Apocalypse Rebirth: 3000 million won at the beginning

Chapter 2038 Drought, the Earth Cracks

Jiangxi Province.

Nan'an Town, Dayu County.

This place is located at the border of Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces, in the northern part of Dayu Ridge.

Under the scorching sun, the air itself was shrouded in mist; the intense sunlight had softened and flattened the tires of abandoned cars parked on the roadside.

The town of Nan'an was deserted, with no trace of humans and not a single zombie in sight.

call--

A gust of hot wind blew by.

When the wind rises, what is stirred up is not sand and dust, but a light gray powder resembling ashes.

The dust swept across the abandoned tin buckets, striking the rusty, corrugated surface with hollow echoes.

Ding-ding-ding-ding——

"Where's the water?! My goodness!" Old Ghost cursed, holding a long spear and carrying two buckets on his back.

The spear was made of steel and became unbearably hot when exposed to the sun. He had to wrap it in cloth to insulate it from the heat, otherwise it would be too hot to hold.

Xiaodong, who was standing next to him, said:

“I just looked around. This is Dayu County in Jiangxi Province. There should be a river ahead called Zhangshui. There must be water over there.”

"Tch!" Old Ghost was completely unconvinced. "You think it's true just because you say so? Haven't all the rivers along the way dried up? Besides, even if they were, it's so hot now, and the zombies have all gone into the rivers. How are we going to get water?"

Xiaodong stroked his beard and explained:

"Zhangshui is one of the two branches of Ganjiang River, which is the largest river in Jiangxi Province. The entire river flows from south to north, all the way to Poyang Lake, and then into the Yangtze River."

If the Zhang River dries up, then there won't be a single river left in the entire Jiangxi province that hasn't dried up.

Old Ghost scratched his head and pulled his cloak over his head to keep his face out of the sun.

My face is so dry and cracked from the sun, and it hurts terribly every night.

move on.

Old Ghost suddenly asked curiously:
"Hey, the big camphor tree is in Ganzhou, right? It seems like Ganzhou is just ahead, right? Ganzhou Province is abbreviated as Gan, and there's the Gan River, so why isn't Ganzhou the provincial capital?"

Xiaodong swallowed hard, his saliva dry, and replied weakly:
"Well, it's a long story, let me tell you slowly."
The Gan River was formerly known as the Yuzhang River. During the Han Dynasty, it belonged to Yuzhang Prefecture. During the Song Dynasty, it was named "Gan River" because of the confluence of the Zhang and Gong Rivers, and it gradually became a regional name.

Ganzhou, on the other hand, was briefly moved to Ganzhou during the Yuan Dynasty (for only six months), but was subsequently moved back to Nanchang. Nanchang remained the provincial capital for all subsequent dynasties until the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

Furthermore, from a geographical perspective, factors such as its remote location, inconvenient transportation, and limited urban development make it unsuitable as a provincial capital.

"You two don't seem thirsty at all, huh? You're spouting so much nonsense!" Leader Sun Lin glared at the two. "Xiaodong, stop this damn lecturing and quickly look at the map. What's the next step?"

Xiaodong used to be a university professor. He was well-read, loved to teach, and enjoyed answering people's questions.

Old Gui happened to ask about something he knew, and even though he was parched, he couldn't resist teaching him.

Upon hearing the leader's words, Xiaodong quickly took out a map from his pocket. This map was a map of Ganzhou City that he had found in Nan'an Town.

The path to Zhangshui can be found above.

Xiaodong looked around and finally determined their location from a sign in the town.

"If we continue heading northwest, we should be able to find Zhangshui."

"go!"

The three continued walking under the blazing sun.

Time passed by minute by minute.

As they walked, they kept checking the wells in the villages and towns for water, but they found no water along the way.

Half an hour later.

They finally reached the edge of the Zhang River.

The Zhang River in the distance has mostly dried up, leaving only a small stream less than five meters wide in the middle.

However, the river was teeming with zombies.

The river was a dense, dark mass, its churning waters resembling mud.

"How the hell are we supposed to get water? There are so many zombies, we're just going to die if we go over there!" Old Ghost wailed in a low voice.

Sun Lin frowned, unable to think of a solution for the moment.

Xiaodong looked in the direction of the source of the Zhang River and said:
“If we trace the source, we will surely find the origin, or a small tributary flowing into the Zhang River. Even if we don’t find it, we can still find the groundwater on both banks of the Zhang River!”

“Walking along both banks of the Zhang River, the terrain is relatively low, making it more likely to find groundwater.”

Leader Sun Lin nodded and said:
"Okay, it's up to you."

There was a reason why he called Xiaodong and Laogui out.

Xiaodong is quick-witted, intelligent, and knowledgeable.

Old Ghost, on the other hand, is meticulous and very good at hiding among zombies.

soon.

They followed the Zhang River upstream and, sure enough, found a farmhouse well on the riverbank five kilometers away.

This hand pump well is sealed with cement, and has a downward-pressing handle on top.

