"These lands belong to the nation, not just the base. Why should we have to pay for them?"
"The way the base is handling this is ugly. Why doesn't Ignatius claim the whole world belongs to him?"
"He should distribute it evenly among each household. Charging money is too hurtful. No wonder so many people don't want to stay in the base."
The public outcry was loud, and Ignatius stepped forward to explain, "There are still plenty of wastelands outside the base. Those lands are not under the jurisdiction of the base, and you are free to choose to cultivate them."
Even so, there were still dissatisfied people.
"It's too dangerous outside the base. What if the crops we grow get stolen? We can't even see them. It's safer inside the base."
"Exactly, there's plenty of land inside the base. Why not let us cultivate it?"
"Shouldn't the base enact other policies to protect our interests?"
"We, as the masses, are the foundation of the base. The base should prioritize us. What does it mean to exploit us everywhere?"
Alice walked along the road, hearing many people criticizing. After listening, she felt extremely speechless.
There's no pleasing everyone. The base has done everything it can. These people will never be satisfied.
Alice shook her head and walked to her own vegetable plot. Today when she came, she found that seedlings had sprouted.She noticed that the soil was moist, obviously someone had watered it for her.She couldn't help but look at Hunter's plot not far away. It was also wet, indicating that he had helped water it.
Alice then went back home.
Ten days later, the seedlings in the vegetable plots were over ten centimeters tall and growing well.
Not only her plot, but everyone else's vegetables were growing nicely too.As everyone eagerly anticipated their harvest, a massive typhoon silently approached.
On this day, Ignatius stole a moment of leisure in the garden, sipping tea while indulging in a green bean cake procured by Hurley from goodness knows where, enjoying the fragrance of the flowers in peace.
Before long, dark clouds obscured the sun, snuffing out all light, leaving only a pervasive darkness.
"Looks like a heavy rain is coming," Ignatius remarked, gazing up at the thickening clouds and noticing distant flashes of lightning.
Immediately, Ignatius ordered the crowds to return home; a fierce storm was imminent.
The base's broadcast sounded repeatedly.
Members of the Allen family hurried home as well, but Alice was caught halfway as the typhoon struck.
Gale-force winds and torrential rain sent everything flying; those of slight build could only cling to trees, struggling to move forward.
The wind was too strong for umbrellas; Alice had to rely on her large hat, one hand clutching the brim as she dashed towards home.By the time she reached home, she was thoroughly drenched, the roaring winds instilling fear.
"Quick, get out of those wet clothes," Blanche hastily pulled her inside and shut the door.
In the brief moment the door was open, Alexander's hair was whipped into disarray.
"The typhoon came out of nowhere, without any warning," Blanche complained, "Such a pity for my vegetables; they probably won't survive this typhoon."
Atticus was also furious; after all, he had put in a lot of effort into those vegetables, his expression as dark as the sky outside. "It seems like whenever we start to settle down and enjoy some peace, something like this happens."
"Dad, we live in a coastal area; typhoons are common here. In the past, with advanced technology, we could track the trajectory and path of typhoons. Now, without that capability, we just have to be more prepared ourselves," Arnold reassured.Alice remained calm; natural disasters were not going to end anytime soon, only to follow one after another. The vegetables they had planted were likely not going to make it.
"I told you it wasn't worth the effort. The vegetables that managed to survive are now wasted. If only you had listened to me, we wouldn't have incurred this loss," Alexander shrugged.
"Shut your mouth! It's all because of your laziness. If you had been diligent in helping with watering and fertilizing, we would have been eating from the garden long ago," Atticus snapped at him, his anger flaring up at the sight of Alexander. Without any sense of reason, he placed the blame squarely on him.
Alexander muttered, "...6."
*Bam Bam Bam~*
Outside, things were being blown down by the typhoon, creating loud noises. Even the windows were shaking. Blanche looked on anxiously. "I hope this house can withstand the typhoon; I'm really afraid it might collapse."
It wasn't just her being pessimistic; she could faintly feel the house trembling. Even the door was shaking, making it impossible to feel at ease.
"It should be fine," Atticus pondered.
While they had brought everything from outside into the house, they could still hear the sounds of things breaking or falling in other people's yards. The air was filled with continuous curses.
"Can you move any faster? Get those things inside before they get blown away by the typhoon!"
"I can't rely on any of you. You're all quick to eat but slow at work, clumsy with your hands."
"I told you to hurry up, but you're as lazy as a mule. Did anything break yet?"
Hearing the yelling and shouting, Alice felt a headache coming on. She decided to take out her tablet and watch some shows.
The other members of the Allen family were occupied with their own tasks. No one knew how long the typhoon would last, and everyone was filled with worry and anxiety.Ignatius, clad in a raincoat, was outside helping people salvage what they could from the garden. They picked all the edible vegetables and brought them back home, while the ones they couldn't eat were also taken inside. They planned to replant them after the typhoon passed.
As the typhoon grew stronger, those who couldn't salvage their crops watched helplessly as their vegetables were blown away, on the verge of tears.
Wiping the rain off his face, Ignatius said, "Why cry? Take whatever you can and hurry up; the rain is getting heavier."
Even those who were usually slow in their movements were forced to hurry. They frantically pulled out seedlings and threw them into baskets.
Twenty minutes later, the skies opened up with a torrential downpour.
"Stop, it's time to go back," Ignatius immediately shouted.
But nobody listened. They couldn't bear to abandon the seedlings they had worked so hard to grow.
Seeing their persistence, Ignatius felt helpless. He knew how much effort they had put into the fields. This typhoon caught them off guard, and the base's technology was insufficient to detect it.
"What's more important, seedlings or your health? If you get sick from being soaked, there won't be enough medicine in the base to treat you," Ignatius exclaimed, growing frustrated as he shouted once again.
Finally, they stopped, shouldered their baskets, and left, casting backward glances as they ran.
The remaining seedlings were battered by the rain, lying forlornly on the ground, a sight that pained Ignatius to see.
Hurley had just put on his raincoat, preparing to go out and find Ignatius, when he saw him rushing back in a hurry.
"Why did it take you so long to come back? I was just about to go find you," Hurley furrowed his brows lightly, taking the basket from Ignatius' hands.
"I went to help them salvage the crops. There are still many seedlings in the field. I'll have to go back once the rain eases up a bit."
Now that seedlings were scarce, they couldn't afford to waste them. If necessary, they would plant them in pots first and divide them later.
"Go take a shower first; I've heated up some hot water for you," Hurley said, seeing Ignatius soaked through, hastily offering assistance.