Chapter 87: Interconnecting Bases to Expand Base Business
Cheng Zhiyu slept in late. He had been busy until midnight last night, and his family knew he must be exhausted, so they didn't call him for breakfast this morning.
When he groggily woke up, it was already broad daylight outside. He moved and found that Cheng Mo was hugging him tightly, like a large doll.
Cheng Zhiyu: "..." No wonder I dreamt last night that I was wrapped up by an octopus.
He nudged Cheng Mo, who grumbled, "Zhiyu, keep sleeping."
Cheng Zhiyu said, "I can't sleep."
Cheng Mo gave a muffled reply, then continued to hold him.
Cheng Zhiyu: "..."
Okay, I'll sleep a little longer. It's too cold outside.
He closed his eyes and continued to sleep. He didn't know how much time had passed when he opened his eyes again and saw that Cheng Mo had woken up at some point and was holding his hand and squeezing it.
Seeing him open his eyes, Cheng Mo smiled, took Cheng Zhiyu's hand, and kissed it: "Zhiyu's hands smell so good too."
Cheng Zhiyu: "..."
He smelled it himself, but there was no smell at all.
"I'm hungry," Cheng Zhiyu said, getting out of bed and going to the bathroom to get his toothbrush cup to scoop some water, only to find the water bucket frozen solid.
He had no choice but to go out and ask Cheng Mo to get him a glass of water. He held the water in his hand, brushing his teeth while looking outside.
Everyone was very diligent. It looks like the snow on the road has already been shoveled, but you can see that there are some places where the snow hasn't been shoveled yet. The snow looks very thick, probably as thick as a leg.
The weather outside is still cold, feeling about the same as last night.
Cheng Zhiyu frowned. This weather was really inconvenient; nothing was convenient.
Many people in the base were also worried. They were hoping that the temperature would rise during the day, just like before, but when they woke up, they found that it was wishful thinking and it was still very cold.
Although they don't have to worry about freezing to death, they are concerned about their relatives whom they haven't been in contact with for a long time. They wonder how their relatives are doing outside, and whether they can withstand the cold weather.
The atmosphere was somewhat somber.
Cheng Zhiyu and Cheng Mo went downstairs. Cheng's mother wanted to cook for them, but Cheng Zhiyu said, "No need, Cheng Mo and I can manage on our own."
It's cold outside, so hot drinks are perfect. Cheng Zhiyu was hungry but too lazy to cook, so he simply made a rice porridge. He put in some rice, cooked it until it was almost done, then added some vegetables and seasonings, and it was ready to eat.
Although it's simple, it tastes pretty good.
He also threw a few sweet potatoes into the stove. After finishing the meal, he took the sweet potatoes out, squeezed them, and found they were almost roasted.
Peel back the dark skin of the sweet potato, and the inside is soft and sweet like honey. Cheng Zhiyu took a bite and said, "Hmm, this sweet potato variety is good. We'll continue to plant it next year."
Cheng Mo ate very quickly. After finishing one, he took some to share with the others, as instructed by Cheng Zhiyu.
"It's so cold today, thank goodness we have mutated cotton." Tian Qiao touched a warm sweet potato, took a bite, and mumbled, "Otherwise, even superhumans would have a hard time getting through it."
Not to mention ordinary people.
Upon hearing this, Cheng Zhiyu realized that there might not be any mutated cotton elsewhere, and sighed slightly. All he could do was help everyone at the base get through this difficult time; as for the rest, he would do as much as he could.
After dinner, Cheng Zhiyu was worried about the deer outside. Although it was a strange beast, he didn't know if it could withstand the weather, so he decided to go out with Cheng Mo to check on it.
Also, take a look at the river. Everyone is counting on this river now, and it wouldn't be good if it froze over.
The others didn't go; the cars were freezing and stalled in this weather. Cheng Zhiyu had Cheng Mo with him, so he didn't need to walk over. The others would have to leave, so it was better not to go with them.
They arrived outside the base, where no one had cleared the snow, and it was incredibly thick. Cheng Zhiyu sat on Dahei's back, and soon they reached the deer's den.
When Little Deer heard the noise and saw Cheng Zhiyu, she excitedly exclaimed, then saw Big Black. At first, she was a little wary, but soon seemed to sense a familiar presence and relaxed.
