“Okay, okay. It’s a wrap, so let’s call it a day. Everyone come back!”
The cleared out fields had already become a “safe” zone, but the darkness of the night still shrouded everyone’s hearts with fear. Without electrical lighting, the innate fear of the unknown would haunt their thoughts and imagination.
If their vision was hindered by darkness, their combat abilities would be reduced by two-thirds. Even if they encountered a weaker foreign race, it would be difficult to win.
Therefore, including the Candlelight Shelter, most shelters stopped working once the sun began to set.
Including the time taken to inspect their tools and surroundings, their journey back to the shelter would coincide with the sun setting over the horizon and the onset of darkness.
After a while, Qi Qin shouted out instructions, and everyone returned from the fields one after the other. They found their positions after counting off and sat on the ground.
Their faces were covered in soil, and their clothes were stained with sweat. Despite that, after sitting on the ground, no one complained about how tiring the work today was. On the contrary, everyone shared with the people around them about how much they had dug, how many crops they could grow, and how much food they could produce.
During the discussion, some people with farming experience stood up and shared their experience and knowledge with everyone.
The simple people of Huaxia would always have various ways to relieve the distress in their hearts when faced with disasters.
Looking at these people, Su Mo, who had been under the sun the whole day, also found some solace in his heart.
Supervision was not a simple job.
Especially since some of these refugees were office workers or clerks in the city before arriving at the wasteland.
They possessed neither the knowledge or skill to perform such rough work and, even with the guidance and supervision of others, unexpected obstacles and dangers would often occur.
For example…
Someone who did not know how to properly swing a hoe struck down and almost lost his feet!
Another frequent occurrence was when people put too much force into digging the shovel into the ground, and not having sufficient strength to pull it out afterward.
Some outrageous people even used firewood to boil water. When a crosswind blew past, it singed their eyebrows, frightening them.
In these cases, Su Mo was naturally obliged to go up and help.
He spent the entire day solving such issues here and there. Although he did not personally work the fields, compared to fighting against kobolds and lion people, this kind of painful yet happy farming experience still made his whole body feel sore.
However, the benefits were obvious.
After working together for a day, all the refugees, who received all kinds of inadvertent help from Su Mo, got to know the “Su Mo” that Chen Shen was talking about better.
There was less “awe” from hearsay, and more “admiration” toward his strength.
Of course, the strongest prevailing feeling was still respect.
“Oh dear, Su Mo is so much younger than me. If I call him Almighty Su, it feels too distant, but if I address him as big brother Su Mo, I feel like I’m overstepping my boundaries. What should we call him?”
Sitting on the ground, a simple-faced man was discussing this topic with the people next to him in a naive manner. As he asked, he glanced at Su Mo, who was standing on the mountain ridge.
“I was dwelling on this as well. Do you think that what Leader Wu said in the morning can be done? Letting Almighty Su lead our shelter when the time comes…”
Before he finished speaking, a middle-aged woman giggled. It was as if joining the shelter led by Su Mo was the greatest happiness one could have in the wasteland.
“In my opinion, this is also one of the tests given to us by Brother Su Mo. Whoever performs well can join him. If anyone is seen to be lazy, they will probably be kicked out. No matter whether it is for yourself, to survive, or to… You know, everyone should work hard!”
“Of course, of course!”
“That goes without saying. If anyone is lazy, I will be the first to call them out!”
Bickering, chattering, and idle talk, were also some of the few pastimes of refugees in the wasteland.
Compared to the civilized era, everyone was working hard. Every industry had been reset, and it was difficult to make achievements. Each day progressed in the same manner as the last.
In the doomsday wasteland, as long as you are willing to work hard and exert yourself physically, you would be able to reap the gains and change your life for the better!
The process of developing and growing things from scratch had its own charm, bringing a sense of fulfillment and achievement at the end of every day.
Of course, at this moment, Su Mo did not remain idle either. After watching everyone gather and counting their numbers, he walked slowly to the center of the group.
His figure was illuminated by the headlights of the excavator and, gesturing with both his hands, the crowd quieted down and the chatter quickly disappeared.
For a while, no one spoke. Only the rustling wind blowing across the field and tree branches on the plains could be heard.
“Very good! Everyone performed very well!”
“Standing here today, I observed everyone’s efforts and the hard work of every talent who wants to survive in this wasteland. I am very pleased that everyone has such a mentality!”
“Hence, I sincerely call upon everyone here to raise their hands in applause; for yourselves, for the team, and for tomorrow!”
After he finished speaking, Su Mo took the lead and began to clap. The refugees around him were all excited, and the thunderous sound of applause echoed.
