Rotting Land: Survive

"Yes, since all the materials are on-site, let’s set up the solar generators tomorrow. The area is open with no tall buildings around, so the sunlight is good. Power generation should be better than at the villa. However, the relay station might not be as effective since I noticed there isn’t a particularly high point in this village," Li Guo immediately analyzed from a professional perspective.

Considering the development needs of the village when they arrived, the survivor team disassembled the diesel generators, solar generators, and relay stations from the villa.

As Old Xu explained, these are the team’s intangible assets, treasures that allow them to start anew wherever they go.

Anyway, after extensive preparation, the team managed to acquire three vehicles with strong internal capacity, so bringing these treasures is not an issue.

Xu Renjie pondered for a moment; Li Guo’s words made him reconsider. After all, in the apocalypse, radio communication is fundamental, no matter how you look at it.

This wasn’t just about the team’s daily external communication, but also about receiving outside information.

Weighing all factors, Old Xu made a decision: "Li Guo, you’re right. There really isn’t a suitable high point in this village to place the relay station. However, the sooner we build the communication system, the sooner we can benefit. We can’t always wait until everything is perfect to act. In the apocalypse, nothing is perfectly set from the beginning. Since there isn’t a high point, we’ll just have to build one. But before that, we’ll temporarily set up the relay station to ensure internal communication. As you also mentioned earlier, the area is flat, so even if the height is insufficient, signal degradation shouldn’t be too severe. It should suffice for daily tasks. We can always rebuild it higher later. What do you think?"

In fact, what Old Xu expressed was exactly what Li Guo was thinking, though he hadn’t said it clearly. Now that Old Xu had suggested it, Li Guo naturally nodded in agreement: "Yes, Old Xu, I was thinking the same. Anyway, if the weather is good tomorrow, my brother and I will start working on it."

"Good! If you need any manpower, just speak up. No need to be formal." Having settled issues related to electricity and communication, Old Xu felt much relieved, as these were undoubtedly two very important things for the base: "Anyone else have something to say?"

Scanning around, Xu Renjie finally fixed his gaze on the young man on the opposite side.

Tang Xiaoquan was playing with his bangs, and seeing this, Old Xu couldn’t help but smile: "Haha, Xiao Tang, you must have a lot of ideas, right? Come on, share them with everyone."

Slightly startled, Tang Xiaoquan instinctively raised his head, still lost in thought.

He paused before speaking: "Oh, well, actually there’s not much. The main points were just covered by Big Brother Bi and Brother Yue, and Xiao Li. I’ll just add a few simple points."

At this point, Tang Xiaoquan paused again, organizing his thoughts.

Seeing this familiar action, those who knew him realized that a lengthy discourse was about to begin. Old Xu leaned back into a comfortable position, ready to listen to Tang Xiaoquan speak.

"It’s like this. My proposal is still based on what we’ve discussed before: sustainable development. Since we’ve decided to settle here and survive, we can’t rely on scavenging for supplies as before. It’s not that the method is bad, but it’s ultimately just an emergency measure. Our situation has changed; with the team exceeding 20 people, daily food consumption is already a significant number. No matter how frequently we go out to gather, it might still be hard to meet daily needs. Besides, every outing involves risks, and we can’t always be so lucky as to return unharmed and fully loaded. So my first plan is to clear the land for cultivation."

Having said this, Tang Xiaoquan pointed towards Wei Dazhuang: "I don’t have much experience with farming, but there are fields everywhere here, and I think we can make good use of them. If we can grow food, then the issue of eating won’t be a problem in the future. Brother Dazhuang, I hope you can take the lead on this."

Undoubtedly, food is a headache for every team.

For this survivor team, they’ve worried about food along the way, and whenever they settled, the most frequent outings were always for gathering food and drink.

Now, Tang Xiaoquan’s suggestion to cultivate the land and become self-sufficient is undoubtedly the best way to solve this issue.

Wei Dazhuang was certainly on board, and frankly, returning to the countryside was a kind of solace for him. He dearly hoped that his family here could live peacefully from then on.

So...

"Leave it to me. As long as we get seeds, I guarantee you a surprise by next spring."

"Great!" Tang Xiaoquan smiled broadly, nodded, and continued, "My second proposal is about security."

This topic captured Old Xu’s interest most. He already had some ideas.

Now that the young man had brought it up, he was eager to hear the opinion.

"Our location is remote, and it’s hard for people to discover. But that doesn’t mean we can live here without any concerns. As it’s said, being prepared prevents trouble; without good security, no matter how much we develop, it will only benefit those with ill intentions."

This statement resonated deeply with every survivor present, as almost all had experienced similar situations.

Especially for those who had fought alongside Tang Xiaoquan and Wang Qiang, like Hu Xiaodong, there were enough stories of hardships and betrayals to fill a novel.

"Here’s my idea: First, build an internal tower, which would be our watchtower. Old Xu also mentioned earlier that the area around us is flat. If we build such a tower at home, with someone assigned to keep watch, we could survey a large distance around us, providing an early warning. Secondly, use bricks and stones to build a wall around the village, leaving only two exits at the front and back. This could prevent outsiders from sneaking in through other places. Meanwhile, in case of a zombie encirclement scenario, we could use the high walls to hold and defend."

This was exactly what Old Xu had in mind. After inspecting all the houses, he felt uneasy about the village layout.

The village had no enclosures; each household blocked the passage, and although there were specific paths at the entrances, it was possible for someone determined to sneak in through the surrounding fields.

If they relied solely on manpower to guard these areas, the required manpower was indeed significant.

Having made up his mind, Old Xu decided that this issue must be addressed. He intended to quickly gather bricks and sand, and then proceed with the wall-building plan. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote with recommendation or monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivator. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)