The little deer ran up to Cheng Zhiyu and rubbed against him, then curiously opened its eyes wide to look at the big black dog.
"Yo yo~" the little deer asked: Friend, how did you turn into a dog?
Unfortunately, neither of them could understand what it was saying.
Cheng Mo found it annoying that Xiao Lu kept sticking close to Cheng Zhiyu, so he used his palm-sized paw to pry Xiao Lu apart.
The little deer, who had been spun around like a top a few times, was like: "?"
Cheng Zhiyu pinched Dahei's ear: "Why are you so naughty?"
Dahei nuzzled against Cheng Zhiyu affectionately.
Who could resist such a big dog acting cute? Cheng Zhiyu's heart softened instantly.
The fawn seemed to snap out of its daze and quickly ran over.
Before Cheng Zhiyu could feel guilty, he saw the little deer excitedly calling out to the big black dog.
Although the two could not understand its speech, they understood from its actions and expressions: more!
Cheng Zhiyu: "..."
Goodness, Little Deer thought Big Black was playing with him.
Big Black ignored Little Deer, but Little Deer kept making persistent "yoyo" noises.
Finally, Big Black got impatient and pushed it away with its paw. The little deer spun around like a top a few times.
Then it ran over again, shouting, "Yo-yo!"
More!
Big Black: "..."
She completely ignored the deer.
Cheng Zhiyu smiled, took out a raw sweet potato, and asked Xiaolu if she wanted some.
The fawn sniffed the sweet potato, took a bite, and happily shook its head, clearly enjoying it.
Cheng Zhiyu fed it some more.
Seeing that Xiao Lu was in good condition and seemed unaffected, Cheng Zhiyu felt relieved.
Sweep the snow off the roof of the shed we built for the fawns to prevent it from collapsing under the weight of the snow.
As for the stream, perhaps due to the groundwater and the constant flow of water, it didn't freeze much, only a thin layer on top, which didn't affect the base's water supply.
This put Cheng Zhiyu at ease.
Before they left, the fawns called out softly, as if telling them not to go yet.
Then, the little deer used its special ability to pull out several fat fish from the water. No one knew when these fish had appeared; there hadn't been any in the river before.
It's probably because they clean it regularly, which has improved the water quality.
Three days after the fat fish landed on the shore, it quickly froze solid due to the low temperature.
The little deer pushed the fish in front of them, saying, "Yo yo~" Here you go.
Cheng Zhiyu understood its meaning and accepted the fish: "Thank you, Little Deer."
The little deer squinted its eyes, nuzzled Cheng Zhiyu, and was then pushed around a few times by the big black dog.
Little Deer: I had a lot of fun!
After saying goodbye to Xiao Lu, Cheng Zhiyu sat on Da Hei's back and complained, "Do you have to be so childish?"
Big Black snorted: "My beast form is a bit affected, it's just childish."
Cheng Zhiyu: "..." You're quite self-righteous.
However, he remembered what Cheng Mo had said before: in their orc star system, some orcs would turn into beasts and go crazy when they got drunk.
Okay, he's starting to believe Cheng Mo's claim that beast forms affect intelligence.
Cheng Mo phrased it very tactfully, but that's roughly the gist of it.
Cheng Zhiyu buried his face in the big black fish's fur, feeling very warm. He muttered, "This fish is perfect for making fish soup when we get back. The weather is so cold, fish soup is just right."
Upon returning, Cheng Zhiyu instructed Cheng Mo to kill and prepare the fish, and then began busily preparing fish soup.
Marinate the fish first to prevent it from having a fishy smell, then fry it in hot oil until both sides are golden brown, then pour in hot water, add some salt and simmer slowly.
The soup made this way is milky white and tastes especially delicious.
It only needs to be cooked for about ten minutes.
Cheng Zhiyu thought to himself, "It's a pity there's no tofu. Otherwise, adding some tofu would be nice. But the soybeans have already been planted, and once they're ripe, we can make tofu."
I just don't know if the mutated crops will be able to grow normally in this weather.
The fish soup was ready quickly. Cheng Zhiyu used a strainer to filter out the fish bones. He also added ginger, so it tasted a little spicy, but he felt warm after a short while.
