Chapter 252 Exclusively published on Jinjiang Literature City: What's that in the sea? ...
Central Plains, West.
Starting with Fengxian, led by Ye Feiluan, ships from Licheng, Luochuan, Yangshan and other places successively arrived at this land that was one of the few places not submerged by the tsunami.
Countless ships of all sizes drifted on the sea, so densely packed that the seawater was almost invisible.
The ship was packed with people, and when they saw the land they had been away from for several days, they erupted in loud cheers.
Moments later, the boats began to diverge and head towards different shores.
Because of the continuous torrential rain, the ground in the west was muddy and even flooded. But when the disaster victims stepped on this land, their shoes and trouser legs got dirty, but they still couldn't help but shed tears of relief.
"It really is land!"
"Finally, we don't have to take the boat anymore!"
The disaster victims cheered excitedly, their eyes filled with uncontrollable tears.
Before the tsunami submerged the continent, no one would have thought that the land beneath their feet, which they had never paid attention to before, had anything to cherish.
It's only after losing it that we realize how difficult it is to stand firmly on solid ground.
"Are we going to live here from now on?" Hua San looked around and even took out his binoculars to look into the distance.
"This place looks rather desolate, and the land is probably very barren. It doesn't seem like a suitable place to live."
Du Chenghai sighed, "Whether it's suitable or not is another matter. It's already not easy to find such a large area of land that hasn't been flooded. Do you really want to live on a boat every day?"
The boat they stayed on was fairly comfortable, but it was neither a cruise ship nor comparable to an entire county town. The living area was too cramped, and after a while, it inevitably felt stifling.
Meng Xia said, "It's desolate now, but it won't be like that once we've all settled down."
Yu Niangzi lifted her skirt to avoid getting it dirty from the mud on the ground. Her beautiful eyes held a hint of disgust and helplessness, and her red lips pursed slightly: "So many disaster victims from various towns are crowding here. In a while, it won't just be desolate, it'll be incredibly troublesome."
As they were talking, Ye Feiluan, who had gone to find Huo Tiankuo, returned.
Qiu Qi asked, "What are the higher-ups planning to do with us?"
Ye Feiluan pointed to the west side, "Our Fengxian County has been arranged over there." As he spoke, he instructed his men to notify the still agitated disaster victims to prepare for relocation.
Hua San asked curiously, "What about the people from other towns?"
Ye Feiluan said, "They will be arranged in the four directions of east, south, west, and north. There are fewer people in Feng County, so it will be more comfortable for them to stay there for the time being. However, General Huo said that some people from small settlements that have done business with Yunlu Village will come later, and they will be given priority to be assigned to our area."
Not only them, but Yangshan also had a relatively smaller population, and they also had to accept more than two thousand disaster victims from Huo Family Army camp who took this opportunity to join the main force.
Hua San gestured towards the middle area with his chin, "What about over there? Is it empty?"
Ye Feiluan: "That's where the capital is located."
The group immediately understood.
Although no one from the capital had appeared yet, it was only natural for them to occupy the best position as the center of power.
Moreover, to prevent the disaster victims from colliding with the new emperor and other dignitaries, the fleet that arrived in the capital half a day later chose a landing direction that perfectly avoided other towns.
Many disaster victims were unaware that His Majesty the Emperor had also arrived.
Of course, even if they knew, the disaster victims didn't have time to think about it at that moment.
Having finally reached the shore, all they wanted was to find a place to settle down and catch their breath.
On the plateau that originally had only large areas of grassland and a few trees, many dilapidated sheds made of rags gradually appeared.
These sheds are mainly distributed within the area, and the distance between the sheds is very close, almost touching.
One disaster victim couldn't help but complain, "If everyone is crammed together, won't the neighbors be able to hear everything we say at home?"
Someone nearby said, "What can we do? The places allocated by the higher-ups are so small. If we don't all squeeze together, where will all those people fit?"
"If you find it too crowded here, you can spend some supplies to move inside." The speaker looked towards an area further inland than where they were.
The tents set up over there were obviously much nicer and larger than their sheds, so they would be more comfortable to live in. There was also a certain 'social distance' between different households, which could barely preserve some privacy.
