Ice Age: I can control plant growth

Chapter 142 Visitors
Tang Anguo heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this, "We're finally there!"

Time moves forward.

Since receiving the order yesterday, Tang Anguo has hurriedly gathered a dozen of his soldiers to form a team to go to Wanling City. From 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon to now, almost 12 o'clock noon, almost a day has passed, and they have finally arrived near Wanling City after a bumpy journey.

The two places were only a few dozen kilometers apart, and according to past experience, two hours was enough for a round trip. However, the fog was so thick that they could only rely on observing the buildings on the road to identify the direction.

However, they still took the wrong path several times. By the time they realized the mistake and adjusted the direction, they had already deviated by several kilometers. This wasted a lot of time and also resulted in the team having to spend the night in the wild.

It was not until the first light of the next morning that they continued on their journey to Wanling City.

To make matters worse, to everyone's surprise, they encountered a group of mutant cats on the way.

With the mentality of putting the mission first, Tang Anguo did not choose to fight with the group of mutant cats. Instead, he led his team to find an abandoned house nearby to hide and wait for them to leave on their own.

That's how this whole thing came about.

After adjusting his state, Tang Anguo gave an order, "Keep moving forward!"

Two hours later, when Tang Anguo saw the familiar city wall from afar, his heart was filled with indescribable excitement.
"finally reached!"

At the same time, the guards standing guard at the city gate also discovered this group of people and slowly walked towards them with weapons in hand.

……

A quarter of an hour later, inside the Interior Affairs Building, Yao Chengcheng looked at Tang Anguo with a smile, waved his right hand, and made a "please sit down" gesture.

Tang Anguo didn't hesitate and sat down on a wooden chair beside him. He picked up an apple from the fruit bowl and started eating it.

While eating, he sighed, "The fruits here are still delicious!"

Yao Chengcheng was not angry when he saw that Tang Anguo did not treat him as an outsider, and said calmly:

"Captain Tang, long time no see! I wonder why you came here this time?"

Tang Anguo finished the apple in his hand in two or three bites, his face became serious, "I'm here to ask for help on behalf of the West Lake Shelter!"

When Yao Chengcheng heard this, he already had some guesses in his mind that this was probably to solve the smog problem.

But for things like this, even if you guessed it, you can't say it out loud, and it's not easy to name a price when someone offers to help.

"Ask for help?"

"West Lake Shelter is a large and powerful place. Both the strength of the awakened and the number of grassroots residents are far greater than Wanling City. If you can't solve the problem, we can't solve it either."

Tang Anguo smiled bitterly upon hearing this:
"City Lord Yao, you are being too modest!

Although we have a large number of people in the shelter, and there are a few awakened ones, but if we talk about the level of strength, or the magical power, I am afraid that all of us combined cannot compare to City Lord Li alone!"

At this point, he turned around and looked around, "Are City Lords Li and Yu not here yet?"

Including this time, this is Tang Anguo's fifth time to come to Wanling City, but every time he came before, there were three of them to meet him together. I don't know why Yao Chengcheng came alone this time.

Yao Chengcheng picked up the teacup and took a sip of hot tea, then said calmly:
"They both have their own things to do, so they won't come to see Captain Tang this time. Just discuss anything with me."

When Tang Anguo heard that he would not be able to meet Li Mu and Yu Shuaikang this time, a trace of anxiety appeared on his face. It didn't matter whether he could meet the latter or not, but he had to meet the former.

Ever since he entered Wanling City, he has been carefully observing the surrounding environment. Although there is still haze in the city, the concentration is much lower than that outside.

If you can't see people outside at a distance of seven or eight meters, then in this city you have to be thirty to fifty meters away to see them.

Therefore, he believed that Wanling City must have a way to solve or reduce the smog, and this method was most likely proposed by the City Lord Li.

Thinking of this, he sat up straight, looked at Yao Chengcheng with a very sincere attitude and said:
"I, Old Tang, am a straightforward person. I will say whatever I want to say directly. If I have said anything wrong, please forgive me, City Lord Yao."

Then he stood up suddenly, bent his body at a right angle facing Yao Chengcheng, and bowed deeply.

"It's not necessary!"

Upon seeing this, Yao Chengcheng hurried forward to hold Tang Anguo's shoulders, but this effort did not help him up. It was not until more than ten seconds later that Tang Anguo straightened up.

