Beep!
Li Yao seemed to be responding to the call of the two little fellows. The indicator lights were flashing rapidly, and the chainsaw that was used to trim the plants was waved agilely.
"Excellent!"
Han Te rubbed his fists and said confidently, "My veins have been opened by the super electric arcs, and my Cultivation is recovering bit by bit. Also, I've obtained the mysterious spiritual puppet 'Fiend Star'. They are all great signs. Rest assured, Master. The Bliss Ceremony this time will definitely be a success. We will return with abundant trophies just like the previous years!"
Gu Zhengyang's smile dimmed. After a brief silence, he took a long breath and said, "About the Bliss Ceremony this time, I have given the command to Captain Zhao. He will be fully in charge of it."
"What!"
The two little fellows were both shocked. Han Te said in a hurry, "Master, how can you give the command to Zhao Lie? Everybody knows that he is ambitious and wants to seize power and replace you all the time! Right now, Zhao Lie already has a team of loyal followers in the village. His forces are growing bigger and bigger every day. If he is fully in charge of such an important mission as the Bliss Ceremony, he will certainly take the opportunity to gather power, buy people's support, weaken your forces, and ride on our neck in the end! "
"That's right, Dad."
Coloured Glaze said worriedly, "The conflicts between Uncle Zhao Lie and you are getting more and more intense day by day. Just now, Zhao Chong even deliberately troubled my senior brother and accused us of hiding assets. He couldn't have been more abominable."
"I know that you have always been kindhearted and considerate, Master."
Han Te gnashed his teeth. "But if we give in blindly at such a moment, other people will only think that we are weak and vulnerable. They will be even more arrogant than before!"
Gu Zhengyang coughed softly and said, "You should know that I am not a man who is passionate about power. Besides, I am just the leader of a village of several thousand people. I don't have any power at all. If Zhao Lie wants it, feel free to take it."
"How can that be?"
The two little fellows were both anxious. Han Te bulged his eyes and said, "Master, this is not about the village leader. Haven't you always disagreed with Zhao Lie's ideology and thought that he was too ruthless and aggressive and would only bring disasters to the Village of Peace? If he is truly elected as the village leader, the Village of Peace will become a great gang of bandits. There will be no peace in the hundreds of square kilometers nearby! "
"That's right, Dad. Your illness is only temporary. You should …"
Coloured Glaze glanced at Li Yao and said with certainty, "It will get better!"
"This has nothing to do with my illness."
Gu Zhengyang put on a frustrated expression. Touching his golden tassels softly, he sighed and said, "Coloured Glaze, your mother has been gone for four years."
The Coloured Glaze was slightly stunned. She didn't understand what her father meant.
"Your mother was a very naïve woman. When I met her for the first time, she was only about your age."
Gu Zhengyang sat on the ridge and smelled the fragrance of the tassels. He was caught in his memories from a long time ago. "At that time, I had just fallen from the sky. My head was blank, and I lost all my memories of the past. I only remembered the techniques of slaughter and destruction. Those things were swirling crazily inside my head like enormous swirls, turning me into an ignorant and bewildered beast.
"At that time, the Village of Peace only had one iron-shelled ship and hundreds of people. It was far smaller than today. Even the greenhouse that we are in right now is just a tiny corner where a few askew plants that looked like sticks of reeds were planted.
"At that time, I had already wandered in the city ruins for months like a lonely ghost. The whole world that I saw was nothing but darkness, blood, slaughter, betrayal, and destruction. Occasionally, I would find a few plants in the gaps and dark corners of the ruins. They were either full of stinky, venomous vines or spurting corrosive liquids that were highly acidic. But I had never seen anything so vigorous and hopeful before.
"When I saw the cluster of golden plants, I was shocked. I asked the little girl who was serving them carefully what they were.
"She told me that it was a 'Gold Barley', a 'crop' that could save the entire Land of Sins and stop all the sinners in the Land of Sins from fighting each other every day.
"She said that it was exactly because the land in the Land of Sins was barren and barren that people did not have enough food and clothes to cover their bodies. They could only rely on the relief assets that were delivered from the Heavenly Rails to compete for the relief assets and the slim hope of survival. That was why they fought each other every day and turned from human beings into animals.
"If there was a crop that could thrive on the barren land that was plagued by pollution and radiation and provide enough food for everybody, we would not have to wait for the relief from the Heavenly Rails to live on. We would not have to be hostile and wary of each other, biting and gnawing each other like hungry wild dogs!"
