Chapter 345: The Vegetables Must Be Planted

Chapter 345: Chapter 345: The Vegetables Must Be Planted

Qi Fu laughed. "If we didn’t grow them ourselves, you think we could have bought them? Try some. If you all hadn’t come over, my wife wouldn’t have been willing to roast them."

"You and your wife really have a green thumb, Brother Qi. These seeds are even bigger than the ones from my fields." Xiaqing was genuinely impressed as she picked one up and cracked it open.

It had been so many years since she’d eaten them that she had forgotten what roasted sunflower seeds tasted like. All she knew was that they were delicious.

Xiaqing wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Mrs. Zhao also sighed with emotion. "I never thought I’d get to eat roasted sunflower seeds again in this lifetime."

Shi Zhong inquired, "Sunflower seeds aren’t just for roasting; they can also be pressed for oil. Oil we press ourselves would definitely be better than store-bought. Plus, oil has a longer shelf life, lasting a few months more than the seeds. Brother Kuang, can you get your hands on an oil press?"

Kuang Qingwei pointed a finger upward. "...They’ve banned oil presses. Hui Er Base won’t supply them to our base. They say it’s because they’re afraid the Lords will use corn to make oil, wasting food."

Without anyone needing to ask, Kuang Qingwei explained why pressing corn for oil would be a waste of food.

Corn only has an oil content of three to four percent, and it’s concentrated in the germ. To extract the oil, you first have to crush the kernels to get the germ. If the germ contains a lot of impurities like corn starch, it not only wastes food but also reduces the oil yield. That’s why you need special, large-scale oil presses to make corn oil.

Large oil presses are expensive, so there’s no way the Lords would buy them. Because of that, the base went ahead and banned even the small, household oil presses.

Mrs. Zhao complained, "Even if that’s the reason, they shouldn’t ban oil presses! We can still make sunflower oil."

Shi Zhong agreed. "Exactly. The seed cake left over from pressing sunflower seeds can be eaten by people, or it can be used to feed chickens and fish, or as fertilizer. Nothing would be wasted."

Kuang Qingwei gave a bitter smile. "To some people, us eating oil pressed from Yellow Light sunflower seeds is a waste in itself."

During the Disaster Year, high-quality resources were monopolized by the upper class at exorbitant prices. Ordinary people at the bottom of society could only survive on compressed rations made from grass and a small amount of grain, barely staying alive.

If they hadn’t come out to the territories to farm and grown their own sunflower seeds, they never would have been able to afford a precious condiment like oil.

Even after coming out to farm and having some resources on hand, the Lords couldn’t trade for Green Light or Yellow Light oil. It wasn’t just a matter of price—there simply wasn’t any available.

They could only trade for oil pressed from Red Light Plant seeds after the Harmful Element was removed. Its taste and nutritional value couldn’t compare to oil from Green Light and Yellow Light seeds.

That was the most infuriating part: no matter what grand promises the broadcasts made, the reality was that the Territory Management Department would buy the sunflower seeds the Lords had painstakingly grown for 25 points a pound, but the Lords could never buy the processed food and oil made from them!

"Only by eating well can your physical constitution improve, allowing you to resist environmental pollution, trigger the body’s Yi Evolution, and shed the status of an ordinary person to become an Evolver. In the six-plus months we’ve been out here, both my wife’s and my Strength Evolution Levels have increased."

Qi Fu wasn’t lying. Although his Strength Evolution was triggered by a super-bacterium infection, his wife’s Strength Evolution Level had genuinely increased because of her improved diet.

Xiaqing confirmed this. "My Strength Evolution Level has also increased in the six-plus months I’ve been out here."

"My son too, and my wife and I are much healthier now," Shi Zhong also confirmed. "The environment is getting worse and worse. It’s going to be harder and harder for ordinary people living on compressed rations to survive. Brother Kuang, how old are you this year?"

Kuang Qingwei answered, "Forty-four, but my wife is only twenty-two. She still has the potential to evolve, so right now, all the good food we have goes to her first. We plan to wait until she develops an Evolutionary Ability before having children."

Qi Fu also said, "My wife is thirty-three. She has two more years to improve her Evolutionary Ability, so we’re also planning to wait until she’s past thirty-five to have kids."

Mrs. Zhao had her own calculations. "My Ah Ze is thirty-eight, so he’s past the age. But when he gets married and has children, they’ll need safe food more than anyone. This is a huge territory; someone has to inherit it, right?"

After she said this, everyone laughed.

Before coming to the territories, they never would have thought about such things. Just being alive was good enough. Farming was hard work and the risks were high, but now their days had hope, and they were full of life again.

The atmosphere lightened, and things that they had been hesitant to say before due to various concerns could now be spoken.

The well-informed Kuang Qingwei lowered his voice. "I heard a rumor—it might not be accurate—but the ones who invaded Territories 158 and 159 yesterday to steal grain might have been from the Su Feng Team."

"It’s possible." Xiaqing had the same suspicion. "Territory 158 is home to military families, so their defenses should be tighter than ours. If Su Feng did this, they could strike a blow against the Base Commander’s faction, use the opportunity to plant their own people in the patrol teams, and also scare the Lords into handing over their grain and vegetables sooner."

Mrs. Zhao was also indignant. "More than half the shady business at our base is the work of the Su Feng Team."

Shi Zhong said in a low voice, "To be honest with you all, I only plan on handing over a few dozen pounds of corn and sealing up the rest to keep here in the territory. My family isn’t going back to the Safe Zone this winter. We’re going to build a greenhouse in the territory and grow vegetables. Never mind how many points we can sell them for—at least we’ll be able to eat fresh Green Light vegetables ourselves."

Qi Fu nodded as well. "We’re planning the same thing."

Mrs. Zhao also said, "Zhao Ze and I want to learn how to build a greenhouse. We’ll probably have to trouble you all for help then."

Qi Fu didn’t think it was difficult. "Auntie, you’ve already grown two rounds of crops. A greenhouse just means adding a heated wall and a plastic sheet; the rest is the same. Zhao Ze works in engineering. He’ll know how to build one after taking a single look at ours."

Although Xiaqing didn’t say anything, she had already traded for several large sheets of greenhouse plastic, so she was definitely planning on staying in her territory, too.

Kuang Qingwei, who had just been planning to take his wife back to the Safe Zone for the winter because of the invasion, felt his resolve waver when he saw that none of them were leaving.

’Living back there is safer, but the food is definitely not as good as it is in the territory, and it’s not as spacious.’

Xiaqing finally spoke up. "I asked Brother San and Brother Luo, and they’re both staying in their territories for the winter. With Brother San and Brother Luo around, this area of ours is the safest of all the territories."

Hearing Xiaqing’s words, Kuang Qingwei immediately made up his mind. "We’re definitely building a greenhouse and growing vegetables! People in the Safe Zone all think we’re hiding a lot of grain. We wouldn’t have any peace if we went back to live there."

Qi Fu added, "Xiaqing’s right. This place is a real treasure. To our north, we have Mountain No. 49, which blocks the cold winds and protects us from wild beasts. Captain Tan and his patrol team are also very responsible. When there’s danger, No.1 Territory, Xiaqing, and Territory Land No. 7 all help out. And if you get sick or injured, you can get timely medical treatment."

Kuang Qingwei added, "And there’s No. 8 Territory. Xin Yu is planning to build a factory to produce fungus powder. Once more people move into No. 8 Territory, our territories will be even safer. Territory No. 12 is definitely keeping people here, too. Chairman Tang has already developed over five hundred acres of wasteland."