Li Keyi had been idle recently because she suddenly couldn't find a research direction. Before, Li Keyi wanted to research how to make evolution crystals, but she had already achieved this goal last year. She hadn't thought about what she should research next.
So, when she had free time, Li Keyi would wander around the city, sometimes even taking people to the south to observe the sowing situation.
Yuzhou's grain had now achieved self-sufficiency, thanks to the method of屯田 (túntián - land reclamation for military and civilian cultivation). There were different types of屯田: in the plains of Yuzhou, it was military屯田, while in the mountains, it was civilian屯田. In short, most of the grain was controlled by the City Lord's Mansion, and the currency within Yuzhou was grain coupons.
As Xu Xing had not gone out recently, Li Keyi took Xu Xing with her. She also needed to inquire about Xu Xing's marriage. Xu Xing was already in her twenties, an old maid. It was abnormal that she was not yet married at this time, so many people speculated that Xu Xing had feelings for Shen Feng.
Li Keyi and Xu Xing's outing did not alarm too many people. It wasn't that Li Keyi's status in Yuzhou was not important enough, but rather that the strength of these two individuals did not require others to worry. Xu Xing was already a sixth-tier ability user, a pinnacle among ability users, while Li Keyi was a seventh-tier ability user. She was even rarer in the world, with unfathomable strength, being the strongest ability user in Yuzhou besides Shen Feng. With these two traveling together, no one could harm them.
"Xu Xing, you are the undisputed apricot fairy in the hearts of many. If you don't get married at this time, you will be gossiped about by many people. So, while you are still young, you should quickly find a suitable husband. Believe me, look at Luo Qing; she smiles every day after getting married." While traveling by car to the southern mountains, Li Keyi couldn't help but persuade Xu Xing.
Xu Xing replied, "Well, I don't have feelings for a bunch of stinky men. None of them are worthy of me, so don't say such things anymore."
Li Keyi was surprised to receive such an answer. The reason Xu Xing had not married for so long was that she hadn't found any man she fancied. However, it was true that Xu Xing was a rare ability user in the world. Such people were naturally proud, and there were always few men who could catch her eye.
"But you can't be alone for the rest of your life, can you? I remember several young men in your special operations team are still unmarried. They have followed you everywhere to suppress bandits for a long time. Aren't they very outstanding?" Li Keyi continued to ask.
Li Keyi replied, "Let's not talk about these people. Although they are my team members and quite outstanding, I don't have feelings for them. Instead, I prefer being with girls. You wouldn't understand this feeling. Many girls have delicate minds; they will pay attention to your every move and understand your thoughts."
Li Keyi was greatly shocked upon hearing this description because she felt she had learned something incredibly important. Xu Xing had not married for so many years, and people generally thought Xu Xing was too picky or liked someone she shouldn't. However, the truth was not like this, because Xu Xing actually had feelings for girls.
"I didn't expect Xu Xing to be such a woman. I should stay away from Xu Xing in the future, otherwise, she might make a move on me," Li Keyi thought to herself.
Xu Xing had indeed had feelings for girls before. This girl was none other than Qi Yunfang. The two were reluctant to part when they separated at Yan Mountain. Xu Xing had originally wanted to visit Qi Yunfang later, but she never expected that Qi Yunfang would later die at sea, and they wouldn't even have time to keep in touch.
Xu Xing missed Qi Yunfang dearly, and she always treasured the lock of hair Qi Yunfang had given her, never discarding it.
After Li Keyi and Xu Xing entered the mountains, they soon arrived at a village. After verifying their identities, the guards of the village quickly opened the village gate.
The style in the mountains was completely different from that of the northern plains. In the plains,屯田 was protected by the army, while in the mountains,屯田 relied solely on oneself. Moreover, there were many mutated beasts in the mountains, and their existence was definitely a threat to human survival. Over time, villages were formed in the mountains, and their operations were all regulated. Ordinary people could not enter these villages.
Yuzhou's attitude towards these villages was simple: as long as they paid their grain annually, it was enough. As for how to survive in the mountains, Yuzhou did not interfere. The people who originally reclaimed land in the mountains were refugees from various places. These refugees united according to their regions, and only through unity could they deal with the threat of mutated beasts.
The appearance of Li Keyi and Xu Xing immediately drew a warm welcome from the village chief. He led the main management personnel of the village to welcome them, adopting a very humble posture. It was clear that at this moment, they dared not offend Xu Xing and Li Keyi.
"The arrival of the Goddess of Light and the Apricot Fairy graces our humble abode. May I know the purpose of your visit to our village? The wheat has not been harvested yet, and it doesn't seem to be the time to pay grain taxes." The village chief couldn't help but inquire, wanting to know why these two important figures from Yuzhou were here.
Li Keyi explained, "We are not here to urge you to pay grain taxes. We are here for sightseeing. Remember, not inspection, just simple sightseeing. Don't worry about us; we'll just take a walk in the southern mountains."
Li Keyi spoke very casually at this moment, but everyone dared not take it lightly. This was because of the status of Li Keyi and Xu Xing. They could be casual, but the villagers could not. Otherwise, if these two became serious, they would face utter destruction.
