165: Chapter 165 Residents Line Up for Noodles! The Noodle Effect Begins

Seven o'clock in the evening.

Level Two Public Living Area.

Ten folding tables were lined up in a row.

On top were stacks of dried noodles and a large pot of boiling water.

The queue stretched from the folding tables all the way to the corner of the corridor.

The line was very quiet.

Everyone held an iron bowl or an enamel cup borrowed from the Residential Area.

Chen Li stood at the front of the line, holding a registration form.

"Bunk number?"

"One seven two."

Chen Li made a mark on the form.

"Two bowls. Next."

Distributing the noodles were Song Ya and two Agricultural Technicians.

Two bowls of dried noodles were placed into each person's container.

Nearby was a pot of boiling water.

They could soak them on the spot or take them back to cook on the public stoves.

Most people chose to soak them right there, letting the dried noodles sit in boiling water for three minutes.

Once the noodles softened, they added a pinch of salt, stirred a few times, and then squatted against the corridor wall to eat.

A woman in her forties squatted in a corner with her bowl; halfway through, she stopped her chopsticks.

Sitting next to her was a boy of seven or eight.

The boy had already finished more than half of the noodles in his bowl.

"Mom, it's delicious."

"It's better than Nutrient Bars."

"Will there be more tomorrow?"

The woman didn't speak.

She looked down at the less than half a bowl of noodles remaining in her dish.

She used her chopsticks to push the noodles to one side of the bowl.

"You eat my leftovers."

"Mom, you haven't finished."

"I'm full."

The boy picked up the noodles from his mother's bowl and put them into his own.

He lowered his head and slurped them all down.

At the other end of the corridor, an old man sat alone on a folding chair.

An iron bowl rested on his knees.

The noodles had already gone cold.

He wasn't eating; he was just looking at the noodles.

A young man nearby walked over.

"Old man, cold noodles don't taste good. Shall I help you heat them up?"

"No need." The old man shook his head. "I was just thinking about something."

"What is it?"

"I've lived for sixty-eight years. I spent forty years in The City-State eating Freeze-dried Rations and Meal Replacement Blocks. The last time I ate noodles was thirty years ago, when my wife was still around."

"Thirty years."

"Thirty years." The old man looked down at the noodles in his bowl. "When she made noodles, she would add a bit of lard and chopped green onions."

The young man didn't know what to say.

The old man lifted his bowl.

He took a sip of the broth.

Then he slowly finished all the noodles.

The communicator at Chen Li's waist beeped.

"Chen Li." Lu Chen's voice came through.

"City Lord."

"Distribution progress?"

"The second batch of seven hundred and fifty people for today has finished receiving theirs. Combined with the first day, that's fifteen hundred people in total. At two bowls per person, we've consumed three thousand bowls of dried noodles."

"Remaining stock?"

"Dried noodle stock is at zero. The Synthesizer ground two tons of flour today and produced thirteen thousand bowls of dried noodles. We'll start distributing to the third batch tomorrow."

"How many people tomorrow?"

"Fifteen hundred people, two bowls each, consuming three thousand bowls. Another fifteen hundred the day after. We'll finish serving forty-five hundred people in three days."

"Adding the fifteen hundred from the first two days, that's six thousand people covered in five days."

"Correct. Six thousand people covers over ninety percent of the currently registered residents."

"What about the remaining four hundred or so?"

"Those are the residents who moved in today and tomorrow; they're at the end of the line."

"Good."

"City Lord, there is one thing I need to report."

"After the noodle distribution, the atmosphere in the Residential Area has changed."

"Changed how?"

"Before, no one spoke in the corridors; everyone just moped on their bunks or sat against the walls. After today's distribution, people are chatting in the corridors. A few women are huddled together discussing ways to cook noodles, and an old man is telling the young man next to him stories about eating noodles in the past."

Lu Chen didn't respond.

"City Lord, the significance of the noodles isn't just the calories."

"I know."

"One more thing."

"Several residents asked me who the City Lord of Polaris is. They want to thank you in person."

"It's not necessary."

"I knew you wouldn't go. But since they asked, it's only right to tell you."

"Tell them to focus on eating their noodles."

"Understood."

The communicator disconnected.

Lu Chen leaned back into the pilot's seat.

The data on the panel flickered quietly.

Registered residents: 6,679.

Truth Points balance: 447.

Sowing of the second crop of Fast-growing Wheat completed.

First batch of Straw Fodder closed-loop initiated.

The fourth set of ventilation vents will be completed tomorrow.

All light fixtures will be installed by tomorrow.

One hundred and eighty new bunks added today.

Total: 1,140.

Zhou Yuan has been out of contact for over thirty hours.

The Iron Hoof Legion's signal has been silent for four days.

He glanced at the radar panel.

No anomalies within an eight-kilometer radius.

The north was empty.

He closed his eyes.