Chapter 37: Chapter 35: Getting Along
Chapter 37: Chapter 35: Getting Along
After he had made his purchases and bid farewell to the Base Commander, he hopped onto his electric tricycle and headed towards the farm.
It was already afternoon when he arrived ho. First, he stored his purchases in the storeroom. There was a note left in the house and food in the refrigerator; they had gone to work in the fields.
“They’re busy right now, let’s eat before we head out. I’m hungry.”
Xue Dong patted his stomach and took the food out of the refrigerator to heat it up on the stove.
Liu Qian had left the al, which she had prepared at noon. It consisted of a mixed grain rice, a pot-stewed fish served with corn pancakes, stir-fried eggplant with stewed potatoes, bottle gourd, cucumber salad, and tomatoes stir-fried with eggs.
In the sumr, there’s no shortage of vegetables to eat thanks to the farm’s abundant harvest.
At ho, they had enough lard, butter, and vegetable oil stored to last a year, so eating wasn’t a worry, with sumr and autumn being the best seasons for everyone.
After eating, Li Pan went back to her room to change into work clothes and went out to channel her superpower in the fields. Having been away for two or three days, she wanted to check each field thoroughly before she could rest easy.
First, she toured the chicken and cattle sheds. There was still food in the chicken feed troughs but not much water; she added so, as the hot weather required frequent water changes to prevent the chickens from getting sick.
The pigs seed to have just eaten, and the pen was very clean. Qin Jianzhong was taking care of these chores, checking everything twice a day, without ever making a mistake.
Qin Jianzhong was extrely thorough in looking after the breeding area, fearing that the animals would not eat well or fall sick.
If these poultry and livestock aren’t taken care of well, they can die in a minute.
The cattle and sheep had gone out to graze, and, looking at the cattle pen, she rembered about a donkey and wondered why she hadn’t thought to trade for one to bring back.
Well, that could wait until next ti.
She then headed to the fields where she saw the female Wood Power User they had hired previously working away, along with the sibling duo picking cotton.
“Pan’er, you’re back.”
“Sister Qian’er, I bought quite a few things.”
“Okay, we’ll look at them later tonight.”
Li Pan first carefully inspected the planting area, then transmitted a bit of her superpower, examining the plants and insects and removing any that she found.
These plots had clearly had superpowers transferred to them already, so she didn’t do much there.
She checked the orchard next and saw that it was growing well and had also received superpowers.
Taking a cloth bag, she moved to pick cotton, which was ready to be harvested.
Everyone was in the fields picking cotton while Qin Jianzhong and Xue Dong went to cut black oats and purple clover.
“Right, I forgot to ask what your nas were?”
“My na is Zhang Qi, and my sister is Zhang Yu. We are siblings born of the sa mother.”
Zhang Qi answered with a smile.
“I brought so bed sheets and pillowcases for you. I’ll give them to you later to change into. If you need anything, just tell directly. From now on, you’re one of us, and we’re going to be together for a long ti. We are all straightforward people, feel free to say anything directly without holding back.”
“Thank you, Sister Pan’er. Sister Liu Qian arranged rooms for us, one for and one for my sister. My sister lives next to Sister Qian’er, and I live next to Brother Qin.”
“That’s good. Let know if you need anything.”
Zhang Yu might be small, but she worked efficiently, utilizing her Spiritual Power superpower to assist in her tasks. The Spiritual Power could do many things.
They were all picking cotton by hand, but Zhang Yu used her superpower to create several hands simultaneously picking cotton. She picked more and were much cleaner, making her far more efficient.
The cotton they picked was put into large bags, sealed, compressed, and then stored in the storeroom. Once they had accumulated a substantial amount, they would take it to the base to sell. This was a valuable resource; the winters were especially cold, sotis even extrely frigid, and without this material, one could freeze to death.
By late afternoon, the sun had set, and they continued picking until it was too dark to see, then finally returned.
By then, Xue Dong had already prepared the al.
“Tired, aren’t you? Go take a shower and eat.”
