Ch53.2 - Spring Is Coming (Part Two)

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Proofreader: Lia 

The food they had scavenged these past few days, as well as the lettuce they were growing and their existing food supply, would definitely last them until the sweet potatoes ripened. Moreover, Cui QiChao figured that more animals should start to pop up once spring comes. However, he didn’t know if there would be plants that were relatively safe to eat, so he had to wait and see again.

There was now only a little space left in Cui QiChao’s space station for him to rest on. He put everything he had picked up that wasn’t important outside and covered them with cloth. The rest of the space was occupied by plant cultivation boxes filled with sweet potatoes and lettuce. There was no waste of space and lighting. These crops were his fruits of labor while he was busily sharpening and scavenging during this period of time.

Cui QiChao also dug two pits outside. One pit was used as a reservoir. The bottom of the pit was covered with waterproof cloth, while the top was also covered.

Meanwhile, the other pit contained domestic garbage, peels, tea residue, bones, moldy food found elsewhere, fallen leaves around the area, and so on. 

Previously, Cui QiChao used manure to fertilize the lettuces and the sweet potatoes, all of which were quick-retting poudrette. He just needed to use fruit peels, residual bones, and water that had been used to wash rice, and the fertilizer would be ready after letting it rest for a few days. As for the mass-produced fertilizers, they were made to be used in the future. The scent was a little strong, but his space station was well-sealed. There was no need to open the window. One wouldn’t be able to smell it unless one went out.

The ground around Cui QiChao’s space station was fairly flat without any slopes, but some space garbage and tree stubbles littered the ground. So in addition to composting, he began to clean the ground.

The scooter also played the role of a trailer, used to drag bits and pieces of debris to one side and stack them in a pile. After he finished cleaning up a large area of land, there were still some large pieces of garbage lying around in the middle that couldn’t be dragged away, so they could only remain in place. Cui QiChao surrounded them with stones as a way of marking them.

Afterward, the stumps, withered trees, and stones were also dug out, and the excavated plants and trees were piled together and burned.

If there were large machinery here, all the residual roots and weeds could be crushed and thrown back to the field within an hour…

Cui QiChao stared at the fire for a moment and deliberated.

Cui QiChao had been exploring many places in the vicinity these past days. He planned to walk around a few more times before stopping. The last time he walked north, the detector he took with him had detected that the humidity in front of him had increased. But at that time, the detector no longer had enough power, so he returned.

After getting ready, Cui QiChao set the duration of the lighting and the watering on the planting equipment, took XiaoBai, and set off. This time, he traveled toward the direction he had gone last time, which was nearly a hundred miles away and about a three hours’ drive. Right in front of him was an icy lake. 

The lake appeared ice blue, and there were some cracks on its frozen surface, spreading like plant roots.

Cui QiChao walked along the lake for a while, observing the terrain. In the future, there wouldn’t be enough water, so he would probably have to get water from here, but it was rather far away from his house. Thus, Cui QiChao began to think about whether he could find another vehicle. Also, if he built a good watering system, he could completely automate the water collection process.

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After a while, the other party was already in close range. Two people reached the vicinity. Cui QiChao’s first impression was that they were a man and a woman. The woman was the one who had used the pseudonym Lisa and who Cui QiChao had bought the cat from.

Although she was an acquaintance, Cui QiChao did not relax his vigilance. He pressed XiaoBai’s head down again and put his hand on the ray gun in an indifferent manner.

Lisa also spotted Cui QiChao. She then said a few words to the people around her before approaching him and even waving her hand. “Mr. Tristan.” 

Cui QiChao scrutinized them from head to toe. He then got out of the scooter and walked down. His vehicle was really just a substitute for walking. The vehicle didn’t even have a roof, let alone an outer shell.

“How coincidental. We meet again.” Lisa was right. On such a planet, it was truly a coincidence for him to meet her again in another location. She introduced, “This is my brother, Albert.”

The color of Albert’s hair and pupils were the same as hers, and their features were indeed somewhat similar. She didn’t lie about this. Meanwhile, Albert was also observing Cui QiChao. At this time, he kindly stretched out his hand. “So you’re the mister who exchanged three jin of grains for a cat.”

When XiaoBai heard this, it popped its head out. 

Lisa immediately greeted him happily. “Hi, little guy. Do you remember Grandma?”

XiaoBai: “??”

It immediately buried its head back. It was obvious that Lisa called herself Grandma because she regarded the mother cat as her daughter.

Cui QiChao shook hands with Albert and only responded with one sentence: “What a coincidence.” 

“We’re here to dig ice, sir. What about you? Do you need help?” Lisa asked thoughtfully. Then she added, “Our supplies have already arrived. We’re very sincere in trying to help you.”

“No thanks,” Cui QiChao refused, almost without thinking. That wasn’t necessary. He came here this time to make sure that there was an available water source in the area. He didn’t have ice-drilling equipment, but he was considering taking some water after the ice melted during the spring, and these people couldn’t help him with the water collection system unless they gave their vehicle to Cui QiChao.

Lisa repeated again, “I meant this kind of help.” She looked a little worried. “Mr. Tristan, it’s impolite of me to say this, but your pheromones aren’t very stable. Isn’t it about time for your special period? But I’m guessing you don’t have an inhibitor on hand.”

