The next day, after sunrise and the temperature rose, Xia Qing mixed the soaked seeds with insect repellent powder and planted them according to the depth, row spacing, and plant spacing instructed on the radio. She then sprayed the seeds with water diluted with camphor leaf extract.
After spraying, Xia Qing discovered that not only did the birds dislike the scent of the camphor leaves and refuse to come down, but even the eldest sheep had run away.
Now, she didn't have to worry about the sheep damaging the seedlings.
Because the cotton and mung beans were sown individually with wide row and plant spacing, she planted one mu of cotton and half a mu of mung beans in two plots. The wheat was sown in rows, and six jin could only fill two fen of land, so Xia Qing simply planted it all in the thirty mu plot.
After planting, more than 90% of the tilled land was still empty, but there was no rush.
The potatoes hadn't sprouted yet and couldn't be planted for the time being. For the other four types of vegetables—pumpkin, cucumber, tomato, and eggplant—Xia Qing chose to cultivate seedlings in her home garden before transplanting them.
Besides the vegetable seedlings, she also had six sweet potato seedlings.
Besides sweet potato seedlings, she could also explore the 1,500-acre high-slope new territory to the north, higher than the one near the mountain spring, to find transplantable edible plants.
Xia Qing was dreaming of the good old days of cooking three dishes in one meal, and ate an extra bowl of rice at lunch.
In the afternoon, just as she was about to go explore the new territory with Boss Yang, she received a call from Team Leader Tan. Xia Qing thought it was about planting the sweet potato seedlings, but she didn't expect even better news.
The base decided to install solar panels on territories with buffer forests on the edges! Her territory was on the outermost edge, with buffer forests, meeting the requirements!
Xia Qing jumped up excitedly, "When is it Plot 3's turn? In an hour? Sure, of course! Do you need me to help carry the solar panels? Okay!"
After hanging up the phone, Xia Qing ruffled Boss Yang's hair, "Boss, we're going to have electricity, electricity, electricity!"
Boss Yang shook his head dismissively, while Xia Qing excitedly spun around.
The person who came to install the solar panels in Territory Three was Tiger, a human with evolved strength. Without Xia Qing's help, he easily carried the large box into the village and quickly installed two solar panels on the sloping roof of Xia Qing's house. Then he told her how to protect them, "Although this equipment was manufactured before the catastrophe, it's guaranteed to work. Sister Xia Qing, don't forget to wash the solar panels regularly, and it's best to cover them during rain, hail, and snow. Another very important point is to protect the power lines; don't let insects bite them off."
After the catastrophe, many insects on Earth evolved powerful bites, some even evolving into rodents with a fondness for chewing. Power lines and network cables are their favorite targets.
Pre-existing rodents, such as rats and pine trees, have evolved even more formidable chewing abilities. This is why, ten years after the apocalypse, regular communication and power grids between human bases have not been restored.
It's not that it's impossible, but the construction and maintenance costs are too high. Compared to these, the drastically reduced human population after the catastrophe has many more important things to do.
Xia Qing quickly asked, "Can I use a steel pipe to cover the wires?"
Hu Zi nodded, "It would be even better if you could cover and protect them. Do you have a steel pipe, Qing-jie?"
"Yes, I have the tools too. I can get it done as soon as the power is on." Xia Qing had accumulated quite a few tools over the years; she had a welding gun and welding rods.
Unexpectedly, Hu Zi, who had been quiet during their previous encounters, was quite enthusiastic. "Two panels can only generate a maximum of five kilowatt-hours of electricity a day. I brought a gas welding gun. Sister, bring the steel pipe up, I'll weld it and then go to plot number one."
Xia Qing didn't stand on ceremony. She took out the steel pipe, covered the wires, and welded it securely, tightly protecting the outdoor wiring of the solar panel equipment. This thickness of steel pipe could keep out evolved insects; she only needed to be careful to keep out evolved mice and squirrels.
After Tiger finished adjusting the generator and battery, he reminded Xia Qing, "Sister Qing, when you use lights and flashlights at night, make sure to close the doors and windows tightly to avoid attracting moths or anything like that."
Almost all insects are attracted to light, and attracting dangerous evolved insects would be troublesome.
Xia Qing was always very careful about this. When she lit a fire in the living room at night, she would use thick wooden boards to block the windows and prevent light from getting through.
When seeing Tiger off from the territory, Xia Qing asked why the base had agreed to install solar power equipment on the territory. Solar power was a highly sought-after and scarce commodity in the safe zone.
Tiger sighed, "We have thirty territories with buffer forests on the outer edge of the safe zone. After the rainstorm, thirteen of these territories were attacked by evolved plants and animals. So far, fifty-six people have died, and eight are seriously injured."
Medicine was scarce after a natural disaster, and the time from serious injury to death was only a few days. Xia Qing had expected casualties after the rainstorm, but she hadn't anticipated this severity.
"Because Sister Qing contacted the investigation team in time to clear the danger, Area Three is the only outer territory where a high-risk, evolved, and aggressive creature appeared, but there were no casualties. Therefore, the general overruled objections and ordered solar panels and walkie-talkies to be installed in the outer territories to ensure that the lord can immediately contact rescue in case of danger."
After speaking, Hu Zi explained to Xia Qing why he didn't give her a walkie-talkie, "Walkie-talkies are limited in number, and you already have a satellite phone, so we didn't give you one. Instead, we gave you ten safe sweet potato seedlings."
Xia Qing beamed, "Hu Zi, please thank Captain Tan for me."
Hu Zi, carrying a stack of solar panels, blushed deeply upon hearing Xia Qing's laughter, but thankfully his protective mask concealed it.
Xia Qing continued, "Are the walkie-talkies you're given frequency-based or channel-based? I have a professional frequency-based walkie-talkie with a range of ten kilometers."
Hu Zi cleared his throat. "It's frequency-based. You use the frequency to contact patrol and security personnel. The lords can use it to communicate with each other. Sister Xia Qing, you can use the walkie-talkie to contact the lords of the nearby territories while in your territory, but you must be careful. You're alone, so you can't be too careful."
Xia Qing noted down the frequency. "I understand. I won't let anything happen to me."
After leaving the safe zone, the wariness between people increased. Although Xia Qing was adjacent to territories one, two, and four, everyone tacitly kept their distance and didn't disturb each other.
Hu Zi, afraid of frightening Xia Qing, talked about the situation in the surrounding territories, "Except for the people in territory two who are a bit domineering, the others don't seem too dangerous so far. When you feel bored, you can turn on the channel and talk to them about farming."
Xia Qing had spent many years in the noisy safe zone; now everyone was enjoying the peace and quiet. However, it was also necessary to contact neighboring territories via walkie-talkie to find out what seeds they had received and what edible creatures they had discovered within their territories.
It would be even better if she could exchange for something she didn't have.
Tiger continued, "Plots four and five were lucky; no large evolved creatures appeared. Plot one had an evolved, highly poisonous caterpillar, and the territory is now empty. Three people were injured at plot six. Xia Qing, hurry back; I can go there myself."
This is the downside of not being able to communicate; Xia Qing didn't know that plot one was already empty. "Then what about plot one?"