Chapter 370: No. 8 Territory’s Assistant

Chapter 370: Chapter 370: No. 8 Territory’s Assistant

The patrol convoy finally delivered the seeds. The Lords began discussing planting and fertilizing on the channel.

Qi Fu was the first to speak. "They finally made it. If they were a day later, the land I watered would have been dry. Wheat and rapeseed both need to be soaked for about four hours. I’ve already started soaking mine and will plant them this evening."

Kuang Qingwei asked, "Does anyone want crab shell fertilizer from Gui San Base? This is the last batch; there won’t be any more after this. The earthworm farm in Territory No. 49 was destroyed by refugees, so worm castings will probably get more expensive next spring. Everyone should hoard as much fertilizer as they can now."

With Gui San Base destroyed, its specialty crab shell fertilizer was, of course, no longer available.

Shi Zhong asked, "Brother Kuang, how many points is the crab shell fertilizer per pound?"

Kuang Qingwei sighed. "Eight points a pound. The price went up."

"Eight points? We really can’t afford fertilizer anymore," Mrs. Zhao replied.

The points they had were needed for enclosing walls, buying seeds, and building greenhouses. There were simply no spare points to buy fertilizer for next spring’s planting.

After everyone complained for a while, Kuang Qingwei worked up the courage to ask, "No. 8 Territory, Xin Yu, are you there? Is your compost starter factory almost finished?"

With finished fertilizer being so expensive, the Lords needed to make as much of their own compost as possible to lower their farming costs.

Xin Yu was rarely online. Just as everyone thought there would be no reply, a stranger’s voice spoke up.

"Greetings, Lords. I am Zhou Zhaoping, the assistant for No. 8 Territory. The first batch of our territory’s compost starter will be available for sale on November 15th, priced at fourteen points per pound. Any Lords who are interested can place an order now. The first ten to order will receive a twenty percent discount."

What?!!!

Everyone was stunned. They all found themselves missing Tang Huai.

If Tang Huai had been online, he definitely would have started cursing after hearing what Zhou Zhaoping said, perfectly expressing what all the Lords were feeling at that moment.

Damn!

’Didn’t No. 8 Territory just bring in building materials and recruit workers a few days ago? From building the factory to starting production and selling the product in just half a month?!’

’Did they recruit refugees, or High Level Speed Evolvers?!’

Kuang Qingwei, the second-hand dealer, scrambled to claim a discount slot. "Hello, Uncle Zhou. This is Kuang Qingwei from No. 6 Territory. I’d like to order 300 pounds of compost starter."

Even though he hadn’t seen the finished product, the technology for No. 8 Territory’s compost starter came from Zhang San, so the quality was guaranteed to be excellent. Therefore, even though No. 8 Territory’s starter was more expensive than what the Safe Zone and No. 9 Territory sold, Kuang Qingwei placed his order without hesitation.

"Of course." Assistant Zhou of No. 8 Territory spoke in an unhurried, gentle voice, much like Tang Zhengpo’s, which was very pleasant to listen to. "As soon as the compost starter comes off the production line, I will immediately send it to you along with the instruction manual."

Tang Zhengpo, who hadn’t been online in a long time, also spoke up. Xiaqing noticed his voice sounded a bit weak. "Assistant Zhou, this is Tang Zhengpo from Territory No. 12. I’d like to order 600 pounds of compost starter."

Everyone was speechless.

’Impressive!’

Zhou Zhaoping replied, "Of course. Once Chairman Tang is finished with the planting, I will pay a visit."

Luo Pei came online as well. "Hello, Uncle Zhou. I’m Luo Pei from No. 1 Territory. No. 1 Territory orders 1,500 pounds of compost starter, and the Alliance of Teams would like to order 3,000 pounds from you."

Zhou Zhaoping responded respectfully, "Of course. When Captain Luo is free, I will visit your home to thank you for saving my life."

Luo Pei replied gently, "Uncle Zhou, you’re too kind. I was paid in points for leading the team to aid Hui Er Base."

