Global Flood: I Survive on Duckweed

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Taking Out Half, Building a Pond

Lu Jiamei was stunned for a moment, then immediately remembered the five kilograms of unhusked rice she had swiped from the large ship, which was now in Ren Yuanyang’s possession.

After removing the husks and bran, five kilograms of unhusked rice would yield about 3.5 kilograms of edible rice. Based on a normal person’s consumption of 250g of uncooked rice per day, this would only be enough to feed the three of them for a little over four days.

’Can he use this rice to plant more? But the growth cycle is too long. It would take at least three months to harvest. Unless... he can shorten the growth cycle!’

At this thought, Lu Jiamei stared at Ren Yuanyang in shock.

’If that’s really the case, we’ll never be short on food again!’

Ren Yuanyang smiled and said, ”Lu Jiamei brought about five kilograms of unhusked rice. In a bit, take half of it and prepare it for us to eat.”

Hearing this, Lu Jiamei was completely dumbfounded. ’Just a moment ago, I thought he could speed up the rice’s growth, but he’s just going to use it as food?’

Xin Wan, on the other hand, had a look of pleasant surprise and eagerly replied, ”Okay!”

Lu Jiamei quickly interjected, ”Wait, Boss, shouldn’t we be using this for planting, as seeds?”

Before Ren Yuanyang could speak, Xin Wan replied, ”By the time it’s grown, we’ll probably be dead and gone. Besides, where would we even plant rice right now? We can’t even find any soil.”

Ren Yuanyang smiled and waved his hand, signaling for Lu Jiamei not to worry. ”Didn’t I already set half aside? With the floor space we have in the container, we don’t need that many seeds. We can just save seeds from the first harvest!”

A typical rice paddy requires a few kilograms of seed, but that only comes out to a few grams per square meter.

The container floor was less than 15 square meters. Even if he used the entire area, he’d only need about 55 grams of seed. The half he had set aside was more than enough.

’Once we’re more established,’ he figured, ’I’ll have gone through several harvests and will be able to save plenty of seeds.’

Hearing Ren Yuanyang’s words, Xin Wan was taken aback again. ”Are you really going to plant rice?”

”Why not? I’m already growing cordgrass and Dripping Lotuses. Of course I can grow rice!” Ren Yuanyang replied.

”But a rice crop takes two or three months! If you plant it now, when will we ever get to harvest it?” Xin Wan frowned.

Just then, Lu Jiamei reminded her, ”Don’t forget our boss is a plant-based Evolver!”

Xin Wan paused, her eyes widening. ”You mean... your ability can speed up the growth of the rice?”

Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly, then changed the subject. ”Lu Jiamei, go ahead and bring your things over. We still need to figure out what kind of container to use for planting over there.”

The enhanced plants could be grown hydroponically, but they still needed water.

He couldn’t just plant them in the open sea, not least because they would be easily discovered by others.

The constant rain and weak light outside had already extinguished any thought Ren Yuanyang had of planting outdoors.

”Okay!” Lu Jiamei replied and walked right out.

Only then did Xin Wan snap out of her daze. She suggested, ”Boss, the waterproof tarp on my speedboat could probably be used to plant the rice. It’s not huge, but it should be enough for inside the container!”

Ren Yuanyang was momentarily surprised, then nodded. ”That’s actually a great idea! Your cabin here doesn’t leak, does it?”

”Not at all. The seal on this cabin is excellent. The tarp was just for double insurance!” Xin Wan shook her head.

”Good. Then let’s dismantle it right away and take it over. We’ll see how large of a paddy we can make!” Ren Yuanyang said, getting up.

The two of them put on their raincoats and removed the entire waterproof tarp from the outside of the speedboat’s cabin.

Lu Jiamei, who was in the middle of moving her things, saw what they were doing and asked quizzically, ”What are you two up to?”

”The bottles and jars you brought aren’t enough. I need this to plant the rice!” Ren Yuanyang explained, carrying the tarp into Lu Jiamei’s former bedroom.

Lu Jiamei quickly put her belongings in the speedboat and hurried over.

”First, let’s dismantle your bed. Then we’ll use planks to build a small paddy around the area and line it with the tarp!” Ren Yuanyang ordered, and then got to work.

With the three of them working together, their efficiency was quite high!

It only took them half an hour to build the small paddy. It was a rectangular pool two meters wide, three meters long, and one meter high.

”Lu Jiamei, you keep watch on our surroundings. Xin Wan, you start filling the paddy with water. I’m going to prepare the rice seeds.”

”Yes, sir!” the two women replied in unison.

”I’m heading up!” Lu Jiamei said to Xin Wan before climbing onto the roof of the container.

Xin Wan immediately picked up an empty can nearby and began filling the small paddy with water.

Although Ren Yuanyang had little farming experience, he still knew the basic steps.

Rice seeds first needed to be soaked to induce germination, a process that usually required a fungicide solution. But they didn’t have anything like that now, so he could only soak them in plain water for the time being. Ren Yuanyang was confident that the enhanced seeds would germinate and grow into seedlings without any problems.

After preparing the rice seeds, Ren Yuanyang came over to help fill the paddy with water.

Thankfully, they had just eaten a full meal. Otherwise, they might not have had the energy for such physical labor.

They stopped after filling the paddy about eighty percent full of water.

Xin Wan rubbed her aching arms. She had never done this kind of manual labor before, but now she had to learn.

Ren Yuanyang walked back to his bedroom and retrieved a jar from his nightstand. Inside the jar was a plant.

”This is cordgrass. It can absorb salt, purify it, and then secrete it. I’ll leave it with you for now. Don’t forget to collect the salt it produces!” Ren Yuanyang said, handing her the jar.

Xin Wan quickly acknowledged, took the jar, and curiously examined the cordgrass plant.

She had only heard about it before; now she was finally seeing it in person.

When she saw the white crystals on the veins of the leaves, Xin Wan couldn’t help but ask, ”Is this the salt it secretes?”

Ren Yuanyang nodded. ”Yes.”

”That’s amazing!” Xin Wan exclaimed. Then she asked, ”Is there anything I need to be careful about? I have no talent for keeping plants. I can even kill a succulent.”

”Basically no. Just make sure to add water to it,” Ren Yuanyang replied.

”Okay, I understand!” Xin Wan returned to the speedboat, carrying the cordgrass.

Back on her speedboat, Xin Wan felt like everything was a dream. She had thought she would starve to death on this boat, but instead, she had run into a powerful Evolver like Ren Yuanyang.

She had encountered other survivors over the past few months, but they had all been after her speedboat and supplies.

Fortunately, Xin Wan had never shown her face. Otherwise, given her beauty, it would have just given those survivors another excuse to come after her.

Just as she was lost in thought, Lu Jiamei suddenly called out a warning, ”Boss, a boat is approaching us!”

Ren Yuanyang, who had just lain down to rest for a moment, immediately sat up. He quickly went to the top of the container and looked in the direction Lu Jiamei was pointing.

Through the heavy rain, a small boat was rapidly approaching them, the spray kicked up by its bow exceptionally conspicuous!