The newspapers and radio of the Cecilians are very interesting things, and there are always various news from afar on them. When Bertila was still a human being, she was interested in these two new things. And when she became a plant, she became more enthusiastic about these two things.
After all, as a plant, she has lost the ability to travel far away.
In order to meet the not-too-excessive request of the giant tree of Sorin, the Cecils stationed here showed appropriate kindness: they would bring the latest newspapers and magazines, and Margarita even ordered the A magic net terminal was specially placed next to the tree trunk, allowing Bertila to control and watch it by himself.
Bertila learned of the name Norris from the agriculture section of a certain newspaper and a magic net program.
This is indeed a big man, the head of a part of the empire, and it is said that he is also one of the founders of Cecil's foundation.
Although he is just an ordinary person without supernatural powers.
Bertila couldn't help but carefully looked at Norris again, and she felt that the old man in front of her might not be as old as she had imagined at first.
He's just aging too early.
This kind of old and weak appearance, she has seen many pioneering years, rushing out of the wasteland, many of the ancestors who struggled to survive in the wasteland were like this, and the poor people who still struggled to survive in the subsequent kingdom era were still like this .
She saw so many stories from Norris in an instant that she couldn't help being a little surprised, but her blunted face didn't show this weak psychological fluctuation, she just asked curiously One sentence: "Are you here to find me?"
"I'll take a look at the 'Miracle of the Giant Tree of Thorin'. It is said that this place maintains the vitality of spring," Norris nodded slowly. "I saw it. It's really incredible... You have almost completely healed this area."
"Are you trying to rebuild the cities and villages in the eastern plain?" Bertila asked curiously.
"you can see?"
"I can see a little bit," Bertila said, "From the highest point of my canopy, I can vaguely see the tidal flats on the edge of the Pine Forest Valley, where there has been smoke rising recently, and I can also see the erected crystals. tower."
Norris nodded: "That's the Pine Valley Camp, and they're restoring the logging and mines there to prepare for next year's project at the Red Maple Reconstruction Camp."
"It must be very difficult for you to do... I know, it's winter outside now," Bertila said slowly, "Why do you have to do this in winter? You can wait for the ice and snow to melt in late spring next year, and you can hide in the warm south first In the city."
"After a winter, the hungry wolves will completely occupy the wilderness. In late spring, we have to spend time building camps, repairing houses and digging water sources. Every time we miss an opportunity to plow, we may miss an extra season of food. , some people may starve to death," Norris said calmly, "the food in the south is not abundant, and the food raised by many parties in the west is only enough for us to last until next year's harvest. Those areas that lack food...can people survive? , it may really be just a bite of food.”
After a few seconds, Bertila spoke softly: "...you don't want to starve to death, do you?"
"No one deserves to be starved to death," Norris said.
"But there will definitely be people starving to death, at least this winter, at least until the bread-producing areas of the Whitsunday Plains recover..."
"Maybe, but that's not the reason," Norris shook his head, "I am the Minister of Agriculture, and the task His Majesty gave me is to let me feed as many Cecilians as possible. It is a citizen's responsibility." Rights, other than that, are not something I'm thinking about."
A gust of wind was blowing from afar, bringing with it a bit of coolness. Although the coolness could be called mild compared to the cold winter wind outside, it still made Norris cough a few times.
There was a rustling sound from the crown of Thorin's giant tree, and the cool wind stopped abruptly.
"Thank you...is this your power?" Norris felt the relief of his body. He was no longer the ignorant farmer at the beginning, and he could guess the extraordinary power contained in it. "I feel a lot better."
"It's just some tricks, don't worry about it."
Norris was silent for a moment, and suddenly waved to the people who followed him: "Go and rest first, I want to stay here for a while."
A young official stepped forward subconsciously: "Minister, you..."
"I'm in good shape," Norris said to the young man with a smile. "I want to chat with this lady for a while."
"… yes."
The entourage left.
Under the Thorin tree, there is only an old minister of agriculture and a former pioneer who has witnessed the ups and downs of seven centuries standing opposite each other.
"Your health is not optimistic, Mr. Norris," Belterra broke the silence first, "As a mortal, your time is approaching."
Norris smiled and shook his head: "... I know, but it doesn't feel good to hear someone say it so directly."
"Sorry, I haven't tried a soft way of speaking for a long time," Bertera said, "So do you hope that my power can help you prolong your life?"
"I know a druid who is quite brilliant... Although he has some problems with his personality, he is very capable. He said that aging is the destiny of most mortals. Reverse this rule."
"... He's right, so it seems that you didn't come to me because of your physical condition," Bertera looked into Norris' eyes, "Then you really just came to see what the giant tree of Thorin looks like?"
"I want to see what things here can have an effect on our reconstruction work," Norris smiled, "especially the food issue... After all, here are the best druids in the empire, and there is a plant called' Natural wonders' tree of Thorin."
Bertila thought about it, and suddenly there was a rustling sound from the nearby bushes, and a small gray beast ran out from it, holding a red fruit the size of a fist in its arms.
Bertila bent down, took the fruit from the little beast, and handed it to Norris in front of him: "This is the fruit I have grown. According to the people here, it tastes very good and is very filling."
Norris took the fruit in surprise, looked at it carefully, and asked, "How much fruit can you bear?"
"It can probably feed a person in a medium-sized town. And if you don't mind the taste and slight toxicity, the leaves can be eaten for a short-term hunger. It can feed two or three times the population, but please don't pick too much at one time. I still need photosynthesis. .”