So that was what she was implying. The non-native Cui QiChao finally realized it. 

He didn’t even have a pheromone masking agent, and the pieces of equipment he used were so crude. It was a matter of course for Lisa to think he didn’t have an inhibitor. And judging from his increasingly sweet and appetizing scent, this omega was set to enter his estrus soon.

Albert pressed Lisa down and said, “You can trade food with us for some inhibitors.” He felt that this could probably make Cui QiChao put down his guard and accept their goodwill.

Cui QiChao asked, “How much?”

Albert and Lisa looked at each other and said, “…Eight jin.” 

To offer this price was basically no different from them giving him the omega inhibitors for free. It was obvious how rare inhibitors were in this place. Actually, them saying these words would cause them to expose their identities.

“It’s too expensive. I don’t want it.” Cui QiChao looked up at the sky. “It’s getting late. I’ll go back first. Thank you. Bye.”

He spoke so crisply that Lisa and Albert didn’t manage to react in time until he got into the scooter. Their senses only returned by then.

Lisa shouted, “Mr. Tristan, won’t you reconsider?” 

Cui QiChao shook his head, started the scooter, and left.

Lisa and Albert exchanged glances. They couldn’t even describe how strange they felt. Wasn’t it a really good deal to exchange eight jin of grains for an inhibitor? This omega had a screwed-up mindset. He could give three jin of grains to exchange for a cat, but he wouldn’t give eight jin of grains in exchange for an inhibitor?

.

XiaoBai stuck his head to Cui QiChao’s chest, acting extremely sticky. Unexpectedly, Cui QiChao wasn’t willing to exchange eight jin of grains for an inhibitor. XiaoBai felt really… very satisfied but also very worried. Without an inhibitor, would Cui QiChao get into an accident? 

Cui QiChao was reminded by them about his estrus, so he decided to head back in advance. It turned out that pheromone instability was a sign that he was about to enter estrus. The only thing he knew about estrus was that it was a three-month cycle. At first, he assumed that it should be calculated starting from the time he arrived on this virtual plane. He thought that he still had some time before estrus.

After returning, Cui QiChao prepared several portions of white sugar and salt. When the time came, he could gulp them down with warm water. He estimated that he might need to supplement with vitamins and energy as well.

Then Cui QiChao began to plough the wasteland, ploughing only during the short daylight hours. Winter would soon pass. The temperature had been rising a little, and the days were getting longer. Of course, even after spring arrived, the daylight hours still wouldn’t be that long, but they’d be longer than in the winter.

Cui QiChao’s self-made plough, combined with this scooter, could only plough two mu of land in an hour. He ploughed several times, flipping the soil as much as possible and raking it once after ploughing. The efficiency wasn’t high, but with his current situation, this was already considered high efficiency. 

As he was ploughing, he avoided ploughing at the marked areas. At last, a large area of ploughed land was piled with several large pieces of space garbage. It was as if those pieces of space garbage were growing out from the ground. The sight was strangely humorous. Anyway, this was what Cui QiChao thought.

As Cui QiChao was deep in thought, he drank a large glass of water without any expression on his face.

XiaoBai put up a struggle before finally climbing out of Cui QiChao’s arms. He felt… so hungry… so very, very hungry…

XiaoBai was so hungry that it was going to lose its mind. A strong scent reminiscent of the five cereals was emanating from Cui QiChao. Last time, he just smelled like the different distinct scents of the grains. Like a large field filled with various types of grains with their aromas exploding underneath the sunlight. But now, it was as if the grains were being cooked. The scent of them steaming in the pot caused one to salivate. 

XiaoBai didn’t know what other people would think if they smelled it for themselves. But for XiaoBai, it just felt hungry.

Cui QiChao looked at XiaoBai’s incredibly dizzy state and gave it some water. “You haven’t done much work. Why are you tired?”

XiaoBai lay sprawled on the ground. After deliberating hundreds of times, it still couldn’t understand.

It had been a week since they came back from the lake. It was reasonable to say that Cui QiChao should have already entered his estrus. But while his pheromones really were getting stronger and stronger… Why was Cui QiChao still ploughing?! 

As for the changes, there were definitely some changes in him. The amount of water he drank increased, and sugar and salt was added to it. His body temperature seemed to rise a little, and his working time was slightly reduced.

However, the most important symptom, which was him getting turned on, was obviously not evident at all.

On the contrary, XiaoBai felt a strong craving for this ubiquitous scent of the five cereals. It wanted to shake Cui QiChao’s neck and ask him to hurry up and plant the five cereals… Wasn’t this awkward!

Cui QiChao sat lazily on the ridge with his back against the scooter. He could clearly feel the outbreak of pheromones in his body which affected his physiological condition, making his limbs feel weaker than usual. Of course, he definitely felt that he had some unsatisfied desires. 

However, Cui QiChao had looked too highly upon an omega’s heat. When he was in estrus, he thought about whether he should rest for a few days. But later, he found that his damned physiological needs seemed to remain the same…

In the beginning, when he lived in his house in reality, he planted all over the empty spaces he had in his home, but there wasn’t enough space to vent his farming desires. Even with a tenacious mindset, he almost went nuts and often lost sleep.