Cheng Mo especially loved it and drank a whole bowl of it: "It's delicious and has no bones."
Because all the thorns were filtered out; big dogs really don't like thorns.
However, Cheng Zhiyu glanced at Cheng Mo's stomach and asked, "After drinking so much soup, how can you still eat rice?"
Cheng Mo: "How many more bowls can I eat?"
Cheng Zhiyu: "..."
——
After the apocalypse, once the major bases were established, they had means of communication with each other.
The Xiaohe base had communication devices to contact other bases a few months ago. It was after they contacted Chaoyang that Chaoyang told them they could apply for communication devices.
Otherwise, it would be too troublesome to have people running back and forth to deliver messages.
During this heavy snowfall, the communicator came in handy.
Cheng Zhiyu learned that the situation at the various bases was not good; the heavy snow had covered almost half of the base locations.
They were numerous, and unlike the Xiaohe base, they didn't have mutated cotton. After a snowfall, many of them froze to death.
As for the southern areas where it didn't snow, the situation wasn't much better. Perhaps due to the influence of cold air from other places, the temperature at the southern base also dropped significantly. It was only slightly better than the northern base, but the situation wasn't much better.
The idea of the major bases now is to organize mutual rescue efforts, and those bases in better condition that can provide heating will see if they can take in people from other bases.
The head of the Chaoyang base said, "Several small bases were already short of resources, and this heavy snow has made things even worse for them. Several bases have already announced their disbandment. Now the original staff at the bases have nowhere to go. We're looking to see if anyone can take in some of them."
Base A: "If you put it that way, we would certainly be willing if it were possible, but as you know, we are in a situation where we don't even have enough resources to support our own base's people, so we really can't accept any more people."
Base B: "Yes, it's not that we're unwilling, but everyone's situation is bad. I see so many people freezing to death every day, and it breaks my heart. If I can help, I definitely will."
Base C: "Hey, our base is in even worse shape. Dozens of people are living together now, regardless of whether they know each other or not, whether they're men or women. At least living together can keep us warm, right?"
Ding from the base said, "But I've heard that there are quite a few powerful superhumans in the smaller bases. If we take in some of them, it will be good for the development of the bases."
Base B: "Of course we understand, so if we could take it, we definitely would. We really have no other choice."
Chaoyang Base: "Our base can currently only accommodate a maximum of 10,000 people. Any more than that would be beyond our capacity."
Another base, which has a coal mine, also said, "We can also accept 10,000 people, but let's be clear: they won't freeze to death after they arrive, but we can't guarantee their food and water."
An official said, "Thank you to the two bases. Under the current circumstances, being able to accommodate 10,000 people is already quite good."
After saying that, he called out the names of several large bases: "What's going on with you all? These are difficult times, and I know it's tough for everyone, but if you can take in one person, there might be one more person who survives. In this apocalypse, every extra person alive means a glimmer of hope. You decide what to do. There are strict targets this time; you have to meet them whether you like it or not!"
Now that things have come to this point, the major bases can no longer shirk their responsibilities; they have no choice but to listen to the official directives.
Otherwise, it will be difficult to apply for resources in the future.
In the end, they had to state that they could only accept a few thousand people, with a maximum of five thousand and a minimum of one or two thousand.
Cheng Zhiyu was somewhat tempted by what he heard. Other large bases didn't lack people, but his base did.
He tapped the table with his finger and said, "We can accept... a thousand people here."
A thousand people is the minimum, but there's no other way; the Xiaohe base is small, with only a little over two thousand people in total right now.
The number of one thousand was a result of careful consideration after he discussed it with Lin Kang.
Firstly, the number of people to be received must not exceed the original total number of people at the Xiahe base. Secondly, the remaining houses built by the people who came from the mountain valley can only house a maximum of one thousand people.
Moreover, with their current food reserves, sending a thousand people is not a problem at all, and there will be no pressure.
No more than that.
The official was taken aback: "Xiaohe Base?"
If he remembered correctly, this was a very small base. After the heavy snow, some of the disbanded bases had more people than the Xiaohe base.
Cheng Zhiyu heard someone mutter, "Sycophant."
The authorities are indeed quite eager to arrange personnel, so in their view, the fact that the Xiaohe base, with its small scale, is willing to accept people instead of seeking help is simply sycophancy.
