The white light illuminated the not-so-large room, filled with familiar and unfamiliar aromas. This was due to the transformation that occurred in all food ingredients after the mutation.
Mother Xu sighed with admiration, “Although the seasonings are not complete, the ingredients now taste much better than before.” After such a long time without cooking, she was surprised at how satisfied she was with the dishes she prepared.
Xu Song, with his head lowered, held his own dedicated bowl and couldn’t even speak. It had been a long time since he had eaten his mother’s cooking.
“Slow down.” Mother Xu served some vegetables into the bowls of the twins. Watching the four boys devour their food without lifting their heads, it was a significant achievement for a chef and homemaker like her.
How long had it been since she had seen such a warm scene?
The seasoning supplies in Xu Song’s car were not very complete. Apart from a large amount of salt, the remaining ingredients were mostly collected by Mo Tiancheng. They had mixtures like five-spice powder, but none of them knew how to use or grind them properly.
There were also many packets of seasoning seeds, but even if they found and discovered them, they didn’t know what they were exactly.
Now that Mother Xu was here, she could make a list of what was needed, and they would look for them while exploring.
Rare hot showers and the chance to stir-fry food made today feel more like a normal meal for the group, who were used to eating all kinds of “boiled” or “grilled” food prepared by Yue Zheng.
“Mom, can we make dumplings tomorrow?” Xu Song’s eyes sparkled with anticipation, and Mo Tiancheng and Mo Tianyou blinked their eyes, also filled with anticipation, as they looked at Mother Xu.
“Sure.” She had just checked, and there was flour in the car, along with various dried meats. Just the rabbit meat they had frozen in the refrigerator could be used as filling. “It would be even better if we could get some vegetables…”
“What vegetables do you want? Tiancheng can grow them.” Mo Tianyou quickly grabbed Mo Tiancheng’s hand and turned around to fetch his special little backpack. “I have many vegetable seeds here, onions, carrots… but we don’t like to eat them. And there are also chili peppers, napa cabbage, bok choy…”
“Napa cabbage is fine!” Mother Xu decided.
“Oh, we’ll have dumplings!” The two little boys jumped up and down, excited about the prospect of finally eating dumplings again. Even the usually quiet tree swayed its roots in excitement, following the children’s lead.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“WljbVbcu… ktja lr atlr… atlcu?” Zbatfg We tjv yffc kjcalcu ab jrx rlcmf rtf fcafgfv atf mjg. Vfflcu remt j qfmeiljg weajafv qijca, lo batfg qfbqif lc atf yjrf obecv bea atja atfgf kjr remt j ragjcuf mgfjaegf, la kbeiv lwwfvljafis mjerf mtjbr.
Tbe rff, lc bgvfg ab qgfnfca qgbyifwr klatlc atf yjrf, atfgf kfgf raglma wfjregfr lc qijmf ab lrbijaf weajafv jclwjir. Szmfqa obg vfrlucjafv meialnjalbc jgfjr, atfgf kfgf cb nlrlyif agffr lc atf yjrf. Snfc atf ugbecv tjv yffc wbvlolfv ys jylilalfr, jcv la kjr tjgv ab rqba jcs qjamtfr bo rbli.
“Oh, it’s a mutated jujube tree.” Xu Song thought for a moment and explained, “Its mutation is a bit strange, but it’s harmless to humans and won’t attack us.” Explaining the specifics would be too complicated, and Xu Song would rather let his mother gradually adapt.
Noticing that Mother Xu was looking at it, the little tree bent down its branches in a bashful manner, covering its “face” and twisting its body like a snake.
… Could this be its way of expressing embarrassment?
The twins, who knew they would finally get to eat dumplings tomorrow, grabbed “Grandma” and went to show off their planting skills. They squatted in the designated planting area that Xu Song had opened up for Mo Tiancheng and successfully grew a cherry tree.
The red and luscious fruits exuded an enticing sweetness. The lingering fragrance of cherry blossoms had not completely dissipated before being replaced by the aroma of ripe cherries, causing mouths to water. No one could resist the temptation of such a delightful post-meal treat.
“Mom, there’s a large bed in the cabin of the car, and there are two smaller ones here. Tiancheng and Tianyou usually sleep on the smaller beds, so you can choose to sleep on the top or bottom,” Xu Song said, rising to his feet and carrying the used dishes to the sink. Yue Zheng took charge of washing and tidying up.
“Alright, as long as there’s a place to sleep, it’s fine,” Mother Xu replied. She had assumed that the children would be sleeping on makeshift bedding inside the RV, but she was pleasantly surprised by the size of the vehicle. Not only did it have ample space, but there were also enough beds for everyone.
As for her son and Yue Zheng sharing the large bed? It wouldn’t be appropriate for her to continue sleeping with her grown-up son. Since there was plenty of room on the top bunk for herself, it wouldn’t be an issue for the two men to share a bed.
