Apocalypse: Last Traveler-Chapter 374 - 353: East Island Gains, Hu Xiaodong’s Transformation

Chapter 374: Chapter 353: East Island Gains, Hu Xiaodong’s Transformation

Tang Er kept looking up at the mountain top, so he quickly saw Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei standing on the eastern cliff, smiled at the top, but made no other movements.

——He had two shoulder poles on his shoulders, with four buckets hanging from them, so his hands were too occupied to wave.

So he said something to the others, and then Luo Ping and the others all raised their hands and waved.

Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei also waved back. Lu Xi’an said, "Let’s go down and wait for them to see what they’ve brought."

The two went down the mountain to the East Coast. The large fish in the sea swam quickly, and in no time, came back to the shore to meet Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei.

The crowd jumped off the fish’s back, and looking back, the large fish school surged, splashing with waves, swimming far away into the depths of the sea.

"Is it easy to ride these fish? It feels like their backs are very slippery, and you might fall off if you’re not careful."

Lu Xi’an said.

Luo Ping said, "We have to thank Liu Hua. Her skills are so well-developed that she can make those fish cooperate with us.

"At first, we fell into the water once or twice, but later, as those big fish gradually understood our body shape and movements, they carried us without any issues.

"Her skills are extremely good. I never thought she could control these big fish so precisely."

Liu Hua smiled shyly and humbly said, "It’s not all about the fish, you all were also gradually adjusting your movements to adapt to riding the fish, which made it much easier for me."

Luo Ping said, "Alright, stop being modest. Regardless, it was you who first managed to control the fish school, which allowed us to gradually adjust and adapt."

After finishing this topic, Luo Ping turned to another topic.

Seeing Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei both looking into the buckets, he said, "Big brother and sister, have a look to see if there’s anything you can use. Thanks to Mr. Hu, we were able to get so many good things.

"We got a lot of seeds, as well as clay pots, bowls, salt, and dried fish. These are easy to trade; we gave them the cigarettes and Small Coin and Big Coin you provided, and they sold to us.

"They can make these themselves, and salt can also be dried by the sea, so there’s no shortage of it.

"It was the hoe blade that took a lot of effort to negotiate—they lack iron on the island and are reluctant to let ironware flow out, even if we promised to bring some scrap iron back to them after initially taking some hoe blades.

"In the end, it was Mr. Hu’s guarantee that made them believe we would keep our promise to bring iron back, or let the blacksmith find him if we couldn’t, that allowed us to trade for some hoe blades.

"We urgently need these; once we fit the hoe handles, we can expand the planting area without having to wait in line for hoes."

Lu Xi’an nodded and said, "That’s great. But what’s the deal with Mr. Hu you mentioned?"

"It’s Hu Xiaodong."

Luo Ping said, "He’s now also a committee member on East Mountain. He told us that there was a temporary special committee spot added there just for him.

"During the next election, this spot will be removed, and a committee member will not be re-elected.

"Haha! Their family’s name is interesting, Hu Xiaodong Hu Dong Hu Xiaodong Hu Dong, they have more names than they can use.

"But anyway, their names are much better than ours.

"We’ve also learned a lot and need to learn more from those on East Island. We can’t name people Liu Hua, Tang Er, Chou Nu, Yao anymore; we need to choose culturally meaningful names in the future."

When Luo Ping finished speaking, Liu Hua, Tang Er, and Chai Xin all nodded seriously, feeling that what Luo Ping said made sense.

Shu said, "Didn’t your family just have a baby? How about naming him Jian Village?

"Brother Luo, didn’t you say that once we develop, you plan to migrate from Shanyang County to settle in a village by the river? Then using the name Jian Village would be meaningful.

"In the future, if you have another child, you can call him Xing Village, Wang Village, Wei Village, or even Village Xing, Village Wang."

Luo Ping grinned and said, "You’re sharp, Shu. You thought of so many names at once. Great, let’s go with your suggestion."

Lu Xi’an: "..."

Regarding the topic of migration, he had heard Luo Ping mention it casually when they were on the mountain top before.

Luo Ping said that people are hiding in the city because it’s relatively large, with complex buildings, making it easier to hide, which is why people are based around towns.

Actually, relatively speaking, the best places to settle are villages by the river. But rivers are places where travelers often pass through, making the environment relatively dangerous, so generally, people don’t choose there.

As for why powerful individuals like Boss Liang, Xu, and Xuan Xiaocao haven’t moved to the riverside and insist on staying in the city, it was simply due to habit and neglect.

They’ve been used to city living from the beginning and don’t bother questioning why they live in these places.

After all, they don’t do the work themselves; the regular people they see as servants do the hard labor, like fetching water across long distances, so it doesn’t matter to them.

