Chapter 52: The Mulberries Are Ripe

Chapter 52: The Mulberries Are Ripe

Zhou Yun returned to Yunding Mountain Villa and repositioned the large truck to block the entrance. He then activated growth spells to cover the nearby walls and sand piles with wild vines and grass. With everything in place, he planned to go into seclusion for a month and produce more potions.

During the day, he cast growth spells on all the mutated plants. Then, he went downstairs to give some tender care to the thorny tendrils and trumpet vines. The thirty-story building was now enveloped in varying shades of green. From a distance, it looked like a mountain peak or an abandoned building covered in mutated plants.

Next, he fed the livestock. Only rabbits, chickens, and ducks remained on the rooftop; the rest had been moved to the livestock pen next to the villa. With automatic feeding, it became much more convenient.

The pasture in the forest had grown lush and green within just one month. Zhou Yun simply opened the gate of the large enclosure, allowing the chickens, ducks, geese, sheep, and rabbits to roam freely into the pasture. They would return to the enclosure by themselves if it rained, though sometimes they didn’t come back at night. When that happened, Comet would run around and quickly herd them back.

After tending to the livestock, Zhou Yun rode his motorcycle around the neighborhood, inspecting and using his water psychic powers to irrigate the grain crops and fruit trees, like a lord surveying his territory.

During these inspections, Comet would happily run alongside the motorcycle, his strong limbs brimming with explosive energy, his long hair streaming behind him like black lightning, as if racing the motorcycle.

The herbs, with the boost of the growth spells, thrived and flourished. The mutated purple dragon horn and giant flower horn had taken over half of the hillside. Every day, Zhou Yun harvested them, made extracts, and mixed them with Houttuynia cordata and other medicinal powders before placing them into an integrated machine for bottling and labeling. The machine produced a lot each day, but Zhou Yun was troubled by the logistics of transporting them. He hoped Qin Mu's outpost would be completed soon, allowing him to use a truck or bus for easier transportation.

The weather in May was pleasantly warm, with the sky washed clean and a beautiful blue that was pleasing to the heart.

The newly planted fruit trees, flowering trees, and date palms were growing well, lush and full of life.

The peach, pear, plum, and apricot trees had a brief flowering period. The delicate pink flowers had already fallen, giving way to small, green fruits the size of fingertips, hiding among the lush green leaves, looking exquisitely lovely.

These small fruits would mature with the changing seasons, yielding a bountiful harvest. Zhou Yun felt both satisfaction and anticipation as he carefully observed the leaves and branches every day, giving them a bit of the growth spell, irrigating the trees with his psychic powers, and not neglecting fertilization and pest control. The entire forest was filled with vigorous vitality.

The most striking plant was the mutated mulberry tree.

Originally, Zhou Yun had chosen a spacious spot by the lake, planting it in the warm, moist, and sunny spring, coupled with his obvious preference for the growth spell. Now, it had grown extremely lush and robust, with long, strong branches extending in all directions. The green mulberry leaves were large and thick, gleaming under the sun with silver veins. More impressively, the mulberry branches were laden with heavy clusters of mulberries.

Depending on their ripeness, the mulberries were white, green, light yellow, pinkish-red, deep purple, and black, shimmering on the branches like jewels.

These mulberries were different from ordinary ones; they were large and plump, appearing plump and sweet. While ordinary mulberry trees didn’t bear so many fruits, this mutated tree was densely packed with countless mulberries, and some ripe ones were falling to the ground, too many to be picked in time.

Zhou Yun picked a ripe one and ate it; it was large, juicy, and sweet, with a perfect balance of sweet and tangy.

"The king of anthocyanins," Zhou Yun sighed. These mulberries nourished the blood, moistened dryness, and benefited the liver and kidneys. They contained antioxidants like flavonoids and resveratrol. It was a pity that Guan Yuanfeng wasn’t here.

There was no way he could finish all these by himself, and they were too delicate to store or transport. He could only harvest them to make mulberry paste and mulberry wine.

However, looking at the thriving mutated mulberry tree, Zhou Yun knew it was time to select some branches for cuttings.

