Chapter 108 – Pasture
The sauerkraut stewed with beef and rabbit was spicy, sour, and packed full of flavor—perfect for eating with rice.
Everyone gathered around the pot, bowls in hand, shoveling spoonfuls of rice into their mouths.
Despite the autumn wind, it couldn’t disperse the sweat brought on by the spice.
Several people in the group had red eyes from the heat, tears streaming down their faces, but they kept eating, driven by the flavor.
Li Yue Ling, her eyelashes dotted with tears from the spice, hissed, “Xia Lu Nong, you’ve really turned something simple into something amazing. This is so good!”
Xia Lu Nong looked up at her. “It’s not that special.”
“Seriously, without you, this stew wouldn’t taste half as good,” Li Yue Ling said, wincing from the heat. “Your peppers are something else—they’re fragrant and spicy. I’ve noticed everything from your place tastes better, whether it’s dried tomatoes, dried chili peppers, or even dried winter melon.”
Dr. Ou, who was nearby, chimed in. “Xia Lu Nong’s plants are famous for being top-notch. I used his tomatoes as seeds, and the two tomato plants in my yard produced so much fruit we couldn’t eat it all.”
“And peanuts,” another male team member chimed in. “I had never seen anyone grow such good peanuts until I saw the ones Vice Captain Xia’s family grew—now I understand what ‘eye-opening’ really means.”
Xia Lu Nong felt a bit embarrassed from all the praise coming his way.
Old Liu, who was nearby, said, “Xia Lu Nong, you should open a seed store and benefit the whole base.”
Xia Lu Nong replied, “No need for a seed store. There aren’t many people at our base. If anyone needs seeds, they can just come and ask me.”
Old Liu gave a thumbs up, “Generous.”
The group quickly finished eating, packed up their things, and loaded the trucks to head back.
Xia Lu Nong’s team hadn’t gathered much today. After packing everything, feeding the calf, and cutting some grass to take with them, it only took about half an hour to load up the vehicles.
When they finished, Old Liu and Dr. Ou’s two vehicles were still not fully packed. They had to wait a bit.
Xia Lu Nong looked at the sky and suggested, “Since we have some time, why don’t we go check on the honeysuckle one more time? After this goodbye, who knows when we’ll see it again.”
He felt a little wistful after saying that last sentence.
Yan Xi Nian glanced around and agreed, “That’s a good idea. Let’s bring the camera and take some pictures.”
Xia Lu Nong nodded. “I think that’s a great plan.”
Xia Huo Qu and Kong Zhi didn’t object.
In the end, they asked Ba Niu to help them take the pictures.
Ba Niu and Xiao Tang had been around these past few days, but they hadn’t had much direct contact with the honeysuckle plant, so they didn’t have much connection.
Hearing they were going to take pictures, Ba Niu said, “I won’t be in the picture. You four take one with the honeysuckle.”
Xia Lu Nong nodded. “Thanks, Brother Ba Niu.”
The group headed toward the library. The honeysuckle hadn’t fully recovered yet, its vines still curled up, and many of its leaves were yellow.
Xia Lu Nong transformed into his beast form, and his brother carried him over to the honeysuckle.
The honeysuckle’s consciousness was awakened, and it asked Xia the cat, “Why have you come over?”
Xia the cat replied, “We’re heading back to the base. We came to say goodbye and take some pictures as a keepsake.”
The honeysuckle’s weak voice was filled with a hint of a smile. “This is my first time taking a picture.”
Xia the cat said, “It’ll be quick. I’ll show you the photos afterward.”
A wolf and a cat stood in front of the honeysuckle vines.
The white tiger stood a bit further away, while the golden eagle soared above.
Ba Niu found the right angle and started snapping pictures, taking dozens in quick succession.
Yan Xi Nian and Kong Zhi shifted back into their human forms, and Ba Niu took a group photo with the honeysuckle, the giant wolf, and the little cat.
Afterward, they took individual photos of Xia the cat with the honeysuckle.
At that moment, the evening sunlight hadn’t yet faded, casting a warm glow. The forest cat with silver-gray fur and a sweet face sat obediently with its two front paws on the ground, posing for a picture with the honeysuckle.
The soft light made the photo even more beautiful.
Ba Niu took pictures from the front and side, and no matter the angle, the result looked great.
Once the photos were done, Xia Huo Qu approached the honeysuckle, scooped up Xia the cat, and held him in his arms. He then showed the honeysuckle the photos they had just taken.
“Meow.” Xia the cat meowed softly, gently patting his brother’s hand with his soft paws to lower it so he and the honeysuckle could admire the pictures together.
In Xia Lu Nong’s mind, the honeysuckle’s voice echoed, “So beautiful. This is the first time I’ve seen myself.”
“Same here,” Xia the cat replied. “So this is what I look like in my beast form.”
The honeysuckle chuckled. “Your beast form is very cute.”
Xia Maomao asked, “Do plants have the same sense of aesthetics as animals?”
“I’m not sure about other plants, but for me, you look very cute. You’re also good-looking in your human form,” the honeysuckle said. “Maybe next time we meet, we can discuss our aesthetic preferences.”
“Sounds good,” Xia the cat said. “I look forward to seeing you again.”
