Above The Sky
Chapter 937 - 937 77 Epochal Progress 5800_3

937: Chapter 77 Epochal Progress (5800)_3 937: Chapter 77 Epochal Progress (5800)_3 “We’ll be able to cultivate the first batch by the end of next month.”

Bald Alchemist Ambur introduced enthusiastically to Ian: “Actually, the lab has already grown the first batch of lettuce and tomatoes – they taste really good, crisper and sweeter than what we used to have.”

“Because it’s indoor cultivation, there are no insect infestations or weeds, and nutrients are fully utilized.

Although some algae growth does occur in the nutrient solution, we’re currently addressing this issue!”

“Very good.” Ian nodded in satisfaction: “Being able to eat locally grown vegetables will definitely give residents more peace of mind – and we can also accommodate more refugees.”

“Ambur, the work you’re doing benefits the entire territory!”

“I don’t dare to take credit.” The alchemist bowed his head, sincerely saying: “If it weren’t for your vision, my lord, I might never have thought that agricultural research could be conducted in the lab.”

Apart from a very few, why would exalted alchemists care about the development of farmers?

Once it was confirmed that Captain Gera’s team could lay out the planting racks and hydroponic pipes quickly and effectively, and Ian was assured that there were no issues with the design of the farm building, he ordered the construction team to continue.

He signed a document and handed it to Captain Gera: “It’s the end of the month now, go to the municipal hall later to receive your bonus.

The completion, decoration, as well as the other eleven farm buildings, are all handed over to you.”

“Yes!”

Captain Gera was overjoyed – he had merely completed Ian’s instructions and even learned something new, and to think there was even a bonus?

Who wouldn’t want to work for a boss who generously hands out bonuses?

And moreover…

This Earth Ascender looked at the ‘work results’ beside him.

By now, he had come to understand some of the lord’s way of thinking.

For farmers, the most important aspects of cultivation are the right timing and favorable conditions – bad weather, storms, snow, strong winds, droughts, hail, dust storms, all can interfere with crop growth.

The land is similar; fertile soil, the particle size and looseness of the soil, and the surrounding irrigation facilities are all key to the harvest.

Not to mention the processes of plowing, transplanting, sowing, etc., if without trap-laden mechanized farming machines, all would require a lot of manpower and time.

Besides, weeds, pests, and even simply birds pecking or animals trampling are the enemies of farmers.

Gera’s grandparents were also farmers, and he grew up in the countryside when his family was not yet well-off, so he knew well the hardships of farmers.

But, if hydroponic farm buildings become widespread in Xia Hui Territory…

Then the right timing and favorable conditions will be under our own control!

Not to mention that if Fiery Flame Land were to launch another ‘biological war,’ South Ridge would not have suffered all these covert attacks like it does now!

At that time, the spies from Fiery Flame Land wanting to spread viruses and fungi would need to do more than just scatter fungus bottles, they would have to attack buildings and blow up bunkers, one by one!

Of course, not everything is a benefit.

Even Gera, an outsider, could see many shortcomings of the hydroponic building: it consumes a considerable amount of energy for lighting, temperature control, and the complicated procedures even require specially trained cultivators to master.

For those overly cheap crops, using hydroponic buildings instead increases the cost of cultivation, even the cost of educating farmers.

But could this be said to be entirely a bad thing?

To completely separate agriculture from ordinary ‘physical labor’ and turn it into a kind of industrial activity requiring technology and patience…

Such technology would definitely not be limited to Xia Hui Territory in the future – the whole of South Ridge, the entire Empire, and even all of Terra will gradually be changed!

Whether it be the cultivation of high-end Sublimation Plants or ordinary vegetables, everything will embrace a revolutionary change!

“This could be…”

He muttered in his heart: “A great opportunity for our engineering team to grow and strengthen!”

Noticing Gera’s reaction, Ian also nodded to himself in silence.

Although Jella is an educated Sublimator and not an ordinary person, his opinion can represent the perspective of the vast majority of Terra’s populace—if Jella and his engineering team are so optimistic about the Hydroponics Tower, then what about the eminent merchants and emissaries who are about to arrive in Xiawei Territory, and even the visitors from the Imperial Capital?

