After Apocalypse, I Got Rich With Superpower

Chapter 44: Chapter 42 Harvesting

Chapter 44: Chapter 42 Harvesting

Li Pan and Zhang Yu were in charge of cooking, while the others handled the harvest, drying and weighing. They quickly aired the crops before taking them back to the base to dry, since the boss was waiting for the food.

The sorghum and corn had ripened, black oats, soybeans, mung beans, and purple clover had all matured. The soybean yield wasn’t much; each acre only produced a little over three hundred pounds. There was nothing she could do about it, as that was just the kind of yield these crops had.

The yields of the remaining crops were quite good. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and taro had been replanted once, yielding tens of thousands of pounds.

This harvest was finally a bountiful one, and everyone wore a relieved and joyful expression on their face.

“Xue Dong, do the accounting, keep what you need to eat, and sell the rest to me. Write me an IOU so I can take it away,” Qin Jianzhong said.

A space superpower user was specially invited to pack the grains.

“I’ll keep a thousand pounds of both corn and sorghum for myself. I’ll keep fewer potatoes, maybe just five hundred pounds. A thousand pounds of sweet potatoes is more than I can eat, so I’ll brew some wine with them. My brothers are waiting for my wine.”

“All right, get a bit more corn then. You have quite a few people here, are you sure it will be enough to eat?”

“It’s enough, I’m waiting for the wheat to ripen next month.”

“Alright then.”

“For the soybeans, I’ll keep three hundred pounds per acre for eating, and for the mung beans, I’ll just keep a little to make bean flour, which will be enough. You can take away the tens of thousands of pounds left.”

“That’s great.”

Qian Xi and his party rubbed their hands, finally breathing a sigh of relief; their year of hard work had paid off.

Li Pan’s farm also had its granary filled to the brim. The previous rice harvest was processed into grain with the help of large machines at the base. They brought back processed rice, which saved them the trouble of pounding it by hand—a very labor-intensive task.

For corn, they’d just keep the ears and grind cornmeal when needed, no hurry.

“I’ll help you harvest the wheat next month,” Zhang Yu offered.

“Okay, if all you brothers come to help, I’ll make it worth your while: fifteen pounds of flour per person, and contribution points according to the base’s standards.”

“Done.”

Qian Xi was also happy, considering it a way to earn some extra benefits for his friends.

The help with the harvest this time was free of charge, which everyone was happy to provide without complaints. Li Pan and Xue Dong knew how to treat people well, providing food and drink, and helping out was the least they could do.

They took the grains away and only felt at ease after delivering them back to the base.

Xue Dong and the others started to spread out the grains to dry in the yard, using mats; they tied the corn up to dry, and only after fully dried could they rub the kernels off the cobs.

The corn stalks left behind could be used for fuel.

“Xue Dong, we’ve accumulated quite a few eggs that won’t keep long in this heat. Since there are still a good number of rice husks left, let’s make some preserved eggs,” Liu Qian suggested.

“Sure, we don’t have much work left. You guys can handle that at home. The vegetables in the fields have also yielded well, we need to dry some for storage, like dried greens and pickles for the winter. The duck eggs should also be preserved to make salted duck eggs. With so many people here, we won’t run out of food. And the corn needs to be ground into flour,” Xue Dong replied.

“I’ll do it,” Liu Qian quickly volunteered.

Zhang Qi and Zhang Yu were responsible for washing and drying the vegetables, like blanching string beans and drying them to make dried green beans, which are very tasty stewed with meat in winter.

There were too many eggplants to eat fresh, so drying them made for a chewier texture that was also delicious in soups and rice.

Cucumbers and radishes were dried and used to make pickles.

Cabbage and the later harvested Chinese cabbage would be pickled or made into sauerkraut. She also planted some “ghost ginger” to make pickled ginger, which had a crisp, sour, and spicy taste that was very appetizing.

Li Pan went to check on the wheat in the fields, while Xue Dong and the others started to prepare the wheat straw for the green storage pit to keep for the cows and sheep come winter.

The poultry farm had doubled in size with many chickens, ducks, and geese. Qin Jianzhong took good care of them; the pigs, cows, and sheep also needed attention.

Previously, the base had sent rabbits and two donkeys, which were used to pull the millstone, a job that was too tiring without the help of animals.

She visited the fields every day to check on them, fearing any mishap, as the wheat would be ripe next month.