So, Li Keyi and Xu Xing stayed in the village, preparing to continue their walk in the mountains the next day. The village immediately offered them various delicacies as hospitality. There were several female soldiers accompanying them. For every dish, the female soldiers would taste it first. After half an hour, everyone would sit down and eat together. This was to prevent poisoning.
While Li Keyi and Xu Xing were eating, they suddenly heard that someone had arrived outside the village. The village had defensive functions, with thick walls outside. Ordinary mutated beasts could not enter the village, and if the walls were breached, the villagers would be in danger. Therefore, ordinary people needed to have their identities clarified before entering the village.
"Village Chief, it's the wheat harvesters. There are quite a few of them, over a hundred people," the people on the watchtower replied to the rear.
The defensive function of the village was evident at this moment. In an ordinary village, over a hundred people could force their way in, but with the village walls, it was not so easy for ordinary people to enter.
The village chief heard this reply and immediately shouted at the watchtower, "The wheat is not ripe yet, and they have come early. It will still be half a month until the harvest. They have come too early."
"Wheat harvesters? And foreigners appearing in groups?" Li Keyi was very confused upon hearing this term and couldn't help but look at Xu Xing and ask, "Do you know what this means?"
Xu Xing, having ventured out over the years, knew the meaning of this term. She immediately replied, "Not 'Mike,' but guests who harvest wheat. This profession has a long history. During the busy farming season, people go to other places to help harvest wheat in exchange for money. However, the term is not the same in many places. Judging by their current term, they are likely from Hanzhong."
"Hanzhong? That's several hundred kilometers away, and the roads are difficult to travel. They actually came here to help harvest wheat; that's strange," Li Keyi remarked.
The village chief instructed the people on the watchtower not to open the gate. There was still a long time before the wheat fields would mature. They couldn't afford to support these people for free during this period, so they must not open the gate. If these people couldn't get in, they would eventually have to leave.
Xu Xing also didn't quite understand why a group of people would come to the southern mountains of Yuzhou to help harvest wheat. So, she beckoned to the village chief and said, "Village Chief, please come here. We have a few questions we'd like to ask. Please enlighten us."
"We dare not! All the people in our village rely on the Wind God to live. What enlightenment are you talking about? If you two have anything you want to ask, please feel free to ask. If we know, we will definitely answer you," the village chief said, feeling panicked after hearing Xu Xing's words.
Xu Xing asked, "What tools do these people use to help you harvest? Harvesting machines?"
"What harvesting machines? They rely on the sickles they carry with them. Some don't even have sickles and rely entirely on their strength to work. If they had harvesting machines, they probably wouldn't have traveled all this way to beg for food," the village chief replied quickly.
Xu Xing then realized she had been mistaken. She had been misled by her naive thoughts. Many years ago, Xu Xing had heard that many people drove harvesting machines all over the world, so she subconsciously thought these people were the same as before. But if there were really harvesting machines, they wouldn't have come to the mountains to harvest with over a hundred people.
"Then why are these people coming here?" Xu Xing continued to ask.
"Alas, if it weren't for the disaster, who would want to leave their homes? Although there were wheat harvesters to help in previous years, especially for urgent harvests, no one refused. But this year, they came half a month early. The wheat is not yet ready for harvest, and these people have already arrived. I heard that locusts appeared in the north, and they were not ordinary locusts, but mutated locusts. The wheat in the north matures even later, and as soon as the locusts appeared, all the wheat was eaten. So, there was a famine!" the village chief said with some emotion.
Yuzhou currently had over ten million people, most of whom were refugees from other places. In five to six years, Yuzhou had received a saturated number of refugees. Therefore, for any refugees who appeared later, recruiting them for屯田 was impossible. To survive, they had to find their own way.
The village chief also thought of his own experience. Fortunately, he had fled early. Otherwise, if he had only fled to Yuzhou now, he wouldn't even have the chance for屯田.
"What? Mutated locusts have appeared? This is terrible!" Li Keyi exclaimed in shock upon hearing this. Now she knew that a new disaster had occurred.
The Chinese region had not experienced locust plagues for decades, thanks to the control of the source of locust plagues. When the upper reaches of the Yellow River were managed well, locust plagues no longer occurred on a large scale. Locust plagues generally occurred with droughts because locusts did not like too much water. Once water conservancy facilities were fully built, locust plagues would not break out.
However, after the apocalypse arrived, humans had not built water conservancy facilities for more than ten years. Many reservoirs and dams had fallen into disrepair. Coupled with the continuous drought in the north, locust plagues finally appeared, and these were not ordinary locusts but mutated ones.
Upon hearing about the locust plague in the north, Li Keyi immediately realized something was wrong. If the locust plague continued to occur, and the locusts appeared in the Yuzhou region, then all of Yuzhou's grain would be finished.
"The intelligence division hasn't reported this important news at all. Lin Yue is truly damned. We'll rush back to Yuzhou immediately after dinner. We must be fast!" Li Keyi realized something was wrong and quickly said to Xu Xing.