuffed himself.

The team returned in the evening.

There were far fewer students at the private school than at the public one, so there were relatively fewer zombies as well. They brought back more than thirty middle school students and two teachers.

Song Jingshuo went up to them and asked about the situation.

Jiang Cheng said, “It’s a little troublesome. Their homes aren’t in the Technology New District.”

The private school was a boarding school, and the children’s families were scattered throughout different parts of the city.

Song Jingshuo asked, “Are they staying in our residential complex?”

Jiang Cheng replied, “No need. Old Zhou took them in.”

Zhou Wang had taken responsibility for the more than thirty middle school students and the two teachers, leading them to Jixiang Jiayuan.

The population of Jixiang Jiayuan was severely skewed, with the elderly making up the vast majority. Zhou Wang brought these young people, who had been stranded in the Technology New District, into his residential complex.

They were only half-grown kids, but they were still a labor force.

He had reached an agreement with the two teachers: Jixiang Jiayuan would provide them with food and lodging, while they joined the community, followed Zhou Wang’s arrangements, and participated in community labor.

The little ones ran over and tugged at Li Jiangbing.

“Uncle! Uncle! Come eat strawberries! They’re huge and delicious!”

Li Jiangbing hurriedly said, “Don’t touch me, don’t touch me. I’m filthy.”

The girls who had returned from the fight quickly went upstairs to shower and change.

A lot of the men were too lazy to bother and simply shouted to Li Jiangbing, “Jiangbing! Jiangbing! Let’s take a bath!”

They pushed Li Jiangbing toward the fountain pool.

The water in the fountain pool was actually reclaimed water. It wasn’t drinkable and wasn’t suitable for contact with skin.

But the water Li Jiangbing extracted was purified water—completely clean.

The ball of water transformed into a column, spinning with a loud whoosh.

Li Jiangbing said, “It’s cold. I’m warning you, I won’t be responsible if it’s cold.”

It was already evening, and the building’s shadow blocked the sunlight. The fountain pool had not received any sun, so the water was a little chilly.

“No problem,” everyone said.

The first person charged in. Standing in the middle of the water column as it spun around him, he looked as though a washing machine had been stripped of all its hardware, leaving only the swirling water behind.

It actually worked. The grime and sweat clinging to his armor, clothes, and arms were all washed away.

As soon as he jumped out of the water column, Li Jiangbing immediately reached out through the air and pulled a ball of water from his body.

His clothes dried instantly.

Even his underwear was dry.

It was just a little cold.

The man shivered, then shouted, “That feels great!”

The group burst into laughter. They were all strapping young men who could sleep on a cold brick bed without complaint. One after another, they jumped into the water column to bathe.

Wu Jiancheng watched several people “shower” in succession. He went over and tested the temperature with one finger, then went to whisper with Cui Haiyang.

Cui Haiyang nodded. In half a minute, he made a large iron barrel right there on the spot. He tapped it and shouted, “Jiangbing!”

Li Jiangbing said, “...Huh?”

He directed the purified water into the large iron barrel.

Wu Jiancheng immediately sent roaring flames beneath it.

Cui Haiyang said, “Don’t heat it until it’s boiling. Warm is enough.”

“Got it,” Wu Jiancheng replied.

Wu Jiancheng could now control the temperature of his flames. The temperature of a single flame could vary by a huge margin.

A minute was enough.

Wu Jiancheng called out, “Jiangbing!”

“Coming!” Li Jiangbing replied. “Wait a second. I’ll go first! Let me try it first.”

Warm water flowed out in a column. Li Jiangbing jumped in and immediately shouted, “Damn, that feels amazing!”

How was this any different from soaking in a warm bath?

Everyone who tried it afterward cried out in delight. Some even took the opportunity to bend over and wash their hair.

Aunt Pan said, “Dry him off quickly. The wind’s getting chilly. He’ll catch a chill in his head!”

Li Jiangbing laughed and cursed the man for being so crafty, then reached through the air and pulled out all the water clinging to his hair and body. He was completely dry.

The children stared in amazement, constantly going, “Wow... wow...”

