Chapter 161: Chapter 161: Timely Rain
Finding Jiang Si’s behavior odd, everyone turned to look at her, asking quizzically, "Sisi, what are you doing?"
Jiang Si pointed to where the seawater had dripped. "Look closely."
Shen Baoying peered at the spot and discovered that the small, fleshy worms were actually crawling *around* the puddle of seawater.
Everyone’s eyes lit up. "Could it be that these bugs are afraid of seawater?"
Jiang Si nodded. "Possibly. Let’s test it some more."
Qin Shen scraped some ice from the fish container, putting it in a pot to melt. He then poured seawater on the worms. The effect was more potent than insecticide; the worms were instantly paralyzed.
Everyone’s eyes widened. It seemed these worms really were afraid of salt water. Thinking back, they went on and off the Icebreaker every day. No matter how careful they were, they might have carried worms aboard, yet the creatures had never appeared near the sea.
Everyone grew excited. If only they had discovered that seawater could control these worms sooner, their greenhouses and houses would have been fine.
It was too late for that now, but at least they’d found a solution. They had plenty of time; they could just rebuild slowly.
Jiang Si stared at the dead worms and said, "Let’s see if it can kill the eggs. If it can, we’ll pour some at the entrance to the seed vault."
The seed vault was filled with plants and stored supplies. If the worms overran it, the loss would be immense. Jiang Si would be heartbroken. ’Those seeds,’ she thought, ’if they could just last until the day the extreme cold disappears, might be the key to reviving an age of agriculture.’
The group hurried back to the sea to pump a container of seawater and collected two large boxes of the fleshy worms for observation.
「At dawn.」
Everyone eagerly came to check on the situation.
Jiang Si and Qin Shen were already there.
Based on their previous hatching speed, the eggs should have already hatched. But after being doused in seawater, they showed no signs of life at all.
Jiang Si announced to the group, "It’s confirmed. The seawater is effective against them."
Zhang Qingfang, however, let out a deep sigh. "The seawater is effective against the worms, but it will ruin the soil. We won’t be able to grow vegetables or grains again."
Jiang Si comforted her, "Grandma Zhang, we still have the greenhouse on the ship, right? It’s fine if we plant a little less. Anyway, the only reason we wanted to plant so many vegetables and radishes in the first place was to feed the monkeys, and now the monkeys are fine eating worms and fish. If we really need to plant more, we can take our time studying the seeds in the vault to see which vegetable and grain seeds can adapt to saline soil. Or, we could wash the soil several times with hot spring water, or even set up an isolated, safe space for hydroponics."
Zhang Qingfang smiled. "That could work."
The group got busy again, pumping seawater to spray all the surrounding areas.
Although the sea had thawed, the temperature still hovered between minus twenty and minus thirty degrees Celsius. The pumped seawater froze easily, and if the pump stopped running for even a moment, it would freeze solid.
They sprayed seawater all over the entrance to the seed vault, layer after layer, until it built up into a mountain of saltwater ice.
Jiang Linhai asked, "Does this mean we’re not going in there anymore?"
Jiang Si replied, "We don’t need to for now. Protecting the seeds is the priority."
Shen Baoying laughed. "People will only see an iceberg here. Who would know so many treasures are hidden beneath it?"
Jiang Chengwu looked in the direction of Zhang Aihua and his group. "Should we go tell them?"
After observing them these past few days, the group’s initial wariness and defensiveness toward Zhang Aihua’s people had softened.
They were all human, after all, and now that things were peaceful, the other group posed no threat. Having grown up with a modern education, they couldn’t bring themselves to enslave them.
Jiang Si nodded. "Yes, we can tell them."
Shen Baoying chattered on, "They’re so unlucky. They had just started planting when the worms ruined everything. I wonder if they can handle not eating grains for a long time."
Jiang Si smiled. "The Inuit survive in extreme cold, don’t they? They go for years without eating vegetables, relying mainly on fish to get high-quality protein. The difference is, those people are used to a balanced diet of vegetables, fruits, meat, poultry, and eggs. They’ll get sick of eating only fish for a long time. But don’t worry. Humans are highly adaptable creatures. They’ll definitely find a way to balance and adjust."
Everyone nodded. Jiang Chengwu turned his gaze to the sea. "The seaweed, kelp, and jellyfish at the bottom of the ocean could also be eaten as vegetables. I wonder if they’re still alive."
Niu Niu said with a smile, "Grandpa, they must be! We can catch fish, and fish eat kelp, algae, and seaweed, so there has to be some!"
Everyone laughed. "Well then, from now on we’ll have to rely on the sea and pull up everything we can."
When Jiang Si and Qin Shen went to find Zhang Aihua and his group, they were getting tools ready to carve out separate rooms in the cave. Living together, it would be good to have some private space.
’Otherwise,’ Song Yufang truly felt, ’they would be no different from savages.’
The women, children, and elderly were processing the fish they had netted the day before. Fish were plentiful now; one cast of the net could feed them for several days.
To prevent spoilage, they would always process the fish right away and bury them in the snow.
To prevent the processed fish from going bad if the weather warmed up, Song Yufang also led the others in using old methods to extract sea salt. They would use it to salt and cure some of the fish, then dry them for long-term storage.
Seeing Jiang Si and Qin Shen approach, everyone, though unsure of their purpose, gave them a friendly greeting.
Zhang Aihua came forward to greet them. Dressed like a stonemason, he had completely lost the polished air of the upper-class man in a suit and tie he once was.
Jiang Si noticed the stone bowls on the ground. Zhang Aihua quickly picked one up, saying ingratiatingly, "Miss Jiang, Mr. Qin, we made these stone bowls and tools especially for you. These little worms are incredible; they chew through everything. Only this kind of stone seems to be inedible to them. If you like them, we can make you some more."
The surface of the bowl was rough, but its shape was exquisite. The rim had been polished smooth, giving it a sort of primitive, artistic feel.
They didn’t even have many proper tools or weapons, yet they still thought to make them a gift. It was a thoughtful gesture.
Jiang Si nodded. "Thank you. The gift is beautiful." Then she added, "We discovered that seawater prevents these worms from chewing through things. Perhaps you can use salt water to coat and protect your remaining belongings."
Zhang Aihua’s eyes instantly lit up. He said excitedly, "Thank you! Thank you so much!"
’Salt water might ruin the soil, but that’s still better than having to worry about the worms eating the clothes off your back every time you stop to rest.’
The Vulture feathers they had worked so hard to collect were already more than halfway gone.
Even more terrifying, the worms were about to finish off all the collapsed timber lying everywhere.
The solution Jiang Si provided was a true godsend.
Zhang Aihua wanted to offer Jiang Si something better in return, but he had nothing to give and could only look embarrassed. It was Song Yufang who spoke up, "Miss Jiang, Mr. Qin, would you like to try some of the snake egg layered-pancakes we made? They’re quite fragrant."
