Chapter 660: Cactus
Chapter 660: Chapter 660: Cactus
Evelyn Ford filled half a bucket with cold water, tossed the whip in, and then added some soap pods to let it soak. Soaking the blood-stained whip for two hours would not only clean off the blood but also make it more pliable.
It was 4:30 in the afternoon when Taylor Vance and Zion Lowell rode over on a tricycle. In the back was a large pot of herbal tea, along with some fruit and cold noodles. Evelyn Ford washed her hands, planning to go have a bowl of herbal tea to cool down from the heat.
"Is the base planning to plant crops soon? On my way back just now, I saw over a dozen trucks hauling manure toward the farmland."
"We’ve already cleared twenty to thirty acres. Mr. Chase said the land is too barren, so we need to spread some fertilizer. Once that’s done, the plan is to plant cassava, sweet potatoes, and potatoes."
"Those three crops aren’t picky about their growing conditions. We should plant plenty of them."
The base’s livestock area was already built. Tomorrow, Ronan Kendrick and Liam Sterling would go over to deliver feed grass and wheat straw. The straw, once crushed, could be used to feed the animals. Three-quarters of the livestock in the ’space’ belonged to the base. Their numbers had increased significantly recently. After deducting the twenty percent owed to Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick, the number of animals returned to the base—just counting the pigs—exceeded ten thousand.
"The freshwater lake is vast. If we don’t have enough grain to feed the livestock, we could actually fence off an area to cultivate water hyacinths. They reproduce incredibly fast, and most importantly, you can feed them to pigs. However, they do ruin the water quality."
Evelyn Ford thought for a moment before continuing, "We could also plant some cacti in the desert. Not only can you feed them to livestock, but people can eat them too. Plus, they bear fruit. Plantains might not be suitable for the plains or the desert, but there’s a plant called the Earth-Surging Golden Lotus. It’s a type of banana plant native to The Southwest that we should be able to grow. I have some seeds here. I’ll plant some in the black soil, and then you can take them to the base for them to transplant. We can see if they survive. The Earth-Surging Golden Lotus also grows in clumps. Its fruit is edible, and if you peel back the outer layers, the tender core of the stem can be stewed with meat or stir-fried. Most importantly, this plant can be used as livestock feed. A single one can feed three pigs for a meal."
Liam Sterling’s eyes lit up. The Tass Desert was huge. If they planted dozens of acres of cacti, wouldn’t that solve the livestock feed problem?
As for the water hyacinths, once the water quality was ruined, cleaning it up and restoring it would be very difficult. That plan could only be a last resort.
This was the first time he had ever heard of a plant like the Earth-Surging Golden Lotus, but he trusted Evelyn Ford. If she thought it could be grown, then it had to be something good.
They had also cleared over twenty acres of farmland on the plains. If the cacti couldn’t grow in the desert, they could plant them on the plains instead.
"Evelyn, can we get a few clumps of cactus from you? I can speak for Mr. Chase on this. Once they’re planted in the desert and start bearing fruit, you can have a twenty percent share back. We’ll also need to get some Earth-Surging Golden Lotus seedlings from you. For those, we’ll stick to your agreement, the eighty-twenty split."
There were quite a few cacti growing in the ’space’. Speaking of their origin, she had Officer Graham to thank. Years ago, he had given Evelyn Ford a cactus cutting to help her out. Evelyn had kept it and grown it in a pot. After her ’space’ upgraded, she planted it in the black soil, and now it had multiplied into dozens of clumps.
A twenty-percent share of the Cactus Fruit and Earth-Surging Golden Lotuses was too much. Evelyn Ford smiled and waved her hand dismissively. "Just send back five hundred pounds of cactus and two tons of Earth-Surging Golden Lotus. The dozens of clumps in my ’space’ can produce several hundred pounds a year anyway. As for the Golden Lotuses, I plan on growing some in the ’space’ to feed the pigs too. How about this: later, we’ll go cut off some cactus pads. We’ll stick them in the soil to root first. Once they have roots, we can take them to the desert to plant. The survival rate will be much higher that way."
"Then we’ll have to trouble you all. Evelyn, don’t be so formal with the base. Once we succeed, the base will definitely plant dozens, or even hundreds, of acres. Five hundred pounds is too little. There are more than a dozen of us; five hundred pounds isn’t even enough for us to eat! Besides, Mr. Chase would never agree. If everyone thinks twenty percent is too much, then let’s make it ten percent. In any case, we can’t have you doing all this for nothing." Liam Sterling was very insistent, so Evelyn Ford relented and agreed.
"Alright, then. Here’s to the base’s successful planting."
After finishing their herbal tea, Evelyn Ford, Ronan Kendrick, and Liam Sterling went to cut the cacti.
"Let’s cut ten clumps first. Just cut the cactus pads into small pieces and stick them directly into the soil to root. They don’t need watering. In fact, sandy soil is better for cacti. With enough sunlight, they grow quickly."
"There are so many spines! These cactus pads are huge and plump. I remember hearing that cactus is a staple food for some foreigners. You can stir-fry it or make it into all sorts of candies." Liam Sterling pulled on his gloves and used a sickle to chop the cactus pads off at their base. As long as the roots remained, new pads would sprout in a few days.
Ronan Kendrick cut the harvested pads into sections, while Evelyn Ford was in charge of planting the pieces in the soil.
Cultivating Earth-Surging Golden Lotus seedlings was similar to raising fruit saplings. You place the seeds into seedling blocks, water them, cover them with plastic film, and they should sprout in about two weeks.
"Are dragon fruits a type of cactus?" Ronan Kendrick asked curiously.
"I think so. They’re in the same plant family."
"The base has quite a few agricultural experts. Later, I’ll have Mr. Chase ask them if it’s possible to cultivate dragon fruit on the cactus pads."
"Do you really need to do any special cultivation? We still have plenty of dragon fruit in the storage area. Just pick out the seeds, plant them in seedling blocks, and you can grow them. No need to graft. What grows will be dragon fruit."
Evelyn Ford clicked her tongue. "You guys ate all that fruit before and never thought to save the seeds?"
Liam Sterling looked a bit sheepish. "I wasn’t thinking about that while I was eating."
After they finished cutting the ten clumps of cactus, the three of them continued planting the sections in the soil. Evelyn Ford had Liam Sterling give Rhys Chase a heads-up to get the area for planting the cacti zoned out soon.
At 7:00, Taylor Vance used a megaphone to call everyone back for dinner. Only then did Evelyn Ford stand up, pressing a hand to her lower back.
"By the way, this morning when Mr. Kendrick and I were out delivering supplies, we ran into Mr. Chase’s assistant. He said the base recently captured some more extremists. We should bring them back tomorrow."
Hearing this, Evelyn Ford’s eyes lit up. "That’s great. Bring them back tomorrow. We can have them take care of washing the medicinal herbs, and everyone else can come help with the seedlings. How many are there?"
"There should be about twenty."
’Twenty. That’s enough.’
The busy day came to an end. After dinner, Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick went for a walk in the courtyard to aid their digestion. Ethan Dawson went to inspect the laborers’ tents. With two large White Wolves supervising them, the men had learned their lesson and no longer had the courage to cause trouble. Evelyn had put Ethan in charge of the laborers, and he inspected them every morning and evening.
Taylor Vance and the others were in the courtyard practicing tai chi, with Zoe and Annie earnestly mimicking their movements from behind.
The courtyard was filled with green plants and flowers grown by Officer Graham, and next to them stood two swing sets.
"Everyone, how about a late-night snack?" Officer Graham asked as he watered the flowers.