Chapter 39

“Desperate hope, sowing hope… what does that mean?” Liu Wensheng asked after reading it.

“Not sure,” Qin Yun shook his head.

Since there was no system notification, he had only just noticed the change in the Hope Tree’s attributes.

The group studied it for a while, and Liu Wensheng sent the monitoring data to the research department.

A day later, data analysis from the research department concluded: [Desperate Hope] likely represented the power of hope residents held in adversity, comparable to the moisture needed for a tree’s growth.

“That’s pretty mystical,” Liu Wensheng said with some surprise.

He had always trusted scientific data. Even after binding with the system, he approached it from a scientific standpoint. Now, the idea of “hope in despair as nutrients” was a bit too metaphysical for him.

After some discussion, the two speculated that [Desperate Hope] might be an energy substance from another dimension.

Just as oxygen was a foundational element on Shuilan Star, in the dimension where the [Sprouting Hope Tree] existed, [Desperate Hope] was also a kind of material.

“Whatever kind of hope it is, it’s still hope. We should keep nurturing the tree,” Liu Wensheng joked after the analysis.

“True.”

Qin Yun smiled.

In the next two days, Longxia shifted its focus to spreading belief and preparing for flood disasters.

With the previous disaster in Yunyu as a cautionary tale, residents in the Central-Southern region were highly cooperative with the flood preparations.

Amid this flurry of preparation, on April 10, the system updated.

Host Name: Qin Yun

Current Mission: [A Useful Granary]

Mission Reward: [Mad Sweet Potato Factory]

System Points: 150 million

…

After nearly two months of accumulation, the system now had 150 million points. The two glanced at the figure and turned their focus to the mission reward.

[Mad Sweet Potato Factory]—this sweet potato factory… seems a little different.

The [Sweet Potato Factory] was a card about the size of a palm. Its edges were a luxurious gold, and the center featured a drawing of a giant sweet potato.

Qin Yun opened the Farm Sandbox.

The [Sweet Potato Factory] could be dragged around like a small icon. Qin Yun dragged it next to the [Flour Mill], which had been part of Longxia’s prior planning.

The earth trembled. Three seconds later, a two-hundred-acre sweet potato facility appeared beside the [Flour Mill].

Qin Yun and Liu Wensheng walked in.

Inside the sweet potato factory was a massive production workshop. At the moment, a hundred sweet potato AIs were moving around the factory. These AIs were shaped like sweet potatoes, about fifty centimeters tall, and looked highly intelligent and futuristic.

Looking at the sweet potato AIs, Qin Yun was reminded of an animated film from a few years ago: The Pineapple Family.

The Pineapple Family was about a human baby falling into a sci-fi factory and going on adventures with pineapple robots. These sweet potatoes weren’t pineapples, but the vibe was similar.

Qin Yun and Liu Wensheng explored deeper into the factory.

Sweet potatoes were one of Longxia’s staple food crops. With their high yield, they could be made into sweet potato noodles, vermicelli, dried slices, and more. They were among the most beloved staples of Longxia’s people.

Along the way, they saw various machines processing sweet potato noodles, vermicelli, chips, and dried slices. Sweet potato AIs moved about on these machines—it truly looked like a kingdom of sweet potatoes.

Following the instructions, Qin Yun placed one hundred jin of sweet potatoes onto the operation platform.

The machines roared, and the sweet potatoes were processed into ninety jin of sweet potato starch.

The whole process took only ten minutes. Beyond that, the starch could be further turned into noodles or dried slices.

Beneath the precision equipment was a large filtration system connected to the farm’s lake. After examining it, Qin Yun placed the ninety jin of starch into the noodle-making station. With the addition of water, the ninety jin of starch turned into 180 jin of sweet potato noodles…

Liu Wensheng: !!!

Sweet potato noodles were highly filling—this was truly a practical piece of equipment!

Their tests showed the sweet potato factory could produce 200,000 tons of starch and 400,000 tons of sweet potato noodles per day.

Looking at the data, Liu Wensheng felt a little dazed. “It really is mad…”

Four hundred thousand tons might not sound like much, but it equaled the monthly output of a mid-sized factory.

Currently, the granary had a reserve of 1.8 million jin of sweet potatoes.

Liu Wensheng made a decisive call: process all 1.8 million jin into noodles and distribute them in the disaster zones.

…

“Longxia Weather Report: Between April 13 and 17, Harma Storm will make landfall in central provinces such as Chuan, Yu, and Gan. Residents should prepare for acid rain.”

“Longxia Ministry of Agriculture: Central-Southern regions advised to harvest economic crops in advance and avoid going out during the acid rain.”

“Central-Southern residents should stock up in advance to avoid food shortages during rainfall.”

…

As the sweet potato factory ramped up operations, Longxia released a series of announcements.

“I saw rice still on the shelves two days ago—already gone?”

“Can the cabbage be cheaper? I’m buying fifty jin…”

“Do you have any instant noodles?”

