Chapter 184 Exclusively Published on Jinjiang Literature City: The Descent of Polar Night
After the discovery of the hot spring pool, the villagers of Yunlu Village have gained another hobby.
Take a hot spring bath.
When you're tired from hunting, processing by-products, or doing other household chores, a soak in the tub will instantly relieve all your fatigue—it's incredibly relaxing.
Their actions were not kept secret from the village's helpers, so Huo Jiajun learned of the existence of the hot spring pool immediately.
At the village chief's enthusiastic invitation, I also joined the villagers to enjoy the winter hot spring experience.
There are over a hundred hot spring pools in the mountains, the largest of which can accommodate over a hundred people at the same time, so there is no need to worry that the Huo family army's arrival will affect the people of Yunlu Village.
And it was only six days after the hot spring pool was discovered.
Huo Tiankuo, Deputy General Liu, and another personal guard all finished their side effects period one after the other.
Deputy General Liu and his personal guards were not very lucky; their only improvement was in physical fitness.
Huo Tiankuo, on the other hand, successfully awakened.
Although it wasn't a special type that was awakened, it was still a rare lightning-type ability.
Lu Xuan used over a hundred vials of evolution fluid, but only Lei Yan awakened the lightning element, and now Huo Tiankuo has joined the fray.
After the news spread through the camp, the Huo family army and the disaster victims were in high spirits.
"The general also possesses magical powers!"
"Very good!"
"It's lightning-based? Does that mean it can unleash heavenly lightning? That's incredible!"
After learning that they too would have a chance to obtain the elixir, the guards were even more eager to go out every day to gather supplies to exchange for it.
Huo Tiankuo naturally wouldn't agree.
Immortal arts are ultimately only attainable by a very small number of people. While acquiring resources is important, it should not be the other way around.
For the two days following his awakening, Huo Tiankuo would come to the village every day to consult and exchange ideas with Lei Yan about the application of lightning-type superpowers.
On the third day, the exchange was suspended.
The first batch of crops planted by Huo Jiajun has finally ripened.
On the day of the harvest, Huo Tiankuo himself, the Huo family soldiers who went hunting, and the disaster victims who were helping out in Yunlu Village all returned to the camp.
With the exception of young children who couldn't walk yet and elderly people who couldn't walk, the entire camp of more than three thousand people mobilized and worked enthusiastically.
On average, 2.5 people can harvest one acre of land. The efficiency is astonishing. One thousand acres of crops were all harvested in just one morning.
After that, just weighing it took more than an hour.
However, the final yield was quite impressive.
A total of 1.5 million catties of mutated grain were harvested from 1,000 mu of land!
The disaster victims were completely stunned when they heard the number.
So many!?
The viewers in the live stream were also overjoyed.
So much food!!!
[Over a million kilograms, that's too much, really too much!]
[When Yunlu Village harvested over 300,000 jin (150 tons), I thought it was already a lot, but I never imagined it could be even more!]
[It's true that you need to grow a variety of crops to harvest a larger quantity!]
We must open up more land next year!
The key point is, all this food belongs to the streamer!
[And what about the Star Alliance? We're waiting for the lucky draw!]
The disaster victims gradually came to their senses.
As the first person burst into cheers, more and more people behind them shouted excitedly.
"My God! We actually managed to grow grain that yields over a thousand catties per mu!?"
"More than a million catties of grain! I have never seen so much grain in my life."
"I have seen the grain sent from above before, and there was a lot of it, but this time the grain was all grown by our own hands!"
The disaster victims were so excited that they danced around and their faces flushed.
General Huo had just acquired immortal techniques not long ago, and now they had another bountiful harvest. The recent good news was so abundant that they could hardly believe it.
Many people couldn't help but pinch it hard until they felt a sharp and clear pain in their thighs and arms, before they could grin and continue laughing.
It will hurt, it's not a dream!
As previously agreed, the first batch of harvest would be used to pay off debts. Huo Tiankuo made the disaster victims happy for a while by looking at the mountains of grain, and then simply let Lu Xuan collect the grain.
However, he also traded some of his fish catch for several hundred kilograms of grain, which he steamed into rice so that everyone could taste the grain he had grown.
Many people burst into tears while eating.
It's not just because the food tastes good; they've worked in Yunlu Village and eaten the village's "work meals," and the food there was always delicious.
More importantly, this time they were eating food they had grown themselves, which was a guarantee for their future survival.
Even knowing that they could only afford one meal with all that harvest, everyone was still happy.
Knowing that they would receive a share of the next batch of grain, they got up early the next day to start tilling the land, operating the plant protection machine to spray nutrient solution, and sowing a batch of seeds.
