Chapter 445 I can make barren land gush with sweet spring water!
Huo Wenxuan pushed open the door, holding a financial statement in his hand, which was trembling: "Su Yue, do you know how much we've received this month? One million! A full one million! And that's based on the national guidance price!"
Su Yue didn't even look up, her pen flying across the report: "Invest all profits in the second phase of expansion. Also, double the bonuses for the workers, and raise the food standards in the canteen to a higher level."
"Alright!" Huo Wenxuan now obeyed Su Yue's every word. "By the way, there's something. That old fox Lin Zhihong called again, saying he wants to increase his investment and extend the buyout period for the Southeast Asian agency rights."
"Leave him hanging." Su Yue closed the folder. "We have the initiative now. Once the Phase III clinical trials are over and we get the official new drug certificate, the price won't be five million."
The sun was scorching, like a giant fireball hanging in the sky, baking the red soil of Hainan Island until it cracked open.
There wasn't a breath of wind in the air, only the cicadas chirping desperately in the trees, a sound that was incredibly irritating.
At the Red Star Military Family Farm, the once lush green crops are now drooping.
Cuihua knelt in the chili field, holding a withered chili seedling in her hands. Tears streamed down her face, falling onto the cracked soil and being instantly absorbed.
"What are we going to do... this season's harvest is all gone."
Several military wives around them also wiped away tears.
They were counting on selling these chili peppers and eggplants to Lan Hai Factory to earn money for their children's tuition, but unexpectedly, the weather suddenly changed, with no rain falling for half a month, and even the water in the well was almost gone.
A jeep, kicking up a cloud of yellow dust, screeched to a halt beside the edge of a field.
The car door opened, and Su Yue jumped out.
She wore a straw hat, a neat set of work clothes, and a pair of canvas shoes.
As soon as I got out of the car, a wave of heat hit me, making my skin sting.
Huo Wenxuan followed behind, holding a notebook in his hand, sweating profusely with anxiety.
"Director Su, this won't do! I just went to the aloe vera base, and the leaves are starting to soften. If we don't get water soon, this whole batch of raw materials will be wasted, and the mask production line will have to stop next month!"
Su Yue ignored Huo Wenxuan's shouting, walked a few steps to the field, squatted down and grabbed a handful of soil.
The soil is loose and crumbles into powder with the slightest touch.
It's been dried too thoroughly.
"What are you crying for!" Su Yue stood up, patted the dirt off her hands, and said in a cold voice, "Will crying make the heavens rain?"
Cuihua was startled and quickly wiped her face with her sleeve. She stood up timidly and said, "Director Su, we're just worried about you..."
"If you feel sorry for them, then find a way to save them." Su Yue pointed to the greenhouse in the distance. "Pull up all the shade nets on the greenhouse to reduce the sun exposure. Also, go cut the grass and cover all the soil in the ground to retain as much moisture as possible."
"Will this... will this work?"
"Do as instructed." Su Yue didn't explain further, then turned to Huo Wenxuan, "How much reserve fund does the factory have?"
Huo Wenxuan flipped through the notebook: "We just received a million in payment, which was originally intended for the expansion of the second phase of the factory."
"Stop expanding for now," Su Yue decided immediately. "Contact the drilling team in the city. No matter the cost, I want them to bring the drilling rig over within two days."
Huo Wenxuan paused for a moment, then closed his notebook: "I'll go right now."
Su Yue walked around the ridge of the field twice, her brows furrowing more and more tightly.
The distant river has dried up, leaving only a cracked riverbed.
The farm's two existing shallow wells have dropped drastically, and the water drawn up is all mud.
Two old-fashioned drilling rigs rumbled into the Red Star Farm, their tracks grinding against the cracked earth and kicking up clouds of yellow dust.
Huo Wenxuan followed behind the car, his mouth full of dirt, still clutching the ledger in his hand, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.
“Su Yue, these two machines cost fifty yuan in fuel every hour they're running. If they don't produce any water, we couldn't afford to pay that back even if we sold you.”
Su Yue ignored him and walked straight to the edge of the field.
Gu Beichen was leading several soldiers from the engineering company to look at a terrain map.
His training uniform was wet and then dried, covered with a layer of white salt frost.
That face, which was always so clean and tidy, was now covered in mud and ash, with a layer of dark stubble on his chin.
Seeing Su Yue approach, Gu Beichen rolled up the map and hid it behind his back.
"Why did you come here? The sun is too strong here, let's go back to the car."
Su Yue stared at his bloodshot eyes.
"What were the exploration results?"
Gu Beichen was silent for two seconds, then unscrewed the military water bottle and took a sip. The bottle was empty, with only a few drops of murky water coming out.
"We've examined the valley to the north and the riverbed to the east; the groundwater level has dropped by at least five meters. Current equipment can't drill that deep, and the soil structure is unstable; forcing it could easily lead to a landslide."
Battalion Commander Zhao Tiezhu, who was standing nearby, slammed his shovel into the ground and cursed angrily: "This damned God is trying to drive us to our deaths! I just went to the village and saw that the wells in the villagers' homes are so dry that they could raise mice."
The atmosphere was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.
Huo Wenxuan stopped talking about money and squatted on the edge of the field, staring blankly at the withered yellow grass leaves.
Su Yue took the map from Gu Beichen and spread it on the hood of the jeep.
This is a partial military topographic map of Hainan Island, with densely packed contour lines.
Su Yue's gaze lingered on the rocky hillside on the west side of the farm.
It's a limestone mountain area with karst topography, where nothing grows there, and even birds don't poop there.
"Have you checked this area?" Su Yue pointed to the rocky area.
Gu Beichen glanced at it and said, "That's a rocky mountain; it can't hold water. Besides, the rocks are too hard; drilling into it would be a waste."
"not necessarily."
Su Yue put away the map and looked up at the sky.
As the sun set in the west, it dyed the rocky hillside a blood red.
I'll go check it out tonight.
Gu Beichen's brows furrowed instantly: "Nonsense. That place is all weathered rock. You can't see the road at night. You could easily fall and break your leg if you slip."
“I know what I’m doing.” Su Yue shoved the map back into his arms. “You take your men and keep testing on the other side of the riverbed. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
After saying that, she turned around, got into the jeep, and drove back to the compound.
Gu Beichen stared in the direction where the taillights disappeared, squeezing the empty water bottle in his hand until it made a cracking sound.
Night falls.
The sea breeze stopped, and the air became as stuffy and hot as a steamer.
Su Yue changed into a light long-sleeved shirt and trousers, tucked the trouser legs into her socks, and quietly slipped out of the house carrying a powerful flashlight.
The rocky hill is not far from the farm, only two or three miles away.
The pale moonlight shone on the oddly shaped rocks, casting menacing shadows.
Su Yueshen climbed up, her steps uneven.
In her previous life, she spent half a year in the southwestern mountains while providing field medical support with her mentor.
Those places are also karst landforms, with water scarce on the surface, but often hidden underground rivers.
Plants don't lie.
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