Chapter 319: Harvesting Corn

Chapter 319: Chapter 319: Harvesting Corn

Xiaqing squatted by the hole, carefully observing the two bizarre Qiangwu Grass plants—colorless, odorless, and transparent. She decided to move them fifteen centimeters outward, putting a little more distance between them and the spring water.

These two Qiangwu Grass plants were originally from deep within the Evolution Forest, north of White Seven Base. That area was dry and cold, whereas Hui San Base was comparatively humid and warm.

If the Qiangwu Grass remained at the same distance from the spring after being transplanted to her territory, they likely wouldn’t be able to handle the moisture and would dissolve and rot.

She hadn’t paid for them and wouldn’t have to compensate anyone if they died, but losing one plant was a one-million-yuan loss—the value of a plot of land larger than Mountain No. 49. The thought alone made Xiaqing’s heart ache.

Even if not for the money, who could guarantee they wouldn’t be poisoned with Qiang Synthesized Poison someday, or lose control and go berserk from a spike in their internal Harmful Element levels? At a critical moment, Qiangwu Grass could be a lifesaver.

Therefore, she had to tend to these two Qiangwu Grass plants as if they were her own ancestors.

Xiaqing picked up a pinch of the native soil Yang Jin had brought back in the stone pit and found it was more humid than when she’d poured it out of the bag yesterday.

’This won’t do. Too much moisture will cause root rot. I have to increase the soil’s aeration.’

Fortunately, she had considered drainage and aeration when planting them. The stone pit Xiaqing chose already had two cracks at the bottom; otherwise, she would have had to remove the Qiangwu Grass entirely and drill a few holes in the pit.

The soil’s humidity had increased even with the drainage cracks, which meant its drainage and aeration were still insufficient. She needed to mix in some granular gravel to improve both.

’What kind of gravel should I use?’

After carefully observing the gravel in the soil, Xiaqing made her decision: she would use the gravel left over from making the Yi Stone Protection Shell, which she had sieved from the soil near the Yi Stone.

This was because the gravel felt very similar to the particles in the Qiangwu Grass’s native soil.

She got right to it.

Xiaqing immediately went home to fetch the gravel. She carefully lifted the two "little ancestors" out, mixed the gravel into the soil, replanted them fifteen centimeters farther out, and then covered the opening of the hole.

To allow the Qiangwu Grass to ventilate, Xiaqing didn’t seal the hole completely, leaving a small gap. The spring water would attract small animals, so to prevent them from breaking through the insect-proof mesh to drink and ruining the plants, Xiaqing sprayed another round of insecticide and disinfectant around the stone hole.

She had done everything she could. Whether these two "little ancestors" lived or died was now up to fate.

After breaking off some Chinese toon leaves for Sheep Leader, Xiaqing went home, made breakfast to fill her stomach, and then headed straight for the corn shed.

Xiaqing had planted the one kilogram of corn seeds from Luo Pei in late June. A total of 1,900 sprouts had emerged, for a germination rate of sixty-three percent. After losses from Harmful Rain and other factors, only 1,415 stalks remained—a post-germination loss rate of a full one-quarter.

In total, only 47% of the 3,000 corn seeds she had planted early would survive to harvest. In the adjacent plot, the seeds she had traded for in the Safe Zone were of poor quality to begin with; only 32% of them germinated and successfully grew to maturity.

Such was the state of agriculture on Blue Star after the planet’s great biological evolution.

Because she had the Pollution-free Spring Water and had preemptively used Zhang San’s soil insecticide, Xiaqing’s corn survival rate was the highest in the territory.

Of course, as her farming experience grew, Xiaqing was certain that next year’s corn would be even better—as long as she didn’t face a devastating Natural Disaster.

The bottom leaves and husks of the corn planted in late June had yellowed and withered, a sign that the cobs were mature and ready to be harvested.

To make tilling the soil easier later, Xiaqing decided to pull up the entire plant, roots and all.

