Chapter 240 Production and Fog (Exclusively Published on Jinjiang Literature City)
Inside the lounge of Ship No. 1.
Upon seeing Lu Xuan, the official who had taken off his raincoat and hood couldn't help but ask, "My lord, what happened to the houses in your village?"
Although there is indeed a lot of water outside, even an adult who falls in might not be completely submerged. There are so many exquisite two- or three-story buildings in Yunlu Village, surely they won't be washed away by the water? It hasn't even caused a flood yet.
Lu Xuan, who was relaxed and leaning back on the sofa, raised an eyebrow: "The house? Of course, it's been put away."
Official: "???"
Put it away? How do I put it away?
“The houses in our village can be moved around freely, um…didn’t I mention that before?” Lu Xuan tilted his head slightly, as if recalling something.
The official's expression froze, his eyes wide. "You didn't say that!"
"How can you put the house away?"
“I can even store a god’s house.” Lu Xuan said casually, then opened his palm to show the other person a miniature villa model.
The official instinctively leaned closer, staring wide-eyed at the small villa in Lu Xuan's palm, dumbfounded.
He examined the house carefully from all angles and found that it was exactly the same as the one he had seen when he first visited!
The official's breathing quickened slightly. "Can all the houses in Yunlu Village be shrunk down like this? Wouldn't that mean we could take the houses anywhere we go?"
Lu Xuan nodded casually, "That's true."
The official, both excited and anxious, said, "Why didn't you say so before, Lord Marquis, that you had such a treasure in your possession!"
Lu Xuan: "What good would it do to say it? The capital city doesn't lack houses. In places that lack houses, like the camp you're currently managing, do you think anyone can afford such precious houses?"
The official opened his mouth, then suddenly fell silent.
Lu Xuan: "Even if someone wants a sturdy house, a mobile modular unit can meet their needs, and the price is very low. Although it doesn't keep you warm, if you want to keep warm, a heated house will be more cost-effective."
A greenhouse costing over 60,000 or 100,000 points per acre sounds expensive, but if it's used as housing, who has a land area that far exceeds one acre?
A small greenhouse of a few dozen square meters can be had for just over 10,000 points.
As for safe houses, even a single-person safe house costs hundreds of thousands of points.
The difference is not small.
"Oh dear, how can they be the same!" The official was so anxious that he scratched his head.
With so many high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital, who doesn't own several villas? They don't necessarily live in those villas; they're more often used for various banquets or simply to show off.
Wealthy and powerful people buy houses not to live in, but to display their family's wealth and status!
If the nobles of the capital knew of the existence of a treasure house that could be enlarged and shrunk, they would fight tooth and nail to get their hands on it.
The official looked at Lu Xuan expectantly, "Lord Marquis, please tell me, are you going to sell this house or not?"
Lu Xuan said, "If someone wants to buy it, then of course I'll sell it."
The official immediately replied, "Of course there are!" and "There will definitely be plenty."
Even he himself wanted to own such a flexible treasure house.
but……
The official then recalled the most crucial question: "What is the value of these houses?"
If calculated based on the gold and silver reserves before the catastrophe, he felt he still had some savings, but if calculated based on mutated food... he really didn't have much on hand.
"The price..." Lu Xuan pondered for a moment.
"A single-person safe house yields 5,000 jin of mutated grain, a double-person safe house yields 10,000 jin, a two-story villa yields 20,000 jin, and a three-story villa yields 50,000 jin."
Official: "Hiss—!" So expensive!
[Oh dear! Safe houses have gone up in price, almost double the price in the village.]
Wow, that's expensive! If we go by the Star Alliance's prices, it'd cost tens of millions of Star Dollars, right? That's more than ten times the price of a Star Alliance safe house.
[That's not how you calculate it; the value of things differs across dimensions. Since the streamer built greenhouses for the other cities, these places can produce tens of millions of kilograms of grain every month or so, while the safe house only produces tens of thousands of kilograms, which is already a great deal.]
However, even though tens of millions of bushels of grain are the rations for all the city's residents, when divided equally, each person wouldn't actually receive much, and besides, it might not even be divided perfectly.
Ultimately, safe houses are a luxury only the wealthy can afford.
I wonder if this official can afford it.
Officials... really can't afford it.
He was not from the capital and did not own any land there, so he was unable to ask Lu Xuan to build a greenhouse and grow crops.
Besides the salary he received from his superiors, the grain he had was also from his own money that he hoarded.
