Chapter 26 A Bountiful Harvest! 3,000 Jin per Mu?
In the days following Liu the Cripple's arrest, the atmosphere at the base was noticeably different.
The gloom that had been weighing on everyone's hearts seemed to have been blown away by the strong winds of the Gobi Desert.
The soldiers walked with more upright posture, and the scientists smiled more often.
Of course, Professor Zhao was the happiest.
Because that small, fenced-off "sacred field" has ripened.
In the early morning in the Gobi Desert, the golden sunlight shines on a small wheat field.
Although it was only a small plot of land, about the size of a washbasin, it was later expanded to a few acres.
But the rolling waves of wheat were even more magnificent than a thousand troops.
The wheat ears were too heavy.
Each stalk of wheat was bent over by the weight, like a humble old farmer bowing to the earth.
The wheat awns were long, and each grain was so plump it looked like it was about to burst open, with a glossy sheen.
Professor Zhao has been by my side every step of the way these past few days.
He moved his bedding to the edge of the field and slept with one eye open at night, afraid that some foolish sparrow would peck it away.
"Collect! Collect it today!"
Professor Zhao started yelling early in the morning, his voice so loud that even the young soldiers rehearsing bugles next door were startled.
He held a small, gleaming sickle in his hand, his hands trembling.
This isn't Parkinson's, this is excitement.
Lin Jianguo arrived carrying Zhaodi.
Zhao Di wore a green military uniform that had been altered to be too small today. Although it didn't fit well and the sleeves were rolled up several times, she looked particularly smart.
She had two little pigtails tied in her hair, which swayed back and forth with her movements.
"Grandpa Zhao, is it time to harvest the wheat?"
Zhao Di asked in her childish voice, her eyes fixed on the golden ears of wheat, and she slurped her saliva.
In her eyes, this was no wheat at all.
These look exactly like big, white steamed buns growing in the ground, steaming hot.
The system hummed in her mind.
[Host, wipe your drool.]
This is super wheat produced by our system, codenamed "Harvest No. 1".
It is drought-resistant, cold-resistant, lodging-resistant, and can even grow wildly in saline-alkali soil.
[Forget steamed buns, even if it were made into bread, it would be top-notch.]
Zhao Di didn't understand what bread was, so she only liked steamed buns.
"Mmm! Steamed buns! Big ones!"
Zhao Di waved her little fists, cheering for Grandpa Zhao.
Professor Zhao took a deep breath and bent down.
"Crack".
The first cut.
That crisp, clear sound was even more beautiful than the most wonderful music in the world.
The wheat stalk broke, and the heavy ears of wheat fell into my hand.
Professor Zhao weighed the contents in his hand, and tears streamed down his face.
"It's so heavy...it's really heavy..."
"This one ear of wheat is worth more than three ears of ordinary wheat!"
The soldiers and experts watching from the sidelines didn't dare to breathe.
Everyone knows what these few plots of land mean.
That's fate.
That was our hope for whether we Chinese could have enough to eat.
The harvest was over quickly.
After all, there isn't much land.
But when it came to threshing and hulling, everyone was dumbfounded.
The wheat grains thawed and piled up on the ground, looking like a small golden hill.
Each grain of wheat was as big as a peanut, round and golden.
Professor Zhao had a large weighing scale brought in.
"Come on! Weigh me!"
Several strong young soldiers carefully lifted the sacks full of wheat grains onto the scale.
"One bag... two bags... three bags..."
As the weights were added one by one, Professor Zhao's eyes widened more and more.
Finally, when the weight settled on that incredible number.
The entire venue was deathly silent.
Only the howling of the wind blowing across the Gobi Desert could be heard.
Professor Zhao rubbed his eyes, then rubbed them again.
He couldn't believe it.
He was afraid that he was seeing things because of his old age.
"How much...?"
Commander Zhang stood to the side, his voice trembling slightly.
He commanded thousands of troops and fought countless fierce battles throughout his life, remaining calm even when Mount Tai collapsed before him.
But now, facing this pile of wheat, he was so nervous that his palms were sweating.
Professor Zhao suddenly raised his head, his wrinkled face covered in tears.
He opened his mouth wide and let out a roar that sounded like a mix of crying and laughing.
"Three thousand catties!!!"
"The yield per mu (unit of land area) is... 3,200 jin!!!"
boom--
The crowd erupted.
It completely exploded.
"What?! Three thousand catties?!"
"Old Zhao, you're not mistaken, are you? Even our best land only yields four or five hundred catties per mu!"
"Three thousand catties? That's not just launching a satellite, that's a god descending to earth!"
Everyone swarmed around like madmen, grabbing handfuls of wheat grains, rubbing them in their hands, and biting into them.
Hard.
real.
When you bite into it, the inside is pure white powder with a rich wheat aroma.
