214: Chapter 214 ZM08 All Twelve Heads Alive! Strawberry's News Spreads

Day sixty-five. 12:53 AM.

Livestock Farm.

When the twelfth piglet hit the ground, it was seven minutes to one.

Liao Dacheng squatted by the farrowing crate, wrapped the last piglet in a dry towel, and pushed it under ZM08's belly, letting it find a teat on its own.

This one was the smallest, but its cry was quite bright; it nudged its head forward and, in less than a minute, latched onto a spot and began to suckle rhythmically.

"Twelve," Ma Dong marked a stroke on the record board. "All alive."

Liao Dacheng draped the towel over the railing and stood up, bracing his hands on his knees.

Twelve—one more than ZM07; ZM08 had a strong constitution and a good parity.

He took the record board and filled in the birth time, gender, and initial weight one by one. Flipping to the end, he added a line in the blank space.

Day sixty-five. 12:55 AM. ZM08 farrowing complete. All twelve survived. Continuous monitoring for the smallest, Number Twelve.

"Ma Dong, go mix some hot water." He didn't even look up. "ZM08 needs electrolyte water after giving birth. Follow the dosage based on her weight; you handle the mixing."

Ma Dong went off as told.

Liao Dacheng walked over to the sheep pen and peered inside through the fence.

Zhou Hai sat on a low stool with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows; his eyes were bloodshot from staying up, but he was still alert.

The ewe had started labor pains at 4:40 PM yesterday, even earlier than ZM08. Sheep have a shorter birthing cycle and finished by 10 PM. Twins, one male and one female, both survived.

Zhou Hai had kept watch all night and was currently staring at the two lambs fighting for milk.

"How is it?" Liao Dacheng asked across the fence.

"Pretty good," Zhou Hai's voice was raspy. "The small one couldn't find the spot at first, so I helped guide it. It can manage on its own now."

"Good." Liao Dacheng closed the gate and pressed his communicator.

"City Lord."

It took four seconds for a voice to come from the Cockpit.

"Speak."

The voice was raspy and dry, clearly sounding like someone who hadn't slept enough.

"ZM08 finished birthing at 12:55 AM today. All twelve survived. Number Twelve, the smallest, is underweight, so I'm keeping an eye on it," Liao Dacheng reported efficiently. "On the ewe's side, she had twins at 10 PM last night. One male and one female, both survived. Zhou Hai watched over them all night; no issues."

There was a brief pause on the other end of the communicator.

"Good work."

"Just doing my job," Liao Dacheng said. "City Lord, I drafted the transport plan yesterday; I'll send it to you this morning."

"Okay. I'll look at it this morning."

The call disconnected.

Liao Dacheng tucked the communicator back into his pocket, walked back to ZM08's farrowing crate, found a corner to sit against the wall, and closed his eyes.

Only the hum of the constant temperature system remained in the Livestock Farm, plus the sound of twelve piglets huddling together to fight for milk.

Outside, the wind had picked up at some point. But what transmitted through the hull was nothing like that deadly, freezing winter gale. It was just a low whimper that circled the shell of the Polaris and vanished.

6:20 AM.

Cockpit.

Lu Chen went over today's briefing in his mind, opened his notebook, and filled in the data for ZM08.

All twelve survived.

Eleven for ZM07, twelve for ZM08. Including the ten from ZM06, the current inventory of piglets in the Livestock Farm was thirty-three.

He listed another row of numbers next to it.

According to Liao Dacheng's estimate, with the Growth Acceleration Module, they would be ready for market in two months. Out of these thirty-three, twenty-five to twenty-eight should be on the table in two months.

In two months, around Day 125.

By then, the Polaris would have long since left the Rustwind Wasteland.

The tip of the pen stopped on the paper; he didn't calculate further.

Things too far off couldn't be calculated accurately now.

6:30 AM, the communicator rang.

"City Lord," Lin Wan's voice came through, sounding efficient from waking up early.

"Go ahead."

"The milk has been set out, sixty liters. Full production again today."

"Good."

"About the Strawberries in the public living area yesterday," Lin Wan changed the subject, her tone sounding more confident, "I had Song Ya go check this morning."

