After Apocalypse, I Got Rich With Superpower

Chapter 76: Chapter 74: Collecting Grain

Chapter 76: Chapter 74: Collecting Grain

To avoid further losses and unforeseeable mistakes, she began treating each tree one by one. This way, should an error occur, it could be promptly remedied. Fearing mistakes in mass treatment, she chose to proceed cautiously and carefully. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

After her treatment, the orchard and woodland became vibrant with life, showing significant changes.

“It looks like your superpower is very effective; I think we can expect to harvest some fruit in the fall.”

“I didn’t expect the Healing Technique to be applicable to plants as well, nor did I anticipate its remarkable effectiveness and compatibility.”

“It’s primarily because it belongs to the Wood Element.”

“Right, I just didn’t think of that.”

She and Xie Ling continuously discussed the directions and effects of their superpowers, each expressing their ideas, and both found the exchange very fruitful.

Entering August, the crops began to mature on a large scale. Everyone became extremely busy. The base was short on manpower, and despite their intention to hire more workers, it was not going smoothly—either the cost was too high or the candidates were unsuitable, which meant they had to do the work themselves.

The shop was temporarily closed, and Zhang Qi returned with his sister to gather the crops.

In the midst of their busyness, the Patrol Team arrived with more people.

“You’ve come early, which is good; I’ve already weighed the bundles you can take right now. We’re not eating any meals today; it’s just breadfruit and pickles for us.”

Xue Dong explained to his team members.

The workload of the two farms was immense; they couldn’t finish it all. Everyone was out in the fields harvesting crops, while the younger ones took care of tasks like bundling and weighing.

Gu Ye, a critical labor force, merely roasted some bread and pickles and prepared dumplings, carrying it all to the fields for lunch, as even he had no time to cook.

Fearing further rain, people at No.7 Farm were also collecting crops. Coordinating this activity across both farms, they were concerned that animals might be attracted by the food, which could delay the harvesting on one of the farms.

“I’ve brought you some help.”

The director brought over children from the house.

A total of ten children arrived, the youngest being seven and the oldest eleven.

“Although we are small, we can still contribute. The older ones can manage the weighing, they’ll take care of bundling and weighing. These two can cook, even pick cotton. Come on, kids, let’s get to work.”

The director worked alongside the children, teaching them how to bundle and weigh. He had the younger ones handle lighter and finer tasks, freeing up the adults to focus on the more strenuous labor in the fields.

Li Pan couldn’t help but smile—what did it matter if they were young? They remembered the kindness of even a little bit of shared grain and were actively helping with the work.

United, the children went to the courtyard to start fires for boiling water, delivering it to everyone in the fields. The hot weather and exhausting labor made them sweat profusely and become terribly thirsty. While meals could be makeshift, drinking water was essential.

Even Gu Yun carried water back and forth with a carrying basket.

To be honest, despite their young ages, the children were incredibly sensible. They worked without any complaints or fuss, taking on whatever task was needed. If one couldn’t manage alone, two would team up with a carrying pole, devising their own methods without grumbling about the circumstances.

With the Patrol Team also joining in, the workforce significantly increased, and the harvesting tasks at the two farms accelerated.

In half a month, they finally harvested everything from the two farms, including fish and shrimp from the lake and collecting lotus roots as well.

As for grains and the like, these were sold directly to the base, which gave them bagged grains in return—a convenient arrangement that saved them the trouble of milling themselves, a task too immense to finish even in ages.

They kept two thousand kilograms of rice for themselves, which Zhou Xiao would bring over in a few days.

They also kept the cornmeal, and barley and wheat for making alcohol. Xue Dong and Cui Yanjun worked together on brewing, improving steadily. Cui Yanjun had prior experience in brewing and was familiar with the process.

“Jianzhong, you go learn how to make cured meats; you’re free now. I’ve already spoken to the boss—he said he’ll let you take a Crystal Core back.”

“Okay.”

Qin Jianzhong had upgraded to a high-level Wind Power about ten days ago.

Sun Wenwen and Yang Zhengfei had also returned, having nearly completed their training. What remained was learning through practice.

The braised meat shop and the roast meat shop were preparing to open, and the household had ample supply, so there was no fear of running out of goods to sell.

This way, Zhang Qi could shuttle back and forth. Once familiarized, there would be no worries about a shortage of staff.

No.7 Farm was still short of workers. The boss had sent over two adult superpower users, Jiang Zhiping and Lin Tianyi, both middle-level, specializing in the Water and Wood Elements respectively. Lin Tianyi was a girl, an orphan with no parents or relatives, and a middle-level Wood Power user.

“The boss is quite generous this time, actually giving us a middle-level Wood Power user.”

Liu Qian and Lin Tianyi were quite familiar with each other, having been teammates at the base, and they got along well.

“The boss said that Pan’er’s place really needs people, that it can’t be all children. Moreover, her grain harvest is significant, able to support major needs. So he decided to send someone over. Thinking about how close I am to you all, I volunteered to come.”

“That’s great, Sister Lin. With you here, I can relax a lot. Having an extra Wood Power means extra security for our family.”

“I also thought that your two farms are large, and you can’t cover them all. Now that I’m here, we can open up a few more plots to plant more crops. Otherwise, it’s a pity to let the land lie fallow.”

“Exactly. We can’t manage without enough hands. There are also two shops that need to be overseen, all run by kids, and I don’t even have time to manage them,”

Xue Dong shook his head helplessly.

“Now that we’re here, you can breathe easy. Just tell us what needs to be done, and we’ll handle it efficiently.”

After the autumn harvest, it was necessary to plant wheat. Having had enough, they opened up an additional fifty acres to plant more crops for sale and for the base’s consumption since there was enough for consumption but nothing to spare; they were still eating wheat bran at the base.

Everyone agreed to open up a few more fallow acres, though they felt it was too little.

The family sat down for a meeting, and Jiang Zhiping said, “Xue Dong, I think we should open up fifty to eighty more acres. I believe we can manage it. Let’s plant more forage, so we can raise more cattle and sheep for sale at the Farmer’s Market. There’s only not enough to sell. We won’t be at a loss.”

“That’s reasonable, though it’s a bit much. I’m afraid we can’t finish it all.”

Xue Dong hesitated.

“We can finish it. If not, we can hire ordinary people as temporary workers. It’s just busy for one month, and the rest of the time, our own people are enough.”

“Okay, since everyone is willing to work hard, then let’s open a few more acres.”

“Just go ahead with it. Tomorrow, I’ll lead people to plow the land.”

With the Earth Power available, the work could be done very quickly. Everyone coordinated well; the front cleared the weeds and plowed, while the back applied fertilizer and watered, and in two to three days, it was ready for planting.

“Okay, let’s open eighty acres on both No.7 and No.8 Farms. Let’s be a bit conservative. How to cultivate the existing land will be up to Pan’er to arrange it. Last year’s intercropping wasn’t bad, if not for the frost disaster. This year, we plan to intercrop extensively to aim for a bigger harvest.”

“No problem.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Although there had been a frost disaster, the harvest had balanced out; they had not lost money. Additionally, after processing some agricultural products and selling them in the stores, they had even made a slight profit, which compensated somewhat for the losses from the frost disaster.

“Who will join me in making the pickles?”

“Uncle, we’ll join you.”

The children voluntarily reached out to fill the gap, allowing the adults to replant wheat and sweet potatoes while they helped make pickles.

“Okay.”