180: Chapter 180 Pigs Eat Flour, Humans Eat Strawberries! This City Lord Can...

9:40 AM.

West side of the second-level residential area.

Han Zhengqing squatted next to a row of welded bed frames, running his finger along a fillet weld.

He hadn't stayed idle on this holiday; the City Lord said no work was allowed, but checking quality didn't count as working.

That was what he told himself.

The sound of footsteps came from behind him.

"Chief Engineer Han."

It was Lin Wan's voice.

Han Zhengqing stood up and turned around.

Lin Wan was holding an iron bowl covered with a clean cloth.

"What is this?"

Lin Wan lifted the cloth.

Eight strawberries were neatly arranged in the bowl.

They were deep red and plump, with bright green leaves at the stems, glowing with a faint luster under the lights of the second-level residential area.

Han Zhengqing stared at the bowl for three seconds without moving.

"What are these?"

"Strawberries." Lin Wan held the bowl out a bit further. "A-grade cream strawberries, just picked from the Greenhouse this morning. They're from the first batch; the City Lord asked me to bring eight to the Engineering Team."

The corners of Han Zhengqing's eyes twitched twice.

He reached out, picked one up, looked at it in his palm, and brought it to his nose to sniff it.

The sweetness was faint, but it was indeed the scent of a Strawberry.

"Technician Lin, are you sure these are strawberries?"

"I'm sure."

"Not synthesized?"

"No, they were grown. Fifty-nine days from seed to fruit."

Han Zhengqing put the Strawberry back into the bowl.

He leaned down, resting his hands on his knees, and stared at the eight strawberries in the bowl for a long time.

Several Welders who had just woken up nearby came over to see what was happening, and they were all stunned upon seeing the contents of the bowl.

"Chief Engineer Han, what is that?"

"Strawberries."

"What strawberries?"

"Have you ever eaten a Strawberry in The City-State?" Han Zhengqing straightened up and looked at the young Welder.

The young Welder shook his head.

"No, but I've heard of them. They tried to grow them in the sixth-level agricultural zone before, but they didn't survive."

Han Zhengqing took the bowl, picked out the smallest one, and handed it to the young Welder.

"Eat it."

The young Welder took it, hesitated for a moment, and put it in his mouth.

After taking a bite, his eyes widened.

"It's sweet."

"No kidding," Han Zhengqing gave a raspy laugh.

He turned to look at Lin Wan.

"Are eight enough to share?"

"There are one hundred and forty-seven people in the Engineering Team, so there aren't enough for everyone to have one. The City Lord's intention was for you and the oldest master craftsmen to have them."

Han Zhengqing nodded.

"Alright, I'll distribute them. You don't need to worry about it."

He took the bowl, covered it with the cloth again, and walked toward the interior of the residential area.

After a few steps, he looked back at Lin Wan.

"Technician Lin."

"Yes?"

"Thank the City Lord for me."

"Thank him yourself."

Han Zhengqing stood in place, running his hand over the cloth covering the bowl.

"The City Lord sends us strawberries and even sends flour to the pigs." His voice was raspy, revealing the characteristic roughness of an old engineer. "The City Lord on this ship is different from those people back in The City-State."

Lin Wan didn't respond.

She turned and walked toward the elevator.

After a few steps, her communicator rang.

It was Lu Chen.

"Were the strawberries delivered?"

"They were. It took Chief Engineer Han a while just to recognize them as strawberries."

"How did he react?"

"He asked me to thank you for him."

"No need for thanks." Lu Chen's voice paused for a beat. "Did you deliver the one for Liao Dacheng?"

"Not yet, that's the next stop."

"Ma Dong has one too."

"I remember."

"After you're done, return to the Greenhouse. I need a figure on the threshing progress for the second batch of flour."

"Okay."

The communicator hung up.

Lin Wan held the remaining bowl steady; there were two strawberries left inside—one for Liao Dacheng and one for Ma Dong.

She walked toward the first-level Livestock Farm.

The air circulation in the corridor was smooth, and the heat exchange systems of the four ventilation units hummed quietly overhead, blowing in warm air preheated by the engine's waste heat.

All the lighting fixtures were on, and the thirty-six light positions illuminated the corridor clearly.

Three thousand beds were neatly arranged on both sides, with the sixty-centimeter gap between beds strictly maintained.

Some people were sleeping, some were sitting on the edge of their beds talking in low voices, and some were holding bowls, eating Nutrient Bars pressed from a Synthesizer.

A middle-aged woman saw Lin Wan walking by with the bowl and leaned over to take a look.

"Technician Lin, what is that?"

"Strawberries."

"Strawberries?"

The middle-aged woman's eyes lit up.

"Are they edible?"

"Yes, but these two are for the Livestock Farm."

"The people at the Livestock Farm get to eat strawberries too?"

"The City Lord arranged it."

The middle-aged woman opened her mouth but said nothing more.

Lin Wan continued forward.

When she reached the entrance of the first-level Livestock Farm, Liao Dacheng happened to be coming out, his hands covered in feed powder and the front of his work uniform stained with milk.

"Veterinarian Liao."

"Ah, Technician Lin, what's the matter?"

Lin Wan handed the bowl over and lifted the cloth.

"From the City Lord."

Liao Dacheng looked down at the strawberries in the bowl and blinked twice.

"The last time I saw this was thirty years ago in the Old City-State; a caravan brought some in, and they were more expensive than meat."

"No need to buy them now; they're grown in the Greenhouse."

He picked one up, sniffed it, and put it in his mouth.

After chewing a couple of times, his eyes grew red.

"It's sweet."

"There's one more for Ma Dong. Where is he?"

"Inside milking the cows." Liao Dacheng wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve. "I'll go call him out."

"No need to call him. I'll leave it here; you pass it on."

Lin Wan placed the bowl on the console next to the entrance of the Livestock Farm and turned to leave.

She walked to the elevator and pressed the button. While waiting for it to arrive, she pulled a Strawberry out of her pocket.

It was the first of her own three strawberries.

She looked at it and put it in her mouth.

It was just as sweet as the one the City Lord had eaten.