194: Chapter 194 Synthetic Machine Cuts and Grinds Surfaces! Nine Hundred Kilograms Countdown

9:00 AM sharp.

South side of the third-floor Dome Greenhouse.

Twelve Protein Synthesizers were lined up in two rows, their metal casings reflecting a dark gray luster under the lights.

Song Ya stood in front of the first Synthesizer, holding an operation manual in her hand.

Lin Wan walked over from the Strawberry area.

"Is the switch ready?"

"Ready," Song Ya said, closing the manual. "Out of the twelve units, we'll switch six to Grinding Mode first. The remaining six will continue pressing Nutrient Bars to ensure the daily supply isn't interrupted."

"With six units grinding flour simultaneously, what's the hourly output per unit?"

"Each unit grinds 120 kilograms of wheat per hour. With a 65% extraction rate, a single unit produces 78 kilograms of Coarse Flour per hour. With six units running simultaneously, the hourly output is 468 kilograms."

"How long will it take for 900 kilograms?"

"Around two hours." Song Ya did some quick mental math. "900 divided by 468 is about 1.9 hours. Including the time for reloading and debugging, let's say two and a half hours to be safe."

"Starting the switch at 9:00, the first batch should be out before 11:30."

"Between 11:30 and 12:00," Song Ya corrected. "The first batch will be 300 kilograms, with continuous output after that. The total will reach 900 kilograms between 2:00 and 3:00 PM."

"That matches the timeframe I gave the City Lord."

"Correct."

Lin Wan walked over to the first Synthesizer and opened the side control panel.

The panel showed the current mode as protein synthesis.

She switched it to Grinding Mode on the panel.

A mechanical adjustment sound came from inside the Synthesizer as the Grinding Rotor moved from standby to working position, and the feed inlet switched from the liquid tank to the solid hopper.

"Feeding," Lin Wan said.

Song Ya motioned to three nearby Agricultural Technicians. They loaded pre-weighed threshed wheat into cloth bags and lifted them over the Synthesizer's feed hopper.

The first 20-kilogram bag of wheat was poured into the hopper.

The Grinding Rotor started up.

The sound of friction echoed through the Greenhouse.

Thirty seconds later, the first stream of Coarse Flour flowed out of the discharge port.

It was a powdery white with a hint of pale yellow, finer than The City-State's previous Stone-ground Flour, but coarser than the Refined White Flour of the pre-civilization era.

Lin Wan pinched a small amount and rubbed it between her fingertips.

The particles were uniform, and the moisture content was extremely low.

"Good."

She pressed her communicator.

"City Lord."

"Speak."

"The first Synthesizer has been switched to Grinding Mode, and the output is normal. With six units running simultaneously, we expect the first batch of 300 kilograms between 11:30 and 12:00, and the total to reach 900 kilograms between 2:00 and 3:00 PM."

"How is the quality?"

"Uniform particles, low moisture content, finer than The City-State's Stone-ground Flour. It'll be no problem for making noodles."

"Good."

"City Lord, do you need me to arrange the distribution plan for today's 900 kilograms?"

"No, I'll set the distribution plan. You're responsible for the flour production. Once finished, bag and weigh it—20 kilograms per bag. Tie the bags tightly and stack them on the open ground on the south side of the Greenhouse."

"Understood."

"Notify me once the first batch of 300 kilograms is out."

"Will do."

The communicator disconnected.

Song Ya walked over.

"Lin Wan, all six have been switched. They're running normally."

"Good."

"Today we'll produce 900 kilograms of flour, enough to feed 3,000 people for a day," Lin Wan said to Song Ya. "We'll continue grinding tomorrow and the day after. We need to cover 8,000 people within three days."

"At a standard of three bowls for 8,000 people, that requires 2,400 kilograms. Is three days enough?"

"Yes. At 900 to 1,000 kilograms a day, we'll produce 2,700 to 3,000 kilograms in three days."

"Then how many days in total will it take to grind the 13.4 tons from the second harvest?"

"We'll get about 8.5 tons of flour. At a grinding rate of 1,000 kilograms per day, it'll take eight to nine days. But we don't need to grind continuously; we can bridge the gap until the third harvest on the sixty-seventh day to ensure no interruption."

Song Ya nodded.

"After sixty days of farming, we've finally ground some flour."

"This is just the beginning," Lin Wan said, looking at the powdery white flour continuously flowing from the Synthesizer's discharge port. "From now on, there will only be more and more."