As long as they are impressed, wouldn’t investment naturally follow?

With such expectations, Ian waited.

A few days later, Viscount Tymo Decass, along with representatives of commerce guilds from the City of Knowledge and the Seven Cities Alliance, arrived in Xiawei Territory.

…

Setar Empire, South Ridge, Golden Plain Hills, Western Refugee Gathering Area.

Bittercold Village.

The advent of the new year brings no festive cheer to this region, only even colder winds and desolation.

The locals of South Ridge almost never venture to the hills, as there is no arable land suitable for cultivation, not much in the way of wild game or herbs, and although there are some fish and shrimp in the rivers and streams and shallow lakes as water sources, sustaining life here is extremely challenging.

But challenging is not the same as impossible.

For years, the hills have been a gathering place for those in South Ridge who cannot survive elsewhere: the indebted, the offenders, the refugees, those forced to flee from oppression, those wishing to hide their identity for a while…

People with various hardships have established several villages here.

Yet, no one could reside here for long.

Villagers come and go, living and dying; every few years there would be a new generation or one wiped out, just like wild grass by the roadside, unnoticed.

Miles initially didn’t understand why the locals named their village ‘Bittercold,’ an inauspicious moniker, but now he got it.

Because it was really that cold.

The damp and chilly weather of South Ridge might not be as harsh as the freezing cold of the north that could kill a person directly, but those frozen to death by the harshness couldn’t express their suffering—only the living can suffer, especially when there is a river and a shallow lake next to Bittercold Village, a source of food in the summer and a source of gloomy moisture in the winter.

Miles had never experienced such a cold winter, the apartments in Azure City might be old but had all the necessary facilities, and the walls were never skimped on material, providing excellent insulation.

Even if life was a bit distressing, his mother would always budget wisely, saving bit by bit for the winter’s supply of coal when prices were low.

Since the incident in the Avak Domain and the turmoil in the Western Territory, a large number of Western Border Refugees and residents of Duke Sorin’s Domain have been continuously migrating to both the south and north.

Most of the wealthy chose to move to the Central Region, while those who knew they wouldn’t have any better prospects in the Central Region and would have to remain refugees, they chose to go to South Ridge, where at least there was relatively ‘spare’ land to accommodate these poor souls forced to flee their homes.

Miles had originally planned to go to the Central Region—on the day he left Avak Domain, he received aid from an unknown benefactor, and a box of survival supplies as starting funds.

With that box of supplies, selling some of the drugs and tools inside, he would have enough to temporarily settle in a small town in the Central Region and then find some work to sustain Cynthia and himself.

If all went well, that would be the plan, but life is unpredictable.

To prevent spies, the Central Region now implemented a very strict entry and exit verification system; not just refugees like them, but even well-backed merchant caravans needed a slew of documents to travel back and forth, and the officials and clerks at the checkpoints wouldn’t care about your plight…

they only cared about whether you have the right documents, whether it would cause them trouble from their superiors.

Everyone from the top to bottom of Avak Domain was eradicated, from whom could they obtain the necessary documents?

Unable to go to the Central Region, they could only head south, and after more than a month of hardship, they finally reached South Ridge in peace.

Then they encountered the food crisis and the local conflict of the Mountain People.

Though the spy checks in South Ridge were not as rigorous as those in the Central Region, refugees like Miles and Cynthia with their sensitive backgrounds still had difficulty residing and finding work in the cities—let alone the fact that Miles didn’t have any real survival skills.

He only had some swordsmanship, and a bit of…

awakening Spirit Energy.

But this Spirit Energy, Miles himself couldn’t use it very well; it only worked when Cynthia was nearby and in danger.

When he used it on himself, it could only strengthen his body a little and resist a bit of cold, other than that, it wasn’t very useful.

With no other choice, they had to come to this hillside refugee settlement called ‘Bittercold,’ quietly enduring and waiting for the situation to stabilize.

At this point, the situation had indeed settled down quite a bit, with the comprehensive withdrawal of the spies from Fiery Flame Land, their restrictions as refugees had been relaxed, allowing them to enter and exit towns.

But there was hardly any work during the harsh winter; without money, they couldn’t stay in the cities.

They still had to wait…

waiting for spring to come.