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“Feng Zhengqing?”
Chen Luo quietly uttered this name.
This is a king-level big shot, a regional overlord.
He also has some promising subordinates, though they might not be at the king level, they are all level ten.
Level ten is considered among the elite of the elite.
Chen Luo remembers Feng Zhengqing as someone with a bold and generous character.
Chen Luo’s goal is to gather a group of elites to face the challenges of this post-apocalyptic world, and a king-level ability user is certainly worth knowing.
Lei Hao forced a smile and said, “Brother Chen Luo, it was my mistake. I will give you twenty tons of rice and one ton of oil from the materials we obtained yesterday.”
Chen Luo, is someone he really can’t afford to provoke, even though Feng Zhengqing said he’d cover for him. He doesn’t want to offend Chen Luo either.
Lei Hao really wanted to give himself a slap. How could he forget to inform Chen Luo? Going against the agreement on his own is an offense.
Just at that moment, one of Lei Hao’s men reported with a happy tone, “Boss, Feng Zhengqing and his group have arrived.”
As a newcomer, Feng Zhengqing needed to gather information about the local powers and figure out who’s who in the area. Even though he wasn’t afraid, it was necessary to gather information.
Chen Luo was the biggest power in the vicinity, and he was incredibly high-profile. He was openly recruiting and making his presence known.
You didn’t need to dig too deep to find out. Just a casual question would reveal the truth. Moreover, Lei Hao had informed Feng Zhengqing about it yesterday.
Feng Zhengqing was quite astonished, finding that Chen Luo’s recruiting conditions were even stricter than his.
What was even more surprising was that Chen Luo had proactively established a base outside the city. Having both strength and foresight, he seemed prepared for any contingency.
Feng Zhengqing got wind of Chen Luo’s arrival in the vicinity and rushed over, hoping to make his acquaintance. He was in his thirties, with a square face, and he was an affable person.
“Are you Chen Luo, the one with a booming reputation? I’ve just arrived, and I hope you can forgive me for any inconvenience,” he greeted.
He continued, “Yesterday, Lei Hao and I acquired around 600 tons of rice and other supplies. It was my mistake to seize your goods. I’m willing to distribute half of it back to you as compensation, a total of 300 tons of supplies. Would that be acceptable?”
So, without lifting a finger, Chen Luo obtained 300 tons of supplies. Feng Zhengqing chuckled and said, “Supplies, for people like you and me, aren’t a rarity. You can have as much as you want, or I can give you the whole lot if you think it’s too little.”
Chen Luo smiled, “You’re quite generous, so I’ll gladly take the 300 tons.”
Feng Zhengqing suggested, “I genuinely want to make friends with you. How about coming over to my place for lunch? I’ll prepare a grand feast for you.”
The members of Feng Zhengqing’s group looked at him in surprise, unsure why he suddenly made this offer.
Chen Luo was curious to see if Feng Zhengqing is serious, he would of course accept, he was eager to seize this opportunity.
Chen Luo agreed with a smile, and he sent his other men back, leaving only Leng Chen, Su Dazhu, and a few others to accompany him.
Feng Zhengqing praised him, “Brother Chen, you’re brave and fearless. You don’t even fear me.”
Chen Luo gave a faint smile, “If you dare to entertain any ill intentions, you probably don’t want to live anymore.”
Chen Luo followed Feng Zhengqing to his temporary base. Feng Zhengqing remarked, “The conditions here are a bit crude.”
Feng Zhengqing ordered his men, “Prepare some fine dishes and cook all those vegetables.”
One of Feng Zhengqing’s men expressed concern, “Brother, isn’t this a bit excessive? We don’t have much to begin with.”
Feng Zhengqing stared at him, “I told you to do it, so do it.”
Reluctantly, the man went to prepare the vegetables.
Chen Luo looked at Feng Zhengqing’s men and noticed that two of them seemed familiar, but he couldn’t recall their names.
The two individuals, a man and a woman, appeared to be around twenty years old.
The man seemed to have Earth-based abilities, while the woman had powers related to Nature.
Both of them appeared to be future Level 10 ability users.
At Level 10, they might even have the potential to reach the King-level, but due to the limited resources, not all Level 10 individuals could advance to the King-level.
Advancing to King-level required both talent and an adequate supply of crystals.
Chen Luo was curious about Feng Zhengqing’s intentions for inviting him. It couldn’t be just about making friends, could it?
Soon, the first dish was served.
They had served cucumber salad, a rather ordinary dish. However, considering the current times, maintaining the freshness of cucumbers was not easy.
Chen Luo examined the cucumber and found it remarkably fresh. It clearly hadn’t expired. This surprised him. Where did these cucumbers come from? Were they grown here?
It seemed likely. Chen Luo realized that someone else had managed to cultivate vegetables earlier than he did. This discovery left him amazed, and Feng Zhengqing appreciated his astonished expression.
Next, they served a dish of sautéed greens. Chen Luo cautiously asked, “These vegetables were all grown here, right?”
This surprised Feng Zhengqing. How did he figure that out? He didn’t hide it and admitted, “Yes, I grew them.”
Feng Zhengqing introduced a natural element female ability user that Chen Luo had noticed before. “Her name is Ouyang Lu, and she has already reached the fourth level in the natural ability. Lu, summon your grass elemental spirit for Brother Chen to see.”
Ouyang Lu reluctantly muttered, “Okay,” as she summoned a small, palm-sized, green elemental spirit.
Chen Luo squinted his eyes, recognizing it as a grass elemental spirit. These spirits were beneficial for cultivation, which explained how they could grow these vegetables.
Growing crops was not an easy task, and many failures were involved in the process. Without the post-apocalyptic planting experience, it was challenging to achieve success.
However, having a grass elemental spirit changed the game by ensuring the survival of the vegetation to a significant extent.
Mengyin’s most significant ability was to improve seeds, increasing yield and survival rates. On the other hand, Ouyang Lu could ensure the survival rates of crops but was more limited in her abilities.
Think of it this way: Mengyin was like a wholesaler, while Ouyang Lu was more like a retailer. Mengyin could support and provide for an entire base, possibly even selling surplus, while Ouyang Lu could only sustain a smaller group of people.
The dishes kept coming one after another: spicy and sour potato shreds, cold noodles, stir-fried greens, smashed cucumber, sausage stir-fry, canned luncheon meat, ham, and canned mackerel—a balanced mix of meats and vegetables.
The meat dishes weren’t particularly rare, and they weren’t fresh, but the vegetables were indeed quite exceptional. Ouyang Lu looked at the dishes and couldn’t help but swallow saliva, even though she had grown them. The yield was minimal, and she hadn’t enjoyed them very often, only having a taste each time. Each time, it was only one dish.
She sighed, wondering why they were treating a stranger so luxuriously. Couldn’t she have a proper meal?
But as she was there to discuss matters with Chen Luo, and Fei Zhengqing couldn’t resist enjoying these vegetables either.
Fei Zhengqing smiled and said, “How do you like it, Brother Chen? These vegetables are quite rare. To be blunt, you probably rarely get to taste them, right?”
Fresh vegetables—how many people had the luxury of enjoying them? Fei Zhengqing felt his words were polite, but he could have said, “It’s nearly impossible for you to enjoy them,” instead of saying “quite rare.” After all, without Ouyang Lu, he wouldn’t get to eat these at all.
Chen Luo chuckled and admitted, “You’re right; it’s quite rare for me to enjoy dishes like these.”