Therefore, they don’t bother to think about changing places. Plus, village houses don’t seem as impressive as city ones, so why would they move?

But Luo Ping and his group are different. They genuinely want to develop their home, making life better for both Neo-Humans and ordinary people, so these things must be considered.

Once they have enough strength to protect themselves or gain enough fame, they are bound to migrate towards the riverside.

Therefore, their current cultivation and planting of fields is also planned. They plant a small portion first and then choose a location by the riverside for the next step of their plan.

——All of this has already started to be implemented. Now, everyone’s abilities have made a qualitative leap, and Luo Ping and the others are already considering the migration plans.

With the plan in place, reclaiming wasteland and expanding the planting scale is naturally a certainty.

So now, when they come over and see the hoes, they insist on buying some.

Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei took a look in the bucket and saw it was filled with iron hoe blades. Tang Er’s rattan box on his back was open, revealing many clay bowls and cups. The clay bowls also contained sea salt, but they weren’t full, probably to prevent spillage from jolts.

Besides that, everyone else was also holding clay basins, which also contained bowls and salt.

These things are indeed essential needs for the 923 Base.

Currently, the 923 Base is also seriously short of cups and bowls.

Everyone drinks directly from the faucet, and for meals, they eat with their hands. As for the clay basins, Lu Xi’an can think of many practical uses for them.

With these ceramics, the quality of life for all of Luo Ping and his people will indeed rise to a higher level.

Lu Xi’an smiled and said, "It’s still thanks to you all. Since we don’t live in Pingchuan City, we didn’t think of these details. When going to the East Island, we only thought about getting more food and seeds, and didn’t think to take these necessities."

Then he recalled the six clay basins sent by Hu Xiaodong and his father: "We also have six clay basins here that we don’t usually use. You can leave one for us and take the rest."

Luo Ping wasn’t shy and said, "Then, Brother, we really appreciate it.

"Besides, Brother, you shouldn’t say that. Without you and Sister, we wouldn’t have been able to connect with the East Island.

"And if it weren’t for you, Brother, Hu Xiaodong wouldn’t have become a member of the East Island Committee. Without him as a member, negotiating on the island would have been much more difficult. Having him there has definitely made things easier for us."

"..."

Lu Xi’an was silent for a moment and then said, "When I left before, I thought Hu Xiaodong might use the things I left on the island to make some moves and possibly become an official.

"But I didn’t expect he actually did it, becoming a committee member on the island. How did he manage that?"

Luo Ping said, "Hu Xiaodong didn’t tell us exactly how he did it. He just said it was thanks to the five packs of cigarettes you left him and the hole you punched in the courtyard wall.

"Also, the things you and Sister taught him: to be kind and gracious to others, never to bully the weak even with great strength, and to earn sincere respect from others.

"He said he relied on these things to scare people off when they came looking for trouble, and later gradually persuaded many people, gaining their support. After becoming a committee member, he earned the genuine goodwill of many islanders.

"Anyway, after we got to the island, we did find that to be the case. The people on the island showed Hu Xiaodong and his father much respect and were quite close to them, much more than to other committee members.

"If it were other committee members, that ironworker called Yuan Old Iron wouldn’t have agreed to bring out the hoe blades first.

"Only Hu Xiaodong, with his words and commitments, made it happen."

"I see."

Lu Xi’an nodded, "In that case, that’s good. At least the contingency I left on the island didn’t have any bad outcomes. I was wondering why Hu Xiaodong and his father didn’t visit the island as frequently as before; turns out they were busy being officials on the island."

Luo Ping laughed and said, "That actually works out well. The East Island is a good place, and with someone like Hu Xiaodong, things will be easier for us on the island.

"Brother, we plan to visit the East Island frequently in the future. We can learn and borrow from their development. Hmm... we should also carefully look at their shortcomings and learn from their mistakes.

"And we can also strengthen our exchange of resources. There are things they lack and plenty of things we need. Cooperating with each other would be beneficial, no?"

"You can make those decisions yourself."

Lu Xi’an said as he helped carry some things.

Everyone picked up their things and chatted casually as they headed up the mountain.

The sun gradually rose higher, casting a shimmering veil over the sea. As they reached halfway up the mountain and looked back over the edge, they couldn’t help but admire the view.

"This place is really nice."

Old Shu sighed with emotion.

Luo Ping said, "Nice as it is, you can’t stay. Your family needs you, Master Shu."

Chai Xin said, "Brother Luo, this is the first time you’re calling Master Shu ’Master Shu’, isn’t it?"

"Hmph!"

Old Shu cast an unfriendly glance at Luo Ping and snorted coldly.