"No wonder no one is making noise. They were prepared up there," each star in this "Milky Way" emitted a different radiance.
The only thing that was the same was gentleness.
"Young man, tell me about yourself?"
"Hey, old man, most of my story is classified. I'll pick a few suitable ones to tell you."
Most of his story was classified?
The old man chuckled, unbothered.
"You kid, alright, alright, I'll listen to you."
"Then I'll begin. Well, it all started with the emergence of these damned zombies..."
The condensed story was brief but exciting. The old man listened with great interest.
The clouds in the sky parted, revealing the bright moon. Though not a full moon, its radiance shone like water through thin gauze.
A faint moonlight appeared intermittently on both of them and the surfaces of the nearby tombstones.
"Alright, old man, it's getting late. I have to go back. I haven't asked for your name yet?"
"My surname is Zhao. I won't mention my given name. Whatever happened before, from now on, I am just an old caretaker of the cemetery. I'm ninety this year and living out my retirement."
Ninety??
Lin Yuan looked at the old man's robust physique and spirited demeanor. He had thought he was at most seventy, but to be almost ninety years old was unexpected.
Even with the fungal spores playing a part, the old man's previous health must have been excellent.
After a moment of reflection, Lin Yuan regained his composure. He couldn't be out all night on his first day back. If Lin Shouyi and Wang Yixin found out, they'd surely slap him across the face.
"Alright then, you get some rest early. I'm heading back."
With the moonlight, Lin Yuan could walk out without needing the old man's night watch lamp.
"Interesting," after Lin Yuan left, Grandpa Zhao grinned, revealing his sparse teeth.
"Youth is truly wonderful. I'm getting old, old."
After finishing the remaining roasted rat meat in his hand, he arranged the flowers and wine cups at the graves of Li Wen and the other two. There were also finely shredded meat threads on a bamboo leaf.
"Eat up, young man. Take some good wine on your way, and send off the little ghosts along the road."
He took out a handkerchief and diligently wiped his hands, then raised the wine bottle and shouted three times.
"May you have a good reincarnation!"
The rich aroma of wine filled more than half of the cemetery. This was Lin Yuan's military merit reward, not something money could buy, and its quality was naturally superior.
Carrying the empty wine bottle back to the rest room, he glanced at the wall full of military medals, his only possessions brought out from home. He then picked up the small broom and hummed a patriotic tune as he walked out.
No wonder he only said the wine was average when he drank it before; the old man must have captured better ones in the past.
He still had to clean all the graves before the curfew.
By this time, Lin Yuan had already bought the remaining supplies and returned. After nearly a year of development, the variety of fruits in the safe zone had become abundant. Greenhouses in the western planting area of the safe zone were even growing watermelons.
They were likely supplied in limited quantities.
Currently, apart from fruits and vegetables, other food categories had not changed much.
More fruits meant various melons, grapes, and tomatoes.
With more vegetables, from spring onions to regular onions, everything else was even more plentiful.
However, potatoes and sweet potatoes were planted over the widest areas. Rice still relied on the surplus grain from the granaries. A few days ago, the safe zone had captured several large granaries in the Tianfu Plains, which would be enough for a long time.
The research institutes in various safe zones were now carefully selecting good strains, waiting to plant them extensively next spring.
Furthermore, it was rumored that the agricultural research institute at sea had developed a high-yield fertilizer using zombie corpses as raw materials and had entered its eighth terrestrial experiment. This time, the experimental period would be extended to the growth cycle of the currently main crops. They awaited good news from them.
If this experiment was successful, the hardworking people of the safe zones would be overjoyed. The number of people signing up to join the army might even increase.
High-yield fertilizer!
Who wouldn't like it!
As for meat, it was still scarce. The first batch of broiler chickens had just been harvested, with most supplied to the military and schools, and a small portion to high-risk occupation departments.
They were only used for chicken soup, and that too, with medicinal herbs.
Fortunately, the physical condition of the survivors was quite good now, able to withstand the nourishment without experiencing side effects like nosebleeds from over-nourishment.
Moreover, before each meal, members of the inspection department would go to the departments that received broiler chickens to watch them prepare the meal on-site. If even a single chicken leg was missing, the cafeteria manager would be dragged out and confined for a few days, fined for labor points, and demoted.
The safe zone had indeed put in great effort to ensure that the designated personnel could properly absorb the nutrients.
However, in about a month and a half, after the next batch of broiler chickens was harvested, there would be enough surplus to be sold to everyone in the safe zone.
This was a white feather chicken breed independently researched and developed by China. Theoretically, they could be harvested in 42 days. To ensure the nutritional quality of the meat, the safe zone's breeding area had deliberately reserved about seven days of delay, allowing the chickens ready for harvest to eat more and grow more meat.
Lin Yuan, of course, received the two quotas allocated to the military, already processed and ready to be put into the pot for soup.
Although they were broiler chickens, they still had the necessary nutrients.
This was likely arranged by Ying Tianlong for Lin Yuan.
How thoughtful.
"Once my baby is born, I'll earn milk powder money for them in the investigation team."
These were his exact words when he parted ways with Ying Tianlong.
Once the family is happy, one should think about contributing to the country. When one can no longer exert strength and carry a gun, one can peacefully retire, spend days teasing the children and raising cats, considering it a fulfilled life.
"In any case, after a few more years of work, I'll peacefully return to farming."
"You kid, hahaha."
Lost in thought, he had automatically walked to his doorstep. The two kittens, Peppa and George, sensing Lin Yuan's presence, crawled out from under the door and clung to him.
Lin Yuan: "..."
Do you two know how heavy you are?
Since finishing work every day, as long as they had free time, Dad Lin and Lin Qingshan would go fishing with fishing rods that only had a single hook. The safe zone now had a regulation prohibiting the use of fishing nets, allowing only single-hook fishing rods, one per person, in the Minjiang tributaries within the restricted area.
However, this rule did not dampen the enthusiasm of the fishing enthusiasts. Every day after work, if there were no study tasks, they would go out in small groups with their fishing rods to fish.
They would fish for about an hour and then return. Whether they caught anything or not was secondary; the important thing was to chat and gossip with each other.
Most of the fish caught were species with large populations, such as carp and crucian carp. Sometimes, catfish would also fill the nets.
Carp and catfish were used to make soup for their daughters-in-law. If chicken was unavailable, delicious fish soup could always be provided. Occasionally, the two old men would venture out to collect Poria cocos and other precious ingredients from the bamboo forest to add nutritious side dishes to the fish soup.
As a result, even Wu Tian, upon receiving fish soup from Wang Yixin, would comment that the son she was carrying must be a chubby boy, very strong.
However, the biggest beneficiaries were the two cats. Eating the leftovers had already made them fat, let alone the regular supply of fish.
Lin Yuan felt like he had weights tied to his legs with every step he took.
This was ridiculous.
"I'm back!"
"Quick, help me take the cats off!"
The girls were chatting inside the house. It was Wang Yixin who came to take over.
"You unfilial son, why are you back so late? Where were you fooling around? Mengyue is still waiting at home!"
After taking the chicken, his mother, who had been amiable just a moment ago, started scolding him fiercely.
Lin Yuan could only wait for her scolding to finish before quietly replying, "Mom, aren't you scolding yourself by scolding me like this?"
"You're talking back to me!"
_(:з」∠)_
Isn't that the truth?