"... We have more than one town to eat," Norris shook his head, "but these fruits should really solve some problems."
"If I want to solve the problem of food shortage in the entire plain, I'm afraid I can't do it," Bertila shook his head, "Even if I pump more heat from the ground and turn the open land around Solinburg into Cheng Liangtian, probably not enough."
Norris thought about it, and asked again: "Can the miracle of Thorin's giant tree be replicated?"
"...I'm afraid not. The formation of the Thorin giant tree has very complicated factors. It requires the power of gods, the lives of a large number of high-level druids, the magic power accumulated over a long period of time, and luck that cannot be counted. Even so, I have not yet Thoroughly understand how this transformation happened to me. Mr. Norris, there will be no second Thorin tree, at least I don't know how to reproduce this process."
Norris sighed deeply: "Oh, I should have thought so. Countless ordinary people's food problems, it really is impossible to hope for miracles that cannot be replicated."
Listening to the other party's words, Bertila suddenly repeated softly: "A miracle that cannot be replicated..."
"Yes, tens of thousands of ordinary people need food, and the empire needs a large area of food production. What we need is a solution that can be replicated, promoted, and used in most places, not a miracle, otherwise..." Nuo Reese said, looking at the red fruit in his hand, he smiled wryly and shook his head, "Otherwise, it would be a cake on the noble table."
"Cake on the noble table?"
"Delicious, but only for a few people," Norris shook his head, "and most people will starve to death outside the castle."
Bertila fell silent suddenly.
The wind blew through the canopy of the giant tree of Thorin, making a rattling sound among the branches.
It took a few seconds before she broke the silence: "We never thought of this path..."
Norris didn't catch it. "What road?"
"No, it's nothing." Bertila shook his head, "I just suddenly remembered something. Not long ago, I once arrogantly scolded a young man for never looking down at those humble people. Now Think about it... it's just ridiculous."
After a pause, she continued, "Mr. Norris, if the only help I can provide here is these fruits, what are your plans for the future?"
"Intend to? Of course continue to rebuild this piece of land," Norris said with a smile, "We want to rebuild those main areas on the east bank of Gorgon and around Hongfeng. We will build a camp every inch, and we will rebuild it inch by inch, and sooner or later this place will come alive, as long as people are still there, there is always hope."
Bertila didn't speak, she was silent for a long time, staring at the old man who was about to reach the finish line in front of her.
But what she really saw were the people behind the old man.
Those who are setting up camp in the snow and ice of the Holy Spirit Plain, preparing for the next year's farming; those who are trekking on the deserted roads, transporting supplies for the reconstruction project; A person who is exhausted.
One percent of extraordinary people, ninety-nine percent of ordinary people.
These ordinary people intend to achieve a miracle that even superhumans find impossible.
She closed her eyes, but she could only close the eyes of this mimic body, and the perception of the Thorin giant tree was still open, allowing her to see the entire Thorin area clearly and perceive herself clearly.
There is a giant tree almost the size of a town, with a canopy that towers close to the clouds, a powerful natural force field, and unimaginable extraordinary power.
What a miracle will be created by the death of all things. This miracle can even make any extraordinary person in history feel trembling. It can be painted on scrolls and hung in the king's castle, and it can be sung a thousand times by bards. Year.
The fruits of this "miracle" cannot even feed one-tenth of the population of the Holy Spirit Plain.
Great cause for shit.
Bertila opened her eyes.
"I'm a druid," she said suddenly, looking at Norris, as if out of nowhere.
Norris didn't understand for a while: "Huh?"
"It's nothing, I just remembered my identity," Bertila smiled, which was no different from that of a human being. "Perhaps, it's time to do something that the first generation of pioneers should do."
Yeah, Trailblazer, she almost forgot she was a Trailblazer.
She has also experienced that kind of difficult time. When rushing out of the wasteland, everyone was short of clothes, food, medicine, and helpless in a wild wasteland. When all the magic tools failed, they could only be carried by people on their shoulders. To clear the land, to hew stones out of the mountains for plows, and to dig earth to build houses.
The hungry people walk on the road, and one will fall down as they walk. The king leads the army to guard the border, and dies on the high ground before the war is over. An unknown plague breaks out in the open area. She leads the druids in the school , Relying on his own vitality to exceed ordinary people, trying his best to try out the medicine... Isn't that day over
The pioneers at that time had no "miracles" to count on.
She seemed to understand the intention of the "outsider wanderer" to keep her.
"Mr. Norris, I wish you all the best," Bertila said, "As for this... I will work with the druids here to find a way. In fact, they have been trying to breed seeds that are more suitable for cold regions. , but there was no progress for a while."
She has accumulated hundreds of years of knowledge, some from the Holy Spirit sect, some from the Death of All Things Society.
There are still remaining culture sacs in the underground here. Those culture sacs were used to create terrible monsters, but if they are used properly, they can also be used for good.
The Cecil didn't know how to use those dangerous things, but she did.
She has already wasted too much time, and although she wants to live like a plant and no longer recall those dark and crazy pasts, she can't waste all her time on photosynthesis.
Norris' eyes brightened a little. Although he didn't understand what happened, he seemed to feel that the lady in front of him, who had been lacking in motivation a moment ago, suddenly became more motivated.
Anyway, that's a good thing.
"Thank you for your help," he said sincerely, "This is a great blessing for countless people, even countless generations."
Bertila smiled and nodded: "Don't forget to bring my fruit when you leave, I can still provide the rations needed by a medium-sized town."