Chapter 1621: Drought Disaster, Long-term and Short-term Concerns

After leaving the Natural Disaster Research Institute, Li Yu returned to the inner city.

Unconsciously, he came to the shore of the Shantang Reservoir in the inner city.

Looking at the water in the reservoir,

he found that the water level had dropped a lot, only one-third of the water level after the thunderstorm disaster just ended.

The water in the Shantang Reservoir only supplies the inner and outer cities, and the lake reservoir under the cliff supplies the people in the buffer city.

On the dry shore, there was a crab walking sideways. When Li Yu saw it, he kicked it into the lake.

It has not rained for more than four months. Since there are two reservoirs in the base, plus four large and medium-sized reservoirs for water storage, and deep wells distributed throughout the base to support the base's water use, it has not caused much impact on the big camphor tree base for the time being.

Agricultural planting is still going on normally, and the industry has reduced water use. In the past half month, it has mainly carried out construction activities such as foundation excavation that do not waste water.

He walked along the wooden plank road by the lake, and kept thinking of what Song Zhihong, Madi and others had just said.

It is unknown how long the drought will last, and it is unknown what will happen after the drought.

What can be done now is indeed limited, and he has not come up with a good solution after thinking about it.

Perhaps, as he thought at the beginning, the best way is to remain unchanged in the face of change.

Li Yu was thinking about how long the drought will last and what will happen after the drought in the camphor tree base.

Most of the survivors are now facing the difficulties caused by the drought.

More than four months without rain has caused great trouble to the survivors in the end of the world.

Whether in the north or the south, more than four months without rain is considered a severe drought.

Under the drought.

Many plants in the mountains and forests withered due to lack of water, and it became more difficult for the survivors to find edible plants in the mountains and forests.

In addition, it became more and more difficult for them to get water.

Because the mountain springs dried up and many rivers were cut off, they could only go to some large rivers or large reservoirs and lakes to get water.

This is not over yet. Due to the accumulation of a large number of clouds in the air, the sky is gloomy, and the ultraviolet rays from the sun are reflected by the clouds. More and more zombies have appeared on the ground recently.

These zombies that came out of the dark and humid places brought a lot of trouble to the survivors.

China Forest Park.

The Qingtianyuan forces that lived on it and planted crops were also in trouble.

In the courtyard of the house on the top of the mountain, Lin Muguang and Zheng Hanbing and others were discussing an important matter.

Zheng Hanbing said solemnly:

"Captain Lin, the lake at the foot of the mountain has dried up now, and the underground well has not found water after digging more than ten meters down. It's time for us to make a decision."

As soon as Zheng Hanbing finished speaking, another team member also persuaded:

"Yes, Captain Lin, Brother Zheng went to the trading market to ask before. Since they are willing to accept us, now is the right time to go!"

Lin Lu stood up and looked at the crops planted outside. They hadn't watered them for four or five days.

Two days ago, the small lake at the bottom of the mountain was completely cut off.

If they want to get water, they can only go to Nanwan Lake 30 kilometers away in the north, or to Xujia Reservoir 25 kilometers away in the west.

Such a long distance would take a whole day to go back and forth without rest.

Moreover, they had no vehicles, and relying on human transportation alone could not guarantee the water needed for planting.

The crops outside had reached the end of maturity. Thanks to their careful care, the potatoes and sweet potatoes grew well.

Although the water demand for these crops could be reduced in the later stage, they still needed to be watered from time to time.

But now people can hardly drink water, let alone crops.

Lin Lu thought about it again and again, and finally made up his mind.

"Okay, in that case, let's dig up the potatoes and sweet potatoes."

"After the sweet potatoes and potatoes are dig up, send them to the trading market to sell. With these grains, we can live well at the trading market."

According to his budget, these two acres of crops can produce at least 6,000 kilograms of grain.

Generally speaking, one acre of sweet potato field can produce at least 3,000 kilograms of sweet potatoes, and the yield of potatoes is similar. If it weren't for the water shortage in the later period, their per-acre yield could even reach more than 5,000 kilograms.

6,000 kilograms of food is enough for them to have food for more than a year in the future.

The biggest dilemma now is the lack of water. If they go to the oil city, the water source problem may be solved.

Moreover, they have so much food in their hands, which is very dangerous in the end times.

They have so much food, but they don't have the corresponding ability to protect it.

Going to the trading market, their safety can be guaranteed.

What's more, the trading market has now extended an olive branch to them and welcomes them to go.

