Chapter 28: Drought-Resistant Crops

Chapter 28: Drought-Resistant Crops As she sat on the donkey cart, Yao Zhi listened to the villagers’ conversation.

She looked at the scenery outside and felt that if she didn’t have her system, she might not be able to survive in this era. Just looking at the cracked road, she was sure that if there was still no rain, they would soon face famine.

Almost two hours later, the donkey cart finally reached the military living compound. When the villagers saw her come down from the cart, one of them asked, "This young lady, are you here to visit your relatives?"

Stopping in her tracks, Yao Zhi turned to the villager and shook her head. "I live here with my husband."

When she finished her words, she left under the villagers’ gaze.

"Since when has our village had someone like her?" a woman asked.

The villagers shook their heads, and one of them said, "If we have someone like her, it’s impossible no one knows."

"I heard that a batch of new soldiers just transferred to the border. Maybe her husband was one of them," a middle-aged woman said.

Since they didn’t know her name or her appearance, they stopped discussing her and returned to their homes.

When Yao Zhi arrived at her home, she went to boil some water and took a bath. After changing her clothes, she took out the steamed buns she had made in the morning and had them before she went to sleep.

She had walked for a long time today, and as soon as she touched the pillow, she fell asleep.

At midnight, the troops sent from the border finally arrived at the border fortress after one day and one night of marching. When the soldiers arrived, they only had several hours to rest before they faced the barbarian soldiers.

At this moment, Fu Chen’an was resting with his subordinate. Since the military supplies were controlled by the court, they had to ration their food carefully. Despite their hunger, every soldier only received two black buns and a waterskin.

This kind of steamed bun was made of black coarse grains. Not only was it hard to swallow, it also tasted awful. The only redeeming point was that it was cheap and filling.

While he ate the black buns, Fu Chen’an couldn’t help but recall the taste of food cooked by his wife. As he thought about his wife, he touched the gourd tied to his waist.

There was only half a gourd of water inside, so he couldn’t bear to drink it. When he finished his black buns, Fu Chen’an drank the water stored in the waterskin before he felt half full. Still feeling tired, he finally opened the gourd and took a sip.

This time, he felt the effect of the medicinal water clearly. The soreness of his muscles and his fatigue were lessened by more than half. After he discovered the magical effect of this water, Fu Chen’an’s eyes flashed for a moment.

Afraid that someone would steal his water, he hugged the gourd as he took a nap. Before he fell asleep, he wondered how much money his wife had spent to buy this medicinal water.

Early in the morning, Yao Zhi woke up at dawn. After she lost weight, her sleep quality improved. After a moment, she regained her senses and took out a plastic basin, her toothbrush, toothpaste, and facial soap.

Using the river water from her farmland, she washed up and felt more awake. After she stored everything in her shop warehouse, she opened the system to check on the auction.

The wolf meat jerky was sold for eight hundred fifty points per kilogram, the inksticks were sold for two hundred points each, the inkstones were sold for ten thousand points each, and the sets of brushes were sold for eight thousand seven hundred points each.

In one trip to the border market, she managed to earn a total of 497,500 points. Added to the points she owned, she now had a total of 621,539 points. Counting her silver and gold ingots, she now had a total of 27,989 taels of silver.

Right now, she had enough points and money to spend. So, she didn’t plan to go to the border market again. She was afraid that her actions would attract unwanted attention and cause trouble.

Feeling satisfied with her stash of money, Yao Zhi bought a mirror, a set of brushes, and hair ribbons for seven points. After tidying herself up, she drank some water, opened the door, and took a deep breath.

Looking at the brightening sky, she walked to the yard and checked the soil. When she first arrived, the soil in her yard was cracked and was impossible to use to grow crops. But right now, the soil was moist and looked fertile.

Thinking about the bath water she had thrown into the yard before, she rubbed her chin and muttered, "Did the spiritual spring water fertilize the soil?"

Even though she had no experience growing crops, she knew how to plant flowers and vegetables. Thinking about those seeds she bought from the merchant, Yao Zhi tied her sleeves and went to get the hoe from the woodshed.

Despite the cool morning breeze, Yao Zhi was sweating profusely from working. She swung her hoe and plowed the land. Perhaps due to the prolonged drought, there were lots of stones but no weeds.

She worked for two hours before she finished plowing the yard. While her mud house was small, her front yard and backyard were huge.

The front yard alone took up an area of more than ninety square meters. She divided the front yard into four plots, leaving a two-meter-wide path in between the plots. Each plot took up an area of twenty square meters.

Since it was summer and they lacked water, she decided to plant drought-resistant crops. Opening her system shop, she bought high-yield seeds for sweet potato, cassava, cherry tomatoes, and cucumber. Each bag of seeds cost her one hundred points and weighed around two kilograms.