Chapter 150: Storage of Potatoes

The evening news broadcast on Hui-Three Base mentioned this sudden hailstorm.

"At five o'clock this morning, the area north of the Safe Zone was struck by extreme weather — hail and torrential rain. The hail lasted between twenty and forty minutes, and the rain between fifteen and forty-five minutes. The lords in the northern Safe Zone responded swiftly, and the crops within their territories did not suffer serious losses…"

It seemed the area hit by the rain and hail was limited to the northern Safe Zone. Judging from the duration reported in the broadcast, the territory where Xia Qing lived was not the hardest-hit area.

Before Xia Qing could think further, the anchor reported another bombshell: "This afternoon, a large number of evolved marine creatures came ashore at Gui-Three Base, drawing huge swarms of evolved raptors."

Hearing this, Xia Qing immediately knew where Hui-Three Base's top marksman — Luo Pei — had gone.

Evolved raptors were the hardest flocks to deal with. After gathering at Gui-Three Base to peck at the beached marine creatures without eating their fill, they would not disperse and might fly off in any direction to forage.

Humans living in clusters were their favorite food.

Hui-Three Base had assembled combat squads, surely to deal with the possible incoming flocks of evolved birds. Facing a crisis of this magnitude, probably not only Luo Pei but also Yang Jin, the boss of the Azure Dragon Squad, had been called up.

What about Zhang San? What urgent reason had made him leave his territory?

After the news broadcast came the weather forecast, which as usual reported everything normal.

But Xia Qing, who had just been through something abnormal, felt uneasy hearing the word "normal" and had an urge to do something.

Only after experiencing it firsthand did she deeply feel how hard farming was. Plant crops, toil over them for months, and a single natural disaster could wipe everything out.

This was farming at the mercy of the heavens. If she didn't want a total crop failure, she had to prepare as thoroughly as possible against natural disasters.

After the weather forecast came the daily routine agricultural knowledge broadcast.

The voice of anchor Wang Chuqi sounded as pleasant and hopeful as ever: "Congratulations to all lords on another bumper harvest: the potatoes you planted in March have, after four and a half months of growth, finally come ready to dig up."

"Although the growth period of potatoes after the Great Evolution of Blue Star's lifeforms has been extended by over a month compared to before, both yield and flavor have improved significantly — any lord who has already dug up potatoes to taste them will surely agree."

Wang Chuqi's voice brimmed with cheer: "Potatoes are a crop that can serve as a staple food, a vegetable, and even a snack ingredient. Tomorrow's World of Cuisine program will give a detailed introduction to potato recipes. Next, let me chat with all the lords about potato storage."

The main event had arrived. Xia Qing immediately tightened her grip on her pen.

"Beyond the usual pest- and germ-control needed for food preservation, storing evolved potatoes requires attention to three points: first, ventilation; second, keeping them out of light; third, moisture protection. After harvesting, lords should first spread the potatoes out in a cool, well-ventilated spot for twelve to twenty-four hours, letting the surface moisture evaporate…"

As Wang Chuqi spoke, Xia Qing took notes. Afraid of missing something, she also turned on her phone's recording function so she could fill in any gaps after the broadcast ended.

"…Even under ideal storage temperatures, the longest potatoes can be kept — even by vacuum-sealing them — is only thirty days. Therefore, experts at the Planting Center do not recommend that lords save their own seed potatoes. You can trade surplus potatoes to the caravan, or hand over the seed potatoes you wish to keep to the caravan, which will deliver them back to the Territory Management Department."

"The Territory Management Department will uniformly place the seed potatoes lords wish to keep into the Safe Zone storage warehouse, and return them to everyone next year."

"Lords who have not been penalized and stripped of their preferential policies may store up to ten jin of potato seed in the Safe Zone warehouse free of charge; amounts over ten jin and up to thirty jin will be charged ten points per jin for storage; amounts exceeding thirty jin will be charged twenty-five points per jin. Undamaged potatoes lords put up for trade will be bought at twenty-five points per jin; damaged potatoes will have their purchase price lowered as appropriate…"

After the agricultural knowledge segment ended, Xia Qing turned off the radio and switched on the walkie-talkie, organizing her notes while listening to what the other lords had to say.