Han Te and the Coloured Glaze were so fascinated that they could not help but hold each other's hands.
With tears beaming out of her eyes, the Coloured Glaze said softly, "My mother was right. If the Gold Barley could really be planted all over the Land of Sins and turn the barren land into golden fields, there would be no conflicts, no bloodshed, no fights, and no gangs and thugs who were like animals. Even we … would not have to turn into animals."
Gu Zhengyang grinned, both gently and bitterly. He mumbled, "Yes, she was right. She was obviously a naïve and weak little girl, but when she said those words, blades seemed to be hidden in her eyes. As an adventurer who had been traveling in the city ruins for months, I did not have the courage to look her in the eyes.
"Tempted by the scenes that she described, I stayed and expanded the Village of Peace from one iron-shelled ship into fifteen. Together with her, I developed the greenhouse from a tiny corner at the rear of the cabin to today, occupying half of the deck. Before she left, I even held her hand and swore that I would grow the Gold Barley all over the Land of Sins one day!
"But … But right now, I'm more and more suspicious that the picture that we have been dreaming of can really be realized one day."
Gu Zhengyang stabbed his fingers into his hair, moaning in pain as if the heavy burden of life had pressed his back.
"Master, everything is getting better. We will certainly realize masteress's dream and grow the Gold Barley all over the land!"
Han Te clenched his fists and raised his voice. "Don't give up hope!"
"But … I really don't see any hope," Gu Zhengyang said gloomily.
"In the past decades, I've been training crazily and fighting everywhere to protect the Village of Peace. I've accumulated a lot of hidden wounds. This time, they all burst out and made me seriously ill. My Cultivation plummeted, and I couldn't even manage to maintain it. It was within my expectations. I'm already very satisfied that I've persisted to this day.
"But the sixty-third transplant of the Gold Barley still failed. It was the crop that was most resistant to drought, radiation, and pollution that your masteress and I carefully selected, but it still could not survive in the radiation area outside. Even if it was only out of the range of the village, the yield was shockingly low and not enough to satisfy the appetite of an ordinary person.
"There were also all kinds of wretched mutated beasts harassing and sabotaging the experiment fields that we built after all the trouble. Tremendous manpower and resources were needed to resist them. There was no way that we could make up for the losses.
"Therefore, when I looked at the rusted ceiling in a daze because of my illness, I couldn't help but wonder if the path that your masteress and I took would work. Could we really grow the Gold Barley all over the Land of Sins and settle all the conflicts in the Land of Sins? Was I really right? Or maybe, Zhao Lie's choice was the wisest and most correct one? "
"Dad!"
"Master!"
The two little fellows were even more anxious. Each of them grabbed one of Gu Zhengyang's arms, trying to transmit their young and scorching strength to the sickly and lonely middle-aged man. "Of course you were right. Don't be frustrated. We'll try ten more times, a hundred more times, and a thousand more times. One day, we will succeed!"
"But we are running out of assets and time," Gu Zhengyang said coldly.
"Zhao Lie was not wrong about one thing," Gu Zhengyang said coldly. "The Village of Peace today has reached the limits of expansion and is in an awkward situation.
"The tranquility and high-speed development in the past twenty years have increased the population of the Village of Peace by almost thirty times. Other than the adults who have joined us from various places, there are also a lot of children who were born in the village. Every additional person is a bottomless hole that can never be filled.
"However hard we explore and loot, the assets in the warehouse are never enough. Even if we can loot enough assets in the Bliss Ceremony this year, it is not a long-term solution. I really don't know how the Village of Peace can survive if the population of the village is doubled, even if it is only increased by fifty percent, in the next couple of years. By then, other people will not have to attack us because we will fall apart and fight among ourselves."
The two little fellows both fell silent. Han Te hesitated for a long time before he finally said, "As long as — as long as Master's illness can be cured and his unparalleled strength in the past is restored, there will be no problem at all!"
"Silly boy."
Gu Zhengyang extended his rough hand and rubbed Han Te's hair. He smiled bitterly and said, "I am old after all. It is impossible for me to protect the Village of Peace forever. Even if the Village of Peace can operate according to my rules when I can still stand, what about when I fall one day? Will the Village of Peace become the same as other villages or even the gangs in the Bloody Worlds?
"When I think of such a scene, I feel so painful that I cannot sleep at night.
"If such an outcome is inevitable, I might as well discuss the way out of the village with Zhao Lie while I still have some strength. We can both compromise and make some rules that we can accept.
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