Poverty Alleviation (v1c33)
"Spring harvest event?" Ye Sheng asked, bewildered. She was new here and had never heard of such a thing. The base officials actually organized such an event?
Go to the plantation and dig potatoes...
Wait, what on earth was a plantation?
Ye Sheng tilted her head in confusion, almost forming a question mark on her forehead. Zhou Lin saw her expression and couldn't help but grin.
She didn't know why, but sister Shengsheng had become bolder and cuter lately.
"Ah, Shengsheng, you forgot. We're too young to register. In the past, only adults could participate in the official activities, but this year they lowered the age limit by two years, and we just made the cut."
Zhou Lin's eyes sparkled as she spoke of the plantation activities organized by the officials. She seemed to have thought of something and gasped, afraid that she would drool.
Then she said to Ye Sheng excitedly, "I haven't eaten starchy fruits for a long time. If we're lucky with the potato digging this time, we might get half a sack!"
Starchy fruits could also be found in the wilderness, but most of them were contaminated plants like grass leaves.
And one always had to be on guard against attacks by polluted creatures.
Life was hanging by a thread, and it could end at any moment!
But it was different when participating in the official activities.
The plantation was jointly cultivated by the base and the mercenary group. Although it was outside the safe zone, it was patrolled and protected by the mercenaries every day to prevent damage from the polluted creatures.
And because of the special potion they sprayed, even if the poisonous fog and radiation drifted over, the plants could be protected to the maximum extent and not be completely corroded.
The plant roots were shielded by the soil and could better resist the pollution from the fog and radiation.
That was also an important reason why the base's plantations were all starchy foods.
At the same time, artificial planting could also reduce the amount of radiation absorbed by the plants, lowering the chances of highly radioactive plants, so that it wouldn't be so hard to find edible plants among the contaminated ones.
Unlike Ye Sheng, who had spent several hours searching in the wilderness today and couldn't find even a single leaf of edible plants...
However, everything had its pros and cons, and the plantations were no exception.
Each plantation established by the base was in the wilderness and covered a large area. If they relied solely on the manpower of the officials, the digging and harvesting efficiency would be low.
If they delayed the harvest time, the potatoes would rot in the ground. When they dug them out later, they would have sprouted and become inedible.
In addition, the monopoly system was not conducive to the survival of the common people... After all, in the wasteland world of the apocalypse, the base officials, as the leaders, should do their best to protect everyone in the base from starvation.
As a result, they launched the official activities, which not only harvested food, but also benefited the people.
It was killing two birds with one stone.
"After signing up for the official event, you just need to go and dig potatoes. According to the division of one area for every thousand people, there will be mercenaries patrolling and protecting the area. And from then on, there will be official trucks from the base to pick you up every day."
Zhou Lin had never participated in the official events, but she had heard a lot of information from her elder brother.
She had been craving baked potatoes for a long time, and now she finally had a chance to dig them herself.
The Zhou family was a large and powerful family. They consumed an astonishing amount of food every day. Zhou Lin was favored at home, but she was never satisfied with her meals.
However, the Zhou family was not too strict. Whenever they joined the official activities, they only had to hand over the amount of food they ate for one day, and they could keep the rest for themselves.
They often cooked on a small stove or something.
That meant that no matter how many edible potatoes they dug, the rest, except for the portion given to the base officials, were all theirs!
Zhou Lin had always looked forward to joining the official activities since she was a child. She thought she would have to wait another year to register.
But to her surprise, the age limit was lowered this year, and anyone as young as fourteen could sign up.
Thinking of the share that had to be handed over to the base, Zhou Lin quickly reminded her little sister in case she was unclear: "Shengsheng, there aren't many rules about the plantation. Just follow the orders of the leader and don't cause trouble. When the digging is done, half of the harvest has to be handed over."
Even the wilderness team had to do the same, not to mention that the plantation was safer and had starchy fruits. It was a great deal.
Even people who were starving would try it after hearing the news. If they dug out edible potatoes, it was not rare for them to eat them raw on the spot to fill their stomachs.
It could be said that the official plantation harvesting was a way of alleviating poverty.
But unlike Zhou Lin, who was ecstatic, Ye Sheng frowned and felt uneasy about this unfamiliar spring harvest event.
Even with the mercenary patrols and protection, there were still things that could go wrong. If they were attacked by hideous polluted creatures, they might not get help in time.
However, there were risks and opportunities in everything, and the plantations were full of potatoes.
Today, Ye Sheng had exchanged over a thousand points for starchy fruits. She didn't regret it, even though they were placed under the spiny rats' butts, but she was very greedy.
She wanted baked potatoes too.
"Shengsheng, what are you hesitating for? Come on and sign up with me. Maybe we can dig potatoes in the same area."
"I'm just worried that if polluted creatures sneak in and evade the mercenary patrols, we'll be in danger."
Hearing Zhou Lin's urging, Ye Sheng didn't hide her worries and expressed them directly.
Compared to Ye Sheng, Zhou Lin, who had just witnessed the cannibalism of the Green Frog yesterday, should have been more scared of this.
But Ye Sheng underestimated the resilience of the wastelanders. Zhou Lin waved her hand casually: "Shengsheng, why are you worried about this? You'll encounter polluted creatures in the wilderness anyway. Besides, you have a lower chance of meeting them in the plantation. And if the sky falls, there will be someone taller to hold it up."
As she said this, Zhou Lin smiled mischievously and continued: "Each area has a full thousand people. If polluted creatures break in, even if they want to eat, they won't choose skinny kids like us."
It made so much sense that Ye Sheng couldn't argue with it.
Ye Sheng was dragged by Zhou Lin to the registration point, which was set up at the east city wall.
Even though it was not time to return from the wilderness yet, people were coming and going. From a distance, they could see a dark crowd, all eager to get home before the Spring Festival.
It seemed that they had all rushed over to sign up after hearing the news.
"Shengsheng, look, there are so many people! Although there is no limit on the number of people for the official activities, if you sign up early, you can go to the plantation a day sooner, and you will get an extra day of harvest! Smart people always sign up on the first day."
Zhou Lin proudly explained to her little sister. After she finished speaking, she stood on her toes and looked ahead, and soon spotted her burly elder brother.
"Come on, come on, I see my elder brother, let's go join him."
Zhou Lin had no qualms about cutting in line. That was how it was in the wasteland world. Most people joined a group to survive, and they would lose out if they went alone.
Just like this registration, usually a family or a team signed up together. Ye Sheng also took advantage of Zhou Lin's help to sign up early without any trouble.
But she had spoken too soon, and was stopped before Zhou Lin could reach her and the Zhou family's elder brother.
"Zhou girl, you're going to sign up anyway, so why don't you take me with you?"