Chapter 268 Why hasn’t Miss Qiao come back yet?
“Wuwuwu…”
"Wow... Oh my god..."
“That’s great, that’s great, that’s great…”
Blackwater Town.
Early in the morning, people were awakened by excited cries and shouts.
They got up dazedly and looked out of their simple sheds, but all they saw was a figure dancing and running away madly, disappearing into the distance along the newly repaired flat road.
"What happened?"
"Is that man crazy?"
"Hey, it looks like...Team Leader Jiang?"
"Could it be that he has been driven crazy by some psychic master?"
"Ah, no, that's not the case. Team Leader Jiang is no longer in security. He's been busy farming lately. Don't you know?"
"What kind of land are you going to plant? The soil is poisonous, the water is poisonous too, oh!"
People were talking about it, and talked about the terrible environment in the end times. Today's despair was at its peak again.
"Hey, that's not right. Didn't you hear clearly? What Team Leader Jiang shouted just now was 'Great'! Could it be that..." Suddenly someone came to his senses and found the bright spot.
The crowd was shocked.
Then, no one knew who took the lead, but they swarmed and rushed to chase on the road, running in the direction where Jiang Yueyuan had gone.
It would be difficult for everyone to run so neatly and fast when they are hungry and have no energy.
The reason is that everyone wants to see with their own eyes whether it is true or not. Is it true that Team Leader Jiang is successful in farming? Otherwise, why is he so excited?
"Captain Ye, woooooo, Captain Ye, Captain Ye! Wooah—"
Jiang Yue ran all the way from the breeding basement at one end of the town to Ye Qi's residence at the other end of the town. As soon as he entered the door, he hugged Ye Qi and shouted, crying bitterly.
"What happened?"
Ye Qi released a little energy wave, shaking Jiang Yue away from his body, and at the same time knocked away a mutant ladybug lying on his shoulder.
This man was so busy running and crying that he didn't even notice that the ladybug was targeting the blood vessels in his neck. If he had been a step later, the insect's blood-sucking mouth would have pierced his skin, and he would have been unconscious at best, or even died at worst. This mutated blood-sucking ladybug is no joke.
The insect fell to the ground, killed by the bullet, and before dying, it even spit out a stream of poisonous water. Jiang Yue lowered his head and glanced at the insect corpse, not caring at all. He put his arms around Ye Qi again, ignoring his life or death.
"Captain Ye, ahhh, great, woooo, I did it, woooo, I did it!"
Ye Qi was suddenly shocked.
But he didn't forget to shake the other person away again. He really wanted to be hugged by someone recently, but not this person.
"Could it be that the seedlings were successfully grown? Did they produce rice?"
"Yes, Captain Ye! It's a success! It's a success! Not only the rice, but also the two potatoes I cultivated using the same method were successful. Each seedling has produced seven or eight potatoes, and they are so big! Half a potato is enough to feed a person! Woo woo woo woo——"
Jiang Yue cried excitedly, with snot and tears wiping away, and finally explained the matter clearly with a grin.
Before Ye Qi had time to be happy, the door was suddenly pushed open and a large group of people rushed in.
“Ahhhh!”
“Did it really work?”
"Can I eat rice and potatoes now?"
"We will finally have something to eat and be able to have our fill, right?"
“Wuwuwuwa——”
The cries, laughter, shouts and cheers from the crowd drowned out Ye Qi and Jiang Yue, almost blowing the roof off the house.
All of them were people who came after Jiang Yue to see what was going on. Those who couldn't squeeze into the house were cheering outside the window, in the yard, and on the street.
Since the soil and water became toxic, ordinary plants could no longer thrive in farmland. All crops had been decimated by mutated plants, and these mutated crops were dangerous. Consequently, everyone had long since given up hope in food production. The consensus was that "the only way to survive is to seize existing resources." Official action was ineffective, and local bases had yet to be established. Relying on official scientific research to overcome the difficulties of farming seemed a distant prospect.
Who would have thought that when everyone had given up hope, an ordinary agricultural science doctor in a small town actually cultivated food crops!
Who wouldn’t be excited!
Everyone wants to have enough food to eat, and to have enough food for a long time!
The ecstatic people were suddenly filled with strength. Even though they hadn't had breakfast and were hungry, they lifted Jiang Yue up, carried him out of the house, and threw him into the sky. They threw him up and caught him, threw him again and caught him again, and celebrated for a long time.
I also wanted to throw Ye Qi out, but I didn't dare. Captain Ye usually has a cold face and cold words, which makes him seem distant.
"This isn't my achievement. It's the cultivation method Miss Qiao Lan taught me. Furthermore, this is just a successful cultivation experiment. It'll take a long time before we can actually plant and harvest crops. Don't get too excited!"
Jiang Yue finally managed to free himself, jumping out of the crowd and standing on the rooftop, shouting his message. The crowd's excitement dampened his own ecstasy, and he finally stopped crying and calmed down.
After a lot of talking, I finally managed to convince people to leave.
