The Chinese news broadcasts remained the same three-part routine: dire straits abroad, a worrying situation at the coastal bases, and thriving, positive news from other bases within China.
Xia Qing listened to the Chinese news broadcast while washing the dishes, then returned to the living room to listen to news from the Huicheng base and the Huisan base. Then came the most crucial segment: the weather forecast.
Farmers are essentially dependent on the weather, so all the lords paid close attention to the weather conditions.
"According to the joint forecast from the meteorological observatory of Huiyi Base and Huisan Base, most areas of Huicheng Base will experience its second large-scale rainstorm of the year the day after tomorrow." Xia Qing's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately stopped, listening intently. "...On May 21st, both the safe zone and the territories outside the zone of Huisan Base will experience rainstorms, the highest level being orange, lasting for two days, with a total rainfall of approximately 90 millimeters..."
The following broadcast of agricultural knowledge also focused on this rainstorm, specifically instructing the lords on how to protect the crops that had been growing for two months during the upcoming downpour.
Just like Xia Qing treated Boss Yang, the announcer at Hui San Base first tried to soothe the lords with platitudes: "This destructive rainstorm is not only weaker in terms of its intensity, duration, and rainfall than the last one, but it's also the least threatening of the two destructive rainstorms in five years. As long as you lords take adequate precautions and help your spring-sown crops weather this storm, you're sure to have a bountiful harvest. Now, let's learn about the main methods for dealing with destructive rainstorms..."
After meticulously recording the methods introduced in the broadcast in his notebook, Xia Qing turned off the radio and turned on the walkie-talkie.
On the lords' channel, the impending destructive rainstorm was being hotly debated.
Qi Fu spoke eloquently, "The broadcast was right, this rain came at just the right time. Our grains and seedlings, except for the cotton, are all past their juvenile stage, so the chances of them being damaged are much lower. If the rain had come half a month later, it would have coincided with the flowering period of the wheat and mung beans, resulting in a 50% yield reduction."
Zhao Ze immediately chimed in, "Brother Qi is right, but do we really have to cover all the farmland with tarpaulins? Even if we have enough tarpaulins, we won't have enough time to set them up in two days."
Kuang Qingwei retorted to Zhao Ze, "You have the time to collect stones for landscaping, how come you don't have time to build rain shelters?"
Zhao Ze explained quietly, "I didn't specifically do any landscaping; I just collected a few stones when I was tired from working. Brother Qi, Brother Wei, can you cover all the fields? It's several acres; how is that possible?"
Kuang Qingwei ignored Zhao Ze and asked Qi Fu, "Old Qi, what are you planning to do with the pumpkin seedlings?"
Qi Fu replied, "I don't have enough tarpaulins, so I plan to gather the seedlings together and cover as many as I can. There's nothing I can do about the rest. Does anyone have any extra bamboo poles? I'd like to exchange some."
Given Qi Fu's cautious nature, it's impossible that he hadn't prepared enough tarpaulins, bamboo poles, and timber for rain protection. Xia Qing thought he was saying this to shut up the other lords and prevent them from asking him for supplies.
The channel was quiet for a moment, then Tang Huai chimed in, "Those of you with forests don't even have enough bamboo poles and timber for rain shelters, and I, with only a few trees, am even less. Is Brother Feng from plot number one here? Could he exchange some bamboo poles with me?"
"Pfft—" Xia Qing, who was drinking water, couldn't help but spit it out.
For a few bamboo poles, Tang Huai actually called his arch-enemy "brother"...
Are you still the same Tang Huai who argued with Hu Zifeng every day about the wolves? You've thrown away all your pride to protect your farmland?
Hu Zifeng slowly spoke, "No."
Tang Huai, pinching his nose and speaking in a humble tone, didn't believe him, raising his voice twenty-eight octaves, "Don't you have bamboo forests on Mountain Forty-Nine? How could there be no bamboo?"
Hu Zifeng yawned, "You want bamboo poles from Mountain Forty-Nine? Fine, pay the entrance fee and go cut them yourself."
Tang Huai exploded, cursing, "You lunatic, you just wait, you'll be begging me someday."
"Fine, I'll wait." Hu Zifeng yawned indifferently.
The lord's exchange ended amidst the cursing. Xia Qing turned off her walkie-talkie and quickly received a message from Hu Zifeng: Miss Xia, do you need bamboo poles?
After replying that she was fully prepared, Xia Qing put away her phone and began putting on her protective suit.
Qi Fu was right; it was better for the second bout of rain to start now than half a month later, but she hoped the rain would be delayed by five days. Because her territory contained not only cotton seedlings, but also even younger sweet potato cuttings and sixteen half-cut sweet potato seedlings that hadn't recovered.
Damn it, yesterday's weather forecast predicted no rain for the next five days, otherwise why would she choose this crucial time to plant sweet potatoes!
Where did this damned wind come from, bringing with it rain? It's deliberately trying to sabotage her!
Xia Qing cursed as she put on her protective suit and immediately got to work.
Rain was coming, and she had enough materials; of course, she needed to protect all the crops in the field.
The two planting areas on the hillside were the easiest; she just needed to cover the already erected insect-proof netting with a layer of tarpaulin. The wheat, mung beans, cotton, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and pumpkins in the fields all needed rain shelters built on the spot.
She had enough materials to build the rain shelters; she could finish them in a day. What worried Xia Qing most now were the newly planted sweet potato vines and the sheep, Lao Da, who might get out of control again in the rain.
The sweet potato field had to be protected, and so did Lao Da.
With the rain looming, every second counted. Xia Qing moved tarpaulins, bamboo strips, wooden sticks, and steel bars into the yard, repeatedly spraying camphor tree sap and aconite sap to repel insects, then spraying Zhang San's deodorizer.
Lao Da hated the pungent smell of camphor tree sap and stayed inside, leaving Xia Qing busy for most of the night.
Not only her, but all the lords at Hui San Base who heard the broadcast stayed up all night.
The next morning, around 5 a.m., Xia Qing drove out the mini-tiller and attached her homemade tractor bed. The tractor bed's wheels were made by rounding and welding steel bars salvaged from abandoned village buildings. The bed itself had a steel frame and wooden planks for the sideboards; it was rudimentary, but its capacity was large enough. Xia Qing hauled all the materials for the rain shelter to the edge of the field in just two trips.
Then, Xia Qing unloaded the tractor bucket, attached a single-blade tiller, and tilled the open spaces between the plots.
Following the method described on the radio, Xia Qing shaped the farmland into long strips, leaving sufficient gaps between the plots to facilitate the construction of the rain shelter and the digging of drainage ditches.
Xia Qing deeply inserted thick bamboo strips into the soft, tilled soil and tamped them down. On the other side of the more than three-meter-wide field, corresponding bamboo strips were inserted and tamped down as well. Then, the tops of two corresponding thick bamboo strips were tied together with rope, and the outer frame of an arched rain shelter was complete.