Chapter 251: Fertilizer Crisis

Chapter 251: Chapter 251: Fertilizer Crisis

Five to seven days after the rice plants headed, they would begin to flower. The agricultural broadcast had mentioned that management during this period was extremely important for ensuring a stable, high yield.

The key aspects of management were protecting the roots, guarding the leaves, and defending against high temperatures. In other words, over the next few days, she had to fertilize the rice, check the insect-proof nets and spray Insect Repellent to ward off pests attracted by the flowering plants, and prevent the leaves and rice ears from getting scorched by the high noon sun.

The Green Light Rice Seedlings from Zhang San were extremely precious. The area of Green Rice she could plant next year depended entirely on how many seeds these ninety-seven plants produced, so proper management was essential.

"It’s time to fertilize and water the fields." Xiaqing walked out of the rice shelter and ruffled the head of Wolf Dog Second, who was squatting beside her, waiting. A few steps further, she was delighted to discover that the corn had also begun to tassel.

According to the agricultural broadcast, the evolved corn took only a month to go from tasseling to harvest. This was a result of natural evolution, and it also required a top-dressing of fertilizer.

Rice in its heading stage and corn in its tasseling stage both needed a top-dressing of nitrogen fertilizer. The mung beans were also at the critical stage of flowering and podding, so they needed it too. It was also time to water and fertilize the vegetables on the hillside and in the greenhouses on her farmland.

Fermented animal manure is an excellent nitrogen fertilizer. Right now, Xiaqing had four types of well-fermented animal manure: Green Light chicken manure, Green Light sheep manure, Red Light earthworm castings, and Red Light wolf manure.

Besides the earthworm castings, the other three types were all collected and fermented by Xiaqing herself. She used the soil insecticide from Zhang San and the high-efficiency composting starter from Li Si, a combination that ensured thorough fermentation while also killing any insects and their eggs, making the manure safe to use.

The Green Light chicken manure had to be prioritized for the Green Light Spinach. The manure from the one Red Light Goose was mixed in as well, but Xiaqing ignored it since the amount was negligible.

Since the wolves and the sheep used the same spot as their toilet, Xiaqing had no choice but to compost the two types of manure together for use on the Green Rice and other Green Light vegetable fields.

Her territory only had one sheep, a variable pack of two to four wolves, and eleven chickens. These few animals couldn’t produce much manure at all. So, to apply a large top-dressing of nitrogen fertilizer to the rice, corn, and mung beans, she had to rely on the earthworm castings she got from Sun Zhe.

The earthworm castings in the warehouse were enough for now, but she needed to order another batch as soon as possible. In November, Xiaqing planned to plant winter wheat and also prepare for growing vegetables in the greenhouse, both of which required a lot of fertilizer.

Never one to procrastinate, Xiaqing immediately took out her phone and called Sun Zhe. "Sun Zhe, I’d like to trade for fifteen hundred catties of earthworm castings. When do you think you can deliver? Do you want points or supplies?"

Sun Zhe’s voice was laced with obvious exhaustion. "Sister Qing, I only have three hundred catties on hand. If you’re not in a hurry, I can have fifteen hundred for you in twenty days. If you need it urgently, you can buy from No. 49 Territory first, but they’re selling it for double my price—one point per catty."

Sun Zhe had been actively expanding production for the past six months. The last time they spoke, he had gleefully reported that his output had reached a thousand catties per day, enough to supply fertilizer to dozens of territories.

But now, when Xiaqing ordered a mere fifteen hundred catties, he needed twenty days to deliver. Listening to the tone of his voice, she knew it wasn’t due to an excess of orders. Something was wrong.

Xiaqing asked, "Twenty days is fine. I haven’t finished the batch I bought last time; this order is for the fall wheat planting. Is everything alright on your end?"

Back in the Safe Zone, Sun Zhe had worked under Deputy Leader Xiaqing on the construction team for several years. Even though she wasn’t his boss anymore, when Xiaqing asked, Sun Zhe honestly laid out the problems he was facing.

"The new Lord of No. 49 Territory, Jiang Yansheng, is the nephew of our base’s Head of the Lord Management Department. He didn’t just poach over half my workers with high wages; he also had the ones who stayed behind sabotage things. Now, only one of my earthworm casting production greenhouses is still operational."

