There can't be a Harvest Moon in the RimWorld.

This inexplicable sense of crisis does not stem from the person himself, but from the identity he represents.

Among the old miners, besides the few brothers who went up the mountain together, there was another key figure who helped them escape from the Trust Group's mines—Old Kay!

Old Kai, who came from the Navigators' Alliance, was just a hothead back then. He claimed that he was arrested while sailing to support the rebels, and later he was only responsible for transporting minerals produced in the mining town.

The day Harris's father fled Mineral Town, it was old Kay who came to pick him up by boat.

Old Man Hook had told me about this before, but his attitude toward this person was also unclear—or rather, he didn't trust anyone.

He believed that old Kay's timely imprisonment might have been a deliberate arrangement that helped old Yorkson complete his escape plan.

Although this person is not tainted by memes, it's not because he stays out of the loop by only traveling at sea; rather, it's very likely that he possesses something far more terrifying than memes...

Anyway, Hook's old conspiracy theories are so common, I'm sick of hearing them.

There are all sorts of conspiracy theories, such as the Old Yorkson conspiracy, the Antonio conspiracy, the Old Kay conspiracy, the Rod Lilia conspiracy, the Tomato and Egg Sweet Party conspiracy, and the conspiracy of getting fired for stepping in with your left foot first...

Since it's something, he can apply it to his own template and create a terrifying conspiracy system, advising me to stay away from it.

If he were to hear about the famous "Lizard Man Theory," or have the good fortune to read "The Earth Chronicles," he would surely become a most devout believer.

But as for this person, I really can't guarantee there aren't any problems.

I've always had a worry in my heart—about the book "The Nameless Captain's Navigation Notebook" that I found in a parallel world.

Although many things in the two worlds are different, they are clearly connected.

If old Yorkson hadn't organized the miners' escape, or if Old Man Hook had successfully stopped him, then these seafarers would very likely have been the first to land on the island and establish a foothold, and I would most likely have arrived at that dubious "Happiness Town"...

Furthermore, although the "Deepsea Cataclysm" in the parallel world was successfully driven away, both Zack and Jeff, the boss in front of me, had encountered unknown entities at sea, and Doranco and his son Gotz were genuine Deepsea beings.

Thinking about it this way, old Kay, this key figure who knows the location of this island so well, really is incredibly suspicious...

Could his grandson be someone in the know? How should I deal with the storm that could break out at any moment outside the ranch?

…………

That night, under the indoor light of the rancher's house, I racked my brains and finally came up with a solution. I wrote a few meaningful words on a piece of white paper and posted them all over the walls and around the bed...

"Work hard for a week to build the new ranch!"

"Stay focused on our goals and overcome all difficulties to boost production!"

"By benchmarking against best practices and addressing shortcomings, and by focusing on our positions to promote development!"

Chapter 566 Faster, Better, and More Economical: Overcoming Technical Barriers (Part 1)

How to build a good ranch?

This is a matter of method, and also a matter of approach.

As the saying goes, if you take the wrong path, the more knowledge you have, the more reactionary you become. For example, although I have mastered the core technology, I found Jackie Chan to be my spokesperson... Oh no, it's because I have never been able to properly apply the colonizer system to the Mineral Town Ranch.

Admittedly, part of the reason can be attributed to the poor compatibility between the two things.

In my view, the colony system aimed to maintain a low level of economic needs before investing a large amount of resources in ensuring its own security and the security of its territory.

A key concept here is to preserve people even if land is lost, and to preserve both people and land. The colonial system's almost superhuman production and construction methods allow it to withstand the brutal reality of forced land swaps and devastating losses in order to ultimately achieve victory.

So simple, bland food, buildings that are only ever built one story, and materials that can change their properties with a touch become miracles in my hands.

Meanwhile, some high-value-added industries seem to have been weakened by the colonial system, which instead focused on enhancing the production sustainability of products that are resistant to disasters and destruction.

What does a ranch need?

As Marcus (that is, myself) was the chief architect of ranch development, collective poverty is not the goal of ranches, nor is backwardness the pursuit of ranches.