“Goodbye,” the honeysuckle said.
Xia the cat bid farewell and was carried onto the truck by his brother.
The trucks slowly pulled away along the main road.
They had stayed at N University for two days and gathered all the valuable items in the area. Now it was time to return to the base.
Four fully loaded trucks made their way back. Due to the heavy load, they drove slowly, taking three days to return to the base.
On the afternoon of the third day, they finally drove through the front gate of the base.
People gathered to watch, amazed to see that Xia Lu Nong’s group had even brought back a herd of cattle.
“Are those yellow cattle?”
“Why do those calves look so skinny?”
“Wow, I said Xia Lu Nong always gets lucky on his trips, but bringing back these cows is incredible!”
Yan Xi Nian parked the vehicle and smiled. “They’re not yellow cattle; they’re Angus cows.”
The onlookers craned their necks. “They look just like yellow cattle to me, maybe with a bigger frame.”
“They’re still small now, so it’s hard to tell. You’ll see once they grow. Xiao Tang, Ba Niu, you guys go ahead and pick a calf.”
Ba Niu happily responded, “On it!”
Ba Niu and Xiao Tang strolled over to choose their cows.
After being on the road for so many days, they had already discussed how to divide the supplies.
When it was time to unload, the division went smoothly.
After Xiao Tang picked his calf, he went over to help Old Liu. The remaining items were divided among Ba Niu, Xia Lu Nong, and the others.
Dr. Ou and Old Liu didn’t qualify to pick a calf.
They had only helped fight off the giant cow that one night and hadn’t contributed much after that.
In contrast, they had borrowed the strength of Yan Xi Nian and Xia Huo Qu during their search, so a share of the supplies went to the two captains.
After the calves were divided, the remaining items—books, honeysuckle, and computers—were split among Ba Niu, Xia Lu Nong, and the others.
Ba Niu hadn’t contributed much on this trip, mainly serving as a driver and protector. So, he took 20 pounds of honeysuckle and 300 pounds of rice as compensation from the others. Additionally, he kept any miscellaneous items he had collected along the way.
The remaining items from the two trucks were all allocated to Xia Lu Nong and his team. Since they couldn’t split them internally for the time being, they decided to put everything into the team’s public account.
In addition, Liao Quan Nan and his group had already sent a truck of gasoline back earlier, and this gasoline would be divided according to contributions.
Yan Xi Nian, Xia Huo Qu, and Kong Zhi each received over 700 pounds of gasoline. Xia Lu Nong, having contributed less to this part, did not take a share.
Dividing resources is always a tedious task. The team worked busily until nightfall to sort everything out and return the trucks.
The harvested honeysuckle was taken directly to the small square to dry, and the computers and books were temporarily placed on the second floor. As for the 15 calves, they were sent to Zheng Lin Guang, who helped them take care of the pigs, and they asked her to look after the calves for a few days.
The calves were housed in the pigsty and wood shed that Xia Lu Nong’s team had built earlier. They had constructed three large pens and sheds. One was being used for the pigs, so they moved the chickens, ducks, and geese into cages to free up two rooms for the calves.
However, the conditions in the wood shed were subpar, and the calves were already weak, so it wasn’t ideal to raise them all together. They needed to build a few barns quickly.
Additionally, the pasture needed to be arranged in time to properly nourish the calves. If they didn’t provide enough nourishment, these calves, already deprived in their early life, wouldn’t grow strong later.
All of these were urgent matters.
During dinner, Xia Lu Nong voiced his concern: “With so many calves, it won’t be easy to raise them. The base doesn’t even have enough pasture.”
Yan Xi Nian looked at him and suggested, “How about we trade some of the calves for supplies? If we trade a few, we’ll have less pressure on feeding them.”
Xia Lu Nong shook his head. “These weak calves won’t be worth much. We worked so hard to bring them all the way here; it would be a shame to sell them off cheap.”
Xia Huo Qu glanced at him, “Stop beating around the bush. If you have a plan, just say it.”
“I’m not stalling,” Xia Lu Nong chuckled. “I’m just figuring out how to explain it.”
He continued, “Brother, with more and more people at the base, the land is obviously not enough. People haven’t even fully solved their food problems, so we can’t expect to get land for growing pasture for the calves.”
Xia Huo Qu nodded, signaling for him to go on.
Xia Lu Nong suggested, “How about we claim a piece of land outside the base to grow pasture? The area around the base has been cleared out by us repeatedly, and there aren’t many dangerous mutant plants or animals left. We could find a fertile spot outside the base for the pasture.”
After thinking for a moment, Xia Lu Nong added, “Anyway, pasture isn’t considered a major crop. The chances of it being destroyed are lower, and if insects or birds damage it, we can always replant easily.”
Yan Xi Nian considered it and nodded, “That could work. We could start with a small area and see how it goes.”
He smiled at Xia Lu Nong, “Have you been planning this for a while? The land inside the base probably isn’t enough for you anymore, huh?”
“Not exactly,” Xia Lu Nong admitted honestly. “The honeysuckle entrusted me with its main body, and we don’t feel comfortable planting it inside the base. So, if we clear some land outside, we can check on it regularly.”