"Captain Tang, what are you doing?!"

It has only been a few months since Yao Chengcheng went from an ordinary person to a city lord with thousands of people under his command. His attitude just now was just a bit arrogant, so as to avoid the other party looking down on him. He also wanted to gain a more advantageous position from this transaction. It was not that he really did not want to help.

After all, Yao Chengcheng is still a young man, and young people like him have their own bottom line and principles. They cannot bear to see a soldier like Tang Anguo, who used to defend the country, show him such a great gift.

"City Lord Yao, I, Old Tang, will be frank with you. I came to you to find a solution to the smog.

And I also noticed when I came here that the smog in this city is much lighter than outside. You must have a solution."

After Tang Anguo finished speaking, he looked at Yao Chengcheng seriously. The meaning of his words was very simple: I know that Wanling City can solve the smog problem, so let's talk about it openly.

Although the purification lamp has only been planted for two days, its effect is indeed strong and has been purifying the haze in Wanling City.

The smog in the city is now less than 30% of what it was at the beginning. Anyone who is not a fool can see the difference between the city and outside the city.

I can't hide it even if I want to!
Thinking of this, Yao Chengcheng sighed.

"Captain Tang, since we've come to this, I'll tell you the truth. We don't have a way to completely solve the smog problem."

After a pause, he continued: "But there are still ways to alleviate the smog."

Tang Anguo's tense expression relaxed when he saw Yao Chengcheng relax. Although he didn't know whether what Yao Chengcheng said about there being no complete solution to the smog problem was true or false, he could report back that he had found a way to alleviate the smog.

"City Lord Yao, please tell me directly what you can offer in exchange for this solution."

"population?"

"arms?"

Yao Chengcheng groaned, thought for a while, and said slowly:
"This matter is not something I can decide on my own. How about this, you guys take a good rest for a while, and I'll go to a meeting to discuss it."

"What do you think?"

Tang Anguo also understood that such an important matter could not be resolved in a few words, and it would be bad to rush it.

Moreover, he had long been craving for the fruits and vegetables in Wanling City, and now was a good opportunity to have a feast. "Of course, you can discuss it slowly, and we will just wait."

At this point, he changed the subject and touched his stomach, "But my brothers and I have been traveling all the way, and we haven't eaten for a while. I am really a little hungry."

Yao Chengcheng: “…”

As soon as he said this, even though he was thick-skinned, his face turned red, and he felt a little regretful: "After I said this, will City Lord Yao think that the people in the West Lake Shelter are already starving?"

Hearing this, Yao Chengcheng suddenly remembered how Tang Anguo had taken an apple and bit into it as soon as he entered the room. How could he not understand what he meant?

Then he smiled knowingly.

"I see, I see. It was my mistake. I didn't notice the time."

"Besides, it's not the right way to entertain guests to let them wait hungry! Now is meal time, I'll arrange it right away!"

Then Yao Chengcheng turned around and shouted to the outside of the door: "Cai Ning, come here."

As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man who was neatly dressed and in good spirits pushed the door open and walked in. "City Lord, what do you want to tell me?"

Yao Chengcheng waved his left arm and introduced, "This is Captain Tang from the West Lake Shelter. I don't know if you recognize him. Now take Captain Tang and the others to the first floor of the City Lord's Mansion for lunch. Remember to ask the kitchen to serve more delicious dishes and larger portions."

Tang Anguo waved his hands quickly when he heard that. "No, no, just eat something."

Yao Chengcheng smiled and didn't say anything. It was just polite talk, but it would be a joke if he really treated them with potatoes, rice or something.

Moreover, with Li Mu around, the thing that Wanling City has no shortage of is food.

Half an hour later, in the cafeteria on the first floor of the City Lord's Mansion.

At the round dining table, a soldier skillfully placed the cut meat on a piece of lettuce as big as a fan leaf in front of him, and then placed three thumb-thick green peppers and two green onions next to the meat. He then skillfully sprinkled some special seasoning on it, and then rolled the meat and lettuce together, and couldn't wait to put it in his mouth, making a comfortable "hum" sound while eating.

Tang Anguo put down the braised pork elbow in his hand when he heard the noise, and said with a serious face, "You're not ashamed, are you?"