Also, since Qin Mu said he was going to build an outpost in Jinjicun, Zhou Yun decided to take five plants there for planting. If they thrived, the Laojie Gang could raise silkworms. With the abundant mutated mulberries, they could make mutated mulberry paste and mutated mulberry wine, which would be very useful and a rare economic opportunity in the post-apocalyptic world.

Zhou Yun first carefully researched how to take cuttings from mulberry trees, then used a long-handled pruner to select fifteen healthy, semi-woody new shoots, cutting them to a precise 15.2 centimeters as per the book's instructions. The top retained twelve leaves, and the lower cut was shaped like a horseshoe. He then soaked them in rooting hormone and prepared fifteen bags of substrate soil for the cuttings.

With a bit more growth spell, they would soon take root. He would then have a mutated mulberry forest—which meant countless mutated silkworms, mutated mulberry wine, and mutated mulberry paste.

After the cuttings, he washed and dried the harvested mulberries, put them in a juicer, simmered them into a thick paste over low heat, and mixed in a bit of rock sugar and mutated honey. He bottled the paste and stored it in the fridge.

If Guan Yuanfeng were here, he could have tasted it; the flavor was truly perfect.

Zhou Yun wondered how he was doing now in the distant Central Base, probably busy and not as leisurely as himself.

However, just then, the alarm on the host screen in the living room, responsible for monitoring, suddenly went off. A deep male voice echoed, "Drone No. 3 city patrol, Central Street of Chaoyang District, has detected human lifeforms. Please be on guard."

Previously, Jiang Rongqian had set up an extensive and complex drone station, scheduling three drones to patrol the city daily, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The alarm was recorded in Guan Yuanfeng's voice. Zhou Yun was surprised and went to Guan Yuanfeng's house on the rooftop to check the surveillance screen.

On the screen, in the central streets of Danlin City, a dozen explorers were getting out of their car and fighting zombies on the street.

They were obviously mostly ordinary people, carefully fighting the zombies with extreme tension, moving timidly and hesitantly. They were all wearing thick protective clothing, some of which looked like chainmail or leather armor. They had motorcycle helmets on their heads and neck guards as well.

When the zombies surrounded them, they sprayed repellent spray, and the zombies indeed retreated. Then they shot from a distance with their guns, but these guards hadn't received very professional shooting training before. Their shots weren't very accurate, and their quality and coordination were far inferior compared to those led by Guan Yuanfeng and his teammates.

However, there was a man wearing black leather armor protective clothing, holding a large machete. He charged into the crowd and slashed at the zombies. Tall and slender, with powerful arms, he took down a zombie with each swing of his blade. He was clearly the leader of this small team.

After he cleared the area for a while, the zombies on this street were eliminated. Zhou Yun knew that this was actually because Guan Yuanfeng had spent a winter clearing out many zombies before, and later, he had led the special operations team members to clean up the area again. The number of zombies in Danlin City was relatively low now.

He saw the leader standing on high ground, seemingly giving commands. The leader suddenly took off his gloves and held a dagger in his hand, its silver blade glinting. His palm turned metallic, and the dagger flew straight toward a zombie's head, hitting it.

But the force was obviously not enough. The zombie shook its head, the dagger still stuck in its head, and continued to stumble forward, instinctively searching for fresh flesh.

The man had no choice but to rush forward and cut off the head, pulling the dagger out.

Watching this scene on the surveillance screen, Zhou Yun smiled. "It's Qin Sheng." He turned around and called for Comet, pointing at Qin Sheng on the screen. "Remember him? Xiao Qin, go find him and bring him to me."

After that, he went downstairs, changed into his motorcycle protective clothing, and got on the motorcycle. Comet skillfully jumped behind him, resting his head on his shoulder and affectionately sticking out his tongue.

Zhou Yun patted his head. "Sit properly, we're going out." He started the motorcycle, and the engine roared as the wheels sped off.

Qin Sheng was indeed the leader of this small team. He had finally led his team on their mission to search for supplies, and their first stop was the nearby Danlin City. Frowning deeply, he commanded, "This place has likely been searched by other survivors. Let's look for pharmacies and grocery stores first!"

