47: Chapter 45 Turning a Coal Mine into a Farm

On the first day after Xinfeng Town was renamed, Lin Feng stood with four hundred and thirty-two people in front of the abandoned coal mine.

The mine pit lay at the foot of the mountain like a giant scar, bottomless.

When the wind blew, you could hear a hollow echo.

Someone whispered: "What can we do with this place?"

Another said: "I dug here for forty years, and nothing grew but coal."

Lin Feng didn't speak.

He squatted by the edge of the pit, staring into that darkness for a long time.

Then he stood up and turned to ask Chris:

"Can we go down and take a look?"

Chris was stunned: "Now?"

Lin Feng nodded.

Chris took a deep breath: "Alright."

Twenty minutes later, Lin Feng and Chris sat in a rusty lift, slowly descending to the bottom of the mine.

The light overhead grew smaller and smaller, finally turning into a tiny dot.

Chris turned on his headlamp and shone it around.

Damp, gloomy, cold.

Traces of the coal mining from years past could still be seen on the walls.

Chris couldn't help but say: "This place... it really is extremely depressing."

Lin Feng didn't speak.

He squatted down and grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground.

The soil was black, mixed with coal cinder; nothing could grow in it.

He put the soil down, stood up, and clapped his hands.

Then he smiled.

Chris was stunned: "Boss, what are you smiling at?"

Lin Feng said: "I know what we can do with this place."

Returning to the surface, the four hundred and thirty-two people gathered around.

Margaret asked: "How is it?"

Lin Feng pointed at the mine pit:

"It's very deep, very dark, and very cold down there. Nothing can be grown."

The crowd fell silent.

Lin Feng continued: "But there is one advantage."

He paused:

"It has a constant temperature down there. It's not cold in the winter, and not hot in the summer."

Everyone was stunned.

Lin Feng asked Chris: "Can it be converted into a vertical farm?"

Chris's eyes lit up: "A vertical farm? You mean... growing vegetables?"

Lin Feng nodded: "Growing vegetables. Growing mushrooms. Growing things that don't need sunlight."

Chris's brain started spinning fast: "It can be done! Absolutely! There's groundwater down there, there's space, the temperature is stable—it's a natural underground farm!"

The crowd began to stir.

Someone asked: "Who are we going to sell them to?"

Lin Feng pointed at Yuki.

Yuki held up a note:

[I have already contacted supermarkets in the five surrounding cities. They are willing to accept them.]

Everyone was stunned.

Someone else asked: "Who's going to grow them?"

Lin Feng pointed at the old miners:

"They've been digging coal for forty years. Digging dirt and digging coal are about the same."

The old miners looked at each other, and a light slowly appeared in their eyes.

A week later, the renovation of the mine officially began.

Chris led a group of old miners to build racks, install water pipes, and lay electrical circuits down below.

Alex set up a signal tower in town, giving Xinfeng Town decent internet for the first time.

Rachel designed a ventilation system to send fresh air down.

Yuki coordinated with supermarkets every day, and the orders kept increasing.

The others weren't idle either.

The old miners' wives began learning how to grow mushrooms.

Retired chefs began researching mushroom recipes at the restaurant.

Those few young people were responsible for driving the vegetables to the city.

Lin Feng squatted by the edge of the pit every day, chewing on a straw, watching them work.

Margaret walked over and squatted beside him.

"Lin Feng."

Lin Feng turned to look at her.

Margaret looked at the busy people, her eyes red:

"How long has it been since they were this busy?"

Lin Feng thought for a moment and said: "Since the day the coal ran out?"

Margaret nodded.

Lin Feng smiled.

"Well now, they have something to do."

A month later, the first batch of mushrooms was produced.

Chris climbed up from the mine holding a basket of snow-white mushrooms, grinning like an idiot.

"Boss! It worked!"

Everyone gathered around.

Those old miners looked at the basket of mushrooms with complex expressions.

Someone reached out and touched one, then said:

"I've dug coal my whole life, I've never seen anything this white."

The people around laughed.

Lin Feng picked up a mushroom, turning it over and over for a long time.

Then he said to Sam: "Write a song."

Sam was stunned: "What song?"

Lin Feng said: "Call it 'The Mushroom Song.' Write about these miners, how they grew something white in a black place."

Sam was silent for three seconds.

Then he picked up his guitar and started to sing.

The lyrics were improvised on the spot, the melody hummed casually.

But as he sang, people started humming along.

As they hummed, people started to smile.

As they smiled, people started to cry.

Margaret stood in the crowd, tears streaming down her face, but the corners of her mouth were always tilted up.

Three months later, Xinfeng Town's mushrooms were sold to the five surrounding states.

Yuki's order sheet was already booked three months out.

That abandoned coal mine had become the largest underground vertical farm in the United States.

Someone gave the farm a name:

[From Black to White]

Lin Feng squatted by the edge of the pit, looking at the newly hung sign, grinning like an idiot.

Chris, standing beside him, asked: "Boss, where's the next fire burning?"

Lin Feng stood up, patted his butt, and pointed at the crumbling church in the center of town:

"There."

Chris was stunned: "The church? What are you changing it into?"

Lin Feng smiled.

"Changing it into the world's most outrageous 'Soul Massage' center."

[Chapter 45 End]