He has enough to eat and use until the catastrophe ends, and he can even have some surplus. But if he were to produce tens of thousands of kilograms of grain, he couldn't even afford to sell them all.
You can borrow some food from someone in a safe house or buy some, but what if you starve afterwards?
The official was conflicted, heartbroken, and reluctant, but ultimately did not act impulsively.
Instead, he thought that even though he couldn't afford it, he could pass on the news to someone who could, doing them a small favor! There would be some benefit to be gained anyway.
Lu Xuan didn't care whether he could afford it or not.
He had indeed considered accumulating a lot of points by selling houses before, but after starting his business and building greenhouses in other towns, the profits from selling houses became less important.
He makes a profit if someone buys his product, but it doesn't matter if no one buys it.
·
Outside Lu Qing and Lei Yan's room on Ship No. 1.
A group of women and some men gathered in the corridor, looking tense.
"Why is there no sound from inside?" Xiong Mao asked suspiciously. "My wife screamed so loudly when she was giving birth."
Su Ying, who was standing next to him, pinched his waist hard. "If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute." What did she mean by "she's yelling so loudly"? It's easy to misunderstand what she meant.
Besides, "Didn't we say that Lu Qing would give birth in the medical pod? She'll be given anesthesia, so she won't feel any pain during childbirth. What's the point of calling it that?"
Aunt Liu, Aunt Chen, and other women sighed with emotion, "It's so good! In the past, childbirth was a life-or-death struggle for women. With the medical pod, it will be much safer for the young women in the village to give birth in the future."
Ye Jing, holding her son and standing with Ye Lin, felt quite emotional.
If she had gotten pregnant a little later, the delivery might have been much easier.
Zhu Qiao'er, Ke Wei, and Lu Qing all found out they were pregnant one after the other, except that Ke Wei's pregnancy was a month later.
However, both of them were pregnant for the first time and about to give birth for the first time. They had heard of or even witnessed other women experiencing difficult labor, severe bleeding, and even the death of both mother and child.
Ji Xiuling almost died from postpartum hemorrhage back then, which can be considered a near-death experience. It would be a lie to say that the two of them were not afraid.
But when I learned that the medical pod could help with painless childbirth, I immediately felt relieved.
They've all decided that when they give birth, they'll use the medical pod too!
A group of people waited outside for almost two hours before Lu Miaomiao opened the door. She glanced at the others and said to Lu Xuan, "She has given birth. Mother and child are safe."
Lei Yan, who had been on edge, relaxed and asked eagerly, "Can we go in now?"
Grandma Lin, who followed behind, said cheerfully, "Qing'er has changed her clothes, you can come in now."
Upon hearing this, Lei Yan rushed inside.
Lu Xuan and Lu Chen followed closely behind, followed by Li Yue, Su Ying, Wu Yinyin, Ye Ping, and other female relatives with whom they had a good relationship.
The other men were not allowed to go in because of the gender distinction.
Inside the room.
Lei Yan held Lu Qing's hand, his expression moved, "You've worked hard."
Lu Qing smiled gently and shook her head, "It's not tiring at all."
Lu Xuan stood aside and quickly looked Lu Qing over. After confirming that there was nothing wrong with her, he didn't say anything more.
The viewers in the live stream kept sending gifts to congratulate the baby, saying it was a welcome gift for the little one.
Looking at Lu Qing, whose face showed no signs of fatigue, Wu Yinyin exclaimed, "Looking at your rosy complexion, you really can't tell that you just gave birth."
Lu Qing laughed too, "I also think it's amazing. I didn't feel any pain during childbirth, and I was quite startled when I saw that the baby had been born."
The other women laughed after hearing this, and then their gazes shifted to the baby beside her, who had been cleaned and wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Lu Chen was standing close to the baby, excitedly greeting him, "Nephew, do you know I'm your uncle?"
The women found it amusing, but their gazes toward the child were clearly filled with amazement.
Ye Ping sighed, "This child is really good-looking."
Wu Yinyin and Su Ying nodded in agreement.
“My son Kangbao was much uglier when he was born. His features were all squeezed together, making him look like a little old man. At the time, I even suspected that the midwife had given him the wrong baby.”
Su Ying also said, "When Da Bao was born, he was thin and small, with sparse lanugo, and didn't look like my Xiong Mao at all." But after he grew up, he looked exactly like Xiong Mao when he was a child.
