Cave Refuge

The survivors didn't mind the soaked grain distributed by the Officials. Everyone knew that it was already good to receive any grain from the Officials at this time.

For these soaked grains, the Officials also provided a way to process them. They were to be ground into powder and then slow cooked until dry, into a form of fried flour, this way the preservation period of the grain could be extended.

Had this been in the past, once the machines were running, around a dozen people, including the transporters, could have handled this entire process.

But now, without the aid of machinery, every step, from transportation, crushing to drying, packing, required significant manual labor.

Especially the drying step, tasting to see if it's done. If that was all there was to it, it would be fine. But, if some were secretly stashed away during the packaging process, the actual loss could be substantial.

Add in the vast amount of wood or other combustibles needed for unified processing, so it made more sense for the Officials to distribute wet grain and have the survivors handle the processing themselves.

As for the survivors living on the Mountain Range, they needn't be mentioned. They didn't have to care about environmental protection at this time, they could simply chop down trees for wood. Even though freshly chopped wood might be a bit damp, it could still be used if thrown into fire.

As for the survivors living in residential buildings, it would be even easier for them. After all, who didn't have some wooden furniture? In these times when there is not even enough food for everyone to eat, one couldn't afford the luxury of preserving furniture.

After Ward left, though he reported the matter about Nameless Mountain to his boss, and his boss shared the information with others,

there were still some who thought they could challenge the tide. After all, in their eyes, Nameless Mountain was a fat piece of meat at this very moment.

Not to mention how many crops could be grown from the surfaced area, the dead trees on the mountain just for firewood alone held immense value.

Some people were blinded by the immediate benefits, along with the fact that they had only heard of Ward mentioning the opponents had guns, thus, triggering even less fear.

After all, who didn't have a gun on hand?

Dong Tianyu didn't know that he was the center of a brewing storm.

After returning from his parents', Dong Tianyu resumed his calm and leisurely life, completely oblivious to the people plotting to seize Nameless Mountain.

Out of the four factions originally planning to occupy Nameless Mountain, besides Ward who withdrew after seeing the weapons in Dong Tianyu's hands, the remaining three factions didn't want to give up.

But upon hearing that Ward's boss had begun looking for residential buildings to establish a stronghold, two of these factions hesitated and started to wait and see what would happen.

As for the remaining faction, they initially also wanted to wait it out and let others be the pioneers, but a junior member managed to get a bag of grain that had soaked in water.

Even now, the survival rate would not be high if they planted these seeds. If they waited any longer, the survival rate would probably drop even further. So they had no choice but to act and test the waters.

But they were smart; they didn't ascend the mountain from the same track Ward had used, instead they continued from their previous exploration on the western side.

They were very clear about their mission this time, heading straight to the mountaintop to see if it was occupied.

As no one knew when the flood that had submerged Pengcheng would recede, they wanted the Plantation Area they chose to be as high as possible.

Upon discovering that the mountaintop hadn't been occupied by others, they immediately carved out a path from the west side of Nameless Mountain to the mountaintop, found a suitable place near the peak, sowed the seeds directly, and prayed for them to sprout.

Some time had passed since the temperature had begun to rise and the flood had engulfed Pengcheng; by now the frozen soil on the mountain had thawed. And after the extreme cold, all the bugs in the soil had been frozen to death.

As an old saying goes, a timely snow promises a good harvest. In ancient times, there was no fertilizer or pesticide, so the heavy snowfall in winter was nature's gift to farmers (free natural pesticide).

After the bugs rotted in the soil, they became natural organic fertilizer, similar to spreading fertilizer on it.

Therefore, as soon as these people got the soaked seeds, they couldn't wait to find a suitable place and sow these primary crop (corn) seeds.

A bag of normal corn seeds could sow an acre of land and these corn seeds were high-yield, which, on average, could yield around 1,000 lbs per acre.

It might not seem like much, but given that Pengcheng could plant corn twice a year, the output may decrease using corn produced from the seeds, but these days, there's no high-yield seed to purchase. It was a time to cherish what you have.

They also knew that yielding over 1,000 lbs per acre was theoretical, and that those were the days when they had fertilizers, pesticides, and even growth-promoting nutrients to spray.

This time, the seeds they planted, not only had been soaked in water and they didn't know how many of them would sprout in the end, but the persistent rainy weather was also not conducive to growth. Moreover, in their group, only a few people really knew how to farm.

Don't look at the many young people in their group who had come from rural areas. They might be experts at doing farm work under the guidance of others, but given a piece of land for them to farm on their own might lead to a complete mess.

Dong Tianyu, hiding in the Refuge Center, was unaware of the situation on the western side of Nameless Mountain. He often went out, but only to move around on the platform at the entrance of the cave; he didn't wander around the mountain aimlessly.

Although the Cave mansion was spacious and filled with Spirit Energy, which allowed him to subtly and naturally enhance his physique, he always felt oppressed if he stayed inside for too long. The feeling was like being locked at home during a virus outbreak.

Though he normally preferred to stay at home whenever he had time, if he was not allowed to go out for a long time he would feel oppressed. He just wanted to go out and wander around even without a specific destination, he just didn't want to be locked at home.

The faction that climbed up to the west side of Nameless Mountain and began farming only arranged for some people to guard the seeded fields around the clock. After all, being able to plant primary crops was a hope for survival. They had to protect it at all costs.

Seeing that they were not disturbed during and after the farming, and due to the importance of growing primary crops, they did not take the initiative to cause trouble with Dong Tianyu on the north side. Instead, they diligently farmed on the west side of Nameless Mountain in the hope of harvesting more after the crops grew.

If it could be said that the faction on the west side of Nameless Mountain ascended the mountain impatiently just for agricultural plantations,

then the other two factions who ascended the mountain had completely different motives....