Chapter 74: Harvest before Winter
Chapter 74 Harvest before Winter
”3 tons of guano… Based on the average usage of 30 jin per mu, the actual cultivated land area must be more than 100 mu, much larger than expected.”
On the way back, Chu Guang pondered and wrote in a small notebook.
”It seems that my speculation is correct. They should have applied some soilless cultivation technology, and this part of the production capacity accounts for 15%~30% of the total production capacity… or even more.”
Brown Farm will make some manure by itself and buy some from other merchants. The actual cultivated land area may be larger than I imagined.
Before crossing, Chu Guang heard about a pipeline soilless cultivation technology that can maximize the use of space and water resources. As long as the fertility is sufficient, one mu of land can be used as ten mu of land. In
the pre-war era of this world, it seems that there was a similar technology, and the space utilization was maximized. Regardless of energy costs, a “skyscraper” that integrated automatic sowing, cultivation, ripening, harvesting, assembly line transportation, packaging and distribution was developed, which could really achieve an output of more than 10,000 jin per mu.
It is called the CNC Planting Tower, and it is the ultimate form of industrialized planting technology. It is
very cyberpunk.
Brown Farm’s energy is definitely not that luxurious, but since they can use part of the electricity to exchange for food, I think the electricity resources should not be too scarce.
In addition, they have been planting fields for at least a century, so they will inherit some of the technology and improve it to adapt to the wasteland environment.
At this time, Chu Guang suddenly had a sudden idea.
”Could it be… some kind of energy crop?”
Brown Farm does not only grow green wheat. It is said that this thing matures very quickly. After harvesting, there is a chance to plant a round of sheep horn potatoes, beans, fruits and vegetables or other crops.
Perhaps the latter has a greater demand for fertility? At
the end of the 20th century, some people used cash crops, by-products or artificially cultivated special crops to produce ethanol and biodiesel. As this technology gradually matures, such crops are sometimes specifically classified as “energy crops” according to their uses.
If it is reasonable to guess, in the pre-war world that has mastered controlled fusion technology, similar technology may be more advanced than he imagined.
However, in an era when nuclear fusion technology has made major breakthroughs, the actual use of this energy crop should not be to produce a substitute for fossil fuels.
Instead, it is used as an industrial raw material.
”…Brown Farm itself does not have industrial capacity. The economic (energy) crops it produces are used as fuel in part, and sold to merchants from Boulder City as industrial raw materials for the factories in Boulder City.”
”Its products are suspected to be some kind of rubber, crude oil analogs or other hydrocarbons.”
”And this crop should consume a lot of fertility!”
Chu Guang wrote this line in his notebook.
The gains from this transaction are greater than he imagined.
Not only the grains and tools in the caravan, and the “order” for 3 tons of guano stone in the spring of next year, but also the information collected indirectly through the transaction.
In particular, this information was impossible to collect when he was still a scavenger.
After returning, it can be made public on the official website setting collection for players to refer to.
Just as Chu Guang was analyzing this information, the players next to him were also whispering.
”1 kilogram of guano can be exchanged for 10 kilograms of grain? Did I see it right?”
”You saw it wrong, it’s 12 kilograms.”
”I don’t understand. Is the green wheat too cheap, or are the stones we picked up from the lake too valuable?”
”Maybe both? Maybe neither… wait, how much did we buy the grain from the warehouse for?”
”It’s about 1 silver coin for 1 kilogram of green wheat. I know what you want to say. You have to mine 1 kilogram of guano and move it back to the warehouse to exchange it for 2 copper coins, right?”
”Yeah! Is that reasonable?”
”Don’t worry, although the farming system is not open now, I bet that the price of green wheat collected by NPC will definitely not exceed 1 copper per kilogram. Doesn’t it make sense when you think about it this way?”
”Pfft, it’s just bullshit! Sell it to us for 1 silver coin per kilogram!”
”Calm down, which game isn’t like this? Besides, if you really want to be serious, doesn’t the grain price in reality also fluctuate? When the time comes, sell some to players, and sell the ones that can’t be sold to NPC granaries.”
At this point, the player with the ID [Mole on the Run in the Canyon] sighed and said with a rather regretful expression.
