Chapter 34

Qin Yun opened [Low-Key Granary].

[Low-Key Granary]: Fully automated grain storage facility with a maximum capacity of 500 million tons.

The [Low-Key Granary] was a reward for reaching 1000W Starlight Points. Ever since Longfeng 001 was issued, the farm had begun cultivating wheat strains. Now that the farm had expanded to 20,000 mu, every time the wheat ripened, selected strains would be sent to Su, Zhe, and An provinces. The remaining wheat was processed into flour and transported to the granary in Gan Province. As a result, even though the [Low-Key Granary] was in use, it remained mostly empty—like an underground world devoid of contents.

“We need one hundred million tons of grain?” Liu Wensheng looked at the mission requirements.

The granary’s total storage capacity was 500 million tons, so 20% would be 100 million. Even if they turned the entire farm into sweet potato fields, it would still take five years to fill.

After doing the math, the office fell silent.

Since discovering the Farm System, Longxia had always focused on national policy first, with system research as a supplement. Longxia never intended to rely on the system. But now, with acid rain raging, both the System Task and the acid rain were like twin mountains looming ahead, and they had no clear solution.

In the silence, Qin Yun suddenly remarked, “It’s not necessarily impossible…”

“Hm?” Liu Wensheng looked up.

Qin Yun pointed to the mission description: “Reach 20% usage area of the granary.”

Grain capacity was calculated by volume, but “volume” and “area” had a subtle but significant difference in meaning.

Liu Wensheng: !!!

He had been so swamped over the past few days that he hadn’t noticed this detail at all.

Liu Wensheng immediately contacted the Longxia team.

Over the next two days, Qin Yun and the team stayed in the granary. Through repeated tests, they discovered that evenly spreading grain across a certain height could increase mission progress. According to the trials, the task would require 1.8 million tons of sweet potatoes.

“It’ll take a month.”

Liu Wensheng calculated the time. Wheat breeding required land, sweet potato planting required land—at this rate, even 20,000 mu wouldn’t be enough.

…

“Longxia Daily: The Ministry of Agriculture issued an early warning on the first of the month for urgent fruit and vegetable harvests in Longnan.”

“Longxia News: Cold storage demand has surged in Longnan, Yun, and Yu provinces. Governments must stabilize cold storage pricing.”

“Longxia Water Authority: Cities across Longnan must ensure efficient urban drainage systems…”

…

From March 1st to 3rd, Longxia issued seven agricultural policies in a row, and disaster preparedness began across Longnan.

…

“This is a bit exaggerated…”

On the afternoon of March 7th, while Longnan was undergoing sweeping preparations, Wang Shuoyang read the latest news.

Wang Shuoyang, twenty-seven, was from Zhaojiacun in Yu Province. His family ran a 10,000-mu lychee orchard, with harvesting scheduled for the end of next month. The family had been focusing entirely on the orchard, and now, at such a critical time, the Ministry of Agriculture had issued multiple policies—each tied to harvesting and emergency crop collection.

After reading the news, Wang Shuoyang asked, “Should we harvest?”

Their business was a family operation, and all his uncles were currently seated in the office. Not just them—other lychee orchards were also unsettled by the agricultural announcements.

Just after he spoke, his eldest uncle said, “I contacted Xianxian Lychee Orchard. They’re planning to wait a few days and see.”

Zhaojiacun was a nationally renowned lychee production base, home to over five hundred orchards of various sizes. Xianxian Lychee Orchard was just south of their own Dafeng Lychee Orchard, and the two families frequently crossed paths.

“Liman Duo isn’t planning to harvest either.”

“The lychees aren’t even in season yet. If we pick now, the taste will be poor—and cold storage would just add more cost…”

…

After his uncle finished, everyone started chiming in.

The acid rain that had started in Mali had now spread to Sola. Online, the rain was being called the Harma Storm. Though the storm looked fierce, Longxia was thousands of miles away, with the Alashan Mountains standing in between. Most people didn’t believe Longxia would be affected.

“I saw the news—Natal and Luoshan are doing just fine. We’re just overreacting,” said his second aunt.

Natal and Luoshan were two countries on the Shuilan Star. Strictly speaking, apart from Longxia and countries bordering Mali, everyone else was closing borders and observing.

“What do you think, Third Brother?” After some discussion, everyone turned to Wang Qinghai.

Wang Qinghai was Wang Shuoyang’s father. The three brothers had originally gone into the lychee business together, with Wang Qinghai being the first to plant and expand the orchard.

Wang Qinghai lit a cigarette and after a while said, “Harvest.”

“Half?”

“All of it.”

Wang Qinghai wasn’t familiar with national policy, but guided by a businessman’s instincts, he decided to follow the Ministry of Agriculture’s advice.

“Really? You know we’ll lose at least two hundred thousand…”

…

Some were reluctant, but they respected his decision.

Over the next two days, Dafeng Lychee Orchard began hiring workers for the harvest.

“This is just heartbreaking.”

Wang’s mother looked at the green lychees and wept. Running an orchard, they occasionally had to harvest early, but only when the fruit was nearly ripe. This time, there was still a month and a half to go. She felt like her heart was bleeding.

“It’s okay.” Wang Shuoyang put his arm around her.

It was March 10th. According to the Zhaojiacun local government, seventy-six orchards had started harvesting early. The rest either harvested half or decided to wait and see after the rain. The orchards in Zhaojiacun were in chaos.

…

Longxia had fifty-two provinces, eleven of which were in Longnan. This round of emergency harvesting focused on those eleven provinces.

