I became a farmer in the apocalypse.

Jiang Yan felt a little sorry for the points.

"Sis, did we buy the seeds too expensively? They're right, planting a few more acres is actually the same, and we can save a lot of points!"

"And I'm not afraid of hard work, sister, you don't need to worry about me. I can cultivate more land."

Jiang Li glanced at him and said, "You're overthinking it. Actually, I don't feel sorry for you at all."

Jiang Yan: "..."

Jiang Li remembered that she had added Xie Luan's contact information in the safe zone last time. Since the people at the Agricultural Research Institute were probably the most qualified to speak on matters concerning seeds, she made a call.

"Xie Luan, I have a question I'd like to ask you. Are you available now?"

"It's convenient, just tell me."

Jiang Li: "Is there a big difference between anti-alienation rice varieties and ordinary rice varieties? Which type of rice is more suitable for us to grow? I think the cost difference between the two is also quite large."

"Choose resistant rice varieties! Don't even consider the second one," the other person said without hesitation. "Ordinary rice varieties are only an option when you're really short on money."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li frowned. "Why?"

Xie Luan: "The anti-mutation seeds can cope with extreme red rain days. During red rain days, the content of foreign elements in the air surges. Ordinary rice is powerless against the stimulation of a large number of foreign elements, and at that time, it is very likely that all the rice in an entire field will undergo mutation!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li's heart skipped a beat. "All of them have mutated? What about the promised yield of 100 jin per mu...?"

Xie Luan: "The so-called yield of 100 jin per mu is calculated under good weather conditions. If there are consecutive days of heavy rain, ordinary rice crops may be completely wiped out. This has happened before."

"The famine three years ago was caused by the base's leadership making a wrong decision in order to save on planting costs; countless people starved to death that year..."

"In short, when there are no mutated insect plagues or extreme weather, the difference between the two types of seeds may seem to be only in the yield per acre, but once a natural disaster occurs, the difference can be huge."

Jiang Li's eyes widened as she listened to the other person's words.

No wonder even seeds of root and tuber crops are not recommended to be saved. It turns out that once the seeds lose their resistance to cross-pollination, the planting risk becomes so high that there is even a possibility of no harvest at all.

"Okay, thank you, I understand."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Li looked at Jiang Yan and said, "Anti-mutation seeds are like an extra layer of insurance against natural disasters compared to ordinary seeds. Although they are a bit expensive, they are worth it."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yan nodded thoughtfully.

The two were pushing a cart, preparing to go home, when they were stopped by Ma Jun.

"Xiao Li, look! I've brought my son."

"Malaysia! My son."

"Quick, Laibao! Say hello to Xiaoli!"

Jiang Yan stared blankly at Ma Jun and his son, Ma Laibao, who had suddenly appeared, completely bewildered. "What the heck?"

"I'm introducing your sister to someone!" Ma Jun said. "My son will be your brother-in-law someday!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yan was stunned and looked abruptly at Jiang Li.

Jiang Li's eyes remained expressionless.

He glanced at Malay Bao indifferently, said nothing, and pushed the stroller away.

Jiang Yan quickly chased after her, calling out, "Sister—"

Ma Laibao left without even saying goodbye. He stared blankly in the direction Jiang Li had gone, scratching the back of his head. "Dad, why is she ignoring me? Didn't you tell me she liked me too?"

Ma Jun chuckled and said, "People are shy! It's the first time meeting someone, of course they'll be shy."

Malai Bao pursed her lips, "I thought she looked down on me..."

Ma Jun immediately said, "Why does she look down on you? Who does she think she is? Son, have more than enough confidence. You're more than qualified to marry Jiang Li."

"You two should spend more time together in the future. If she doesn't talk, you should take the initiative to talk to her. Women are all like that, they're shy and hesitant, so we men have to take the initiative."

Malay Bao nodded, "I understand."

