Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 264 Five Years
January 17 AD

When King Wu of the North Pole was strolling down the street, people nearby greeted him with smiles and nods.

Over the course of five years, Bei Jiwu frequently went out to check on the situation and became acquainted with many people in the city.

The entire city of Luoyang is the territory of the Arctic Warriors. During difficult times, many people encountered problems, and the Arctic Warriors personally resolved them.

Even the imperial palace was open to city dwellers, allowing people from Luoyang and nearby counties to enter the palace in order to worship Buddha.

Beijiwu walked up to the entrance of the 498 store, went inside, and said with a smile, "How's life? Back to normal?"

Sijiuba, who was cleaning the house, said with a smile, "It's back to normal. Many people have come back from other places."

Recovery will take a very long time. The population is now less than five percent of what it used to be, and many talented people have perished in this catastrophe.

The most terrifying thing is the disruption of both marine and terrestrial ecosystems.

Most of the ocean area has become a desolate Dead Sea, where all the fish have long since died out.

Almost all species became extinct, and large land animals weighing over 20 kilograms were basically wiped out, especially herbivores and carnivores.

Only the scavengers survived until the fifth year.

The wild rats were almost completely wiped out. Acid rain, volcanic ash, various toxic gases, and low temperatures killed all kinds of wild animals and insects, as well as all plants that could grow.

The climate is dry, cold, and water-scarce, especially lacking clean water sources. Even Arctic warriors can only take a bath once a month, let alone other people.

Aside from humans, only rats hiding in human villages, as well as chickens, ducks, cattle, sheep, pigs, dogs, donkeys, and horses survived.

Australia's livestock industry cannot develop due to water shortages, and the Americas are also frequently plagued by natural disasters and tsunamis.

Many people who emigrated died, and this catastrophe led to the extinction of 99 percent of large and medium-sized species.

Looking at the sky, which resembled a smoggy day, Beijiwu observed that Luoyang was mostly overcast these days, though it appeared much brighter compared to the darkest periods of previous years.

"Luoyang will need another two or three years to fully recover, and several places in the north are still dark and cannot see the sunlight."

"Currently, only Luoyang has recovered somewhat; other places will have to wait several years to return to their former bustling state."

498 nodded. "It's much better now. The past few years have been too difficult."

Beijiwu had other things to do and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something.

"Your brother already has three children, although two of them died young. It's good to have one child. You're already in your twenties, why aren't you married yet?"

Arctic Martial and 498 are not actually that familiar with each other, nor did they know each other before.

The main reason was that Zhang Xianglan, who sold newspapers with Si Jiuba, had a better relationship with him. Since Si Jiuba was unmarried, Zhang Xianglan preferred to talk to this female colleague who was about the same age.

Si Jiuba was a little embarrassed. "I'm not getting married."

"Why don't you get married?" Arctic Martial asked curiously.

498 was even more embarrassed and didn't want to answer the question, so he casually said, "I look down on those people."

Beijiwu laughed and said, "Then who do you respect? Who else respects me?"

Si Jiuba picked up the newspaper, wanting to read it, her face flushed and her head lowered, "I only think highly of you."

Beijiwu smiled and said, "I'm thirty-five or thirty-six years old, nine or ten years older than you. Why don't you find someone your own age, or someone younger?"

Seeing that Beiji Wu didn't mind his words, Sijiu looked at him carefully, then lowered his head shyly and continued sweeping.

“I don’t mind.” 498 knew very well the treatment of women in the palace, and also knew that Arctic Martial Arts would not give women special treatment just because they had children.

But I still don't mind.

Having endured five dark years alone, Si Jiuba wanted to do something.

Beijiwu thought about it seriously, "You are good-looking, healthy and strong, and have a good personality. But even if you come with me, you will still have this job and your life will not change. You might as well marry a rich man and live a freer life."

498 immediately said expectantly, "I'm fine! I can be whatever Xianglan looks like, even a little less is fine!"

Beijiwu readily agreed, "I've been very busy lately. It's July now. Come visit me at the palace the day after the autumn harvest log is published. You're such a grown-up; it'll be too late if you don't have a child soon."

"Don't tell anyone about this. Keep it low-key, don't even tell your family."

Arctic Martial quietly offered a hint, seemingly unwilling to grant him a formal title.

Sijiu's heart raced, and she cautiously asked, "After I go there, will it be you? I don't want to marry your silly son."

Beijiwu looked surprised. "It must be me. But is my son stupid? Where does he show any signs of low intelligence?"

Beijiwu didn't care about Sijiuba's young body; he was more concerned about whether his son was mentally challenged, since he genuinely planned to hand over the country to his son in the future.

498 said embarrassedly, "Didn't you say it yourself?"

Beijiwu was relieved, but he also decided to discipline his son properly and find a suitable successor.

"Alright, take these two months to think it over calmly. If you don't want to go, you don't have to. I have over 100,000 women in the palace now, so I'm not short of women. I won't spend all my time on women like your brother does, always thinking about pleasing women."

Sijiuba nodded happily, "I know! I definitely won't regret it. My silly brother has no ambition at all. A man should prioritize his career!" After making a simple promise with Sijiuba, Beijiwu went to do other things. Wheat cannot be planted yet and it will take two or three years to recover.

The Yellow River outside the city was reinforced during the dry season to prevent it from overflowing again and causing disasters after the glaciers melt.

