CHAPTER 634: CHAPTER 534: THE OLD TRADITIONAL CHINESE DOCTOR

Though Third Uncle and Old Qin had left, the remaining Lao Xie and those coming from Dongsheng as well, received Li Yu’s notification to return to the base.

No longer entangled, given Third Uncle and Old Qin’s abilities, they could go anywhere unless they encountered extreme danger.

After leaving the Government Building, Xiao Jun and his group headed directly to Xiang Province. Inside the car, no one spoke, creating an unusually quiet atmosphere.

The people they had encountered earlier still gave them palpitations up to this point.

Logically, both parties had similar numbers, but for some unknown reason, there was a vague sense of crisis. Xiao Jun could even assert that had there been any sudden movements, they would hardly have any power to resist.

Yet, the source of this feeling of crisis remained unclear.

Sitting next to him, Huang Zheng asked, "Brother Jun, once we return, are we going directly to discuss this matter with the Camp Commander?"

After pondering for a while, Xiao Jun replied, "Yes, discuss it privately with the Camp Commander first. The personnel composition at the base is too complex. We’ll start with the Camp Commander and see his opinions and thoughts."

Huang Zheng remained quiet for a while and said nothing more.

Outside the window, the bright sunshine poured into the car.

The atmosphere felt somewhat heavier, but opening the car window and letting the outside air in made it a lot cooler, setting a slightly better tone.

...

With July ending and August approaching,

the daily temperatures kept rising.

Third Uncle and Old Qin had been walking for 12 hours.

Adhering to cautious principles, they followed at a safe distance, never appearing within visible range.

Instead, they tracked by interpreting the details and traces along the way.

Upon returning to the base, Li Yu went to inspect the construction status of the Second Outer City.

Under Ding Jiu and Father Li’s planning and management, within several days, the foundations for the residential buildings in the outer city were laid.

Simultaneously, due to the previous locust plague which resulted in some crop losses, besides the above-ground planting areas, they also began to venture underground, constructing bunkers.

This was a major project.

The civil engineering involved was not a simple matter. Constructing an underground bunker had to ensure it could withstand extreme weather conditions—temperatures above 40 degrees and below negative 40 degrees Celsius.

Additionally, ventilation, lighting, waterproofing, and other aspects all needed to be considered.

Following He Bing were two university students studying civil engineering, who were now directly involved in the project.

In addition to them, Ding Jiu and Father Li, who had years of engineering experience, along with five or six workers who had been building alongside Ding Jiu.

There were also four or five others who had come from Jiefang City with He Chao, possessing experience in construction, mostly as rebar and concrete workers.

From Old Qin’s side came Xu Zhen and another, Pan Hao; one a drainage engineer, the other an architect.

Altogether, along with some base staff temporarily off shift and others involved in production work,

there were 6 architects and engineers, and about 20 construction workers.

Currently, these individuals were primarily focused on building the Second Outer City.

However, other individuals not occupied with tasks took turns, ensuring that about 35 people were involved in construction work daily.

Studying civil engineering gave some foundation in design, combined with Ding Jiu’s years of practical experience and everyone’s joint efforts, resulted in a bunker construction design plan.

The design of this bunker, based on an initial suggestion by Ding Jiu, advised not placing it underneath the residential buildings of the Second Outer City.

Instead, it utilized the space in other parts of the Second Outer City, setting the entrance between the Second Outer City and the Inner City at Weng City.

According to the planned design.

This constructed bunker primarily functions to build an underground plantation, additionally it provides an emergency shelter.

It is 12 meters deep with a ceiling height of 4 meters, spread across three floors.

The area of one floor is approximately 3000 square meters, or about 5 acres.

With a total area nearly reaching 10,000 square meters, or about 15 acres.

This was a huge project requiring a vast amount of raw materials.

Hence, for now, the priority was to complete the residential buildings of the outer city.

Everything was progressing vigorously.

The pressure from the increasing number of mouths to feed and the strain on management indeed made it hard to catch one’s breath.

Had Li Yu not fortuitously obtained thousands of tons of food from Luo Tianyan, he would not have planned to expand the population this much.

After all, more people meant more resources, but it also brought an influx of labor and surprising talents from various industries.

Tasks once thought impossible due to fewer hands became much simpler with more manpower.

These several hundred tons of food were Li Yu’s confidence.

However, to continue developing, it was critical to balance the food supply with demand.

Currently, including both the Inner and Outer Cities and the above as well as underground planting areas, which included potatoes, sweet potatoes, and rice, they had 77 acres of productive land.

Assuming two or three harvests per year,

rough calculations indicated that they could sustain the base’s 200-plus population and even produce a significant surplus, enough for 400-500 people.

However, to further develop Big Camphor Tree Base and maintain its governing status in Xin City, it would cooperate with the people of Big Camphor Tree Base, exchanging food for other bases’ necessary materials.

Food was also needed for this!

