Chapter 788: The Manager of the Ninth Planting Center

"Yes, just these two types. The finished nutrient solution can be stored for 24 hours at 0–10°C. The nutrient source can be stored for three months under the same conditions. I took two doses of this nutrient solution during the Calamity Rain. Apart from sleeping an hour or two when mentally exhausted, I was on the disaster-relief front line the rest of the time, and my stamina stayed in a fairly abundant state."

Yue Haiying had not heard his old leader this worked up in a long time.

He shared the old leader's excitement. When Xia Qing took out the nutrient source, he had been just as thrilled. Because once this kind of medicine went on the market, those who benefited would not only be the base, the army, and the combat teams — ordinary civilians would benefit too.

After this batch of X-2 is harvested, the planting area in July will be even larger. By the third Calamity Rain, Hui-3 Base's disaster-relief capability will be lifted a whole notch higher thanks to this premium nutrient solution.

Qi Zhongye grew even more excited. "Have you asked whether this medicine called 'Nutrient Source' can be mass-produced?"

Yue Haiying replied, "That I don't know."

True enough — he was getting ahead of himself with the excitement. Questions about mass-producing the new drug and its price had to be directed to the lord of Territory Seven or the pharmaceutical factory. After finishing business, Qi Zhongye asked about the retired wounded soldiers in Territory Fifteen, and whether Yue Haiying's side had any difficulties that needed the organization to step in and resolve.

Yue Haiying replied, "Old Tan and I have secured the chance for the brothers in Territory Fifteen to receive treatment from the lord of Territory Seven. Rest assured, Commander — as long as I'm here, the brothers are here."

When Yue Haiying left the army, he took 42 retired wounded soldiers with him, 19 of them severely injured. Over the past year, 10 had already died. In the more than a year since Yue Haiying retired, he had approached Qi Zhongye several times — always to beg for medicine for the wounded in his territory.

The only time he had come for his own sake was to buy the vehicle he had used during his service.

Later Qi Zhongye learned that he had "sold" this vehicle to the lord of Territory Three, Xia Qing. Though Qi Zhongye hadn't asked, he knew Yue Haiying must have used this vehicle to trade for treatment opportunities for the retired wounded in his territory.

Xia Qing was a person who worked for Professor Fu Tianfeng.

To trade for treatment opportunities for the retired wounded, his hot-tempered subordinate had sheathed every ounce of his edge, even giving away his combat vehicle. The taste in Qi Zhongye's heart was bitter. "You've all done very well. It's I who lack the ability — I haven't properly settled the retired brothers."

"Our base is short on every kind of supplies. You've already done an excellent job — the brothers all understand that in their hearts." After stating his position, Yue Haiying got down to work. "Old Tan and I are limited in what we can do; we can't take care of more brothers. I heard from Old Tan that you're planning to convert Territory Nine into a planting center? Could you prioritize sending the retired brothers over to work there?"

Qi Zhongye nodded. "The person in charge of the Ninth Planting Center has already been decided — it's the lord of Territory Seven, Zhang San. I'll have the Territory Management Department discuss this with him and see how he wants to handle it."

After Territory Nine was reclaimed, it was converted into a planting center under the Hui-3 Base Planting Department. Zhang San applied to become the person in charge of the Ninth Planting Center, taking full authority over it and coordinating all its affairs. Therefore, the hiring of wounded soldiers at the Ninth Planting Center required Zhang San's approval.

"Alright, sorry for the trouble. Please also take care to rest."

After hanging up the phone, Yue Haiying — who had just taken office before the Calamity Rain as the Territory Alliance's Minister of Public Relations and the Ninth Planting Center's Human Resources Manager — @'d Secretary Zhou Zhaoping in the Territory Alliance work group: The Hui-3 Base Commander called to inquire about the nutrient source; I've informed him as planned. The Base Commander has already agreed to have the Territory Management Department discuss with Third Brother the matter of hiring retired soldiers at the Ninth Planting Center.

