Chapter 546: The Group That Broke Into the Grassland
Translator: End less Fantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The crops on the first acre of land had fully matured and could be harvested. This time, the benefits were clearly seen. As the sowing time was different, the harvest time of the crops was also different by a few days. They harvested the crops according to the order of sowing. All the crops were harvested when they were the most tender. These 30 acres of land were only planted with four things—corn, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and soybeans. They had planted the first three before, but this was their first time planting soybeans.
There were many ways to eat soybeans. Not only could they be used to grow bean sprouts and make soy milk and tofu, but they could also be used to make soybean oil. Although Du Yue did not lack oil, if she wanted to use oil to stir-fry when others were present, she still had to find a logical source for the oil. When the first batch of crops was harvested, Du Yue was thinking of planting wheat and sesame seeds for the second batch. However, by the time they gathered all the food into the granaries and cleaned up the fields, there were only five hours of daylight left. When night fell, the sky seemed to be covered with a black cloth. There was no moon or stars. There was nothing but a depressing black color.
If they wanted to see things clearly, they could only rely on the light of a flashlight or a candle.
Du Yue and the others did not lack lighting equipment, but Shen Teng did. Fortunately, He Xing had developed a new energy-saving charging lamp that was manually operated. After installing the charging device on the bicycle, it only took two hours to fully charge it. It could be used continuously for three days after it was fully charged. Shen Teng exchanged the food with He Xing for two energy-saving lamps. It could last longer if he switched between the two.
Du Yue and the others also used energy-saving lamps. Whether it was the yard, the kitchen, or the car, they were all hung with lamps. Especially in the cowshed, stable, sheep pen, and chicken pen, lighting was a must. If it was pitch-black, the small animals would panic and even get sick. In order to ensure that they could grow up healthily, Xia Ju developed various commonly used medicines for them, as well as nutrient solutions that could supplement them with trace elements.
Du Yue watched the little animals grow stronger and stronger after drinking the nutrient solution developed by Xia Ju. She could not help but sigh. Xia Ju and He Xing were really all-rounded. The three of them complemented each other. No matter what kind of conditions the three of them were in, they could manage their lives well. After Du Yue’s observation over the past few days, she found that the time of dawn was getting shorter and shorter by the day. Every day, it would shorten by about 30 minutes. There were still five hours left until dawn. At this rate, it would be completely dark in ten days.
There was an old saying on the blue planet. ‘When the moon is dark and the wind is high, it’s time to kill and set fire.’ The night was the time when evil thoughts and sins were the easiest to breed. Even if they lived in the desolate grassland, they still had to be careful. After the land where the seeds had been planted was tidied up, only some grass seeds were scattered. The grass that had been planted previously was stored in Du Yue’s space. It was enough for the cow, horses, and sheep to eat for a year and a half. Even if they ate all the grass, they could continue to plant grass in the basement. They did not have to worry about starving the animals.
Seeing that daylight was getting shorter and shorter, the group decided to take advantage of the time to ride a horse and go out for a walk. After two months of feeding, these horses were many times stronger than when they first came from Lu Donglai. They could run very fast. Including Shen Teng, there were a total of four people, and they happened to be riding these four horses. One day after lunch, the four of them rode their horses and ran for a long distance. Finally, they stopped at a high place with a wide view. Standing high, the four of them could see far away.
Coincidentally, they saw a team with quite a number of people coming over. At first, Du Yue thought that she had seen wrongly. Later, she took out her binoculars and took a closer look. Only then did she realize that there was really a team approaching. At the front of the group were a few carriages leading the way. Behind them were people driving carriages and oxcarts. At the back of the group were those who followed on foot. Everyone’s clothes were tattered and patched, and from afar, one could see the dirty marks on their clothes. Almost all of them were bald, and a few of them had long hair that was piled up on their heads like a bird’s nest.
Although these people were dressed differently, their faces were all pale. They walked in a dispirited manner, and their footsteps were unstable. It seemed that they had been hungry for a long time, as if they had escaped from famine..