What ranches need is to raise and grow high-value-added products, and then convert these products into capital for expanding ranch production, thus entering a snowball-like virtuous cycle.

So the second problem is the starting point for the construction of the entire ranch; there is a fundamental problem with its direction.

Yes, it's that weird old man from the space travel group with the wrinkled face!

The original intention behind the construction of the Mineral Town Ranch was to ensure the supply line for Mineral Town's material production, serving as a fallback route for the miners if they lost Mount Mads.

The problem is that this guy is an extreme skeptic and doesn't trust anyone.

Under the threat of external enemies, with the mindset of a survival fanatic in an apocalyptic disaster, he forcibly carved out a chaotic Frankenstein's monster in the tall grassy land at the foot of Mount Mads—a ranch where planting, grazing, and traces of production workbenches and water mills remain.

Perhaps God saw how sincere he was, so He really did give him a devastating disaster (manual doge face).

During the rise and fall of Mineral Town, Old Man Hook survived for decades on this ranch, relying on his old preparations, and finally witnessed the town regain a glimmer of life, like a grassland sprouting new shoots after a volcanic eruption.

In the end, this somewhat distorted industry ended up in my hands.

From a business acumen standpoint, I would call Old Man Hook and Boss Dart the two bankrupt geniuses and business prodigies; Mineral Town has simply struck gold!

To be fair, just look at old man Muqi and lady Lilia, who both run ranches. One is dedicated to breeding cattle and sheep, and the other has long been committed to poultry farming. They can support their families without using credit cards, and they both have a bright future—while I am starving.

…………

I hadn't thought these questions through at first. Like a second-generation heir who had just taken over a company, I hadn't considered how to develop it in the future. I would just do whatever looked good and change whatever didn't look good.

For example, that spokesperson Wang Leehom has been doing it for twenty years and hasn't changed at all; he's too old! He must be removed! Replace him with a new one!

On the edge of the world planet, I spearheaded the establishment and development of the Mickey's Wonderful House trade zone, and made long-term plans to ensure the stable development of the entire region. Its influence even extended beyond the Riegomi Desert, and its fame spread to a large area across the Inner Sea.

Furthermore, I united the oppressed, scattered tribes into the Pirate... Pshaw, Sharp Vision Alliance, and utterly defeated the large tribes that had oppressed them for years, demonstrating the superiority of the system to a great extent.

Practice makes perfect, comrades!

Having learned so many lessons, whether from taking advantage of chaos or risking everything, I've finally analyzed and examined the mistakes I made and am ready to correct my course...

But note that this is not revisionism!

This is based on my past experiences and lessons learned!

…………

Leveling farmland and reclaiming wasteland is only the first step.

Planting seasonal crops and preparing for harvesting are essential skills for ranching. With the help of the colonist system, these plants are rich in magical ingredients, so no messy problems will arise, which will help me smoothly transition to the best season of autumn.

The tomatoes, corn, pineapples, and eggplants I planted all have relatively high economic value. Unfortunately, the cucumbers are out of season, so planting them now is a bit late, and I don't know if they will be harvested successfully.

I have now completely given up on animal farming.

All sorts of amazing animals breed here, and I always feel I can't bring myself to slaughter or sell them—I don't have the ability to extract juice from wild horses or milk leopards, so I just leave them here and treat this place like a zoo or a circus.

But I unexpectedly found a beehive in a tree by the river.

The hardworking bees have been multiplying in the tree for who knows how long, forming a huge hive. Every day, they fly across the riverbank to collect pollen in the dense forest on the other side, thus strengthening their own power.

Seeing these hardworking little creatures, I was deeply inspired. Even insects like these are working hard, so what right do I have not to strive?

Moved by their plight, I dismantled their hive and put them into a beehive that I had assembled on the spot, so they could work hard to make honey for me from now on.

Keep it up, working bees!

Item Name: Wooden Beehive

Product Description: This is a closed structure for bees to live and reproduce, from which colonists can harvest honey. To improve the efficiency of this ancient agricultural technique, the beehive is equipped with the latest quantum beekeeping technology, greatly enhancing safety and giving you an extraordinary experience!