"It's true! It's true!"
"We're saved! We'll never go hungry again!"
Many men, some as tall as seven feet, immediately squatted down and burst into tears.
She cried her heart out.
These past few years have been so tough.
To build this base, to create that big machine, everyone tightened their belts.
Many people are so hungry they are swollen, and many have fainted at their posts.
Now, we can finally see the light.
Commander Zhang looked up at the azure sky and forced back the tears welling up in his eyes.
He strode up to Zhao Di.
Lin Jianguo was holding Zhaodi when he saw the commander coming over and quickly saluted.
Commander Zhang grabbed his hand.
Then, this founding general, in front of thousands of people in the entire base.
He bowed deeply to the three-year-old who was still sniffling.
“Zhao Di…”
"Grandpa thanks you on behalf of all the soldiers in the base and on behalf of all the people in the world."
Zhao Di was startled.
She didn't know why the grandfather was bending over.
She reached out her little hand and touched Commander Zhang's gray hair.
"Grandpa, don't cry."
"The fairy uncle said, you reap what you sow."
"There will be lots and lots of steamed buns to come."
Commander Zhang straightened up and burst into laughter.
That laughter was soaring with boundless pride.
"Yes! Lots and lots of steamed buns!"
"Relay my orders!"
"Cooking crew! All assemble!"
"Grind this batch of wheat into flour immediately!"
"Tonight, we're having a victory celebration banquet at our base!"
"No matter who you are or what your rank is, there's plenty of big white steamed buns!"
"Let everyone taste the blessings brought by our Lucky Boy!"
That night, the canteen at Base 091 was brightly lit.
The fragrance wafted for miles.
It was a pure, unadulterated wheat aroma.
The flour mill roared as the snow-white flour flowed out like a waterfall.
The head chefs in the kitchen were all grinning from ear to ear, and they were kneading the dough with even more force than usual.
The steamers were stacked higher than a person.
Steaming hot, with white mist swirling around.
When the first batch of steamed buns came out of the pot.
Everyone swallowed hard.
The steamed buns were white and large, as soft as cotton; if you pressed one down, it would leave a dent and immediately spring back.
Zhao Di sat at the main table in the very center.
In front of her was an extra-large steamed bun.
It was specially made for her by the head cook; he even shaped it into a little rabbit and added two red dates for eyes.
"Eat! Zhao Di, eat first!"
Commander Zhang spoke.
Zhao Di didn't stand on ceremony either.
She held the steamed bun, which was bigger than her face, in both hands and took a big bite.
It smells so good!
Sweet and soft.
This is even tastier than the meat bun from last time.
Because it was grown by herself, it was the fruit of her labor.
"Is it tasty?"
Lin Jianguo sat beside her, watching his daughter wolf down her food, his eyes full of doting affection.
He didn't rush to eat; instead, he blew on a bowl of hot egg drop soup to cool it down before placing it next to his daughter.
"It's delicious! Dad, you should have some too!"
Zhao Di handed the "rabbit bun" with one ear bitten off to Lin Jianguo's mouth.
Lin Jianguo took a bite.
The aroma of wheat warmed me all the way down my throat and into my stomach.
He felt that this was probably the most delicious thing he had ever eaten in his life.
The entire cafeteria was filled with thousands of people, all engrossed in their food.
No one spoke.
The only sounds were chewing and the occasional sobbing.
Those were tears of happiness.
Chen Zhiyuan ate while looking at Zhao Di.
He pushed up his glasses, and the lenses were fogged up.
"Building a nation."
Chen Zhiyuan said in a low voice.
"This is not just a steamed bun."
"That's the source of our confidence."
"With this, we can survive even if we are locked down for ten thousand years."
"We've finally stood tall!"
The system was watching this scene in Zhao Di's mind.
Although it is an artificial intelligence, it has no physical form and does not need to eat.
But looking at the little host with his mouth full of bread crumbs and his eyes crinkling into crescents with laughter.
Its core code seemed to have warmed up a bit as well.
[Hmph, a bunch of country bumpkins who've never seen the world.]
[You're this moved by just a little bit of wheat?]
[Later, this system will guide you to develop hydroponics and synthetic starch...]
[Wouldn't you be absolutely stunned by that?]
【but……】
The system paused for a moment.
[I'll let it slide since you're so easily satisfied.]
[This system will take pity on you and give you some more good stuff.]
[Host, don't just focus on eating.]
[Now that we've eaten, it's time to get back to work.]
Our journey is to the stars and the sea.
Zhao Di let out a burp.
She patted her round little belly, looking completely satisfied.
"Uncle, what did you say?"
"The ocean? Are there giant steamed buns in the ocean?"
system:【……】
There are no steamed buns! But there's something even more amazing than steamed buns!
Eat your fill and then go to sleep!
Tomorrow, we're going to do something big!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com