After Apocalypse, I Got Rich With Superpower

Chapter 85: Chapter 83 Urgent Matters

Chapter 85: Chapter 83 Urgent Matters

The New Year was approaching, and with just a few days left until the festival, the men discussed slaughtering pigs and sheep.

Before the New Year, they planned to butcher four pigs, each weighing over three hundred pounds. Some of the meat would be kept for their own consumption, some would be gifted to friends, and some would also be sent to the orphanage children so they could have a good New Year with clean, additive-free meat.

This year, they intended to have all the orphanage children come over to the farm to celebrate the New Year and return on the fifth day, as school would start on the sixth.

In the courtyard, they lit a clay stove and heated water. Xue Dong and Shi Lei tied up the pigs and began the butchering process.

With knives in hand, they started to scrape off the hair. They poured hot water over the pigs to ease hair removal—stripping off the majority swiftly as doing it slowly would make it harder once the water cooled.

The pig’s head was chopped off and set aside to be dealt with later.

They meticulously removed the bones and sliced the meat according to the four carcasses. The pork belly, which contained layers of fat, was set aside to render lard for cooking.

Everyone in the family was busy—children boiling water, carrying basins, pouring water; Li Pan, Liu Qian, and others scraping hair, chopping bones and slicing meat, and cleaning the pig intestines.

Soon, the cleaned intestines would be boiled and stir-fried with spicy skin and onions—a dish that was quite satisfying to eat.

The small intestines were kept to cook until tender for sour and spicy noodles with pork intestines—a favorite among the women and children, made with homemade sweet potato and potato glass noodles.

This dish sold well in the shops too—affordable and counted as a good dish.

For the pig-slaughtering feast, Gu Ye took the lead in cooking, while Yang Zhengfei and Gu Yun assisted, and Li Pan and Liu Qian washed and chopped the meat and vegetables.

The whole family was busily engaged in the courtyard. It was too cold outside to clean the pig hair with hot water, so they cooked in the kitchen inside the house. The whole house filled with steam, shrouded in a cloud of warmth, making everyone feel lively and immersed in the atmosphere of the New Year.

It took two days to finish processing the four pigs, and the men also smoked some of the meat.

They kept a few legs to make ham. Gu Ye knew how to do it. He had bought some ham before and prepared a delicious braised dish with it. His cooking skills were top-notch, and that dish was especially savory. Everyone relished it so much that they urged him to make some ham to enjoy, now that they had fresh pork.

This winter, in December, they had slaughtered a batch of pigs to sell to the base, keeping some for themselves, which included several legs for making ham. Now, with the New Year coming, they prepared another batch. Come next spring, when it was ready, it would make for beautiful gifts.

Naturally, having a pig feast meant inviting guests. The friends from the Patrol Team who had good relations all came to help.

With their homemade grain and fruit wines, they invited friends over for meals in three separate rounds because the Patrol Team had duties and couldn’t all leave their posts at once, so they gathered when they had breaks.

The men enjoyed wine and meat together, chatting freely as if it had been a long time since they had been so happy. The table was filled with meat and delicious dishes, giving everyone a sense of contentment and security.

In the past, serving guests millet buns and a green vegetable was considered high hospitality, but after more than two years of hard work, they had turned their luck and could now eat and drink well, recalling the past as if it were a dream.

Li Pan, Liu Qian, and the female members of the base dined with the orphanage children, drinking fruit wine and enjoying a lively meal. They chatted, drank beverages and milk tea, watched movies, and felt utterly delighted.

The children, clutching their milk tea, drank merrily, laughing and chirping around the adults like charming little birds, running out to the yard to set off firecrackers and sparklers. The atmosphere was warm and lively—it truly felt like the New Year had arrived.

After the meal, the friends said goodbye and returned to the base. They brought small gifts, a token of their kind thoughts. When they left, Li Pan filled bags for each person with the farm’s specialties: tea, fruit, meat, and grain, suitable for personal consumption or as gifts.

Friendships are about mutual exchanges, and although she was a bit socially anxious, Li Pan knew the importance of maintaining proper etiquette and manners.