Xu Song stood by the sink, helping Yue Zheng tidy up the tableware. He felt a bit anxious and on the other side, his mother and the two children were engrossed in studying the seeds. He whispered to Yue Zheng, “Um… about my… my mom…”
He didn’t know how to broach the subject. Ideally, he should introduce his relationship with Yue Zheng to his mother, but now… he didn’t know how to approach it, afraid that his mother wouldn’t accept it and also worried about upsetting Yue Zheng. At the same time, he didn’t want Yue Zheng to feel any discomfort.
As his hand, that was still damp from washing dishes, was held, Xu Song looked up at Yue Zheng. Yue Zheng wore a gentle smile and said, “It’s okay, take your time.” He understood what Xu Song meant, some things couldn’t be rushed. Since he wanted to be with Xu Song for a long time, there were matters that required patience.
Xu Song breathed a sigh of relief and returned Yue Zheng’s smile. He lowered his head and continued tidying his things. Yes, he couldn’t rush things. Take it slow… The atmosphere around the sink regained its usual warmth.
During the night, unlike usual, they didn’t need to assign Xiao Shu and Abu to stand guard. With people in the base and Abu watching over, they wouldn’t encounter any trouble for the time being.
Including Mother Xu, everyone could anticipate a peaceful and sound sleep that night.
Xiao Shu stood by the bed as usual. On the upper bunk, Mother Xu lay, afraid that the children might fall from a higher height. On the lower bunk, the twins slept. Xiao Shu extended its branches, providing cover for both beds to prevent any accidental falls. Some of its roots ventured out through the window, quietly absorbing nutrients.
Since the beginning of the apocalypse, Mother Xu hadn’t had the opportunity to properly take a bath. Even though women naturally had a stronger inclination for cleanliness, their sweat glands weren’t as active as those of men. However, after enduring so long without a proper hot shower, she was reaching her limit.
During the early stages of the apocalypse, the airport’s water supply system couldn’t accommodate the needs of so many people and was only partially functional in the kitchen area. As time went on, water supply became even more problematic. Fortunately, water-based ability users had joined the group, providing some relief to the water scarcity issue.
After the renovations and other work, the water supply remained relatively tight. It was a luxury to drink water and take a comfortable bath like today.
Touching the soft blanket and the cozy mattress, the impending harsh winter seemed less daunting.
In the early morning, Xu Song woke up in familiar arms and rubbed his eyes, catching a familiar scent.
“What time is it?”
“It’s a little past seven,” Yue Zheng replied, waking up as well. Having sensitive ears meant that he could hear any slight noise outside, so when Mother Xu got up, he woke too.
“Mm… it smells like fried eggs. It’s been a while since I had them,” Xu Song yawned and instinctively leaned forward, kissing Yue Zheng.
Lowering his head, Yue Zheng deepened the light kiss. After a while, he raised his head and said, “Today, during the day, let’s go to Central Street and register a team. We can also see how things are in the city.”
“Okay,” Xu Song nodded, closing his eyes and resting his head on Yue Zheng’s chest. Some natural responses in the morning made it difficult for him to immediately get up and leave.
“Are you awake? Did we wake you?” Mother Xu stood near the coffee table, placing the freshly made breakfast on the table.
“No, we usually wake up around this time,” Yue Zheng smiled and said, looking at the breakfast on the table. “Thank you for this.”
“Oh, what trouble is there in this? I used to be busy with work and couldn’t cook for him and his father. Later, during the apocalypse, there wasn’t a chance to cook either.” She sighed with a smile, pointing to the bathroom. “The two little ones just went in.”
“Okay,” Yue Zheng walked over to the sink, washed his hands, and helped set the table with the dishes.
“By the way, how do you manage your water? Are you using too much?”
“Mom, it’s fine,” Xu Song yawned, rubbed his eyes, and walked downstairs. He raised his hand, retracting the staircase from above. “How much water is left?”
Yue Zheng glanced at the water tank gauge. “There’s still a little less than half.”
“Xiao Shu.” Xu Song poked Xiao Shu standing by the window and extended some branches outside to “sunbathe.”
The tree twisted its body and extracted two branches, skillfully reaching the water tank inlet. It began the process of purifying the water.
The water level in the tank gradually rose at a relatively fast speed. The twins finished washing up quickly, happily coming out and sitting on the sofa, ready to eat breakfast.
When Xu Song and Yue Zheng finished getting ready, they belatedly thought of a question, “Wait, isn’t the ground outside all like a concrete slab? How did your roots penetrate the soil?” For Xiao Shu to produce water, it needed to convert through the soil, but now there was no visible soil outside. So what was happening with the water now?
Xiao Shu tilted its crown and used its branches to touch its “feet” extending out of the window.
The tree roots penetrated what seemed to be an impenetrable surface, densely and tightly, without any gaps. What was even more astonishing was that there were no cracks on the ground.
“This… Could it be the result of Xiao Shu’s increased power?”
“It’s possible.” Both of them remembered that when they were in Base S, Xiao Shu didn’t demonstrate the ability to drill through walls like a power tool.
Water purifying tree worth its weight in platinum! Hahahaha Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️🌳🦗🦔🦮
That tree is so useful omg I want one !
Thanks for the update