After nearly four months of busyness, winter also gradually entered its latter half.

Buildings No. 2, 3, and the newly constructed No. 4 in Jade City had all filled up, and most of the residents were Guangtai workers, with a very small portion of merchants who also chose to settle down to do business specifically for these workers.

The construction of Building No. 5 continued steadily, with dust always billowing on the construction site.

The new order in the Mao Valley Town area had been established and stabilized, and Zhou Yi had returned to his familiar daily routine.

During the day, he scavenged in the Dead Sea, directing samurai crabs to transport building materials ashore, and he clocked off and rested punctually after dark.

They say winter is a season of danger and upheaval, but on Jade City's side, it was a scene of bustling tranquility.

Unknowingly, another month had passed.

During this period, one major event and several minor ones occurred.

The minor events included:

First, the output of explosive mushrooms in the Mushroom Forest was as stable as ever, with 5,000 Light Seeds without fail.

Second, the Breaker Haruk made the first installment payment of 20,000 Light Seeds.

Third, the first patent share of the Wise Mushrooms was confirmed through the machine stack accounts, with the first month earning 1,277 Light Seeds.

The major event was that the Sheng Snakes had pushed the Floating Island from the Dead Sea all the way to the coast of the Dead Sea where Jade City was located.

Through Red Kestrel, Zhou Yi informed all residents, "From today on, Snake Island will officially integrate with Jade City. The Sheng Snakes on the island are friendly in nature, and I hope everyone will get along well with them."

"The Maria Hospital on the island will also be open to residents of Jade City, with Doctor Da Vinci in permanent consultation. Residents can enter for treatment by facial recognition, and it will be free for internal use this winter."

Because the company had carried out announcements and notifications in advance, although the residents were surprised and curious about this arriving island, there was not much panic. However, the strange appearance and vast number of Sheng Snakes still put a lot of pressure on many people, who maintained a distance from Snake Island.

It wasn't until the third day after the inclusion of Snake Island into Jade City that finally, a patient went to seek treatment.

Zhou Yi knew this person; he was Ah Wei, Jacob's roommate.

In the winter, Ah Wei would easily become unbearably itchy all over, scratching incessantly; then he would swell up and turn red all over. Going out into the snow could relieve him for a while, but back in the warmth of indoors, the itching would start again. He couldn't stand it, so he ran all the way to seek treatment.

Doctor Da Vinci told him, "This is an allergic reaction, but the allergen can't be determined for the time being. I will prescribe you some anti-allergic medicine which should provide relief when applied. Remember not to scratch when it itches, to avoid further worsening."

After Ah Wei, Jacob also came to Maria Hospital wanting to repair his skull.

Doctor Da Vinci provided two options.

For enhanced strength and impact resistance, copper could be used for repair, but copper's weight would cause partial imbalance of the skull's weight, affecting daily activities.

For an emphasis on appearance, plaster could be used for repair, but the downside was that it was easily chipped and damaged.

Bone Man ultimately chose plaster; there was still a slight color difference visible on its head, but at least it didn't have to rely on a bandage to cover the large hole in the back of the skull anymore.

With someone paving the way, residents of Jade City followed suit, some even without knowing whether they were ill or not, but thinking it didn't cost anything to check.

As it turned out, after a round of health check-ups, there was quite a number of sub-healthy people.

Most of these residents were scavengers, with past lives of hardship and long-term malnutrition, suffering from various chronic diseases. Their advantage was youth, with strong resistance; older and weaker scavengers often died easily in winter.

For the first time, these once-nomadic wanderers had a vague awareness of their own health status.

A few days later.

Maria Hospital's first serious patient, Zheng Tao, was finally able to get out of bed and walk.

Although this old man with white hair was physically weak, he was in good spirits, no longer silent and worn out as before, and had become talkative and cheerful.

"Mr. Zhou, without your full support, my terminal disease would never have been cured."

He gripped Zhou Yi's hands earnestly and said, "I know that for a severe 'Blood Death' condition like mine, with such a high failure rate of surgery, even Holy Mountain would take a conservative approach and not operate."

"You brought Doctor Da Vinci here, with the specialized environment of Maria Hospital and the latest rare drugs, to perform such a difficult surgery for me... You saved my life."

"If there's anything I can do, just say the word."

Zhou Yi smiled, "Then I'll take you up on that. Our Wasteland Development Company is a startup, and we're in need of talents from all professions. Especially an enhancer like you, with rich experience in farm management and market operations, and a good reputation."

"I'd like to invite you to be our agricultural consultant, to help guide the development and operation of our agriculture."

Zheng Tao agreed readily, "If Mr. Zhou thinks highly of this old man, then I will certainly bring all that I know to the table."

Zhou Yi was quite pleased.

He had finally secured his first enhancer talent.

