Chapter 33、The Shelter's Preliminary Self-Sustaining System

Although the greenhouse could only produce 30 pounds of food every three days, it was still impressive considering the current state of the shelter. With a total of just 16 people, each person's daily consumption was relatively modest—only 1 to 1.2 pounds of food per person. Even if everyone ate their fill, that amounted to about 20 pounds of food daily.

And now, this greenhouse room was providing nearly half of the shelter's food requirements!

What's more, this was all a baseline yield, completely free of charge!

If fertilizer was used, the crop growth speed would be further accelerated.

But that wasn't all. Yi Bai noticed there was an upgrade option for the greenhouse in the room's information panel! Currently, the greenhouse was at level 1, but once the shelter reached level 2, Yi Bai could spend survival points to upgrade it and increase food production.

He did some quick mental calculations, and then gasped in awe: "I really hit the jackpot!"

If things kept progressing this way, the food production would only keep increasing over time.

"Is this the potential of a C-class item? Or is it because it's a Room Type reward?" Yi Bai mused, still unclear about the mechanism, but one thing was for sure: "My talent is amazing!"

Today, since Jiang Xiaoci decided not to send anyone out to explore for resources, the shelter had no external income coming in. But as if to make up for that, Yi Bai's talent reward had delivered a greenhouse room!

Not going out to explore? No problem. Stay at home and relax!

Who needed to leave? Why not enjoy the air conditioning, sleep, and everything delivered to your door?

"This apocalypse is becoming more comfortable by the day," Yi Bai sighed contentedly.

Just as he was thinking this, a new prompt appeared before him:

[Would you like to use survival points for fertilization?]

Points? Yi Bai frowned. Where was he supposed to get points from? Lin Yue hadn't brought any mission points in two days, and he wasn't a murderer, so he didn't have many points from killing people.

"Wait, I think I can use normal fertilizer resources, right?" Yi Bai suddenly remembered.

"Normal fertilizer resources... isn't that human waste?" Yi Bai's eyes brightened.

In the ancient world, before modern organic fertilizers existed, clever Chinese farmers often used human and animal manure to fertilize their crops, ensuring better growth. Of course, applying manure wasn't as simple as just dumping it on the plants; there were steps involved.

Yi Bai recalled seeing his grandparents gather waste and allow it to ferment. He didn't fully understand the process, but he wasn't worried.

"I have Li Ya! I have Jiang Xiaoci!"

"Li Ya's an engineer—she might not know how to fertilize, but she should understand the chemical reactions and their effects."

"Jiang Xiaoci is so smart, and she's from the Republic era. Surely, she knows how to farm?"

"Even if they don't know, it's no problem. I can just keep experimenting until I get it right."

With that, Yi Bai excitedly headed out to find Jiang Xiaoci and informed her about the fertilization issue in the greenhouse.

"That's quite the fascinating room," Jiang Xiaoci said with a smile, then thought for a moment. "Sir, I've done some farming in the past, and yes, using waste for fertilization is entirely feasible."

"But we have to be careful with isolation and fermentation. It can't be contaminated by wastewater. The waste should be mixed with other organic materials, like straw or ash, and we need proper ventilation to speed up the fermentation process."

"Only after that can it be used for irrigation," Jiang Xiaoci explained.

Before Yi Bai could respond, Li Ya looked up from her notebook and added, "Boss, it's all about microbial decomposition. The fermentation process helps stimulate microbial activity, turning organic matter into stable humus. That's how crops get the nutrients they need."

"But, we also need to watch out for pests. Although the chances are low, it's always better to be prepared," Li Ya said thoughtfully. "Give me three days, and I'll have a pesticide sample ready to test."

"Wait—pesticide too?" Yi Bai blinked, amazed. He sized Li Ya up with new admiration. "Girl, what kind of genius are you? It feels like you can do anything!"

He'd never heard of an engineer making pesticide before.

"Is it really that hard?" Li Ya tilted her head cutely. "The research lab is well-equipped, and there are a lot of textbooks. I might not know everything, but I can follow the instructions and make it."

"Besides, we're collecting resources every day. If Lin Yue can bring me back some pesticides, I'll analyze the ingredients and replicate them. It's not too hard."

"Once that's done, we'll have a basic self-sustaining cycle in the shelter: food, water, waste treatment—all in an internal loop."

Li Ya paused, then added with a shrug, "Though I'll need to gather the raw materials to make the pesticides. I can't just magically create them out of nothing."

With that, she threw her hands up, looking helpless.

Yi Bai couldn't help but laugh. "Geniuses, all of them!"

"Great! That's settled then!" Yi Bai clapped his hands. "You two get to work. I'll tell Lin Yue about the fertilizer issue."

As Li Ya stood up to leave, Yi Bai seemed to remember something. "Wait, Li Ya! I realized I haven't given you any new research tasks lately. Why are you still holed up in the research lab?"

When he first recruited Li Ya, Yi Bai had assigned her two scientific projects: Enhancing Research and Exploration Abilities and The Waste Processing Center. The former was about improving exploration rewards, and the latter was a complete waste management system for the shelter.

Both projects had been completed long ago, but Li Ya still spent all her time in the lab, rarely coming out.

"I don't have anything else to do," Li Ya shrugged. "Since there's nothing urgent, I've been reading. The research lab has tons of useful knowledge, so I thought I'd learn more to help you out, Boss."

"Well, that's impressive!" Yi Bai grinned from ear to ear. "Very proactive! Keep at it!"

"Will do, Boss," Li Ya waved as she skipped out of the room.

What a great girl. No tasks, yet she's still improving herself for the next one. Truly admirable!

She's like a walking, self-charging battery!