The next day, as the sun rose and the temperature warmed up, Xia Qing mixed the soaked seeds with insect repellent powder. She planted them according to the depth, row spacing, and plant spacing instructed on the broadcast, then sprayed them with water mixed with evolved camphor leaf juice.
After spraying, Xia Qing discovered that not only did the birds dislike the smell of the evolved camphor leaves and refuse to land, but even Yang Lao Da ran away.
Now, she didn’t have to worry about Yang Lao Da ruining her crop seedlings.
Since cotton and mung beans were dibbled, requiring wide row and plant spacing, she planted one mu of cotton and half a mu of mung beans in each of the two plots. Wheat, on the other hand, was drill-sown. Six jin of seed could only cover two-tenths of a mu, so Xia Qing simply planted it all in the thirty-mu plot.
After planting, over ninety percent of the tilled land was still empty, but there was no rush.
The potatoes hadn’t sprouted yet and couldn’t be planted for the time being. As for the other four vegetable seeds—pumpkin, cucumber, tomato, and eggplant—Xia Qing planned to raise the seedlings in her home garden first before transplanting them over.
Besides the vegetable seedlings, she also had six sweet potato seedlings.
In addition to the sweet potato seedlings, she could also explore the new fifteen-hundred-mu high-slope territory to the north, which was higher than the hillside with the mountain spring, to look for edible plants that could be transplanted.
Xia Qing looked forward to the good days when she could cook three dishes for a single meal, eating an extra bowl of food for lunch.
In the afternoon, just as she was about to head out with Yang Lao Da to explore the new territory, she received a call from Captain Tan. Xia Qing thought the sweet potato seedlings were ready for planting, but she didn’t expect even better news.
The base had decided to install solar panels for the territories with buffer forests on the outer edge! Her territory was on the outermost border and had a buffer forest, so it met the requirements!
Xia Qing jumped up in excitement. “When will it be Territory No. 3’s turn? In an hour? Yes, of course! Do you need me to help carry the solar panels? Great!”
Hanging up the phone, Xia Qing rubbed Yang Lao Da’s head. “Lao Da, we’re going to have electricity! Electricity! Electricity!”
Yang Lao Da shook his head in disgust while Xia Qing twirled around in excitement.
The person who came to install the solar panels in Territory No. 3 was Huzi, a strength evolver. Without needing Xia Qing’s help, he easily carried the large crates into the village. Soon, he had installed two solar panels on the sloped roof of Xia Qing’s house. He then explained how to protect them. “Although this equipment was manufactured before the natural disaster, I guarantee it works. Sister Xia Qing, don’t forget to wash the solar panels regularly. It’s best to cover them during Spear Rain, hailstorms, and snow. And most importantly, you must protect the wires. Don’t let insects bite through them.”
After the natural disaster, many insects on Blue Star had evolved powerful biting capabilities. A few species had actually evolved into rodents with a habit of grinding their teeth, and electrical wires and network cables were their favorite things to chew on.
The original rodents, such as rats and squirrels, had evolved even more terrifying gnawing abilities. This was why, even after ten years of the apocalypse, the various human bases had not yet restored conventional communications and power grids.
It wasn’t that they couldn’t, but the construction and maintenance costs were simply too high. Compared to these, the human population, which had drastically dwindled after the natural disaster, had far more important things to attend to.
Xia Qing quickly asked, “Can I encase the wires in steel pipes?”
Huzi nodded. “Of course, it’s even better if you can encase and protect them. Sister Qing, do you have steel pipes?”
“Yes, and I have the tools too. Once we generate electricity, I can get to work.” Xia Qing had accumulated plenty of tools over the past few years; she even had an electric welding torch and welding rods.
To her surprise, Huzi, who had been very quiet during their previous encounters, was quite enthusiastic. “Two panels can only generate up to five kilowatt-hours of electricity a day. I brought a gas welding torch. Sister, bring the steel pipes up, and I’ll weld them for you before heading to Territory No. 1.”
