Chapter 254 Exclusively published on Jinjiang Literature City: Yunlu Village Login
West Continent, near the North Shore Wharf.
Many fishing boats and kayaks of various sizes lined up and went back and forth at the newly built, simple dock.
Not far from the dock, you can see many people building a new city wall. However, due to the limited raw materials, the progress is slow and only the foundation has been laid.
The disaster victims worked tirelessly, their hands moving and their mouths talking, huddling together to share their current situations.
"How's your family settling in?" a dark-skinned middle-aged man asked the thin man next door.
The thin man sighed, "There's not much to settle down. My family doesn't have any spatial rings. Before the earthquake, we only had time to pack up essential food, drinks, and a few clothes. We had almost nothing else. We just set up a shed and that was it."
After saying that, she couldn't help but say with envy and sourness, "My neighbors are so lucky. Two months ago, they almost went bankrupt to buy a small space. When they fled this time, most of their belongings were stored in the space. Now that they're here, they have everything they need: tables, chairs, bowls, chopsticks, cabinets, bedding, and more."
"I should have bought a space back then." Even the smallest five cubic meters would have been enough to fit everything in their house, since they didn't have much stuff to begin with.
Others nearby joined the conversation, agreeing: "Buying a space is indeed a crucial matter. It can protect important supplies in critical moments, and after the disaster is over, it can be passed down as a family heirloom."
"It's a pity that I didn't understand this principle before the tsunami came, and now I can't change it even if I want to."
Some, who were more frugal, disagreed, saying, "Didn't the authorities say that there wouldn't be such a severe disaster again in the short term? A space isn't cheap. We'd be better off exchanging those supplies for other more practical things, like a bio-suit and a kayak."
The former is a life-saving item for many disaster victims to survive extreme heat and cold, while the latter can provide them with a relatively stable income in the current situation where supplies are hard to come by.
Whether you drive your own kayak or rent it out, these are both good ways to make a living.
As for space, it's not too late to buy it when you have more savings.
While others may not agree that space isn't worth buying, biosuits and kayaks are indeed practical.
While not every disaster victim has access to bio-suits, each family at least has one to rotate among family members.
"It's fortunate that Yunlu Village has these good things, otherwise our lives would definitely be even more difficult now."
It's even hard to say whether they could have lasted until now.
When this was mentioned, everyone nodded in agreement.
A younger man who had been listening quietly asked, "Does Yunlu Village really have that many good things? I've also heard that they have a treasure that can make people with missing arms or legs grow back? And I've also heard that there are dozens of nobles in this village who have been granted titles. Is that true?"
The group of disaster victims who were talking all looked over.
The first dark-skinned man to speak said with certainty, "You're one of the new people who arrived these past few days, right?"
The young man nodded. "Yes."
The others understood.
The people in their city had done business with the bosses from Yunlu Village many times, but they had indeed heard that several survivors from small towns had come in the past few days.
Because the place was so remote, it's understandable that these survivors, who had previously lived a hard and isolated life, were unaware of these new changes outside.
“In the past, we wouldn’t have believed that anyone could produce so many amazing treasures, but you’ve taken the bio-clothing and nutrient supplements we mentioned, right? Including those fishing boats and kayaks of all sizes constantly coming and going from the shore, they’re all right there. These things were all obtained from Yunlu Village.”
"The thing you're talking about that can make people grow arms and legs back is called a medical pod. I've heard it can cure any disease. But there are only a few medical pods available. We ordinary people don't know when we'll get a chance to use one."
"It's true that Yunlu Village has dozens of nobles, including barons and viscounts. You've seen how powerful the superhumans are, haven't you?"
The newcomer's eyes lit up with excitement as he recalled seeing someone condense fireballs when the villagers were rescued, and how an earth-elemental ability user had created a wall out of thin air just a few days ago.
"Superpowered people are really amazing. Every time I see their methods, I feel like I'm seeing living gods."
The others couldn't help but burst into laughter, "Indeed, they're no different from living gods. After all, the reason why superhumans can gain special abilities is because of Boss Lu, no, it's because Marquis Yunxian brought out the elixir."