His teammates followed closely, each clutching their weapons tightly. They left two people outside to guard, and the rest entered the pharmacy. The store was in disarray, with medicines scattered around, but upon closer inspection, only health products and bulky gift boxes were left. The crucial antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, and more expensive medications were all gone.

Qin Sheng looked around to make sure there were no zombies and told them to load up the supplies. As he stepped outside to keep watch, a teammate at the door suddenly shouted, "Mutated beast!"

Qin Sheng tightened his grip on his knife and turned to guard. He saw a black giant dog glaring at them from the railing of a nearby store's steps.

"Isn't that Doctor Zhou's dog?" he thought, trying to recall the dog's name. Tentatively, he called, "Ah Xing?"

The giant dog stared at him intently, unmoving.

Qin Sheng finally remembered. "Comet?"

Comet then walked down and circled around his feet, before heading back up the steps and looking back at Qin Sheng.

His teammates all marveled. "Captain, do you know this dog?"

"This dog is huge!"

"Is it a mutated dog? Could it be someone's pet?"

Qin Sheng understood. Was Doctor Zhou really here? He asked, "Are you asking me to follow you?"

Comet nodded.

Qin Sheng turned back to arrange things. "Stay here and keep watch. I'm going to meet someone."

A teammate was worried. "Captain, isn't it unsafe to go alone?"

Comet bared his teeth at him.

Qin Sheng smiled. "Comet is smarter than all of you. Keep a sharp watch. I'll be back soon."

He followed Comet up the steps, and after a few turns, he saw Zhou Yun sitting on his motorcycle, lifting his helmet visor, revealing bright eyes that smiled at him.

Qin Sheng was delighted. "So Doctor Zhou, you really live here? My brother said you might be in one of these small cities and told me to keep an eye out for you! This motorcycle of yours is so cool! So stylish!"

Zhou Yun got off the motorcycle. "Your brother is really smart."

Qin Sheng looked closely at the motorcycle with great interest and replied, "My older brother was the smartest. He was an excellent student in high school and could have gotten into college. But after our parents died, he went to work on ships at sea so I could continue my studies. But I didn’t do well in school after all... Sigh."

Doctor Zhou handed him a map of Danlin City and said, "There aren’t many important supplies left in a lot of places here. There’s no need for you to waste time and effort going there. The places I’ve marked on the map aren’t worth your time. The spots I recommend are circled. Also, there’s the Qingyun Reservoir nearby. Since your team is good at fishing, you can go to the reservoir to catch some fish. There are plenty of mutated fish in there."

Delighted, Qin Sheng said, "Thank you, Doctor Zhou!" But he knew in his heart that there were probably some places Doctor Zhou didn’t want him and his team to stumble upon, so they would just avoid those areas.

Doctor Zhou continued, "You came at just the right time. I’ve stockpiled some medical supplies here. You can take them back in a truck. The parking lot marked in red on this map is a meeting point. I’ll load the supplies into a truck, and we’ll meet there at three in the afternoon. You can drive it back directly."

Qin Sheng nodded, "Alright."

Doctor Zhou asked again, "How’s the stronghold in Jinjicun coming along?"

Qin Sheng replied, "It’s almost done! The walls have been built. We spent some money to hire a person with earth-based abilities and also hired a construction team. It only took two days to finish, and we’ve also repaired the building for livestock."

"We’ve re-dug the well, and it’s producing water now. We’ve also built a tall watchtower at the stronghold. Even if a zombie horde comes, we can hunker down and hold out for a while. We’ve turned over all the vegetable plots in the village that can be planted, and we’re planning to grow some vegetables. Many of our neighbors from the old town area are even volunteering to move there. Living in the city is too expensive, and it’s stressful just getting by every day. It’s better to go out and grow some vegetables, raise some chickens and ducks."

With a gleeful expression, Qin Sheng added, "Even people from other streets are coming, saying they want to join our Laojie Gang!"

Doctor Zhou said, "That’s good. Remember to practice Ba Duan Jin. I’ll also put some seeds and saplings on the truck. I’ll write down the instructions. When you get back, give them to your brother and have him arrange for people to plant them."

"There are also some baby chicks, ducks, geese, and a pair of rabbits for you to take back and raise."