Cheng Zhiyu: "..."
Cheng Mo, standing to the side, narrowed his eyes, seemingly preparing to assassinate the man remotely.
Large-scale bases are few and far between, but small bases like the Xiaohe base are countless. Some of them are even "family businesses," meaning that a family with some resources opened a base, which has serious management problems and is very chaotic.
The Xiaohe base blended in and didn't stand out. Only now were the officials searching for the data reported by the Xiaohe base during this snow disaster in the corner.
The other party was taken aback: "Only one person was injured in this snow disaster at Xiaohe Base?"
Cheng Zhiyu: "Yes, that person tripped and fell while walking and broke a bone."
other side:"……"
The official frowned and said seriously, "At times like these, it is imperative to report the situation accurately and not to conceal anything."
The feeling is that the Xiaohe base might be concealing the true data.
Cheng Zhiyu explained the situation regarding the mutated cotton.
Another base chimed in: "You mean, mutated cotton that can generate heat?"
Base B: "If that's really the case, it's normal that no one has frozen to death."
Base C: "Do you sell your mutated cotton?"
"We won't sell the mutated cotton, but we can sell the seeds." The Xiahe Base harvested a lot of mutated cotton this time and kept a lot of seeds. They definitely can't use them all by themselves, so they might as well sell them.
"Alright, alright, give me ten thousand catties!" said Base A.
Base B: "Pah! Have you no shame? You think you're so special? I want ten thousand jin too!"
Base C: "I think you two are shameless. I've never even heard of this Xiaohe Base. Where would you get so many seeds? Give me five thousand catties."
Cheng Zhiyu scratched his face: "We only have five thousand jin in total."
He suddenly realized that these seeds were a lot for the small river base, but far too few for these large bases; a single base could easily absorb them all.
Sure enough, the bases all started complaining, saying that only 5,000 jin was too little, and while complaining, they said, "Give me 2,000 jin" and "Give me 3,000 jin".
Cheng Zhiyu seized the opportunity to advertise: "...We also have other seeds."
"Other seeds?" Base Armor: "I just want the mutated cotton..."
Cheng Zhiyu said what kinds of seeds were available.
Wheat and sweet potatoes can only be allocated in small quantities to feed the base, and the rest can be used to exchange for resources that other river bases do not have, as well as cabbage, lettuce, and alfalfa seeds.
Base A changed the subject: "Give me some wheat and sweet potato."
Base B: "Even though you're cunning, I want it too!"
The head of the Chaoyang base seized on the key point: "Mr. Cheng, what is the price of these seeds?"
But whether it's cotton, wheat, sweet potatoes, or even vegetables, these are all scarce resources right now, and they need them no matter how expensive they are.
I just don't know how such a small base could have so many seeds of mutated plants.
The seeds cultivated by the wood-type ability users at their base can only grow into a small patch, not enough to even feed themselves, let alone sell.
Moreover, the mutation direction is quite strange. Some rice varieties have mutated into seedless rice!
What the hell is rice all about? If there are no seeds, what do you eat? Rice husks?
However, we can't blame the other party, since wood-type ability users can't control the direction of mutation, and not every plant's mutation direction is good.
Therefore, in this situation, seeds with good mutation directions are extremely scarce.
No wonder everyone started scrambling for them without even asking the price.
Cheng Zhiyu had already thought about the prices: "What we are currently lacking most are crystal cores, medical supplies, and daily necessities."
Daily necessities are also needed. Cheng Zhiyu once saw a person whose hair was extremely greasy, and his clothes were also dirty in one spot and another.
You asked the other person to pay attention to their personal appearance. The other person was helpless, as they had no laundry detergent or shampoo at home and had no other choice.
He even said he didn't have any toothpaste, and that he hadn't brushed his teeth for months.
Cheng Zhiyu: "..."
Indeed, when there is no food or water, such things are not important, but now that we have the means to trade with the large base, we should trade if we can.
As far as he knew, many people in the base were in the same situation.
Regardless, personal hygiene still requires rest.
Crystal cores and daily necessities are simple matters. Large bases have no shortage of crystal cores, and as for daily necessities, they have their own daily necessities processing plants, so they don't lack them either.