…

On April 12, a new wave of panic buying swept through the Central-Southern regions.

This time it wasn’t just hoarding—some residents with financial means bought plane tickets to the North and began a mass exodus. Those with tighter budgets took trains or buses. Overnight, the region’s transportation was as crowded as the Spring Festival travel rush.

…

“Old Yu, it’s nearly five o’clock. If you can’t finish, just let it go.”

Meanwhile, in Hunan Province’s Yunniang Lake Scenic Area, a slightly chubby man looked up and shouted. Yunniang Lake was a well-known spot in Qingyun City, famous for the Yunniang Statue.

The Yunniang Statue was a 200-meter-tall sculpture of a general.

At that moment, a middle-aged man in his fifties was laboriously covering the statue’s head with a giant plastic tarp.

“Old Yu?” Seeing that the man didn’t hear, the chubby man waved harder.

“Huh?” The middle-aged man finally noticed.

“I said it’s about to rain—just stop!”

“I know, I’m almost done.”

The man kept at it for a while longer. Once the statue’s head was fully covered, he descended through an exit behind the mountain.

“Let’s hurry back. They’re saying the rain hits at midnight.”

Once he was down, the chubby man urged him on.

“I know.”

The middle-aged man was named Yu Shenghui, a cultural relics conservator at Yunniang Lake. Though the statue had a 700-year history, it had been restored many times throughout the ages. Yu had worked at the site for thirty years and deeply loved his job.

In haste, the two entered a rest cabin on the lake’s southern side. It was elevated and far from the mountain, so it would be relatively safe even in a flood.

The chubby man poured some hot tea and said, “Old Wang and Old Lin already went back. We’ve got three sacks of rice and three boxes of instant noodles. Should last half a month.”

Since the disaster warning was issued for Longxia’s central-southern region, Yunniang Lake had already entered a state of closure.

The scenic area required all staff to return home, but Yu Shenghui and the slightly chubby man lived far away and didn’t want to join the crowded shelters. So, as long as it was within a safe range, they chose to stay at the scenic area.

After chatting for a while, the chubby man said, “That bastard Lao Lin ran off too fast. He’s already in Longbei now. I heard his kid paid for him and is planning to buy him a house…”

“Buying a house?”

“He’s looking at property in Qingshan.”

Qingshan is a well-known resource-based city in Longbei. It had a brief period of prosperity thirty years ago, but with resource depletion, more and more people left Qingshan. Last spring, the city went viral because of a post titled: “Retreat City – 30,000 to buy a home in Qingshan.”

Located in the northernmost part of Longxia, Qingshan’s housing prices range from 1,000 to 2,000 yuan per square meter, and some suburban areas had dropped to three or four hundred. The buildings in Qingshan looked decent, comparable to those in ordinary cities.

After the “Retreat City” post blew up, many young people went to buy property there. However, due to limited job opportunities and the cold climate, many ended up coming back after purchasing homes.

“Buying a house in Qingshan?” Yu Shenghui was quite surprised.

“With the acid rain coming wave after wave, no one knows how long it’ll last. Qingshan is relatively safer.”

After hearing this, Yu Shenghui opened a real estate app for Qingshan.

“Urgent sale: fixed price, 200,000.”

“Qingshan – a city unaffected by acid rain, a haven for survival.”

“100 sqm in Qinghe District, 500,000.”

…

After browsing for a while, he saw that houses in Qingshan now all cost over 100,000 yuan, with the average price at 5,200 yuan per square meter.

“In just half a month, housing prices have increased tenfold,” the chubby man said with some emotion.

The acid rain had disrupted the entire country’s rhythm. According to foreign media reports, its effects were irreversible. Vegetation damaged by acid rain would take at least ten years to recover.

They could still buy vegetables and food now, but in half a year, or a year from now… who could say?

It wasn’t just Qingshan anymore. Other parts of Longbei were also seeing skyrocketing real estate prices—rising like a rocket.

“Is it really that serious…” Yu Shenghui still couldn’t quite imagine a nationwide migration.

“This is just being prepared in advance.”

After chatting a bit more, the chubby man slapped his thigh and said, “Bought it!”

“What did you buy?”

“Lao Lin, 190,000 for a 60 sqm apartment in the suburbs…”

…

The chubby man handed over a photo. According to Lao Lin, many people were rushing to Qingshan to rent or buy homes. He managed to get this one through a lucky break with an agent.

Things were developing too quickly. Neither Yu Shenghui nor the chubby man felt like chatting anymore. Both looked out the window with concern.

Amid this tense atmosphere, a light rain began to fall outside with a pattering sound.

The rain grew heavier. Yu Shenghui looked through the window and saw the plastic tarp over the Yunniang statue fluttering in the wind.

The downpour lasted five days. From the second night onward, they had to keep the door blocked and didn’t even dare to approach the windows.

The rain pounded outside. They deeply empathized with how the residents of Yunyü must have felt during their flood.

