Deep winter continued, and the livestock shed at Blackberry Ranch was still the front line against the bitter cold.
Unlike the tension of the past few days, when they had been fighting against nature itself, the air here now carried a cautious sense of expectation.
Tommy, Sarah, Ming, and Duane and Little Jimmy, who practically treated the ranch as home, guarded the livestock as if they were treasures.
Ming's herbal prevention plan had shown some effect.
Although there was no way to verify it through strict scientific testing, the livestock that regularly drank the herbal decoction did seem to be in better spirits than the others.
That made Tommy and Sarah see Ming in a new light, and they began taking her various "traditional medicine methods" more seriously.
Every day, Duane got up early and followed his dad to Blackberry Ranch, checking whether the bedding in the pens was dry and feeling the temperature of the incubator where the newborn piglets were kept.
Little Jimmy became Ming's chief assistant, trotting after her to identify herbs, helping grind medicine and boil decoctions, while muttering the effects of different herbs under his breath.
He often mixed them up, but his enthusiasm infected the people around him.
Early that morning, Sarah walked into the sheep pen as usual to add feed.
Suddenly, she heard an extremely faint bleating sound. It was different from the cry of an adult sheep, much more delicate and young.
Sarah's heart tightened, and she quickly raised the lamp toward the sound.
A ewe was lying exhausted on the thick hay, licking the two wet little bodies beside her again and again.
They were two newborn lambs. Their coats were still damp, and their thin, weak legs struggled to support their bodies.
"Tommy! Come quick!" Sarah's voice trembled with excitement as she ran to wake Tommy, who was resting nearby.
The news spread through the base as if it had wings.
By the time Calista arrived after hearing about it, quite a few people had already gathered around the sheep pen.
Tommy and Sarah were smiling brightly as they carefully checked the ewe and the lambs.
Ming stood nearby, preparing warm salt water with a small amount of nourishing herbs added to help the ewe recover her strength.
Duane and Little Jimmy leaned over the fence, staring without blinking at the two tiny lives nestled beside their mother, their faces flushed with excitement.
"How are the lambs?" Calista's gaze fell on the two lambs trying hard to nurse, and a trace of softness flashed through her eyes.
"They're doing great, Miss Norton!" Tommy said proudly. "The ewe gave birth smoothly, and the lambs look healthy! And in weather this cold, too!"
This meant the base's livestock breeding was getting on the right track. Life could still continue even in such a harsh environment.
The news of the ewe giving birth was like a warm current, driving away the heaviness that had hung over the base through the winter.
The arrival of new life reminded everyone that all their effort and persistence were not just for survival, but for the future.
...
Meanwhile, in the greenhouse at Rock Fortress, another hopeful project was underway.
On the shelves stood all kinds of makeshift containers, cracked plastic buckets, cut-open mineral water bottles, and even a few shallow wooden boxes.
They were not filled with soil, but with the lightest moisture-retaining growing medium the base could find, mixed with a small amount of rotting leaves and wood shavings.
Mr. Howard was carefully tending the crops with Joey and Morgan.
Most of them were leafy vegetables with short growing cycles, such as lettuce and bok choy, along with a few cold-resistant herbs like chives and scallions.
Their light came mainly from natural sunlight, supplemented by a few grow lights.
"Look, this batch of lettuce is ready to be thinned and eaten." Mr. Howard pointed to a patch of healthy, tender green lettuce leaves as he spoke to Calista, who had come to inspect the greenhouse.
"The yield is still low, and it can't meet our daily needs, but it proves that in a controlled environment, we can produce fresh vegetables even in winter."
He picked up a notebook filled with records on how temperature, humidity, and lighting duration affected crop growth.
"We're gathering data, Calista. This experience is extremely valuable.
Once spring comes, if we use the manure from Blackberry Ranch to make compost, we may be able to become partially self-sufficient in vegetables. That would greatly supplement everyone's vitamin intake and reduce our dependence on scavenged canned food."
Calista carefully looked over the green seedlings and nodded. "This won't just improve the food. It'll also raise morale. Seeing green always gives people hope."
She was already thinking about adding this produce to the credit exchange system to encourage more people to take part in planting.
This was not just a few vegetable leaves. It was a key step toward sustainable production.
Mr. Howard and his team were sowing seeds of hope for Rock Fortress's future.
...
While Blackberry Ranch and the indoor planting brought joy, the search team outside also sent back exciting news.
Maya's team had set out that day to search a small town on the outskirts of Knoxville, a place known before the apocalypse as a middle-class community.
Their main targets were still fuel and building materials.
As usual, the team carefully searched garages, tool sheds, and any place that might store fuel.
In the backyard of a relatively intact community activity center, sharp-eyed Michonne spotted a metal manhole cover half-buried in snow. The words "Community Emergency Reserve" were faintly printed on it.
It caught her attention.
Michonne told Maya, and Maya directed the team to pry open the heavy manhole cover with considerable effort.
Below was an underground storage room about three meters deep, with a metal ladder leading down.
Lieutenant Welles shone his flashlight inside, and everyone held their breath.
In the corner of the storage room, more than a dozen standard military-green fuel drums were neatly stacked.
They were marked "Diesel."
Maya climbed down personally to inspect them and found that the drums were well sealed, with almost no rust. When she tapped them with her hand, they gave off a dull sound that meant they were full.
"Move them all up! Carefully!" Her voice carried excitement she could barely hold back.
Shane and the others used the vehicle's small winch and spent a great deal of effort hauling the heavy fuel drums up to the surface. There were fifteen drums in total.
After a preliminary inspection, aside from two drums with slight leakage due to aging seals, the rest were well preserved.
When Maya's team returned to base with this precious "black gold," the commotion they caused was even greater than the birth of the lambs.
Rickson immediately organized people to transfer the fuel to a secure warehouse.
Newborn lambs, stubborn greenery growing indoors, and an unexpected discovery of fuel.
They proved that even in the harshest environment, hope had never truly left.
There was still plenty to look forward to in life at Rock Fortress.
The atmosphere at the base became noticeably livelier.
People talked about the two adorable lambs and discussed when the indoor vegetables would appear on the dining table for the first time.
As Calista walked through the base, she could clearly feel the change, and her mood was very good.
Their morale was quietly rising, nourished by these new signs of life.
...
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