Considering various considerations, it is the best time to harvest crops and go to the trading market.

When others heard Lin Lu say that he wanted to harvest crops, they cheered one by one.

"Great, we can finally go to the trade market. You don't know, the trade market is very prosperous!"

"How prosperous?"

"Haven't we been there before? Oh, I forgot, you went there a long time ago. I tell you, there have been a lot of changes since the thunderstorm disaster."

"Yeah."

Zheng Hanbing smiled and said to Lin Muguang:

"Captain Lin, shall we start picking potatoes and sweet potatoes now?"

"Let's pick it up. It's not safe to keep so much food around. It's better to send it all to the trading market to exchange for points." Lin Muguang nodded and said.

It's unrealistic for the 25 people to carry 6,000 kilograms of food. On average, each person has to carry 240 kilograms of food.

"Okay! Let's get the tools together and prepare to pick potatoes and sweet potatoes!" Zheng Hanbing said to everyone.

They went to the yard to get hoes, shovels and wooden rakes, which are very useful tools for planting and harvesting potatoes and sweet potatoes.

Lin Muguang reminded: "Arrange the sweet potato leaves and potato leaves, these can be eaten."

"Okay, we know." Zheng Hanbing nodded.

Lin Muguang divided the work among everyone, and each did different things.

Pull out the potato vines, pick up the potatoes, and put the potatoes into the bag.

Lin Muguang also took out a hoe from the storage room and went to pick potatoes and sweet potatoes with everyone.

Zheng Hanbing picked the potatoes with his hands, pushed aside the soil around them, and carefully pulled out the potato vines while preserving the buds.

At the same time, he gently pulled out the small roots and leaves at the root of the potatoes, which would ensure that the squeezing between the potatoes would not cause scars.

This was just the first step. Some potatoes were left in the soil because the soil was too hard, and their whiskers broke. Later, they had to turn the soil over and find the potatoes little by little from the soil.

The method of digging sweet potatoes was similar to this.

They had a clear division of labor. One group of people was responsible for pulling out the potato vines, one group was responsible for picking up the potatoes with a pickaxe, and the other two were responsible for putting the potatoes into the bag.

Aunt Zhao and her friends worked carefully, and the potatoes they dug out had very few pickaxe injuries, so they were left to dig out the potatoes.

There is also a science to digging out potatoes and sweet potatoes. You have to carefully dig down the pickaxe from the side of the ridge, otherwise the potatoes may be scratched by the pickaxe, revealing a scar, which is not good-looking and is even more difficult to store.

"Captain Lin, this potato has grown so big!" Feng Chen said with a smile, holding up a fist-sized potato in his hand.

Lin Muguang smiled and nodded. This was more than the few potato vines they pulled out a few days ago.

It seems that this time, there must be more than 6,000 kilograms of potatoes and sweet potatoes.

The moment of harvest is always happy.

They started to dig potatoes at 9 o'clock in the morning and worked until 11:30 in the afternoon. They finished digging potatoes and there was still one acre of sweet potatoes left.

"Captain Lin, I'm going to cook." Aunt Zhao put down the pickaxe in her hand, straightened up and said to Lin Muguang.

"Okay." Lin Muguang nodded and turned to look at Lin Lu next to him.

"Xiaolu, take a few people to dig the crops twice more."

"Okay."

It is not easy to grow these potatoes and sweet potatoes. Some potatoes grow deep underground. They may not be dug up in the first and second times. They need to be dug several times later. Not a single potato can be left.

On the other side, Zheng Hanbing took Zheng Zheng and a few others to carry potatoes to the flat ground outside the house and spread them out for drying.

In order to preserve these potatoes for a longer time, they have to dry them for at least two days, which can prevent too much water from remaining in the potatoes.

Generally speaking, potatoes can be stored for about 2 months at room temperature indoors if they are intact and properly preserved.

If they are stored in a cellar, they can even be stored for 6 months.

If they are made into dried potatoes or sweet potatoes, it is not a problem to store them for more than a year.

They have to send these potatoes and sweet potatoes to the trading market, which will also judge the moisture content of the potatoes they send and give points that can be exchanged for one pound.

The higher the moisture content, the less potatoes per pound.

Aunt Zhao went to cook, Zheng Hanbing went to dry the potatoes, and Lin Lu took people to re-sweep the potato field that had just been dug.

And Lin Muguang took the rest of the people to harvest the remaining one acre of sweet potatoes.

