boyutpedia Chapter 40 Surviving in a Cataclysmic World (Part 9)
Chapter 40 Surviving in a Cataclysmic World (Part 9)
Although the highest temperature during the hottest weather can reach 60 degrees Celsius, it can still drop to around 45 degrees Celsius at night. Therefore, farming time during the hottest weather is arranged at night. After a few days, people have developed the habit of being active at night and resting during the day, since they can't go out during the day anyway.
Although we were wearing clothes made of new materials, the 45-degree heat still made everyone sweat profusely, as we were not used to such high temperatures. Fortunately, water and salt were not in short supply, as if the natural disaster had deliberately left a glimmer of hope for humanity. The people growing the crops were mostly young and middle-aged, but there were also elderly people and children who volunteered to help, especially the old farmers who had farmed the land their whole lives.
Their bodies are much stronger and more agile than those of the elderly in the city, so many of them have survived. Although they can't help with other things now, they can still guide those who have always lived in the city to farm. You can see that at the edge of each plot of land, there is an old man standing, some talking about something, and others going down into the field to demonstrate to the young people.
At first, the pace was slow, but then people helped each other, and everyone became more familiar with the farming methods and adapted to the labor involved. The speed picked up, and this crop was finally planted by the end of June. Now there's no need to worry about pests or diseases, as the insects haven't yet adapted to the new environment. Weeding is also unnecessary. Since the last drought, few natural plants have sprouted. Now, besides the sound of the wind, the only other sounds in the world are those created by humans. Indeed, when people have free time, they tend to overthink.
Although the new grain varieties don't taste as good, they are unaffected by heat or cold and have a much shorter maturation period, maturing in about two months. At least three crops can be grown each year, so there's no need to worry about yield. The concern now is with livestock, poultry, and aquaculture. Liu Yuxi has seedlings in his space, but the question is how to adapt these seedlings to the current weather.
In her previous life, until Liu Yuxi's death, poultry, livestock, and aquatic products were pampered and only a very small number of people could afford to eat them. Now, with everything else arranged and the reconstruction of some factories after the disaster underway, the issue of food, which is most closely related to people's livelihoods, must be taken seriously. Excluding the national research directions that Liu Yuxi had heard about in her previous life (since none of them had succeeded!), experts began to study how to improve species! After all, according to Liu Yuxi, she only lived to 66 in her previous life, leaving her with only 40 years. Even if she lived a dozen or so more in this life, time was still very tight for the research staff! Once she was gone, who would be able to continuously provide them with various seedlings for research? The research process would definitely slow down even further!
Liu Yuxi felt that compared to before the apocalypse, life now was only slightly less busy, with fewer entertainment options—factories were still under construction and signal towers weren't yet laid. But these were just a matter of time; she could walk the same road again in less time. As for poor food, that was impossible! Liu Yuxi's personal resources in her spatial storage could be replenished infinitely. She delivered groceries to the Liu and Wang families every week: chicken, duck, fish, meat, eggs, vegetables, grains, and sugar. Sometimes she'd even bring a couple of bottles of wine for her uncle to enjoy. Wine was hard to find now; she'd saved it up before the apocalypse. Now, she could only eat her fill; nothing else mattered. To the Liu family, she explained it was for government work and government benefits. To the Wang family, she didn't need to explain; she simply said it was Wang Heng's benefit. The Wang father and son knew the truth, and others thought their benefits were similar, so they believed her explanation even more.
Now that she has written a novel, there is nowhere to publish it, and she can forget about publishing a physical novel. Liu Yuxi's level has not yet reached that level. So, with the country's permission, Liu Yuxi wanders around various research institutes in the country. She learns from anything that interests her. With her current memory, she can achieve twice the result with half the effort no matter what she asks for. She also often brings people some good food and drinks. Therefore, when she leaves each study group, the group members are very reluctant to see her go. Even if they don't look at the things she brings, just looking at her aptitude, they know that if she continues to study, she will definitely be able to stand on her own.
Would Liu Yuxi actually delve into it? Definitely not. What field of study doesn't become incredibly demanding in the end? How many scientists don't go bald? She's here to coast along, not to die, okay? If she's interested, she can learn about it and understand it; delving into it? You're dreaming!
After spending a few years in the research lab, her grandmother had been urging her to find a partner and have a child. Her uncle and aunt weren't worried about the future; aside from the country's high regard for Liu Yuxi, her older brothers' children were all married with children, so they weren't concerned about Liu Yuxi being alone in her old age. Seeing Liu Yuxi always cheerful, they figured she hadn't quite grasped the situation yet, so they let her be. Later, the grandmother's nagging became so tiresome that they took her to meet a high-ranking official. This completely reassured the grandmother, who knew to keep it a secret, but when she mentioned her granddaughter again, her expression was one of immense pride.
As the years passed, society and technology seemed to have returned to what they were before the natural disasters. The taste of food had also improved thanks to the efforts of researchers. Although the ripening cycle had returned to more than four months, the farmland was now contiguous and mechanized. Two harvests a year were more than enough for China to be self-sufficient.
In recent years, the country has also sent many troops to check the situation in other countries around the world. The United States can no longer stir up trouble and act as a troublemaker. After all, in the early stages of natural disasters, they only cared about protecting the powerful and influential. After the natural disasters were over, the national population was greatly reduced, and the remaining people no longer paid attention to them. Anyway, they had always relied on themselves to survive, and they had nowhere to ask for help from them. Some people said that they could threaten and suppress them with force, but do you think that people who survive in such a chaotic place as the United States are easy to deal with? Do you think they don't have some kind of firearms prepared? Anyway, neither side can do anything about the other, and they just endure in the apocalypse.
Except for a few countries with good relations with China, the African population has been largely wiped out. After communication was restored between the two countries, China sent people to deliver new grain seeds and supplies to aid them. To put it bluntly, those countries now wish they could become vassal states of China. Who wouldn't want to curry favor with China?
Currently, apart from China, only Russia is doing relatively well. Because it is closest to China and has always had a good relationship with China, it has followed in China's footsteps from the very beginning. Therefore, it is currently considered the second largest country in the world.
Life is getting better and better now, but the only problem is the raising of livestock, poultry and aquatic products. At present, they can only be raised indoors. We still can't get these little creatures to adapt to the current environment because the cost of raising them is too high. Therefore, the price of these meats is relatively high, and ordinary families can only eat meat once a month.