Xia Qing didn’t stand on ceremony. She brought out the steel pipes, encased the wires, and welded them tight, securely protecting the outdoor portion of the solar equipment’s wiring. Steel pipes of this thickness could keep evolved insects out; she just had to be careful to guard against evolved rats and squirrels.
After Huzi finished tuning the power generation equipment and storage battery, he cautioned Xia Qing again, “Sister Qing, when you use lights or flashlights at night, make sure to close the doors and windows tightly. Don’t attract moths or other insects.”
Almost all insects were phototactic. It would be a major problem if she attracted dangerous evolved insects.
Xia Qing had always been very mindful of this. When she lit a fire in the living room at night, she would use thick wooden boards to block the windows so that no light leaked out.
As she walked Huzi out of the territory, Xia Qing asked why the base had agreed to install solar equipment for the territories. Solar power was a highly sought-after and scarce resource in the safe zone.
Huzi sighed. “There are thirty territories with buffer forests on the outer edge of our safe zone. After the Spear Rain, thirteen of them were attacked by Qiang-evolved plants and animals. So far, fifty-six people have died, and eight are severely injured.”
With the shortage of medicine after the natural disaster, the time from severe injury to death was only a matter of days. Xia Qing had expected casualties after the Spear Rain, but she hadn’t anticipated it being this severe.
“Because Sister Qing contacted the Investigation Team in time to clear the dangers, Territory No. 3 is the only peripheral territory that encountered high-risk Qiang-evolved aggressive creatures but suffered zero casualties. Therefore, the General overrode all objections and ordered solar panels to be installed and walkie-talkies to be distributed to the outer territories, ensuring that lords can immediately contact rescue if danger strikes.”
Having said that, Huzi explained to Xia Qing why she wasn’t given a walkie-talkie. “The number of walkie-talkies is limited, and since you already have a satellite phone, Sister, we didn’t allocate one to you. Instead, we replaced it with ten safe sweet potato seedlings.”
Xia Qing beamed. “Huzi, thank Captain Tan for me.”
Carrying a stack of solar panels, Huzi’s face and neck flushed red when he heard Xia Qing’s laughter. Fortunately, it was hidden behind his protective mask.
Xia Qing continued to ask, “Are the distributed walkie-talkies frequency-mode or channel-mode? I have a professional frequency-mode walkie-talkie with a communication range of ten kilometers.”
Huzi cleared his throat. “They’re frequency-mode. You use the 438.500 frequency to contact patrol and security personnel. For communication among the lords, you can use 439.500. Sister Xia Qing, you can use the walkie-talkie to contact the lords of the nearby territories, but you must stay safe. You’re all by yourself; you can never be too careful around others.”
Xia Qing noted down the frequencies. “I understand. I won’t let anything happen to me.”
Once outside the safe zone, people grew even more guarded against one another. Although Xia Qing was adjacent to Territories No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4, everyone tacitly kept their distance and did not disturb each other.
Huzi, fearing he might scare Xia Qing, shared some information about the surrounding territories. “Aside from the people in Territory No. 2 being a bit overbearing, the others don’t seem too dangerous for now. Sister, if you ever feel bored, you can turn on the channel and chat with them about farming.”
Having stayed in the noisy safe zone for so many years, Xia Qing now exceptionally enjoyed the peace and quiet. However, it was still necessary to use the walkie-talkie to connect with the surrounding territories, finding out what seeds they had received and what edible organisms they had discovered in their lands.
If she could trade for things she didn’t have, it would be even better.
Huzi continued, “Territories No. 4 and No. 5 had pretty good luck and didn’t see any large evolved creatures. Territory No. 1 had evolved highly toxic caterpillars, so that territory is already empty now. Three people were injured in Territory No. 6. Sister Xia Qing, you should head back. I can walk over by myself.”
This was the downside of being cut off from news; Xia Qing hadn’t even known that Territory No. 1 was already vacant. “Then what will happen to Territory No. 1?”
Banxia Novel, bringing much joy.