Chapter 70: The Sudden Arrival of the Second Harmful Rain

Chapter 70: Chapter 70: The Sudden Arrival of the Second Harmful Rain

The Hua Country news broadcast was the same old story: countries abroad were in turmoil, while back home, apart from the worrying situation at the coastal bases, all other bases were thriving with a constant stream of good news.

After listening to the Hua Country news broadcast while washing the dishes, Xiaqing returned to the living room. She continued listening to the news from Hui City Base and the local report from Hui San Base, and then came the most crucial segment: the weather forecast.

You could say farmers’ livelihoods depend on the weather, so all the Lords paid extremely close attention to the forecast.

"According to the joint forecast from the Hui Yi Base One General Weather Station and the Hui San Base Weather Station, most areas of Hui City Base will experience the second widespread Harmful Rain of the year, starting the day after tomorrow." Xiaqing’s heart sank. She froze, listening with rapt attention. "...On May 21st, there will be Harmful Rain in both the Hui San Base Safety Zone and the territories outside it. The highest warning level will be orange, it will last for two days, and the total precipitation will be approximately 90 millimeters..."

The subsequent farming segment was also about this Harmful Rain, specifically explaining to the Lords how to protect the crops that had been growing for two months.

Just as Xiaqing did with Sheep Leader, the Hui San Base announcer first tried to butter up the Lords. "The intensity, duration, and precipitation of this Harmful Rain are not only lower than the last one, but it’s also the least threatening of the second annual Harmful Rains in the past five years. As long as all you Lords make adequate preparations and help your spring crops safely weather this storm, a bountiful harvest is assured. Now, let’s learn about the primary methods for protecting crops from Harmful Rain..."

After jotting down the methods from the broadcast in her notebook, Xiaqing turned off the radio and switched on her walkie-talkie.

On the Lord channel, everyone was already talking about the upcoming Harmful Rain.

Qi Fu was speaking with confidence. "The broadcast is right, this rain is coming at the perfect time. Our grains and vegetable seedlings, aside from the cotton, are past their early growth stage, so the chance of Qiang Evolution is much lower. If the Harmful Rain came half a month later, it would be right during the wheat and mung bean flowering stage, and we’d lose half our yield."

Zhao Ze immediately chimed in, "Brother Qi is right, but are we really going to cover all the farmland with rainproof cloth? Even setting aside whether we have enough cloth, there’s no way we can get it all done in just two days."

Kuang Qingwei shot back at Zhao Ze, "You have time to collect rocks for landscaping, but you don’t have time to build rain shelters?"

Zhao Ze explained in a low voice, "I wasn’t specifically making a landscape, I just picked up a few rocks when I was tired from work. Brother Qi, Brother Wei, are you guys able to cover all your fields? We’re talking several acres. How is that possible?"

Kuang Qingwei ignored Zhao Ze and asked Qi Fu, "Old Qi, what’s your plan for the pumpkin seedlings?"

Qi Fu replied, "I don’t have enough rainproof cloth, so I’m planning to group the seedlings together and cover as many as I can. Whatever I can’t cover is just out of luck. Does anyone have extra bamboo poles? I’d like to trade for some."

’With Qi Fu’s cautious personality, there’s no way he hadn’t prepared enough rainproof cloth, bamboo poles, and wood to deal with the Harmful Rain.’ Xiaqing figured he was just saying that to stop the other Lords from asking to borrow his supplies.

The channel went quiet for a moment. Surprisingly, it was Tang Huai who broke the silence. "If you guys with forested territories don’t have enough bamboo and wood for rain shelters, then I’ve got even less with my few trees. Is Brother Feng from Territory One on? Can I trade for some bamboo poles?"

"PFFT—" Xiaqing, who had just taken a sip of water, couldn’t help but spray it everywhere.

’For a few bamboo poles, Tang Huai actually called his arch-nemesis ’Brother’...’

’Are you the same Tang Huai who used to argue with Hu Zifeng every single day about the wolves? You’re throwing away all your pride just to protect your crops?’

Hu Zifeng drawled, "Nope."

Having swallowed his pride, Tang Huai didn’t believe him. His voice jumped. "Don’t you have a bamboo forest on Mountain No. 49? How could you possibly not have any bamboo?"

Hu Zifeng yawned. "You want bamboo poles from Mountain No. 49? Sure. Pay the entry fee and go cut them yourself."

Tang Huai exploded, cursing, "You psycho! You just wait, there’ll come a day when you’re begging me for help!"

"Fine, I’ll be waiting." Hu Zifeng gave another indifferent yawn.

The Lords’ conversation ended in a storm of curses. Xiaqing turned off her walkie-talkie and, moments later, received a message from Hu Zifeng: Miss Xia, do you need bamboo poles?

After replying that she had plenty, Xiaqing put her phone away and started pulling on her Protective Suit.

Qi Fu was right that it was better for the second Harmful Rain to come now rather than in half a month, but she would have preferred it to be delayed by just five days. Her territory didn’t just have cotton seedlings; it also had the even more delicate, newly-planted sweet potato cuttings, and sixteen Green Light sweet potato plants that still hadn’t recovered from having their vines half-trimmed.

’Damn it, yesterday’s forecast said no Harmful Rain for the next five days! Otherwise, why would I have chosen this exact moment to plant sweet potato cuttings!’

’What kind of cursed freak wind rolled in carrying this Harmful Rain? It feels like it’s specifically out to get me!’

Muttering curses, Xiaqing finished putting on her Protective Suit and immediately got to work.

Harmful Rain was coming. She had enough materials, so of course, she was going to protect every last crop in her fields.

The two planting strips on the hillside were the easiest to deal with; she just had to cover the existing insect netting with a layer of rainproof cloth. But for the wheat, mung beans, cotton, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, and pumpkins in the main fields, she would have to build rain shelters from scratch.

She had enough materials to build the shelters, and she was sure she could get the job done in a day. Her biggest worries right now were the freshly planted sweet potato cuttings and Sheep Leader, who might lose control again during the Harmful Rain.

The sweet potato cuttings had to be protected, and so did Sheep Leader.

With the Harmful Rain imminent, every second counted. Xiaqing moved the rainproof cloth, bamboo strips, wooden poles, and steel rebar into the yard. She thoroughly sprayed them with Evolved Camphor Tree Juice and Evolutionary Aconite Juice as an insect repellent, then followed up with Zhang San’s Deodorant to mask the scent.

Sheep Leader hated the pungent smell of the camphor juice and refused to come out of the house, leaving Xiaqing to work alone for most of the night.

She wasn’t the only one; none of the Lords in Hui San Base who had heard the broadcast slept that night.

At a little past five the next morning, Xiaqing brought out her micro-tiller and hitched up her homemade trailer. The trailer’s wheels were made from steel rebar salvaged from the Deserted Village, hammered into circles and welded together. Its frame was also rebar, with wooden planks for the sides. It was crude, certainly, but it had a large capacity. In just two trips, Xiaqing hauled all the materials for the rain shelters to the edge of her fields.

Then, Xiaqing unhitched the trailer and attached a single-blade plow, tilling the empty spaces between each plot of land.

Following the method described on the broadcast, Xiaqing had arranged her farmland in long strips, leaving ample space between plots specifically to make it easier to build rain shelters and dig drainage ditches.

Xiaqing drove a thick bamboo strip deep into the soft, tilled earth, then tamped the soil down firmly with her foot. She did the same with another strip at the corresponding position on the other side of the four-meter-wide field. Then, she tied the top ends of the two opposing strips together with a rope, forming the arched frame of a rain shelter.