”It would be great if the business system could be opened. 1 kg of guano can be transported to Brown Farm to exchange for grain, and then transported back to 12 kg of grain. Even if it is sold to NPCs, it will be more than 2 copper coins! 12 kg, at least 1 silver, believe it or not? This game is really scary when you think about it carefully.”
Although Chu Guang didn’t look up and ignored him, he still glanced at this guy and laughed in his heart.
It’s true.
But the pattern is still small.
If you take guano to Brown Farm to exchange for grain, and then take the wholesale grain to Boulder City to exchange for guns, do you believe that 100 kg of guano can be exchanged for five or six guns?
Don’t worry.
When the spring comes next year, your great administrator will do this business for you. The chips earned are the foreign exchange reserves of the base, and they will be divided among you.
What?
You want to settle the reward with the currency of Boulder City?
What? You want to buy a house and marry a wife in Boulder City?
In fact, Chu Guang did not intend to “exploit” his little players. Moreover, compared with the farmer of Brown Farm and the old leech on Bet Street, this is not exploitation at all.
In Chu Guang’s blueprint, by the fifth generation of currency at the latest, the currency issued by Shelter No. 404 will replace the chips issued by Boulder City and become the hardest currency in the entire Qingquan City and even the surrounding areas.
Suffering a little now is also for everyone to enjoy the benefits together in the future.
”Administrator, there seems to be someone in front.”
”?”
Still coming?
Putting the small notebook back into his pocket, Chu Guang’s right hand reflexively reached for the sledgehammer behind him, but as soon as he touched the handle of the hammer, he found that there were only two so-called people.
The sturdy man who had met him at the door before was pointing a hunting rifle at the serf he had brought out earlier.
The latter held his head with both hands, trembling and kneeling on the ground.
The group stopped.
Chu Guang looked at the sturdy man, and the sturdy man also looked at him blankly.
”Is there anything wrong?”
”No.”
Chu Guang glanced at the poor man who dared not move even when the gun was pointed at him, then looked at the sturdy man again and asked with a strange expression.
”What is this?”
The strong man didn’t want to explain, after all, it was a private matter, but seeing that this group of people was not easy to provoke, he still spoke cautiously.
”…He is the master’s slave. He is old and has arthritis in his legs. He can’t work. He broke a plate yesterday. The master asked me to take him outside to get rid of him.”
After listening to the strong man’s words, Chu Guang remembered that every winter, Brown Farm seemed to get rid of a few slaves who couldn’t do heavy work and no one bought them, and then buy new ones from slave traders next year.
As for where these slaves came from?
God knows.
Some were auctioned by creditors because of debt, some were captured by looters and lost their freedom, and some were simply cloned products, or some forgotten shelter facilities were suddenly unsealed.
Chu Guang even heard that some scavengers sold themselves or their relatives because they couldn’t survive.
In this wasteland, a slave who is about to reach the end of his life is not even worth a two-headed cow that can carry goods.
At least the latter has more meat.
”Please, please let me live.”
The strong man looked at the man kneeling on the ground impatiently.
”Even if I let you go, where can you go? Let’s give you a quick death and don’t embarrass me.”
”Please, please…”
The serf could not say anything else.
”Wait a minute.”
Chu Guang walked forward and looked at the old man kneeling on the ground.
”How old are you?”
”51…”
It’s really a bit old.
For a slave, it’s already a high age.
But from another perspective, it also means experience.
Chu Guang continued to ask.
”What can you do?”
As if seeing the hope of life, the old man turned around tremblingly and stretched out his hand to hold the life-saving straw.
The strong man saw it, kicked him away quickly, and scolded.
”Don’t touch the master’s guests with your dirty hands, do you want to be hanged?”
His eyesight could see that this group of people had business dealings with the master.
Although he was kicked, the old serf didn’t care at all. He got up without even looking at the strong man, raised his wrinkled face and looked at Chu Guang.
”I, I can farm, count, do carpentry, move things… I can do any job.” “Please, sir, give me a way to live.”
”You can count,” the strong man sneered, “you count those potatoes and you call it counting? Sir, don’t listen to his nonsense, he can’t work at his age. Two teams of slave traders came this month, and none of them were interested in him.”
Chu Guang took out a white chip from his pocket and flicked it into the strong man’s hand with his thumb.
”Is that enough?”
The strong man’s expression was happy and he nodded quickly.
