Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1483 - 468: A Chance to Turn the Tables and Brutal Oppression, Frost Ash Association Branch, The Uprising Begins_4

Finally, aside from these three requirements, to ensure the growth and maturation of rice, it is essential to use fertilizer made from composted beast bone powder as nutrients throughout the process.

These four requirements alone determine that the regions suitable for growing rice are exceedingly rare.

Indeed, this is the case; the entire Chen Cang has only three areas where rice can be planted, and the Lu River Valley is one of them, albeit the smallest.

The key is that rice not only has demanding growth conditions, but harvesting it is also extraordinarily difficult.

Due to the long-term use of coal for heating, the rice stems and roots are continuously baked, releasing a deadly high-temperature toxin known as Green Fire Poison, named by Chen Cang because it appears green and looks like flames from close up.

The Green Fire Poison can be resisted by Cold Resistance Level for at most three hours, and Earth-digging Realm for two hours is the limit; exceeding the time limit results in the internal organs combusting and is almost incurable, leading to inevitable death.

However, after years of planting, Chen Cang has gleaned some experience. The Green Fire Poison is a high-temperature toxin, and its toxicity weakens with lower temperatures. During the day, the temperature in the Ice Abyss is much lower than at night, so Cold Resistance Level slaves are sent in for two hours during the day, where they are generally unaffected by the toxin;

The problem is that apart from the Green Fire Poison, there is another major obstacle called the Black Firefly.

This Black Firefly is a small, pitch-black insect the size of a thumb, sharp at the head and thick at the tail. It is not a Cold Beast but should be considered a companion organism of the rice. They usually randomly hide in mature rice stalks, and once disturbed, they shoot out like poisonous arrows, with an impact strength between 2 and 8 Manes. Due to their small size and speed, they can penetrate even Thousand Forged Iron Armor, catching ordinary Cold Resistance Level slaves off-guard, resulting in an annual death rate of two percent during the rice harvest, primarily caused by these Black Fireflies.

Considering these two difficulties, coupled with the low yield per rice plant, Cold Resistance Level slaves could only harvest four to five plants at most, approximately one pound, within two hours during the daytime in previous years, even maintaining a 20% mortality rate.

The harvest period for rice typically lasts only around 80 days. Taking last year as an example, Qingwu Village had a total of 210 Cold Resistance Level slaves who collectively handed in over 16,300 pounds of rice, averaging less than one pound per person per day, as they were already pushing their limits.

Someone just calculated that Qingwu Village currently has only 198 Cold Resistance Level slaves. According to this year’s target set by the Subordinate Bureau, 19,500 pounds must be collected, with each person accounting for 100 pounds, meaning at least 1.25 pounds per day per person, which equates to more than six plants.

This is the baseline number, and the harvest period might be shortened, with the 20% annual mortality rate unchanged. If personnel decreases, the remaining people will have even more to bear.

Therefore, relying solely on Cold Resistance Level slaves cannot meet this target!

But Zhang Long is well aware that the plan he discussed with fifteen other village Subordinate Department Chiefs is indeed somewhat excessive.

During the first two hours of the night, although the temperature is relatively lower, the Green Fire Poison remains potent. No one knows how long the Earth-digging Realm Limit can withstand it;

Moreover, facing the Black Firefly, even Cold Resistance Level slaves risk losing their lives, not to mention the Earth-digging Realm Limit slaves, who are doomed if they encounter them.

The method they proposed, bluntly speaking, involves using the lives of Earth-digging Realm Limit slaves to exchange for rice.

But the problem is, they couldn’t think of any other solutions besides this.

Since the County City has given an order, it must be obeyed no matter what, even if lives have to be sacrificed to meet this year’s rice target.