Li Pan also went upstairs to change and take a shower. After working, her body was covered in dirt, and washing was the only way to feel comfortable.
After changing into her house clothes, she ca down to see the table already full of dishes.
Stir-fried green peppers with bacon, chive and egg pies, sautéed greens, a large plate of chicken stewed with potatoes, as well as mixed grain rice and bean flour buns.
There were more dishes since there were more people, and the abundance of vegetables in sumr allowed for more dishes to be prepared.
These days, as the als returned to normal, everyone’s food intake had actually decreased. They weren’t eating as much grain as before, mainly because the nutrition was more balanced, and there wasn’t a need to consu so much grain.
“Ti to eat.”
Zhang Qi and Zhang Yu exchanged glances, shocked by the serving bowls in front of them, which were bigger than their faces. Seeing that the others’ bowls weren’t as large, their expressions were sowhat conflicted.
“What’s the matter, there’s more in the pot if it’s not enough.”
Li Pan thought they hadn’t been given enough to eat.
“No, Sister, the bowl is just too big, I’m afraid I can’t finish it all.”
“You’ll finish it, power users eat a lot. Good children, you two are too thin. Eat more and take good care of your body. There’s plenty of food on the table, dig in. You worked hard today.”
That afternoon, following along with the chores, the kids hadn’t shirked their duties. After using their powers, Zhang Qi and Zhang Yu used their hands to pick cotton and weed, constantly busy. They were truly good kids.
“Thank you, Sister.”
Zhang Qi bowed his head to eat, his eyes reddening.
It was the first ti they had such good food at their master’s house. Everyone was treating them without disdain or strange looks, and they were able to eat their fill—it felt like a dream.
Li Pan took the communal chopsticks and piled their bowls high with food, fearing they might be too shy to help themselves to more. She made sure to give them generous portions of each dish to ensure they had enough to eat.
“Eat up, no one cares if you’re hungry.”
Qin Jianzhong ruffled Zhang Qi’s hair with a chuckle.
“Mmm.”
Zhang Qi, his mouth stuffed full, gave everyone a simple, honest smile.
Zhang Yu barely talked, just eating whatever was given, focusing solely on his al.
After dinner, everyone sat in the living room to watch a movie, while Liu Qian and Qin Jianzhong were busy making baskets.
Li Pan took out the machine she had bought, wiping it down for later use.
Zhang Yu ca over and tugged at her sleeve.
“Let’s go eat so waterlon.”
Li Pan cut waterlon and cantaloupe for everyone to enjoy, serving each person a bowl of the fruits so they could hold it themselves and not feel embarrassed about reaching for more.
“Sister, I know how to use this.”
“Oh? You do?”
Li Pan was planning to work with the wool, which Liu Qian had already sheared, washed, and dried.
“My sister can do it. Let her do it, Sister. She has experience.”
Zhang Qi, following along, learned basket-making while working.
“Alright, I still don’t know how.”
Li Pan made room for Zhang Yu to sit beside her and learn as well.
Xue Dong ca back from patrolling and handed her a bowl of cut waterlon, cantaloupe, and cherry tomatoes.
As Li Pan ate, she continued to stuff food into Zhang Yu’s mouth. These two kids were so honest; they wouldn’t touch anything without being prompted, never taking initiative to reach for food themselves.
Obviously, they had been mistreated before, learning hard lessons, always scared of doing sothing wrong and being treated like thieves, all while possibly having their wages docked.
Zhang Yu’s mouth was stuffed full, yet her hands were incredibly nimble. She placed the wool on the machine, started it, and gradually yarn began to form. She had to be careful with the strength in her hands, or the yarn could easily break.
After finishing, she wound the yarn into balls and set them aside, ready to be made into sweaters or sothing else later.
“Yu, you’re so talented. You work on this; I’ll go do sothing else.”
Li Pan bought so fabric from the base to make curtains for everyone, hanging them up one by one to avoid the early sunrise and intense sunlight.
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