Cave Refuge-Chapter 169 - 168: Potential Food Crisis_1

"Fine, I won’t argue with you anymore. I don’t need much, just give me three bottles."

"Alright!"

Feeling somewhat taken aback by Dong Tianyu’s quick agreement, Ye Liuyun began to wonder if he was asking for too little.

But since he was the one who initially suggested the amount, he felt uncomfortable going back on his word. Fortunately, he quickly spouted out the information he was privy to, "After becoming a martial artist, one’s appetite greatly increases."

Upon hearing this trivial bit of news following Ye Liuyun’s lengthy hesitations, Dong Tianyu felt speechless.

"That’s all?" Envisioning this, Dong Tianyu couldn’t help but come across as underwhelmed by this piece of information. Yet, with the playful smirk on his face faded away, he listened to Ye Liuyun’s words.

"When I say the appetite increases, I mean it skyrockets. My brother tended to mask it during family dinners, but one time I invited him to eat alone. Do you have any idea how much food he devoured?"

"He ate my treasured three-leg banquet!"

Hearing this, Dong Tianyu feigned fear, whispering, "Three legs? Are you two cannibals? I never imagined you’d have such exotic tastes."

"What are you talking about? We aren’t cannibals! By legs, I mean a cow leg, a horse leg, and a donkey leg. They were all dried and stored properly, but when combined, the total weight is far from insignificant. Normally, a single cow leg could feed around twenty people, satiating their hunger."

"Whilst we were chatting, he started devouring everything, and surprisingly, he didn’t even have a distended stomach afterwards. Considering the three legs are dried goods, they were definitely heavier than I am."

"He just chatted and ate, after eating that horde of food he was in the same state as he usually is after a meal. Think about it."

"Although mushroom cultivation has begun in the underground Refuge Center, in addition to other crop farming in dark environment."

"I’m not quite sure about the state in the rest of Pengcheng, let alone the total supply restoration. However, the situation in West City District is clear to me."

"Although food isn’t a concern at present, this is dependent on the resources stored in the war reserve warehouses. According to the initial plan, these resources can satisfy the consumption of survivors in West City District for over a year. After this year, the yield from the underground plantation should manage to sustain the West City District."

"By then, West City District should be capable of meeting the demand for survivors in this region."

"Actually, I don’t need to tell you this, but considering how Pengville Plaza has been behaving, we can’t rely on them. Even though they’ve re-established communication with the military units stationed around Pengcheng."

"However, the misplacement of saltpeter in the last incident has not only upset the West City contributors but has also affected the relationships with the other three districts."

"We are slightly better off as Pengville Plaza is closer to us, but the command posts in the other three districts have slowly started dissenting."

"The Airdrop Faction in those three command posts are being ostracized severely, leading to false allegations and suspensions."

"The local factions in those command posts, finding an excuse, went ahead and locked up the Airdrop Faction members, calling it ’suspension for review’."

"But you know, they’re just detaining people without causing any major scandals. They’re treated fine and can receive visits, but they won’t release them. When asked, they simply reply that ’the case is under investigation’. The Officials’ senior members are not given access, and they’re just dragging it on."

"Even when the Officials’ investigative groups come over, they’re treated well, and no major conflict is initiated."

"The local faction there knows that the Officials are unable to transfer anyone from other places. Being aware of the fact that there are members of the local faction among the Officials’ senior members..."

"So, you know of the disagreement, just awaiting the superior’s verdict, but at this time, other than phone support, the provincial capital can’t do anything else."

"At this time, because they’re not instigating major conflicts, and even the local faction is acting within the rules, the Airdrop Faction does not have any response. After all, their most commonly used ’personnel replacement’ policy has been discarded."

"Therefore, the local leaders’ actions within the rules, even if it’s slightly excessive, don’t actually warrant any major response. At least, the provincial capital and the military forces stationed around Pengcheng won’t allow any drastic measures."

"Let’s face it, by this point, for stability in Pengcheng, they’re also forced to consider the bigger picture."

The discussion was about Robinson William’s appetite, so why did Ye Liuyun start talking about the current situation in Pengcheng again?

Seeing Dong Tianyu’s puzzled expression, Ye Liuyun realized he had drifted off-topic and promptly brought the conversation back on track: "I’ve gone off-topic, let’s continue the earlier discussion. You should also be aware of our habits. According to the current situation, assuming there are no unexpected events, at least ten years of grain surplus must be reserved in order to offset the consumption due to natural disasters in these two years."

"This is the best-case scenario, assuming nothing unexpected happens in the later period, and the population does not increase."

"But do you know about the Officials’ population recovery plan? The semi-compulsory marriages and childbearing subsidies from last time will result in a lot more newborns in West City District next year. Within two years, when these babies start eating normal food regularly, you think West City can still have surplus grain each year?"

"Furthermore, I’ve already told you about my brother’s appetite, and there are more martial artists in West City District. I suspect their big appetite is a quite common trait."

"Though there isn’t a scientific theory, we’ve read novels about the transformation of qi into essence. Isn’t it just that there isn’t enough spirit energy in the air, so you need to supplement it with the nutrition from food?"

"Or like many fantasy novels, normal food cannot satisfy cultivators during their training, they must consume food with spirit energy."

Hearing Ye Liuyun’s intricate analysis, Dong Tianyu was surprised. He hadn’t expected this analysis to be so detailed.

"Given the increased food intake of martial artists, plus newborns beginning to eat normally, do you think West City’s food reserves will remain sufficient? Or do you think the grain produced by West City District will meet future consumption?

"Don’t even consider borrowing grain right now. The situation is different from before. The Plantation Area is now in the underground Refuge Center, so the farmable area is restricted. Despite being located in Pengcheng, the situation in the other districts probably isn’t much better than ours."

"We have martial artists, so do they. We have numerous newborns, so do they."

"And also..."

Seeing Ye Liuyun about to speak but hesitating, Dong Tianyu knew this was a tease."