Chapter 150: Potato Storage

Chapter 150: Chapter 150: Potato Storage

The evening news broadcast from Hui San Base mentioned the sudden hailstorm.

"At five o’clock this morning, the region north of the Safe Zone was struck by extreme weather—hail and torrential rain. The hail lasted between twenty and forty minutes, and the rainstorm lasted between fifteen and forty-five minutes. The Lords in the northern part of the Safe Zone reacted swiftly, and the crops within their territories did not suffer severe losses..."

So, the northern part of the Safe Zone was the area hit by the torrential rain and hailstorm. Judging from the duration reported on the broadcast, Xiaqing’s territory wasn’t in the area affected for the longest period.

Before Xiaqing could dwell on it, the announcer reported another piece of major news. "This afternoon, a large number of evolved marine creatures washed ashore at Gui San Base, attracting a massive gathering of Evolved Fierce Birds."

Hearing this news, Xiaqing knew where Luo Pei, Hui San Base’s top Sharpshooter, had gone.

Evolved Fierce Birds were the most difficult type of flock to handle. After gathering at Gui San Base to peck at the marine creatures that had come ashore, they wouldn’t disperse if they hadn’t eaten their fill. Instead, they would likely fly off in a group in any direction to forage for food.

And humans, living together in groups, were their favorite food.

Hui San Base had surely assembled its teams to deal with the potential arrival of the Evolution Bird Group. Faced with such a major crisis, it was likely that not just Luo Pei, but also Yang Jin, the leader of the Green Dragon Team, had been summoned.

’And Zhang San? Why did he leave his territory in such a rush?’

After the news broadcast came the weather forecast, which, as usual, reported that everything was normal.

But having just experienced something far from normal, Xiaqing felt a sense of unease hearing that word. It made her feel a constant urge to *do* something.

Having experienced it firsthand, she now profoundly understood the hardships of farming. You could plant your crops and toil away for months, only for a single Natural Disaster to wipe it all out.

This was what it meant to live at the mercy of the heavens. If you didn’t want to end up with a total crop failure, you had to do everything you could to prepare against Natural Disasters.

After the weather forecast came the daily broadcast on farming knowledge.

The announcer Wang Chuki’s voice was as soothing and full of hope as ever. "Congratulations to all our Lords on another bountiful harvest! The potatoes you planted in March, after four and a half months of growth, are finally ready to be harvested."

"While the growing period for potatoes after the Great Evolution on Blue Star is over a month longer than before, their yield and taste have also improved dramatically. I’m sure any Lords who have already dug some up for a fresh taste will definitely agree."

Wang Chuki’s voice was brimming with joy. "Potatoes are a crop that can be a staple food, a vegetable, and can also be used to make snacks. As for delicious potato recipes, tomorrow’s ’Gourmet World’ program will cover them in detail. Now, allow me to chat with our Lords about potato storage."

’Here comes the important part,’ Xiaqing thought, her grip on her pen tightening instantly.

"Aside from the usual pest and bacteria prevention necessary for storing any food, there are three things to pay attention to when storing evolved potatoes: one, ventilation; two, protection from light; and three, protection from moisture. After harvesting, Lords should first spread the potatoes out in a cool, ventilated place for twelve to twenty-four hours to let the moisture on their surfaces evaporate..."

As Wang Chuki spoke, Xiaqing wrote. Fearing she might miss something, she also turned on her phone’s recording function so she could fill in any gaps after the broadcast ended.

"...Even under ideal storage temperatures, and even if Lords use vacuum-sealing methods, the potatoes will only last for thirty days at most. Therefore, the experts at the Planting Center do not recommend that Lords keep their own seed potatoes. You can trade your uneaten potatoes to the convoys, or you can entrust the potatoes you wish to save for seed to the convoys, and they will deliver them to the Territory Management Department."

"The Territory Management Department will collect and store all the Lords’ seed potatoes in the Safe Zone’s storage facilities, and will return them to you next year."

"Lords who haven’t had their privileges revoked due to penalties may store up to ten pounds of seed potatoes for free in the Safe Zone’s storage facilities. For amounts over ten and up to thirty pounds, a storage fee of ten points per pound will be charged. For any amount over thirty pounds, the fee is twenty-five points per pound. Undamaged potatoes offered for trade are worth twenty-five points per pound. The price for damaged potatoes will be lowered accordingly, depending on their condition..."

