Chapter 103: Conditions
"If we need all the food from your farm, would you give it?"
Caesar took a sip of tea, his eyes directly looking at Hershel.
The hand with which Hershel held his teacup trembled. Tea spilled out. You could see his emotional fluctuation.
Hershel's lips squirmed twice, wanting to say something.
If all the food was taken, Hershel dared to be certain—bringing his daughters, he mostly wouldn't survive.
This was simply demanding his whole family's lives.
The thought of mutual destruction surfaced in Hershel's mind. Anyway, he was this old. If he could die together with Caesar, it wouldn't be a losing deal.
When Hershel raised his head, he looked over. Through the window he could see Maggie continuously kicking at Glenn. Maggie's face showed disgust, her expression extraordinarily lively.
Glenn didn't use heavy force on Maggie, just kept pushing her outward.
Looking at his own daughter, Hershel sighed and was about to speak in agreement.
Caesar suddenly said: "Let's change the condition. We don't need all your food."
Hershel's eyes suddenly widened. He looked at Caesar in surprise, not knowing why Caesar suddenly changed his mind.
Even though this change was good, Hershel's heart still held a trace of doubt.
He worried Caesar wanted something else.
The farm? Livestock like chickens and cattle? Or... Maggie?
Hershel's thoughts surged.
Seeing the heat was sufficient, Caesar no longer kept them in suspense. He leaned forward, crossing his hands before him. "We need your planting techniques and seed grain, as well as some fruit trees."
For a small farm, these conditions were very easy to meet.
From demanding all the food, even affecting survival, to only wanting this little bit of seed grain and techniques.
The before and after contrast was enormous. The vigilance in Hershel's heart was pulled to its peak.
Hershel didn't rush to agree. He sat back, his voice flat as he said: "Do you have other demands?"
As expected, it was Hershel—a rare wise man.
Caesar inwardly praised Hershel's composure while saying: "There's one more condition. The planting techniques need you to send people to my territory to teach."
Hershel and his family's planting techniques were long-term accumulated experience. They might not have as much data as those textbooks, but they were definitely the planting techniques most suitable for the local area.
Caesar worried Hershel and his family would use some planting books as substitutes. That was far inferior to in-person teaching.
Moreover, Caesar was also quite envious of Hershel's whole family.
Hershel knew veterinary medicine, could perform some surgical operations, also knew how to use some local herbs—very wise and insightful.
Maggie, as Hershel's daughter, was brave and good at fighting, with certain leadership talent—very rare talent.
As for the other several people, either they died too early or their luck was bad.
Sure enough. Hershel's heart filled with great anger. They were actually coming for his daughter.
Hershel angrily stood up. "Don't even think about taking my daughter!"
"I absolutely will not hand my daughter over to you people. I absolutely will not compromise."
"Even if you seize all our food, destroy the farm my Greene family has passed down through generations, I absolutely will not use my own daughter to exchange for a degrading life."
Hershel's roar passed through the window, reaching Maggie's ears not far away. She anxiously looked toward Hershel in the window, quickly asking: "Dad, what's wrong?"
The three people hiding in the second-floor room also wore panicked expressions. Beth appeared to be a delicate flower on the surface, but actually her courage was no less than her sister's. She stepped forward about to pull open the door and rush down.
Jimmy was quick-eyed and quick-handed. He blocked the door, hugging Beth tightly. "Beth, you can't go out."
Beth's face flushed. She pushed hard at Jimmy, wanting to break free from his restraint.
Patricia's expression also looked very bad. Her husband was also downstairs. If any conflict occurred, her husband could very likely be in danger.
She covered her chest with her hand, walked before Beth. Because of worry, tears burst from her eyes. Patricia said in a small voice: "Beth, you absolutely cannot go down. What if you go down and intensify the conflict?"
"Everything will be irreversible."
"That's right, Beth." Jimmy strictly followed Hershel's orders, saying solemnly: "You absolutely cannot go down. I promised Hershel I'd protect you."
Beth was silent for a while, no longer struggling. Tears circled in her eyes.
Seeing Beth no longer moved, Jimmy also slowly released her. However, his eyes kept watching Beth, preventing Beth from unexpectedly opening the door.
Beth covered her face, lying on the bed. Her body trembled in small amplitudes. Some muffled sobbing sounds came from the blanket.
Patricia's heart also felt bad. It's just that she was older, with stronger endurance. She gently patted Beth's back, softly comforting.
---
Downstairs, the guest room.
Facing Hershel's roar, Caesar was somewhat speechless.
How could it be misunderstood like this?!
Caesar extended his hand. Morales understood and stepped forward, blocking before Hershel. "Mr. Hershel, we don't want your daughter."
"Rather, we want personnel who can teach us planting techniques. It can be you, or it can be your laborers."
As Morales spoke, he looked at Otis standing to the side looking awkward. "For instance, him—that's also fine."
"We don't care who you send. We only care about one problem—that is, does the person you send actually know how to farm or not?"
Finished speaking, Morales stepped back, returning the speaking space to Caesar.
Caesar stood up, stomped the floor with his heel, and raised his head to look at Hershel. "Hershel, you're a smart person. You should see we've paid a lot to stay alive."
"I definitely won't abandon the team's interests for your daughter. Don't think too much!"
Finished speaking, Caesar patted Hershel's shoulder, his tone low as he said: "Oh right, on my territory there's a professional from the CDC. He's researching a vaccine."
This—for a person who viewed the walker virus as an ordinary infectious disease and held fantasies about curing walkers—was simply news sufficient to explode his brain.
Hershel's eyes bulged. He stared deadly at Caesar, trying to find a trace of deception in Caesar's eyes.
But he was very happy. He didn't find any.
The corners of Hershel's mouth unconsciously lifted. He asked urgently: "Are you telling the truth?"
Caesar looked at Hershel with a smile that wasn't quite a smile. "What do you think?"
Hershel didn't care about Caesar's counter-question. He just kept asking about the vaccine.
"Can you develop a vaccine?"
"Approximately when can it be developed? Can the vaccine really save those sick people?"
"..."
Hershel's series of questions made Caesar close his mouth and not answer.
Only Morales barely dealt with Hershel.