The disaster victims also specifically chose high-yield crops for their own planting, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, taro, cabbage, and radishes.
Aside from continuing to provide nutrient solution and energy, Lu Xuan did not interfere in anything else.
He kept 50,000 jin of new grain for the audience to participate in a lottery to boost data, and bought back all the remaining grain, making a profit of 400 million yuan in one go.
The total points balance instantly reached 850 million, more than doubling.
[Making over 400 million in one go, that's awesome!]
Wow, that's a lot of money!
[With so much money, even a fraction of it would be enough for me to live a life of ease.]
[It's a pity that next time they'll only get half, the earnings are cut in half, I feel sorry for the streamer!]
[The third time onwards, it had absolutely nothing to do with the streamer anymore, which was even more heartbreaking!]
Lu Xuan didn't seem to care much.
While the major costs are indeed no longer his concern, the subsequent nutrient solution and energy consumption are not insignificant, so he can still make a profit.
It's already quite good to be able to earn six or seven hundred million from Huo Jiajun.
A gentleman loves money, but he acquires it in a proper way; even when fleecing others, one should not fleece the same group of sheep at once.
·
The day after Huo Jiajun's harvest, Lu Xuan's orchard ripened again.
Lu Xuan traded a new batch of mutated fruits with Huo Tiankuo, earning another three million.
Huo Tiankuo adjusted the allocation of this batch of mutated fruits.
A portion was specially allocated to the personal guards who were selected by lottery, so that they could get into top condition, while the rest continued to prioritize the elderly, weak, women and children.
If other people who didn't receive theirs want to eat it, they can go to the grocery store and buy it themselves.
It wasn't that some disaster victims felt it was unfair, but Huo Tiankuo silenced them with just one sentence.
"The remaining supplies can be half a portion more for able-bodied people, while the elderly and weak have always only received one portion. Why didn't you say that the distribution was unfair back then?"
The able-bodied men were allocated more resources because they had to work, but that did not change the fact that they received more supplies.
How can you benefit yourself but not allow other vulnerable people to receive even a little more care?
After driving the Wei family away, Huo Tiankuo's style of handling internal affairs did become much tougher, so those who had some minor objections were suppressed before they could cause any trouble.
After that, Huo Tiankuo got busy again.
He communicates with Lei Yan about his supernatural abilities, manages the camp, and still has to find time to rent cars and go out to hunt. He hardly has any rest.
Even when busy, I never forget to soak in a hot spring occasionally, so that I can be more energetic to continue my busy work.
·
Five more days passed, and the greenhouses in Yunlu Village received the second batch of grain for the extremely cold season.
Thanks to Lu Xuan's further improvements to the yield-increasing genes, the yield of this batch of seeds reached a new high of 400,000 jin.
Lu Xuan took 20%, a total of 80,000 jin, and received 24 million points in return.
The villagers received more than three times the amount of grain as before.
On the very day the grain was distributed, the first person to buy a house appeared.
"Are you sure you want to buy a single-person safe house, or save up to buy a bigger one?" Lu Xuan asked, looking at Mei Xue with surprise.
Lu Qing and Lei Yan were also somewhat surprised that the Mei siblings would come to buy a house so early.
Lu Qing thought Mei Xue was too young to think ahead, so she reminded her, "You two will both get married in the future, and a single safe house might not be enough for you."
Mei Xue nodded and said, "I know. But Chengcheng and I are still young, it's too early for us to get married. We want to have a home of our own as soon as possible."
She and Mei Cheng are the only couple in the village where both of them have special abilities, so they have no debts and can afford the evolution fluid.
Superpowered individuals have large appetites, but the siblings are still young and their appetites are limited, so they can accumulate food much faster than others.
The first harvest from the rainy season and the coldest season alone yielded more than 4,000 jin of grain. After eating some and exchanging some for supplies, more than 2,000 jin remained.
This time, another 3,600 jin (1350 catties) were distributed. The amount left for food and other necessities is more than enough to buy a single-person safe house.
It doesn't matter if the house is small. Buy a small one first, and then buy a bigger one later when you've saved up more food. You can do both at the same time.
Seeing that Mei Xue wasn't acting impulsively, Lu Xuan didn't try to persuade her further. He simply took out a dozen or so models of single-person safe houses and let Mei Xue and Mei Cheng choose one themselves.
Even in single-person safe houses, the interior layout and exterior can differ.
The siblings chose their favorite safe house from among many others and traded 3,000 jin of mutated grain for it.
As for the safe houses they are currently renting, they will naturally be taken back.