Half an hour later, Aunt Zhao came running and shouted to everyone:

"It's time to eat!"

Lin Lu wiped the sweat off his face, put the pickaxe in his hand aside, and shouted to his father and others who were busy in the sweet potato field: "It's time to eat."

The air was filled with a faint aroma of potatoes.

In theory, food is extremely scarce in the end times. The cleanest way to eat potatoes should be to wash the dirt on the surface of the potatoes with water, then cut them into small pieces, steam them in water, and flatten them into mashed potatoes.

But.

Now they are short of water, and the water tanks in the kitchen can only support them for a few days.

After using up all the water, they have no water to drink, so how can they be willing to use water to wash the dirt on the surface of the potatoes.

Baking potatoes is the most water-saving way.

After working for a whole morning, everyone's upper and back are soaked, and their throats are smoking.

As soon as they entered the yard, they looked for water to drink.

Aunt Zhao had prepared water for them long ago. The water was carried up in buckets before the lake at the foot of the mountain dried up.

They boiled the water and drank it after it cooled down.

Lin Lu picked up the gourd ladle and scooped up the water in the plastic bucket. He gulped down a whole ladle of water and breathed a sigh of relief.

Gurgle--

His stomach started to growl.

Aunt Zhao came out of the kitchen, carrying a bamboo basket of ripe potatoes.

Da!

She put the bamboo basket on the wooden table in the yard.

They built a pergola above the area near the gate of the yard, which they built bit by bit with wood and bamboo.

But they had to leave after harvesting the crops on the ground.

Looking at the yard and the house in front of him, Lin Lu was filled with reluctance.

This time in Zhonghua Mountain was the most beautiful time since the end of his life.

The terrain of this place is high and there are cliffs everywhere. Normal zombies cannot get up. It is safe.

And few survivors will find this place, it is like a peach garden.

They work hard here to farm and harvest food.

pity

When the drought arrived, they could not replenish water in the mountains and had no choice but to leave.

But thankfully, this time of food planting can be regarded as the biggest harvest since they planted crops many times in the last days.

In the past, the crops they planted would be harvested very little due to natural disasters, zombies, or other surviving thugs before the harvest season came.

This time, it was called a bumper harvest.

Although the drought came, there was still a good harvest of food.

Soon, Lin Muguang and others returned to the small courtyard from the ground.

Under drought, handwashing has become a luxury.

There's nothing I can do about it because my whole body is smelling like sweat. There isn't much water now, so I need to use it sparingly.

Bathing is too luxurious.

They also have to harvest and dry these potatoes and sweet potatoes, which takes at least three days.

Moreover, it will take time to send these potatoes and sweet potatoes to the trading market for sale later.

Naturally, it was impossible to transport it all in one trip. Even if the road to the trading market was now safe and they could transport it in a wheelbarrow, they still couldn't transport it all in one trip.

Calculating this, some of them will have to stay here for at least five days.

For five days, they had to drink water, and it was a luxury to use it to bathe and wash their hands!

"It smells so good!" Zheng Zheng walked into the yard.

"But why is it roasted? On this hot day, the more you eat, the thirstier you become."

Aunt Zhao rolled her eyes and said: "Drink water when you are thirsty, it is better than wasting water on washing potatoes."

She simply believed that it was better to pour water into her stomach than to wash the mud off the potatoes.

The potatoes in the bamboo basket piled up into a hill.

Each of them took two, peeled them off and showed off.

Since they were roasted, they felt thirsty after eating too much, so they ate the potatoes while drinking water.

After half an hour, they didn't take a break.

Go ahead and give away the remaining sweet potatoes.

After they peeled the potatoes and sweet potatoes, they dug them back and forth four or five times and pulled out some scattered potatoes and sweet potatoes.

It wasn't until the last time that two pieces of potatoes came out that I gave up.

It is getting late and the sun is setting in the west.

The potatoes and sweet potatoes they left to dry in the open space outside the yard were not collected.

After all, potatoes and sweet potatoes are easily damaged during the collection process, which affects their storage time.

In addition, it is unlikely to rain recently, and the potatoes and sweet potatoes have to be dried for a day or two, so they will not put them away.

As for whether someone will come to steal it, it is unlikely.

There are cliffs all around, and the only way up is the plank road. The plank road was destroyed by them, making it impossible for ordinary people to get up.

The only thing that comes up is wall-climbing zombies, but wall-climbing zombies don't eat potatoes.

Put it outside the yard, it's safe.

(asking for monthly ticket)