She indeed found quite a few poisonous thorns, poisonous grass, and other mutant plants, as well as some mutant vines. It took some effort to dig them out and replant them around the valley's weaker defensive points, channeling some superpower into them to help them take root better.
She kept some plant seeds, which she could hasten to use for her own protection.
It took her two days to finish these tasks, and she also found that many of the crops and fruit trees were doing very well—unfortunately, it wasn't the harvest season yet, and there wasn't much to gather. Come autumn, there might be some pleasant surprises.
The work in the fields was no longer urgent. Qin Jianzhong could also handle watering and weeding, and an irrigation system had been installed in the fields. In the morning and evening, one only needed to turn on the water with an electric card, and in the absence of electricity, there were generators and diesel fuel.
Li Pan, Xue Dong, and Qin Jianzhong discussed together and made a list of items they needed to purchase. They planned to go to the base to buy the items, and since they had not yet collected the money from the last batch of senna leaves and dandelions, they could trade them for goods.
After agreeing on the plan, Qin Jianzhong stayed to look after the house. He was planning to build a heated brick bed and a chicken coop to prepare for hatching chicks, a task he was skilled at.
"Jianzhong, when you have time, make sure to build a barn for cattle and sheep. I plan to bring them back next month when the pasture will be ready for grazing."
"Okay."
"Then we're off."
Xue Dong led Li Pan and a vehicle full of goods towards the base.
They also specifically harvested senna leaves, dandelions, loquats, and stevia, which were cut from another slope.
When she had previously dug up the Poison Thorn, she discovered wild licorice and honeysuckle, both of which were beneficial and had excellent medicinal properties; she cut quite a lot to take to the base pharmacy for testing before selling.
Xue Dong had laid down a tarpaulin and padded it with bedding in the vehicle to make it comfortable for Li Pan to rest since she had gotten up too early in the morning.
"Pan'er, you sleep for a while. I'll call you when we arrive; just cover yourself with the blanket."
"Yeah."
Li Pan yawned; she really hadn't awakened fully because she had started loading the vehicle before dawn, and there was quite a mess of things to load.
The distance to the base was too far, making each trip challenging since they didn't have a space superpower user to help. They couldn't always ask Brother Zhao Quan for assistance since he was often out on missions, not at the base.
Every trip to the base, they tried to carry as much as possible; otherwise, it wouldn't be worth the journey, considering the amount of work at home.
She was almost at the destination after a nap, only to be woken up by Xue Dong. It was already noon, and the sun was scorching hot.
"We've arrived; don't sleep anymore."
"Okay."
Li Pan rubbed her eyes, folded the blanket neatly, packed it in a bag, tied it up, and put it aside to save space.
Entering the base required checking the goods and ID cards; they were very strict.
After getting inside, Xue Dong took her straight to the base courtyard and parked the vehicle there, fearing it might get stolen.
Xue Dong went to find the Base Commander, who was in the office.
The Base Commander was on the phone but gestured for him to sit down upon seeing him.
After ending the call, he spoke with Xue Dong.
"Are you here to pick up some items?"
"Yeah, and to sell some medicinal herbs as well. We've found quite a few beneficial herbs on the farm. Some aren't ready yet, so I've picked some loquats, honeysuckle, and licorice for testing. If they're good, I'll sell them and exchange them for items we need on the farm. It's troublesome coming here and back, so I don't want to bother twice for the same thing."
"Alright, I'll have them rush the tests for you so you can sell them quickly," the Base Commander immediately said, then called someone in.
"Wen Bin, take the goods from Xue Dong's vehicle to the pharmacy for testing. If there are no problems, we'll register and keep them here."
"Okay, I'll handle it now, real quick," Wen Bin said, nodding, then went to look for Li Pan.
"Here you go, Chuanbei Loquat Paste, the good stuff."
Xue Dong handed him a jar of loquat jam.
"Just one jar, huh?"
The Base Commander pouted and rolled his eyes at him. Such a miserly kid.
"Be content. That's all the Chinese Fritillary we had at home. The medicinal herbs are damned expensive. There aren't many bottles that include Chinese Fritillary."
"If you're being so generous without a reason, you must be either plotting something or stealing. Spit it out, what do you want?"
