Chapter 62 The First Step to Restore Agricultural Production
Post-disaster reconstruction requires cleaning up sludge and garbage, filling potholes, repairing damaged roadbeds, and speeding up the repair of water and electricity facilities to ensure that residents can use water and electricity as soon as possible.
All these tasks require a large number of manpower to complete.
Wen Jianfeng took the three young people from 1501 to go out and ask around, and found a job helping the water and electricity workers.
Xia Xiaoman asked curiously, "How much supplies can you earn in a day by helping others?"
Xiao Zeyu hesitated, "We are here to help Fucheng with post-disaster reconstruction, so it doesn't matter how much we earn..."
Xia Xiaoman looked at him suspiciously, "Are you guys going to work for others for free?"
Xiao Zheyu scratched his head and looked up at the sky, pretending not to hear.
Wen Jianfeng explained with a smile: "We don't have the skills, but the person in charge there said that we can go and learn for a few days. Once we get the hang of it, we can be arranged to repair water and electricity independently, and we will be paid then."
He felt that this was a great learning opportunity. In the past, if they wanted to learn, they had to pay tuition.
Xia Xiaoman was speechless, "As long as you don't feel you are at a disadvantage." Respect other people's choices.
"Xiao Man, we are all going out tomorrow. Could you please help look after Ling Ling and Xiao Xu?"
Afraid that Xia Xiaoman would not agree, Wen Jianfeng added: "I will arrange their meals for the day. If they feel unwell or come to you for something, you can just help them. I will give you nursing fees and 2 kilograms of food a day."
Xia Xiaoman thought about it for two seconds and nodded in agreement. The twins were well-behaved and should not cause any trouble for her.
The next day, Wen Jianfeng and all the staff of 1501 went out to work, and the 15th floor suddenly became much quieter.
After finishing breakfast, Xia Xiaoman listened at the door of 1502 for a while. He heard some humming and hawing sounds from inside. It was probably the twins practicing the boxing that Wen Jianfeng taught them.
The twins did not come to her for help the whole day. The two little guys stayed at home obediently waiting for Wen Jianfeng to come back, and earned 2 kilograms of food for free.
These two kilograms of food are said to be care fees, but in fact they are also housekeeping fees and compensation.
When everyone in the building went out, someone had to stay home to look after the house. This meant that Xia Xiaoman could only stay at home every day and could not go anywhere. So Xia Xiaoman felt at ease to receive the two kilograms of food.
…
After being out for half a month, Xiao Zheyu and his companions were gradually tanned into charcoal. One can imagine how scorching the sun outside is.
At around seven in the evening, there was a regular knock on the door. "Sister Xiaoman, open the door! We are back."
Opening the door, four black charcoal walked in. Xiao Zheyu showed his white teeth and smiled, "Sister, come to our house for dinner later. I have good news to tell you."
Xia Xiaoman nodded, "Okay, I'll go to your house in half an hour."
I went home, took a shower, and picked out some common canned foods from the space and brought them to 1501.
Wen Jianfeng had already taken the twins to 1501 to help cook. When Xiao Zeyu saw her coming, she asked her to sit down, "Sister, please sit for a while. The food will be ready soon."
The ingredients were limited, so it was impossible to make a rich meal. A plate of smoked duck fried with sour bamboo shoots, a pot of noodles with tomato sauce, and two cans of dace with black bean sauce that Xia Xiaoman brought, and dinner was ready.
Xiao Zheyu was so hungry that he ate a big bowl of noodles to fill his stomach before slowing down his eating, leaving room for him to tell Xia Xiaoman the news he had heard today.
This flood disaster not only affected industrial production, but also caused huge losses to agricultural production.
Xiao Zheyu swallowed the food in his mouth and said, "The Fucheng government announced today that it will temporarily requisition farmland in the surrounding rural areas to grow food and vegetables. Once Fucheng fully resumes production, the farmland will be returned to the farmers."
"The villagers who had occupied the mountain refused to give up their land and occupied the water source on the mountain. They were directly crushed by force and taken away to labor camps."
Looking at Xiao Zheyu's gloating expression, Xia Xiaoman's mouth twitched, "Is this the good news you mentioned?"
"No." Xiao Zheyu shook his head. "The good news I'm talking about is that the Fucheng government encourages everyone to grow crops on their own in order to promote agricultural production. If you want to grow crops, you can go to the trading point and choose a piece of land to grow crops."
Xia Xiaoman frowned. "We live in the city, how can we farm? Do we have to go all the way to the suburbs to farm every day?"
Su Ran said, "There are two options. One is to go back and forth to the suburbs to farm every day as you said. The other is to move to the suburbs to farm."
"Move to the suburbs? Are there any houses to live in there?" Xia Xiaoman asked.
"No, but we can rent tents to live in. The government has also arranged for people to farm in the suburbs. We can live next to government people so we don't have to worry about being robbed."
Xia Xiaoman raised an eyebrow, "Rent a tent? How much supplies do I need to pay?"
"It's not expensive. The rental fee for a two-person tent is 20 kilograms of food."
Xia Xiaoman asked again: "Does that kind of food go into our pockets?"
Xiao Zheyu gave her a look that said, "You're overthinking it." "The seeds, pesticides, and fertilizers are free, but the food you grow has to be split 70% and we get 70%. The remaining 30% has to be handed over."
Although the Fucheng government wanted to collect more supplies, they also knew that too much is as bad as too little, and they had to leave some benefits for the people, otherwise no one would work for them.
"You want to farm?"
Wen Jianfeng said, "The world has been hit by disasters in the past few months, and the value of food has increased. For at least two years, the food trafficking business will be profitable."
"Now we don't have to pay a contract fee for farming, and the government also provides seeds, pesticides and fertilizers for free. We can grow food with the lowest cost."
"If the floating city becomes prosperous again in the future, we can make a lot of money by selling these grains. If we encounter natural disasters or other accidents again, these grains will be our backup plan."
Wen Jianfeng's idea was very comprehensive, but he missed an important factor.
Xia Xiaoman pursed her lips and said, "The idea of stockpiling food is good, but have you ever thought about whether the current weather is suitable for farming?"
"The weather is too hot, and the seedlings planted in the soil will be sunburned to death. If you want the seedlings to survive and grow, you need to irrigate them every day."
"If I only plant one or two mu of land, it's fine. But if I plant one or two mu of land, excluding Lingling and Xiaoxu, there are five of us, and four of us need to go to work. How can I water the land by myself?"
The four gentlemen present were all born and raised city dwellers. When they heard Xia Xiaoman's question, they were like saw-mouthed gourds, unable to say a word.
Xia Xiaoman added: "This is still the case when there is water. If the temperature is 30 or 40 degrees Celsius every day, even if you water the land three times a day, it will be difficult for the crops to grow. Everything we have done before will be in vain."
Wen Jianfeng thought for a moment and said, "The higher-ups should have thought of the problem you mentioned. The grain seeds they send us should be those that are resistant to high temperatures and drought."
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