The crowd that dispersed remained excited, their joy lingering. Soon, news of the successful seedling cultivation spread throughout the town, and all the survivors cheered, working even harder that day. Especially those hired by Qiao Lan to work on the town's infrastructure, each one of them looked proud, as if they had also participated in Qiao Lan's contribution to Jiang Yue's seedling cultivation.
"Miss Qiao is amazing. Not only can she fight, but she can also get supplies and make friends with mutant beasts. Now she has the added skill of raising seedlings!"
"How about we just keep working for her when she comes back? Maybe following her would be better than working at the official base."
"Yeah, that's true!"
"Miss Qiao even knows how to breed and raise seedlings. Are you afraid of not having enough food to eat in the future if you follow her?"
A group of hired workers who were previously hesitant, not knowing whether to follow Qiao Lan or Ye Qi's official base, quietly made up their minds.
"Captain Ye, it took seven days to successfully cultivate this time. It's far from Miss Qiao's efficiency of cultivating successfully in one day, but it is the limit of our current ability."
In Ye Qi's room, Jiang Yue, who had calmed down, began to report seriously.
Following the breeding techniques left by Qiao Lan, Jiang Yue worked tirelessly day and night on breeding experiments. He failed more than a dozen times, but eventually he figured out the trick and succeeded.
However, what Qiao Lan accomplished with just one Ice-type Awakener, Jiang Yue had to recruit three Perception-types and two Ice-types, consuming numerous Crystal Cores, nearly using up all the Crystal Cores Ye Qi had saved for him. He also hired several Combat-type Awakeners and armed warriors to guard the area, preventing the mutant crops from attacking anyone. The effort was massive, requiring significant manpower and resources, and Jiang Yue was only considered a successful experiment, unable to scale up the plantation.
If they want to actually plant mutant crops, they definitely can't rely on crystal nuclei to ripen them. After all, there aren't that many crystal nuclei to waste. If they rely on natural growth, the ripening cycle will be prolonged, and food supply won't be guaranteed in the short term. Furthermore, large-scale food trials must be continued to confirm sufficient safety before the mutant rice can be widely released.
So today’s excitement is just a small step towards success.
There are many problems later on.
For example, how do we ensure a sufficient supply of safe and suitable soil? And safe irrigation water? How do we control pests? How do we maintain and secure rice paddies? How do we mix fertilizers and nutrients? And what if crops suddenly mutate?
"I can't wait any longer. Why hasn't Miss Qiao come back yet? How long will she stay in the capital?" Jiang Yue wailed.
You have to ask her about the follow-up matters!
"Captain Ye, can you please contact her in Beijing?" Jiang Yue pleaded.
Ye Qi's face was serious. He pondered for a moment and nodded: "Okay."
He also warned Jiang Yue: "Long-distance communication currently consumes precious resources. Unless there is a special or urgent situation, it is not allowed to communicate casually according to regulations. However, for the future of food cultivation at the base and even the entire country, this communication is necessary."
When Staff Officer Li, who had just walked outside Ye Qi's door, heard this, the old lady secretly rolled her eyes.
Are young people these days so shy about dating? If Ye Xiaozi keeps saying one thing and thinking another, can't she encourage her grandson, Xiaofeng, to work harder and pry Qiao Lan home? Alas, it's a pity that her grandson is neither ambitious nor sensible. Since she can't recognize him as her granddaughter-in-law, she can only work hard to recognize her granddaughter herself.
"That's perfect. Come with me. I need to communicate with headquarters today using my radio."
Staff Officer Li came in and called Ye Qi and Jiang Yue to her side.
Ye prayed for it.
The communication radio equipped by Staff Officer Li is much more convenient than the communication equipment he has on hand. It is the latest official communication technology achievement.
These days, traditional means of communication—phones, cell phones, computers, the internet—are all paralyzed, and even satellite phones are out of service. Walkie-talkies and short-range communicators are still possible for short distances, but long distances are no longer possible. Currently, long-distance communication in China relies on a new device developed urgently by the government, operating on a special frequency. It's a bit like a radio, but different. The core technology is more advanced, and the communication method is more mature.
Ye Qi communicated with the capital using a communications equipment box Feng Feng had brought back once before. It was the official distribution kit for various bases and was a crude design. However, Staff Officer Li had brought the latest portable radio, which significantly improved communication efficiency and stability.
It is said that after a while, the authorities will distribute this new model to bases in various places. However, the war has just ended and the headquarters has not yet recovered, so we have to wait for a while in all aspects.
In reality, all regions are in ruins, yet nothing is happening. Aside from the capital, cities like City C are already very organized, while many are still locked in small-scale power struggles. Ye Qi's ability to organize the survivors to work together on infrastructure, Qiao Lan's ability to hire workers, and Jiang Yue's ability to cultivate rice seedlings puts them at the forefront of other regions, something other bases can't even begin to dream of.
"...Yes, that's the basic situation...Okay, I understand..."
The call was made. After Grandma Li contacted her superiors at the headquarters, she called Ye Qi and Jiang Yue forward.
This portable communication radio is not the old-fashioned radio from before the end of the world. It not only enables real-time voice communication between the two parties, but also can switch to picture mode and real-time video, just like making videos with mobile phones before.
So after more than half a month, Ye Qi finally saw Qiao Lan again.
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