"Marquis Yunxian is from Yunlu Village. It is said that everyone in Yunlu Village has used the elixir of immortality, so it is perfectly normal for there to be dozens of people with superpowers."
At this point, the others clearly showed envy.
Is this what they mean by "even the chickens and dogs ascend to heaven"?
When a man named Yunxianhou emerged, the entire village rose to prominence and soared to great heights.
Why didn't they get this good fortune? Sigh.
Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out at the dock.
What's going on over there?
"Could it be that the big ship that went out today has returned?"
As everyone speculated, they turned around and were all stunned.
The new young man gaped, his expression one of shock: "What is that—! It's huge!"
Suddenly, a huge ship appeared on the sea... Was that a ship?
It was larger, taller, and more imposing than the passenger ship they had come on, but its outline was indeed that of a ship.
"It seems like the bosses from Yunlu Village have arrived!"
Hearing faint sounds coming from the dock, everyone was even more surprised. "Is that a boat from Yunlu Village?"
I was shocked, but also somewhat enlightened.
Apart from the Jiangnan region, the large ships in various towns nowadays are all obtained through trade with Yunlu Village. It makes sense that Yunlu Village owns even more impressive large ships.
Some well-informed people in the crowd had heard that the Emperor's ship was also very impressive, but the dock in the capital was on the east bank, which was quite far from their side. They were too busy making a living to travel such a long distance just to catch a glimpse of something new.
But looking at the people of Yunlu Village now, they thought that the emperor's boat must look something like this.
Noticing that many of the disaster victims who had originally set up stalls near the docks had run off to watch the commotion, the people repairing the city wall couldn't help but say, "Let's go join in the fun too."
The others were already getting restless, and as soon as someone started talking, they immediately said, "Yes, yes, you might only see such a magnificent ship once in your life, so you have to get close to see it clearly."
"I wonder if I'll be able to see anyone from Yunlu Village, or even Yunxianhou."
·
On the cruise ship.
"We've finally arrived!" The villagers stood at the deck railing, looking excitedly at the land ahead.
Lu Chen, Zhang Dafu, and the other kids stared wide-eyed at the shore with curiosity, pointing and giggling as they talked.
Grandpa Zhang sighed, "After drifting on the ship for so long, we can finally see land again."
While the cruise ship was indeed very stable, he had never experienced life at sea in most of his life. Even when the ship was not rocking, he always had a feeling of drifting and not being able to land on solid ground.
Zhang Chengming looked around and said, "This place looks very big."
Lu Xuan said, "If it's not big, how can it accommodate a million people? It would also require cultivating tens of thousands of acres or even more of farmland."
Li Tie's gaze fell on the dock on the shore, and he sighed, "The disaster victims from all over the country must have been here for a short time, but I didn't expect that even the dock would be built so quickly."
He then looked at the open space on both sides of the dock, where many stalls were set up in long lines. It was not clear from a distance what they were selling, but the people on the other small boats were carrying fishing nets and negotiating with the stall owners, so they were probably also buying and selling seafood.
"I thought the disaster victims here would be listless because they lost their homes, but it seems that everyone is doing alright."
As they were talking, the gangway on the cruise ship was lowered.
Before they could disembark, Ye Feiluan, Chen Bing, Liu Ziming, Bai Xuefeng, and other acquaintances who had already received the news from other ships at sea and came to wait ahead of them walked up from the other end of the gangway.
"You've finally arrived!"
"I didn't expect the whole village to come together." After coming up, Chen Bing greeted the villagers one by one, then looked up at the more than twenty-story cruise ship in front of him and exclaimed in amazement: "Wow, your ship is much more impressive than ours!"
Ye Feiluan, Hua San, and the others also looked around in amazement.
The only one whose reaction wasn't too strong was Bai Xuefeng, who was staying on the cruise ship in the capital with the new emperor. He was mostly just happy about the arrival of Lu Xuan and the group from Yunlu Village.
Although the villagers were excited to finally return to land, the area was home to people from multiple settlements, and the population was many times larger than they had encountered before.
They weren't sure what the rules were like here. Seeing Chen Bing and the others' curiosity about the cruise ship, Lu Xuan didn't rush to get off with the villagers. Instead, he said, "There are many fun entertainment facilities on the cruise ship. If you're interested, we can have someone take you around."
