Chapter 137 (Exclusive on Jinjiang Literature City): The yacht finally came in handy! ...
The muddy torrent, like an enraged beast, roared in from afar. The grass at the foot of the mountain vanished in the blink of an eye, and trees fell in droves, some even uprooted, as the rushing water washed over them.
Occasionally, one can see animals struggling to escape the floodwaters, their cries echoing through the water, before being swept away by the surging waves and disappearing without a trace.
As far as the eye could see, almost everything had turned into a vast ocean.
According to the weather app, the flood peak should have arrived yesterday, but it's a day late.
Lu Xuan guessed that it was probably because there were too many underground fissures, which carried a large portion of the rainwater underground.
If it weren't for the astonishing rainfall during the rainy season, there might never have been such a large-scale flood, let alone the display of nature's cruelty and grandeur in front of the villagers and the viewers in the live broadcast room.
The villagers, witnessing such a massive flood for the first time, turned pale, their legs went weak, and they stood there speechless for a long time with their mouths agape.
The reaction in the live stream was equally intense.
The flood finally came!
After so many days of rain, it was bound to arrive.
[The yacht and kayak that the streamer bought can finally be put to use!]
[Is this the start of a water-based lifestyle? I can't wait!]
The surging floodwaters quickly reached the mountainside, less than five meters from where Yunlu Village was setting up camp.
Lu Qing was starting to panic. She nervously tugged at Lu Xuan's sleeve: "Xuan, the flood won't reach here, will it? Should we hurry up and get in the hovercar?"
Li Tie was also worried that the camp would be flooded, so he quickly came over to ask Lu Xuan for his opinion.
The other villagers, their faces pale and filled with anxiety and panic, gathered around.
Lu Xuan said, "We've gathered quite a bit of supplies from the mountain, so it's time to leave. However, the flood has already formed, so there's no need to take the hovercar anymore. The surrounding area should be submerged, so it's time to find another mode of transportation."
Lu Xuan instructed the others to dismantle and pack up the makeshift shelters in the camp, gather their personal belongings, and patiently wait in the rain shelter for the floodwaters to continue rising.
When the floodwaters were less than two meters away from the mountainside where they were, and the water was at least fifteen meters deep, Zhang Chengming, Xiong Mao, and other brave young men couldn't help but urge Lu Xuan on.
Seeing that the time was right, Lu Xuan signaled everyone to step back, then walked to the edge and took out the two yachts that he had bought but which were temporarily stored in the system because they were too big.
The two large machines slammed into the water as soon as they came out, splashing up a lot of water.
"Ah!" Many villagers exclaimed in fright.
"What is this? A ship!?"
"Is this the ship you prepared in advance?"
"Wow—! It's huge!"
The newlyweds, who are still not used to the high-tech products that Yunlu Village uses so often, reacted particularly strongly.
The elderly men and women were so frightened by the sudden appearance of such a huge creature that they had never seen before that they almost fainted.
Lin Qingfu thought that having seen hovercars, nothing could scare him anymore, but when he saw the large ship, he couldn't help but gasp repeatedly, secretly pinching his thigh to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
The villagers, who were already used to Lu Xuan frequently exchanging new things with immortals, quickly rushed excitedly to the two large ships after their initial shock, looking them up and down with wide eyes.
"Lu Xuan, could this ship be made entirely of iron?"
The newly joined blacksmith, Jin He, examined it carefully and concluded that it didn't look like iron, but rather like steel.
Steel forged through repeated tempering is far more valuable than iron.
Lu Xuan said, "The main body of the ship should be made of alloy material, with steel used in a small number of places."
He's not a shipbuilder, so he couldn't say much about the more specialized aspects, and besides, that's not the point.
He pointed to the yacht on the left and said to Lu Qing and the other two, "This boat is for us. You can go up and choose your rooms first."
After saying that, he turned to Li Tie and pointed to another, larger passenger boat.
"Village chief, this boat is for the rest of the village. It has many guest rooms. You can arrange for the villagers to stay here. As for whether to rent this passenger boat or buy it directly as a village asset, we can consider that later."
Li Tie looked at the large ship in front of him with great excitement and quickly nodded, saying, "Then let's go up and take a look."
After the rest of the villagers eagerly dismantled the last of the rain shelters, they picked up their own bags and excitedly stepped onto the deck and boarded the boat.
The passenger ship has a total of four levels: one underground and three above ground.
The underground area contains functional spaces such as machine rooms, cold storage, and warehouses. The upper three floors contain the driver's cab, numerous guest rooms, multiple public washrooms, and a small restaurant.
There are no entertainment facilities, after all, it is an economy passenger boat, and even the rooms are compact, similar to high-speed rail sleeper berths.