"Pan'er is about to upgrade to a Mid-level Superpower soon, and she might awaken a Companion Spirit Plant during the process. I'm worried she might fail, so I'd like to reserve two Spirit Plants."
"Reserving Spirit Plants is fine, but business is business. Both of you don't have enough Contribution points. Should I lend you some?"
The Base Commander was very fond of Xue Dong, smart and capable with a mind and frugality that was top-notch. Externally his mind was like a nuclear bomb, but internally it gave him a toothache.
"If it's not enough, I'll borrow from you, but first I'll use Jianzhong's, I've calculated it, and with the three of us combined, we should have just about enough. By selling these items and scraping together what we can, we should be able to get one or two things. We'll see which one Pan'er thinks is more suitable."
"Alright, you pick two items, and I'll set them aside for you. Whatever you don't want, I'll put back up for sale."
He had to take care of his own people, those who had struggled and suffered with him through thick and thin. Besides, Li Pan was an honest and capable kid who always exceeded his agricultural production quotas at the base, a good child indeed.
"Fine, these bottles of loquat jam don't have Chinese fritillary in them. Take a look and give them away. While you're at it, get me some diesel too."
"I don't have that much diesel, that stuff is rationed. Do you think I produce diesel?"
"My farm will harvest the grain in just over a month. I won't say more, but potatoes won't be a problem. They have a high yield. Do you want some?"
Xue Dong raised his chin, a look of pride on his face.
The Base Commander was stumped, with no way to leverage him using grain.
"Fine, I'll give you some more, but use it sparingly."
"Got it. Exchange these machines for me, and if there are any good mutant animals, save one for me to take home as a guard."
"Deal, understood. I'll have Gao Wenbin take you for the exchange."
"Then I'm off. These fish and chickens, give them to the kitchen to cook, add a meal for the brothers."
"Take it yourself and go on, every time you come back you're fleecing me."
The Base Commander had a love-hate relationship with him. Externally, he was handy and easy on the eyes, but internally, he could drive you mad.
Xue Dong walked away, swaying his head with smugness, making the Base Commander's teeth itch.
First, he went to deliver the smoked fish and wild chickens to the kitchen for the brothers' extra meal and stopped by to see the brothers at home and say hello.
Gao Wenbin had returned. The test results were fine, the efficacy of the medicines was very good, and the pharmacy offered a fairly decent buyback price.
"Exchange these items for me; I'm taking them with me. Leave these two spirit plants, Pan'er might need them."
"Did you settle things with the boss?"
"Settled. Give me some diesel to take with me too."
"I'll get it for you."
Gao Wenbin nodded and went about his business.
We'll settle the account with Contribution points and cash later.
"Come on, let's go buy some stuff."
Xue Dong took Li Pan's hand and headed to the market.
"What do you want to buy?"
"More large water jars for pickling vegetables, plastic sheets, tarpaulins — we're running short for rain covers — and we also need some glass jars, useful for making jams and such. Buy a few bathtubs for bathing and, since you want to make alcohol, we might as well get some. It's still feasible to make fruit wine. We also need to stock up on some alcohol for personal use. We should buy more cotton and quilts in advance, it's always right to be prepared."
"Alright, when we get back, we'll start a cotton field. Plant it as a precaution for the extreme cold of winter."
"Agreed, that's what I was thinking too. When we get back, we should plant the remaining fruit trees; Brother Qin can't manage them all by himself."
"We're not missing much anymore."
These last few days they had been busy planting fruit trees; there was a lot of work on the farm.
"I'm planning to exchange some aquatic plants to grow in the lake. We need to fish a few times, the density is too high. Ask the base if they'll take them. I don't have time to make smoked fish; I'm too busy, and Brother Qin works from dawn till dusk, not a moment's rest."
"I'll set a time to fish them out. Have them deliver the little stuff to me; we can't carry that much by ourselves."
They first went to a general store and bought several large water jars, of various sizes, nested together for transport.
"Deliver these to the military area inside the base gate. Someone will receive them. Just say they're Wang Xuedong's goods."
"Alright, you can count on me to deliver them."
"Next, let's buy two iron pots and stoves. Brother, should we buy coal too?"
"It's a bit early to buy coal now, I'm afraid we might not have enough money. Let's buy a little later, after you level up."
"Okay."
They then went to a blacksmith's to look around and buy some tools.
"What would you like to buy?"