Chapter 490: Reclaiming the Valley

Xia Qing used the walkie-talkie to talk with Chen Cheng, telling him to go back and rest; this route would be cleared by Xia Qing driving the micro-tiller.

"Okay." Chen Cheng waved to Xia Qing, turned around, and walked off carrying a large broom.

After clearing the road, Xia Qing drove the micro-tiller to the edge of the farmland and began clearing the snow outside the greenhouse. Ram Boss and Sick Wolf both disliked contact with humans other than Xia Qing, so they got out of the vehicle and went into the greenhouse.

Chen Cheng immediately jumped out, "Sister Qing, go rest in the greenhouse, I'll drive."

Driving the micro-tiller was the most popular job in the territory.

Xia Qing, whose body was still in the side-effect period, gladly gave Chen Cheng the seat, and she slowly went to patrol the farmland.

What was falling now was blue-grade Calamity Snow; the probability of crops undergoing Calamity Evolution was relatively low, so patrolling the fields once an hour was enough—no need to stand watch—and so the rapeseed greenhouse was empty.

Xia Qing walked halfway around and found that the Calamity Grass sprouting in the field already outnumbered the rapeseed seedlings.

This plot had been reclaimed in March of this year, and this was now the third crop planted. Xia Qing had cleared the weeds in the field again and again, but sparse Calamity Grass still kept sprouting.

Weeds can never be completely eradicated.

After the poison-gas-covered area on the third peak of Mountain Fifty was burned clean, if no human intervention took place, that area would surely be taken over by Calamity Grass—including the hidden valley that Shi Jiayi's family had worked so hard to open up.

"Buzz—"

Xia Qing took out her phone and saw it was Qi Fu calling. Qi Fu asked Xia Qing whether she needed Yuan Yan to come take a look around Territory Three, "Aggressive Calamity-Evolved rapeseed is very dangerous; it's best to clear it in advance."

Xia Qing understood Qi Fu meant well, but she really didn't need it on her end. "It is indeed very dangerous, but I have a visual Evolver here who can spot Calamity-Evolved rapeseed in time and clear it. Brother Qi, how are the workers in your territory who got stabbed?"

Qi Fu sighed, his voice hoarse. "The venom in the rapeseed thorns spreads too fast. His left arm below the elbow had to be amputated, but at least his life was saved. How big are your losses over there?"

Xia Qing briefed him. "The rapeseed suffered the worst losses—already over half—and the yellow-light wheat lost quite a bit too."

"We're about the same. If only we'd known, we should have waited until after next year's first Calamity Rain to plant wheat and rapeseed." Qi Fu felt for the seeds he'd sown, then discussed with Xia Qing. "I heard this time it was because Territory Nine used poison-gas shells, which caused the Calamity Snow hazard level in our territory to be at least one to two grades higher than other areas. Can we make Territory Nine's people compensate us for our seeds?"

In the eyes of farmers, seeds mattered more than points. Xia Qing, the Alliance Leader of the Territory Lords' Alliance, nodded. "I was thinking the same. Once the Calamity Snow is over, Brother Qi, ask around and see if everyone agrees. If they do, I'll go talk to Third Brother and Captain Yang about it."

"Good." Qi Fu hurriedly agreed.

"Brother Qi, there's one more thing I'd like your opinion on." Xia Qing told Qi Fu about the situation with the hidden valley on the third peak of Mountain Fifty. "That mountain area is already destroyed. The Evolved Bear will most likely abandon that cave and hilltop. If we fill the remaining half of the valley with planting soil, we can get two mu of land. Brother Qi, do you think this valley is worth reclaiming?"

"Absolutely! That place has a hot spring and is tucked among rock crevices, so it's not cold in winter and probably won't get too hot in summer either. Plus, large fierce beasts can't get in. As long as we handle sterilization and pest prevention, and waterproofing during Calamity Rain and Calamity Snow, we can grow crops all year round."

Qi Fu, knowing such a good place existed, grew very excited. "Even if we only grow green-light chives or blanched chives in winter that don't need much care, we won't be able to eat them all and can sell the rest—the points earned would be enough to buy next year's fertilizer. We can also set aside a plot to raise rice seedlings next spring; they'd definitely grow better than in the greenhouse. It's just…"

Qi Fu paused and asked, "That place is in the Evolved Forest—can we actually get there?"

