Chapter 60: Chapter 58: The Wheat is Ripe
Chapter 60: Chapter 58: The Wheat is Ripe
Spring had arrived, and the transit station was built within a month. It was constructed quickly and looked very impressive, with spacious and tall interior decorations, including standardized luxurious strip lighting. It was connected to electricity and supplied with power throughout the day.
This was in consideration of possibly needing to refrigerate at and seafood in the future, as operating without electricity wasn’t feasible. If the facilities weren’t complete, who would co here to conduct business? When it gets hot, a large quantity of at would spoil – how would any business operate under those conditions?
They were also inford that the farm could now have electricity all day long; of course, they would need to pay for the electricity.
Additionally, the advancent of laying out a water supply network was promoted, so the farm would eventually have tap water, all filtered and disinfected.
This news was simply wonderful. Using electricity only in the morning and evening was indeed inconvenient; they used to light candles at night, so having power all the ti now would be much more convenient.
Moreover, the network was gradually becoming stable. In the future, they would have access to the external internet, allowing them to see news and networks outside the base, not just limited to their own base’s small local area network.
These pieces of good news also boosted the morale of the residents. Life was getting better, and they had sothing to look forward to. Good days were just ahead, social order was improving and becoming more complete – it was a good thing, representing peace, tranquility, and hope.
“Now that we have internet, I’ll buy you a laptop,” one said. “The kids need two as well. They’re getting bored at No.7 Farm, might as well get a projector and a computer for them to play with.”
“Sure, we’ll go to the mall and buy them later.”
Li Pan smiled with her eyes twinkling.
As spring ward up, the leaves started to turn tender yellow, and they began their spring plowing work.
The ground had to be plowed anew, pests exterminated, weeds removed, and watered before they could sow the seeds.
The fruit tree area was growing well. She planned to intercrop dicinal materials, waterlons, sweet lons, or vegetables among the fruit trees, choosing crops based on the heights of the trees to increase so cash crops.
This year was crucial for bearing fruits, so she planned to intercrop honeysuckle, hay, Isatis root, platycodon root, and saffron among other dicinal materials.
She had nurtured these seedlings over the winter, and now they could be planted.
The designated forest area was fenced off to raise free-range chickens, while the lake continued to support ducks and geese, expanding in scale to increase production.
Last year, lacking experience and with limited grain supplies, they had hesitated to raise many poultry. Now that they had a shop, it was completely feasible.
Gao Wenbin phoned, “Xue Dong, ask your sister if she’s interested in an extra shop space available here because the farr can’t afford it. Do you want it? I can arrange it next to yours.”
“I’ll ask my Pan’er.”
“Pan’er, Wen Bin said there’s an extra shop space available at the sa price. It’s ready to adjoin – the previous owner couldn’t afford it.”
“Yes, let’s buy it. We’ll definitely find a use for it.”
“My Pan’er wants it. I’ll transfer the money to you.”
“Alright then, I’ll go prepare the contract now.”
Gao Wenbin hurriedly hung up.
It seed like an extra space had suddenly beco available, and such good opportunities were always first offered to one’s own kind, fearing it might be snapped up by others if delayed.
Soon, the electronic contract ca through. Xue Dong glanced over it; the price was the sa as before, the shop’s address and number only one digit off from the one he previously bought, truly next to each other. He let Li Pan sign it and after a mont’s thought, transferred the full paynt for both shops.
“Take the money, I’ve thought about it and decided to pay in full upfront to avoid others snatching my things and causing more trouble. Later, when I sell the wheat, I’ll break even.”
Xue Dong called Gao Wenbin to let him know.
“Got it, I’ll bring the docunts over in a few days. Also, send another bucket of that milk tea.”
Gao Wenbin was shouting, wanting to drink the milk tea made from their own coconut fruit.
“Understood.”
The transfer station wasn’t too far from them, just a twenty-minute walk away. The station was quite luxurious-looking, occupying a large area with especially thick reinforced walls, which were said to withstand earthquakes and tornadoes; it also housed temporary accommodation areas and a small power station among other comprehensive facilities.
Being close, the brothers often ca over to enjoy a al. Just the day before yesterday, they had brought over two wild boars and eight deer, saying they felt embarrassed for always eating their als and brought so at in return.
Anyway, between brothers, they never split hairs. The Patrol Team didn’t have a large canteen at the mont and had to cook for themselves. Seeing them all so busy and tired, and since n generally didn’t cook much, they freeloaded off Li Pan, who sent them a al every day. If they wanted more, they could just co and take it, treating him as one of their own.
They had started sowing. Li Pan planned to practice intercropping, and this ti they would have to listen to her arrangents on how to plant according to a plan.
The cornfields could also support intercropping. This ti, they planned to try two thods: corn intercropped with soy, as their root systems had different depths; corn roots are relatively shallow and sotis visible on the surface, while soy roots go deeper and can be planted together.
Corn and peanuts also made a good pairing for intercropping. The corn could provide shade for the peanuts, and since peanuts are relatively easy to plant, they could be grown together.
They could actually intercrop other plants too, like sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are vine plants that sprawl on the surface and wouldn’t affect each other, so they could be intercropped efficiently to save space.
They could also intercrop konjac, a perennial plant, and even plants like Solomon’s seal and chili peppers, but this ti, they didn’t want to be overly ambitious. Intercropping just soy and peanuts was enough.
With two farms, labor was still insufficient. The Base Commander arranged for the off-duty Patrol Team to co and help Li Pan with the work.
Of course, Li Pan would surely not undermine their efforts, as compensation and Contribution Points also provided them with an additional inco.
Having help really made a difference. Li Pan was in charge of directing operations, constantly checking and channeling her superpower. Zhang Qi was responsible for delivering superpower to each section, while Xie Lin followed closely behind, learning and watching to ensure they didn’t get the intercropping mixed up. The three of them each took charge of a zone, then switched in the afternoon to check for any errors or omissions.
The two farms really occupied a vast area, requiring considerable manpower, material, and effort, which was too much for one person to handle alone.
The others followed commands and worked in the fields. The adults were busy in the fields, leaving the breeding area to Zhang Yu and Sun Wenwen along with a few others. This work was lighter compared to fieldwork but still needed supervision, so the children were put in charge. They also had to prepare als, and the adults, being busy, would eat in the fields.
Spring plowing is imnsely important, as the whole year depends on spring; they couldn’t afford to slack off.
The Patrol Team, consisting of six mbers, rested every three days, with each rest period lasting two days before rotating. Those resting would co over to help out, with Xie Ling keeping a record of the days worked. At the end of the month, she would arrange paynt.
Being all from the sa group, the benefits of a united spirit were now apparent. People hadn’t just eaten their als for nothing; the work done in both farms was vigorously executed, and the once-fallow fields were all opened up in one go, aiming to have them all planted with crops.
They continued working until May, just before the rainy season arrived, when the wheat matured ahead of schedule. Throughout the spring months, Li Pan was constantly busy in the fields. She didn’t go ho at midday but kept circling around, channeling her superpower, and checking diligently.
Even the children were especially conscientious. After dinner, they would still co to the fields for another round, checking once more and delivering so superpower to all areas to check for any pests or other issues.
“Ti to harvest the wheat!”
Xue Dong called out loudly, and everyone started working energetically with their sickles.
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