Wasteland Development Diary

Like most street children, Qin Shu didn't know why he was abandoned, nor who his parents were. But he was lucky, having been left outside a restaurant in Sandport City.

The weather was mild at the time, so he didn't get sick, nor was he snatched away by wild dogs. He even met Old Mo, who adopted him.

Old Mo was already very old when Qin Shu had memories.

He didn't know how old Old Mo was, maybe forty or fifty, maybe sixty or seventy. But Old Mo never talked about it.

When outsiders asked, Old Mo always said, "I'm only thirty, still got strength, just look older because I work too hard."

Qin Shu thought Old Mo was definitely more than thirty.

Because he always trembled when moving tables and goods, looking very strained. Old Mo would pant non-stop when doing heavy work, and cough a lot, and his back would ache for days afterwards.

Old Mo worked at "Vanilla Restaurant," specializing in handling all kinds of garbage and cleaning, wiping tables, mopping floors, and cleaning the kitchen. It was a very hard job.

But Old Mo liked doing it.

The benefit of working at the restaurant was being able to eat leftovers.

The leftover food that customers didn't want, according to restaurant rules, would be taken to the kitchen and shared among everyone.

Qin Shu grew up eating the leftovers from Vanilla Restaurant.

What he could eat each day was also unpredictable for him.

If he was unlucky, he could only drink soup. If he was a little luckier, he could eat beans and mushrooms. When he was extremely lucky, he could not only gnaw on bones with meat, but also have various candied fruits.

Compared to the street children mixing in the streets, he was very lucky. Old Mo rarely let him go hungry.

Old Mo's surname was Qin, so Qin Shu's surname was also Qin.

He said, "I used to have a son named Qin Shu, really, he was about the same age as when we found you. But his body was very weak, he coughed non-stop, but he was very well-behaved, he didn't cry even when he was so small, he smiled when he saw us. He was a very, very good child."

"The doctor said he had lung disease, which could be cured with medicine, but it cost 100,000 Gu. My wife and I couldn't afford 100,000 Gu, and our child eventually died. My wife also went crazy and fell to her death on the mountain."

"I've been in bad shape ever since, I lost my strength, my back hunched over, and I get tired easily. Fortunately, I found work at the restaurant, and I've been living like this. Sometimes I don't even know why I'm still alive, but I have to keep living."

Qin Shu felt sorry for him and promised, "Old Dad, I won't die, don't worry, I'll take care of you."

Old Mo just smiled, revealing his sparse, blackened teeth, with deep wrinkles on his face.

"Don't worry about me, Qin Shu, you have to live well."

When Qin Shu was 13 years old, Old Mo was already very clumsy at work, and he also emitted a foul, rotting smell. The restaurant fired him and let Qin Shu take over his work.

Old Mo coughed more and more severely, and he would cough up a lot of blood.

Qin Shu was very uneasy.

Could he earn enough 100,000 Gu to save Old Mo at a critical moment?

Qin Shu went to the doctor in Sandport City to ask about Old Mo's condition and learned that for Old Mo's condition, 100,000 Gu was only the expense for the first stage of treatment. There might be relapses and complications later, and the cost of treatment would definitely be higher than that.

But the restaurant's income was very meager. The only benefit was being able to eat leftovers for free, and even so, many people wanted to come.

Outside, the income of farming groups or craftsmen was higher. If he saved money for a few years, he might be able to save enough. But he couldn't go to those places to work because he didn't have the relevant skills and experience.

Just when Qin Shu was feeling anxious and helpless, he heard that the Wasteland Development Company in Mao Valley Town was recruiting workers, with a salary as high as 6,000 Gu per month. If he worked there, he could save enough money to treat Old Dad's illness.

There was also a hospital there that was open to employees for free for a year.

Treatment was free!

So Qin Shu carried Old Mo on his back and went to Emerald City with Cao Dayuan, who had come to recruit people.

Emerald City provided very good houses for employees to live in for free, and they didn't have to buy firewood for heating. The houses stayed warm for a long time, which was a great help to Old Mo, who was weak and afraid of the cold.

Qin Shu worked at the Photovoltaic Dam while taking Old Mo to Maria Hospital for treatment.

Dr. Da Vinci gave Old Mo a full body examination and determined his illness.

"The patient has a hereditary lung disease. According to imaging examinations, it has been determined that he is currently a critically ill patient and needs immediate hospitalization for treatment and intervention."

