Wasteland Development Diary

The next day.

Greeting the morning sun, Zhou Yi rode his bicycle towards the farmland.

The melons of the wasteland era were slightly smaller, but their smooth surfaces were still covered with green stripes, spread all over the fields, giving a festive feeling of harvest.

By the field, agricultural consultant Zheng Tao and the farm machinery brothers were inspecting the melons in the field. His brow was furrowed, as if he had encountered something unpleasant.

Zhou Yi stopped the bicycle: "Old Zheng, what's wrong?"

"Chairman."

Zheng Tao couldn't help but smile when he saw him: "I saw you come back yesterday, but I didn't want to disturb you since you were busy..."

"The late-maturing melons in the field are ready for harvesting. The quality of the sweet red melons is very good this year, delicious and fatigue-relieving, but we have encountered a rather special problem."

He found a melon next to him, took out a small knife from his pocket, and skillfully cut it in half, revealing the bright red flesh.

There were very few seeds inside, and the flesh was smooth and full, a dream melon!

It's just that the skin is slightly thick.

Zhou Yi took the melon handed over by Zheng Tao, took a bite, and it was sweet and crisp.

Eating melon again after many years made him close his eyes and savor it.

Zhou Yi asked while eating the melon: "What special problem?"

"The quality is too good."

Zheng Tao showed a somewhat embarrassed look: "We don't know how we cultivated this grade of sweet red melon."

"The seeds are just ordinary improved varieties, and although the soil is suitable, it is by no means high-quality. Under normal circumstances, the sweetness of the sweet red melon itself would not be so high, and the taste would be a little softer. But the melons and fruits grown here in the first year are already comparable to the best varieties on the market."

Zhou Yi didn't understand: "Isn't that a good thing?"

"Chairman, if we can't figure out the reason, the quality of our melons may fluctuate greatly. Because under normal circumstances, it is impossible to cultivate this grade of melons and fruits in the first generation."

Zheng Tao said with a serious face: "This is very important for the company's export image. If the company exports melons of this grade this summer, but bitter melons next summer, it will definitely be considered as deliberately choosing inferior products."

Tie Ma also spoke through the loudspeaker: "We have carefully inspected this land, from the soil to the water source, to the insects inside. Nemo and the sand rats have also given us a lot of help. Finally, we narrowed down the interfering factors and found that it may be related to two things."

"The first is volcanic ash. The volcanic ash deposited here for many years serves as a natural fertilizer, and the fragments in it can lock in moisture well and also contain relatively rich mineral elements."

"The second is claw pig manure. We have invested a part of claw pig manure. This ingredient is very complex, which may be related to the intestinal structure and ecology inside the claw pig, or it may be related to parasites, or even to the northern forest sheep they hunt..."

"Perhaps we need to find agricultural experts, geological experts, and field biology experts to find out the specific reasons."

Zhou Yi felt strange in his heart.

He couldn't help but say: "I don't understand the specific principle, but this problem is not difficult to handle."

"According to the quality of different melons, can't we make different brands and prices? For example, if this season is of high quality, we will call it volcanic melon, which represents the high-quality sweet red melon cultivated by volcanoes. If the quality is slightly worse next season, we will call it sandy melon and sell it cheaper. After all, we don't only grow sweet red melons. We will sell whatever melon we grow."

Zheng Tao was stunned for a moment, then slapped his forehead: "Alas, I'm really getting old. I actually got into a dead end. That's right, the important thing is the price. As long as the price is right, any quality of melon can be sold."

Tie Ma still insisted on the technical route: "But the quality of the local sweet red melon is really good, and we must strive to reproduce this variety."

Zhou Yi chatted with them again before understanding.

The key is different expectations.

Zheng Tao and the farm machinery brothers, because they saw the birth of high-quality melons, wanted to develop high-end fruits. In this way, they have to ensure that the quality is high and stable, and the requirements for the company's agricultural field will be higher.

His own idea was just to grow an ordinary melon that can be eaten first, so that the company's employees can have something to eat, and the new humans in the Sand Port area can eat cheap melons.

That's why there was this perspective shift.

After changing his thinking, Zheng Tao suddenly relaxed: "Chairman, now that it is summer, our 500 acres of melon fields can be harvested. Excluding normal losses, we can pick 75,000 sweet red melons."

Zhou Yi said: "Then pick the melons and distribute one to each employee as a benefit first. But distribute them in batches to avoid waste."

"Yes."

"For the remaining melons, send them to Sand Port for sale according to the previous plan. But also keep some for our own use."

"Yes."

Tie Ma also said: "Chairman, we have tried to plant some beans in the past few months and found that legumes grow best here."

It drove all the way to a nearby experimental field to show the results of the beans.

Legumes are actually edamame, which is soybeans. They grow in clusters on the stems, but the beans themselves are not full enough.

"Legumes take a long time to grow, usually 3 to 4 months. If we sow now, we can harvest in autumn. They have a wide range of uses, have nitrogen fixation, are a good natural nitrogen fertilizer, and can produce bean fruits with a good taste. The most important thing is that they can be rotated with gramineous plants."

