Cecil newspapers and radios are very interesting things. There are always all kinds of news from far away. When Bertila was still a human, she was interested in these two new things. Once she became a plant, she became even more interested in these two things.
After all, as a plant, she has lost the ability to travel to distant places.
In order to satisfy the Thorin Giant Tree’s request, which was not too much, the Cecil people stationed here showed appropriate kindness: they would bring the latest newspapers and magazines, Margaery The tower even ordered a special magic network terminal to be installed next to the trunk of Thorin's giant tree, allowing Bertila to control and watch it by himself.
Bertira learned the name Norris from the agriculture section of a certain newspaper and from a certain Magic Network program.
This is indeed a big man, the leader of the empire, and it is said that he is one of the founders of Cecil's foundation.
Although he is just an ordinary person without extraordinary abilities.
Bertila couldn't help but take a serious look at Norris again. She sensed that the old man in front of her might not be as old as she first thought.
He just aged too early.
She has seen many such old and weak looks - many of the ancestors who rushed out of the wasteland in the pioneering era and struggled to survive in the wasteland were like this. In the subsequent Kingdom Age, , the poor people who still struggle to survive are still like this.
She saw so many stories from Norris in an instant that she couldn't help but be a little surprised, but her dull face did not show this weak psychological fluctuation. , she just asked curiously: "Are you here to see me?"
"I'm here to see the 'miracle of Thorin's giant tree'. It is said that the vitality of spring is maintained here," Norris slowly said He nodded, "I saw it, it's really incredible... You almost completely healed this area."
"Are you trying to rebuild the cities and villages in the eastern plains?" Bertila was curious. asked.
“Can you see?”
“You can see a little bit,” Bertila said. “From the highest point of my canopy, I can vaguely see Pine Valley. On the edge of the tidal flat, smoke has been rising recently, and you can also see the erected crystal tower."
Norris nodded: "That is the Pine Valley Camp, and they are restoring logging there. Fields and mines to prepare for next year's project at the Red Maple Reconstruction Camp."
"It must be very difficult for you...I know it's winter outside," Bertila said slowly, "Why do you have to do this in winter? You can wait until the ice and snow melt in late spring next year - you can hide in the warm southern cities first."
"After one winter, hungry jackals will completely take over In the wilderness, until late spring, we will still spend time building camps, repairing houses, and digging for water sources. Every time we miss an opportunity to cultivate, we will be in danger.If we miss one more season of food, someone may starve to death," Norris said calmly, "The southern border is not rich in food, and the food collected from various sources in the western border is only enough for us to last until next year's harvest season. Those areas that are short of food... ...Whether people can survive may really only be one mouthful of food. "
After a few seconds, Bertila spoke softly: "...You don't want to starve to death, do you? ”
“No one deserves to starve to death. "Norris said.
"But some people will definitely starve to death, at least this winter, at least before the food-producing areas of the Holy Spirit Plains recover..."
"Maybe. But that's not the reason," Norris shook his head, "I am the Minister of Agriculture, and the task His Majesty has given me is to feed every Cecilian as much as possible - having enough food is a citizen's right. Other than that, it's not something I consider. ”
A gust of wind blew from afar, bringing with it a slight chill. Although the chill was mild compared with the cold winter wind outside, it still made Norris cough a few times.
There was a crashing sound from the crown of Thorin's giant tree, and the cool breeze stopped suddenly.
"Thank you...is this your power? "Norris felt the relief in his body. He was no longer the ignorant farmer he was before. He could guess the extraordinary power contained in it, "I feel a lot better. ”
“It’s just some little tricks, don’t worry about it. "
Norris was silent for a moment, and suddenly waved his hand to the people who followed him: "You guys go to rest first, I want to stay here for a while. "
A young official stepped forward subconsciously: "Minister, you..."
"I'm in good shape now," Norris said to the young man with a smile, "I want to talk to you. The lady talks a little longer. "
"...Yes. ”
The entourage left.
Under the Thorin tree, only an old Minister of Agriculture and a former pioneer who had witnessed seven centuries of ups and downs stood facing each other. .
"Your health is not optimistic, Mr. Norris," Bertila broke the silence first, "As a mortal, your end is approaching. "
Norris smiled and shook his head: "...I know, but it doesn't feel very good to hear someone say it so directly. "
"Sorry, I haven't tried a soft way of speaking for a long time," Bertila said, "So do you hope that my power can help you extend your life? ”
“I know a fairly clever Druid...Although he has some character problems, he is very capable. He said that aging is the destiny of most mortals, even if they are The divine magic before the fall of Bai Xing could not reverse this pattern. "
"...He is right, then it seems that you are not looking for me because of your physical condition," Bertila looked into Norris's eyes, "Then you really just came to see me. See what the Thorin giant tree looks like? "
"I want to see if there is anything here that can have an effect on our reconstruction work," Norris smiled, "especially the food issue... After all, the best druids in the empire are gathered here. There is also a giant Thorin tree called a 'natural miracle'."
Beltila thought for a while, and suddenly there was a rustling sound in the nearby bushes, and a small gray beast came from inside. He ran out, holding a fist-sized red fruit in his 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 produced. According to the humans here, it tastes good and is very filling. "
Norris took the fruit with some surprise, looked at it carefully, and asked: "How many fruits can you..."
"It can probably feed you." People in a medium-sized town. If you don’t mind the taste and slight toxicity, the leaves can be eaten for a short period of time and can feed two or three times the population, but please don’t pick too much at one time - I still need to perform photosynthesis." /p>
"...We have more than one town that needs to eat," Norris shook his head, "but these fruits should really be able to solve some problems."