The house-buying spree caused quite a stir, and the villagers quickly learned about the siblings' purchase.
Some were surprised, some were envious, and some were even tempted to change their minds and buy a single safe house first.
Some of the aunties, like Lu Qing, were worried that the siblings hadn't thought things through and tried to persuade them, but Mei Xue was very determined and wasn't swayed.
The later villagers who joined the village around the same time as Mei Xue and Mei Cheng felt a little resentful at first when they saw that Mei Xue and Mei Cheng had bought houses earlier than the original villagers.
But then I thought, it's not that they didn't buy it because they couldn't afford it; they just wanted to buy a big one all at once.
So he quickly adjusted his mindset again.
On the day of the move, many villagers came to help and gave the siblings a lot of housewarming gifts.
That night, the siblings lay in their respective rooms, tossing and turning excitedly, unable to sleep. They got up several times and wandered around the room, touching this and that, occasionally letting out giggles.
I finally managed to fall asleep in the middle of the night when I couldn't stay awake any longer.
The siblings were mentally prepared to sleep in the next day, and were also relieved that the private school classes were all in the afternoon.
But when the siblings yawned, rubbed their eyes, and drew back the curtains, they found it was still dark outside.
Mei Cheng Mei Xue: "???"
Mei Xue couldn't help but glance at the time displayed on the communicator.
It's already past 9 AM, why is it still so dark?
At this moment, Mei Xue noticed several flashlight beams outside. After thinking for a moment, she pulled Mei Cheng out the door.
When I got to the street, I found that there were quite a few people gathered outside.
A group of people were chattering away, discussing the weather today.
Why is it so late to get light today?
Is it because it's a cloudy day today?
Have you ever seen a cloudy day as dark as midnight?
"Something definitely doesn't seem right."
If everyone hadn't checked the time repeatedly, they would have suspected it was still the middle of the night.
Lighting relies entirely on high-powered flashlights or camping lamps. Once the lights are turned off, there is almost no light around except for the reflection of the snow.
The group discussed it for a long time but couldn't come to a conclusion.
Li Tie frowned, looking somewhat uneasy.
A moment later, Lu Xuan walked out of the Lu family and looked at everyone calmly, saying, "Didn't I say before that the extreme cold season brings other troubles besides the low temperatures? It's just that the time has come, so there's no need to worry about anything."
The other villagers were taken aback at first, then their expressions changed slightly as if they had realized something.
Li Tie frowned and said, "You mean..."
Lu Xuan looked at the dim surroundings and nodded, saying, "The polar night has begun."
·
The Lu family.
Families close to Lu Xuan gathered together.
Zhang Chengming repeatedly confirmed with Lu Xuan, "Is the so-called polar night really a whole day without any light?"
Grandpa Zhang: "How long is this polar night going to last again?"
Wu Yang recalled for a moment: "I think it was about a month?"
Sitting on the single sofa, Lu Xuan nodded and said, "It's been exactly a month, with only four or five days during that time when it's a little brighter."
The others looked dazed.
Lu Qing voiced everyone's thoughts: "I can hardly imagine what life like would be like."
The others nodded.
That's right.
Is it always dark for twelve two-hour periods of the day?
When do they go to sleep and when do they get up?
If the sky never brightens and the sun never rises, what is the difference between day and night?
In fact, Lu Xuan was also surprised.
Before the apocalypse, when he traveled to the Nordic countries, the polar night and day there were just like overcast days, with the sky being a dim gray-blue, and the glow of sunset visible on the horizon.
Even the sun isn't completely absent, it's just not as bright.
But the polar night here is truly extreme darkness, with barely any light.
Just as I stepped out, around noon, there was a little light that caused the snow to reflect light.
If you go out for a walk now, you'll find that the light has completely disappeared, and the snow is almost invisible in the darkness.
The viewers in the live stream also found it strange.
It's supposed to be polar night, but it really is so dark that it's hard to tell day from night.
[But if it's just darkness, it doesn't seem like a disaster, right?]
[How can it not count? If it weren't for the livestreamers providing lighting equipment to the village, every household, inside and out, would be in complete darkness. Eating, doing chores—nothing would be possible; life would be completely paralyzed.]
Besides living conditions, there is another big problem: the crops in the greenhouse.
Li Tie also mentioned this point.
He said worriedly, "There's no sun during the polar night, what will happen to the greenhouse? The third batch of seeds was just planted, will these crops all fail to grow?"
Upon hearing this, the others immediately tensed up.
"No way, that's hundreds of thousands of kilograms of grain."
Lu Xuan said, "If there is no sunlight, we can use artificial lighting."
