202: Chapter 202 A Bountiful Harvest in Grinding Speed! Lin Wan's Hardcore Shock Absorption Modification

9:00 AM.

The sixth Synthesizer in the Greenhouse has finished switching over.

The grinding rotors turned, their coarse friction buzzing across the southern side of the dome.

Lin Wan squatted next to the seventh set of Hydroponic Racks, holding a temperature probe in her hand. She didn't insert it into the soil; instead, her gaze was fixed entirely on the base structure.

The Hydroponic Racks on the Polaris were system-generated, with one-piece cast iron bases welded directly into the steel rail slots on the floor.

They were stable horizontally, but vertically, there was no cushioning at all—a purely rigid connection.

She reached out and pressed the edge where the base met the floor.

Rock hard.

No rubber, no springs, just bare metal.

If it were to run at full speed, the engine vibrations would travel up through the chassis, through the slots and the racks, and would ultimately all be jolted into the nutrient solution pipelines.

The root systems were suspended in the liquid; any jolting would surely dislodge them.

A few seconds might be fine, but ten minutes of continuous jolting would ruin this batch of wheat.

She stood up and clicked on her communicator.

"Chief Engineer Han."

"Technician Lin."

The crackling noise of a welding torch came from Han Zhengqing's end.

"What's up?"

"About the Shock-absorbing Layers—the City Lord asked me to check in with you last night. Can you spare two people this morning to come up to the third-floor Greenhouse and take some measurements?"

"Measure what part?"

"The width of the base slots and the cross-section of the bottom beams. I need to calculate how large to cut the rubber pads and how much spring compression to allow for."

Han Zhengqing was silent for two seconds, calculating his manpower.

"Today, the main force is entirely focused on the second and third frames; I can't spare anyone. Is the afternoon okay?"

"Sure, what time?"

"Two o'clock. I'll have Old Du take Little Zhao up. Old Du's been in mechanics for thirty years; he knows the ins and outs of springs and pads."

"Got it, I'll wait in the Greenhouse at two."

"Technician Lin, where are the springs coming from? Are we coiling them ourselves?"

"Do you have any scrap steel bars on hand?"

"Yes, in that batch of scrap steel from The City-State, there's a bundle of six-millimeter Spring steel bars that hasn't been touched. It's stacked in the corner of the Storage Area."

"Is it enough to coil a hundred sets?"

"A hundred sets?" Han Zhengqing paused. "How many per set?"

"One base has eight support points, two per point, so sixteen per set."

Lin Wan ran the numbers in her head.

"A hundred sets is one thousand six hundred springs. If each one is nine to ten centimeters, accounting for coil diameter loss, twenty to twenty-five meters at most."

"That bundle has forty meters."

"That's plenty. I'll go to Liao Dacheng for the rubber pads; he has a batch of spare Natural rubber synthetic padding at the Livestock Farm. It's one centimeter thick and can be used once cut."

"Alright, I'll mention it to Old Liao so he can dig out the pads."

"No need, I'll go down and find him myself in a bit."

Lin Wan cut the communication, opened her notebook, and wrote down the spring specifications, pad dimensions, and support point locations one by one.

She turned and walked toward the Synthesizer units.

Song Ya was guarding the outlet of the third machine.

"Song Ya, is the flour milling going smoothly today?"

"Smoothly," Song Ya turned her head. "All six are running normally. The hourly output is four hundred and seventy kilograms. It's steadier than yesterday, and the flour is finer."

"How did it get finer?"

"Last night, I reduced the feed speed by five percent and let it grind a bit longer."

Song Ya reached out and patted the metal casing.

"The moisture content dropped as well, so it'll last longer in bags."

Lin Wan added a note in her book: Feed reduced by 5%, fine powder, low moisture, shelf-stable.

"Are we still producing nine hundred kilograms today?"

"At this rate, we'll break one thousand and fifty kilograms by 2:30 PM."

Lin Wan looked up at her.

"An extra hundred and fifty?"

"Yeah. Yesterday, I streamlined the preparation time for the two afternoon machines and cut out the idle gaps. I forced the production capacity up."

Lin Wan didn't move, staring at the white flour flowing steadily from the outlet.

One thousand and fifty kilograms.

Enough to feed three thousand five hundred people for a day.

She circled the number and clicked on her communicator.

"City Lord."

"Speak."

"The flour production numbers need to be updated. Song Ya optimized the feed and preparation times, and capacity has increased. We'll have one thousand and fifty kilograms by 2:30 PM—an extra hundred and fifty."

The Cockpit was silent for two seconds.

"Tell Song Ya she did a good job."

"I'll pass that along to her."

"Adjust the distribution plan accordingly. Include all six hundred and four people who arrived today."

"Got it."

"Lin Wan."

"I'm here."

"How's the progress on the Shock-absorbing Layers?"

"Han Zhengqing is sending someone up at two to take measurements, and I'm going to the Livestock Farm to get the rubber pads. Old Han has enough scrap steel bars to coil the springs; we're not short on materials."

"Can it be finished in two days?"

"A hundred sets of support points... with two people helping, we can get it done in two days."

Lin Wan paused for a moment.

"But City Lord, once these are installed, I can't guarantee a thirty to forty percent reduction in vibration. That's a theoretical value; we'll have to see how the actual vehicle performs."

"Install them anyway, even if it's just a theoretical value."

Lu Chen's voice was steady.

"Any reduction is better than none."

"Understood."

The communication disconnected.

Lin Wan closed her notebook and headed straight for the elevator.

She had to go get the pads from Liao Dacheng and check the composting temperature while she was at it.