"Just eat, why are you making such noise? Did I not let you have enough food or something? You all act like starving ghosts!"

Another younger soldier slurped the noodles from his chopsticks and took a bite of garlic, muttering, "You didn't make any noise, but I didn't see you eat less."

The two soldiers next to him started to make a noise:

"Yes, yes, half of the barbecue here was eaten by the battalion commander with lettuce rolls or steamed buns!"

"Not only that! This is the fifth elbow in the battalion commander's hand, right?!"

Tang Anguo blushed when he heard his subordinates complaining. He seemed to have eaten a lot, but in order to save his image in front of his subordinates, he still said stubbornly:
"Bullshit!"

"There are more than a dozen people eating together, so can I only eat half of the barbecue?"

"And this elbow, it's all bones, not much meat, can I fill my stomach if I don't eat a few more?"

The adjutant on the left glanced at Tang Anguo sideways, twisted his mouth and revealed a contemptuous expression.

If you eat a lot, then eat a lot. Everyone here is the same. Why don’t you dare to admit it?

He saw it all clearly from the side, and what the soldiers said was absolutely true. Not to mention the barbecue and pork elbows, the battalion commander had already finished several bowls of rice alone!

Thinking of this, he felt a little emotional. He had to admit that Wanling City was much better than the Shelter in terms of "eating"!

None of you here can be considered ordinary residents. Normally, you have meat for every meal in the shelter, and the staple food is enough to satisfy your hunger. But vegetables and fruits are not seen for ten days or half a month.

It’s not that there is no food in the shelter, but they simply can’t afford it and are reluctant to eat it!
Take him as an example. His basic daily salary is 50 Hope Coins. He also receives additional subsidies when on missions, and his meals in the army are free.

But even so, he could only buy some vegetables and fruits occasionally to try.

As supplies continued to be consumed, the prices of vegetables and fruits in the shelter had increased several times.

Compared to staple foods such as wheat and rice, which have always been priced at 5 Hope Coins per pound, a can of several hundred milliliters of canned fruit now costs 60 Hope Coins, a pound of green vegetables costs 200 Hope Coins, and a pound of apples costs 300 Hope Coins!
This is still a limited sale.
You know, a pound of mutant beast meat is only 100 Hope Coins!

The money to buy one pound of apples is enough to buy three pounds of mutant beast meat, and the meat of mutant beasts is helpful for cultivation.

What can you do with apples? Besides satisfying your appetite, it can also provide you with vitamin C.

At the same time, in the conference room on the top floor of the City Lord's Mansion.

"Lao Li, Ah Sao, what do you think about this? Should we tell the West Lake Shelter about the existence of the purification lamp?"

Yao Chengcheng looked at Li Mu and asked inquiringly. Although he had already admitted to Tang Anguo that Wanling City had a way to alleviate the smog, he did not say that it was the work of the purification lamps.

In this way, if Li Mu did not want to make the existence of the purification lamp public, Yao Chengcheng could just find a reason to fool him.

For example, they say that the smog was blown away by them using a four-leaf clover. Whether they believe it or not, that is the fact.

However, doing so might lead to hostility with the West Lake Shelter.

"If you ask me, just tell them that it's just a plant that can absorb smog and purify the air. It has no strategic value. Besides, we can take the opportunity to exchange something with them."

Yu Shuaikang felt that there was no need to conceal the existence of the purification lamp. Even if he didn't mention it now, it would eventually be discovered by others as Wanling City interacted more and more with the outside world.

This kind of plant that can obviously change the environment cannot be hidden.

"A Sao is right, just tell them that the purification lamps don't have much effect except absorbing smog.

Of course, this is relative to us. The situation at the West Lake Shelter is different. Those senior executives should want to clear the smog as soon as possible.

After all, no one wants to live with toxic air every day, right? "

When talking about this, the three of them looked at each other and smiled. They felt the same way.

At first, when they realized that the fog outside was actually smog, they were very upset.

People are not machines, they need to breathe!
But this air is poisonous, would you like to breathe it or not?
Li Mu thought for a moment and continued:
"Tell them about the Qingxin loquat as well. That will solve their worries. But the price of these two plants can't be lowered. Look at what the city needs now, and ask for as much as you can."

"I won't be involved in the specific transaction. When the time comes, just count the quantity and let me know."

(End of this chapter)