Xiaodong looked at the hand pump and said, "This is called a manual piston pump."

"Stop talking nonsense and come help."

Sun Lin, carrying a huge rock, together with Lao Gui, smashed the rusty cast iron pump body on it.

There's no way around it; after so many years of apocalypse, the components on it are no longer usable.

Putting aside everything else, the piston cup on top is made of rubber, which had long since cracked and become useless due to drought.

They could only smash open the top parts.

Wow!

The pump body above was smashed open, revealing a well opening about the size of a washbasin.

The well was deep and dark, and it was impossible to tell whether there was water inside or not.

Sun Lin casually picked up a stone from the ground and threw it in.

Pfft!
Tsk!
Because it is close to the riverbank, there is still water in this well.

Sun Lin was overjoyed upon hearing this voice.

The sound of a stone falling on dry ground is completely different from the sound of it falling in water; this is clearly the sound of a stone hitting water.

He eagerly took the rope off his back, then grabbed a water bottle, looped the rope around it, and threw it down.

Gudu Gudu Gudu~
Once it was full, he quickly lifted it up.

Looking at the clear well water, he licked his lips and looked at Xiaodong and Laogui, saying:

"Start a fire! Quickly, start a fire! Boil water!"

Old Ghost came closer, his eyes filled with greed as he looked at the water in the bottle.

"Boss Sun, this hand pump well has been sealed off, so the zombies definitely haven't been inside. It should be safe to drink directly from it!"

"I can't wait any longer, let's just drink it!"

Xiaodong, standing beside him, frowned and said:

"Boiling water only takes about ten minutes, let's boil it and drink it. This well is not far from the Zhang River, and the underground water may very well be connected to the Zhang River. Just to be on the safe side, let's boil the water!"

Sun Lin nodded and said:

"You saw your cousin drink water that had been soaked in zombies, and he immediately fell ill and died. Do you want to follow in his footsteps?"

"Alright, fine." Old Gui had no choice but to walk into a nearby farmhouse to find something to start a fire.

Surprisingly, the stove in the farmhouse hadn't collapsed yet, and they quickly started a fire, placing an iron bucket filled with water on top of it.

All three of them were extremely thirsty and stared intently at the water in the bucket.

A few minutes later.

The water is boiling, bubbling and gurgling.

They quickly lowered the bucket; the water was scalding hot, and they poured it into their own kettles.

Ignoring the fact that the water had just boiled, he blew on it while sucking water along the edge of the kettle.

"Ouch, it's burning hot. Damn it."

Old Gui looked at the still steaming water, which scalded his tongue.

I was incredibly thirsty, and the water was right in front of me, but it was too hot to drink immediately.

This feeling is even more unbearable than being scratched by a hundred claws.

They waited for about ten minutes until the hot water wasn't so scalding before they started drinking it in large gulps.

Huff— Hiccup—

Old Ghost let out a burp.

Now I can really enjoy drinking water.

My tongue and lips were just burned, and they still hurt a bit.

"Old Ghost, go and get Old Lu and the others over here right now," Sun Lin said.

Old Ghost muttered:
"But this place isn't suitable for spending the night. It's so close to the river. What if zombies crawl out of the river at night?"

Sun Lin explained:
“I know, what I mean is, let them bring their buckets and fetch water together first, and then quickly move to another place after they have fetched the water.”

"Next, I hope I can press on and walk straight to the big camphor tree!"

Old Gui glanced at the sun in the sky. "We're a bit pressed for time."

"So you need to be quick. I know you're fast, Lao Gui, so hurry up," Sun Lin urged.

Old Gui carried a bucket of boiled water, tightened the lid, and ran out cursing under his breath.

"Damn it, all they know is how to bully an honest guy like me."

"If you hadn't saved me, I would have quit long ago."

"Isn't this just bullying honest people?!"

"I'm sick!"

It has been three and a half months since the last rainfall, now in mid-August.

The earth was barren and yellow, and the scorching sun bent the grass and trees over.

Some drought-resistant plants survived, but others died.

For three and a half months, more than a hundred days, not a single drop of rain fell.

It was summer, with sunshine lasting for more than ten hours a day, and the daytime high temperature reached an astonishing 48 degrees Celsius.

With no rain and high temperatures, the longer the drought lasts, the greater its impact will become.

buzzing-

A sustainable helicopter flies over Nanwan Lake.

As the largest lake in Central China, its water storage capacity is astonishing.

On the helicopter.

Ding Jiu looked at the dock that extended into the lake, a full 50 meters long.

This dock is constructed using high-strength concrete and is extremely sturdy.

After several days without rain, the concrete dock was exposed to the air.

Ding Jiu had been here before, when the lake water had submerged the shore and the dock was less than 3 meters above the water.

Now, near the dock on the shore, there is a jumble of rocks, and the riverbed is exposed.

"How could it have turned out like this!" Ding Jiu frowned.

