After several days of watering, the corn in the fields began to sprout one after another.
On the brownish-yellow land, tiny, tender green sprouts popped up one by one. Mi Tang was overjoyed to see them.
Everyone—whether they had seen such a sight before or not—felt immense affection looking at these little sprouts.
If the crops grew well, they would be able to get more points or Purified Corn in the future; a good life was waving to them just around the corner.
Once the work with the emerging corn sprouts was finished, the wasteland reclamation team resumed going to Mountain No. 1 to search for purified plants.
Throughout the entire day, Gu Xiaomai didn’t hear the voice of that red-bellied tragopan’s inner thoughts, nor did she spot its silhouette.
Strange, why isn’t this little guy coming to keep an eye on me?
Before, it acted like it was terrified I’d cheat it, but now it’s suddenly at ease?
After several consecutive trips up the mountain without seeing it, Gu Xiaomai thought it had given up on their deal. She felt a wave of relief, yet at the same time, a subtle touch of disappointment.
As the days passed, the corn sprouts in the field changed day by day, soon reaching ankle-height.
Aside from going up Mountain No. 1 to look for purified plants, the wasteland reclamation team cleared the weeds springing up in the cornfield every few days.
These weeds kept popping up intermittently. If they weren’t cleared in time, they would quickly grow tall, blocking the corn plants and competing with them for the scarce nutrients and water in the soil.
It was truly a case of: Weeds can never be fully eradicated; they spring back to life with the spring breeze!
That day, after hoeing the weeds, Mi Tang gathered everyone on the wasteland reclamation team. “Some people from camp logistics are returning to the base. If any of you want to take a trip back to the base, assemble at the camp’s south gate after daybreak tomorrow morning.”
Gu Xiaomai’s eyes instantly lit up.
Having been here for over a month, she finally had the chance to go out, look around, and get to know this world!
“Oh, right—those sentenced to hard labor here don’t get the chance!”
Gu Xiaomai’s eyes instantly dimmed again.
She shut her eyes directly, cursing the culprit behind the scenes who had framed her original body in her heart.
“For those not returning to the base, your task for the next few days is to clear the weeds from the remaining cornfields. You can move about freely during the rest of the time…”
After Mi Tang finished speaking, the crowd dispersed.
Corn turned his head and noticed Gu Xiaomai had her eyes tightly shut. “Whoa! Sister Xiaomai, why are your eyes closed?”
Jiang Chen’an looked over as well.
She was afraid that if she opened her eyes, she wouldn’t be able to hide the resentment and envy in them!
Gu Xiaomai cracked her eyes open slightly. “My eyes are a bit tired. Are you two heading back to the base this time?”
“Are we going back?” Corn asked Jiang Chen’an.
“Yes,” Jiang Chen’an replied with utmost conviction in just one word. “It wasn’t easy to get this opportunity; we have to go back and buy salt and a pot.”
Once they bought them, they could eat purified plants. He had waited for so long that he could barely hold out any longer.
“Awesome!” Corn said happily. “I wonder if those two items are expensive?”
“I asked Uncle Xia,” Jiang Chen’an said. “He mentioned that pots come in different sizes, and because the Metal Element Mutants who craft them differ in level, the required points vary. A small grey pot costs at least over a hundred points, and 300 points can buy 2 taels (approx. 100g) of salt.”
Corn counted on his fingers for a long time before finally understanding. “That’s so expensive! You have to work for ten days just to earn enough points for a small grey pot and 2 taels of salt.”
Early the next morning, there was movement in every tent. People began coming out one after another, heading toward the camp’s south gate.
Gu Xiaomai woke up as usual to the sound of the camp soldiers training and went out to exercise. Without the crack-crack sound of Jiang Chen’an practicing with his whip, she actually felt a bit unaccustomed to it for a moment.
By this time, Jiang Chen’an and the others had already left the camp’s south gate and were walking toward the base.