Unlike Lu Qing's baby, whose face was inevitably red from birth, his features were still very delicate, and he would definitely grow up to be handsome.
Li Yue recalled the scene when her daughter was just born, and a trace of sadness flashed across her eyes.
Watching Lu Qing talk to others while her gentle gaze remained fixed on the child, Li Yue couldn't help but feel a stirring in her heart and couldn't help but gently stroke her belly.
She would not forget her daughter who died of illness, but she also wanted to start a new life and have a son or daughter with Wu Yang.
I just don't know when this fate will fall on her head.
·
After giving birth, Lu Qing settled down on the boat to recuperate. She didn't need to worry about anything at home; all she had to do was breastfeed her baby. The childcare was handled by Lei Yan and Lu Miaomiao.
Lu Xuan and Lu Chen would occasionally help change diapers or hold and lull someone to sleep.
Newborn babies are prone to crying at night and are not easy to care for. However, Lu Miaomiao is a robot and is not afraid of fatigue. Therefore, although the Lu family has a newborn, they do not experience the exhaustion that a normal family would go through. Instead, they enjoy the joy of having a new family member every day.
Even Lu Xuan's live stream content focused more on the baby, and the viewers didn't mind.
Five days after the baby was born, the redness completely subsided, and the skin became fair and tender. The baby's already delicate eyebrows and eyes looked even more adorable, and many people were so engrossed in watching the live stream that they were completely captivated by the baby.
[Just look at the baby's features, he'll definitely grow up to be more handsome than the streamer!]
[He hardly ever cries except when he's hungry or needs a diaper change, such a good boy! Then look at my stinky little one who cries every day even when he's full. I really want to crawl over and steal his!]
[I wonder if my baby will be able to acquire superpowers in the future, and if so, what kind.]
[This baby is so cute, they must be special!]
By the way, have you named your baby yet?
Lu Xuan said, "He's here. His formal name is Lei Xiao, and his nickname is Little Stone."
[Lei Xiao, so it's actually Xiao Xiao, baby! What a lovely name!]
Why is it called Little Stone?
I guess it's because of Lei Yan's name. Yan means stone, and big stones naturally produce small stones.
Lu Xuan nodded.
Throughout history, many places have had the custom of giving children humble names that are easy to raise. However, he would never give his own nephew a name like "Second Dog Egg" or "Little Stone." "Little Stone" is a good name; it sounds sturdy.
After having Little Stone, Lu Chen no longer spent all his free time outside of class playing holographic games. He would spend his free time with Little Stone, talking about his daily life, regardless of whether Little Stone could understand him or not.
·
On the seventh day after Lu Qing gave birth, Zhu Qiao'er went into labor.
With the assistance of the medical pod, she successfully gave birth to a boy after four hours.
This child can be said to be the grandson that the Liu family has been looking forward to for many years. The whole Liu family is overjoyed, and Liu Daxi and Aunt Liu can't stop smiling.
It was also the day after Zhu Qiao'er gave birth that the continuous rain for more than ten days finally caused flooding.
The villagers who were working on the hill all returned to the boat just in case.
As the floodwaters, mixed with many broken logs, branches, and other debris, surged in, boat number 1 and the large boat carrying the villagers inevitably swayed under the impact.
Ship No. 1 was smaller than the larger ships, so it rocked a little more.
But that's all.
The boat neither capsized nor was it damaged. Instead, due to the increasing depth of the floodwaters, the boat slowly floated up, truly fulfilling its intended function.
Everything looked exactly the same as last year. The villagers, who had already experienced it once, were not at all flustered and even had the mood to appreciate the magnificent and shocking scene of the flood submerging the surrounding area.
Other settlements weren't as relaxed as Yunlu Village.
The timing of the floods was not uniform across all areas; some settlements were hit by the floods even before Yunlu Village was flooded.
Because of the large number of disaster victims in the city, various minor accidents caused some delays. When the floods arrived earlier than expected, the gathering place was thrown into chaos, and many people fell into the water before they could escape.
Although most of the disaster victims put on life jackets or life rings in advance, there were still quite a few who did not have time to put them on.
Not to mention that this flood also contained a large amount of acid rain. People who fell in were soaked in the acid rain water and screamed in pain.
When the others frantically pulled the person out of the water, there was hardly a patch of good flesh on their body, covered in blisters and torn flesh, a sight that gave everyone goosebumps.
To make matters worse, floods and hailstorms struck in some areas.