"Considering that the patient's bone age has reached 65 years old, and his body temperature and blood pressure are below normal levels, external oxygen supply is needed to maintain blood oxygen saturation."

"I will order a batch of targeted drugs to improve the patient's condition."

Qin Shu was absent-minded for several days.

The situation was more serious than he thought.

He went to the hospital ward to see Old Mo every day. Although Old Mo had a drip bottle hanging and a mask covering his face, he no longer looked so haggard and dry, and his complexion gradually became rosy.

After a month of treatment, Dr. Da Vinci told Qin Shu: "The patient's body temperature, heart rate, breathing rate and other indicators have all returned to normal ranges, and he can be discharged from the hospital."

"Remember to rest at home and avoid getting cold and tired."

"Remember to have regular check-ups."

Qin Shu only felt a little incredible.

Old Mo had indeed recovered. He coughed less, and the whole person visibly perked up.

Because he couldn't work hard, Old Mo could only tidy up the house and go out for walks. Later, he saw street vendors cooking chicken head soup, so he started trying to make it too.

Having worked in a restaurant for many years, he also learned some kitchen skills.

The soup Old Mo cooked was no worse than the ones outside.

Qin Shu saw that he had recovered, and he felt relieved and went to work on the dam every day.

One day Old Mo suddenly said: "Isn't the chairman advocating making some affordable food to sell to other places? I'll change this soup a bit, maybe it can be sold, so that everyone can afford it and eat it."

His method was also simple, which was to dry the chicken bones, beans, and mushrooms, grind them into powder, and then add a little salt, so that a bowl of soup could be made by pouring hot water. When going out, it could be packed in cloth bags and eaten at any time.

Qin Shu tasted it and found it bland.

"I think it would be better to cut the mushrooms into small pieces and keep the beans themselves, so that it has a better taste."

After repeated comparisons and attempts, the two of them figured out a recipe, including dried young cattails, dried seaweed, plus small dried mushroom particles and beans. Adding a little bit of salt made it a very delicious soup.

If you boil two more chicken bones in it, the taste will be even better.

But Qin Shu was still not very satisfied.

He grew up eating various leftovers from the restaurant, and he knew that a dish must have a core ingredient. The same is true for chicken head soup, the taste of different stores is different.

Like Vanilla Restaurant, the vanilla chicken inside is the signature dish. Vanilla is actually cattails and another wild grass with a refreshing fragrance.

But whether this wild grass has been soaked in anything, and why the taste is much richer than in the wild, only the boss knows. This is also a unique recipe, which is the foundation of the restaurant's maintenance.

Qin Shu felt that there must be a unique recipe to avoid being stolen by those cunning merchants.

He and Old Mo acted separately and tried many edible ingredients, but most of them had their own problems.

Like shellfish, it can increase the delicious taste, but it needs to be alive, which is very inconvenient to carry, and the price is expensive.

In the end, Old Mo found a secret ingredient.

Qin Shu couldn't believe it when he saw it.

"Eat this? Are you crazy? It will kill people."

"It's edible, you have to trust your old man."

Old Mo pointed to the thin, dry whiskers wrapped in linen: "I saw sand rats like to eat this. If they can eat it, we can eat it. Don't forget the skills I taught you."

"With this, the taste will be completely different."

He added the new material to the boiling soup, covered the lid, and after simmering for a while, he uncovered it. The aroma had a slight medicinal bitterness.

Qin Shu scooped a little soup with a wooden spoon, blew on it, and took a sip.

He hissed and took a breath, his eyes widened.

This soup actually had a strange sweetness. The soup immediately made the body feel hot and warm, and within a short period of time, he could feel full and energetic.

Old Mo chuckled and said, "How is it, not bad, right?"

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Qin Shu also admitted: "This is the best soup I've ever had."

There is only one problem.

The secret ingredient added to this soup is blast fungus.

To be precise, it is the mycelium of the blast fungus.

Old Mo said that he saw sand rats gnawing on gray-brown thread-like clusters of whiskers that had fallen on the ground outside the mushroom forest when he was looking for ingredients everywhere.

He found that these whiskers had fallen from the mushroom truck, and judging from the color and shape, they came from blast fungus. Local residents had been popularized by Cao Dayuan with various mushrooms to avoid them from touching these dangerous mushroom species.