Quantum beekeeping? Was the creator of this system scammed? I'm a marksman, I guarantee I can aim and hit exactly where I want, and whoever dies gets hit.

Understand the applause!

But this leads to the third problem with ranches: by-products and handicrafts.

Logically, a ranch should focus on developing primary livestock and crop farming, waiting for its fields to be filled with its own herds and plantations before reaping the harvest.

Processing by-products is an extension of the industrial chain, and it is normal to spend time on it during the off-season.

However, handicrafts, like ranching, are bottomless pits that devour labor. The two industries are contradictory in nature. Who would do this kind of thing on a proper ranch?

But it's different for me.

I produced nothing from the byproducts, yet I made a great success of the handicraft industry.

Looking at my first-quarter financial statements, the only noteworthy trade was the production of short bowstrings at the handcraft workshop, which successfully translated into real financial gains.

As for the conflict in the allocation of labor, it doesn't exist for me at all—I'm all alone anyway, so how could there be a conflict?

In agriculture, my only responsibility is to sow the seeds and wait for the harvest. So I can't just spend the rest of my time lounging in taverns and living like a hibernating Russian, can I?

Therefore, the path I must take is to develop both agriculture and handicrafts, and to explore the market in two ways, so as to carve out a path for myself in the already disadvantaged remote overseas regions.

Ahem, I've gone off on a tangent.

As the great ranching mentor Marcus (myself) once said, to figure out what a ranch lacks, you must first figure out what the ranch needs. And what the ranch needs depends on what the next step is.

One unbreakable truth in China's experience of becoming prosperous and powerful is that material and spiritual infrastructure must come first. Want to maintain a unified empire? Abolish feudal states, establish prefectures and counties, standardize the written language, standardize the gauge of carts, and extend straight roads to the borders and coastal defenses of the motherland!

"Select work command: Lay general stone flooring".

The general-purpose stone I had been accumulating for so long finally came in handy again. After a magical process of splitting the stone by hand, a batch of exquisite floor tiles with silver-white facets and rock-like patterns appeared before me.

In areas with underdeveloped productivity, roads are built by laying two stone slabs, building a bamboo bridge, and chiseling some embankments. The labor and capital required for road construction are major problems.

But here...

Item Name: General Purpose Stone Flooring

Item Description: Roughly cut stone paving stones, not very aesthetically pleasing, but ideal for paving roads and outdoor walkways. Due to the special construction process, the paving stones cannot be recycled after installation.

Its concise description is matched by its minimalist architectural style.

I picked up a stack of bricks, threw it to the ground, and after it landed steadily, I leaned forward and controlled my jump to land on the bricks.

The force of my body sinking down was like a hammer being slammed down, pressing the standard stone bricks that were already attached to the ground downwards. Then I threw out a second brick, filling in the blueprint I had planned ahead, and the posture was repeated once again.

The whole process was as easy as a child playing hopscotch. The uneven ground seemed to have been melted and deformed, actively abandoning all its sharp edges, allowing the bricks I threw to fit perfectly. As I moved, they sank a third into the ground, completely merging with it to form a straight, forward-moving brick road...

I looked at the "Land" function interface of the colonist system, which has many different land styles, such as decorative "concrete floor", "paved floor tile", "delicate floor tile", "bamboo floor", and even a type of "nursery" that doubles the soil fertility.

I am 120% confident in the claim that "soil fertility will double," and I will demonstrate this by showing that plant growth rate will double.

Thinking about it this way, crops that originally only need six days to mature, when they encounter this magical farmland... could they be harvested every three days, making me face the sweetness and pain of overflowing warehouses every day?

However, upon closer inspection, I discovered that the "seedling bed" required a substance called "compound fertilizer".

Okay, so this kind of magical substance that can enrich the soil with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium and increase wheat yield by 1,800 kilograms per acre must have the words "Golden Fertilizer" printed on the packaging, right...?

So, to achieve my goal, I'll have to wait until I reach the pinnacle of fertilizer technology and start a new agricultural revolution, right?

I searched through the entire colonist system interface but couldn't find any more radical or amazing agricultural facilities. So after digging a well by hand, I put the integration of agricultural technology aside and looked for the next area that urgently needed improvement.