Chapter 156: A Dream
The base’s Harvest Festival was a huge success.
The food stalls stretched out in a long line, and nearly everyone indulged, eating until they were full.
Once night fell and the lanterns were lit, the performances began.
Xia Lu Nong and Kong Zhi didn’t participate in any performances.
They were simply part of the audience.
To their surprise, there weren’t many spectators—or rather, there weren’t many just spectators. Nearly half the people in the base had signed up to perform, and the range of acts was diverse. Singing and dancing were just the basics—there were also acrobatics, martial arts, stand-up comedy… It seemed like almost everyone in the base had some kind of hidden talent.
Xia Lu Nong and Kong Zhi stood hand-in-hand, watching from the crowd, nearly staying from the beginning to the end.
The show was far more entertaining than they had anticipated.
For the children, the large-scale event was a joy. Countless kids ran around, fully immersed in the festivities.
Xia Lu Nong glanced at the vibrant base, then suddenly said, “My brother and the others are really amazing.”
“We’re amazing too,” Kong Zhi said, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “This is just the beginning. Things will only get better from here.”
After the Harvest Festival, it was time for them to head out again.
This time, they brought Xia Hua Jiao along.
Xia Hua Jiao hadn’t yet reached three meters in length, so it fit snugly in the armored vehicle.
Looking at the long armored vehicle, Xia Lu Nong remarked, “Riding in this kind of vehicle makes me feel really safe.”
“We’ve got more than just an armored vehicle,” Yan Xi Nian said as he climbed in and adjusted the radio. “This trip is planned for six days. Xiao Nong, did you double-check that we’ve packed everything?”
“Yes, everything’s packed, and I’ve checked it twice. With the space bamboo tube, we’ve brought everything we need. We shouldn’t run out of supplies this time.”
“Good job, really appreciate it,” Yan Xi Nian patted his shoulder. “With you around, traveling is getting more and more comfortable.”
Sitting in the front passenger seat, Xia Huo Qu, wearing sunglasses and looking cool, said, “Enough chatter, let’s get going. If you keep talking, it’ll be dark soon.”
Yan Xi Nian chuckled and started the vehicle.
They were heading out with a convoy of three armored vehicles.
The other two vehicles were driven by Ba Niu and Old Liu. They had both undergone emergency training and had some understanding of armored vehicles, though they were still getting the hang of it.
The vehicles slowly rolled out of the base.
Xia Lu Nong had nothing to do for the moment, so he took the opportunity to catch up on sleep.
Once they were outside the base, his abilities would be in high demand, so he needed to rest and recharge.
The armored vehicle’s shock absorption was excellent.
The seats inside could be laid flat for sleeping.
Xia Lu Nong fastened his seatbelt, wrapped himself in a blanket, and quickly drifted off to sleep.
He had a dream.
The dream was hazy—he couldn’t quite make out what it was about, only that it involved something good.
Even in the dream, he was aware of this and kept reminding himself to remember it, that it was something important.
When Kong Zhi woke him up in the evening, Xia Lu Nong blinked in confusion.
It was rare for Kong Zhi to see such a bewildered look on his face. He reached out and touched Xia Lu Nong’s forehead, frowning. “Why do you look like that? Are you feeling unwell or just hungry? There’s some snacks in the backpack—I’ll grab something for you.”
Catching snippets of the conversation, Xia Huo Qu turned and asked, “Not feeling well? Do you need any medicine?”
Xia Lu Nong was still lost in the remnants of his dream and didn’t quite snap out of it.
He shook his head slowly, sitting there with his blanket, dazed.
The voice in his mind kept urging him to remember, but all he could recall was the phrase “remember it.” He had no idea what he was supposed to remember.
Xia Huo Qu frowned and walked over, gently tapping Xia Lu Nong’s cheek. “Did you sleep yourself stupid? You’re acting weird.”
Xia Huo Qu’s hand was warm.
Feeling his brother’s touch helped bring Xia Lu Nong back to reality.
He glanced at Kong Zhi, then at his brother, and grabbed Xia Huo Qu’s wrist, pulling his hand down. “I dreamed about something special, but now I can’t remember what it was.”
Yan Xi Nian, sitting nearby, chuckled. “Maybe you dreamed about the secrets of the universe? I heard a joke about a guy who dreamed of an important mathematical theorem but forgot it when he woke up. He was so frustrated that the next night, he put a pen and paper on his nightstand, determined to write it down immediately if he dreamed it again. Sure enough, he dreamed it again and managed to write it down. And guess what it said?”
Xia Huo Qu shot him a cold look. “You think your cold jokes are funny?”
Yan Xi Nian quickly pulled back his head. “Just trying to lighten the mood, that’s all.”
Xia Lu Nong, still processing, asked, “What did it say?”
Yan Xi Nian laughed twice, but stopped short under Xia Huo Qu’s gaze, shrugging. “It said, ‘Yellow bananas taste good.’”
Xia Lu Nong couldn’t help but laugh at the joke, snapping him fully back to reality. “I don’t think my dream was about something so mundane—it felt like something new, kind of like my premonitions. But I can’t remember exactly what it was.”
Xia Huo Qu tensed immediately. “Was it about a disaster?”
