Flowers Bloom

After seeing the shopping group out the door, Cao Shu Tong, by the light of the doorway, looked at the scene after the mosquito army had passed.
Nothing seemed to have changed; grass was still grass, trees were still trees.
And she would continue her life.
Cao Shu Tong spent her days tending to the vegetable garden and fish pond, petting cats in her space, planting vegetables, and training. Her days passed richly and beautifully.
Who knew that this dark world would once again welcome light, albeit faint, but there was light!
Unlike Guang Yu which illuminated the entire world, at least most people saw it.
After the mosquito army passed, N City residents rarely went out. Even if they did, it was for urgent matters. Most of the time, they stayed home, planting vegetables and doing chores, trying to make the most of every inch of their homes to improve their lives.
Moreover, the land outside had long been abandoned after Yong Ye arrived; planting seeds simply wouldn't survive, so no one planted them.
Later, when N City organized everyone to plant vegetables at home, even fewer people thought of using the land outside.
Not to mention the subsequent Guang Yu and Hei Yu, which further depressed the farmers' spirits. Everyone became more "homebody," only liking to plant vegetables at home.
When Hei Yu was intense, everyone's water supply was cut off. After Hei Yu stopped, water supply was immediately restored, but every household had already gotten used to storing water.
Even on the day she went to the market, she heard that some families wanted to build water towers to guard against situations like Hei Yu.
Cao Shu Tong thought to herself, no wonder when she went to the market and passed by others, she always smelled a sour, stale odor, as if they hadn't bathed in a long time. It seemed she hadn't been wrong then!
It was true that some people weren't bathing. Fortunately, she had her own space and had stored a lot of water beforehand, so she didn't worry about lacking water.
Thinking of Hei Yu, Cao Shu Tong thought of the fast-growing plants under Hei Yu's nourishment. These plants didn't flower or bear fruit, only growing branches and leaves, a situation that made everyone despair.
Even if plants grew on the land outside, if they didn't flower or bear fruit, what harvest was there to speak of?
As far as she knew, fewer and fewer families were eating rice and noodles now, especially those living in the city, who didn't have the habit of storing rice and noodles. Currently, they mainly relied on potatoes and sweet potatoes as their staple food.
Fortunately, in the small town she was in, everyone still had the habit of growing rice. Each family at least had several thousand catties of unhusked rice, enough to last at least a year. Not to mention some families also grew wheat, often mixing rice and noodles, so they weren't short on food.
Aunt Cao told her all this. That day, didn't she buy a lot of things at the market? She happened to meet Aunt Cao bringing her grandson home.
Aunt Cao's little grandson drooled at Cao Shu Tong's meat buns. Thinking that Aunt Cao usually treated Cao Shu Tong quite well, even giving her a chicken drumstick last time, saying it was from her own chickens. This time, upon meeting, Cao Shu Tong directly gave Aunt Cao five buns.
Aunt Cao's family happened to have five people, so one corn bun per person was just right. These farming families weren't short on food. It was Aunt Cao who told her not to be soft-hearted and lend food to others, to avoid being cheated, as it was easy to lend but hard to get back.
Although Cao Shu Tong herself wouldn't lend food to others, she still thanked Aunt Cao for her good intentions.
Since going to the market, Cao Shu Tong had been going out frequently again. Except for the period when the mosquito army was rampant, she basically went out for a stroll every day, mainly to collect some wild animals into her space.
These wild animals might, like the Guang Yu and Hei Yu collected into her space before, help her space expand.
But she walked around outside every day and truly saw no trace of animals.
If she had known this, she would have collected that family of snakes into her space earlier. Unexpectedly, now she couldn't even find them. She wondered where these wild animals had run off to.
The wild animals sold online were already processed, not alive, so she could only continue her daily routine of going out for a stroll.
Spending more time outside, she had more opportunities to meet people in town. During this time, Cao Shu Tong felt that the residents of this town were generally quite simple and straightforward, without much cunning.
Sometimes, besides meeting acquaintances, she would also greet them.
The reason she said the world was once again welcoming light was because she saw flowers blooming.
Yes, those trees had bloomed.
This day, she went out for her usual stroll, walking quite far from home, when she suddenly saw something white amidst the branches. Getting closer to look carefully, it turned out there wasn't just one!
She gradually approached a very large tree. These trees, after being nourished by Hei Yu, had become unrecognizable from their original forms. At least Cao Shu Tong didn't recognize what kind of tree it was.
She saw that this tree was covered with tiny, lovely white flower buds, emitting a faint light.
Cao Shu Tong turned off her headlamp and was rewarded with a dreamlike scene. The tree was like a divine tree, covered with clusters of small flowers. These flower buds also emitted a sparkling light, like fireflies, except this light wasn't green like fireflies, but pure white, making it appear even more sacred and beautiful.
It formed a stark contrast with the inky black night and the inky black tree trunk, creating a sense of taboo, as if demons and gods coexisted.
She stared blankly at the tree, not knowing how to express herself, not knowing if these flowers would cause new turmoil.
Thinking of the death toll announced after the mosquito army passed, Cao Shu Tong didn't know what to think.
Things that had never happened in her previous life were all happening now. Even N City suffered heavy casualties, which made her wonder if her previous life was truly real.
The difference was simply too great, and too many lives were lost. Was her previous life just a dream?
The sheer number of flower buds before her eyes dazzled Cao Shu Tong. These flowers bloomed right before her.
The pure white buds rapidly expanded, and after reaching their peak, they burst open, successfully blooming.
Of course, as the flowers opened, their light also grew brighter and brighter, like many small light bulbs gradually increasing in brightness, becoming even more beautiful.
Cao Shu Tong stared at this scene, deeply feeling that she was probably dreaming.
She shook her head, trying to clear her mind.
She suddenly wondered if this flower show would have pollen, and if the pollen was poisonous?
She immediately turned and ran home, afraid that this pollen might be poisonous and harm her.
Although she always wore a protective suit when going out, who knew if it would be effective against this pollen!
At least from the mosquito incident, the protective suit was useless against mosquitoes, offering no defense at all.