Growing chives, peanuts, and raising rice seedlings in the hidden valley was indeed Xia Qing's preliminary plan, because that was the original habitat of the green-light black-skinned peanuts.

Xia Qing had checked the planting books she'd collected before; the temperature and humidity inside the hidden valley were more suitable for raising rice seedlings than the greenhouse.

Once the rice seedlings were raised, after next spring's first Calamity Rain they could be transplanted into the territory's farmland and harvested in June. This way the rice would only need to go through one Calamity Rain during its growing period, keeping losses to a minimum.

Not enough light? Install supplemental lighting!

Danger? Bring her allies, the Territory Seven Lord and the Azure Dragon Squad, over to fence off that area.

Use it for raising seedlings in the early stage; once the time is right later, install a Yi Stone inside, and that place can become a low-cost Calamity-free seedling-raising base.

Out of instinct, Xia Qing believed that although that hot spring wasn't of pollution-free quality, it must have something special about it. The peanuts in the valley being able to maintain long-term stability must be related to the hot spring.

A high-quality water source related to farming naturally had to be kept in her own hands.

Xia Qing couldn't be in two places at once, so she planned to reclaim the hidden valley together with her allies to increase crop yields and grow more grain.

"As long as Brother Qi thinks it's worth it, I'll discuss the specific operations with Third Brother. Third Brother is now a member of our alliance too, but let's just keep this between us."

Hearing this great news, even the steady-natured Qi Fu jumped up, laughing uncontrollably. "I understand, just between us, hehe, hehehe. Xia Qing, this is wonderful. With Third Brother joining, each of us gets several extra lives!"

After Xia Qing hung up the phone and squatted by the rapeseed field seriously thinking about how to implement the plan, Beard Feng walked in from outside and asked with concern, "Still holding up??"

Xia Qing slowly stood up. "I'm fine, just thinking about the Mountain Fifty matter."

Beard Feng told her the latest news. "I heard from the second-shift people coming back that the super-evolved fungi have mostly been eliminated and won't affect the territory. The follow-up mountain burning will also clear out enough safe area, so you don't need to worry too much."

This disaster elimination was commanded by Zhang San and carried out by Yang Jin, which put Xia Qing completely at ease. "There's another red-grade Calamity Rain around three o'clock tonight. I'll head back to rest first and come over at two. My body's much better now; I can't sleep at home if I'm not out in the fields."

The Calamity Snow period was a dangerous time for overwintering crops, and Beard Feng knew very well how much Xia Qing cherished the crops in her fields. "Alright, come over when it's time, and go back if you get tired."

Xia Qing was a woman of action; once she decided to do something, she never procrastinated. After getting home, she immediately called Yang Jin to ask how the mountain-burning personnel could be assembled.

Yang Jin thought of how Xia Qing had led ordinary people from several nearby territories to Mountain Fifty to dig up thornwood and repair fences, and immediately understood why she was proactively asking about this.

"A large beast tide is very likely after the Calamity Snow. The Safe Zone can only provide four large excavators, so the task of digging fire-break isolation strips is best assembled from this territory."

"The Evolved animals in that area have already been cleared out by the poison-gas shells, so the danger coefficient for executing the mission isn't high. The lords in this territory suffered heavy losses during this Calamity Snow and urgently need to earn points to make up the shortfall." Xia Qing asked, "The isolation-strip digging mission should have a hazard-inspection team accompanying for protection, right? How many points per day? Can ordinary people do it?"

"They can. Ordinary people get 15 points per day, Evolvers start at 30 points per day. The requirement is knowing how to operate an excavator or use a chainsaw. We need fifty people total, and the mission period is ten days. When executing missions outside, the inspection team and the Azure Dragon Squad will provide joint protection."

Yang Jin added, "Although the danger coefficient isn't high, it is still a mission inside the Evolved Forest. If there's no forced conscription, probably no ordinary people in the territory would dare to sign up."

Xia Qing was shocked. "The pay is that high?"

When she worked on the Safe Zone construction team, she only earned five points for a full day's work.

Yang Jin explained, "That area was destroyed by Blaze, so of course the disaster-elimination costs are borne by Blaze. Fire Phoenix can't wait to pay more points to争取 lenient treatment."

Hearing this, Xia Qing perked up. "Captain Yang, shouldn't Blaze double-compensate us for the losses caused by the elevated crop disaster level in our territory?"