After accepting the position of agricultural consultant, Zheng Tao immediately became serious, "First, I have a question. What are the Chairman's requirements for the company's direction in agriculture?"

Zhou Yi thought for a moment, "Well... let's start with self-sufficiency, to meet internal needs."

Zheng Tao sought confirmation again, "You mean, the company is developing agriculture to be able to conveniently have access to various kinds of food?"

"This is important too... but there's an even more important goal."

Zhou Yi's expression also turned serious. "If we want to create a settlement, attract and retain a population, we must have an adequate food supply, produce our own food, and avoid being choked by the outside world."

"You're right."

Zheng Tao's gaze softened slightly. "There's an old saying among the grain traders, 'Whoever controls the food, controls the hearts of the people.'"

"There are two interpretations of this saying."

"The first interpretation is that whoever has the food will draw others to them."

"The second interpretation is that if a person holds and sells quality food, it makes it hard for others to escape their influence."

"When I was young, I believed in the first interpretation."

Zheng Tao looked out the window and gently rubbed his hands.

"Back then, I thought that for most people, quantity should be the most important, enough food could prevent starvation, no question about it. Where there's grain production, there will be attraction."

"But after visiting many markets and cities, I gradually discovered that the truth wasn't quite as I expected. The reality is that even if there's already enough food — even the cheapest dried mushrooms, they can't reach the majority."

"The food issue is not just about the yield of crops, but a more complex distribution problem. This problem can't be solved at the moment, and hunger will certainly exist for a long time."

"It's like a rich man who owns a lot of gold but is unwilling to share it with everyone. To others, what's the difference between him and a pauper?"

Zheng Tao looked at Zhou Yi. "I know the company's farms have been cultivated, sweet potatoes and peanuts, they are all good food, but they are not actually produced in Sand Port."

"The greatest use of food is to satisfy hunger and sustain life, but to sell well, it has to taste good. Although it seems counterintuitive, in this world, taste is the most important criterion for evaluating food. There are many who can't sell cheap food, but tasty and unique food never lacks buyers in any city."

The new agricultural advisor said softly, "In developing the agricultural field, both components are essential. Sufficient food reserves to ensure no famine and quality food for export to maintain influence, better to be small but refined."

"Of course, that's under normal circumstances. In times of war and disaster, that's another matter, but then it's no longer just a food issue, it's a complex issue of rights and calculations."

Zhou Yi and Zheng Tao had a chat, and he seemed to have a real grasp of various foods.

He suggested, "I want to process a simple food... something that can be transported long distances and is ready to eat upon arrival, and as long as it's kept in a dry environment, it can also be preserved for a long time."

Zheng Tao suggested, "Let me see the actual product and the production process first."

So, Zhou Yi immediately activated Jade City, using the power of living architecture to steam a pile of sweet potatoes until cooked, then Zhou Yi sliced them, followed by further ventilation and drying by Jade City.

They were busy for two hours.

Zheng Tao picked up a piece of dried sweet potato, examined it, then put it in his mouth.

He closed his eyes and chewed slowly, with steam rising from his head.

After a dozen seconds, Zheng Tao opened his eyes.

"Good, good."

He picked up another piece of dried sweet potato, with a look of joy on his face. "My 'Food Tongue' is specially designed to taste food, its 'taste' can accurately judge flavors."

"It really likes this, full of sweet fragrance, maintaining the texture while combining a chewy feel, it will be very popular."

"I only knew about drying sweet potatoes and grinding them into powder before, I never thought there was this method. Truly ingenious."

"Selling dried sweet potatoes rather than fresh ones would be more competitive and beneficial for making the company's name known. There are currently no dried sweet potatoes on the market, so it's better to seize the Sand Port Region market sooner rather than later, and we need to expand the sweet potato planting area quickly..."

The two discussed many details until the sun set, then Zhou Yi left the hospital.

However, at the base of the apartment building, a Weapon Master actively sought him out.

"Leader, please give me a name."

This upright Black Samurai—through the consciousness channel—made an unprecedented request. "I want a name, to ask you for one."

Ajin stood beside it.

Zhou Yi hadn't seen the kid for a while.

He looked at the young man. "What are you doing here?"

Ajin stood tall. "Chairman, this Weapon Master is my friend. But it was too scared to talk to you, so I came to encourage it."

Zhou Yi looked puzzled. "What's going on?"

The young man pointed to the Weapon Master beside him. "Chairman, I chatted with it using a translator, and we became friends. It's very smart and quickly learned to ask us questions using the translator."

"It learned to drill holes with Nemo and to dredge Light Soot Sand with the Guangtai workers; it can even roast sweet potatoes and cook mushroom soup like a street vendor... It's amazing, it learns much faster than I do."

Zhou Yi looked astonishedly to the side.

The Weapon Master stood there honestly, like a student waiting for a teacher to speak, seemingly ordinary.

This time the samurai crab family truly had a member with a brain.