Ice Age: I can control plant growth

Chapter 6: The Snow Stops

Chapter 6: The Snow Stops
It snowed heavily outside for another three days.

February 2024, 9,
Li Mu woke up from his deep sleep when it was just dawn.

The water in the hot water tank had been used up long ago, so these days the three of them took turns going downstairs to collect snow in buckets.

Today it is Li Mu's turn to collect snow.

After Li Mu dressed neatly, he went to the second floor with a bucket of water. It had been snowing heavily for the past few days and the snow had accumulated to several meters deep. The first floor had been submerged in the snow.

"Hmm? The snow seems to have gotten lighter today."

While Li Mu was filling the bucket with snow using a plate, he looked up at the sky. He didn't know if it was his illusion, but the snow outside did seem to be a little lighter.

On the way back to the house, I didn't meet any other survivors upstairs, nor did I hear any sound. I didn't know whether the others had left or died.

In the first few days after the Ice Age, Li Mu and his two companions could often hear the sounds of conflicts among other survivors outside, as well as people knocking on doors to ask for food.

Of course, Li Mu and his friends also encountered this. On the third day of the Ice Age, a man came to borrow food, claiming that he could buy it with money.

However, Li Mu did not open the door. Instead, he told the other party through the door that he did not have much food. He also asked Cheng Cheng and Asao to speak out and explain that there were three adult men here and they were not to be trifled with.

The end of the world has come. What’s the use of money? It’s just waste paper.

Even gold and silver are unlikely to have value anymore, and future transactions should be based on barter.

Perhaps the man also realized that Li Mu was not the kind of person who could be easily deceived, and finally left angrily, turned around and said the same thing to the next room. Li Mu didn't know whether he finally borrowed the supplies.

But the guess is probably not. The apocalypse has been here for several days, and even the dumbest person should have been awakened by the cold. How could they hand over the food that would keep them alive?
While thinking, Li Mu had already packed a bucket of snow and returned upstairs.

A bucket of snow weighs only about ten pounds, and if used sparingly, it would be enough for Li Mu and his team to use for two days.

Li Mu poured the snow into the pot and began to heat it. After these days of consumption, there were only a dozen pieces of solid alcohol left. They now began to use books to heat the pot, but the smoke from burning paper was too strong, and cooking food would also have some odors.

"We'll have to find some dry firewood for fuel after we move."

Looking at the steaming snow water, he thought secretly in his heart.

After the water was boiled, we started adding compressed biscuits, one piece per person. The instant noodles had been finished yesterday.

After a while, the pot began to emit an enticing aroma, and at the same time Cheng Cheng and Asao opened the door and walked out.

"What did you eat today?"

Ah Sao sniffed the fragrance, looked at Li Mu and asked.

"Peanut-flavored compressed biscuits. Eat something simple in the morning and some meat for lunch."

Li Mu picked up the bowl, filled it for each of them, and passed it to them.

"This is my first time eating compressed biscuits, and they were quite mushy."

The two looked at the gray porridge in the bowl and couldn't help but sigh. After all, few people would eat this kind of thing in peacetime, even if it tasted good. (The compressed biscuits actually tasted pretty good, especially the peanut flavor.)
The three of them picked up the porridge in their bowls and slurped it, just like they were drinking porridge fresh out of the pot at home, drinking it slowly along the edges so as not to burn themselves.

"I went down to collect snow today and found that the snow outside seemed to have decreased, but it was not obvious."

Li Mu looked at Cheng Cheng and Asao and told them about his discovery this morning.

"You mean, the snow is about to stop?"

Cheng Cheng looked at Li Mu and asked about the doubts in his mind.

"I don't know if it will stop, so let's wait and see. If there are signs that it will stop, we have to move immediately."

Li Mu knew that opportunities are rare and will never come back, so as long as the snow was light enough for him to go out, he would move immediately. Otherwise, if he missed this opportunity, he would have to wait for an unknown amount of time.

There are not many supplies left at home. These days, all the vegetables, fruits and instant noodles have been eaten up. There are only more than ten pounds of pork left, and the solid alcohol for cooking is almost gone.

If they really have to wait for a while until all these are used up, they will have to go out and look for supplies.

Although they didn't know whether the snow would stop, the three of them had already started packing after dinner, checking whether the sleds they had made in the past few days had any problems, and were ready to set off at any time.

The three of them were busy for the whole morning, and when the sun turned to the south, they had just finished lunch.

Li Mu walked to the window and looked at the snow outside, his eyes full of anticipation. "It seems to have really gotten smaller!" he said to himself.

Cheng Cheng and Asao also came over and looked at the snow outside the window, their expressions became serious.

They all knew that this meant they were about to leave the place where they had lived for a long time.

"We can't wait any longer! We should get ready to leave."

Ah Sao said, with a firm tone in his voice.

"Yes, and as soon as possible."

Li Mu nodded, then turned to Cheng Cheng, "Check everything to see if there is anything missing. Ah Sao, check our sled."

The two responded and started to get busy.

Li Mu returned to the room, took out the tomatoes he had hidden for a long time, and turned to the living room as if he had made up his mind.

"We're about to set off, haven't you always been curious about how to keep warm outside?

These tomatoes are the key to our safe arrival at the villa area!"

Li Mu poured the tomatoes in the bag onto the table and looked at the two of them with a serious expression.

Asao and Chengcheng looked at the tomatoes on the table with surprised expressions on their faces.

"Tomato? Can this thing keep you warm?"

Asao asked doubtfully.

"No, Lao Li, where did you get so many tomatoes?"

Cheng Cheng was also shocked. He clearly remembered that there were no tomatoes among the supplies they purchased.

"That's right. This is not an ordinary tomato. Just eat one and your whole body will radiate heat in half an hour." Li Mu said mysteriously.

"Is this true?! Lao Li, this is not the time to joke around."

Ah Sao looked at Li Mu from the side, his eyes full of distrust.

"At this time, why would I joke with you? And whether it's true or not, why don't you just eat one?"

Li Mu knew that he could not convince the two with words, so he simply asked them to eat one now. They would be leaving soon anyway, so it wouldn't be a waste.

“Crack…”

The two men picked up the tomatoes with a suspicious look and took a bite without washing them.

"Fuck, what kind of tomato is this? It's so delicious!"

Cheng Cheng suddenly exclaimed.

"Hiss, so sweet and juicy!"

Ah Sao also took a breath of cold air.

The two of them finished the whole tomato in a few bites and licked the splashed juice clean.

"It's delicious, but it doesn't have the heat you mentioned."

Cheng Cheng didn't feel any changes in his body after eating the tomatoes, and there was no trace of the heat that Li Mu mentioned.

So I became more determined and no longer believed that tomatoes could keep out the cold.

"Don't be impatient, let the bullets fly for a while!"

Li Mu gave a mysterious smile.