After dinner, the four of them, from grandfather to grandchildren, took shovels and went to the orchard.
The orchard, heavy with fruit, emitted a faint fruity fragrance.
The branches of pomegranates and dates were bent low with the weight of the fruits.
The Bai Family orchard had the most pomegranate and persimmon trees because Bai Xiqin and her brother loved to eat them.
"Xiao Niu, do you think digging up three of each is enough?"
Bai Zhengxuan carried a shovel on his shoulder, glanced at his family's orchard, feeling a bit reluctant.
He had planted these fruit trees when he was young. Back then, he lived in the city and the family land was left unused, so he simply planted fruit trees.
Many of these trees were already aged. He took good care of them, and they bore large, sweet fruits.
He really didn't want to leave them behind uncared for.
"That's enough. The other space is best used for planting grains and vegetables, which are more practical."
Bai Xiqin also felt a little regret at seeing so many fruit trees. But the space was limited, and grains and vegetables were the most important resources in the apocalypse.
"Dig!"
Bai Zhengxuan sighed, shouldering his shovel, and walked into the orchard, starting to dig in front of a pomegranate tree.
Bai Xiqin and the others each chose a fruit tree and started digging as well.
The orchard was vast, and it was some distance from the village, so there was no fear of people discovering them.
A variety of fruit trees were planted in the orchard, including cherry trees, pomegranate trees, persimmon trees, apple trees, date trees, and even two walnut trees.
Not all the fruit trees needed to be dug up. Once the roots of a fruit tree could be moved, Bai Xiqin could store the tree in her space.
After a few hours of hard work, they managed to store three of each fruit tree in the space. Bai Xiqin looked around to ensure no one was there and then brought them into the space directly.
"With such fertile land, we won't have to worry about food and drink in the future."
Bai Zhengxuan squatted down, touched the soil, a smile on his face.
He finally understood the meaning of the apocalypse, but heaven was kind to them. Fortunately, both he and his wife had awakened supernatural powers, and his granddaughter had spatial abilities.
Having lived through a famine, he knew how unpleasant hunger was and was delighted that his granddaughter had such a defying superpower like space.
"Someday, we'll buy a few harvesters, stock up on wheat and corn seeds, and we won't fear hunger anymore."
Liu Jing said this while using a shovel to dig holes, surveying the open space.
"We have enough grain; we should plant more vegetables too." Bai Zhengxuan wiped the sweat from his face and broke off a leaf, continuing to dig and said, "We need to buy books on planting grains and vegetables, not just teaching us how to farm but also how to preserve seeds."
He was born to a farmer, so he knew a little about growing grains and vegetables, but the methods of preserving seeds had been long forgotten. Buying a few books would be more suitable.
"Okay, I'll buy some farming books online later, but I'm not sure where to buy the harvesting machines." Bai Xiqin frowned.
Using harvesters for wheat and corn is much faster. Scythes and hands are too slow, and shelling is also quite a hassle, so harvesters are most convenient.
"They sell them in town. People from our village hire help from town to harvest their crops. It's dozens of yuan per mu!"
Bai Zhengxuan said while spitting fire.
The flames shot up high, higher than those from acrobatics troupes.
"Grandpa, could you... keep it a bit toned down?"
Bai Xiqin glanced at Bai Yifan, who stood by, envious and bitter.
"But—I just can't control it myself!"
Bai Zhengxuan muttered indistinctly.
"Hold your breath, focus on your brain, try to use it to control every cell in your body." Bai Xiqin said softly.
Both humans and zombies experienced changes in the brain, and all superpowers are controlled by a certain part of the brain.
"Phew... it's a bit better now!"
Bai Zhengxuan covered his mouth, releasing some smoke.
"Oh, one extreme to another!"
Bai Yifan silently went to the creek to get water for the newly planted fruit trees.
As a teenager passionate about various apocalyptic novels, he hadn't awakened any superpowers, which was really... frustrating!
His sister told him that ninety-nine percent of people usually awaken their superpowers after the apocalypse breaks out. But seeing three family members awaken, Bai Yifan was itching with envy!
Every time he saw his grandpa inexplicably spitting fire and sprouting leaves, he felt like he was showing off!
Bai Zhengxuan didn't think he was showing off at all; he actually found his superpower a bit troublesome.
However, when his granddaughter mentioned that a high enough superpower level would allow one to eat whatever they wanted, his interest in enhancing his superpower grew significantly.
After planting the fruit trees, the group wandered around the space.
"Why do these three statues look so strange?" Bai Yifan looked at the three white jade statues and asked, "Could they be the 'goldfinger' mentioned in novels?"
Bai Xiqin touched the three white jade statues, which felt warm to the touch. She always thought they were out of the ordinary, but couldn't figure out their special qualities.
One statue was small, a bird resembling a bee but as large as a mandarin duck.
Another was a snake.
The largest statue was a creature that looked somewhat like a tiger, yet had a rather... ugly appearance.
Other than that, Bai Xiqin couldn't tell anything else.
"Hey, isn't this Taowu?"
As a people's teacher, Bai Zhengxuan examined the statue and recognized it right away.
"Taowu?" Bai Xiqin looked puzzled.
"It's recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. It's one of the 'Four Evil Creatures' in Chinese mythology, resembling a tiger with a human-like face, and boar-like tusks in its mouth." Bai Zhengxuan continued examining the statue and said, "This quail-like bird should be Qin Yuan, which is venomous enough to kill any plant or animal. The other is a snake, but there seems to be nothing unusual about it."
"Classic of Mountains and Seas?"
Bai Xiqin was taken aback. After the apocalypse outbreak, various animals, plants, and people began to mutate in bizarre directions.
According to the crazy ones in the research institute, Earth underwent drastic mutations because of a sudden energy tide.
Could ancient myths be related to the energy tide too?
During the Yao, Shun, and Yu eras, people possessed extraordinary strength. Tribe leaders seemingly had the power to overturn seas and mountains.
Could it be possible that energy tides come periodically?
Bai Xiqin pondered deeply but couldn't figure it out.
"Sis, what's wrong with you?" Bai Yifan nudged the frowning Bai Xiqin, thinking she was worried about the dream events unfolding, and comforted her, "We've kinda foreseen the future so we don't need to worry too much."
Bai Xiqin thought about the days being researched in the institute, and she smiled reluctantly at Bai Yifan.
"Xiao Niu, don't you love chicken stew with mushrooms? Let your grandpa set up some chicken coops and pigpens, and we'll raise more in here."
Liu Jing noticed Bai Xiqin's furrowed brows and deliberately switched the topic.
"Okay!" Bai Xiqin brightened up when it came to food, "We'll buy some books on farming and become self-sufficient!"
"Let's buy a couple of cows!" Bai Yifan's eyes sparkled, "Then we'll have fresh milk!"
"We should also get sheep, lamb skewers are tasty!"
"Get some rabbits, spicy rabbit heads!"
…
They discussed excitedly, one sentence after another, their eyes sparkling.
"But... do we have that much money?"
Bai Yifan timidly asked.
Even though they had quite a bit of money, the harvester and various animals were quite expensive.
It's like dismantling an entire house to cover thousands of expenses; they might not have enough money.
Instantly, three pairs of eyes stared at Bai Yifan.
He's really hit the sore spot!