"This year’s output is definitely shot. We’re trying to figure something out, looking for options. Sister Qing, I promise you won’t be short on fertilizer by the time for the spring irrigation next year." Sun Zhe was beaten down, but not broken. "I have an idea, and I’d like to hear your opinion on it, Sis."

Xiaqing sat under a tree, her voice as calm and steady as it had been back on the construction team. "Go on." 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Sun Zhe continued, "No. 49 Territory has powerful backing, so I have to lay low for now. I’m planning to sell off most of my earthworms and the related equipment to recoup some points and get through this rough patch. What do you think, Sister Qing?"

’It was a cowardly, humiliating thing to do.’

’But given the situation, for someone like Sun Zhe at the very bottom of the social ladder—powerless, without connections or wealth—swallowing his pride and enduring the humiliation was his only option.’

’If she were the Lord of No. 48 Territory, she would also feign submission for now. Then, once Jiang Yansheng let his guard down, she’d find an opportunity to slip something onto No. 49 Territory’s people or into their supplies and wipe out all their earthworms.’

But Xiaqing couldn’t suggest such a plan to Sun Zhe over the phone. Instead, she shared what she had found out. "Jiang Quan, from the Lord Management Department, is a trusted subordinate of the Deputy Base Commander. After the last agricultural trade fair, I saw him getting chummy with Secretary Wang from the Lord Management Department of Hui Yi Base One. He sounded very smooth-tongued. It doesn’t make sense for a guy like that to let his nephew stir up trouble for you so openly. There must be something else going on. It’s probably a good idea for you to lay low for now. Who are you planning to sell to?"

Sun Zhe replied, "I heard Mr. Luo of the Green Dragon Team has cleared over a thousand mu of land in No. 1 Territory, so he’ll definitely need fertilizer. The Green Dragon Team doesn’t bully ordinary people like me. Even if we can’t make a deal, they won’t try to sabotage me. If they agree, I’d like to have my parents go to No. 1 Territory and teach them how to produce the earthworm castings. As long as I can guarantee their safety, I won’t be afraid of anything."

Sun Zhe was a Lord, protected by the Lord Law. No matter what dirty tricks Jiang Yansheng pulled, as long as Sun Zhe didn’t leave his territory, the Jiang family wouldn’t dare to harm him directly.

’Only Lords needed earthworm castings, and among the Lords Xiaqing knew, only No. 1 and No. 12, both of whom were clearing land on a massive scale, had such a large demand. Compared to Tang Zhengpo, Luo Pei was far more reliable.’

Xiaqing agreed. "No. 1 Territory would indeed be an excellent partner."

’Regardless of whether Sun Zhe and Luo Pei could come to an agreement, she felt she still needed to secure a few more channels for purchasing fertilizer to ensure she had a steady supply next year.’

She turned on her walkie-talkie and contacted the local "Second-hand Dealer," Kuang Qingwei. "Brother Qing, you there?"

Kuang Qingwei’s reply came quickly. "Yep. You’re on early today, Xiaqing. What’s up?"

Xiaqing rarely used her walkie-talkie in the morning, so it was indeed early for her. She offered no explanation, getting straight to the point. "Brother Qing, do you have any channels for buying fertilizer? I want to buy a thousand catties of manure."

Kuang Qingwei replied, "I’ve got two kinds: earthworm castings and mixed manure. The price of castings has doubled because No. 48 Territory suffered heavy losses during the Harmful Rain and their production dropped. We can only buy from No. 49 Territory now, and it’s one point per catty. The mixed manure is a blend of all sorts of animal droppings, also fully fermented. That’s four points per catty."

Xiaqing asked, "Is the mixed manure shipped in from another region?"

Kuang Qingwei replied, "Nope. It’s a business run by our base’s Alliance of Teams. The teams haul the manure back from the Evolution Forest. I hear the quality is pretty good, but I haven’t gotten my hands on any yet. Right now, they’re just taking pre-orders and will make one unified delivery later. Winter wheat planting starts in about a month, and there’s a huge fertilizer shortage. They know their mixed manure will sell, which is why they’ve priced it so high."