“Brother, should we take the wheat to the base to make flour, or do it ourselves?”

“The Base Commander said he would give us bags of it ready to take home, to save us some trouble; he also wants the wheat bran.”

“We should keep some wheat bran for our own livestock too.”

“Hmm, I’ve kept two thousand jin. The Base Commander and the nearby farms have come to an agreement; they will sell some to the base, and they’ll even take the wheat bran,” Qin Jianzhong explained.

“How did they agree to that?”

“Patrolling is still useful. Their wheat will be ripe next month too, and they’ll definitely have to sell it if they can’t eat it all to avoid bugs. Besides, they wouldn’t dare truly offend the base and end up without any fallback. They can understand such simple matters,” Qin Jianzhong elaborated with a smile.

Xue Dong laughed.

“That’s settled then; the Base Commander can take a breather. Brother, the several types of low-level Medicinal Herbs I’ve planted are all growing well, none have died.”

“Really, that’s amazing.”

Qin Jianzhong gave Li Pan a big thumbs up.

“But we won’t be able to harvest them this year; we have to wait until next year. Medicinal Materials need to have the right age, and even with superpowers, one must wait. It would be great if I could advance to high-level. My superpower could then enhance the age and medicinal effects of the herbs.”

Li Pan now understood all this clearly, keeping every detail about the Medicinal Herbs in mind: planting methods, notes on what to watch out for, all firmly committed to memory.

“No rush, take it one step at a time.”

Li Pan went to inspect the fruit trees; this year, they were not to bear fruit in order to not affect the sweetness and size of the future yield. They had to wait until next year anyway, as overburdening the trees was not a good idea.

These past few days, she dared not leave the farm; the wheat was about to ripen, and no matter what, she could not walk away.

When Li Pan was not in the fields, she was busy with chores in the yard; there was a pile of tasks at home, including making preserved eggs.

The technique for making preserved eggs was not too difficult; it all came down to personal experience.

First, wash and dry fresh chicken and duck eggs, then prepare lime paste by mixing calcium hydroxide, edible alkali, salt in proportion, and adding the right amount of cold water to make a paste. Wear gloves and a mask during the process as calcium hydroxide is corrosive and irritating.

Coat the eggs in a layer of lime paste, then cover them in a layer of rice hulls or sawdust to prevent sticking.

Place the coated eggs into food bags or other containers, seal them, and leave them in a cool and ventilated place to cure. The time depends on the season and specific environmental conditions but usually takes about 15 days.

After curing, the lime and rice hulls will form a hard crust. To eat, crack and peel away the shell, and wash the preserved egg clean.

Slice open the preserved egg and drizzle with light soy sauce to eat.

You can also first stir-fry green chilies and then add the sliced preserved eggs to make a spicy preserved egg dish, another great recipe.

Or steam the preserved eggs with eggplant, mash them together, add garlic oil, soy sauce, and small red chilies for a refreshing cold dish that is also delightful.

The rest can be made into salted duck eggs or chicken eggs, which taste great when served with porridge for breakfast.

The vegetables from the vegetable garden also need to be air-dried; the two children can do that while Li Pan and Liu Qian tackle the heavier tasks.

She also had to make watermelon sauce and soybean sauce – spicy sauce too, now that she had all the ingredients. The soybean harvest had just come in, and she planned to make some miso or soy sauce for home use, and if there was extra, she could sell some of it.

Liu Qian didn’t know how to make sauces, so she followed the instructions to make preserved and salted duck eggs, something she could manage.

Watermelon sauce also requires fermented soybeans; after blending them together, they would have to be stirred daily in the sauce vat and aired properly, or else they would spoil.

It took half a month to finish all these tasks, and then what remained was collecting vegetables and stirring the vat, something the two children could handle.

Every day, she would check her herb garden; it was her first time growing Medicinal Materials, so she didn’t want to be overambitious. She used wooden boxes to grow the Medicinal Herbs in long rows and square boxes, waiting to see how the yield would turn out before deciding on whether to dedicate a separate plot to growing them next year.

In the midst of all the busyness, the wheat matured, and the golden waves of ripe grain provided a comforting and satisfying sight.

Qian Xi and others came to work on the farm as promised. Everyone on the farm began harvesting the wheat, practically living in the fields to get the harvest in as quickly as possible.