213: Chapter 213 Composting in Full Swing! Strawberries on the Table

3:14 PM.

Greenhouse, Level Three.

Lin Wan pressed the pump switch for the final set of Hydroponic Racks, and the motor began to hum.

The dark brown diluted Compost Liquid flowed through the pipes, mixing into the nutrient reservoir of the hundredth Hydroponic Rack.

She crouched down, her line of sight level with the base of the Hydroponic Rack, staring at the cluster of young roots suspended in the nutrient solution.

The young roots were pure white and slender, swaying in the current.

As the brown liquid mixed in, the clear nutrient solution turned a light brown.

The roots didn't shrink or turn yellow.

Three minutes passed.

There was no sign of a stress response.

Lin Wan pushed off her knees to stand up, flipped open her notebook, and added a note at the bottom of today's page.

Day 64, 3:17 PM: Full rollout of the compost cycle completed. All one hundred sets of Hydroponic Racks switched to the Compost Liquid-nutrient mix supply plan. Dilution ratio at 3%. No stress responses recorded throughout the process.

She capped her pen and tucked it into the side slot of the notebook.

“Song Ya,” she called out, turning her head.

Song Ya was coming over from the ninety-seventh Hydroponic Rack, clutching a tester in her hand.

“Is everything in place?”

“Everything is online.” Lin Wan handed over the notebook. “This afternoon, check the conductivity of each set every hour. Circle anything that looks off and report it to me tonight.”

Song Ya took it, flipped through a couple of pages, and nodded.

“Hey, Song Ya.” Lin Wan paused for a beat. “Regarding the flour this morning, what was the total yield?”

“One thousand and twenty kilograms,” Song Ya answered promptly. “The inlet didn't clog today, the machine ran smoothly, and the output was steady.”

“Good.” Lin Wan kicked an empty injection bucket aside. “Go coordinate the flour distribution plan with Chen Li. I need to keep an eye on the strawberries this afternoon.”

“The strawberries are ripe?” Song Ya’s voice rose half an octave.

“I’m going to check on them this afternoon,” Lin Wan said. “I reckon they’re about ready.”

Song Ya didn't ask further. She tucked the notebook under her arm and headed for the first set of Hydroponic Racks to begin the first round of inspections.

Lin Wan watched her back, reached for her waist, and clicked on her communicator.

“City Lord.”

“Speak,” Lu Chen’s voice came through, mixed with the humming of the Cockpit’s vents in the background.

“The compost cycle has been fully rolled out. Finished at 3:17 PM. All one hundred sets have been switched over; no stress observed.”

“Good.”

“We’re reducing the chemical nutrient solution starting today. I’ve calculated that we can stretch the inventory from forty-five days to ninety. However, Song Ya still needs to do a round of conductivity tests this afternoon. I’ll report the exact numbers to you tomorrow morning.”

“Noted.” Lu Chen went silent for two seconds on the other end. “What about the strawberries?”

“I’m heading to the cold storage area to check right now.” Lin Wan set off. “If they’re ripe, we’ll distribute them today. As we discussed yesterday, we’ll slice them and place them in the public living area.”

She pushed open the partition door to the cold storage area. The temperature inside was seven or eight degrees lower than in the Greenhouse. The overhead lights cast an orange-yellow glow, giving the shelves a warm appearance.

The strawberries were laid out on the outermost row of shelves in shallow trays, with six to eight berries per tray.

She picked up the nearest one and turned it over to inspect its surface.

It was deep red, the skin was taut and not soft, and the leaves at the stem were still a vibrant green.

She pressed her fingernail lightly against the side; the flesh bounced back.

Perfectly ripe.

“They’re ripe.” She brought the communicator close to her mouth. “City Lord, we can distribute them this afternoon.”

“How many?”

Lin Wan scanned the trays, counting silently.

“Thirty-seven. A bit fewer than estimated. Three were bruised while ripening, so I picked them out.”

“If we slice those thirty-seven, how many portions will that make?”

“One berry cut into four quarters would be 148 portions. But they’d be too small to display properly. I’m thinking of cutting each in half to make 74 portions.” Lin Wan picked up a tray and headed out. “There are 37 tables in the public living area. Two halves per table is exactly right.”

“Fine, go ahead.” Lu Chen paused. “Lin Wan.”

“Yes.”

“When Song Ya carries them over, tell her to walk slowly. Make sure everyone passing by sees them.”

Lin Wan stood at the entrance of the cold storage area, the tray in her hand suspended in mid-air.

Make sure everyone passing by sees them.

No secret distribution, and no allocation by list. Just carry them through the corridors so everyone who passes can see that red and smell that fragrance. Let them know for a fact that this ship can grow such things.

“Understood,” she replied. “I’ll have her take the longest corridor.”

4:08 PM.

Public Living Area.

Song Ya carried two trays along the east corridor of the second-level Residential Area, heading toward the public living area.

There were quite a few people in the corridor.

Some were residents who had just moved in from Black Rock City-State, tidying up their belongings by their bunks; others were heading toward the kitchen, while a few were huddled by the walls chatting.

As Song Ya passed with the trays, the scent of strawberries wafted through the air.

The scent wasn't heavy.

But on this ship that had endured two months of nothing but the smell of flour paste soup and stewed Cabbage with meat, this hint of sweet fruit fragrance was incredibly rare. It was so rare that several people's nostrils flared, and their eyes darted toward the trays in her hands.