Qin Sheng said, "Ah, we can already get those at the base using credit points. You don’t need to prepare these."

Doctor Zhou said, "It’s alright. I have too much, and it’s better for you to raise them. It’s not winter anymore, so there’s no need to stockpile too much food."

"I’ll be leaving now. Since you have many ordinary team members in your group, it’s better if you head back soon to avoid any incidents."

Qin Sheng lovingly ran his hands over the handsome and stylish Land Cruiser motorcycle a few more times, "Alright, thank you, Doctor Zhou."

Doctor Zhou tossed a dagger to him, "This is for you." It was one of two custom-made Damascus steel knives. This one had arrived too heavy for his own use.

Qin Sheng wanted to decline at first, but when he flipped open the folding knife and saw the ice-crack pattern on the blade, he was instantly enamored, "What a fine knife!"

Doctor Zhou smiled, "Practice more. Once you truly bond with this knife, you’ll be able to wield it like it’s part of your arm."

Qin Sheng repeatedly fondled the knife, filled with joy, "Thank you, Doctor Zhou!"

Doctor Zhou was about to call Comet to leave but changed his mind after looking at Qin Sheng, "I think Comet is bored at home. Why don’t you take Comet with you for the day? It’ll speed up your supply sweep." It would also prevent them from getting suspicious from staying too long, and since he would eventually go on expeditions with Qin Sheng, it would be good for Comet to get some practice working with him.

Delighted, Qin Sheng asked, "Really?" But then he worried, "Will you be okay going back alone?"

Doctor Zhou smiled, "I’ll be fine. I’m already at the fourth tier, and the zombies here have mostly been wiped out by Guan Yuanfeng and the others, leaving only a few weak ones behind."

He patted Comet’s head and said, "Comet, there’s nothing much going on at home. Go have some fun with Xiao Qin. I’ll be waiting for you at home."

Comet proudly howled a few times and walked around Qin Sheng’s feet.

Doctor Zhou then hopped on his motorcycle and sped back to the residential area. He found a domestic small truck and loaded all the medicines he had prepared. He organized some rice seeds, vegetable seeds, grass seeds, pumpkin seeds, and potato and sweet potato seedlings into a storage box, writing down their usage instructions in detail. He even included some discs on farming techniques he had found in an electronics store, thoughtful enough to include a 300-yuan player.

Then he added two newly grafted mulberry saplings in nutrient bags, along with two citrus tree saplings he had selected from the nursery earlier, still potted, and placed them in the truck. He also included some tea tree and pepper saplings, which were good economic tree species and easy to grow.

Lastly, he added a type of common mulberry tree sapling. This was a cheap and practical source of green feed, high in yield and protein content, comparable to alfalfa, and pigs loved it. The entire tree, including leaves, branches, and trunk, could be processed into feed.

After finishing the preparations, Doctor Zhou went to pick a basket of mulberries from under the mulberry tree and placed some vigorously growing chives and melon seedlings from the vegetable garden behind the villa. He also added a basket of eggs to the passenger seat, making it quite heavy.

After making sure everything was ready and noticing how quickly time had passed, it was almost three o'clock. He drove the small truck down to the outdoor parking lot outside a nearby mall. A few zombies were wandering there, which he froze with ice arrows and didn’t bother picking up their worthless gray crystals.

A little past three, Qin Sheng arrived with a convoy of vehicles. He and Comet led the way, getting out of the car and waving for his team members to take over the cars. Once everything was loaded, he ran over with Comet.

Comet joyfully circled around him, as if begging for a treat. Zhou Yun smiled and stroked its head before asking Qin Sheng, "How did it go with gathering supplies?"

Qin Sheng, beaming with excitement, exclaimed, "Comet is incredible! A fire-breathing dragon with just one roar! It was amazing! We were so focused on digging for crystal cores! Everything went perfectly! All our teammates were amazed and even joked about going home to check if their own dogs had mutated."

"It went extremely smoothly! The efficiency was super high. We've pretty much scavenged all the supermarkets and pharmacies in the city. There's not much else of value left. We're planning to fish at the reservoir tomorrow before moving to the next spot."