After the New Year’s celebrations at the end of February, Gu Ye took the children to hang the ham for drying, aiming to finish everything by April. That period was critical for air-drying, to prevent the ham from molding.

Her medicinal herbs were thriving, and the Soul Cleansing Fruit, though the seedlings were still too small for transplanting.

At the beginning of March, she finally saw a Spirit Plant seedling take root, sprouting two tender green leaves. She dared not even touch it for fear that even the slightest touch might kill it. She tended to it daily with the utmost care, delicately channeling her superpower.

She checked the crops in the field every few days. Xie Ling and the others were extremely meticulous in their care, so she no longer needed to watch over them as closely—they were managing splendidly.

Gu Ye and Shi Lei had been upgraded to become high-level superpower users, so Xue Dong had to reassign roles.

Shi Lei and Liu Qian were left to watch over No.7 Farm, while Qin Jianzhong and Gu Ye stayed at No.8 Farm. Qin Jianzhong was in charge of the livestock in the breeding area, which required him to run back and forth.

Zhang Yu had to shuttle between the shop and the farm as she also had become a high-level superpower user.

By the end of March, they had started spring plowing. They had not finished the work when the Base Commander called Li Pan.

“Pan’er, the East Mountain Base is offering a big sum for you to go over for a treatment. The patient is severely ill and cannot be moved, so you must go. The offer is very good. You can choose one of three kinds of middle-level, growable Spirit Plants, and as for Crystal Cores, you can pick as you like, any below the sixth rank. They’ll pay you five hundred thousand for a single visit, with the rest to be calculated separately, and Contribution points according to the rules.”

“Is it a complicated illness?”

“The phone call didn’t make it clear. It’s a high-level superpower user on the brink of Zhenhua, who has also contributed significantly to the base. Unexpectedly, he’s been poisoned. It seems like the toxin is deep-seated, and now he’s in a coma. He urgently needs you to go.”

“Well then, what about this farm? Spring plowing is upon us, work isn’t finished, and Xue Dong can’t leave if I go.”

“I’ll send someone to help you, we can’t delay the farm work or the harvest. Rest assured, I’ll have Gao Wenbin keep an eye on things for you.”

“Then I’ll take a car over.”

“No need. You wait at home. I’ll personally take you to the East Mountain Base. Uncle Pei will look after your home.”

The Base Commander didn’t trust anyone else to take Li Pan away; he wanted to personally lead the escort and also ensure her safe return.

Li Pan was also very important to the base, as she had a unique advantage in healing that no one else had.

After speaking with Xue Dong about the situation, he frowned, “Did the boss say he’s leading the team himself?”

“Yes. The terms seem very generous, so I think I’ll go. If all goes well, we won’t have to worry about money for the rest of the year.”

“Alright, I’ll make some calls and see if a few people can go with you.”

Still concerned, Xue Dong called the Base Commander again to inquire in detail about who would accompany her and how many people would lead the team.

Once he had the details, the Base Commander himself would bring several high-level combat superpower users to escort her. People from the East Mountain Base would arrive the next day to join in escorting her back to East Mountain, also to avoid any issues on the road, which would severely offend the Base Commander.

Li Pan prepared some clothes and essential items, then waited at home for the car to come and pick her up.

Gao Wenbin brought over some superpower users to farm the land, and two people came to fetch Li Pan.

“Sister, go without worries. I’ll be here working for you, so there’ll be no delay.”

“Thanks, brothers. You won’t miss out on any of the rewards. Just have Xue Dong transfer to your phones. Have Brother Gu prepare some meat for you to eat.”

“We’re all family here. Go with peace of mind.”

Gao Wenbin waved his hand with a smile.

Only then did Li Pan climb into the car and leave with the people from the base.

Xue Dong furrowed his brow, still not entirely at ease, but he truly couldn’t leave the house.

This time, a high-level Spiritual Power superpower user would stay behind at the East Mountain Base, specifically to teach Zhang Yu high-level skills. This was an opportunity they had exchanged for.