"With legumes to improve the soil, wheat has a planting foundation."

Wheat!

Noodles, cakes, buns, fried dough sticks!

Zhou Yi quickly asked: "Can we grow wheat here?"

"Yes."

Tie Ma said decisively: "Wheat has not low requirements for the environment. The local area has a large area of sandy soil, and poorly structured soil will cause severe yield reduction and may lead to lesions, but a large amount of fertilizer can compensate for this. Volcanic ash and manure can provide sufficient organic fertilizer, and legumes provide nitrogen fertilizer."

"After the sand rats' efforts to improve it, the underground水道 has been opened, and the soil in the oasis belt is gradually recovering. I have tested all the values there, and the acidity, alkalinity, soil layer, phosphorus, potassium, etc. have reached the baseline for planting wheat."

"I remember you said a long time ago that you wanted wheat. But the conditions were not ripe at the time, so I refused."

"Now that all the conditions have been met, we can grow wheat."

Zhou Yi felt a mixture of emotions for a while.

Who would have thought that planting a wheat field would be more difficult than killing a territorial sea lord.

Zhou Yi took a deep breath: "Then plant it."

"Yes."

Tie Ma also said: "But there are no wheat seeds in the Sand Port area. I want to go to the agricultural-specialized electromechanical city [Agricultural City] with Tong Niu. They have improved seeds that match various environments."

"If you want to plant wheat here for the first time, the quality of the seeds themselves should be higher. It's just that the seeds there are one to two times more expensive than ordinary ones."

Zhou Yi said: "This is not a problem. Is it safe to go there?"

"It's very safe. Agricultural City is in the northeast direction, about 1,300 kilometers away from Emerald City. We can quickly pass through the seabed and avoid long-term exposure to Dead Sea radiation, so we can safely reach there," Tie Ma said.

Zhou Yi allocated a special fund of 200 light seeds for wheat.

The farm machinery brothers immediately started the engine and drove towards the north.

...

Watching the farm machinery leave, Zheng Tao said again: "Chairman, there have also been some small achievements on the breeding platform. I don't know if you have time now?"

"Let's go."

In order to save time, Zhou Yi summoned Hunter Sea again and flew directly to Zhanjiang Bay No. 1.

Now this water platform has become orderly. Ropes were tied to the sides of the six breeding areas in the front, where shellfish were raised, and the six breeding areas in the back were fishing areas, where bone fish could be seen swimming around.

What was different from the last time was that there were no human breeders, and all the black hand mushrooms were busy.

Zhou Yi couldn't help but wonder: "Are humans so bad?"

Zheng Tao smiled bitterly: "The people who were here before were shellfish farmers from Shellfish City. They have the technology, but there are big problems in communication. They all have their own ideas and operations and think they are right. When they were in Shellfish City, the technical process itself was not unified, and the breeders were working based on experience and oral instructions."

Zhou Yi immediately connected with Bai Li Gong.

Bai Li Gong also had something to say about this: "I have adjusted and reformed many times, but humans always perform well at the beginning, and soon they will repeat the same mistakes, arguing constantly, and being lazy in the process. So I believe in the breeding platform more than in people, so it's best if they don't have any technology, so they can be replaced at any time."

It deliberately did not make a unified standard.

Zheng Tao and Sun Chonglai made adjustments to this point and directly replaced all of them with black hand mushrooms. Because the black hand mushrooms communicate quickly and have natural excellent collaboration skills.

"For this reason, we have also slightly improved the environment."

Zheng Tao pointed to the deck and said: "Chairman, look."

Zhou Yi noticed when he boarded the ship that a layer of soil was laid on the deck, and the wellheads in the breeding area were surrounded by wooden boards, and carpet fungi were growing everywhere. This is equivalent to replicating the environment of the mushroom forest here.

"This was Sun Chonglai's idea. Through the carpet fungi, the black hand mushrooms can hear the situation in all parts of this breeding platform at all times, allowing them to react quickly, and this environment also makes the black hand mushrooms more comfortable and relaxed, further improving work efficiency."

"However, the biggest achievement is still here."

Zheng Tao walked all the way to the fishing area at the back and suddenly smiled mysteriously: "Chairman, what do you think, after being raised, what direction should the bone fish grow in?"

Zhou Yi thought for a while: "Without natural enemies and food crisis, and with bone feeding, they will get bigger and bigger and have no aggressiveness, right?"

"That's right."

Zheng Tao walked to one of the breeding areas and knocked on the wellhead with a wooden pole next to him, making a clang sound.

Then a bone fish jumped high, landing on the carpet fungi on the ground.

The main body of its body is a wide shell made of bones, and there are clear knife-carved patterns on the body surface.

The domesticated bone fish leaned its head on Zheng Tao's calf, like a big turtle.

Zheng Tao touched its head: "Chairman, this is our raised bone fish [Athlete], about three months old now."

This is called three months?

Zhou Yi's eyelids twitched.

The creature in front of him was already the size of an adult yellow cow.