“Of course I’m interested!” Chen Bing was the first to speak.
Bai Xuefeng nodded vigorously.
He wasn't too impressed by the cruise ship itself, but he had heard about the Marquis of Weiyuan's residence mentioning that Yunlu Village had filled in soil on the cruise ship to create farmland.
He was really curious about what it would be like to farm on a cruise ship.
These people came with some helpers, who were left to guard the gangway to prevent strangers from coming aboard. Afterwards, they followed the people from Yunlu Village to tour the cruise ship.
The tour process mirrors the steps taken when the villagers first familiarized themselves with the cruise ship with Lu Xuan.
From bottom to top, the lowest level of the fields is on the third floor. As soon as Bai Xuefeng and the others arrived on the third floor, they found that the land in front of them was indeed all black soil and lush, thriving crops. Even though they had prepared themselves mentally, they still took several deep breaths.
Chen Bing sighed, "You guys have really started farming on the ship!"
“How could this be fake?” Chen Rong was more enthusiastic and friendly to him than others because he shared the same surname as Chen Bing. He laughed and said, “Right now, all we have is this little bit of land on the cruise ship. Our harvest depends entirely on them.”
They certainly had a large catch each time they went fishing, but fish can't be eaten as a meal.
A few dozen acres of land may not seem like much, but the cruise ship doesn't need a greenhouse, which greatly saves on costs. Combined with seafood and the large amount of meat obtained during animal raids, it's enough for their daily needs.
They won't be anxious as long as they don't need to touch their stockpiles.
Now that they're back in the Western Continent, they can sell the high-tech goods they bought in bulk from Lu Xuan in advance to make a profit and offset the losses from the greenhouse.
The villagers not only showed the guests around the fields, but also took them to see and play on the various amusement facilities that the guests had recently become obsessed with.
We then saw swordfish kept in an 'aquarium', which broadened our horizons. At noon, we enjoyed a sumptuous seafood feast with the villagers. It was an amazing experience.
Hua San, patting his stomach, exclaimed, "You guys are living such a comfortable life."
Ye Feiluan deeply agreed.
Compared to the disaster victims in other towns, many people in Fengxian County are already living relatively well. Compared to Yunlu Village, they are nothing, no, there is no comparison at all.
Having received such top-notch hospitality, everyone described the current situation on the ground in great detail.
Liu Zimo said, "The capital city was the first to start building city walls, but considering that there might be beast attacks later, Luochuan, Yangshan, and Fengxian followed the capital city's lead, which also provided a source of income for the disaster victims."
The western continent is not all plains; it also has some mountains, lakes, and grasslands.
However, those places were not places that ordinary disaster victims could explore. Many places were full of dangers, and the probability of injury or death during robberies was very high.
The disaster victims dared not go out, and the authorities dared not let them wander around, lest they suffer even greater loss of life.
Building city walls could serve as temporary shelters for disaster victims for a period of time.
"Of course, there was a limit to the manpower needed to build the city walls, so the towns encouraged the rest of the people to go out to sea to fish and catch fish."
People live off the land and the sea, just as Lu Xuan told the new emperor before, the ocean is the greatest resource.
As long as you don't go too far, fishing in coastal waters is much less dangerous than hunting in the mountains.
Lu Xuan asked, "How was the fishing harvest for the disaster victims?"
The villagers are also very concerned about this, as the disaster victims' assets are directly related to their income.
Ye Feiluan said, "We go out fishing in our boats equipped with radar detectors and automatic fishing nets and our catches are quite good. When we find schools of fish, we can get at least tens of thousands of catties of fish each time. However, most of the other disaster victims don't have the space to store that many fish. Not everyone has boats and fishing nets. Apart from the people of Licheng, most people don't know how to fish at all, so their catches are not as good."
Some unlucky people go out empty-handed after a busy day and come back empty-handed.
But overall, most people still gain something, more or less.
This is not because of good luck, but because of the excellent marine environment and the abundance of fish in the sea. Even if you are fishing one by one with bait such as earthworms, you can still catch twenty or thirty pounds of fish with some effort.