In this frightening atmosphere, the heavy rain finally stopped on the fifth day. The two stepped outside. The main gate of the scenic area, the parking post, sightseeing boats, billboards… everything looked devastated as if swept clean by the wind—beyond recognition.

Yu Shenghui put on his raincoat and boots and immediately went to check the Yunniang statue. The plastic covering was nowhere to be seen. The statue looked weathered but its accessories and the red-tasseled spear were still intact.

Seeing the statue unharmed, Yu Shenghui felt a sudden wave of relief.

But that relief was quickly replaced by concern… Although the statue appeared undamaged, acid rain has a strong corrosive effect on cultural relics. Numerous relics in Yunyü had already been damaged. This acid rain wasn’t just a disaster for agriculture—it was a catastrophe for Longxia’s history.

Although this storm wasn’t as severe as the one in Yunyü, the highest recorded rainfall reached 460mm. According to the national meteorological news, a second wave of acid rain could hit the central-southern region on the 20th.

After the rain stopped, residents no longer cared about traffic issues. Everyone was trying to flee north by any means possible.

By April 16th, 70% of supermarkets in the central-southern region were emptied. Even though Longxia had done significant stockpiling, difficult transportation led to food and water shortages in 30% of the area.

While residents were gripped by panic, the news from Longxia News Broadcast reported—

“Fengshan Farm donates 300 million in disaster relief funds to the central-southern disaster zone.”

“Longyun Shoe Factory donates 50 million units of drinking water to the region.”

“Tiantian Garment Factory donates 20 million worth of flour…”

…

It was a disaster relief donation list, filled with Longxia-based companies. Donations ranged from one million to 300 million.

Right after Longxia News Broadcast finished reading the donation list, on April 17th, Longxia troops were dispatched to the disaster zone.

Thanks to advance preparations, there were no deaths due to flooding this time—only some minor injuries during the flood defense process. Longxia deployed 30,000 disaster relief soldiers. With prior experience from Yunyü, the entire operation was efficient and effective.

Currently, what the disaster zone lacked most was not manpower but supplies.

Although the region had prepared, much of the stock was damaged by acid rain. Moreover, gauze and povidone-iodine were commonly scarce medical supplies across all areas.

Amid the rush of relief work, on April 20th, the first batch of relief supplies arrived in the central-southern region.

Relief item: Fengshan Sweet Potato Noodles.

Donating unit: Baisheng Agri-Market.

When survivors checked the donation records from three days earlier and matched the donating unit, they immediately recalled the viral scene of Fengshan Flour online.

They had been so focused on following disaster updates that they hadn’t paid attention to the donor names. Now it became clear: Baisheng Agri-Market donated 1 million tons of noodles, while the farm donated 300 million?

Netizens’ first reaction: with the farm’s sales volume… did it even sell that much to make 300 million?

…

“Leader Wang, these are the relief supplies for the community.”

“Sweet potato noodles?”

“Yes…”

…

While many netizens were still in a daze, in Changping City, Hubei Province, outside a residential building, a young man in a raincoat was carefully recording the donated relief goods.

His name was Wang Yu, leader of the disaster response team in Wang’an District, Changping. His main responsibility was tracking the distribution of supplies in the disaster zone.

Wang’an District, due to its low-lying geography, had its first floors completely flooded. The community’s 3,000 households had lost both water and power. This was one of the hardest-hit areas in central-southern Longxia.

After recording the quantity, Wang Yu opened one of the boxes.

Inside were sealed packages of sweet potato vermicelli, each weighing 2 kilograms. The packaging bore the large characters “Fengshan Sweet Potato.” Production dates, shelf life, and other details were listed on the back of the sealed packaging.

Based on the production date, these appeared to have been manufactured within the past week.

Wang Yu looked at the packaging in mild surprise. Most companies donated flour or ham. This was his first time seeing sweet potato vermicelli donated.

And the name Fengshan… sounded a bit familiar.

“Leader Wang, should we store the noodles at the property management office or at the community gate?” someone called out amid his puzzlement.

“Store them at the property office!”

This shipment included 1,000 boxes, each containing 50 packages. According to higher-level instructions, each household could send someone to collect one pack. They could then make something like cabbage stewed with noodles or noodle soup to stave off hunger.

Once Wang Yu gave the order, staff began unloading the boxes at the property office. The area had previously been completely flooded. With help from both property staff and community workers, the water had been cleared, though the ground inside was still slippery and muddy.

Workers stacked the boxes beside the property office. Besides vermicelli, there were also instant noodles, bottled water, and other supplies. These had all been prepared by Hubei and neighboring provinces and were enough to sustain the residents for five days.

By the time Wang Yu finished all the tasks, it was already 1:00 PM. After a discussion with the property office, he sent out a message in the community group: “April 18 relief supplies have arrived. Each household, please send a representative to collect your share. Note: One share per household. If your household has sufficient supplies, consider leaving it for those in greater need.”

Given the tight circumstances, everything had to be handled urgently.