Chapter 69: Busy Farming in the Last Days

Jul 13 2023

The situation that he learned is far worse than what Ji Cha had anticipated. It is not just an isolated case he saw today, but rather an ongoing behavior that has been happening in secret for some time. When he recalled passing by some places, he did see some young women with fearful expressions.

He immediately went back to inform the military, and Zhao Tiankuo promptly reported the situation. To his slight comfort, Ji Cha knew that the military did not tolerate human trafficking even in the end times.

The next morning, the military conducted a surprise investigation of the population in every household. Those without identification were singled out for processing. Most of the girls were abducted, but there were also two young boys. In Ji Cha’s eyes, the middle-aged and young men were disgusting and sordid, and the boys and girls had no power to resist being caught without identification.

Even if they were rescued from the clutches of the traffickers, they could not react for a while, and some of them were tortured so badly that their eyes were hollow and lifeless.

After sorting out the details, even more disgusting facts were revealed. The so-called human traffickers would often kill the guardians of the targets they were looking to abduct. To make them obedient, they would resort to r*pe and gang r*pe, among other means. After losing their loved ones and suffering physical and psychological harm, they would be dragged to the black market for trafficking, and after being sold, most people would face even more tragic fates and have to live a miserable existence to survive.

A solution was quickly developed, but the approach was relatively brutal. Those who had participated in human trafficking or r*pe more than once were ordered to be executed. This type of punishment was intended to deter those who were motivated by profit and considering entering this line of work. Those who bought the abducted individuals were also subjected to high fines and permanent recordkeeping on their information card. Those who were punished in this way could not work in many industries and were essentially limited to the bottom level of the base.

Finally, for the victims, as long as they were willing, they could obtain proof of identity within the base and become official members of the base. They could earn a living by working in the base.

For those young boys, this was undoubtedly great news. When they were rescued earlier, they were still worried about being kicked out of the base. Although life was very difficult now, nobody wanted to be exiled and face death. Now that they had an official identity within the base, they had a treatment that many outside could not obtain.

However, this incident also reflected a problem: there were too few women in the base. Ji Cha queried through the computer and found that the male-to-female ratio in the base was almost eight to one, with only a few people having wives and daughters. The majority were single men. This was definitely not a good thing, as an imbalanced gender ratio often leads to many violent crimes. The good public security in the base was due to the high proportion of security personnel. Without them, there could be a high incidence of crime.

However, in the long run, this problem will eventually lead to conflict. When Ji Cha recalled his last visit to the base, this issue seemed less apparent, perhaps due to the introduction of population control measures.

However, there is currently another thorny issue: the young people who have been rescued do not have any particular skills and cannot find work in the short term. As the work in the base is mostly fixed and quantitative, those who have been there longer have become skilled at their jobs, leaving the young people at a disadvantage when it comes to recruitment.

Ji Cha wanted to help them out. The advantage of young people is that they are quick learners when it comes to many things. Ji Cha helped to contact the scheduling team and managed to secure some positions for them. In the future, as more people arrive, the military is preparing to operate some machines that have been brought back, such as textile and processing products.

At the same time, the expansion of the base must also begin. Skilled workers are given priority, followed by physically fit young people. In fact, in the end times, it is rare to see people over the age of fifty. If there are capable people who can support their elderly relatives, the military will still allow them to come in.

By the end of January, the population of the base had expanded to 5,000 people, and various projects had to be accelerated to meet the needs of housing and daily life. Many of the newly constructed dormitories could not provide cooking facilities, so the military built two large canteens near the center of the base. This not only solved many job vacancies, but also solved the problem of food.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

During their breaks in the day, people can go to the canteen for all three meals, and all they need is to swipe their information card for payment. The information card now has a transfer function, so people can transfer their points to family members who need them at the recruitment or settlement points. However, when using the information card, personal and card information must match to prevent the card from being stolen.

Ji Cha harvested most of his vegetables in December. He dried some of the peppers into dried chili peppers, while selecting fresh red peppers to make chili sauce. Chili sauce is well-known in S city, but not as famous as in other provinces. In times of scarcity, chili sauce is actually a very practical and convenient food preservation method.

By January, the last peppers in the greenhouse had also stopped growing. After counting, Ji Cha had produced more than 100 kilograms of chopped peppers, not including the dried peppers and those used for regular consumption.

The radishes were also harvested early. Some were preserved to extend their freshness, while others were dried into radish shreds for longer storage. A small portion of the radishes were pickled for eating.

The new batch of crops was not limited to the factory. In fact, besides the few hundred square meters of small vegetable plots in the factory, most of the vegetables were no longer planted. The original farmland areas were left for factory use, such as processing soy products and other foods.

After two months of cultivation, the farm’s land had been divided into an area sufficient for a planned population of 10,000. Although it was currently the off-season for farming, Ji Cha did not plan to waste this time. He covered the greenhouse and planted some cold-resistant crops.

After this period of time, the chicken farm had bred five batches of chicks. The first batch had grown to the size of adult chickens. Currently, there were a total of 300 chicks of different sizes in the farm, and soon the first batch of chicks would also be able to breed. At that time, the chicken farm would truly be on track.

The breeding speed of the meat rabbits was indeed as crazy as described. The previously born baby rabbits had also grown up. The situation with the piglets was the same, except that their numbers could not compete with the chicks. However, once the piglets grew to a sufficient scale, pork would undoubtedly be the main source of meat for the base.

Ji Cha had been thinking about how to maximize his resources when the military brought him a surprise. When they were patrolling and searching outside, they found more than a dozen sheep from a dilapidated farm. The workers in the farm had turned into zombies and were wandering outside the farm, deterring anyone from getting close. Most people assumed that any living creatures in the farm had been eaten by the zombies, but surprisingly, the quality of the fence and the feed inside the farm were both excellent. The more than a dozen sheep not only did not turn into zombies, but also lived well. The numbers were uneven, with seven male sheep and five female sheep. Female sheep meant breeding, and the more the better, but given the current situation, Ji Cha was satisfied with what he had.

Sheeps are amazing, their whole being is basically a treasure. Aside from the fact that sheep milk can be consumed, sheep meat can be eaten, and the regularly sheared wool is an excellent material for textiles and warmth, sheep horns and hooves have countless benefits.

However, overall, Ji Cha really wants cows. It would be great to have dairy cows and cattle for meat. Dairy products are really important. With milk cows, there are more things that can be processed and produced. Not to mention, beef is also an excellent type of meat. In some areas where machines cannot work, cows are also great companions.

Zhao Tiankuo listened to Ji Cha’s vision and patted him on the shoulder. “You should first try to get some sheep’s milk. I’ll have someone help you find cows.”

“I know,” Ji Cha smiled. He knew that rushing things wouldn’t help. “One step at a time.”

From the beginning of the apocalypse to now, it has been almost half a year, and everything has finally begun to enter a stable state after bidding farewell to chaos. The first New Year after the apocalypse is just around the corner.

Thandar: I’m glad Chacha brought out those disgusting people’s deeds. Why are some people so bad!!!!