"Its personality is very gentle, and bone fish is also a light-receiving species that can quickly adapt to various environments."

"For example."

Zheng Tao raised the wooden pole: "Stand up."

The bone fish propped up its body, fixed its tail on the ground, and balanced its body with white bone fins, standing upright.

Zheng Tao waved the pole: "Lie down."

The bone fish immediately lay on the ground, its fins open.

"Curl up."

The bone fish contracted into a body, turning into a big bone ball.

"That's it. After being fed by us, it is very dependent on us, and with a little training, it can make many movements."

Zhou Yi: "..."

I asked you to raise fish, and you turned them into pets?

He wanted to scold Zheng Tao for his wrong route, but Zheng Tao only used one sentence to extinguish Zhou Yi's anger.

"Chairman, our artificially raised bone fish can be used as a vehicle."

"Look."

Zheng Tao walked to the edge of the platform, knocked on the ground with a wooden pole, and the bone fish came all the way with its fins, opening its bloody mouth. Then Zheng Tao stuffed a stone slab into it and pointed forward.

"Go."

The bone fish plunged into the Dead Sea and disappeared.

Twenty minutes later, it climbed back to the platform along the stone platform on the edge.

The bone fish opened its mouth, and there was no stone slab in its mouth, but a handful of dried mushrooms instead.

Zheng Tao patted the bone fish, handed it a bucket of chicken bones, and then the bone fish started eating in silence.

"Chairman, the stone slab on Athlete's back was taken down by Yuan Tong from the Emerald City Dam and replaced with mushrooms. This is also the experiment we have been doing."

He said: "Athlete's speed in the Dead Sea can be maintained at 40 kilometers per hour. It can transport various goods. With a little training, it can be sent to a specific destination. As long as the items are placed in their mouths, they can protect them well and will not be destroyed by the dead light until they reach the target destination."

"They don't eat wild bones, which is also due to their eating habits. Compared with wild bone fish, their physiological qualities are much better. Although they are not good at fighting, their speed and strength are enough to avoid many dangers."

"The secret is... we added some sage mushroom crumbs to their chicken bones, and trained them when their wildness subsided. The effect was significant, and they remembered it very well."

Zhou Yi's face changed slightly as he listened.

Unexpectedly, the bone fish did not develop into a fishery, but became a working fish species.

He tried to put his hand on the bone fish.

Energy input was successful.

The consciousness was at the same frequency, but there was no response there.

Like ordinary bone fish, it is still in a primitive state that cannot be communicated with.

Zhou Yi was slightly disappointed.

Wait.

He suddenly realized one thing.

Doesn't this mean... bone fish can be developed into Dead Sea couriers?

Freight transportation in the wasteland world is generally slow and expensive. If bone fish can deliver goods from the Dead Sea to various ports and wharves, this kind of fast and accurate delivery is definitely promising.

Zhou Yi told Zheng Tao his ideas.

The other party's eyes lit up as he listened: "Wonderful, wonderful, yes, it can be done. Chairman, feasible, feasible!! This will be a brand new industry for the company and full of strong competitiveness!"

"Currently, we have four Bone Fish: 'Strongman,' 'Hercules,' 'Quickfoot,' and 'Bigmouth.' They have all been trained and can execute tasks well. They have completed point-to-point round trips of 200 kilometers and can carry weights from 80 kilograms to 180 kilograms."

"As long as a piece of their bone is marked at a specific port, they can remember the route. It's best not to make it too complicated; it's ideal for each fish to remember one route."

Zhou Yi pulled Red Falcon into the discussion as well: "Isn't Recursive City lacking cargo transport vehicles? I want to contract out part of this business, which is to transport goods from Recursive City to Emerald City first, and then to their final destinations. Is this feasible?"

"There are no issues in terms of programming."

The drone said, "Recursive City has always refused to transport small items like signal transceivers, cameras, sensors, and steering gears because the one-way cost is high, and most buyers are in different cities."

"The routes along the way have already been cleared. As long as the Bone Fish can proceed from city port to city port."

"The biggest problem is the safety hazard, because our cargo transport vehicles are Bone Fish, they are likely to be attacked by other parties."

Zhou Yi, however, believed that this was not a problem at all.

"Just have them travel underwater. The seabed is the Bone Fish's activity area, and advanced Photonoids won't enter there."

Red Falcon immediately submitted an application.

A dozen minutes later, Recursive City sent a reply.

They were very interested in this cooperation and hoped to discuss the specific details, confirm the condition of the cargo Bone Fish, and their basic working abilities.

Red Falcon said, "Then I will control Sea God and take Zheng Tao and the Bone Fish over there first."

"Go quickly and return quickly, and be careful."

Zhou Yi was full of confidence.

Even if this doesn't pass, Bone Fish delivery will inevitably spread soon and be recognized by Mechanical City.

Mechanical life has very high requirements for timeliness.

They need express delivery services the most.

Zhou Yi looked at the misty Dead Sea, and the scene of Bone Fish deliverymen delivering goods everywhere already appeared in his mind.