Chapter 153 - 151: Preparing to Harvest Rice

Words : 1074 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

Climbing up to the location of the observation room, Chen Xin wanted to thoroughly inspect the upgraded observation room. From the outside, the upgraded observation room appeared like a flat oval canned box embedded in the mountain, covered with snow, inconspicuous in the dark environment. Facing the shelter’s entrance was the observation port, still that narrow slit just enough to peer out from inside, making the entire observation room resemble a machine gun bunker commonly seen in war movies, lacking only the heavy machine gun that Chen Xin hadn’t placed inside. The vent moved to the "bunker" exterior wall after the upgrade was a louvered design, where air discharged from the shelter flows through the pipes with lower temperature outside the observation room, cooling down significantly before being expelled from the vent on the vertical wall façade. This structural design resolved Chen Xin’s concern over the problem of icing. Without humid air being expelled from the inside, the observation port would not be sealed by frozen ice chunks, and Chen Xin naturally was relieved from the heavy daily ice removal task, avoiding the daily chore of breaking ice with a small hammer. Chen Xin felt satisfied with the upgraded observation room. But while satisfied with not having to do ice removal work in the future, he truly realized his physical inadequacies and the flaws in the Protective Suit. His physical inadequacies were a result of lack of exercise. Although his physical condition improved significantly over the past few months due to farm work, reaching the normal level of an average person in terms of fitness, he was still not considered strong. So exercising is an option to be included in the planning. During the few days at the SWAT team’s shelter, Chen Xin, having nothing to do after dinner, was taken by Qin Lan to the SWAT team’s gym for a workout. Besides feeling a bit muscular sore for a few days, it made Chen Xin realize that his shelter could perhaps add a gym. After all, it would both serve the purpose of exercising and occupying the free time every evening without spending every night gaming. Not that gaming is not feasible, but compared to gaming, exercising is more beneficial for health. Furthermore, Chen Xin’s evening time was relatively ample, allowing him to exercise for an hour and then game for a while, eliminating the problem of choosing one over the other. Adding a gym is not complex, nor necessarily requiring the division of a separate room, just add some fitness equipment in the living room and exercise after dinner. This doesn’t even require Chen Xin to consume valuable survival points, just need to get some fitness equipment, perhaps even making some himself to make do. Having decided, Chen Xin naturally included this in his plan, recording it in his list of upcoming tasks. Besides this, upgrading and modifying the Protective Suit was another task recorded on Chen Xin’s plan list. The performance of the Protective Suit itself was not problematic, its anti-corrosion insulation effect had always been excellent. However, as temperatures dropped, what the Protective Suit faced was not corrosive acid rain but the severe cold brought by low temperatures and strong winds, along with the low oxygen environment due to reduced oxygen content. Although not adjusting would not pose a significant issue, Chen Xin still hoped to add an oxygen supply function to the Protective Suit, ensuring he wouldn’t feel breathless after a period of outdoor physical labor next time. Also, the Protective Suit needed some adjustments. The previously long hem was good for rain protection and warmth, but he found during physical labor that a long coat was inconvenient for labor, with shorter styles being more appropriate. Thus, adjusting and modifying the Protective Suit naturally became part of Chen Xin’s modification plan. Besides these two tasks, fulfilling the promise of making the ground source heat pump for Li Wensheng and Mo Qingyan, and monthly harvesting of the drought-resistant rice in the greenhouse were also pressing tasks, alongside the dealings with Li Yulong... Counting it down, Chen Xin found he had quite a few tasks to accomplish this month. Fortunately, most tasks were not urgent, listing and planning them one by one enables Chen Xin to address them all following the planned progress. The Protective Suit modification and gym were not urgent, doing them later is not an issue. However, Chen Xin needed to complete the promised ground source heat pump for Li Wensheng quickly for a trade to acquire the aquaponics device he wanted. This matter was previously agreed upon with Li Wensheng, but Chen Xin’s recent stay at the official shelter delayed this work, probably prompting impatience from Li Wensheng. Without Qin Lan around, Chen Xin’s manufacturing of ground source heat pumps sped up compared to when she was present. Using the system to disassemble an air conditioner outdoor unit directly, and assembling the parts, then performing an upgrade, proficient Chen Xin took just over an hour to create a new ground source heat pump. Of course, this ground source heat pump differed from those Chen Xin himself used, lacking the addition of a turbine generator. Leaving the completed equipment beside the workbench, Chen Xin did not immediately start crafting a second device. To date, besides the promised unit for Li Wensheng, he only needed to make the device for Mo Qingyan. Other acquaintances also wanted ground source heat pumps, but with Chen Xin absent for several days, no new orders came in, requiring no further production. As for Mo Qingyan’s unit, Chen Xin planned to add a turbine generator and an aquaponics system, rendering him unable to start until Li Wensheng delivered the promised aquaponics system. Thus, upon completing Li Wensheng’s ground source heat pump, Chen Xin found himself without further orders to execute. Yet, this didn’t mean idleness ensued; the greenhouse unattended for several days required managing, and the matured drought-resistant rice awaited harvesting, requiring preparation for the harvest. Though the drought-resistant rice quantity was modest, manual cutting prompted Chen Xin to think his efficiency over a day might not suffice, and rice cutting is immensely tiring work. Luckily, having acquired a small farm machine earlier, Chen Xin could use a small harvester for cutting, rather than manually cutting rice. Of course, before officially commencing the harvest, he also needed to review the unutilized small harvester, understanding its operation to avoid problems arising from improper use.

Chapter 153 - 151: Preparing to Harvest Rice

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