Beijiwu went outside to inspect the farmland conditions, and the various production teams began to use wood ash and lime to improve the volcanic ash soil.

Wheat could not be cultivated until three years later, in 21 AD.

From 2013 to 2021, nine years is enough time to wipe out 99% of humanity.

Arctic martial arts could not save everyone, only a few people and animals, preserving the spark and order for the revival of humanity.

Even though the national population has decreased by 95%, the Mountain Farm Kingdom still maintains good order, and the orders of the Arctic Warrior are absolute orders that must be obeyed in every province.

Most people died from disease, breathing toxic, choking gases, drinking poisonous water, in addition to plague and cold, as well as long-term psychological problems caused by darkness.

Many died by suicide or from illness, and the remaining people gradually became numb.

Now all that is in the past. Beijiwu leads the mountain farmers forward.

The differences between the north and south of the Mountain Farming Kingdom are huge. After several days of gathering reports from various places, Beijiwu roughly determined the recovery time.

The southernmost region was the first to recover.

The South Pacific islands are themselves volcanic eruption sites and are considered disaster areas, with most people dying in volcanic tsunamis and wars.

The first tier is the Indochina Peninsula.

The first two years saw crop failures due to volcanic eruptions in southern Indonesia, and the third year's grain yield was only one-tenth of normal. It is expected that the original yield will be restored within ten years.

Due to its low latitude and high average annual temperature, even after a 10-degree drop, the temperature is still higher than in many places in the north.

Most of the volcanic ash fell into the sea. This volcano was not as powerful as an ice volcano, and it gradually recovered in three and a half years.

Root crops such as cassava, taro, and sweet potato were first trialed a year after the outbreak. After several failures, it was the fourth year since they were successfully planted.

The successful early-maturing rice boosted the morale of the mountain farmers and gave them the confidence and determination to persevere.

In terms of sunlight, it has now returned to the level of a rainy, overcast day, and will gradually return to the level of a winter overcast day after a while.

The weather has returned to normal cloudy levels, and it's now suitable for farming and other agricultural activities.

If soil problems are resolved and acid rain is not so severe, grain production in Annam province of the Indochina Peninsula will increase significantly within two or three years, ensuring enough food for the entire nation.

Next will be the Lingnan region and the Hainan region, which may be a year or two later.

As the situation gradually recovers from south to north, pollutants in Luoyang's skies are also drifting eastward. However, if the south recovers quickly, a typhoon might be able to blow them all away.

However, it's also possible that ocean pollutants will be blown here.

July and August are the rainy season, and Beijiwu can only pray that the typhoons don't bring toxic rain to the farmland, otherwise it will take several years, or even decades, to recover.

As for the Goryeo region in the Changbai Mountain area and the Fusang region near Mount Fuji, Beijiwu believes that it will take at least a hundred years to recover.

Five years of darkness turned many places into hell on earth. The pitch-black world and the frigid storms and tsunamis caused those who tried to escape to perish in the cold sea.

Having survived the darkness, the mountain farmers are naturally entitled to receive more land.

***
The autumn harvest newspaper of 18 AD was finally published and sent to all parts of the world via multiple train routes.

"As of the autumn of 17 AD, the total population of the country was 523 million, and 9 newborns were registered this year."

"Crops in the three northern provinces have almost failed, and potato yields in the Huanghuai province are less than 30 jin per mu, with a total of 200 tons of grain collected for public use."

“The Southwest Province produced 874 tons of grain, the Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces produced 51 tons, the Hunan and Hubei Provinces produced 60 tons, the Annam Province produced 1 tons, the Western Regions Province produced 238 tons, the West Asia Province produced 150 tons, and the Eastern Europe Province produced 91 tons.”

"523 million people need 2.6 million jin of grain, or about 13 tons of grain, every year. The current shortage is mainly met through various channels, primarily through fish and insect farming in underground caves and underground plants, and secondly through scavenging small amounts of food from the ocean and forests."

"The annual steel output is 22 tons, and the pig iron output is 30 tons."

"The railway mileage is 2.6 kilometers, and the highway mileage is 3.2 kilometers."

"The company has 14 cattle, 7 pigs, 10 sheep, 5 horses, 6 donkeys, 162 chickens, 36 ducks, 101 dogs, 5 beehives, and over 100 birds of various kinds."

“In the cave dwelling, 308 tea seedlings, 116 mulberry seedlings, and more than 200 silkworm eggs were cultivated.”

"20 people applied for citizenship for the mountain people, and 10000 were approved."

"Throughout the year, we provided support for the transfer of 40 tons of grain, 64 tons of meat, 80 tons of salt, and 200 million tons of tea and vegetables."

"The average mortality rate across provinces was 26.5%, with the highest mortality rate in Dongdao Port (39.7%) and the lowest in Luoyang, Huanghuai Province (8.1%)."

"From March to August, potato and sweet potato seeds have been successfully cultivated in five months. This year, cultivation has been carried out in the Lingnan region. It is expected that the food shortage will be initially alleviated around the Spring Festival, and food will be distributed to everyone in the autumn harvest next year."

"Natural conditions in the northern provinces will gradually recover, living conditions will improve one after another, and all regions will strive to restore production for the rejuvenation of humankind!"

"All those who have gone out may return on their own. Welcome home."

(End of this chapter)