Not to mention, distributing food monthly to the over a hundred extra staff, while individually the amount might seem small, cumulatively, it required a considerable amount of food.

Such a cooperative method also reduced many burdens for the base, as not too much food was needed to utilize these people to help with various tasks.

The simplest thing is to collect construction materials, which can save a lot of manpower for the Big Camphor Tree Base.

It means that the food ration of one person can be exchanged for the manpower of four to six people.

At the bustling construction site, many people simply work shirtless.

The temperature yesterday reached a high of 37 degrees, and today it shot up to 40 degrees.

The heat is unbearable.

Many people were sweating profusely, and during Li Yu’s inspection, he reminded Ding Jiu:

"Make sure the schedules are well planned; we can do outdoor work in the morning and evening, and indoor work during the day, to prevent the brothers from suffering heat strokes.

Also, are there any Heatstroke Medicines available for those who suffer from heatstroke?"

Ding Jiu replied, "Understood, we have arranged it that way. Last year, we used a lot of ten-drop anti-heatstroke medicine, and we still have some left.

But He Chao has an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor, who picked some herbs near the base these hot days.

After steaming and boiling them, they had some to drink and felt the effects were quite good."

Li Yu nodded and asked, "Is that old traditional Chinese medicine doctor named Hua Qian?"

Ding Jiu smiled and said, "That’s right, he’s already 58 this year, but he’s in great health, you can’t tell he’s of that age at all."

A man in his forties with a goatee flashed through Li Yu’s mind, and he nodded and said, "Let him continue. Also... never mind, ask him to come over."

Ding Jiu acknowledged and then descended from the walls.

Five minutes later.

Ding Jiu brought a somewhat thin but spirited man.

Wearing a washed-out white shirt, his hair impeccably combed back.

Li Yu thought to himself: Is this really a 58-year-old man? He looks just like a man in his mid-40s.

When Li Yu saw Hua Qian approaching, he also stood up and greeted politely, "Is it Mr. Hua? I heard from Uncle Ding that in the past two days, you prepared some traditional Chinese medicines to combat the heat for the brothers, and they were very effective, quite impressive..."

Li Yu was very polite, skillfully flattering him.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Hua, who initially appeared calm, became visibly flustered upon seeing Li Yu.

He leaned forward, sidestepping Li Yu’s gratitude, and said with a bent waist, "Director Li, you are really too kind.

I’m just an old man. If you hadn’t taken me in, at my age, no one would have wanted me, and no one would have given me food.

I am quite happy that I can contribute somehow; we all have our contributions. Previously, He Chao looked after me because of my age, but I cannot eat without giving back.

Director Li, please don’t thank me anymore, if anyone should be thankful, it should be me first."

Li Yu was reassured by his attitude.

Before the apocalypse, capability and character were sometimes lesser valued than the ability to solve problems. Leaders wanted people who could address issues, character was secondary.

But in the apocalypse, character is definitely more important than capability.

In this dangerous world, one careless moment could mean death. Even if someone is extremely capable, if they have character flaws or are arrogant because of their talents, Li Yu wouldn’t want them.

Such attitude and realization were very good.

So he asked Hua Qian, "What work have you been assigned recently?"

Hua Qian replied:

"Mainly gathering supplies and construction materials, and then working on the construction of the Second Outer City, mainly responsible for the pouring of cement."

Li Yu remained silent for a while, then said:

"Let’s do this, set up a small traditional Chinese medicine clinic in Weng City, I will ask Li Tie to take you there later.

From now on, focus on establishing this clinic, including the production and collection of medicinal materials. You can discuss with He Chao to collect any usable medicinal materials that haven’t been water-damaged from clinics outside when he’s out.

Hmm... also, you’ll establish an advanced elective course mainly teaching knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, which can later help in cultivating some people."

Currently, due to various age groups among the children on the base, their education is divided into three phases.

The first is primary education, the main subjects being language, mathematics, combat, spear skill, and emergency response.

The second is intermediate education; at this time, they can choose from several options: machine repair, construction engineering, agricultural production, medical biology...

But combat and spear skill are still part of the second phase.

The third phase, relying on the upgrade from the second phase, continues.

The current education is entirely based on learning from practice, combining theory with actual operation.

This is to ensure that in the shortest time possible, some talented individuals who can be directly put to use are educated.

Completely removing subjects like foreign languages.

However, in the advanced study courses, they also include two sectors, one for theoretical aspects and one for practical operations.

Given the current situation, theoretical research doesn’t hold much importance.

Thus, the focus is on practice.

Hearing Li Yu’s proposal, Hua Qian became immediately excited, trembling slightly as he said to Li Yu:

"If that’s the case, then nothing could be better."

For him, there were only two things he couldn’t let go of, his granddaughter and traditional Chinese medicine, fearing that they might be lost in the apocalypse.

At this moment, Li Yu’s suggestion moved him deeply.

——

And then