Controlling the Five Thunders and the Two Worlds

Chapter 266 Please, Taoist Priest, make a move!
"Western Shandong Province, southern Hebei Province, and most parts of Henan Province have been experiencing a persistent drought since the beginning of summer, and agricultural drought relief has entered a critical period."

"Affected by factors such as the continued control of the warm high-pressure ridge and the late northward shift of the subtropical high, the region has experienced significant drought and little rain since the beginning of summer in late May. Some farmland has experienced moderate to severe drought, and agricultural production is facing a phased challenge."

"Currently, the three regions have activated emergency responses to combat drought and protect seedlings, with multiple departments working together to advance drought relief efforts and take multiple measures to ensure agricultural production."

"Henan Province coordinated the opening of water gates in irrigation areas such as Huanghu and Chiqu, covering more than 80 mu of drought-stricken farmland; Shandong Provincial Agricultural Bureau issued a high temperature and drought warning and guided farmers to adopt water-saving irrigation methods such as sprinkler irrigation and micro-irrigation; Hebei Province dispatched working groups to rural areas to promote technologies such as water-based fertilizer adjustment to reduce the superimposed impact of high temperature and drought on crops."

"In addition, the meteorological departments of the three provinces have made preparations for artificial rain enhancement operations and will take advantage of favorable weather conditions to carry out such operations."

"The head of the Henan Provincial Agricultural Bureau said that if effective rainfall occurs within the next 10 days, the summer grain yield is expected to remain stable. If the drought continues, the focus will be on ensuring the emergence of summer-sown crops, and efforts will be made to make up for the summer's losses with autumn harvests."

"According to the Central Weather Bureau, there will indeed be a period of light precipitation in the north in the next six to eight days, but the next two weeks will still be dominated by high temperatures, and the situation for drought relief and seedling protection remains severe."

Gu Zhao ate twice-cooked pork with rice while watching the news report about the drought in the north.

“I feel like I see reports about drought every year,” Li Man said. “But I haven’t seen any reduction in grain production. The reports always say that grain production is hitting new highs every year.”

Gu Qi explained, “The country is so big that local droughts are very normal. Just because one place is experiencing drought doesn’t mean that other places are also experiencing drought. Look at the Northeast and the Jiangnan region this year, there is basically no drought.”

At this point, Gu Qi pointed to the television again, "Moreover, with the advancement of technology and the emphasis placed on it by the system, there are water conservancy projects everywhere, using various means to reduce the impact of drought on grain production."

Gu Zhao nodded. "Food is the most important thing for people, and the system attaches great importance to agriculture."

Li Man laughed, "You spend all your time cultivating Taoism, how do you know that the system values ​​agriculture?"

Gu Zhao picked up another slice of meat and casually said, "I've seen so many articles and videos about the soybean war and the grain war more than ten years ago, I almost memorized the details."

Furthermore, we've used grain as a weapon in wars since the Spring and Autumn Period, and we even suffered losses because of soybeans. If we don't take this seriously, are all those recorded histories just for show?

Li Man put some more food on Gu Zhao's plate, saying, "Yes, yes, you're absolutely right!"

……

After sending a jar of wine to his parents and another jar to his maternal grandparents, Gu Zhao brought Daoist Mingyu back to the modern world. Finally, he took the remaining jar of wine to find Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi.

The two girls had a day off today. They originally wanted to go shopping, but it was too hot outside. Without Gu Zhao to accompany them, the two girls were a bit lazy, so they stayed at home with the air conditioning on and watched dramas. They didn't have many clothes on.

When Gu Zhao entered the room, what she saw was a bottomless ravine and a pair of long, straight, white legs.

So Gu Zhao put down the wine jar and started exercising.

……

After exercising, the three tidied up the living room and sofa, then sat together to watch TV.

Xiao Ya found a TV series that Gu Zhao could watch, while Jiang Shishi washed some fruit and put some snacks on the coffee table.

"Technology is getting more and more advanced now." Jiang Shishi took a slice of watermelon, let Gu Zhao take a bite first, and then ate it herself.

"How so?" Gu Zhao asked.

“When we were kids, we never had watermelons like this.” Jiang Shishi pointed to the fruit plate on the coffee table. “Watermelons back then had thick rinds and lots of seeds, so they weren’t sweet near the rind, and we often got unripe ones. But now… I don’t know how they’ve cultivated them!”

The watermelon in the fruit bowl on the coffee table was bright red, with only a few scattered small white seeds on its surface, and the rind was less than five millimeters thick.

Xiao Ya peeled an orange. "The fruits we have now are almost completely different from the fruits we had a dozen years ago."

Gu Zhao looked at the watermelon, cantaloupe, oranges, mangoes, grapes, cherries, blueberries on the coffee table... "Are you selling fruit platters?" When Gu Zhao lived alone, there were rarely more than two kinds of fruit in her home at the same time. It was only now that she lived in the Daluo Palace that she could eat a variety of fruits at the same time.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi prepared even more elaborately than the embroiderer.

“They’re all delicious!” Jiang Shishi pointed to the coffee table. “We didn’t want to buy fruit directly, it’s too expensive, and we were also worried about them not being fresh, so we bought a little of each.”

Xiao Ya chimed in, "It's not difficult to handle it yourself, and it's cheap, fresh, and hygienic."

Jiang Shishi chuckled and popped a cherry into her mouth, then brought it to Gu Zhao's lips and murmured, "Half for each of us."

Gu Zhao took a bite, then held out both hands, "I want two more!"

……

While Gu Zhao was joking around with the two women...

"what's up?"

"Master Mingyu just contacted us."

"Is there anything that needs support?"

"No, they want a map showing the distribution of drought-stricken areas, and the amount of rainfall needed for each region."

"What?" someone asked, doubting they had heard correctly.

The host then repeated what he had just said, which caused a stir of surprise.

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes filled with undisguised terror.

The old man Chen Yao, who had previously spoken with Daoist Mingyu, shook his head. "Don't scare yourselves. Who said they could solve it all with one spell? It'll definitely come in waves!"

Zheng Hongsheng, who was sitting in the first seat, thought for a moment and remembered, "They did say that if needed, we could ask them for help."

Chen Yao laughed and said, "We haven't even asked them for anything, but they've already taken the initiative to ask."

Zheng Hongsheng nodded, "It's a good thing that the old Taoist priests have the country and its people in their hearts."

"So...should we let them take action?" someone asked.

The people around him looked at him strangely. Chen Yao tapped the table helplessly, "They are on equal footing with us. Do you think they won't take action just because you don't allow it?"

"So if you're clear-headed, you'd better take the initiative."

"In that case..."

"Then we beg you, esteemed Taoist priests, to lend a helping hand!"

So the people in the office quickly got busy, making calls to the lower levels, compiling drought maps and information on crop planting and rainfall needs in various regions, and finally summarizing it into a PowerPoint presentation, which then returned to Zheng Hongsheng's hands.

While looking at the diagram in his hand, Zheng Hongsheng called Master Mingyu, sent him the current situation and his needs, and expressed his gratitude again.

(End of this chapter)