"If you want to solve it, I'm afraid I can't solve the problem of food shortage in the entire plain area," Bertila shook his head. "Even if I pump more heat up from the ground and turn all the open land around Solinburg into fertile farmland, I probably won't be able to solve it." Not enough."
Norris thought and asked: "Can the miracle of Thorin's giant tree be replicated?"
"...I'm afraid the formation of Thorin's giant tree is very complicated. Factors, which require the power of gods, the lives of a large number of high-level druids, magic power accumulated over a long period of time, and uncountable luck. Even so, I have not yet fully understood how I underwent the transformation in front of me. . Mr. Norris, there will be no second Thorin Giant Tree, at least I don’t know how to reproduce this process.”
Norris sighed deeply: “Oh, I should have thought so. So. Countless ordinary people have no way to rely on a miracle that cannot be replicated."
Hearing what the other party said, Bertila suddenly repeated softly: "A miracle that cannot be replicated... ..."
"Yes, tens of thousands of ordinary people need food, and the empire needs large grain-producing areas. What we need is a solution that can be replicated, promoted, and used in most places. It's not a miracle, otherwise..." Norris said, looking at the red fruit in his hand, shaking his head with a wry smile, "Otherwise it would be the cake on the noble table."
"On the noble table. "The cake is delicious, but it only belongs to a few people," Norris shook his head, "and most people will starve to death outside the castle."
Berti. La suddenly fell silent.
The wind blew through the crown of the giant Thorin tree, causing a rustling sound among the branches and leaves.
After a few seconds, she broke the silence: "We never thoughtCross this road..."
Norris didn't hear clearly: "What road? "
"No, it's nothing," Bertila shook his head, "I just suddenly remembered something. Not long ago, I once scolded a young man arrogantly and scolded him for never bowing his head. Having seen those humble people, now that I think about it...it's just a bit ridiculous. "
After a pause, she continued: "Mr. Norris, if the only help I can provide here are these fruits, what are your next plans? "
"Plan? Of course we will continue to rebuild this land," Norris said with a smile, "We will rebuild the main areas on the east bank of Gorgon and around Red Maple, and we will establish camps in important forest farms, mines, and water sources. , we will measure inch by inch and rebuild foot by foot. Sooner or later this place will come alive. As long as people are still there, there is always hope. ”
Bertila did not speak. She remained silent for a long time, staring at the old man in front of her who was about to reach the end.
But what she really saw was this Those behind the old man.
Those who are setting up camp in the ice and snow of the Holy Spirit Plain to prepare for farming in the coming year; those who are trekking on the deserted roads to transport supplies for the reconstruction project; People who are negotiating with neighboring countries on the border of the empire and working hard to solve the food shortage.
One percent of extraordinary people, 99 percent of ordinary people. These ordinary people planned to achieve a miracle that even extraordinary people thought was impossible.
She closed her eyes, but she could only close the eyes of this mimic body, and the perception of Thorin's giant tree was still open. , allowing her to see the entire Thorin area and clearly perceive herself.
There is a giant tree almost the size of a town, towering to the canopy of the clouds, a powerful natural force field that is unimaginable. Extraordinary power.
What a huge miracle the Death of All Things has created. This miracle can even make any extraordinary person in history tremble, and it can be painted in a scroll and hung in the king's castle. It can be sung by bards for a thousand years.
The fruit of this "miracle" cannot even feed one tenth of the population of the Holy Spirit Plain.
Bullshit great cause
Beltiera opened his eyes
“I am a druid. "She looked at Norris and suddenly said without thinking.
Norris didn't understand for a moment: "Huh? "
"It's nothing, I just happened to remember my identity," Bertila showed a smile, which was no different from that of a human being. "Maybe it's time to do something that the first generation of pioneers should do. ”
Yes, pioneer, she almost forgot that she was still a pioneer.
She has also experienced that kind of difficult time, rushing out of the wasteland At that time, we were alone in a barbaric wasteland with little food, clothing, and medicine.When you are helpless, all magic tools are ineffective, and you can only use people to carry you on your shoulders to reclaim the land, cut rocks from the mountains into plows, and dig out the earth to build houses.
Hungry people walked on the road, and one of them fell down as they walked. The king led his army to guard the border, and died on the high ground before the war was over. An unknown plague broke out in the pioneer area. She led The druids in the school rely on their own vitality to surpass ordinary people, and try out the medicine as if to fill their lives... Aren't those days coming?
The pioneers at that time had no "miracles" to count on.
She seemed to understand the intention of the "outside wanderer" in leaving her behind.
"Mr. Norris, I wish you all the best," Bertila said, "As for here...I will work with the druids here to find a way. In fact, they have been trying before this There has been no progress in cultivating seeds that are more suitable for cold regions.”
She has accumulated knowledge for hundreds of years, some from the Holy Spirit Sect and some from the Death Society.
There are still remaining culture capsules underground here. Those culture capsules were used to create terrible monsters, but if used properly, they can also be used for good.
Cecilians don't know how to use those dangerous things, but she does.
She has wasted too much time. Although she wants to live like a plant and no longer recall the dark and crazy past, she cannot waste all her time on photosynthesis.
Norris's eyes became brighter. Although he didn't understand what happened, he seemed to feel that the lady in front of him who had lacked motivation a moment ago suddenly became more motivated.
Anyway, this is a good thing.
"Thank you for your help," he said sincerely, "This is a great thing that will benefit countless people, even countless generations."
Bertila smiled and nodded. He nodded: "Don't forget to take my fruit with you when you leave - I can still provide the rations needed by a medium-sized town."