”Enough, enough. ”
No matter how small a mosquito is, it is still meat. Besides, this slave is not his.”
After collecting the chips, the strong man raised his hunting rifle and fired a shot into the sky. Then he picked up the shells on the ground, bowed to Chu Guang, and happily carried the gun back to report.
The serf huddled on the ground and trembled. It was obvious that he was frightened by the previous shot. He looked like he had lost his soul.
Chu Guang ordered a player to come forward and pull him up, bring him in front of him, and look at him in a commanding tone and ordered.
”I bought your life, now you work for me.”
Finally came back to his senses.
The serf wanted to kneel down immediately, but was stopped by Chu Guang who raised his hand.
”We don’t have the custom of kneeling here. Put your right fist on your left chest to show your loyalty. If I find out that you have betrayed or been unfaithful, don’t let me do it. Dig it out and feed it to the dogs yourself. ”
Chu Guang was just bluffing. If there really was a traitor, he could just be thrown into the active substance extractor and refined. There was no need to go through so much trouble.
Although Chu Guang himself was a civilized man,
after living and observing here for a while, he knew very well that some problems could not be solved with civilized thinking.
The indigenous people and the players are two different species at their root.
The indigenous people must be managed in the way the indigenous people do.
This is good for both sides.
”Yes, sir,” the old man lowered his head respectfully, his expression much more at ease, and he put his right fist against his chest sensibly, “I offer my loyalty to you… My name is Luca, no, I don’t have a name, please give me a name.”
”Just call me Luca.”
Chu Guang was too lazy to waste time and waved to the players.
”Let’s continue.”
”We have to go back before noon.”
…
This business trip can be said to be very rewarding.
300 kg of guano was exchanged for 3,600 kg of green wheat and yams, and 100 kg of bacon was exchanged for 500 kg of green wheat and 5 tools.
Although Chu Guang wanted to argue that venison and hyena meat were different and the former was rarer than the latter, after all, deer migration was not always possible, but the other party said that in that case, just take hyena meat. Anyway, as long as it was not human flesh, rat meat, fish, etc., it was the same to them, so Chu Guang had to give up.
However, in contrast, Liu Zhengyue still made a small concession for the sake of the relationship between the two parties and allowed him to choose 5 tools or 1 jin of tobacco leaves to take away as a gift.
Chu Guang, of course, chose tools, and he chose large ones such as pipe pliers and fire axes. Even if he can’t use them at that time, he can use them to make steel and copper when he takes them back.
In addition, 25 kg A pound of smoked fish was exchanged for nearly 150 kilograms of scrap metal.
Unlike the aluminum and steel alloys that can be seen on the streets, these metals are all good goods containing copper and zinc.
Liu Zhengyue didn’t want to sell it at first, but he probably thought that the merchants would not come for a few months anyway, and there was no point in keeping it on the farm, so after asking the owner, he nodded in agreement.
The midday sun shone overhead, and the shadows of the trees swayed on the road.
Except for a power player who was pulling the cart, the rest of the players were scattered around the caravan.
Occasionally, when they saw the mutant cockroaches approaching, they would rush up and beat them with sticks, even more excited than the aliens.
If the aliens could think, they would probably be stupid now.
Who is the prey?
The only thing Chu Guang needs to do is to stop their hoarding habit and want to put any strange things in their pockets.
Although some indigestible gadgets can occasionally be found in the stomach of the mutant cockroach, and if you are lucky, you can even find chips or bullets, but the probability is really too small.
In most cases, cockroach eggs are found.
Old Luca was trembling as he watched from the side, probably because he was frightened by the actions of these people.
He had never seen such strange people before, and he could not understand what they were thinking at all.
However, Luca knew very well that as a servant, he did not need to think about this problem. The less he knew, the longer he lived. So he did not say a word along the way, and his presence was so low that it seemed as if he did not exist. I was in
a good mood and wanted to sing.
Leading the caravan back to the outpost, Chu Guang, who had just arrived at the door, happened to see the two brothers of the Yu family carrying prey and anxiously gesturing with the players at the south gate.
Chu Guang’s eyes lit up and he called out from a distance.
Hearing the familiar voice, the two brothers of the Yu family immediately turned around and waved with joy in their eyes.
”Brother Chu!”
(End of this chapter)