Only the few people who had taken cold-water baths earlier stood there in silence.

What a bunch of jerks!

Song Jingshuo asked, “What about the two kindergartens?”

Jiang Cheng shook her head.

There were no survivors at the kindergartens either.

There was nothing they could do. The children in kindergarten were simply too young.

The elementary school students had been pushed into their classrooms by their teacher to hide. They knew it was dangerous outside, and they could endure their hunger without going out. They also knew not to make any noise that might attract the zombies.

Kindergarten children couldn’t do that.

After fighting all afternoon, everyone came back to a hot meal, and each person was given strawberries as well.

The strawberries were so large that one was enough to fill you up.

Everyone went to visit the strawberry fields, marveling that they would soon be able to enjoy strawberries whenever they wanted.

Jiang Cheng had already drawn up a list of the areas to be cleared next. Tomorrow would be a full day of fighting.

That evening, everyone went back to rest, while the people in the cafeteria began working overtime to make flower rolls and steamed buns.

Steamed buns were plain and had to be eaten with side dishes. Flower rolls were seasoned and could be eaten on their own, so they would make convenient lunches for everyone the next day.

The cooks—the uncles, aunties, and older sisters who had come from Jixiang Jiayuan—didn’t actually receive any payment.

But the group of them were happy and fulfilled doing the work.

They told Auntie Jiang and Auntie Ma, “Oh, it’s enough just to have something to do. It’s still better than staring at an empty residential complex.”

It gave them something to hold on to.

They felt that even in their old age, they could still make a contribution to so many people. They were still useful.

On September 3, many people woke up that morning with the feeling that they were getting ready for work.

They dressed, washed up, went downstairs, greeted people they knew, and headed to the cafeteria together.

“There’s soy milk today!”

Just hearing the words “soy milk” brought a rush of happiness.

As it turned out, Zeng Qiang had earned some credit too.

After Song Jingshuo had grown soybeans the day before, he handed them over to the cafeteria and left the rest to them. He only handled the planting; the cafeteria took care of all cooking and preparation.

The cafeteria workers even thought that using fresh beans to make soy milk would be easier since they didn’t need to soak them first.

What they called fresh soybeans were actually edamame.

Edamame were soybeans picked when they were about seventy to eighty percent mature, still inside their pods.

Edamame were a common food. In summer, a plate of boiled edamame and peanuts served with beer was one of the most familiar sights.

Since edamame could be eaten, the cafeteria workers naturally assumed that soy milk made from fresh beans would be perfectly safe to drink as well.

None of them had ever used fresh beans to make soy milk before. They were simply taking it for granted.

It was Zeng Qiang who ran over to the cafeteria to confirm that they were planning to make soy milk and gave them a quick lesson.

“You could get poisoned.”

Fresh soybeans contained trypsin inhibitors and phytohemagglutinin. Unless they were kept at a rolling boil for eight to ten minutes, they could cause food poisoning.

Fresh soybeans also contained a lot of saponins. When heated, they produced so much foam that it looked as though the liquid were boiling, which could be very deceptive. It was a false boil.

Anyone who didn’t know that might assume the beans had boiled long enough.

The older cook was rather stubborn and refused to believe it. He insisted on trying it for himself.

He boiled a small pot and drank some. Zeng Qiang didn’t stop him, only saying, “Don’t drink too much.”

It wouldn’t be fatal, after all—just nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The old man made several trips to the bathroom before he was finally convinced.

He couldn’t help with making the steamed buns that evening and went home early, clutching his stomach.

The next morning, the aunties were extremely careful while preparing the soy milk. Following Zeng Qiang’s instructions, they made sure to bring it to a thorough boil.

Zeng Qiang had gotten up especially early to come over and supervise.

Later, everyone else woke up and gradually arrived for breakfast. Each person held a bowl of soy milk, sipping noisily and happily.

Zeng Qiang walked out of the clubhouse with his hands clasped behind his back and looked up at the deep blue autumn sky and the snow-white clouds.

He sighed.

“The truly skilled leave no spectacular victories behind.”

Farmers had always been this way.