The bright red fruits, seven or eight to a tray, were set against a white cloth that made the red practically dazzle the eyes.

“What's that?”

The speaker was a man in his forties, standing by the corridor, clutching a tattered, unfolded cotton coat.

“Strawberries.” Song Ya didn't stop, keeping the trays steady. “Grown in the Greenhouse.”

The man's mouth hung open, his gaze glued to the trays as he followed her for several meters.

Everyone else in the corridor stared as well. No one spoke; pairs of eyes simply followed that flash of red intently.

Song Ya crossed the corridor and turned into the public living area, placing the two trays on the folding table nearest the door. She stepped back a couple of paces to inspect the display.

Seventy-four Strawberry halves were arranged neatly on the white cloth. The pink of the cut surfaces caught the overhead light, glistening with fine droplets of juice.

She clicked on her communicator.

“Technician Lin, everything is set.”

“Good. No need to stand guard there; let them take them themselves,” Lin Wan’s voice came through. “Go tell Chen Li to post a sign nearby that says ‘Greenhouse Produce, Limit One Half Per Person’.”

Song Ya acknowledged and switched channels to find Chen Li.

She stepped out of the public living area, glancing back before leaving.

Two people had already approached the table.

One was a white-haired old man with a hunched back. His face was almost pressed against the tray, not daring to reach out, just staring intently.

Beside him was a young woman holding a child. When the two-year-old reached out a small hand to grab one, the woman quickly pulled the child's hand back, muttering something. Yet her own eyes were fixed unblinkingly on the table.

Song Ya withdrew her gaze and headed toward the Greenhouse.

In the corridor, the sweet scent of strawberries had already dissolved into the air, finding its way into everyone's nose.

4:40 PM.

Cockpit.

Lu Chen finished the last stroke in his notebook and flipped back to yesterday's page, his gaze sweeping over the words “degradation window.”

Today's accounts were settled. Forge had given the word; real-time intelligence confirmed the margin of error was within two kilometers.

For the shock absorption tests, the central sixty sets passed. The steel bars for the forty peripheral sets arrived this afternoon. Han Zhengqing would start working tonight, with the third test run scheduled for the day after tomorrow.

The compost cycle was fully rolled out.

ZM08 was starting labor; Liao Dacheng would be pulling an all-nighter.

Thirty-seven strawberries were sliced and placed in the public living area this afternoon.

The only thing missing was the report on the third batch from the Relocation Team.

He tossed his pen onto the console and called Chen Li.

“City Lord.” Chen Li answered quickly. “The third batch of the Relocation Team arrived at 2:00 PM. 861 people, 257 more than yesterday.”

Lu Chen picked up the pen again and entered the number into his notebook.

861.

“How many have gone through the Registration Terminals?”

“As of 4:00 PM, the three terminals have processed 792 people,” Chen Li reported. “Total registered count: 9,877.”

9,877.

Lu Chen circled the number, his mind quickly running through the math.

Counting today, there were seven days left until the seventy-first day. At a rate of eight or nine hundred people a day, they could fit in at most another six thousand or so.

Altogether, that would be 15,500 to 16,000.

In Black Rock City-State, there were still over twenty thousand people who wouldn't make it in.

His pen tip stopped on the paper as he stared at the numbers for a few seconds.

“Chen Li,” Lu Chen said. “In The City-State today, there were rumors circulating about the Iron Hoof Legion.”

“I heard. Lin Xiao’s Staff Department shared the info this morning.” Chen Li’s voice was heavy. “City Lord, should we take any precautions here on Polaris?”

“No need for a grand display.” Lu Chen tapped his knuckles on the desk. “Have the floor managers keep the people in check; don't let them start any blind agitation on the ship. Polaris will keep running as it should. Distribute the flour as usual, and keep the strawberries on display. Let these people see with their own eyes that this ship is stable.”

“Understood.”

“Regarding the strawberries, has anyone touched them?”

“It's been forty minutes since Song Ya set them out. I just sent someone to check.” Chen Li paused. “Half the strawberries on the table are gone. A few people are just standing nearby whispering.”

Lu Chen closed the notebook.

He didn't ask what they were whispering about.

There was no need.

What he wanted was for these people to walk in, see that red, taste that sweetness, and have the thought that 'living things can really be grown on this ship' firmly rooted in their minds.

That was enough.

On the panel, the radar scan line rotated at a steady pace.

The fifth pale red signal record was nestled quietly in the bottom right corner of the screen.

Seven days.

Lu Chen reclined his seat by two centimeters and closed his eyes, intending to catch a quick nap in this iron chair before ZM08 gave birth.

Only three minutes had passed when his communicator vibrated.

Liao Dacheng.

“City Lord.”

“Speak.”

“At 4:50 PM, ZM08 went into labor.” Liao Dacheng’s voice was dry, but it carried a tense efficiency. “Earlier than I estimated. Sun Ke is already here, and Zhou Hai is keeping watch at the Sheep Pen.”

Lu Chen opened his eyes and pushed his seat back upright.

“I’ll report immediately if anything happens tonight,” Liao Dacheng continued. “City Lord, you focus on your signal. I can handle things here at the Livestock Farm.”

Lu Chen set down the communicator.

The radar scan line on the panel completed another rotation.

Within eight kilometers, everything was clear.

Seven days left.