201: Chapter 201 The farrowing ward is under construction, the sow is about to give birth! Lu Chen keeps a close eye on the signal.

At 8:03 AM, Old Liu stepped into the first floor of the Livestock Farm carrying a tool bag.

A welding torch, a tape measure, and a marker clattered inside the canvas bag.

He didn't look around and headed straight for the east side.

Liao Dacheng was already waiting by the ZM06 Farrowing Room.

"Old Liu, you're here."

"Yeah." Old Liu tossed the canvas bag on the ground and pulled out the tape measure. "Which spot?"

Liao Dacheng pointed to the empty space next to ZM06.

"Right here. Make another stall for ZM08. Same specs as before: 3.2 meters by 2 meters, 1.2 meters high."

Old Liu squatted down, the tape measure "clattered" open as he ran it across the floor.

"The ground is flat. Use angle iron for the base, two load-bearing pillars with a crossbeam, and fill the middle with wire mesh." He tilted his head to look at the vent above. "This spot is well-chosen; the airflow is good, it won't blow on the pigs."

Liao Dacheng nodded repeatedly.

"Exactly, we chose it for the stable temperature."

Old Liu uncapped the marker and drew four squares on the ground, marking the exact spots for the load-bearing pillars.

"Where's the material?"

Liao Dacheng walked a few steps to the corner and lifted the dust cover.

Four 40mm square tubes, two rolls of wire mesh, plus some angle iron and a pack of welding rods were revealed.

"Ma Dong got them from Chief Engineer Han yesterday."

Old Liu bent down and touched the cross-section of the square tubes.

No rust, clean cuts.

"Good." He straightened up. "Two pillars plus the crossbeam, forty minutes at most. You guys handling the wire mesh yourselves?"

"Ma Dong will hang it; no need for you to get involved," Liao Dacheng said. "Just get the frame set up."

Old Liu didn't reply, pulled the welding torch over, plugged it in, and sparked it to test.

A blue-white arc lit up steadily.

He pulled down his mask, squatted, and started on the base of the first load-bearing pillar.

Liao Dacheng stepped back two paces, tucked the clipboard under his arm, and stared at the sparks.

Ma Dong walked out from inside carrying two bowls, one with plain water and one with flour soup.

"Old Liao, Technician Lin sent someone to bring these down." Ma Dong handed over the flour soup. "She said it's breakfast; have a few bites while it's hot."

Liao Dacheng took it, leaned down to sniff, and the aroma of wheat wafted into his nose.

He didn't move, just stood there and took a large gulp.

The welding torch crackled, casting flickering shadows on the metal railings.

ZM07 lay on the bedding of the new Farrowing Room, grunting as it rolled over.

Next door at ZM06, ten piglets were huddling together, scrambling for milk.

Piglet No. 4 had been moved to the front, its head buried firmly under the sow's belly, suckling noisily.

Liao Dacheng finished the soup in two gulps, stuffed the empty bowl into Ma Dong's hands, and pressed his communicator.

"City Lord."

"Speak."

"Old Liu arrived on time. ZM08's Farrowing Room is being welded. We'll finish by 8:45 and move the pig in before 10:00."

"What's the situation with ZM08 today?"

"Just checked; she can eat. She went through three-quarters of a trough of feed this morning. Her belly is sagging even more than yesterday. The fetal drop looks more obvious than ZM07's." Liao Dacheng flipped through his clipboard. "At this rate, ZM08 might give birth before ZM07."

"The day after tomorrow?"

"The day after that at the latest." Liao Dacheng clicked his tongue. "City Lord, if these two give birth at the same time, I'll be watching both while Ma Dong assists; we won't be able to manage. Can you... send someone who knows the trade to help out?"

Lu Chen sat in the Cockpit, his finger sliding across the logbook.

"Did Lin Xiao send the list of those 604 people yesterday?"

"He did. It arrived last night, but I haven't had a chance to look closely yet."

"I'll have Chen Li screen them. If there's anyone in The City-State's agricultural zone who knows animal husbandry, I'll transfer them directly to you."

"Great."

"One more thing." Liao Dacheng lowered his voice slightly. "Piglet No. 4 was weighed again this morning. 0.89 kilograms, up 0.04 from yesterday."

"Improving?"

"It's starting to catch up, but it's still behind the normal growth rate. We need to keep watching. I gave it special treatment today, letting it go up to take a spot half an hour early to avoid No. 7 and No. 3, the aggressive ones."

"Handle it as you see fit. Report any changes immediately."

Communication disconnected.

Lu Chen picked up a pen, added Liao Dacheng's request for personnel to the list, and switched to another channel.

"Chen Li."

"City Lord."

"Go through the second batch of relocation records and find someone with animal husbandry experience. Send them straight to the Livestock Farm this afternoon; Liao Dacheng is short-handed."

"Sure, I'll screen them now."

"Also, among those 604 people today, has Sun Ke checked on the elderly who arrived first?"

"He has. Three have mobility issues. One has a chronic knee problem; Sun Ke treated it and had them helped to the second floor. The other two were just exhausted from hunger; they're lying down to recover, nothing serious."

"Understood."

Lu Chen put down the communicator, stood up to pour a glass of hot water, and leaned his back against the cold, hard metal wall of the Cockpit.

Outside the window, the soil in the 200-meter Snow-Free Zone looked damp in the morning light.

A hundred meters away, the massive, lifeless remains of Black Rock City-State stood silently.

The temporary passage carved into the side stood open; the inside was already empty.

Today's work was done.

It would continue tomorrow morning.

He turned his head, his gaze sweeping toward the signal log column in the bottom right corner of the panel.

Four dark red records were lined up quietly.

The fifth one was still nowhere to be seen.