However, judging from their clothing and appearance, it was clear that they were relatively well-off families in the city/town. At least in addition to the necessary food and water, they were willing to spend resources to buy tents and better locations.
That's right, if you want to live in a good place, you have to spend resources to buy the 'land'.
This is mainly to prevent disaster victims from flocking to higher and better places, which could cause unnecessary trouble.
Once a price is set for better land, without much effort from the authorities, the disaster victims will spontaneously settle down in different classes and blocks based on their own circumstances.
Further inside the tent area is the mobile cabin area.
The residents were mainly wealthy families, merchants, and relatives of the person in charge who had connections and substantial wealth within the community.
Finally, there are the truly powerful and influential people in each settlement, as well as the living areas of those with supernatural abilities.
These people lived in slightly more upscale accommodations, mainly in safe houses.
Ye Feiluan, Miao Laoyezi, Liu Wenchi and others lived in two- or three-story villas, while the rest of the people lived in single or double safe houses.
However, overall, the number of safe houses in each settlement is not large, averaging no more than twenty.
The only exception is the capital city.
Centered on the five-story villa where the new emperor lived, there were several three-story villas in front, behind, and to the left and right where concubines, princes and princesses lived, as well as about a dozen villas of the same size where members of the imperial family and first and second-rank officials lived.
Further out, there is a ring of two-story villas, and finally a single-story safe house.
These wealthy individuals who bought safe houses have formed a 'wealthy community' surrounding the new emperor, comprising over a hundred houses, exclusively for the privileged.
The area around the 'residential community' is patrolled by many Beijing guards to prevent disaster victims or other unscrupulous individuals from entering.
While the disaster victims were still unable to think of anything else, some people had already begun to build city walls along this area of privileged people, clearly preparing to create an inner city.
Even before the city walls were dug, on the very night that disaster victims in various towns began to experience altitude sickness.
Furthermore, their proportion was far higher than that of the Huo family army's soldiers, reaching almost more than half.
Yu Niangzi, Meng Xia, Old Master Chen, Xie Yun, Liu Wenchi, and Liu Ziming all experienced discomfort. However, because they had all consumed the mutated fruit, their physical constitutions were stronger than others, and their symptoms were relatively mild, consisting only of chest tightness or nausea.
As for Ye Feiluan, Chen Bing, Bai Xuefeng, and others who possess supernatural abilities, they did not react at all from the beginning.
The main victims who succumbed to altitude sickness were those disaster victims who couldn't afford or were unwilling to buy the mutated fruit.
Despite receiving advance notice and preparing special medicines for distribution, as well as providing oxygen cylinders for the severely affected, the disaster victims in the west still suffered immensely during his first visit.
Some people even felt the urge to return to the ship.
Little did they know that altitude is determined by height, not by whether it is land or sea.
At high altitudes at sea, altitude sickness will still occur.
This is not the only problem in the West.
The temperature difference between day and night here is also greater than in other places. During the day, it is only minus five degrees Celsius, which is considered warm compared to minus forty degrees Celsius during the extreme cold season.
But once night falls, the temperature drops sharply, sometimes falling to nearly minus thirty degrees Celsius.
Only one-quarter to one-fifth of the disaster victims can afford bio-clothing clothing; the rest can only wear cotton-padded jackets or use heat packs.
On the first night, many of the disaster victims, who were unprepared for the temperature difference, suffered from frostbite. By the time others found them the next day, they were already delirious with fever and unconscious.
Upon receiving the message, the authorities immediately made emergency arrangements for medicines, fearing that there would be a large number of casualties as soon as they arrived at the new location.
Due to a series of unexpected events, in the days leading up to the main force's landing, apart from building shelters, the disaster victims were unable to carry out any construction work, and the residential areas in all directions were in a state of busy chaos.
It wasn't until nearly five days had passed, and the people had begun to adapt to the unique climate of the west, and the disaster victims who had collapsed due to altitude sickness and high heat had recovered, that the new emperor issued an edict to mobilize all parties.
What they did specifically was rebuild greenhouses and cultivate fields.
The total population that has come to the west this time is about 1.5 million, but the land actually occupied by so many people, including the land reserved for the small settlements of disaster victims who will come later, is only about 60% of this land.
