After Apocalypse, I Got Rich With Superpower

Chapter 38: Chapter 36 Planting Medicinal Materials

Chapter 38: Chapter 36 Planting Medicinal Materials

After a while, Xue Dong sent the two kids back to sleep, and Li Pan, feeling sleepy herself, went upstairs to absorb some superpower before she went to bed.

It took them three to four days to pick almost all the cotton. All that was left was to go over the bolls that hadn’t been picked clean.

The wheat was sown, and the three Wood Power users divided up their tasks. They worked in shifts, tending to the field until it was beautifully organized.

The green storage pit was also completed, and they checked it daily to ensure there were no problems.

“Brother, can you make me a few wooden boxes so I can plant some medicinal herbs?”

“Sure. I thought you were going to plant them in the field?”

“I’m worried about the rain, snow, and other things ruining them again. I’ve thought about it, and it’s better to grow them in wooden boxes. That way, they can easily be brought home without disaster.”

“I’ll make them for you this afternoon.”

Li Pan went home first and planted the trees and flowers she had exchanged around the edge of the wall. Once they were established, she could design their arrangement.

As long as the plants survived, they could be transplanted without fear of dying, with Wood Power on their side.

Their courtyard was originally expanded to be particularly large, leaving plenty of open space. In the future, if there were more people, they would live separately, and there would be plenty of space to build houses.

The plan was to plant the trees in the front yard, anywhere the bricks hadn’t been laid.

After busying herself for two hours, Zhang Yu was the first to return.

“Sister, Brother told me to come back and cook.”

“Alright, go start the fire. I’ll just plant this magnolia tree and then I’ll come over.”

“Okay.”

Zhang Yu lit the stove. It was hot in the summer, and cooking inside the house was stuffy, so they cooked under a shed in the courtyard, where it was cooler and shaded.

She steamed a few large smoked fish until they were soft, to be prepared with a spicy flavor later, as the kids could handle spicy food.

She took two smoked geese and prepared them with red braising, then instructed Zhang Yu to pick some vegetables from the field to stir-fry.

“Yu, you’re not going to the fields tomorrow. Help me make tomato sauce. There’s too many tomatoes in the field; we can’t finish this batch.”

“Then why not sell them to the base and get some money instead?”

“We will sell them, but I was thinking of making some tomato sauce for us to eat in the winter when we don’t have vegetables.”

“I’ve done this before. I know how to make it. Do we have any jars?”

“Yes, I bought quite a few.”

“Should I go pick some tomatoes now?”

“There are still some in the cave; start with those that have been picked. We’ll talk about the rest later.”

She had been thinking about this since she came back from the base the other day and had specially bought a lot of airtight jars.

In the evening, when it got dark, everyone came home for dinner. Usually, when there was a lot of work in the fields, they’d be busy until they couldn’t see before returning.

“Meat again today?”

Zhang Qi seemed surprised; she had been there for three to four days, and almost every day there was meat on the table. The food was really good here.

“These were smoked before. As long as we have it at home, we eat it together. If there’s a bite for us, there’s a bite for you. Help yourself, don’t be shy.”

“Thank you, Sister.”

Zhang Qi smiled happily. This family was really nice, providing meat at every meal. She felt she had to work hard to earn her keep and not just eat their food for nothing.

“Tomorrow, there’s not much to do. When I come back from the fields, I’ll make tomato sauce with the kids.”

“Make some pickles too; we’ve run out of pickles. The jars are all cleaned out.”

Qin Jianzhong reminded her.

“Right, right, how could I forget that? It’s a good thing I bought a lot of coarse and fine salt this time; it should be enough.”

Li Pan was so busy she had forgotten about the pickles.

“Sister, I’ll go work in the fields tomorrow.”

“You go to the fields to pick vegetables and wash them for me, make pickles, make sauce.”

“Next month the soybeans will be ripe too. Aside from what we sell, let’s also make some soybean paste or soy sauce for ourselves. Selling them isn’t a bad idea either.”

Liu Qian was increasingly becoming part of the family, getting used to meticulously planning for the farm and trying to turn crops into processed products whenever possible, fetching a higher price and not wasting their hard work.

“Okay.”

“Then I must hurry and make the sauce, otherwise when I go to the forest, I’m afraid it’ll delay things.”

Li Pan was simply too busy. It was her first year on the farm, and a lot of things she didn’t have experience with, so she was like feeling the stones to cross the river, and with few people, it seemed more chaotic.