"What's the word?"

"The plate is empty. All thirty-seven were eaten. Someone even polished the plate until it was gleaming before putting it back."

Lu Chen flipped back a page in his notebook and checked off the Strawberry task.

"Has anyone been asking around?" he asked.

"Song Ya said when she brought the plate over this morning, people in the hallway were already asking. She told them they were Strawberries, grown in the Greenhouse." Lin Wan paused for half a second. "Chen Li reported back this afternoon that a crowd had gathered around that table in the public living area. No one was there to eat; they were all asking about the Strawberries."

"Asking what?"

"Asking where they were grown, how soon there would be more, and if they could buy them," Lin Wan reported clearly. "Chen Li posted a notice stating they were Greenhouse produce, and the next batch of sixty to one hundred and fifty would be available within three to five days."

Lu Chen solidified this information in his mind.

People were asking, people were waiting, and people knew.

This ship really did have Strawberries.

He picked up the milk cup on the console and took a sip.

"Lin Wan."

"Yes."

"Word came from The City-State yesterday about the Iron Hoof Legion," Lu Chen spoke plainly. "You know about it, right?"

There was no immediate response from the communicator.

"Yeah. My brother mentioned it in a transmission this morning." Lin Wan's tone didn't change. "He said people in the Fourth-tier Residential Area of The City-State are talking, but things haven't turned chaotic yet."

"Have you heard any rumors on the Polaris side today?"

"I'm in the Greenhouse and don't have much contact with the residents," she said. "But when Song Ya went to distribute milk this morning, someone stopped her to ask when this ship is leaving."

"How did Song Ya respond?"

"She said the City Lord is making arrangements, the ship will leave, and notice will be given before it does." Lin Wan paused. "City Lord, is that response okay?"

"It's fine," Lu Chen said.

"Good."

"The ship will operate as usual today. Continue distributing flour and keep an eye on the composting cycle. As for the Shock-absorbing Layer, install the springs Han Zhengqing coiled last night," Lu Chen went through today's tasks. "What's your main focus today?"

"Today is the ninth day for the third crop of wheat. The harvest period is tomorrow or the day after," Lin Wan reported. "I'm going to check the ear weight this morning to estimate the yield. If it's close to expectations, we'll harvest the day after tomorrow."

"The expected yield is still seventeen to eighteen tons."

"Right. If we harvest it all, plus what's in the warehouse, it can provide the staple food for the thirty thousand-plus people on the ship for nearly three days." Lin Wan's tone shifted. "City Lord, if this batch of wheat is harvested by the time we withdraw, we'll leave with three days of surplus grain. If we withdraw early..."

"The yield will be compromised," Lu Chen finished her thought. "If we start running at full speed on Day 66, part of the third crop will be ruined by the jolting."

"Yes. In the current state of the shock absorbers, the coils for the forty outer groups haven't been fully replaced. If we run the whole way at high speed, twenty to thirty percent of the outer groups will be lost. Based on seventeen tons, that's a loss of 3.4 to 5.1 tons, leaving twelve to fourteen tons."

Lu Chen went over these figures in his head.

Twelve to fourteen tons was still a large amount.

But if they could wait two more days until the wheat was harvested before leaving, it would be seventeen to eighteen tons—a difference of nearly five tons.

Five tons was enough to feed the nine thousand-plus people on the ship for nearly half a day.

"Harvest the day after tomorrow, or leave on Day 66." Lu Chen set the matter aside. "Let's handle today's tasks first."

"Understood."

The communicator disconnected.

Lu Chen put down the milk cup, opened his notebook, and scanned today's checklist.

Wait for Chen Li's 7:00 AM briefing, wait for Han Zhengqing's installation progress on the forty outer group springs, wait for Liao Dacheng's livestock transport plan, wait for the conductivity data of the composting cycle, and wait for the ear weight measurement of the third crop of wheat.

At the very bottom of the list, he added one more item.

Wait for the next message from Forge.

The radar scanning line rotated steadily on the panel.

The fifth pale red signal record was pinned there firmly, timestamped 05:49:07, from yesterday.

Today is Day 65.

Six days left.