Chapter 73 A Spring Thunderclap A clap of thunder sounded, accompanied by…

As a clap of thunder sounded and a light spring rain began to fall, the entire cursed land slowly awoke from its long hibernation.

The melting snow forms streams that carve new furrows into the cracked earth. The air is no longer filled with the biting cold wind, but with a cool, slightly damp scent of spring.

“Mayor Lin Yue,” Elder Farador, leaning on his cane, found Lin Yue, who was planning new farmland, that morning. He pointed to the rising sun on the horizon, “The swift sun… has already risen. This is… our… Silent Whisperers… name for the spring… sun. According to… our ancestors’ experience, spring in the Cursed Land… is stingy and short-lived, and soon… the scorching summer will arrive. We must… hurry…”

Time is food.

The small mountain of grain that had once filled the cellar had shrunk considerably after being consumed by more than two hundred people throughout the winter. Although it could still last for a while, a sense of crisis instantly overwhelmed them.

"Attention all production teams! Attention all production teams!"

"Winter break is officially over. No more resting, let's get back to work! Our motto is: If you neglect the land for a short time, the land will neglect you for a year. If we miss these few days, we'll have to tighten our belts and starve in the second half of the year."

Every word in his voice conveyed a sense of urgency, as if something was on the line.

The residents of Hope Town, who had just enjoyed a period of comfortable life, immediately took off their heavy winter clothes and put on light work clothes. Without any additional mobilization, a tacit understanding formed for survival drove them to immediately throw themselves into the spring plowing battle against time.

This year's spring planting is unlike any they've ever done before.

In the central square of Hope Town, a dozen or so uniquely shaped farm implements, exuding the fresh scent of new wood and the gleam of cold iron, are neatly arranged.

This is the curved plow, a revolutionary artifact that Lin Yue created in secret collaboration with the blacksmith and woodworking workshop throughout the winter after exchanging the map with the system. It is a tool that is capable of overturning the way this land is cultivated.

"My God... Mayor, what... what is this? Is it for us to use for plowing?" Old Bud circled around a curved plow, his face filled with shock and confusion. He looked at the short, lightweight plowshare with its graceful curves, the plowshare itself which could be adjusted at any angle, and then at the uniquely shaped iron plowshare with its sharp front and curved sides that could easily turn over the soil. He felt as if his worldview had been shaken.

"Mayor, stop keeping us in suspense! Let us see just how powerful this new thing really is!" an impatient man shouted.

"Yes, yes, it looks lightweight, it must be easy to pull up."

The crowd was filled with expectant and excited chatter, the initial skepticism and hesitation towards new things gone.

Lin Yue didn't explain much, but just smiled and patted the two rock-walking lizards next to him who were leisurely chewing energy bars, and said to their personal pilot Ella, "Sister Ella, let them see what's going on."

Ella smiled and nodded. She walked up to a lizard-like beast and gently stroked its rough skin. Then, together with several young Silent Ones, she skillfully fitted the harness onto the lizard-like beast and connected it to the somewhat flimsy-looking curved plow.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the Silent One gently pulled the reins, and the enormous Rock-Walking Lizard began to stride, dragging the curved plow, slowly entering a piece of wasteland used as an experimental field.

"Watch closely," Lin Yue shouted to the crowd.

Ella gripped the plow handles with both hands, gently adjusted the angle, and then gave a low shout. The Rock-Walking Lizard suddenly exerted its strength.

"Pfft—!"

The hard wasteland, which was originally mixed with gravel and grass roots, was easily torn apart by the sharp iron plowshare in an instant.

As the lizard beast moved forward, the huge clods of mud turned up by the plowshare smoothly flipped and broke to one side along the beautiful curve of the plowshare, forming a neat and loose ridge. The whole process was smooth and efficient.

What astonished all the farmers even more was that Ella could easily control the depth and direction of the plow with just one person, and was also exceptionally agile when turning around, wasting almost no land.

"My God... this plow... this plow is practically blind!" Old Bard looked at the dark, damp earth that had been easily turned over, and trembled with excitement. "This efficiency... this efficiency is probably even faster than when we used ten people to turn the land."

"Now we can clear the land at least ten times faster." Li Ge's eyes also shone with a burning light.

The entire Hope Town was clearly divided into several battlefields that were both independent and cooperative.

The first battlefield was the pioneering land reclamation team. Led by Li Ge and Amu, it consisted of the strongest laborers and two rock-walking lizards equipped with curved plows. Their task was to cultivate all the usable land around the town. The massive lizards led the way, their massive beasts rumbling and turning over vast swathes of wasteland. Behind them followed a group of men wielding pickaxes and shovels, clearing away the massive, impenetrable rocks and stubborn tree roots. Every day, the territory of Hope Town expanded outwards at a visible pace.

