"Can you help me for a second?"
Felipe turned his head. On top of Jun's hand was a bouquet of varying flowers. He stopped watering the plants and placed the watering can on the ground. He took off the straw hat on his head and held it by the stomach.
"How may I help you, sir?"
Anthony who was tending the tomatoes in the corner noticed that his father stopped working. He turned his head only to see that his father was talking with the leader of the group. He carefully walked forward and heard some of the conversations.
"I want to ask your opinion about something. I found these strange flowers when I was scavenging yesterday. I know that they're useful but I can't tell exactly how. I'm also here to ask whether you can cultivate these flowers."
There were three flowers on each of Jun's hands that have differing colors. On his left hand were flowers that were colored red, yellow, and white, while on the other hand were blue, purple, and pink.
Felipe shook his head. "The level of my inspect skill is too low for me to be able to identify these flowers. Maybe after a few days, I can determine what they can be used for. But right now, its a bit impossible."
"That's completely fine. I'm not really in a rush about it." Jun smiled. "How are you guys doing? Are there any problems with the crops?"
"We're living the life.", the old man chuckled. "Ever since I leveled up, I felt my health going up to the sky. No more joint pains and back pains. Well, the cold still bothers me anyway. My son, Anthony, is really happy with our room. Ever since we got our own room, I am always kicked out in the afternoon. Maybe that son of mine is bringing someone back there."
"Pa! That's unnecessary!"
Felipe turned his head and saw Anthony shyly looking at them.
"What? I'm just telling the truth. These days, every evening you would follow that woman everywhere. It's not that I'm complaining... I also want to see my grandkids before I passed on."
Anthony hanged his head while he scratches it. A sheepish smile blossomed on his face.
Seeing his son acting in love, Felipe grumbled. "I can't even take a nap in my own room... I wish I had a rocking chair for myself. Oh, sorry! You were here. Where did we stop again? Right, the flowers! I can plant them, but I don't know how to cultivate them. I know nothing about decorative flowers, but I think all plants only need the best soil and a good amount of water. I can try for a few days, but you need to find someone who knows how to do it properly."
"Thank you! That should be enough for now."
Before Jun could turn, the old man chattered again.
"Its also difficult having to look behind our back from time to time, watching out for any infected that might sneak on us. I don't know about my son, but it was pretty tiring for me. Is it possible to assign someone on watch duty?"
"Of course! That's easy."
Jun escaped before the old man could talk again.
***
Jun ate lunch with Marianne, who treated the meal as a date. The other members ate lunch by turns due to the number of customers coming in. The store peak times were around 10 AM and 11 AM in the morning. It was 5 PM to 7 PM on the latter part of the day.
After a few minutes, the number of visiting individuals were finally dwindling.
The time periods were the times when people were resting or having lunch. It is also the time when they just returned after scavenging. They traded all those 'useless' items they found for extra credits.
The people copied Black Haven's scavenging group formation and have five people in every team. They thought that it was optimal and well thought off since the small party has enough people to fight infected and fewer people to share to divide the day's loot.
The current population of the region has finally exceeded a hundred.
The citizens that were rescued by the police force learned to survive on their own. Although they were thankful for being saved, they abandoned the city hall and lived on their own.
The University became a huge apartment for everyone. They helped each other clear the whole campus and got enough room for everyone to share.
Jun let them do what they want since having a place of their own would make them feel that they belong to the area. Finally having somewhere to live, people would now finally focus on enriching their quality of life.
The first example was young males and females. They were the ones who care most about their looks. Looking good to impress the opposite sex was one of the main reasons why humans are called humans. That's just the way it is, simply because we want competition! We want to be appreciated and loved.
The clothing stalls finally became lively. The dark sky helped young men and women acquaint themselves with each other. A few showed off their wealth by treating others, while some took the one they fancy on a stroll on the empty streets, showing how brave they are.
On the distant highway, a man with a tattoo on both of his shoulders smoked a cheap brand of cigarettes. The man stared at the bustling crowd in front of the mall's gate. His gaze followed a young couple that went towards a dark alley.
The cigarette lit up and burned faster as the man inhaled a mouthful.