Chapter 370: Fertilizer Frenzy and the Lords’ Late-Night Orders

The patrol team finally managed to deliver the seeds, and the lords immediately started discussing sowing and fertilizing plans in the channel.

Qi Fu was the first to speak up. “Glad we made it in time. One more day and my irrigated fields would’ve dried out. Wheat and rapeseed both need about four hours to soak—I’ve already started. I’ll sow them this evening.”

Kuang Qingwei asked, “Anyone need any crab shell fertilizer from Gui San Base? This is the last batch; there won’t be any more coming. The worm greenhouse in Territory Forty-Nine was destroyed by refugees, so next spring worm castings will probably cost even more. If you can stockpile fertilizer now, do it while you can.”

With Gui San Base gone, their specialty crab shell fertilizer was also off the market for good.

Shizhong asked, “Kuang, how much is the crab shell fertilizer per jin?”

Kuang Qingwei sighed. “Eight credits per jin. The price went up.”

“Eight credits? Fertilizer’s getting out of reach,” Zhao Ze’s Mother complained.

Most of their credits had to go towards fencing, seeds, and greenhouses—there was nothing left to buy fertilizer for the spring planting.

After a round of commiserating, Kuang Qingwei hesitated, then asked, “Territory Eight, Xin Yu, are you there? Is your compost starter factory almost finished?”

With store-bought fertilizer now so expensive, the lords needed to hoard as much compost as possible and try to cut down on farming costs.

Xin Yu was rarely online, so as everyone was assuming there’d be no reply, a new voice suddenly chimed in.

“Hello, lords. I’m Zhou Zhaoping, assistant from Territory Eight. Our first batch of compost starter will go on sale November 15, fourteen credits per jin. Lords interested can pre-order now—the first ten get a 20% discount.”

What?!

Everyone was stunned, and all found themselves missing Tang Huai at that moment.

Because if Tang Huai were online and heard Zhou Zhaoping’s announcement, he’d definitely be grumbling and would sum up exactly how all the lords were feeling right now.

Damn!

Didn’t Territory Eight just haul in building materials and start hiring workers a few days ago? How did they go from constructing the factory to launching production and selling goods in under half a month?

Did they hire refugees, or a bunch of top-tier Speed Evolvers?

Kuang Qingwei, being the classic middleman, rushed to secure the discount. “Uncle Zhou, this is Kuang Qingwei from Territory Six. I’ll order 300 jin of compost starter.”

He hadn’t even seen the finished product yet, but since the recipe for Territory Eight’s compost starter came from Zhang San, quality was pretty much guaranteed. So even though it was pricier than the starter from the Safe Zone or Territory Nine, Kuang Qingwei didn’t hesitate for a second.

“Understood.” Assistant Zhou from Territory Eight replied in a steady, pleasant voice that reminded everyone of Tang Zhengbo. “Once the compost starter’s ready, I’ll deliver it right away with the instruction manual.”

Having been offline for ages, Tang Zhengbo finally spoke up, sounding a bit weak to Xia Qing’s ears. “Assistant Zhou, this is Tang Zhengbo from Territory Twelve. I’ll order 600 jin of compost starter.”

Everyone was speechless…

Impressive!

Zhou Zhaoping replied, “Understood. Once Director Tang finishes sowing, I’ll stop by to visit.”

Luo Pei came online too. “Uncle Zhou, this is Luo Pei from Territory One. We’ll take 1,500 jin. The Squad Alliance will order 3,000 jin.”

Zhou Zhaoping answered respectfully. “Understood. Once Captain Luo is done with his work, I’ll come by myself to thank you for saving my life.”

Luo Pei replied warmly, “Uncle Zhou, you’re too polite. I led the team that helped Hui Two Base and earned credits doing it.”

After several others placed their orders, even Tang Huai, who had been too busy to log on lately, unexpectedly chimed in. “Uncle Zhou, this is Tang Huai, agent for Territory Two. We’ll order 500 jin.”

Territory Two ordering 500 jin was even more surprising than Territory One’s 1,500. Was Tang Huai planning to get all the refugees farming?

After Assistant from Territory Eight confirmed the order, Li Si asked coldly, “Li Si from Territory Nine. You’re selling compound compost starter at fourteen credits per jin—that’s selling below cost. Are you sure this starter is reliable?”

Zhou Zhaoping responded politely, “What we produce is organic fertilizer compost starter. One jin can ferment at least a ton of vegetables, kitchen scraps, manure, crop straw, leaves, wheat bran, or corn husks. No activation needed, and it ferments quickly. Our product is certified by the Red One Base Quality Inspection Center. As long as instructions are followed, the kill rate for three major types of harmful organisms reaches over 96%. Please use with confidence, lords.”

With such certification, what could Li Si say anymore?

“Four jin for Territory Nine,” he answered.

At that price, it was obvious Li Si just wanted to test Zhang San’s compost starter quality himself—a waste of a discount slot.

After Li Si ordered, only Section Three and Section Seven hadn’t placed orders yet.

Zhang San used his own compost starter, so no need to buy. As for Xia Qing, everyone in the Lords’ Alliance knew perfectly well why he hadn’t ordered.

Qi Fu took the initiative. “Xia Qing, aren’t you composting? Buy a few more jin of compost starter and turn those leaves into fertilizer for spring planting next year.”

Seizing the chance given by his ally, Xia Qing explained, “I am composting, but I’m out of credits right now. After I finish sowing my wheat and rapeseed, I’ll head to the Evolved Forest and try my luck. If I can hunt some prey or gather edible plants to exchange for credits, I’ll put in an order with Uncle Zhou right away. Hopefully I’ll still make the top ten.”

But making the top ten was long gone. Even though they weren’t chatting in the same walkie-talkie group, every lord in this region—and even at Hui Three Base—knew Territory Eight was using Zhang San’s patented process for production. With pre-orders open, demand was bound to skyrocket.

In a year of disasters and shortages, as long as you could price your products fairly, they’d sell out in no time.

But there were only two questions that mattered: First, could you get your hands on the materials and know-how? Second, could you keep your factory running and deliver the goods in the chaos of a disaster year?

Obviously, Territory Eight had both. As long as they kept costs under control, this business couldn’t possibly lose money.

After the lords finished up their channel discussion, Xia Qing agreed with Qi Fu on when to sow the seeds. Just as he was harnessing Old Goat to the plow to head to the fields, Luo Pei called.

Luo Pei was warm as always. “Xia Qing, if it’s not convenient for you to buy compost starter, I can order more from Territory Eight and give you some. How much do you need?”

Xia Qing explained, “Thanks for thinking of me, Luo. I traded with Third Brother a while back and got thirty jin of compost starter—enough to get me through this year.”

Seeing that Xia Qing was set for now, Luo Pei asked, “Alright then. When are you sowing? If you’re free before the 10th, stop by Hill Forty-Nine and I’ll show you how to shoot moving targets.”

Finally, he’d get to learn real skills from the sharpshooter himself. Xia Qing was thrilled. “I’m plowing today, sowing tomorrow—any time between then and the 10th works for me.”

With the plans set, Xia Qing went off humming a tune with his loyal companion to start plowing.

When it came to putting Old Goat to work, Xia Qing believed in making a proper ceremony of it. He hung a bunch of toon leaves from its neck, gave it a good pep talk, then fed it a compressed ration before getting down to business.

Talking with his allies about fieldwork made Xia Qing realize he’d missed a step in his last two plantings: leveling the field.