Apart from a few business rooms that are relatively spacious, the rest are economy rooms. Each room has two single beds, each one meter wide, on each side. The aisle is one meter wide, and the entire room is only three meters wide and two and a half meters long, which is very small.
Although the room was small, it had everything you needed.
The room is fully equipped with sheets and blankets, luggage can be stored under the bed, there is a small table for dining, a window with a view, a full-length mirror by the door, and the main light and bedside lamps can be controlled by the user.
Aside from the lack of a private bathroom, it can basically meet all the daily needs of the villagers. In terms of living comfort, it cannot compare with the safe houses, but it far surpasses the living environment of the villagers before the disaster.
The villagers were quite satisfied with the small but exquisite rooms and enthusiastically began choosing their rooms.
Although the room size and interior decoration are the same, different floors and the relationship between the neighbors can affect the mood of living there.
After Li Tie circled the boat inside and out, he returned to the shore and found that Lu Xuan had taken out another boat and placed it behind the boat the villagers were riding in.
However, this ship looks quite different from the previous two; it appears rather simple.
This is not surprising, because the ship was not intended for people, but for their livestock such as cattle, sheep, and chickens. Apart from the wheelhouse and a small lounge, there were only a few large cargo holds on board.
Lu Xuan forgot about these living creatures when he bought the ship before. He bought this ship a few days ago for 300,000 points in the system shop.
Seeing that Lu Xuan had even arranged for the poultry and livestock, Li Tie was immediately relieved and went to visit the Lu family's private yacht.
Zhang Chengming, Li Jing, Xiong Mao, Chen Rong, and others also followed out of curiosity to see what was so unusual.
Luxury yachts are far superior to economy passenger yachts in terms of interior design. They feature en-suite rooms with private bathrooms, bars, restaurants, gyms, game rooms, indoor swimming pools, media rooms, meeting rooms, small conference rooms, and much more.
The crowd gasped in disbelief, and Xiong Mao's face twisted with envy. "The difference is just too great."
Chen Rong shook his head and sighed: "It's true what they say, comparison is the thief of joy."
Li Tie waved them off and said, "Go away, go away. What kind of boat can you live on? Ah Xuan is capable, so naturally he can live on a good boat. If it weren't for him, we would never even have the chance to touch such a nice boat in our lives. Be content."
After sending them back to the passenger ship, Li Tie found Lu Xuan alone in the cockpit.
"Ah Xuan, how many supplies are needed for the ship you prepared for us, whether we rent it or exchange it directly?"
Lu Xuan, who was examining the nearby terrain map, said, "The rent for one room is fifty catties of supplies per month, and the price of the entire ship is one hundred thousand catties of supplies, with grain accounting for at least half of that."
Li Tie took a breath, and his first reaction was, "It's really expensive!"
But considering the size of the passenger boat, the many fully equipped rooms inside, and its role in floods, it seems quite cheap.
Referring to the payment methods for the evolution fluid, he confirmed, "Is installment payment possible?"
Lu Xuan nodded. "Okay, five years."
Li Tie breathed a sigh of relief; that's good.
With only 20,000 jin (10,000 kg) a year, the pressure is immediately reduced.
Even after moving to a larger space, the public goods harvested during the hottest season still exceeded 10,000 jin (5,000 kg). In the northern part of Yangshan County, the public goods also yielded an additional 10,000 jin (5,000 kg) of grain and other goods, which was more than enough to cover this year's installment payments.
Lu Xuan asked, "So, do you want to buy or rent?"
Li Tie gritted his teeth and said, "Buy!"
Renting is certainly cheaper, but the boat doesn't belong to them after all.
If the village could own such a large ship, it would undoubtedly be a huge asset to the village.
Needless to say, it will be invaluable during the disaster period, and it will also serve as a major asset to the village after the disaster ends.
Whether it's taking it to a coastal city to continue generating revenue through passenger transport, or simply selling it off, it's a good idea.
In times of peace, the price of a ship would never be as cheap as 100,000 catties of grain. If the silver received is then distributed equally among every household in the village, there is no way that the ship will lose money.
After purchasing the boat with public resources, he could reduce the villagers' rent by half. The rent for the 52 households for two months would amount to more than 2,000 jin, which could offset a quarter of the food cost, greatly reducing the pressure on public resources.
What Li Tie could think of, the viewers in the live broadcast room could naturally think of as well, and the viewers couldn't help but admire the village chief's foresight once again.
The ships produced by the Covenant are of top quality. If you don't pursue the latest models, they can easily last for decades, which is equivalent to a lifetime for ancient people.
Having decided to buy, Li Tie did not delay and paid for the first batch of supplies on the spot.
Besides grain, the remaining supplies consisted mainly of cloth, sauces, alcohol, and dried meat.