The store offers a wide variety of lighting fixtures, including grow lights specifically designed for planting. These lights come in all colors and can fully meet the needs of plants for photosynthesis.
Five lights are needed for one acre of land, so 1,000 lights are needed for 200 acres.
The cost price is about 300 jin of grain, but Lu Xuan's price is 500 jin.
Li Tie felt very sorry for him after hearing this.
In particular, Lu Xuan said, "All electrical appliances that can be charged by stars during the polar night cannot be charged automatically, and subsequent energy consumption can only be replenished by purchasing energy liquid or energy stones."
Li Tie was even more heartbroken.
But he also understood that this was a necessary expense.
We can't give up hundreds of thousands of kilograms of grain for a few hundred kilograms of supplies.
Therefore, they exchanged over a thousand kilograms of fish for enough supplemental lighting.
Meanwhile, the others present couldn't help but clutch their chests as they thought about their own lamps and various small appliances.
I thought the polar night was just about darkness, but I didn't expect it would also involve additional energy consumption.
Heartbreaking!
But as painful as it may be, these necessary expenses still need to be paid.
Most of the people present bought some more energy liquid/energy stones to stock up.
Just then, Huo Tiankuo's communication reached Lu Xuan.
The question was about the current sky color.
Lu Xuan explained the situation of the polar night and its duration to Huo Tiankuo, and also reminded him of the problem that crops cannot grow without sunlight. Huo Tiankuo immediately said he wanted to discuss it in person.
·
When Huo Tiankuo arrived at Yunlu Village, the villagers were busy installing lights in the greenhouse.
Supplemental lights can be directly attached to the glass on both sides of the greenhouse, but some need to be attached to the top for even lighting.
The installation process is not difficult, but the area of several dozen acres is a bit large and will take some time.
As Huo Tiankuo entered the greenhouse, all the lights were turned on, instantly illuminating the dimly lit greenhouse and a large area of the surrounding village.
Huo Tiankuo's eyes lit up immediately upon seeing this.
"With these lights, the crops in the greenhouse will grow normally?" Huo Tiankuo asked Lu Xuan for confirmation.
Lu Xuan nodded, "Keep it on for four to five hours during the day, every day, and the crops won't be affected."
Huo Tiankuo didn't ask any more questions about the polar night, and eagerly said, "Give me lights for a thousand acres of land as well."
Lu Xuan casually tossed the small spatial ring containing the lamp to the other party, saying, "I prepared this for the general a long time ago."
There were a total of 5,000 lights, paid for with the catch of fish, totaling 2,500 catties.
Huo Tiankuo used his mental power to confirm the quantity inside, and after confirming that it was correct, he used the specially reserved public supplies to settle the bill.
He then looked up at the still dim sky under the lamplight, and then swept his gaze across the increasingly dark wilderness surrounding the village.
"If the polar night is always this dark, it will probably be very inconvenient when going out hunting."
They could bring other lights, but it's still inconvenient.
Lu Xuan took something out of his spatial storage and handed it to Huo Tiankuo.
The latter took it and looked at it, then asked in confusion, "These are... goggles?"
He had previously seen the hunting teams from Yunlu Village wearing goggles when they went out, and after learning that these goggles could prevent snow blindness, he had replaced them with new ones and didn't need them for the time being. So why was Lu Xuan giving him these again?
Lu Xuan didn't rush to explain, "You can try it on first."
Huo Tiankuo, unsuspecting, quickly put on the 'goggles' and then...
He was jolted awake and exclaimed, "How could this be!?"
Suddenly, his previously dim vision brightened. Aside from the lit greenhouse, the previously pitch-black wilderness reappeared in his field of vision.
The light wasn't as bright as sunshine, but it was still brighter than on a rainy day.
Huo Tiankuo excitedly asked Lu Xuan, "What is this?"
Lu Xuan: "Night vision goggles that allow people to see in the dark."
Huo Tiankuo exclaimed with delight, "Great stuff! With this, hunting or going out won't be affected anymore. Get me a new batch."
After I finished speaking, I realized I hadn't asked about the price, so I asked again.
Lu Xuan said, "One set of twenty catties of fish."
Huo Tiankuo: "!" So expensive!?
A pair of goggles can be exchanged for just three kilograms of fish, but night vision goggles cost six or seven times more?
Huo Tiankuo had originally intended to prepare one for everyone, but upon hearing the price, he immediately abandoned the idea.
Although the winter fishing yields a large catch, there are many people involved, and they need a lot of various supplies, so they can't waste those supplies.
It is thought that even the disaster victims do not come to Yunlu Village to work, and spend most of their time in the greenhouse, where there is no shortage of light.
