203: Chapter 203 Pig Manure Turns into Food! Compost Liquid Test a Success

11:57 AM.

Lin Wan stepped into the Isolation Chamber of the Compost Fermentation Area.

Liao Dacheng arrived three minutes earlier than her.

Right now, he was squatting by the Fermentation Tank, craning his neck to stare at the thermometer.

"What's the temperature?"

Lin Wan asked as she walked, casually pulling up the tool bag clipped to her waist.

"Forty-five point two."

Liao Dacheng stood up, bracing his hands on his knees.

"Two hours earlier than we estimated yesterday."

Lin Wan walked to the tank, pulled out a temperature probe, and thrust it into the measurement port on the side of the tank.

Forty-five point two degrees.

The reading was exactly what Liao Dacheng had reported.

"Fermentation is normal."

She pulled out the probe, wiped it on her work uniform, then turned and squatted in front of the discharge valve, carefully checking the opening and closing direction of the ball valve.

"Ma Dong, is the Filter Bucket ready?"

Liao Dacheng glanced back.

Ma Dong was standing two steps away holding a forty-liter stainless steel bucket, with a medium-density filter mesh draped over the opening.

"Ready."

Ma Dong hurried forward, placed the bucket steadily directly under the discharge valve, spread the filter mesh over the opening, and secured it with four clips.

"Technician Lin, is this height okay?"

Lin Wan used her hand to gauge the distance from the discharge outlet to the bucket opening.

A fifteen-centimeter drop.

"It's fine. The drop is small, so it won't splash."

She stood up and turned on her communicator.

"City Lord."

"Speak."

"Compost fermentation temperature is forty-five point two degrees, past the threshold. The Filter Bucket is in place; I'm ready to open the valve for testing."

There was a two-second silence from the Cockpit.

Lu Chen's voice came through.

"Open it."

"Understood."

Lin Wan placed her hand on the ball valve handle.

It was made of brass and felt cool to the touch.

With a flick of her wrist, she turned the handle ninety degrees.

"Ssh!"

A sound came from the discharge outlet, and a dark brown liquid flowed out from the pipe.

It wasn't as clear as water; it had a sticky texture, a slow flow rate, and emitted the organic sour smell of fermentation.

"Flow rate is normal."

Liao Dacheng leaned in closer, his eyes fixed on the stream.

"No large particles, the liquid is uniform; it's fermented thoroughly."

Lin Wan watched the output volume; when it reached five liters, she jerked the handle back to its original position, locking the valve.

The five liters of Compost Liquid in the bucket sat still for half a minute.

Only a few scattered fine fiber residues were caught on the filter mesh; the vast majority had drained through smoothly.

She picked up the bucket and shook it under the light of the ceiling lamp.

Dark brown, poor transparency, mixed with suspended particles, though they were all extremely fine.

"It's usable."

She set the bucket on the ground.

"Dilute it to three percent, then inject it into the nutrient solution lines of the seventh set of Hydroponic Racks."

Ma Dong nimbly brought out a large measuring bucket, poured the five liters of filtered Compost Liquid into it, and then added one hundred and sixty liters of clean water.

Five liters of concentrate, one hundred and sixty liters of water.

This concentration was slightly over three percent.

Lin Wan quickly ran the ratio through her head.

"Ma Dong, add another five liters of water. The concentration must be kept within three percent."

"You got it."

Ma Dong poured in another bucket of water, bringing the total amount of clean water to one hundred and sixty-five liters.

Lin Wan dipped an Electrical Conductivity Meter in to test it; the value stabilized within a reasonable range.

"Alright, inject it into the lines."

Ma Dong poured the diluted Compost Liquid into the reservoir of the nutrient solution inlet and casually flipped the switch for the Injection Pump.

The motor began to hum.

The liquid followed the lines, being pumped all the way to the seventh set of Hydroponic Racks.

Lin Wan walked quickly to the seventh set of racks, squatted down, and stared unblinkingly at the roots of the Wheat Seedlings.

The young roots of the Fast-growing Wheat were pure white and slender, suspended in the nutrient solution and swaying with the disturbance of the flow.

In the lines, the dark brown liquid began to mix in.

The originally clear nutrient solution was dyed light brown.

The roots didn't shrink.

No stress response was observed.

Lin Wan just squatted there, not even daring to blink, staring intently for a full three minutes.

The whiteness of the root hairs didn't turn yellow, nor were there any signs of wilting or withering.

Four minutes.

Five minutes.

"Normal."

She let out a long breath, stood up, and turned on the communicator.

"City Lord, the first test of the Compost Liquid is complete. The seventh set of Hydroponic Racks was injected with a three percent concentration; there was no stress response in the roots within five minutes, and the liquid is stable. The test is a pass."

"When can it be rolled out to all the Hydroponic Racks?"

Lu Chen asked.

"In three days, on the sixty-fourth day. I need to monitor the growth data of the seventh set for these three days; if there are no issues, we'll go full scale."

"After going full scale, how much can the consumption of Chemical Nutrient Solution be reduced?"

"By about forty to fifty percent. The inventory of Chemical Nutrient Solution can be extended from forty-five days to ninety days."

There was a pause from the Cockpit.

"Good, go full scale in three days."

"Understood."

Lin Wan released the communicator and turned to look at Liao Dacheng.

He was standing by the Fermentation Tank, staring blankly at the bucket of concentrate.

"Old Liao, what are you thinking about?"

"Nothing."

Liao Dacheng shook his head and rubbed his face with his hand.

"I was just thinking, this tank of stuff was brewed from pig manure and straw."

"Mhm."

"Pig manure turning into grain."

Liao Dacheng paused, his tone somewhat emotional.

"This path is certainly a long way around."

Lin Wan didn't respond.

She looked down and opened her logbook, recording the results of the sixty-first day's compost cycle test stroke by stroke.

Closing the book, she turned and walked toward the elevator.

Third floor, Dome Greenhouse, seventh set of Hydroponic Racks.

She still had to keep watch there for three hours to completely finalize the root data.