Chapter 566: Renting Yishi

Zhao Ze was furious. "Even if we catch the culprits, it's useless. Sufeng and the territory management are in cahoots, so the punishment will be nothing more than a slap on the wrist."

Yue Haiying steadied everyone's hearts. "Territory policy concerns the nation's food security. This territory invasion is the first extremely malicious and devastating major invasion since the policy was implemented, so it will definitely be made an example of. Our most important task right now is seed cultivation. Has everyone received their rice seeds?"

Everyone nodded one after another.

Xia Qing spoke up. "Qi-ge, tally up how many jin of rice seeds we've received in total."

"Already tallied." Qi Fu pulled out a small notebook. "Qing, your 2.5 jin; Number Four, 4.5 jin; Number Six and I each have 10.5 jin; Number Fifteen, 9.5 jin — that's 37.5 jin in total. Add the 40 jin of rice seeds Xia Qing exchanged for, and at a 40% germination rate, that's equivalent to 31 jin of seeds. The evolved rice grains are much larger than before the catastrophe. Following the seedling-raising method from the video, the two mu of land in the valley won't be nearly enough."

The 40 jin of high-quality rice seeds Xia Qing exchanged with Zhang San were of better quality than those Liehu compensated the lords with, so they naturally also had to be raised as seedlings in the valley.

Xia Qing explained that the condition for her exchange of this batch of rice seeds was that she could only grow them herself. Once the rice was harvested in June or July, she could bring it out to trade, so the lords of the alliance were naturally delighted.

Xia Qing nodded. "The current atmosphere, soil composition, and natural conditions differ greatly from before the catastrophe. Relying solely on the video materials isn't enough. Territory Seven is also raising seedlings this spring. I applied to San-ge, and our alliance can send two people to Territory Seven to observe and learn."

Hearing this great news, everyone was thrilled. Xia Qing asked, "Who does everyone think should go?"

Hearing Zhu Li spoke first. "I have to take care of Lao Kuang, and I'm swamped with territory business. Besides, I probably wouldn't learn it even if I went."

Zhao Ze also said, "I'm afraid I wouldn't learn it either, and I'd hold up the big task."

Yuan Yan raised her hand. "I'd like to go. Does everyone think that's alright?"

Qi Fu and Yuan Yan's fields were the best tended, so her going to observe and learn was very fitting. Another point: she was a magnetic-sense Evolver, making her particularly suitable to go learn. No one had any objections.

Territory Five took one slot; Territories Four and Six gave theirs up. Xia Qing was certainly too busy, so the remaining slot had to be chosen between Territories Ten and Fifteen.

Before Shi Zhong could speak, Yue Haiying said, "We don't have a suitable candidate on our end. What about Shi-ge?"

Shi Zhong discussed it with everyone. "Let my wife go. She knows the trade better than I do, and her health is better too. Does everyone think that's alright?"

Shi Mu was a strength Evolver, with stronger resistance and farming skills. Once she learned, she could go raise seedlings in the valley. Everyone had no objections.

With the personnel decided, and Qi Fu, Shi Du, and Yu Shou confirmed as responsible for installing the supplemental lights, the alliance meeting moved on to the next agenda item.

Xia Qing spoke first. "For successful seedling raising, besides temperature, humidity, and soil fertility, there's another important condition: management during the Calamity Rain period."

"During the Calamity Rain period, Calamity Element content surges, causing the Calamity Element content in rice seedlings at the seedling stage to rise. Even seedlings that haven't undergone Calamity Evolution will see their Calamity Element content increase, leading to a decline in seedling quality. Currently, there are two methods to reduce the Calamity Element content in the atmosphere during the Calamity Rain period: Yishi and ventilation filtration equipment."

Everyone knew about the air filters in standardized greenhouses, but Yishi as a material was something everyone present was hearing about for the first time, except Yue Haiying and Hearing Zhu Li.

Xia Qing gave a detailed introduction to Yishi, and the lords were amazed all over again. They hadn't expected Blue Star's great evolution to produce such a wonderful thing.

After Xia Qing finished her introduction, Qi Fu spoke up. "Our seedling-raising area isn't an enclosed environment, so we can't use air filters."

Hearing Zhu Li, struggling to keep up, asked, "Jiejie, is it cheaper to use Yishi, or is it cheaper for us to build an enclosed environment and use air filters?"

Xia Qing looked at Zhao Ze first. "Zhao-ge, is it feasible to build a fully enclosed greenhouse inside the valley?"

Zhao Ze replied, "To seal the valley completely above, below, and on all sides, we just need to seal the soil underneath and the rock crevices. It's theoretically feasible, but there's not enough time. I'll have the construction costs calculated before the next meeting."

Xia Qing nodded, then answered Hearing Zhu Li's question. "The rice seedlings we're raising will ultimately be planted in the open territory, so we just need to ensure the seedlings aren't affected by excess Calamity Elements during the Calamity Rain period. To achieve this, using Yishi is cheaper than building an enclosed environment and using ventilation and filtration equipment. If in the future we plan to grow crops in the valley that have high environmental requirements and need to be isolated from Calamity Elements throughout their entire growth cycle, then using Yishi wouldn't be cost-effective."

Hearing Zhu Li nodded quickly, carefully committing everything Xia Qing said to memory.

Yishi is a precious and scarce resource. Yue Haiying asked, "Xia Qing, do you have a way to get Yishi? Or should I think of something?"

Xia Qing nodded. "I have a way. Today I just want to discuss the price with everyone. Based on the size of our valley, we need to separate two pigeon-egg-sized pieces of Yishi and install them evenly throughout the valley to ensure the seedlings are completely isolated from Calamity Elements. At the current market price, one pigeon-egg-sized mid-grade Yishi sells for 200,000. Buying isn't cost-effective, so I plan to rent. The effective trial period for one piece of Yishi is two months. To be safe, let's rent for three days, with a total rental fee of 20,000. Can everyone accept that?"

Zhao Ze chuckled. "If Xia Qing meimei can accept it, I certainly have no problem."

According to the agreement, seed-raising costs are apportioned based on the jin of rice seeds each territory needs to raise. The total rice seeds for this batch are 87.5 jin, of which 42.5 jin are Xia Qing's, so she needs to bear over 10,000 of the 20,000 Yishi rental fee, while Zhao Ze only needs to bear a little over 1,000.

Xia Qing also smiled. Of course she had no objections, because the Yishi to be "rented" was what she had exchanged with the wolf pack. The Yishi was being "rented out" at market price, so the rental fee would ultimately return to her own pocket.

Quick-witted Qi Fu discussed with Xia Qing. "Xia Qing, can we only rent Yishi this one time, or can we rent it for every Calamity Rain period in the future?"

Xia Qing didn't speak too far ahead. "This year, it should be possible."

Shi Zhong also understood what Qi Fu was thinking. "After we raise the rice seedlings, if we can still borrow Yishi to protect our crops from the Calamity Rain's effects, we'll plant the valley full of precious Green Light crops!"

According to the distribution method previously agreed upon by everyone, the two mu of farmland in the hidden valley are used jointly by everyone during the seedling-raising period. Outside of the seedling-raising period, the one mu west of the spring belongs to Xia Qing, and the one mu east belongs to Territories Four, Five, Six, Ten, and Fifteen — two fen per household.

San-ge? San-ge is a big shot. His territory has several standardized planting greenhouses; he wouldn't care about a tiny plot in a mountain cave.