On the contrary, medical supplies are not plentiful for the large base. If possible, they would prefer to exchange them for crystal cores and daily necessities.
Upon hearing this, Cheng Zhiyu exclaimed, "How can this be? They are also in dire need of medical supplies!" So he said that medical supplies must be kept in a certain ratio to daily necessities.
Upon hearing this, Base B immediately tried to take advantage of Cheng Zhiyu, thinking that Xiaohe Base was just a small base: "Little Cheng, I'm not trying to be mean, but you know how scarce medical resources are right now. Aren't you just making things difficult for people? What's the point of you holding onto the seeds? Take them out, and we can use them to save more lives. Hey, young man, you need to have a bigger picture in mind."
Cheng Zhiyu smiled. This Base B had been the most reluctant to accept the assignment, taking advantage of the fact that his communicator lacked video functionality. He rolled his eyes but remained polite, saying, "You're right. If it's inconvenient for you..."
The person in charge of Base B was a seasoned veteran. He saw that Cheng Zhiyu was young and only a base leader, so he wanted to take advantage of him. Now that he heard that the other party seemed to have given in, he smiled.
However, the other party did not simply say there were no medical resources as he had expected.
The other party said, "If you can't provide the quantity I need, then don't bother changing it."
The smile of the person in charge of Base B froze: "How can you do this? Are you not going to change the seeds?"
Cheng Zhiyu took the hot water that Cheng Mo poured for him and took a sip: "No, whoever can meet my requirements can be replaced. Anyway, I don't have many seeds. Don't worry, there won't be any moldy seeds in my hands."
What a joke! The seeds he has are far less in demand than supply, aren't they? He has nothing to worry about.
Previously, the other bases remained silent, but Base B said they wanted to see if Cheng Zhiyu, the person in charge of the base, was easy to manage. If he was really willing to forgo medical resources, that would be the best outcome, as they wouldn't have to contribute their scarce medical resources.
Everyone here is shrewd; only the person in charge of Base B is probably an idiot. They're all waiting for him to step up.
Now that Cheng Zhiyu had stated his position, the others immediately understood. The Chaoyang Base immediately said, "Medical resources are not a problem. I need two thousand catties of cotton seeds, five hundred catties of wheat and sweet potatoes, and one thousand catties of lettuce, cabbage, and alfalfa. How about that?"
Wheat and sweet potatoes were already scarce, since the seeds themselves were food; there were only two thousand catties of each.
There were slightly more lettuce, cabbage, and alfalfa, but only 3,000 jin (1,500 kg).
Cheng Zhiyu smiled and said, "Sure."
Since Chaoyang Base was the first to express its opinion, it's only natural that it would receive preferential treatment.
Then the coal mine base said they also needed a little cotton seeds. Not to mention the heating issue, cotton can be used to make cloth. As for wheat and sweet potatoes, they also needed 500 jin, and lettuce, cabbage and alfalfa seeds also needed 500 jin.
Seeing that the other party didn't ask for much and was very restrained, Cheng Zhiyu said, "Okay."
Upon hearing this, the other bases panicked instantly. Half of their wheat and sweet potatoes were gone in no time, and they feared others would snatch them all away, leading to a scramble for supplies.
Only the person in charge of the Chaoyang base and the person in charge of the base with the coal mine breathed a sigh of relief, watching them argue heatedly.
The various bases all need to cooperate with each other, so although they were reluctant to give each other face, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and discuss it, and then they divided up the rest.
The person in charge of Base B also argued, but Cheng Zhiyu turned a blind eye, not wanting to truly offend him.
These seeds can be exchanged for a lot of supplies, so business is good! It's estimated that in the short term, due to the large number of people in the major bases, it won't be possible to achieve true seed freedom, so he can still do business a few more times.
Thinking of this, Cheng Zhiyu smiled and said, "It's a pleasure to cooperate with you."
The officials hadn't said a word from beginning to end; they only oversaw the general direction of the base and left other matters to develop on their own. Now that they had finished speaking, they said with a smile, "The Xiaohe Base is quite good; it seems it does indeed have the capacity to accommodate a thousand people."
After all, the fact that wheat and sweet potatoes, which can be used as grains, can be sold means that there should be no shortage of food.
Cheng Zhiyu said a few modest words before saying, "However, I have some requirements for these thousand people."
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