Back home, Jiang Yan made breakfast, while Jiang Li carried a bucket to the river to fetch water, where they ran into Li Lan.

"Girl Jiang, have you bought your rice seeds yet?"

Jiang Li: "I bought it."

Li Lan smiled and said, "I was also planning to buy some. How much are the rice seeds at the agricultural station per kilogram?"

Jiang Li: "There are some that cost 200 points per pound, and some that cost 40 points per pound. It depends on which one you choose."

"What?" Li Lan exclaimed in surprise, "200 points per pound for seeds? That's so precious!"

Jiang Li explained, "The rice that costs 200 points is the anti-mutation rice, while the cheaper one is the ordinary rice."

"Even resistant rice shouldn't be this expensive..." Li Lan muttered. "The seed cost for one acre is almost equivalent to a family's monthly food expenses."

Food is so expensive in these post-apocalyptic times that we have to be very careful with everything we do.

Jiang Li was straightforward: "Aunt Li, I suggest you buy anti-mutation rice seeds. It's better to buy less and do what you can afford than to be greedy for high yields and buy ordinary rice. It's better to earn less than to lose money."

When Li Lan heard this, how could she not understand? Jiang Li probably knew something.

"Okay, I understand. I'll go back and discuss it with my family's Red Army. Buying rice seeds is no small matter."

Farming is not like working in a safe zone. In a safe zone, you can at least get points to buy food every month. But for farmers, the land is food, and the food they grow directly determines whether their whole family can have enough to eat.

Back home, Li Lan told Ye Hongjun about buying rice seeds.

Ye Hongjun frowned slightly after hearing this. "This is too expensive. Our family's savings are only a little over ten thousand yuan. If we use it to buy anti-mutation rice, we'll probably have to give it all away at once."

"How about we do what Jiang Yatou did and buy seeds for four acres of land?" Li Lan suggested.

Ye Hongjun hesitated, "But our situation is different from Jiang Li's. She only has one sibling, while we have four people. Four mu of land is simply not enough to feed us."

The yield from four mu of land, converted into brown rice, is only a little over 500 jin, but a family of four needs more than 1,000 jin of rice for a year.

"It's alright, we can grow two rice crops here! If one crop isn't enough, we can have a second! As Jiang Yatou said, don't be greedy, it's better to have something to eat than nothing at all."

"Anyway, whatever seeds Jiang says we need, we'll buy!"

Ye Hongjun frowned. "You really trust her that much? She's just a young person after all. She's not as knowledgeable about farming as I am. At least I used to farm..."

"Stop it!" Li Lan glared at him. "I don't believe her. Where did our two pheasants come from? Where did those dozen or so pounds of wild vegetables we had the other day come from?"

Anyway, she's determined to latch onto Jiang Li's coattails!

Yesterday, Jiang Li wasn't there when they were digging for wild vegetables. She and Ye Qing worked themselves to the bone but only managed to bring back three jin of wild vegetables, just enough for two meals.

Oh right, she needs to ask Jiang Li if he's going to look for wild vegetables tomorrow. If he is, she'll have to keep a close eye on him.

When Li Lan came over, Jiang Li and Jiang Yan were having breakfast.

Breakfast was simple: a few steamed buns and some pickled vegetables.

The pickled vegetables were made by Jiang Yan using wild vegetables from before, but there wasn't much left, probably only enough for two days.

Li Lan casually picked up the bathtub that Ye Hongjun had prepared; it was over a meter in diameter, perfect for taking a bath.

Jiang Li took the wooden basin and placed it in her room.

"By the way, Jiang girl, are you going out to find wild vegetables tomorrow?"

Jiang Li nodded, "Go."

You need to earn points.

Li Lan was relieved. "Then call me tomorrow."

Not long after Li Lan left, a light rain began to fall.

This was the first time Jiang Li had ever seen the red rain in this world.

A faint red tinge mingled with the rain, as if some unstable element was floating within it. Although it had no smell, it always felt eerie.