"Will this park belong to us in the future?"

Li Xiang looked at the zombies sunbathing a hundred meters away, and then looked around as if she understood something. This guy named Hong Tao led everyone out of the underground circular fortifications and did not return to the legendary courtyard. Instead, he drove the car and circled around the park.

From the east gate to the north gate, from the north gate to the west gate, as long as there were buildings, they would go in and search. Now they had even reached the back door of the police station, asking Li Xiang to kill the police who had turned into zombies. It was definitely not to test her abilities. There were so many zombies on the street, there was no need to waste this effort.

"Hey, you even thought of this! Old Liu, did you see? We have another capable and thoughtful female general!"

Hong Tao was very surprised. He hadn't mentioned this to anyone, not even Liu Quanyou and Sun Jianshe. They didn't realize the importance of the park and only thought that they were clearing the gates. But now, a female apprentice electrician who had just escaped from a difficult situation and hadn't even eaten enough had figured it out.

"...Master Hong, do you really want to occupy this park? It's so big, it's not easy to manage, right?"

Liu Quanyou only now heard Hong Tao's implied meaning. He looked around and saw that there were tall trees everywhere. It was fine during the day, but at night, it would be as dark as a forest, a bit creepy. Besides, there was nothing useful in the park except for some ancient buildings, and those buildings couldn't be lived in. In the winter, they would be drafty and freezing.

"We can grow crops, vegetables...clear the grass, and cultivate it for a winter. We can start with corn and soybeans, and the following year we can grow wheat. It would be even better if we had fertilizer!" Yang Ping, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up. She pointed at the large expanse of grass, her eyes and expression exactly the same as Li Xiang, who had just been holding the electric drill.

"We can also grow pasture and raise chickens and sheep..." Yang Ling, who was even quieter, seemed to be influenced by her companions and also put forward her own ideas.

"Have you two done farm work at home?" At this point, Hong Tao had already forgotten about killing zombies. He deliberately bent down, using the most gentle expression and tone to ask the two female waitresses.

Li Xiang guessed it right. She wanted to claim the Di Tan Park for herself. What would she use it for? Yang Ping was right. She wanted to use it for farming, specifically for growing vegetables. There was no shortage of food for the time being. As long as it didn't get damp, the rice and flour in the supermarket could be stored for several years without spoiling or getting infested with bugs. But fresh vegetables couldn't be stored for even a week.

In theory, a person could survive well by just eating dry food and drinking water, supplemented with vitamin pills and sugar. But in the dietary habits of the Chinese people, the lack of vegetables was always a major flaw. It could even lead to constipation.

In the first few days of the Great Catastrophe, Hong Tao had already thought about this issue. It wasn't for the present, but for the plans in the coming year or even several years. At that time, his goal was the rooftop. Although it was troublesome to grow vegetables on the rooftop and they would need to transport water up there, it was still better than having nothing.

But ever since Liu Quanyou mentioned the underground fortifications, Hong Tao immediately thought of Di Tan Park. Most of the fortifications were located under the park. If they could utilize both the upper and lower areas, wouldn't it be even better?

The outer wall of the park was over two meters thick and four to five meters high. The gate was even made of thick wooden planks, just like the Forbidden City. As long as they didn't attract too many zombies, they wouldn't be able to get in at all. They didn't need to worry too much about safety.

When they had more manpower in the future, they could also install some hidden cameras on the large trees behind the courtyard wall for 24-hour surveillance. They would be able to detect zombies or living people in advance. If all else failed, they could also dig into the underground fortifications. Just like how the Eighth Route Army fought guerrilla warfare against the Japanese invaders, they could replicate it now.

As for the water source...in fact, there were several wells in Di Tan Park. They were said to have been dug during the Qing Dynasty. Some had dried up, while others still had water when Hong Tao was a child. Later, to prevent children from falling in, they were covered with large stone slabs. After several renovations, they were mostly buried.

But there was one exception, because it was in the courtyard of the police station. This police station was also peculiar. The office was actually located in the park, especially a department called the Dog Management Office. They simply enclosed a small courtyard within the high walls, and the well was inside.

Moreover, this well was no longer an ancient water well. The people who worked here in the past had converted it into a pressurized water well. There was a large iron pipe on the well platform, as well as a handle. When the handle was pressed, the well water would be pumped up.

But later, the park was connected to the tap water system, so this well became useless. However, it was not abandoned. During the summer, the police officers liked to draw water from this well to soak watermelons. They said that watermelon soaked in well water tasted even better than those kept in the refrigerator.

With water, land, and a relatively safe environment, Hong Tao couldn't think of a reason not to grow some vegetables. As for whether they could grow them or not, Hong Tao could grow grapes, flowers, and even leeks and scallions. He estimated that it wouldn't be too difficult to grow crops. Even if they couldn't produce a high yield, it would be enough to eat. Who needed high yields?