The first to speak today was Tang Zhengpo: "Sister-in-law, has Qi Fu woken up?"

"He came to as it was getting dark. Thank you, Boss Tang, for your concern." Though Qi Fu tried hard to sound normal, his voice still carried obvious weakness.

Hearing that Qi Fu had woken up, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the mood on the lord channel lightened.

Shi Zhong laughed and said, "A great escape from death means great fortune to follow — Brother Qi is bound to have good things happen next. That you woke up this time is thanks to Dr. Chang and Xia Qing, and also Third Brother. You must thank them properly."

Qi Fu replied, "Brother Shi is right. Many thanks to Dr. Chang, Xia Qing, and Third Brother, and thanks to everyone for keeping me in your thoughts."

Zhang San wasn't there, and Number Seven Territory stayed silent. Kuang Qingwei chimed in, "It's only right, we're all neighbors. While Brother Qi is recovering, if there's any heavy work in the fields just give me a shout. I got hit by the hail too, but I can still move."

Zhao Ze followed up, "Right, Brother Qi, just say the word if you need anything."

Tang Huai snorted coldly and said to his father and brother, "All hindsight. When Qi Fu's wife was crying and begging for medicine, none of these people made a peep. I don't believe they didn't have medicine on hand."

Tang Zhengpo admonished his son, "You have some too."

Tang Heng, at an angle his father couldn't see, opened his mouth and silently said to his brother:

Bro, you didn't fart either.

Tang Huai slapped his brother, then grinned sheepishly at his father, "I'm not that close with Qi Fu."

"They aren't that close either." Knowing that Zhang San had given medicine that could save a life, it was perfectly normal to be reluctant to use it on an outsider.

Tang Zhengpo asked his younger son, "What's the relationship between Xia Qing and Qi Fu?"

Tang Heng answered, "Back in the Safe Zone, both Xia Qing and Qi Fu worked on the construction crew. Qi Fu was the squad leader, Xia Qing was the deputy squad leader. They weren't in the same small team, but they knew each other. After coming to the territories, whenever Xia Qing had questions about farming, she'd ask Qi Fu over the walkie-talkie."

Tang Zhengpo nodded, "Xia Qing is someone worth a deep friendship."

Tang Huai rolled his eyes on the sly. With Xia Qing's mercenary temper, even if we wanted to get close to her, she wouldn't warm to us.

On the lord channel, Qi Fu asked Number One Territory, "Brother Feng, you there? Do you have any spare ordinary protective masks? I'd like to trade four of them for sixty-five Green Light onion seeds."

According to the trading prices the lords had set, Green Light seeds were twenty points each, and ordinary protective masks in the Safe Zone were three hundred points each — four masks equaled sixty Green Light seeds. Qi Fu offered sixty-five because after the rain and hail the roads were hard to travel, and Zhong Tao's trade caravan wouldn't arrive for three to five days, yet he urgently needed the masks.

Hu Zifeng came online, "Yes, I do."

Kuang Qingwei immediately asked, "Brother Qi, I want to trade for Green Light onion seeds too. What else do you need?"

Qi Fu gave a wry smile, "My Green Light onion seeds were all saved for my own planting. I didn't expect this disaster — some went to replace equipment, some to pay Dr. Chang's medical fees, and the rest I have to keep to trade with Third Brother for hemostatic medicine to repay Xia Qing. Now I don't even have enough for my own planting."

"Impossible, he definitely kept some for himself." In Number Six Territory, Hearing Zhu Li said quietly to her husband, "If we can't get them this year, we'll ask again next spring."

Kuang Qingwei nodded, picked up a di-ren fruit and popped it in his mouth. The hailstorm had smashed and frost-damaged all the di-ren plants — this year's fruit would be one less with every bite.

Zhao Ze asked, "Third Brother, back yet?"