Gu Xiaomai practiced her Tai Chi sets over and over again, venting all her resentment about not being able to go to the base. Finally, she finished her routine with a calm mind and returned to her tent.
In Tent No. 5, only she and Wan Chuncui remained. The nine men left behind on the men’s side were all convicts like Gu Xiaomai and Wan Chuncui—though none of them had committed heavy crimes. Usually, severe criminals were sentenced straight to death to save resources.
The reform-through-labor terms for these few people ranged from two to four months. Strictly speaking, Gu Xiaomai had the longest labor sentence among the eleven of them.
When she returned to Tent No. 5, Wan Chuncui was already awake. After exchanging greetings, Gu Xiaomai pulled out a tube of nutrient solution, grabbed a hoe, and headed out with Wan Chuncui to weed the cornfield.
The men had also already grabbed their hoes and entered the field to weed.
There wasn’t much unweeded land left; the few of them could finish it all in a single day.
Although Jiang Chen’an, Corn, and the others didn’t travel back to the base as fast as last time, they weren’t slow either. By mid-afternoon on the second day, they arrived at the base’s East Gate.
After passing the East Gate inspection, Jiao Yang led the camp personnel away first, while the wasteland reclamation team members split up to tend to their own affairs.
“Brother Chen, we assemble the morning after tomorrow, so we have over a day. Should we buy things first or do other stuff?”
Corn and Jiang Chen’an walked along East Main Street into the base.
“Let’s go check out the exchange point in District 13 first.”
“I’ve never even heard of the seasonings Sister Xiaomai mentioned,” Corn said. “When we bought nutrient solution at the District 13 exchange point last time, did you notice if they had any of those things?”
Jiang Chen’an shook his head; even if he had seen them, he wouldn’t necessarily have recognized them.
Corn felt that the District 13 exchange point wouldn’t carry such items. “I don’t think they’ll even have small pots or salt. District 13 is a slum, after all. The points needed for a pot and salt are enough to buy nearly a month’s worth of nutrient solution for one person.”
“Let’s go take a look first!” Jiang Chen’an wasn’t sure if they’d have them either. “If they don’t, we can go to other districts.”
“I used to only take a peek at the entrance of the exchange point,” Corn remarked. “Last time buying nutrient solution was my first time actually stepping inside, and I only bought it on the first floor without looking around carefully. This time when we go in, I want to broaden my horizons and see what’s inside—maybe buy something for the Director and Little Bean.”
Chatting as they walked, the two turned off East Main Street and made a right into Northeast 6th Street, where the District 13 exchange point was located. Before long, they arrived—a standalone 20-story building covering a modest footprint.
Upon stepping inside, they found that the first floor was the most crowded, mostly packed with people queuing to buy nutrient solution or drinking water.
The second floor was slightly less crowded, filled with clothes and various daily necessities.
Corn felt a temptation when he saw the new clothes hanging on the racks. The clothes on the little ones back at the shelter had been patched over and over by Grandma Gu; it was high time for new ones.
There were also shiny hair clips and hair ties in the accessories section that he wanted to buy for Little Maruko and the other girls. As soon as those girls’ hair grew out, it got chopped short, making them look like tomboys.
“Let’s go upstairs first. We can buy things when we come back down.”
Jiang Chen’an pulled Corn up to the third floor, which sold home furnishings. Having no interest in those, the two headed straight up to the fourth floor.
The fourth floor sold various simple cold weapons and tools needed for going outside the base. All-metal cold weapons such as knives, swords, and daggers were available in larger quantities and varieties.
Although these were all crafted by low-level Metal Element Mutants, Jiang Chen’an and Corn still looked at them with burning eagerness; neither of them owned a personal weapon that they could use openly in public yet.
Though desperately tempted, they remembered their goal and continued heading upstairs after looking around.
The fifth floor was even sparser, with only a few scattered people. The shop assistants behind every counter were dozing off out of boredom, and some counters didn’t have anyone present at all.