Seeing that the once packed public space had been emptied by half, Li Tie couldn't help but frown with heartache.
He silently comforted himself, saying that out with the old, in with the new. Although the supplies were much less, the boat now belonged to the village, which was a great thing!
The empty space is perfect for storing the supplies harvested during the rainy season, which is great!
·
When Li Tie returned to the passenger boat and announced the news, the villagers, as expected, erupted in cheers.
"Such a big ship is now ours?"
"100,000 jin of supplies, wow! That's too expensive!"
“What’s so expensive about it?” Old Master Zhang, equally shocked, glared at the person who spoke. “If it weren’t for the catastrophe, Lu Xuan could easily have sold this ship to high-ranking officials and made several thousand or even tens of thousands of taels of silver.”
Ten thousand taels of silver is enough to buy ten or twenty times more grain; they've made a fortune!
Grandpa Zhang gave Li Tie a thumbs up and said, "Good lad, you have guts."
The other villagers also felt that what Grandpa Zhang said made sense, so they stopped talking about the price and instead asked, "Then does that mean we don't have to pay rent anymore?"
Li Tie said, "We still have to pay, but only half."
The quantity of public supplies is related to the village's ability to withstand risks, and it is still necessary to replenish them when conditions permit.
After Li Tie explained the crux of the matter to the villagers, they all said they could understand.
It's just 25 kilograms of supplies a month. They can easily afford it by collecting some supplies!
Compared to these insignificant supplies, they were much happier to have acquired a large ship.
...
With the new ownership of the passenger boats confirmed, the three ships finally set sail.
Almost everyone in the village was riding a boat for the first time, and they were all very excited. Many people ran to the outside railing to look around and enjoy the thrill of speeding through the floodwaters.
The floodwaters outside were still raging, but the boat, being large enough, barely felt any turbulence as it sailed steadily through the water, with only a slight, cradle-like rocking sensation.
The children were running around on the deck, laughing and joking.
The older women were terrified and quickly warned loudly, "Stay put and don't run around! What if you fall down!"
Lu Xuan noticed the commotion through the drone and used a communicator to notify Li Tie, giving him a batch of life jackets to put on the children just in case.
The elders from each family quickly changed into life jackets and put them on the children, and also bought their own and put them on as well.
Many people living inland are not good at swimming, so even if a large ship is very stable, they are still very scared when they see the raging flood.
Having this outfit, which is said to be so durable it won't sink even if you fall into the water, makes all the difference. Wearing it immediately puts me at ease.
After watching the novelty for a while, the group was soon forced back into the cabin by the rain hitting their faces and the chilly air.
Forget it, rather than standing in the cold wind, I might as well continue to familiarize myself with the facilities inside the ship.
Some villagers who had gotten up too early and hadn't had enough sleep simply went back to their rooms to catch up on sleep after the excitement wore off, and decided to experience what it was like to sleep on a boat.
The women mostly gathered in the restaurant to study the high-tech kitchen utensils that they had only seen at the Lu family's house. The children no longer ran outside, but instead ran and played happily in the corridors of the cabin, including Mei Cheng.
In order to better integrate the Mei siblings into the group, Lu Xuan did not give them special treatment by letting them live with his family. For the past two days, he had arranged for them to live with other elderly and young people.
With Lu Chen's help in making connections, Mei Cheng has become familiar with Lu Chen's friends, such as Zhang Dafu, Zhang Xiaofu, Li Kangbao, and Xiong Dabao. Even though Lu Chen is on another ship right now, it doesn't stop Mei Cheng from playing and frolicking with the other children.
Mei Xue, on the other hand, felt that she was a big kid now and preferred to help out at the restaurant to earn some money rather than play.
...
All three ships have activated autopilot, but the specific routes still need to be scouted by drones first and adjusted as needed.
Footage captured by drones shows that most of the low-lying areas were submerged by floods, and the only land that could be found was mostly hilly terrain and mountains of varying heights.
There are, of course, places that weren't flooded, but boats can't get through those places at all, and there's nothing worth looting, so they're basically negligible.
The drones are mainly used to survey areas with abundant vegetation and animal activity.
Whenever such a place is discovered, the boats from Yunlu Village will dock there and stay for one or two days to collect supplies.
The villagers would wander around the mountains during the day and return to their boats to rest at night for safety reasons. The next day, they would continue their journey, collect materials, and rest, repeating this cycle.
During this period, the rain showed no signs of stopping, with heavy rain or torrential rain every day. The further south you went, the heavier the rain became, and the fewer places were not flooded, the wider the area that boats could pass through became.
After traveling for five days with frequent stops and starts, the three large ships finally left the northern region and headed south. On the sixth day, near noon, they found a suitable place to stay during the rainy season.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com