"Before we came out, we all did farm work at home...her family has a flock of sheep, over a hundred of them! My family only has land, and we grow corn to sell to the feed factory!" Yang Ping nodded affirmatively and briefly introduced the specific situations of the two families to increase credibility.

"Liu Quanyou, did you see? Our little group still has hidden talents! I suggest that these two girls be appointed as the head and deputy head of the agriculture group. Once we settle down, we can start cultivating the land in the spring!"

Now that they had Yang Ping and Yang Ling, Hong Tao felt that he no longer needed to take on the role of the God of Agriculture. Although the girls were young, they had actually done farm work. They must be stronger than him, a novice.

"Hehehe, alright, I support it..." Liu Quanyou had already figured it out and didn't object to cultivating the land. In fact, no one would really object. No one wanted to go without vegetables every day.

"Speaking of which, should we raise a couple of pigs too? When I was in the army, I fed pigs for a few days..." Now that they had vegetables, what about meat? Sun Jianshe also joined in the fun.

"Alright, enough. Rome wasn't built in a day. The most important thing now is not what to raise or what to grow, but that small courtyard ahead. If we don't clear the zombies here, we won't be able to grow anything. We don't have water, and we can't go to the moat every day to fetch water!"Listening to everyone's lively discussion about the future, Hong Tao was both happy and worried. He was happy that he had successfully ignited the hope in their hearts, but worried that they were underestimating the difficulties ahead. The future would not be smooth sailing, and he feared that a large psychological gap would extinguish the spark of hope he had just ignited.

"I'll go!" Li Xiang took a deep breath and extended her hand to Hong Tao.

"Be careful, zombies are very strong. Don't try to resist them directly, use your brain..." Hong Tao handed the shield and climbing axe to Li Xiang, gave her a few words of caution, and then signaled to Sun Jianshe.

Now that Li Xiang was the leader of the mechanical and electrical team, she couldn't be casually lost to the zombies. Letting her kill a zombie alone was just a test of her character. The real killing move was the fire hook in Sun Jianshe's hand.

"Ah... Bang... Ouch... Thud..." What happened next not only left Hong Tao dumbfounded, but also left everyone present a little confused, especially Yang Ping and Yang Ling, who were left speechless.

Without any warning, Li Xiang charged forward with her shield. By the time Hong Tao and Sun Jianshe reacted, she had already run several meters away. Then, the slender girl collided with the oncoming zombie.

The result was a complete victory for the zombie. Li Xiang, along with her shield, was thrown back two or three meters and fell heavily to the ground. The zombie was then hit on the head by Sun Jianshe, who had rushed over.

"Are you stupid or reckless? Where's your brain? Didn't I tell you to use your brain?" Hong Tao helped Li Xiang up, looking at the scrape on her elbow with fear. If he had been a little slower, the leader of the mechanical and electrical team would have been gone before she even took office.

"I've never trained before, how am I supposed to use my brain? You just wanted to see if I had the guts, right? Are you satisfied now?" Li Xiang didn't seem scared or in pain. She shook off Hong Tao's hand and exposed his ulterior motives.

"Hehehe... Master Hong, this girl has quite a temper, and she's pretty stubborn..." Seeing Hong Tao being put in his place, Liu Quanyou quickly stepped in to mediate. After persuading Li Xiang, he gave his evaluation with a forced smile.

"But she's smart and brave. If it were me, I would have gone crazy from being cooped up in the ventilation duct for ten days, if I didn't starve to death first."

To this day, Hong Tao still couldn't believe that Li Xiang had lived alone in such a narrow space for ten days. That place was even smaller than a solitary confinement cell, and most people would break down in three days. Those who could last five days were extremely mentally strong, and seven days was considered the limit. Yet this girl had stayed for ten days without any problems. The world was indeed full of wonders.

There was no one in the dog management office, nor were there any zombies. It seemed that the one they had just encountered was the only night shift worker. However, there were occasional sounds of banging on the door from the police station next door. But the big iron door was sturdy enough to keep them out.

On the issue of whether to go to the police station to look for guns, Hong Tao, Liu Quanyou, and Sun Jianshe surprisingly agreed unanimously: they definitely wouldn't go. It was not worth risking a zombie siege for a few small handguns that weren't very useful. They could clear this place anytime when they had more people in the future.

"Splash... Splash..." Hong Tao immediately found the water well covered by a large cardboard box in the corner of the yard. He poured a bottle of mineral water into the iron pipe and pumped it a dozen times, bringing up a stream of clear water.

"This water looks pretty clear, should be drinkable, right?" Liu Quanyou filled half a bottle of water and held it up to the sunlight, scrutinizing it as if his eyes were equipped with an electronic microscope.

"Hard to say, let's not drink it for now. We'll find a chance to test it when we have time. Let's go, our mission for today is successfully completed, let's go back for lunch!" Hong Tao believed that groundwater wouldn't be easily contaminated, but with plenty of bottled water and mineral water, there was no need to risk trying it.

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