Battlefield Two is the Land Refinement Team. Led by Old Bard, and accompanied by a large number of women, the elderly, and the Silent Ones, they follow behind the reclamation team to carry out the second step. Using newly forged iron-toothed rakes, they break up and level the turned soil, carefully picking out small stones and grass roots. This process, though tedious, ensures the land is as flat and loose as possible, laying the best foundation for subsequent planting. The Silent Ones even use their own abilities to sense the condition of each plot of land and take targeted measures accordingly.

Battlefield Three is the Logistics Support and Technological Breakthrough Group. This group has the most diverse members, but it is also the most crucial.

Mia and Aunt Lia were in charge of providing food and water for everyone, ensuring that the soldiers on the front lines were well-fed and watered.

Norm then took on one of the most important tasks: fertilizing.

He led a few young people who shared his passion for turning waste into treasure to open the ecological compost pit, which had fermented all winter, turning it black and emitting a peculiar earthy smell. They transported truckloads of this fully decomposed, organic-rich natural fertilizer to the prepared land, spreading it evenly to replenish the soil with its most precious nutrients.

Meanwhile, Lin Yue was conducting an important breeding experiment: soaking seeds and promoting germination.

Soak the Starlight Wheat seeds in warm, purified water. According to systematic scientific cultivation methods, this can awaken the seed's activity and improve the germination rate.

Meanwhile, trials of entirely new crops are underway.

That was the bag of mysterious seeds that Lin Yue received as a reward from the system when he completed the "First Ray of Light Under the Moonlight" mission.

[System Scan: Seeds of the high-yield, drought-resistant crop, "Sun Corn," have been detected. Characteristics: Prefers sunlight, drought-resistant, short growth cycle, and extremely high yield. Mature corn kernels are rich in starch and oil, suitable as a staple food or for oil extraction. The stalks can be used as high-quality feed or fuel. Note: A gift from another solar civilization; please use it sparingly.]

"Corn." Lin Yue was overjoyed when he saw the test results.

He specially set aside a small experimental field with the most sunlight and the highest elevation, and personally guided Norm and his team to plant the golden corn seeds into the fertile soil using scientific sowing methods.

The fourth battlefield is the rear industrial base.

Uncle Shi Quan's blacksmith shop is operating at full capacity. His main tasks now are repairing and maintaining the heavily used curved plows and iron farm implements, while also forging more reinforced iron parts and door and window hinges for the upcoming house construction. He grumbles every day, complaining that he's becoming a farm implement repairman, but the hammer in his hand strikes louder than anyone else's.

Ella's pottery workshop is busy producing two things: large earthenware jars for transporting and storing purified water, and even more ceramic flowerpots of various sizes for raising seedlings and planting rare plants.

Around noon, as everyone dragged their tired bodies back to the lobby of the Hope Town No. 1 store, a mouthwatering aroma, a blend of wild vegetable fragrance and a hint of meat, had been waiting for them for a long time.

To reward everyone for their hard work these past few days and to celebrate the arrival of spring, Mia and her team of chefs have prepared a special spring-limited lunch.

The staple food is no longer the monotonous roasted potatoes or steamed buns, but a large pot of steaming hot spring wild vegetable and minced meat rice. Several of the freshest spring wild vegetables, such as the slightly bitter dandelion leaves and the smooth wild shepherd's purse, are washed clean, chopped, and then cooked together with stir-fried smoked minced meat and rinsed wheat in an iron pot. The rice fully absorbs the fragrance of the wild vegetables and the savory aroma of the minced meat, each grain distinct, oily, and fragrant—the aroma alone is enough to make one's mouth water.

A light and refreshing salad of tender shoots served as a side dish. Kailan and several other young Silent Ones, drawing on their knowledge of plants, gathered some newly sprouted edible buds and flower buds from the forest. After blanching, these shoots were gently tossed with a small amount of snow salt and animal fat, resulting in a crisp texture and the pure, primal sweetness of nature.

The final soup was a river seafood and mushroom soup made with fish bones and small river shrimp from springtime. The old beaver, along with several children, caught a lot of small fish and shrimp in the thawing stream using a homemade flax fishing net. The fish meat was removed for other uses, and the remaining fish bones were simmered with several kinds of delicious mushrooms into a milky white broth, sprinkled with a little bit of a herb similar to scallion, so delicious that it would make you swallow your tongue.

This lunch, filled with the spirit of spring, left everyone satisfied and refreshed.

"Mia, your cooking skills are getting better and better," Li Ge said, shoveling rice and vegetables into his mouth. "This rice and vegetables is even more delicious than the restaurants I used to eat in the city."

“Yes, yes,” Aunt Leah chimed in with a smile, “especially these crisp and delicious pickled shoots. We used to be too afraid to eat anything from the forest.”

Kaylan smiled and explained, "These are gifts from the spirits of the forest. As long as you know how to distinguish them, they are the best food."

Everyone sat together, enjoying the food while discussing the afternoon's work plan. Even Uncle Shi Quan, who was usually picky, didn't complain after finishing his third bowl of fish soup. He just let out a satisfied burp and then quietly added another half bowl of rice and vegetables to his bowl.