Ten seconds later, as Su Mo gestured with his hands once more, the applause stopped, and Pei Shao, the farming supervisor, walked up.
“Today is… the 26th day of the doomsday calendar, and it is also the second day of planting and clearing out the plains. There are still three days before the disaster!”
“Families, compatriots, and all the people here in the Candlelight Shelter, I want to report a gratifying piece of data to everyone, and Leader Su…”
“On the first day of working the fields, the Candlelight Shelter excavated three acres of land.”
“But today, we greatly surpassed yesterday’s record!”
“Our record today is…”
“Seventy-three acres!”
After he revealed the shocking figure, cheers started to echo in his surroundings and, as he looked at the data report in his hands, Pei Shao’s eyes began to water, as tears began to fall.
“Seventy-three acres… If we can plant the fields with crops and spring wheat, we can achieve a harvest of 50000 catties of grain!”
“According to our average rate of consumption, 50000 catties of food is sufficient for all of us to eat for more than a year.”
“As long as we can achieve this harvest, we won’t have to worry about grain for next year!”
After choking out the numbers on the paper and reporting today’s record, with the help of Wu Feiguang on the side, Pei Shao retreated.
The disaster would last three days.
Normal-quality spring wheat could only be planted and harvested once during this period.
If the efficiency of field clearing remained the same, about two hundred acres of land could be cleared for planting. Even including Su Mo’s share, the food left for these refugees would be sufficient to survive over a year.
As the largest shareholder here, the amount of food he would accumulate as an individual was simply unimaginable!
However, one of the biggest problems at the moment that Pei Shao, the half-baked farming supervisors, had missed was…
Seeds!
How could one plant 200 acres of land without seeds!
The planting volume of spring wheat was generally between 7-10 kg. Based on the fertility of the land in the plains, the planting volume must reach 10 kg in order to achieve the harvest’s maximum potential.
Calculated based on 20 catties per acre, 4000 catties of seeds were needed for a single planting cycle of 200 acres.
Accumulating such a large amount of seeds was a tall order; even for someone like Su Mo who had massacred two thousand kobolds.
‘I will have to think of something when it comes to the seeds. We can’t just waste the opportunity given by this welfare disaster!”
Despite the concerns weighing on his heart, Su Mo continued with the next encouragement session, as he hastily took out the ten shovels he had prepared earlier in the morning and distributed them one by one according to the list submitted by Chen Shen.
Of course, using items to buy the hearts of the people was an extremely effective method. The gazes of the ten refugees who received their shovels had completely changed at this time. If anyone dared to say something bad about Su Mo, they would be the first to rush over and teach those people a lesson!
After nodding and giving out a few orders, Su Mo watched everyone disperse. After everyone returned to the Candlelight Shelter, Su Mo headed over to King Kong.
Amidst the dark night, between heaven and earth, a black and white shadow swiftly appeared and leaped into the cockpit.
It was Oreo, who had been hiding unnoticed all day, fulfilling her guard duty faithfully!
“You must be hungry. Good girl, I will make some good food for you when we get home!”
Except for that time at noon, when Oreo showed up by herself and cleverly took away a piece of pancake, she had maintained a patrol route around the fields, keeping an eye out for potential signs of danger.
Dogs were always humankind’s best partners.
This saying rang even truer when it came to the doomsday wasteland!
Looking at Oreo’s honest smile, Su Mo’s distressed mood improved significantly.
Su Mo opened the door, pushed the handle, and King Kong slowly retraced its route back to the Underground Shelter.
When he hit the excavator’s speed limit, a yellow light lit up and the vehicle’s speed immediately tripled thanks to its special ability!
Difficult the first time, easier the second.
Driving the hardy King Kong, Su Mo ignored the smaller obstacles along the way, forcefully running them over and crushing them.
King Kong’s tracked wheels gave it excellent off-road capabilities that far exceeded that of a small car. He sped home and, by the time he returned to the Underground Shelter, he was stunned to find that the return trip had taken ten minutes less than the morning’s journey.
“I hope that the ruins that Zhong Qingshu mentioned will appear tomorrow, otherwise… there might not be enough time!”
After parking King Kong, he glanced at the wasteland’s night sky that was illuminated by the moon and sparsely scattered stars. With heavy steps, Su Mo slowly entered the Underground Shelter.
The lights came on, and the garage gate was closed behind him.
Different from the fire torches in the Candlelight Shelter, night in the Underground Shelter was no different from daytime.
Brightness flooded in every corner.
Su Mo changed out of his armor and combat uniform and left them in the garage to dry. After opening the stone door, Su Mo went straight to the crop culture room.
As expected, in the culture medium, the three Chinese cabbages in the middle had matured!