After a few other Lords placed their orders, Tang Huai, who had been too busy to come online recently, surprisingly spoke up too. "Uncle Zhou, I’m Tang Huai, the agent for Second Territory. Second Territory orders 500 pounds."

Second Territory ordering 500 pounds of compost starter was even more surprising than No. 1 Territory ordering 1,500. ’Is Tang Huai planning to farm with the refugees?’

After the assistant from No. 8 Territory confirmed the order, Li Si asked in a cold voice, "No. 9 Territory, Li Si. You’re producing a compound fermentation starter and selling it for 14 points a pound, which is lower than the cost. Can you ensure the quality of such a starter?"

Zhou Zhaoping replied politely, "We produce an organic fertilizer fermentation starter. One pound can ferment at least a ton of vegetable scraps, kitchen waste, manure, crop stalks, leaves, wheat bran, or corn husks. No activation is needed, and it ferments quickly. Our product has passed inspection at the Red One Product Quality Testing Center. As long as you follow the instruction manual, the extermination rate for the three major categories of harmful substances can reach over 96%. We ask all Lords to use it with confidence."

Since they had passed the inspection of the Red One Base Product Quality Testing Center, what more could Li Si say?

"No. 9 Territory, 4 pounds."

Hearing the quantity, everyone understood. Li Si was definitely planning to study the quality of Zhang San’s compost starter, wasting a 20% discount slot in the process.

After Li Si placed his order, only Territory No. 3 and No. 7 in this region hadn’t ordered yet.

Zhang San used his own compost starter, so he didn’t need to buy any. As for why Xiaqing didn’t order, her allies in the Territory Alliance understood perfectly.

Qi Fu proactively asked, "Xiaqing, aren’t you composting? You could buy a few pounds of starter to ferment leaves into fertilizer, and it would be ready by next spring."

Her ally had given her an opening, and Xiaqing took the opportunity to explain, "I am, but I’m out of points right now. After I finish planting the wheat and rapeseed, I’ll go to the Evolution Forest to try my luck. If I can hunt some prey or gather edible plants, I’ll trade them for points and order from Uncle Zhou immediately. Hopefully, I can still squeeze into the top ten."

She definitely wouldn’t make the top ten. Although they weren’t all on the same walkie-talkie chat channel, the Lords of this region, and even the entire Hui San Base, knew that No. 8 Territory was going to produce compost starter using Zhang San’s patented technology. Once the news got out that it could be pre-ordered, the orders would surely flood in.

In the resource-scarce Disaster Years, as long as a product had a reasonable price, there was no worry about it not selling.

There were only two problems: first, whether you could obtain the raw materials and technology; and second, whether you had the ability to protect your factory amidst the chaos of the Disaster Years and successfully deliver the goods to the buyers.

Clearly, No. 8 Territory had both of these covered. As long as they controlled their costs, this business wouldn’t lose money.

After the conversation on the Lord channel ended, Xiaqing agreed on a planting time with Qi Fu. Just as she was hitching the sheep plow to Sheep Leader to go till the land, she received a call from Luo Pei.

Luo Pei’s tone was gentle. "Xiaqing, if it’s inconvenient for you to buy compost starter, I can order some extra from No. 8 Territory for you. How much do you need?"

Xiaqing explained, "Thank you for thinking of me, Brother Luo. I exchanged for 30 pounds of compost starter from Brother San a while ago, which is enough for this year."

Seeing that Xiaqing already had some, Luo Pei then asked, "That’s good. When are you planting? If you have time before the 10th, come over to Mountain No. 49. I’ll teach you the essentials of hitting moving targets."

’Finally, I get to learn real skills from the Sharpshooter master again!’ Xiaqing was thrilled. "I’m tilling today and planting tomorrow. Any day between the day after tomorrow and the 10th works for me."

After setting the time, Xiaqing hummed a little tune and went off to plow the fields with her companion.

When asking Sheep Leader to work, the proper ceremony was a must. Xiaqing first dangled some toon leaves for it, then praised it lavishly and stuffed it with compressed rations before officially starting.

After an in-depth discussion about farming experience with her allies, Xiaqing realized that after planting two seasons of crops, she had missed a step both times: leveling the ground.