As long as the boats you take out aren't energy-consuming like electric kayaks, there are basically no other costs besides the time spent and having to dig your own bait.
These earnings are enough for an ordinary family to live on.
If the kayak is not privately owned, then the issue of rent arises.
Chen Bingdao said, "Most of the disaster victims don't have their own boats, and we can't provide that many boats to sell. Besides, the dock is only so big and can't accommodate thousands of boats. So in the end, we chose to let the disaster victims borrow kayaks or inflatable platforms through a rental method."
The rental fee for a small kayak is only five kilograms of fish per day, and the largest kayak will not exceed thirty kilograms. Moreover, the larger kayaks can be rented by multiple people, so the rental fee is about the same.
Inflatable platforms are cheaper, as they are much simpler than those with sunshades.
A 50-square-meter platform is rented to 20 or 30 people, each of whom only needs to pay for three catties of fish per day.
Although small kayaks and inflatable platforms are at risk of capsizing on days with large waves, having such a relatively stable way to obtain resources is already quite good.
Even though the disaster victims are still not fully accustomed to this new life, everyone is trying to adapt.
The viewers in the live stream were deeply moved.
Humans are indeed creatures that can adapt to anything with remarkable speed.
There's nothing you can do if you can't adapt.
[To be precise, those who couldn't adapt are already dead. (Funny image)]
After Ye Feiluan and the others finished speaking, they asked Lu Xuan and the villagers, "Are you planning to set up a stall over there first this time? Or will you do it in batches like before?"
Li Tie said, "We'll do it in batches, that way it'll be faster. We've also specially reserved a shopping area on the cruise ship, with each shop occupying a storefront. They mainly sell rarer supplies. We'll open the gangway entrance later so that people who want to buy valuable goods can come and choose for themselves."
This can prevent wealthy individuals from missing out on opportunities to make money by competing with ordinary people for goods.
On the other hand, their village has a rather mysterious reputation, and with dozens of newly promoted nobles, it's necessary for them to maintain a certain air and elevate their status to avoid being looked down upon.
Bai Xuefeng asked curiously, "Does Marquis Yunxian also have shops?"
Zhang Chengming said, "Of course there are, and there's more than one."
Chen Rong chuckled mysteriously twice and said, "In addition to selling some high-value items that he has brought out before, Lu Xuan has also prepared a lot of new treasures this time. Those were all specially brought back from the Immortal Realm during the rainy season."
Ye Feiluan and the others were shocked to hear this: Lu Xuan has returned to the Immortal Realm!?
Is Lu Xuan really an immortal?
What is the celestial realm like? Are there other immortals there?
Everyone eagerly pressed for details, but then hesitated, worried about breaking some taboo, and swallowed their words, instead asking, "What kind of treasure is it? Is it a treasure like the evolution fluid?"
Just as Chen Rong opened his mouth to continue speaking, Lu Xuan, who had been fiddling with the communicator, suddenly looked up and dropped a bombshell before anyone else could react.
"His Majesty said he also wants to visit the cruise ship. He will arrive soon, so let's prepare to receive him."
Everyone in the restaurant jumped in shock. "What—!?"
"The Emperor is coming!?"
"Welcome, welcome, welcome the emperor—!?"
The villagers jumped to their feet in fright, their faces filled with panic.
Even Ye Feiluan, Chen Bing and the others looked somewhat nervous.
They've only ever seen His Majesty in the holographic world; this is their first time seeing him in person.
Li Tie was stunned for a while, until Wu Cheng patted him hard on the shoulder and he came back to his senses. Looking at the panicked villagers around him, he decisively said, "Quickly clean up the restaurant and change into your best clothes. Get ready to receive the emperor!"
Change clothes, yes, I need to change clothes!
The villagers, reminded, looked down at their casually worn clothes and, to avoid offending His Majesty or leaving a bad impression, all ran towards the elevator entrance.
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Author's Note: The interstellar travel storyline has been updated. The long chapters with over 20,000 words are in chapters 243 and the first half of 244. It is recommended to finish these chapters before reading the following chapter 255, as it will make the reading process smoother.
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I wrote so much in one go, I'm completely exhausted. There probably won't be any more extra chapters until the end. I'll try my best to finish it! [Heart emoji]
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