“These cucumbers look great. Do we really have to pick them?”

“The tomatoes will be ripe in twenty days…”

…

While Dafeng Lychee Orchard was harvesting, other farms were in similar situations. Aside from greenhouse-grown crops, tomatoes, cucumbers, bananas, pineapples, and other produce were also slated for early harvesting—causing losses in the tens of billions for Longxia.

“Fruit prices are going to skyrocket in the second half of the year.”

“Not just price hikes—they’re also forcing early ripening.”

“We’re the only ones freaking out…”

…

As the emergency harvest policies rolled out, dissenting voices emerged in Longxia.

Land was consolidated in January, grain stockpiling started in February, and emergency harvesting began in March…

Ha’erma’s rainfall was still circling over Mali, and recent days had shown a decreasing trend. After the initial wave of panic passed, people started to feel that the domestic response was too extreme. In contrast, other countries appeared much calmer.

…

“Xiao Zheng, you opening today?”

“Yeah.”

…

At 6 a.m. on March 25th, Zheng Yunjie placed two pots of marigolds and azaleas at the front door.

His flower shop was located in Kunshan City, Yun Province—famous nationwide for its flower industry. As spring returned, life bloomed. He had only just opened when two customers walked in to buy flowers.

Zheng Yunjie watered the flowers while marveling at the good weather this past week.

Just as he finished, the flower shop owner next door came over for a chat. “Not opening a branch anymore?”

“No.”

“Sigh, this whole Ha’erma thing has got everyone on edge…” The flower shop owner dragged over a stool and sat at the entrance.

According to Longxia’s meteorological station, Longnan might be hit by Ha’erma rainfall from the 23rd to the 27th. The Longxia Weather Bureau advised residents to prepare accordingly.

Longnan is near the ocean, so people believed rain was possible—but Ha’erma rain? Impossible.

Though skeptical, no one stopped preparing.

Grain, oil, rice, flour, dried noodles, instant noodles, MSG, ham—people rushed to stock up on everything in the supermarket. According to local Kunshan news, logistics points like Longshun and Longfeng were now overloaded with supplies—this was the result of everyone’s hoarding over the past half month.

“We’ve stocked up three more bags of rice,” the flower shop owner sighed.

He was forty-five, living with his parents, wife, and child. Now the fridge was full of vegetables and frozen meat, the balcony had rice, flour, and oil, and even the closet was packed with boxes of biscuits.

Home wasn’t even home anymore—it was half a supermarket.

“I’ve stocked up too,” Zheng Yunjie added.

While they chatted, two customers walked up. “Hey boss, are you selling flowers?”

“Selling!”

The flower shop owner quickly went over. Even flower business had taken a hit under the Ha’erma scare.

After he left, Zheng Yunjie sat alone in his shop, scrolling through his phone. Maybe it was the lucky morning rush, but not a single new customer came in all the way till afternoon.

At 1:30, he ordered a bowl of beef noodle soup.

With rising prices of grain and flour, beef noodles had jumped from twelve to fifteen yuan. He figured if it went up a few more times, he wouldn’t be able to afford it anymore…

The Kunshan flower market was located on the southern outskirts of Kunshan City, covering over 20,000 mu with 783 flower shops.

Some had storefronts, some were open-air.

By 5 p.m., the market still saw few customers. He set down his phone and went to bring the fresh flowers back inside.

He was carrying a pot of hibiscus back when he noticed fine droplets collecting on the petals.

Zheng Yunjie looked up. More and more droplets were falling.

“It’s raining!”

“Hurry up and get the flowers in!”

Panic erupted around him. He rushed to carry the pots back into the shop. By the time he was done, the raindrops had become streaming lines of water.

“That was fast,” Zheng Yunjie muttered, then opened the cash drawer and pulled out a raincoat. Following Longxia’s weather warnings, he’d prepared full rain gear at both home and shop.

Wearing the raincoat, Zheng Yunjie walked to the market entrance.

The entrance was now jammed with vendors and customers waiting for rides. Each taxi had three or four people vying for it. Realizing he wouldn’t get a cab, he fetched his mountain bike from the shop and pedaled home through the rain.

By the time he reached his neighborhood, the drizzle had become a torrential downpour.

Just as he approached the entrance, he saw a seven-year-old boy squatting next to a greenbelt, playing in the mud in a yellow duck raincoat.

“Lele, why aren’t you home?” Zheng Yunjie shouted.

The boy was a neighborhood resident—he often ran into him in the building.

“I’m watching a black ant,” the boy replied, turning around.

“What black ant?”

Zheng Yunjie ran over through the rain.

“This one…”

The boy picked up a yogurt cup filled with murky, dark water. Inside, a single ant struggled to survive, next to a newly dropped rescue leaf.

“Let it go, that’s dirty,” Zheng Yunjie frowned.

“I found it, and it was already in the cup…”

The boy released the ant and shook the cup. “Uncle Yunjie, I wanted to show you the black water.”

He used the cup to catch more rainwater. In no time, it was dark and murky.

Zheng Yunjie froze.

It was a standard Longxia yogurt cup—white inside and out. It shouldn’t look like that…

He took the cup and poured the rainwater out.

The inside was clean and white again.

He refilled it.

The rain wasn’t pitch-black, but it was full of suspended particles. The water was so murky it looked like diluted black ink.

Zheng Yunjie looked up.

The rain was getting heavier. He licked the back of his hand lightly.

Sour, with a sharp metallic tang.