Since the goal was to preserve seed varieties, naturally there wasn’t a large quantity of each planted.

One must realize that although only two or three plants of each fruit variety were grown, the sum of all fruit and vegetable varieties was far from a small number.

Moreover, due to the flooding, obtaining suitable soil was exceedingly difficult. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Even though most survivors had begun practicing martial arts and their physical fitness had steadily improved—including their ability to withstand deep water pressure—

the soil from the deep water areas was not the same as the silt found in riverbeds.

If the silt in riverbeds could be considered a natural organic fertilizer, the seafloor’s top layer had scarcely any soil, being mainly composed of gravel.

Such gravel, commonly seen in construction, is not suitable for the majority of plants to grow in.

Many may not be aware that despite their similar appearance, the sands from aquatic environments and deserts have significant differences.

The river sand extracted from water has good adhesive properties, whereas desert gravel, perhaps weathered by years of sun and wind, retains some ability to hold water but dries out very quickly, rendering it unsuitable for construction.

The mud at the bottom of the water now was like the desert sand, appearing identical to its peers but proving very difficult to utilize.

It was for this reason that the experimental planting area of the base was limited not only by space but also by the amount of reserved soil.

Moreover, unlike before the disaster when each city would concentrate on planting particular fruits and vegetables, nearly all bases now aimed to ensure the diversity of species in their possession, unwilling to plant a single variety solely for the sake of yield.

Ethan Harris had no idea how long it had been since he last tasted fruit; while he might grit his teeth and buy some meat to satisfy a craving, fruit had become a luxurious rarity beyond price.

"Brother, which fruits are you planning to sell?"

"Watermelon, apple, pear, grape, strawberry."

Upon hearing Zachary list these fruits, common before the disaster, Ethan couldn’t help but swallow hard.

Perhaps the Korean and Basin Chicken survivors could resist the temptation of fruits, as even before the disaster, fruits were quite expensive in their regions due to limited cultivation areas.

But for Chinese People, as long as it was in season, fruits were so cheap that anyone could afford to eat until they were sick.

Before the disaster, many businesses promoted durian as the "king of fruits" to justify its price.

But that was initially a marketing ploy by businesses looking to tap into the market, given that durian was not popular due to its pungent smell and appearance.

Take avocados, for instance; without upscale marketing, who would buy them?

In reality, the true king of fruits was the watermelon; no need for further explanation, but as soon as watermelon season hit, the sales of all other fruits would halve. Without saying more, this fact alone showcased the dominant presence of watermelon in the market.

Other fruits indeed sold well in season, but their market share increase was marginal compared to watermelon’s impact.

In fact, when watermelon was in season, its sales would overshadow all other fruits, the main reason for this perhaps comical but it was true to reality.

It was the very down-to-earth Chinese value of not wasting anything, the need to finish whatever was eaten, with the old saying often on their lips: "Eating does not hurt, discarding does."

Simply put, no matter how expensive something was, eating it all was not considered wasteful, so there was no need to feel pained, but throwing something away uneaten was wasteful, and even the cheapest item tossed out would cause heartache.

Though the younger generation hadn’t experienced the hard times of the older folks, as they reached adulthood, entered society, and began earning their money, they could understand the older generations’ mentality.

That’s why Chinese People, who bought fruits by the pound, would consume them by the piece.

From small cherries and grapes to large watermelons and durians, people would eat by the piece to avoid waste.

The best way to eat watermelon in summer was to freeze it and then eat it half by half with a spoon.

Eating an apple might not stop you from enjoying other fruits, but after half a watermelon, few would reach for another fruit.

It was through this tactic that watermelon, during its peak season, silently crowded out other fruits’ market share.

The watermelon, often considered a memory of everyone’s summers, had pretty much disappeared from the market since the disaster,

The occasional watermelon juice that appeared on the market was either from unidentified long-term frozen storage or freshly squeezed but diluted with an unknown amount of water and sugar, or even worse, was basically sugar water with a splash of watermelon juice.

Beyond that, even more despicable were certain unscrupulous sellers directly concocting watermelon-flavored drinks with various chemicals.

If not for the fact that these flavored drinks were initially marketed as fresh fruit juice, and had not been fraudulently claimed and subsequently sanctioned by the Imperial Court, they might have achieved a success story as legendary as cola before the disaster.