Xie Changshan, who was standing nearby, sighed and said:

"There's no other way. It hasn't rained for more than three months. We have no choice but to extend the dock hours, otherwise we won't be able to get water."

"but."

Xie Changshan looked at the boundless lake in the distance, its surface shimmering.

"However, it is still the largest lake in the Central Plains, so there is still a lot of water here. Even if it doesn't rain for a year or two, it shouldn't dry up."

"Hmm." Ding Jiu nodded. "It seems that digging the irrigation canals and building the waterworks was really necessary. Otherwise, with such a large population in the oil city, drinking water would be a huge problem."

Xie Changshan largely agreed with this.
"Yes, in Henan Province, besides the Danjiangkou Reservoir, Xiaolangdi Reservoir, and Sanmenxia Reservoir, the Nanwan Lake Reservoir has the largest water storage capacity."

"If this reservoir had not been dredged and water diverted from it to the oil city, the industrial, agricultural, and domestic water needs of the oil city would not have been met."

"We can't grow food in the greenhouses, and construction has to stop. All the effort and materials we put in have been worth it!"

Ding Jiu gazed at the vast lake, where a lake bird skimmed across the surface.

Suddenly, a zombie leaped out of the lake.

They grabbed the lake bird and threw it into the water.

“With the drought lasting for days, and zombies being attracted to water, there must have been quite a few zombies gathering here these days, right?” Ding Jiu asked.

Xie Changshan waved his hand and smiled:
"No, former Minister Li Hong organized daily raids on the troops."

“Every day, teams of thousands of scavengers and militia members clear out zombies around the oil city and Nanwan Lake.”

"As you know, the plantation outside City 1 is under construction recently, as is the Edge City. The plantation is less than 5 kilometers away from South Bay Lake, so this large area needs to be protected."

"These past few days, with all the burning of zombie corpses, the air quality has been rather poor."

"Hmm." Ding Jiu withdrew his gaze. "Let's go take a look at Plantation No. 1."

"okay."

Jie Changshan contacted the driver ahead and instructed him to fly towards Plantation No. 1 outside the oil city.

Nanwan Lake is only 10 kilometers away from the oil city.

As the oil city continues to expand, the straight-line distance has gradually shortened from ten kilometers to seven kilometers.

The current oil city, once the edge city is built, will not be smaller than a pre-apocalyptic county town.

Even bigger!

Plantation No. 1.

It is located in the northern part of the oil city and Nanwan Lake.

The land here is flat and only 8 kilometers away from the oil city in a straight line.

It is very suitable for agricultural planting.

At this moment, workers were sweating profusely as they built the wall on the construction site.

The mixer continuously mixes stones with cement and sand, and then transports the mixture through long pipes to the top of the wall for grouting.

The wall was built quite sturdily, and the cement used was of a relatively high standard.

While not as sturdy as the walls surrounding the oil city and headquarters, they are still strong enough to withstand the impact of floods.

It's very hot on the construction site.

The entire construction site was equipped with a water mist spraying system, with small water droplets suspended in the air.

They cooled the temperature using this physical method.

Every worker on the construction site was soaked, not just from sweat, but also because of the water spray everywhere, making it seem as if they were building in the rain.

But only the construction site was spraying water mist.

Outside the construction site, the ground was still covered with yellow grass and trees, and the soil was dry and cracked.

Water mist spraying systems consume a great deal of water, but oil cities can afford it.

They own the Nanwan Lake Reservoir, so this amount of water is not a problem for them.

If survivors elsewhere saw how extravagantly they used water, they would definitely curse them out.

For many survivors, even getting a drink of water is difficult, but water mist is being sprayed at the construction site of Plantation No. 1.

That's such a fucking waste.

Ding Jiu looked at Plantation No. 1 with a satisfied smile on his face.

"The speed here is pretty fast. As soon as the greenhouse materials arrive, you can start building the greenhouse here."

Xie Changshan smiled wryly:

"Yes, the wall will be completed soon, and the foundation for the greenhouse has been dug. We're just waiting for the keel material and PC sun panels, but the transportation team has been too busy lately."

The materials for this greenhouse are being delivered too slowly.

Ding Jiu glanced at him and said, "Isn't the Second Transportation Brigade at the headquarters base right now? They'll be delivering the greenhouse materials when they come over this time. They should arrive in two days."

Xie Changshan scratched his head. "Yeah, there are still too few transport trucks here."

"Didn't the car factory recently start production? When can we get a batch of transport trucks over? Our construction site really needs them."

"Don't even think about it, at least not for the next two weeks!" Ding Jiu continued.
"The first few batches of electric trucks produced will all be delivered to the Third Transport Fleet!"

"Your construction site is short of vehicles, but the North is short of them too, and the Northwest is short of them too!"

"Let's wait for the later ones. Right now, apart from the headquarters, all the branch bases are short of transportation capacity."

Hearing Ding Jiu say this, Xie Changshan had no choice but to give up.

"Ok."

(End of this chapter)