CHAPTER 180: CHAPTER 178: ANXIOUS AND FRUSTRATED

After using the materials on hand to make all the parts that could be made, and even making half a track as an extra, Chen Xin’s materials were exhausted.

Although there were still quite a few parts in the storage room, those parts couldn’t be used for vehicle modification unless Chen Xin recycled them into raw materials for reprocessing.

To avoid such unnecessary waste, Chen Xin decided to go find someone to get more resources.

The special police team was probably not an option for the time being, as they were also trying to avoid suspicion in this sensitive situation, so Chen Xin could only rely on his survival group friends and Li Yulong.

The resources available for exchange from the survival group friends were not many, and were mainly survival supplies. They would also need to collect the parts required for vehicle modification.

So, after mentioning this during the daily information exchange with his group, Chen Xin didn’t hope they could provide him with much material and set off to the city to find Li Yulong.

Li Yulong had now moved to a small shelter where he planned to run a plantation and trading market. However, because this project had been temporarily suspended by the city government, even though the shelter was up and running again and relevant construction and modifications were underway, it still couldn’t be used.

When Chen Xin saw Li Yulong, he was standing in the area originally designated as the plantation, scolding his subordinates.

"What’s wrong, Xiaolong? Why are you so angry?" Chen Xin asked curiously when he was brought to Li Yulong’s side and saw his infuriated look.

"I’m so pissed off! Xiao Chen, you’re just in time!" Although Li Yulong adjusted his expression upon Chen Xin’s arrival, he was still fuming: "You know the situation. You be the judge; now that the city government has stopped this project, shouldn’t the planting greenhouse be temporarily sealed? Even if not sealed, shouldn’t we plant something that’s easy to store?"

"You make a valid point, so what’s the issue?" Chen Xin replied, turning his attention to the plantation in front of him.

Planting had already begun in the plantation, but just as Li Yulong said, when the project was temporarily halted by the city government, they shouldn’t have continued planting crops in the plantation.

Because the plantation was planned for crops of higher economic value, such as fresh vegetables and fruits, but these things had a very obvious characteristic: they weren’t easy to store.

Freezing them wasn’t out of the question, but they’d basically end up ruined once thawed. They could only be kept in a cold storage, which still had a time limitation.

If made into freeze-dried or dehydrated vegetables, while the nutritional value wouldn’t be a problem, there would undoubtedly be a huge difference in taste from fresh vegetables and fruits. There would also be a significant price difference.

Although Chen Xin wasn’t sure what Li Yulong’s subordinates had planted, from the leaves, it seemed very likely to be some kind of fruit.

"I don’t know if these guys did it to piss me off or just didn’t get what I was saying; they planted strawberries and grapes!" Li Yulong felt particularly aggrieved when he mentioned this, clearly very dissatisfied with the matter.

Seeing him so upset, Chen Xin couldn’t help but chuckle.

Li Yulong’s subordinates planting strawberries and grapes wasn’t exactly a mistake, but given the current situation, their actions were indeed a bit untimely.

If everything had gone according to plan, planting strawberries and grapes would have been a great choice, as fresh strawberries and grapes would undoubtedly become the hottest items once the trading market opened.

Even if it didn’t turn a huge profit, it would still fill Li Yulong’s pockets well.

However, now that the project was halted and it was unknown when it could restart, the question of when the trading market would operate raised a big question mark, and whether these fruits, which were hard to store, could be sold in time was an even bigger question.

If they couldn’t be sold in time, the investment in planting this batch of fruit would be completely wasted.

This was enough to bankrupt a grower even before the disaster, let alone in the current post-apocalyptic world where every resource couldn’t be wasted.

"Don’t get too worked up. Think about how to fix this." Chen Xin could only advise Li Yulong to calm down for now.

"Fix it? How? The seeds have already sprouted; we can’t just pull them all up, can we?" Li Yulong still felt a wave of frustration. Though they had stockpiled a lot of crop seeds before the disaster, they couldn’t afford such wastage.

As for how to fix it, Chen Xin did have a bit of an idea, and since this plantation was partly his investment too, he suggested, "Strawberries and grapes take time to mature, so there’s no rush. Maybe during this period, the city government will have results. By then, your operation could resume and these crops could be sold."

"Xiao Chen, that’s the most ideal scenario, but considering the huge fuss the city government is making, how could there be results in a short time?" Li Yulong knew what Chen Xin suggested was possible, but it was too idealistic, and he wouldn’t pin his hopes on such an ideal situation.

"I know that’s the most ideal situation, but you can’t say it’s impossible, right?" Chen Xin laughed, seeing that Li Yulong was less angry, he patted his shoulder and continued, "And if worst comes worst, we could make strawberry jam or wine; making them isn’t complicated, and they’re more storable. Don’t worry too much; maybe jam and wine will sell even better?"

Li Yulong’s mood only calmed after Chen Xin said this. After cursing at his subordinates a few more times, he walked with Chen Xin to a cleared-out lounge.

After sitting in the lounge, Li Yulong poured water for Chen Xin and asked, "Xiao Chen, what brings you here today?"

"I’m planning to modify my car, so I wanted to ask if you have any extra car parts. If you do, I’ll trade for a batch." Chen Xin didn’t stand on ceremony with Li Yulong and directly stated his intention.

Hearing Chen Xin’s intention, Li Yulong hesitated for a moment before saying, "Xiao Chen, how do you plan to modify it? I remember your car is an SUV, right? Do you have a list of the parts you need? I can’t guarantee we have everything in storage, but I can try to gather them for you."

"It’s enough that you said that. I basically need some general parts." Chen Xin smiled at Li Yulong.