When the farming segment ended, Xiaqing turned off the radio, switched on her walkie-talkie, and listened to the other Lords while organizing her notes.

The first person to speak today was Tang Zhengpo. "Brother Qi, have you woken up?"

"I woke up just before dark. Thank you for your concern, Chairman Tang." Although Qi Fu tried his best to sound normal, his voice was still obviously weak.

Hearing that Qi Fu was awake, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the atmosphere on the Lords’ channel lightened considerably.

Shi Zhong said with a laugh, "Surviving a great disaster means good fortune is sure to follow. Brother Qi, something good is bound to happen to you now. You woke up this time all thanks to Doctor Chang, Xiaqing, and Brother San. You have to be sure to thank them properly."

Qi Fu replied, "Brother Shi is right. My thanks to Doctor Chang, Sister Xiaqing, and Brother San. And thank you all for worrying about me."

With Zhang San absent, no one from Territory Land No. 7 said a word. Kuang Qingwei chimed in, "Of course. We’re all neighbors. Brother Qi, while you’re recovering these next few days, just give me a shout if you have any heavy work in the fields. The hail got me too, but I can still move."

Zhao Ze added, "That’s right, Brother Qi. Just say the word if you need help."

Tang Huai snorted and said to his father and brother, "A bunch of johnny-come-latelies. When Qi Fu’s wife was crying and begging for medicine, these guys didn’t so much as fart. I refuse to believe they didn’t have any medicine on hand."

Tang Zhengpo admonished his son, "You had some too."

From an angle his dad couldn’t see, Tang Heng mouthed silently to his brother:

’You didn’t do shit either, Bro.’

Tang Huai slapped his brother and gave his dad a sheepish grin. "My relationship with Qi Fu isn’t that close."

"Their relationships with him aren’t that close either." Knowing that Zhang San had given life-saving medicine, it was perfectly normal for people to be unwilling to use it on an outsider.

Tang Zhengpo asked his younger son, "What’s the relationship between Xiaqing and Qi Fu?" ℴℴ𝘮

Tang Heng answered, "Back in the Safe Zone, Xiaqing and Qi Fu both worked on the construction team. Qi Fu was a captain, and Xiaqing was a vice-captain, though they weren’t in the same squad. They knew each other, though. Since arriving in the territories, whenever Xiaqing runs into a farming problem she can’t solve, she asks Qi Fu for advice over the walkie-talkie."

Tang Zhengpo nodded. "This Xiaqing... she’s someone worth getting close to."

Tang Huai surreptitiously rolled his eyes. ’Her? With that rotten, profit-driven temper of hers? Even if we wanted to get close to her, she wouldn’t give us the time of day.’

On the Lords’ channel, Qi Fu called out to No.1 Territory. "Brother Feng, are you there? Do you have any spare regular Protective Masks in your territory? I’d like to trade sixty-five Green Light Onion seeds for four of them."

According to the trade prices established among the Lords, a Green Light Seed was worth twenty points, while a standard Protective Mask from the Safe Zone cost three hundred points. Therefore, four masks were equivalent to sixty Green Light Seeds. Qi Fu offered sixty-five because the roads were difficult to travel after the rain and hailstorm, meaning Zhong Tao’s trading vehicle surely wouldn’t be able to get through for another three to five days, and he was in urgent need of the masks.

Hu Zifeng came on the channel. "We have them. It’s a deal."

Kuang Qingwei immediately asked, "Brother Qi, I’d also like to trade for some Green Light Onion seeds. Is there anything else you need?"

Qi Fu gave a bitter laugh. "I was saving all my Green Light Onion seeds to plant for myself. I never expected this disaster... I had to use some to replace equipment and some to pay Doctor Chang’s medical fees. I have to save the rest to trade with Brother San for hemostatic medicine to pay Xiaqing back. Now I don’t even have any left for my own planting."

"Impossible. He definitely kept some to plant for himself," Zhu Li whispered to her husband in No. 6 Territory as she ate an Earth-raspberry Fruit. "If we can’t trade for any this year, we’ll ask again next spring."

Kuang Qingwei nodded and popped an Earth-raspberry Fruit into his mouth. The hailstorm had smashed and frozen all the Earth-raspberry plants, so this year’s fruits were numbered—every one eaten was one less for good.

Zhao Ze asked, "Brother San, are you back yet?"