It’s not that she couldn’t hire more people, but hired hands need to eat.

“Let the two kids help you out, and we’ll go work in the fields.”

In the evening, she moved the tomatoes out from the cave, and had the siblings pick mustard greens and other leafy greens from the fields. They picked two big baskets and couldn’t see anymore, so they decided to pick more tomorrow.

First, she washed the mustard greens and let them dry overnight so they would be ready to process the next day.

Finish the rest tomorrow, time to sleep now.

The next day, they began making tomato sauce. After washing the tomatoes, they scored them with a cross on top, blanched them in boiling water for a minute, and started peeling them. Then, she chopped them up and poured them into jars.

She added water to an iron pot, placed the jars with tomatoes inside, ensuring the water level was about one-third the height of the jars, covered them loosely with lids, and started steaming them, about ten minutes or so.

After taking them out, some of the tomato sauce might have separated from the water, but that was okay. When they cooled down, she could put a plastic bag over the jar opening, then tighten the lid and turn the jars upside down, which allowed them to be stored for a year or two without going bad, usually preserved for winter consumption.

She and the three kids worked assembly-line style. The children were responsible for washing vegetables, filling jars, topping off pots with water, while she did the more dangerous tasks like chopping and boiling.

In the afternoon, they began making sauerkraut. After Zhang Qi harvested and cleaned the vegetables by noon, under Li Pan’s direction, the two children were able to prepare the sauerkraut.

She also washed and sliced radishes and placed them in net bags to dry, planning to make dried radish later.

After two days of work, they finished processing all the mustard greens. The fields were then re-cultivated and treated with insecticide, ready for planting cabbage seeds next.

Liu Qian, Qin Jianzhong, and the third person finished their work and went up the mountain to chop down mutant trees, preparing them for drying to use in the winter for the fireplace.

Just as the dried radishes were done, Base Commander made a call.

“Xue Dong, everyone has returned. Weren’t you planning to go to the forest? Hurry over here, I’ve asked them to wait for you.”

“I’ll get my things ready tomorrow and head out.”

“Pan’er, pack your things, we’re going to the forest tomorrow.”

“Sure thing, let’s pick another batch of vegetables and melons to sell, the fish are plentiful too.”

“That’s a good idea, let’s do it now.”

Without saying much more, tomatoes, mustard greens, and radishes, as well as other vegetables were abundant to the point of excess, and they could pick a few hundred pounds of watermelons and muskmelons.

Several people got to work together, harvested all these fruits and vegetables, and even medicinal herbs that were almost dry were gathered to sell as well.

They made a list of necessities to buy for the house to bring back with them after the trip.

“This trip, we need to buy coal, get it sorted in advance. I have a room that I’ve prepared.”

“I’ve noted that down, let’s chop more wood too.”

“Don’t worry about home, I can handle the chores here by myself.”

“I’ll come with you.”

As Liu Qian busied herself with picking vegetables, she didn’t forget to ask.

“Sister Liu, if you come with me, you’ll be responsible for protecting Pan’er. The others will take care of hunting.”

“Okay.” 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

That night, Li Pan and Liu Qian discussed what to bring along and the kitchen was bustling with activity. They cooked extra food and steamed buns, since making a fire every day in the forest was not feasible – it could attract mutant animals.

Xue Dong prepared several pots of meat dishes, including chicken, duck, goose, and fish, as well as some vegetarian dishes to take along. Having space wasn’t an issue so they prepared extra steamed rice and buns.

They rose before dawn, as Li Pan made sure to pack everything necessary, including several changes of clothes. Nothing was left behind.

The three of them set off on an electric tricycle towards the base.

Once they arrived at the base, the others were ready as well.

“Xue Dong, there’s something to discuss. The rich district found out about Pan’er’s healing ability from last time and came to me with an offer. They want to exchange for food and medicinal materials, as three people urgently need treatment. What do you think?”

The Base Commander hadn’t agreed yet and wanted to consult with Xue Dong first.

Li Pan was honest, and the Base Commander didn’t want to take advantage of a child. So naturally, he discussed it with Xue Dong first. He was shrewd and couldn’t let Pan’er suffer any loss.

“Can you ensure Pan’er’s secret won’t be leaked? My concern is about safety. Treating them is fine, but I’m worried someone might target Pan’er.”

“I guarantee it, Pan’er is too important to our base. We can’t afford any incidents. If you need a high-level superpower user, I have combat superpowers at my disposal. Feel free to choose anyone you want, and I’ll give them to you.”