Of the remaining 40%, apart from a small portion containing forests and rock formations, the rest are specially reserved planting areas.
Even so, the overall scale is still far less than the number of greenhouses that the towns originally had.
The only consolation is that the amount of heating materials salvaged from the water in various towns is quite considerable, so this time they don't have to spend a large sum of money to buy materials from Lu Xuan again, including plant protection machines and air conditioners.
"So, things are back on track over there now?" Lu Xuan looked at the new emperor on the other end of the communication screen.
The new emperor nodded. "The disaster victims have already reclaimed tens of thousands of acres of land, and the greenhouses have been rebuilt. In a few days, all the remaining areas will be able to be planted with grain. However, the land here seems to be more barren than in the capital and other towns, so the amount of plant nutrient solution needed is probably quite large, and there's also a new batch of evolution fluid..."
Lu Xuan understood and said, "I will go there in a few days."
Only then did a satisfied smile appear on the new emperor's face.
The two then exchanged a few words about the specific types of goods to be traded in the next batch before ending the call.
"Brother, come quick! Uncle Zhang and the others have all gone down!" As soon as the call ended, Lu Chen's urgent and excited voice came from not far away.
Lu Xuan looked over and saw Lu Chen, Lu Qing who was holding a small stone, and Lei Yan who was wearing a diving suit saying something to each other. Immediately afterward, Lei Yan fell into the sea with a splash.
Besides him, other able-bodied men on the fishing boat also took nets and went into the water one after another.
The women who remained on the ship shouted at them, "Bring back more sea urchins!"
"The seaweed we dried at home is almost gone. If you find any more seaweed, remember to gather more."
Some even shouted for abalone, conch, and whatever seafood was plentiful in the sea, they wanted it.
The sea was murky when it rained heavily before, making it unsuitable for people to go into the sea. But today the sky is clear and the water is bright, making it the perfect time to dive down and catch fish.
This is a good supplement to abalone and seaweed, which are seafood that are difficult to catch with fishing nets.
After hanging up the call, Lu Xuan quickly followed and went into the sea.
...
The sea area where they were at this time, geographically speaking, leaned towards modern Southeast Asia.
The climate here is very suitable for marine life, and since it is far from the fishing grounds of the Central Plains, the marine life here has become so abundant that it can be described as an overabundance.
As soon as Zhang Chengming, Xiong Mao, and the others arrived at the seabed, they discovered sea urchins, abalone, as well as conches, oysters, mantis shrimp, crabs, and lobsters, which were everywhere and could be found in large numbers with just a little searching.
Even seaweed and other aquatic plants have grown to cover several acres, and you can grab a handful of them.
The group went wild with joy, and secretly split up, each taking up a piece of land and starting to plunder like crazy.
A net can hold forty or fifty kilograms of seafood. The net can be filled in the blink of an eye, and then it is put aside and a new net is taken out to continue catching seafood.
They go up every 15 minutes, and each trip brings back at least ten net bags of seafood.
There are even more kinds of seaweed and kelp; a single net bag can hold hundreds of kilograms.
The able-bodied men were getting more and more into it, and the women on the boat who were responsible for receiving the seafood, as well as the village chief, were overjoyed.
Looking at the deck, which was almost impossible to step on and filled with nets, Li Tie grinned and said, "It seems that the sea here is even more bountiful than I expected."
Miao Jinfeng looked at the several large bags of oysters that Li Tuo had specially scooped up, her face beaming with joy: "I didn't expect there to be so many oysters at the bottom of the sea. We've almost run out of oyster sauce at home, so I'll make some more later."
As he spoke, he quickly called to the others, "Don't just stand there and watch. Take advantage of the good weather and quickly send the seaweed back to the cruise ship and spread it out on the deck to dry."
While everyone was busy preparing a large amount of fresh seafood, both on and off the water, Lu Chen, who was munching on a large piece of durian and waiting for his brother to come ashore, caught a glimpse of something moving in the distance.
At first, he thought he was seeing things. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, only to find that the golden durian flesh he had just taken a bite of had fallen to the ground and gotten dirty with the sewage on the deck.
But Lu Chen couldn't care less about any of that at the moment. He excitedly shouted to Lu Qing and the other adults, "Sister, village chief, look what's that in the sea!?"
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