For safety, Old Mo first collected some dried mycelium, and then put it on the trees in the oasis, which attracted birds to peck at it. They didn't have any problems after eating it.

The naturally detached mycelium of the blast fungus is very special. It has a bitter smell, but it tastes sweet.

So he added it to the soup and found that it unexpectedly matched and had a wonderful flavor.

This special vegetable soup is not only delicious, but also makes people's bodies quickly heat up and restore strength, which is very practical for workers.

Old Mo invited Cao Dayuan, who was also the person the father and son trusted most.

After tasting the secret hot soup, Cao Dayuan looked incredulous: "This soup is really good, what's it called?"

Old Mo and Qin Shu smiled at each other.

"Emerald Soup."

This recipe was developed in Emerald City. Old Mo wanted to dedicate it to the Wasteland Development Company to thank the company for giving Qin Shu a well-paid job and curing his serious illness.

But Cao Dayuan shook his head after hearing this: "No, the chairman told me that what you invent is yours. The company will at most operate this thing. I still have to ask the chairman about how the specific benefits are distributed."

"But I think, as long as you master the recipe and are not afraid of being stolen and imitated, you can try to sell it to the outside world. Now the company's trade is not only all over the surrounding cities, but also can be sent to the southern hub port Coral Mouth through the express delivery center. As long as it is a good thing, there is absolutely no worry about selling it in Coral Mouth."

Old Mo said: "Then try it first."

But he repeatedly emphasized that this Emerald Soup was Qin Shu's invention, and he was just an assistant.

Qin Shu knew that Old Dad was doing it for his own good.

"I'll go to Qian Su first and ask the couriers over there to help send it to Coral Mouth and find the electromechanical city over there to evaluate the goods. This is the fastest."

Cao Dayuan went in a hurry.

What the father and son didn't expect was that Emerald City received extremely high praise in Coral Mouth, and it was also very popular in the Sandport area, with a constant stream of buyers. Many merchants offered high prices to buy the recipe, and they surrounded them like flies every day.

Qin Shu was miserable and had to go home and hide after work every day.

Cao Dayuan came to visit again, but brought someone he had never expected.

The visitor was a young man with black hair and black eyes, wearing a simple chain jacket and a smile on his face.

He said: "You have done a great thing, it is really amazing."

"Chairman, why are you here..."

Qin Shu was a little at a loss for a moment.

Zhou Yi joked: "What, you don't welcome me?"

"Welcome, of course welcome!"

Qin Shu relaxed a little.

The chairman nodded: "I'll get straight to the point. The Emerald Soup you invented has a very high evaluation in Coral Mouth, reaching A level. They want to cooperate with us to promote this product to various cities. It has not yet been determined whether to cooperate. Your opinion is very important."

"...Chairman, whatever you say."

Qin Shu was a little cramped.

"I think we can cooperate, it is beneficial to everyone. But this is your recipe. I will follow the standards over at Holy Mountain. 5% of the 70-year patent rights... That is to say, within these 70 years, 5% of the income generated by the company selling Emerald Soup will belong to you. What do you think?"

"Okay."

Qin Shu nodded hastily.

The other party said again: "You can raise any conditions you have."

Qin Shu took a deep breath: "That, I don't know if I need money for medical treatment in the future... This money is only enough to treat my old dad. He is old. Although his illness has been cured, he still coughs now, and the situation is getting worse. Now he has gone to the hospital for a follow-up visit, and he should stay for two days of observation before coming back."

Zhou Yi was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "Don't worry, the company is currently developing well. Maria Hospital will be open to employees for free for a long time. There is no need to have any concerns about this."

Qin Shu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Actually, my old dad... is the one who invented the Emerald Soup."

He finally told the truth.

Because Qin Shu believed that Old Dad should be praised and respected by everyone for doing such a thing.

Zhou Yi was slightly surprised after hearing this: "So that's what happened."

He pondered for a moment.

"Qin Shu, I asked Da Vinci, there is only one way to completely eradicate your father's lung disease."

"We are considering doing a reinforced modification surgery for him, using light imprints to modify and strengthen his lungs. This surgery is now very mature and has a high success rate. We will invite doctors from Recursive City to synchronize with us here and choose reinforced modification or reinforced organ transplantation according to the actual situation."

"This will solve the problem from the root and completely free your father from his previous lung disease."

Qin Shu was stunned, then overjoyed: "Reinforced... that's great, that's great, Old Dad is saved! Thank you, thank you!"