Zhou Yun pointed to the entrance of the parking lot with a smile and said, "There are a few zombies over there whose crystal cores we haven’t collected yet. You can take care of them on your way back."

Qin Sheng nodded, "Okay. Thanks."

Zhou Yun then handed him the keys to the car and said, "You drive this back. It's filled with medicines and some seeds and tree saplings. Go back and have your brother lead the people to take care of them. I've written down the planting instructions, and there are also books and discs. You can find a big-screen TV in the village to play the discs so everyone can learn how to plant them."

Qin Sheng said, "You're really thoughtful!"

Zhou Yun smiled and pointed to a basket of fresh vegetables and a box of eggs on the front passenger seat, "Here’s some homegrown veggies for you and your brother. They’ll be good for your brother's recovery after his illness."

Seeing the basket of vegetables, Qin Sheng smiled and thanked him before jumping into the car, "Then we'll be off. It’s getting late, and there’ll be more zombies out after dark. How will you get back?"

Zhou Yun nodded and pointed to a mountain bike parked nearby, "I’ve got my bike, and Comet’s with me. No need to worry."

Seeing Comet protecting Zhou Yun, Qin Sheng waved and happily drove off, leading his teammates back to Beiming.

As they reached the highway exit, they turned off to head towards Jinjicun as planned.

During this time, Qin Mu had hired two young, eloquent men and women to help run the pharmacy in the old town area while he and his team focused entirely on the construction of the stronghold in Jinjicun.

When Qin Sheng returned with his team and a small truck, he was a bit surprised, "You're back? What’s all this?"

Qin Sheng whispered to him, "We met Doctor Zhou in Danlin City. He said he made a lot of medicine and asked me to bring them back. He also gave us some seeds, tree saplings, and chicks. You can unload the truck later and have people plant them tomorrow."

Qin Mu smiled, "So it was in Danlin City? Now that you know, help him keep it discreet and stay tight-lipped."

Qin Sheng handed him the basket of vegetables, "He said these are for us. You're recovering from an illness, so they’ll be good for your health. There's also a box of eggs in there."

Qin Mu said, "...How can we accept his things?"

He took the basket of vegetables and moved aside the melon seedlings on top. Underneath the leeks, he found the basket brimming with shiny, plump, dark purple mulberries.

He handed a mulberry to Qin Sheng and sighed, "Doctor Zhou is really a gentle person."

Qin Sheng ate one, his eyes widening, "Sweet!" He quickly grabbed another handful and ate a few more, his lips immediately turning a purplish-red. He said happily, "Brother, you wouldn’t believe how strong Comet is! With just one roar, the zombies were all burnt to a crisp and fell down."

"It’s like people are no match for dogs. Our entire team couldn’t hold a candle to that dog’s fighting power."

Qin Mu chuckled, "Silly boy." Doctor Zhou obviously had Comet follow you to prevent you from accidentally discovering his place, but it’s a win-win situation. This Doctor Zhou... really, he’s so smart that it’s reassuring to work with him. He reminded, "Did you tell your teammates not to talk about it outside?"

He also took a mulberry, juicy and sweet, realizing he hadn’t tasted such fresh and delicious fruit since the apocalypse.

Qin Sheng said, "Of course, I already told them. I'll be off now. We have a lot of supplies to bring back and exchange for points. Tomorrow, we’ll go fishing at Qingyun Reservoir as Doctor Zhou suggested. He said there are plenty of mutated fish there."

Qin Mu suddenly remembered, "By the way, someone came to the shop today. The medical center at the city lord's mansion wants you to go there tomorrow, probably to ask about those medicines. I'll go with you tomorrow."

Qin Sheng, who had been a bit nervous, relaxed when his brother said they would go together, "Okay."

Qin Mu slowly advised him, "The Gong family is definitely after those zombie powders. We can only cooperate. Otherwise, the Gong family could easily shut down our little shop by claiming that our medicine hasn't passed legal inspections and its efficacy is uncertain, making it illegal. When you're under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head."

Qin Sheng said, "So what should we do?"

Qin Mu said, "We can only follow Doctor Zhou's suggestion and exaggerate the influence of the big shot from Central Base. Don’t worry, leave everything to me to handle."