Xia Lu Nong had previously predicted earthquakes and tsunamis, though that had been quite some time ago. He hadn’t had any such premonitions in months.
Xia Lu Nong shook his head. “No, it wasn’t a disaster. It was something positive, something that could be really beneficial for our base, but I just can’t recall what.”
Yan Xi Nian chimed in, “So it’s like dreaming about winning lottery numbers? You feel like if you could just remember, you’d hit the jackpot.”
“Yeah, something like that. It might even be related to this trip. I’ll try to dream again tonight, see if I can remember it, and write it down if I do.”
Xia Huo Qu patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t stress too much. If it’s meant to be, you’ll dream it again. If not, don’t worry about it.”
Xia Lu Nong nodded.
They went downstairs to eat.
Over the past few days, it hadn’t snowed, and most of the snow had melted, leaving the ground dry. However, the biting northern wind continued to blow, stinging their cheeks.
Xia Lu Nong was trying hard to recall his dream, attempting to remember any details, but no matter how much he tried, nothing came to mind.
Seeing his low spirits, the others didn’t ask him to do any work. Instead, they went off to cut grass and chop wood, then set up a pot to boil water and cook a meal.
That night, they ate hotpot.
Each of them had brought ingredients from home, and since they came from different households, the ingredients varied. After washing everything, they were perfect for the hotpot.
As usual, Xia Lu Nong contributed his family’s special chili sauce.
Old Liu brought some special soy sauce and vinegar, which they had found a recipe for during one of their spring outings to gather supplies. The soy sauce and vinegar they made had an exceptional flavor, perfect as dipping sauces.
Xia Lu Nong ate absentmindedly.
Old Liu and the others had already heard that Xia Lu Nong had dreamt of something significant that day.
Seeing his state, Old Liu tried to comfort him, “Whatever it is, just eat first. You can think about it after dinner—there’s no rush. We’re not heading out until tomorrow morning anyway. Who knows, maybe you’ll dream about it again tonight.”
Xia Lu Nong nodded, then suddenly asked, “Brother Liu, have you found any new resources recently during your trips outside?”
Old Liu paused, putting down his chopsticks, and looked at him. “Not sure what you mean by that.”
Xiao Tang, sitting nearby, asked, “What do you mean by ‘new resources’? We always find different things during our trips—sometimes rare items. Does that count?”
Xia Lu Nong carefully organized his words, “That’s not what I mean. I’m asking if you’ve come across any unique things since the disaster, like new types of plants or animals.”
Old Liu, being straightforward, responded quickly, “Well, that’s hard to say. You know how it is—there are so many mutated plants and animals these days. We couldn’t even recognize them before they mutated, let alone now. Even if we found something new, we might not realize it.”
Xia Lu Nong was deep in thought. “That’s not quite what I mean. I’m asking if you’ve found something really strange, something that made everyone feel like it must be something completely new, something that didn’t exist before the disaster.”
Both Old Liu and Xiao Tang shook their heads.
Ba Niu muttered, “Aside from that honeysuckle plant, we haven’t seen anything particularly weird.”
Xia Lu Nong felt that the weird thing he was thinking of wasn’t related to the honeysuckle plant. Frowning, he sank back into his thoughts.
Xia Huo Qu asked, “Did you dream about something new?”
“It feels like it,” Xia Lu Nong replied. “I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, and I feel like it’s something we wouldn’t normally see. My dream might be trying to tell me that we’re going to discover some new species or something else during this trip.”
A new species would be a big deal.
Everyone turned to look at Old Liu.
Old Liu shook his head vigorously. “We’re not going far—just searching nearby towns. The chances of finding something new are really low. All we’ve encountered are plants and animals that have mutated a lot. We haven’t seen anything else.”
Xia Lu Nong had a sudden thought. “Have you noticed any places where the mutated plants or animals are particularly powerful, where it’s obvious something is different?”
“No, not really. In the big cities, the mutated plants are especially fierce, likely because they’ve absorbed a lot of harmful substances while killing each other. But outside the cities, things are pretty normal—nothing stands out as particularly strong.”
Xia Lu Nong felt like there was something blocking his thoughts, just shy of a breakthrough.
But no matter how hard he tried, that moment of clarity eluded him.
Since Xia Lu Nong wasn’t part of the combat team, and the armored vehicles made night watches much easier, he wasn’t assigned to stand guard.
After dinner, he sat outside for a while before heading back into the vehicle.
Kong Zhi wasn’t on watch duty until later, so he joined him in the vehicle first.
Seeing Xia Lu Nong sitting on the bed, deep in thought, Kong Zhi ruffled his hair and asked, “Are you going to try sleeping again?”
Xia Lu Nong looked into his eyes and mumbled, “I’ve been sleeping all day. I don’t feel like sleeping, but I keep thinking I’m about to remember something, and then… I just can’t.”
As he spoke, he even gave his forehead a light tap in frustration.
Kong Zhi handed him an e-reader, opening it up. “How about I read to you?”
Xia Lu Nong, not the best student, usually fell asleep within ten minutes of hearing a serious philosophy book.
He gave in, nodding.
Kong Zhi gently patted his forehead and started reading aloud beside him. Soon enough, Xia Lu Nong drifted off to sleep.
In less than half an hour, he dreamed again of that important matter.
What about chapter 157?