Survival of the Nation: My luck was a tiny bit worse.

So they continued working.

For the entire morning, the five of them were struggling with the clods of earth.

By the time the sun was high in the sky, the ground preparation work at the bottom of the pit was finally mostly completed.

The 300-square-meter pit was divided into six rectangular plots, each separated by shallow ditches, which facilitated both drainage and irrigation—although they do not yet have a proper irrigation system and can only rely on manual water carrying.

I'm tired.

Ou Yun sat down on the ground, picked up some jerky and started munching on it. "We'll continue this afternoon."

We ate lunch in the fields.

Chen Hao cooked a large pot of bear meat and wild vegetable soup, and everyone sat around it, holding wooden bowls, to eat.

Nanbei and Ludou, who were on guard duty, each got a large piece of raw meat and ate it with their mouths full of oil.

"I've already drawn the blueprints for the furnace's base."

Chen Hao said while drinking the soup.

"Hassan and his men started building the foundation that afternoon. The foundation was made of ordinary stone, which is plentiful on the mountain next to our camp."

"What about the furnace core material?" Ou Yun asked.

"There's no way to do it for now. I plan to build a test furnace using ordinary stone to see if I can smelt iron ore without adding a furnace core."

Chen Hao took a sip of soup, then pulled his tongue back because it was scalding hot.

"If we can, then we can postpone the Storm Core. If not, then we must find these two things first."

Hassan added from the side, "My idea is to first build the main body of the furnace and leave the necessary holes."

He thought about it carefully, "The interfaces for the furnace core and energy channels can be left empty for now, and then assembled when the materials arrive. This way, it won't waste time."

"Let's do it that way then."

Ou Yun shoveled the last mouthful of soup into his mouth, stood up, and patted his bottom.

"Let's try to finish tilling the land today, and tomorrow I'll go out with Captain Leng to find materials."

"Anyone else to bring?"

"North and South are enough. Our Pakistani brothers, continue with the melting pot, and Alexander, the three of you, are in charge of planting the seeds."

Ou Yun paused, then suddenly remembered something.

"Leave the mung beans at the camp to guard the house."

Green Bean's ears twitched; the little guy seemed to understand his name and meowed.

"What can a little cat like it guard the house?" Leng Ruolan laughed.

"Aren't there still cows?"

"What can that cow do besides lie flat?"

"Lying down to the extreme is also a skill."

"..."

That makes so much sense; she couldn't refute it.

*

The afternoon sun is more intense than the morning sun.

The climate in the forbidden area is never predictable; it was a bit cool yesterday, but it suddenly got hot today.

Hassan was a little worried, "Won't this affect our farming?"

Leng Ruolan comforted him, saying it was alright, "This place is amazing, it perfectly makes up for the shortcomings of the climate."

Hassan said "Oh," thinking to himself, "They don't even check the weather? Is this what farming is all about? Hahaha..."

Chen Hao was flipping through the climate records in his book, "The Complete Book of Outrageous Forbidden Zones." "We've been here for a while now, and the temperature is definitely changing."

"But the changes are completely unpredictable. Sometimes it's so cold you have to wear a bearskin, and sometimes it's so hot you want to soak in the river."

"When can we wear our bearskin coats?"

"have no idea."

"ha."

Over at the fertilizer field, five people continued turning the soil.

The bottom of the pit has been completely leveled. Now we'll start working on the slopes around the pit—this area is the largest, a full 700 square meters, but the slope is relatively gentle, so let's turn it into terraces.

The construction work on terraced fields is much larger.

Platforms need to be dug out on the slope, and stones need to be piled up between each layer to protect the slope and prevent soil erosion.

Fortunately, the materials were readily available—the large amount of rubble generated when the camp was bombed was just right for building the terraced slopes.

"Could we say we've turned misfortune into a blessing in disguise?"

As Ou Yun carried a stone the size of a washbasin up the slope, he couldn't help but ask a question.

"Calculate."

Leng Ruolan followed behind him, carrying two larger pieces.

"The Abyss Bone Demon destroyed our camp, but it gave us fertilizer fields and furnace blueprints. Now we can even use the rubble from the explosion to build terraced fields. It's not a bad deal, is it?"

"If that's the case, it's not just not a loss, it's a huge profit."

"Well, as long as you don't drive anything that makes Nanbei get chased around."

"How can you blame me? The powder just spilled on its own!"

"If you don't open it, will it spill?"

"..."

Okay, you're awesome.

*

As evening approached, the terraced fields finally began to take shape.

Five platforms, each about one meter wide, were dug out on the slope, and simple retaining walls were built with rubble.

Including the six plots of land at the bottom of the pit, there are a total of eleven plots of land, which is quite a considerable area.

Alexander and his men have already divided the seeds.

The tubers of wild potatoes are planted in terraced fields on slopes, where drainage is good and suitable for tuber crops.

Wild vegetable seeds were sown in the most moist plot at the bottom of the pit, while wild wheat was planted in the sunniest area.

There were also some seeds that even they couldn't name, so they set aside a special experimental field to plant them and see what they would grow into.

"It's time to water them."

Leng Ruolan glanced at the sky, then at the newly planted seeds. "Before the sun has completely set, water them thoroughly."

The task of carrying water naturally fell to the person with the best physical strength.

Ou Yun and Alexander each carried a load of water from the stream next to the camp and watered the fields along the slope.

The river water was clear and cold, making a soft splashing sound as it poured onto the fertilized soil.

The soil became darker in color after being soaked, and emitted a unique aroma that was a mixture of burnt and earthy scents.

"This smells... kind of nice."

Alexander took a deep sniff.

"Be careful, what if this soil has some hidden power?"

Despite saying that, Ou Yun took a couple more breaths himself.

Fortunately, apart from smelling nice, it doesn't have any other effects for now.

By the time the sun set, the entire fertilizer field had been irrigated.

The moist soil gleamed with a deep brown light in the setting sun.

The newly planted seeds showed no signs of life yet, but everyone unanimously felt that they would grow very well!

"The feeling of farming..."

Standing at the edge of the pit, looking at the neat and orderly rows of fields, Ou Yun suddenly sighed, "It's pretty good."

"Feeling accomplished, huh?" Leng Ruolan stood next to him.

"Yeah. In the past, when you hunted, once you'd caught something, it was gone. Farming is different. You plant it, and it's there, growing day by day. You can watch it grow."

"Wow, big brother's gotten into the artsy stuff too."

"This isn't art; this is the truth."

"Okay, I'll tell you the truth."

Leng Ruolan chuckled, turned around and walked back. "We have to get up early to travel tomorrow, so I should go to bed early tonight."

"understood."

Ou Yun glanced at the land again, feeling a little reluctant to leave.

Does this mean he now owns his own land in the forbidden area?

This feeling is fucking amazing!

*

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Ou Yun was awakened by a fragrant aroma.

It wasn't the smell of campfire smoke, nor the smell of roasted meat, but a rich aroma of wheat—yes, the aroma of wheat, with a hint of sweetness!