Huo Tiankuo only changed 100 pairs of night vision goggles in the end, and then let his personal guards take turns wearing them when they went out hunting.
After changing the night vision goggles, Lu Xuan asked Huo Tiankuo, "Do you need streetlights? Installing them by the roadside will ensure that the entire camp is illuminated, and the disaster victims won't have to worry about not being able to see the road at night."
Huo Tiankuo was tempted again upon hearing this.
Everyone in Yunlu Village has plenty of mutated fruit to eat, and the night blindness that was common in ancient times has long been cured without medicine.
The Huo family army was different.
The medications I previously purchased did not include night blindness medication, which doesn't significantly impact daily life.
Because there weren't enough mutated fruits for everyone, most people were still partially blind at night.
They went completely blind after the polar night arrived.
Having streetlights makes things much more convenient.
Huo Tiankuo quickly asked about the price of the streetlights.
It shouldn't be as expensive as night vision goggles, right?
Lu Xuan said, "That depends on which one the general chooses. Is it an energy lamp that requires power, or..."
He took out a little mushroom spore and caused a glowing mushroom to grow on the spot.
"This is a 'natural lamp' that can emit light naturally."
Huo Tiankuo looked at the mushroom emitting a green light in Lu Xuan's palm and said in surprise, "There are actually mushrooms that can glow?"
The surrounding villagers noticed the glowing mushroom in Lu Xuan's hand and gathered around to see what was going on.
"Isn't this the glowing mushroom we found in the underground cave?"
"I haven't seen it since I left the cave."
"It's mostly useless anyway."
"Why did Lu Xuan suddenly cause glowing mushrooms to grow?"
Lu Xuan said, "I plan to plant it along the roadside in the village to use as streetlights."
The others' eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this.
"Great idea!"
"I was just thinking that my house is too far from the greenhouse and the light is too dim, making it inconvenient to go out in the future."
"That's right! Although you can take a light with you when you go out, it's too much trouble to carry it with you every day."
"If there were lights on the road, even during the polar night, it wouldn't be a problem to get around outside."
Moreover, these interesting mushroom lamps can brighten your mood if you look at them a few more times.
Wu Cheng asked a crucial question: "Will this mushroom keep glowing indefinitely?"
Lu Xuan: "There is a time limit."
"Ah!" The villagers looked puzzled.
Li Tie asked, "How many days exactly will it be lit?"
Huo Tiankuo also perked up his ears.
Lu Xuan smiled and said, "Exactly one month."
Everyone: "!!!"
The polar night only lasts for one month, and the mushroom can stay lit for a whole month, which means it can be used continuously!
So you're deliberately messing with them, aren't you?
Everyone was speechless at Lu Xuan's expression.
[Haha, I'm relieved to see that the streamer's quirky humor isn't just directed at us.]
In the end, both the village and Huo Tiankuo naturally chose the mushroom lamp, which offered better value for money.
Not only do energy lamps cost twice as much as mushroom lamps, but you also have to buy energy separately. Only a fool would buy one!
Lu Xuan quickly planted the glowing mushrooms along the main roads of the village.
Wherever he went, two rows of soft green lights would illuminate the area, causing the village children to chase after him with giggles and laughter, while some of the women also followed along, marveling at the spectacle.
As for the others, some went to the greenhouses on the other two hilltops to continue installing supplemental lighting.
As for the other part, now that the lighting problem has been solved and it's still early, those who need to work should go back to their jobs.
Before leaving, Huo Tiankuo not only made an appointment with Lu Xuan to come to the camp to help him the next day, but also bought a batch of outdoor-grade high-powered glow sticks that were only slightly more expensive than ice packs and heat packs, intending to distribute them to the disaster victims when he returned.
In case someone really needs to go out, there will be a source of light.
Lu Xuan also notified the villagers that the general store had new night vision goggles and that they could buy them as needed.
After everyone learned about the function of night vision goggles, they naturally rushed to the general store to exchange them and then tried them on on the spot.
Wow! You can really see it clearly!
"These eyes are amazing."
"With night vision goggles, the polar night has no impact whatsoever."
"The immortal has so many wonderful things in his hands."
The first to adopt night vision goggles were young and strong men who needed to hunt.
The other villagers originally thought that the lights inside and outside the village were sufficient.
After trying on other people's night vision goggles, I found that I could see even the distant wilderness clearly, and I immediately felt that it was necessary to buy a pair.
Otherwise, if others can see it but you can't, you're just staring blankly.
Finally, everyone in the village, regardless of age or gender, got a pair, and the village's polar night life officially began.
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