The right tool for this job was a type of hoe. Its blade was only ten centimeters wide but twenty centimeters long. The steel was thick, the cutting edge was extremely sharp, and the blade was set at a right angle to its half-meter wooden handle. It was a small agricultural tool.

Qi Fu called this tool a small pickaxe. Using it to dig up corn required bending over and putting in some muscle, but it was much more efficient than a shovel.

As a Strength Evolver, strength was the one thing Xiaqing didn’t lack. She swung the small pickaxe, advancing at a rate of one stalk per second. In forty minutes, she had felled all one thousand-plus stalks of corn.

Looking back at the two neat rows of felled corn stalks, Xiaqing wiped the sweat from her face, raised her small pickaxe, and declared, "Sheep Leader, Second, look! This is the kingdom I have conquered for you!"

Sheep Leader, busy munching on tender grass in the cornfield, didn’t even lift its head. Sick Wolf, however, who was outside the shed pouncing on grasshoppers, was much more obliging. It looked at Xiaqing and panted happily, its tongue lolling out.

On a rock near the shed, the Red Squirrel twitched its big, fluffy tail, waiting for a handout.

Xiaqing gulped down some sweet spring water, wiped the sweat from her face, and began shucking the forty ears of corn from the stalks she had set aside on the field’s ridge.

It was a real shame. Out of more than two thousand corn plants from both the early and late plantings, not a single Green Light one had appeared. So, Xiaqing selected only the Yellow Light Corn with low Harmful Element content, large cobs, and plump kernels to save as seed for next year.

Xiaqing tore open a husk, broke the ear of corn off the stalk, and put it in a bag. The stalks were green and the husks were a withered yellow, but the kernels themselves were white.

The early-sown corn had white kernels, while the later batch grew yellow ones. Xiaqing didn’t know the difference between them yet, so she planned to save seeds from both types and plant both again next year.

The task of shucking corn piqued the interest of Sheep Leader and Sick Wolf. The sight of the freshly revealed, kernel-studded cobs made the Red Squirrel wag its tail so hard it nearly flew off. It hopped up and down outside the shed, desperate for Xiaqing to toss it a cob.

’A whole one is out of the question, but a few kernels might be okay. But I haven’t even shelled the corn yet. The freeloader will have to put on a show for a bit longer.’

Sheep Leader ambled over, sniffed the shucked corn, lost interest, and went back to eating corn leaves. Sick Wolf, however, copied Xiaqing’s actions. Using its teeth and claws, it finally managed to husk an ear of its own, then let out a happy "AWOO! AWOO!" at Xiaqing to show its delight.

"Second, you’re so smart! Amazing!" Xiaqing broke off the ear of corn Sick Wolf had shucked, put it in her bag, and gave the wolf a scratch under the chin.

Pleased, Sick Wolf wagged its tail, picked out another ear, and set to work husking it with tooth and claw.

Sheep Leader, with a leaf dangling from its mouth, walked over to the nearest ear of corn. Copying Sick Wolf, it stomped on the ear with its hoof, but...

...it just stomped the corn into the dirt.

Sheep Leader shot a furtive glance at Xiaqing, pawed the ear of corn out of the dirt, and pinned it down with its hoof. It then grabbed the husk with its mouth and yanked. The ear of corn actually snapped in two.

Sheep Leader stared at the broken half of the cob, growing more and more disgruntled. It lifted its head and bleated for its companion, "Meee!"

"Sheep Leader, what’s wrong?" Hearing the call, Xiaqing stood up and walked over. She looked at the half-cob it had managed to shuck and was left speechless.

’Fucking hell! A twenty-centimeter-plus ear of corn, and it grew a grand total of two goddamn kernels? They were flat, too, looking like warts you’d want to pick right off!’

’I worked my ass off for over a hundred days, and you pop out two measly kernels? Who the hell is that supposed to satisfy?’

"Sheep Leader, it’s not your fault. This cornstalk is the one that’s messed up," Xiaqing said, shucking the other half of the ear still attached to the plant.

’Fucking hell. This half was even worse. It only had a single kernel.’