On one hand, they had to avoid being swept away by the flood, and on the other hand, they had to avoid being killed by hail. Although everyone wore safety helmets, they could not avoid being hit by hail.
At best, you might only get some bruises, but if you're unlucky, you could get a bone fracture.
When Lu Xuan received this news, it was after the most dangerous period had passed and things had been initially settled in various places.
Lu Xuan inquired about the number of casualties in several gathering places.
Apart from Yangshan County, which was spared from the flood because it was moved to the mountains, and Jingcheng, Luochuan, Fengxian, and Licheng, which were surrounded by several underground fissures that absorbed a lot of rainwater and did not flood, an average of several hundred people died, dozens to hundreds went missing, and more than a thousand were injured.
[I thought with the streamer's help, no more people would die, but I didn't expect so many to still die.]
Even if a streamer has a lot of great content, there's no guarantee that no unexpected events will occur.
The streamer isn't a god; they can't, and have no obligation to, protect everyone. Protecting most people is already a good thing; don't be too greedy.
[Imagine what it would be like if someone fell into a flood and their flesh corroded... ugh.]
Don't say it!!! My hair is standing on end.
As the audience said, the lives of other disaster victims were indeed not within Lu Xuan's scope of responsibility, so he knew about it but did nothing about it.
Two days after hail fell elsewhere, Yunlu Village also experienced hail.
It was still a fist-sized sphere, crashing down relentlessly, leaving noticeable dents on the decks of both Ship No. 1 and the main ship.
However, Lu Xuan and the villagers had prepared waterproof tarpaulins in advance, so the windows and greenhouses on the boat were not damaged.
The hail lasted for two days before stopping, and the rain stopped at the same time.
"The rain has stopped?" The villagers, who had recently stopped almost all outdoor activities due to the heavy rain, looked excitedly out the window.
The women usually do most of the housework indoors, so they don't feel too stifled, but the men are really feeling stifled.
Chen Rong was the first to eagerly call out to the others, "Come on, let's go out for some fresh air! This damn rain is finally going to stop for a day!"
Xiong Mao, Zhang Chengming, and the others were also tired of staying on the boat, so they followed without saying a word.
As soon as the group reached the deck, they couldn't help but exclaim "Huh?" as they discovered that a thick fog had risen outside.
It was still a thick fog that made it impossible to distinguish between humans and animals beyond a meter away.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thanks to "Changyushan" for throwing a landmine. Throwing time: 2025-06-19 22:37:52
Thank you "Flower Falls" and "Swallow" for the nutrient solution!
——
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Copywriting:
Climate anomalies, ocean pollution, global warming
When humanity ravaged the blue planet beyond recognition, the game of survival at sea suddenly arrived.
People panicked and became hysterical because of the sudden change, but Yu Tang, who possessed mermaid genes and had off-the-charts combat power, suddenly brightened up when she looked at the pure and vast sea.
Soon, many players discovered that one player's art style was completely different from theirs!
·
When others hold a fishing rod and can't catch a single fish for half a day...
Yu Tang, who has a built-in aura that intimidates marine life, has achieved seafood freedom, with salmon, tuna, lobster, and abalone all at her disposal!
·
While others were still barely managing to get one or two treasure chests by scavenging trash...
Yu Tang swung his claws and killed countless big fish, opened treasure chests until his hands were sore, and had so many rare resources that he couldn't even count them all!
·
Landing on the island to kill the BOSS, surviving natural disasters, exploring the ocean depths—tests that would require serious preparation for others are so easy in Yu Tang's eyes!
Yu Tang: Trying to return to the real world? No, no, no, I can play this game forever!
Survival System: QAQ! Get out of here—!
·
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Just when Yu Tang thought he could do whatever he wanted in the game—he went into heat!
Yu Tang: ? ? ?
I'd accept a fish tail, but mating season? Don't be ridiculous!
But then I thought, I was single before the survival game came along, and now that it's the apocalypse, what's wrong with me having some fun?! (Full of self-righteousness)
On a whim, Yu Tang sent someone an invitation to join the rafting activity: Shall we do it?
The man's eyes were deep and dark, with a burning intensity that seemed to want to devour him whole. Without hesitation, he replied: Do it!
·
Players all thought that the two top players in this server were like kings who would never meet, and that whenever they met, there would definitely be a fierce battle.
Little did they know, the two had already been secretly having an affair behind everyone's back.
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