Chapter 147 Seedlings in the Sandy Soil

Jack hurried over to the eight boxes and finally got a clear look inside.

Sprouts had pushed up through the sandy soil. They were still tiny, but their bright green stood out sharply against the gray-yellow ground. Jack stared at them, speechless for a moment.

"What's going on here?"

Several refugees nearby heard him and came over.

"Chen planted these," one of them said. "Some seeds we found here, and some potatoes."

Jack pointed at the soil. "But how could sand like this make anything sprout? It shouldn't be possible!"

One of the refugees who had helped with the planting thought for a moment. "We found some gray-white powder. The bags had pictures of plants on them, so Chen mixed it into the soil."

"Gray-white powder?"

It sounded familiar, but Jack couldn't place it.

"We brought some over to trade before," another refugee reminded him.

Then Jack remembered. Wayne had once asked someone to call him over to look at the things the refugees had brought to trade, and this powder had been among them. Wayne hadn't known what it was for, either.

Walter came over and looked down at the sprouts. "Besides the powder, did you do anything else?"

The refugee shook his head. "No, we just watered them every day."

Jack and Walter exchanged a look.

"It's probably the powder that did it," Jack said, looking at the sprouts.

Walter nodded.

Jack turned to the refugees at once. "Is there any more of that powder?"

"Yes." One of them pointed toward the back of the warehouse. "There's a lot more back there."

Jack looked at the one who had answered him. "Take me to see it."

The man agreed and led him toward the back. On the way, Jack asked casually, "What's your name, by the way?"

"Oscar."

Jack nodded and said nothing more. They passed several rows of shelves and reached an area deep inside the warehouse, where Oscar stopped in front of a pile of bags and brushed the dust off the top one. "These are it."

Jack stepped closer. Dozens of bags of gray-white powder were stacked neatly together, the packaging printed with images of plants and soil.

"It's not just here," Oscar said, pointing to the other side of the warehouse. "There's more in other places."

Jack studied the bags for a while, lost in thought, and then the two of them walked back to the front. He went to a CUEV parked outside and contacted the trading post. After a short wait, Elias's voice came through.

"Jack, what's up?"

Jack told him about the eight boxes. "There's a lot more of it here. Send some people over and we'll start moving it back."

"All right. I'll arrange it now."

When the call ended, Jack didn't head back. He returned to the warehouse to wait for the people from the trading post. Walter was already organizing the RCCUs and installation parts with a few helpers, and Jack had meant to lend a hand, but when he got closer he saw that plenty of refugees were already crowded around and nobody needed him.

He stopped and looked around. The clutter that used to be scattered everywhere had been moved elsewhere, leaving only the shelves that formed the makeshift enclosure and a few boxes nobody had dealt with yet. The warehouse felt much emptier than before, though the floor was still covered in dust and footprints.

"You don't need this many people to install RCCUs," Jack said, waving over several refugees nearby. "Send some of them out for water and wash the floor. Make it clean, and it'll be more comfortable for everyone."

They nodded, and a few quickly picked up buckets and cleaning tools and headed out.

Jack pointed at the broken windows and the entrance. "Have some others board up those windows. Seal the extra gaps at the entrance too, and if you can find suitable materials, build a door that opens and closes properly." He turned to Oscar. "The rest of you, go with Oscar and help me move that powder. When the people from the trading post get here, help them load it."

"All right."

They scattered. Some went for water, some began searching for materials to seal the windows and entrance, and a few followed Oscar into the depths of the warehouse. The place was busy again. Jack stood watching for a moment, and his eyes drifted back to the eight planting boxes in the corner.

As he stared at the sprouts, a bold idea suddenly occurred to him.

If plain sandy soil mixed with this powder could make seeds and potatoes sprout, what about the sand outside? If he worked it into the ground around the convenience store and the agricultural supply center, maybe things would grow there too.

Not now, of course. The temperature outside was still terrifying. But once the heat wave ended, it might be worth trying.

The more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed.

There were still some seeds in the convenience store's warehouse. Most were for ornamental plants, but they were still plants, and anything that could survive in this wasteland would be better than nothing. If worse came to worst, he still had potatoes. If it really worked on a large scale, he could start a planting area around the convenience store. The agricultural supply center had more room, with plenty of open ground outside the warehouse, so they could pick a separate spot there for experiments.

Then Jack remembered the ornamental bamboo still sitting on the second floor of the store, a gift from the gas station owner on opening day. After all this time, it was still up there. If he moved it outside and added the powder to the sandy soil, maybe it would take root too. And once it worked, any other food-crop seeds they found later could be planted on a larger scale.

His eyes fell on the green sprouts again. They were still so small that he couldn't tell what they were, but that touch of green against the gray-yellow soil was impossible to ignore.

Standing beside the boxes, Jack began to picture the convenience store surrounded by plants, the bare sand covered in patches of green, the cracked wasteland no longer stretching empty in every direction.

Then he thought of the withered trees near the store. Who knew how many years ago they had died? The trunks were split and dry, and the branches didn't have a single leaf. But if he scattered the powder around their roots and watered them regularly, would they come back to life? Even if only one did, it would be worth trying.

Jack was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the footsteps behind him.

Dale, Roy, and Cass came in through the warehouse entrance. They found Jack standing motionless in front of the planting boxes and exchanged puzzled looks.

Dale walked up behind him. "Jack?"

No response.

Roy and Cass looked at each other.

Dale raised his voice. "Jack!"

Jack finally snapped out of it. He turned, saw the three of them, and said without thinking, "Oh, you're here."

"What were you thinking about?" Cass asked, baffled. "Dale called you several times."

Jack waved a hand. "I'll tell you when we get back. First, let's get that powder moved."

By then, Oscar had brought a number of refugees carrying bags of the powder. They loaded the bags into the cargo bed of a CUEV one by one, and soon it was mostly full. Dale and the others didn't ask any more questions and went to help.

After several more bags, Jack looked at the cargo bed, which had little room left.

"That's enough for today. We'll deal with the rest later."

"All right," Dale said.

Roy and Cass loaded the last two bags and tied everything down with rope so nothing would fall off along the way. Once they were sure it was secure, the three climbed into the CUEVs.

Jack stood outside the warehouse and watched the vehicles leave the agricultural supply center, one after another. Only when they had disappeared from sight did he turn to the refugees who remained.

He walked over to them and told them what he had been thinking.

"Once the heat wave passes, you can pick a small patch of ground and try it."

The refugees looked at one another. They all thought it was worth a shot.

One of them hesitated. "But there aren't any more seeds here. If we plant potatoes, we won't have enough to eat."

"Don't worry," Jack said. "I'll provide them."

When he heard that Jack would supply the potatoes, the man nodded. "All right."

The others began discussing which patch of sand to use for the experiment once the heat wave ended.

Jack thought for a moment, then pointed outside the agricultural supply center. "There are plenty of withered trees around here, aren't there? You can try those too and see if anything changes."

They followed his finger. Outside the warehouse, there were indeed many trees that had dried up long ago.

One of them thought it over and nodded. "We could try under those first. Maybe they really will come back to life."

"Right," Jack said. "There are a few withered trees near my place, too. I'm planning to scatter some under them when I get back. It doesn't take much effort. It doesn't take much effort. All it needs is a little water every day."

While Jack was talking with them, Walter came over from the other side of the warehouse.

"The RCCU positions are settled, and the first sockets and wiring are planned," Walter said. "They can handle things here for now. We should go back and get ready to run the cable tonight."

Jack nodded.

He said goodbye to the refugees, and he and Walter left the warehouse and drove a CUEV back to the settlement.