Yue Haiying informing Tan Junjie about the nutrient source, and proposing that the base step forward to hire retired soldiers to work at the Ninth Planting Center, were both resolutions passed at the Territory Alliance meeting. The former was proposed by Zhou Zhaoping; the latter by Xia Qing. The implementation of these two resolutions was the responsibility of Minister of Public Relations Yue Haiying.

This "implementation" included not only answering the Base Commander's call, but also the subsequent selection of retired soldiers able to work at the Ninth Planting Center.

Although the official notice establishing the Ninth Planting Center had not yet been issued, Zhang San, the person in charge, had no interest in handling miscellaneous matters and had already appointed two direct heads for the Ninth Planting Center: Manager Xia Qing and Planting Technical Advisor Zhang Tao.

The Ninth Planting Center's professional work — planting technical guidance, pest monitoring and control, daily field management, and the like — was the responsibility of Zhang Tao. Zhang Tao was a researcher in Territory Seven focused on the promotion of premium crop planting, a core member of Zhang San's research team, and absolutely qualified for the post.

Within Territory Nine, everything outside Zhang Tao's purview fell under Xia Qing. Yue Haiying was the first staff member Xia Qing had selected for the Ninth Planting Center.

Because the Ninth Planting Center was a regular department under the base, staff working there — like staff in any base department in the Safe Zone — could draw a salary and receive benefits.

So Yue Haiying, a former company-grade captain who had lost an arm and retired to become a farmer in Territory Fifteen, and had become the agent of Territory Fifteen, had come full circle and was now a manager in a regular management department of the base.

Territory Alliance Secretary Zhou Zhaoping replied: Received.

Soon, Territory Alliance Minister of Commerce Kuang Qingwei sent a thumbs-up.

The top leader in the work group — Alliance Chair Xia Qing?

She was in the garage of the rack building in Territory Three, retrofitting the micro-tiller and the off-road vehicle.

After waking up, Xia Qing had started retrofitting the micro-tiller while humming a little tune. After Wolf Lao Er left, Xia Qing had removed Lao Er's special seat from the micro-tiller and installed a toolbox in its place.

Now that Lao Er was back, regardless of how many days it would stay this time, its special seat had to be reinstalled. Since the off-road vehicle had a special seat for Big Brother, it had to have one for Lao Er too.

After a round of retrofitting, Xia Qing drove the micro-tiller out of the house and began harvesting the Calamity Grass in her territory, which was taller than a person.

Passing the forage shed, Sheep Big Brother walked out from inside and climbed onto its special seat. When she reached the abandoned village area to the southwest, Lao Er, carrying a small basket in its mouth, poked its head out from the grass, deftly hung the small basket on the hook outside the rain cover, and also climbed onto its special seat.

Xia Qing glanced at the nearly full basket and rubbed Lao Er's damp head. "Lao Er is so capable — pecking so many bugs so fast."

Wolf-dog Lao Er grinned happily. Sheep Big Brother, with a grass blade in its mouth, pretended it hadn't heard a thing and stared intently at the Calamity Grass ahead, as if the one driving the micro-tiller were not its junior sibling but itself.

Xia Qing turned the machine around, cutting grass all the way as she delivered Lao Er to the edge of the fish pond, then circled around and cut the Calamity Grass near the fish pond once more before getting off, picking up the basket, and taking a thick bamboo tube split in half to the edge of the fish pond.

She installed the two-meter-plus bamboo tube in place, took hold of the wolf's paw, and taught Lao Er how to use the thing. "First hang the bamboo basket here, then use your paw to scrape the bugs out, scrape them into the fish pond, and you can feed the fish. Lao Er, see if that's convenient?"

Wolf-dog Lao Er obediently let Xia Qing hold its big paw and scrape a few times. When Xia Qing called it, it immediately opened its mouth, lolled its tongue, and grinned happily.

When Xia Qing returned to the micro-tiller, she found Lao Er still picking up a bug in its mouth, stepping along the soft, wet pond embankment to drop it into the fish pond, then standing on the embankment and wagging its tail as it watched the fish eat the bug.

Xia Qing understood — compared to scraping with its paw, it still preferred the old way of feeding the fish.