Read Novel Full Chapter 583: Harvesting Cotton, Eating Hotpot
Chapter 583: Harvesting Cotton, Eating Hotpot
The Special Salvage Team’s fame spread far and wide. Not only did they get rich overnight, but their military rank also shot up like a rocket.
All the unmarried women at the base were in an uproar, eyeing these single men like hawks.
If they could marry one of them, they’d never have to worry about food and clothing again.
So, they racked their brains trying to get acquainted with them.
Sure enough, Huang Mao was recognized while walking down the street. The woman not only chased after him but also said she was ready to marry him right away—and even promised to have kids. Huang Mao was so startled he almost twisted his ankle.
He was chased for a full three streets.
It wasn’t just Huang Mao; the other team members were just as popular. So many people lingered outside their houses, hoping for a chance encounter.
Everyone shared their stories, feeling both helpless and amused.
As for Jiang Ning, she didn’t have this problem. She happily picked cotton and ate her snacks. “So, do you all want to get married, or not?”
While stuffing cotton into her sack, she also sneakily mixed in some pre-harvested cotton from her space, using a bit of cheating to boost the yield.
Without exception, Huang Mao and the others all shook their heads.
Despite often being envious of Sister Ning and Captain Huo’s sweet relationship and are frequently tormented by the two, when it comes to finding a partner in a natural disaster or the apocalypse, they still lack enough confidence.
First, the uncertain nature of human hearts in times of disaster made them question whether true love could even exist when basic survival was uncertain.
Secondly, anyone coming close to them after their sudden wealth surely had an agenda. They were also selective in their own choices.
More importantly, if they did find someone, their current job was so unique that if any details were leaked, it could hurt Sister Ning severely.
They wouldn’t forget the original purpose behind forming the Special Salvage Team: it was their greatest value and the reason the base kept growing and developing.
So, none of them planned to look for a partner. They would wait until their mission was complete and the base’s life stabilized.
If they met someone, it was fate; if not, it was simply their destiny.
In less than a day, the team of about ten had finished picking all the cotton—2,500 pounds in total.
The workers from the newly established textile factory weighed it on-site and took it away.
That’s right—the newly established textile factory only had a few workers, and it was set up just in time for the cotton harvest.
The looms were simple to operate, and they came from the Fire Seed Containers.
This batch of 2,500 pounds of cotton would be used for practice, to see if they could spin it into fabric.
The 26 boxes of fabric from the last harvest had mostly solved the base’s clothing problem. Now, they were focused on mastering the textile technique, planting cotton, and solving the issue once and for all.
After picking the cotton, even the cotton stalks weren’t wasted—they were sent to the reforestation area to help with wind prevention and sand fixation.
That evening, Jiang Ning invited the team to a hotpot dinner on the farm.
It was a completely homemade hotpot.
The ginger, scallions, garlic, chili, and vegetables were all grown on the farm. Jiang Ning brought out a chicken she had raised to treat them. “It’s from home. You all worked hard today.”
“Following Sister Ning means we get to eat meat!” Huang Mao shouted. “From now on, we’ll work every day!”
Jiang Ning laughed heartily. “Wait for it. One day when I hit it big, I’ll make sure you all drink and eat meat every day!”
It wasn’t just the team. She also asked Doudou to invite Rong Dashao and Tingting over.
With so many people, there wasn’t much meat to go around, but the atmosphere was great. For them, it had been years since they last had hotpot.
The little chili peppers were especially spicy, making them sweat all over.
After several days of working on the farm, they couldn’t have meat every meal, but sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn were filling enough.
Jiang Ning chopped up the small chili peppers and garlic, mixed them, then added fermented black beans before steaming the whole mixture, making a few jars of spicy chili paste.
One-third of the harvest stayed at the farm, one-third went to the transport ship, and the rest was given to Shu Xueqing.
Shu Xueqing took it to the hospital, not only sharing it with colleagues but also with the wives of senior military officials she happened to encounter. “This is made by my Anning; we just happen to have some leftover. You can take it back and try it.”
Before the fourth trip out to sea, the monument had just been completed. Jiang Ning and the others made a special visit after the high-ranking military officials attended the unveiling ceremony.
She brought a bouquet of four-leaf clover flowers from the greenhouse.
Without the ideal conditions that existed before the natural disasters, they had to carve the monument into a large stone, and it was placed on the highest slope of the wasteland.
Standing on the slope and looking down, the farm and plantation were already full of greenery, while the distant wasteland was still a vast expanse of brownish yellow.
But they believed that someday, this place would be full of life, with flowers covering the hills.
The farm and breeding sites became more active, and the things Jiang Ning could take out gradually increased, but the team members still locked themselves in to eat meat, only to pretend to be poor when they opened the door, with a pile of points that had nowhere to be spent.
They were all veterans who had seen rough times, fully aware of why the leaders formed their team and who they were loyal to.
The fourth trip took nearly two months; the journey was too far, and the oil tanks were scattered everywhere, making the search and recovery much harder.
After two more round trips, they managed to clean up a hundred-mile radius of the ruins.
The natural disasters made time drag on like years, but the years passed by so quickly.
Before she knew it, Jiang Ning had been at the Fengcheng base for a year.
A year passed, with harsh and unpredictable weather, sometimes with high temperatures and heavy rains, and other times with scorching heat and snow. There were even occurrences of eternal night and eternal day, though they did not last long.
The survivors complained, but they also had a sense that the terrible weather might be starting to settle down. Did this mean the disasters were finally coming to an end?
Encouraged by this hope, they gritted their teeth and kept going.
The textile factory had gone through numerous trials and experiments, and after half of the cotton was rendered useless, they finally figured out how to turn the cotton into fabric, which was now available in the trading center.
Meanwhile, the special team discovered many oil derivatives around the ruins, such as solvents, lubricants, paraffin, asphalt, and petroleum coke.
Following their principle of “better safe than sorry,” the special salvage team brought all of them back.
When Jiang Ning returned from her sixth trip, Doudou came out holding half a bottle of pure peanut oil, happily saying, “Sister-in-law, this oil was made from peanuts harvested at the farm.”
Corn, sunflower seeds, and rapeseed would be ready for harvest soon, and they’d be able to make more oil then.
Every time she returned from a long sea trip, Jiang Ning would climb to the highest wasteland slope in Fengcheng.
It couldn’t even be called wasteland anymore—the entire mountain was covered with mulberry trees, and once the soil improved, other trees would be planted.
With a steady supply of fresh water for irrigation, the survival rate of the trees had skyrocketed.
Although they still had to replant occasionally, at least when the sandstorms reached the heart of Fengcheng, they no longer carried enough large gravel to cause harm.
Standing on the slope and looking into the distance, the greenery extended far beyond what the eye could see.
The seventh trip took even longer, covering a 300-mile radius of the ruins, and the transport ship still wasn’t full.
This would probably be the last trip, but the resources they’d collected were enough to support Fengcheng for many years.