I can upgrade the shelter-Chapter 164 - 162: Sealed Shelter

Pushing open the originally sealed heavy protection door, the small shelter that had been closed was now open again.

Standing at the entrance, Chen Xin could still see some scattered debris on the ground, clearly leftovers from the previous evacuation.

"Looks like it needs a good cleaning." Even though they hadn’t entered yet, the first impression this small shelter gave Chen Xin and Li Yulong was that it was a bit dirty.

"After evacuating the residents originally living here due to oxygen supply issues, this shelter was temporarily sealed." The staff sent by the city government heard Chen Xin’s assessment and didn’t think there was anything wrong, just nodding while introducing the situation here: "This shelter was originally an underground parking lot, with two floors each 2000 square meters. Only the second underground floor met the civil defense standards, so only this floor was converted into a shelter, designed to accommodate a thousand people."

"A thousand people? Sounds pretty big!" As he listened to the city government staff’s introduction, Li Yulong walked inside while asking Chen Xin: "Xiao Chen, do you think we’ll need such a large space?"

To this question, Chen Xin just shook his head and replied, "Not enough. Two thousand square meters is just over three acres. If you’re running a plantation and growing vegetables and fruits, it’s fine; but growing rice isn’t enough to feed the workers."

"The consumption can’t be that high, right?" Hearing what Chen Xin said, Li Yulong frowned, thinking that two thousand square meters sounded quite large and not understanding why Chen Xin said it wasn’t enough.

"My shelter’s planting greenhouse is 200 square meters. Calculating an annual yield of 1200 jin per mu, growing rice you can harvest 1200 jin three times a year. It’s more than enough for three people, but not enough for four. Do you still think this space is big now?"

"Huh? Really? So, the food grown from a place of 2000 square meters isn’t enough for 50 people? Doesn’t our country have super rice? What good is this yield?" Li Yulong seemed like a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, instantly feeling dejected.

However, Chen Xin just laughed and said: "Super rice can indeed yield 2000 jin per mu, but it heavily relies on seeds and fertilizers. Plant it for a year, and you’d need to replace the seeds, otherwise, it will degrade significantly. Even if you could find someone to cultivate seeds for you, the operating costs would be very high, so if you’re running a greenhouse just to grow rice, it’s a waste of time and effort."

Although Chen Xin said these words with a smile, everyone around who followed them down could hear the sarcasm in his words.

Because this matter involves collaboration with the SWAT team, a team of SWAT officers will be stationed here, maintaining order when they’re not on patrol duty.

Chen Xin, a bit biased, persuaded Uncle Ding to send Qin Lan’s team; thus, Qin Lan also came along with them today to inspect the situation here, preparing for the SWAT team’s later stationing.

Hearing what Chen Xin said, Qin Lan furrowed her brow and asked, "But we can’t just not plant food! If we stop because it’s unprofitable, wouldn’t everyone starve to death?"

"That’s true, but Xiao Long is running a plantation, so economic value should be prioritized." Facing Qin Lan’s inquiry, Chen Xin gave her a reassuring look before continuing to explain: "Of course, all of this is under the premise of growing a single crop. In the current environment and with existing planting conditions, what’s needed is vertical farming, maximizing space use to expand planting areas indirectly.

With this approach, the usable planting area and the variety of crops that can be grown significantly increase. If an aquaponics system is used, it can also provide aquatic products, and the yield is more assured."

"Vertical farming, aquaponics? How would that work?" Hearing Chen Xin’s words, Li Yulong immediately became enthusiastic again, as if he had not been disheartened moments ago.

"It’s quite simple. Dig deep in the ground to make fish ponds, lay seeding boards on the surface to grow rice, then stack several layers of hydroponic cultivation layers for vegetables and fruits." Chen Xin briefly explained, surveying the empty shelter, asking Li Yulong: "Xiao Long, have you decided how to plan this place? It’s impossible to turn all 2000 square meters into farmland, right?"

"It’s not impossible to make all of it farmland, right?" Li Yulong joked, but quickly grew serious, saying: "I plan to allocate two-thirds of the area for cultivation, and transform the remaining third into a residential area."

"The place will be a bit cramped!" Chen Xin, hearing his arrangement, understood his intentions and said this with a smile, then said nothing more, following the city government staff to check the shelter’s condition.

Although this is just a small shelter, it was built according to standards back then, with all facilities well-equipped.

Following the city government staff for an inspection, Chen Xin found that the water and electricity facilities were still functioning well, which made him very satisfied.

After introducing the interior conditions of the shelter, this staff member spoke about other supporting facilities: "After the disaster, the upper floor of this shelter was renovated but only half of it was used, as a coal stockpile. Since the interior of the shelter uses boiler heating and the boiler is installed on the upper floor, the coal is also stored on the upper floor."

"Can this boiler be dismantled? We can install a geothermal heat pump; there’s no need to keep the boiler." Hearing Chen Xin and the city government staff talk about heating equipment, Li Yulong immediately didn’t want that old coal-fired boiler.

However, Chen Xin shook his head and said, "Keep it. In case something happens and the geothermal heat pump malfunctions, there’s a secondary contingency plan. Besides, the equipment won’t run forever; it needs shutdowns for maintenance."

"Then I’ll follow your advice, Xiao Chen, but having half the upper floor as a stockpile seems wasteful, right?" Li Yulong nodded in agreement with Chen Xin’s opinion and then raised his own doubts: "Xiao Chen, do you have any plans for that?"

Faced with Li Yulong’s question, Chen Xin just smiled and patted his shoulder: "You already have ideas, why ask me? You’re the boss, do as you think."

After saying this, Chen Xin walked over to Qin Lan, the two of them huddling together closely, seemingly discussing something private.

Li Yulong watched as Chen Xin and Qin Lan walked to the side to discuss their matters and shrugged nonchalantly, continuing to talk with the city staff: "If that’s the case, then we won’t dismantle the boiler. Can the city government still supply coal?"

"That won’t be a problem, though the city government won’t supply it for free." Although the city staff was a bit unclear about who actually called the shots between Chen Xin and Li Yulong, he wouldn’t neglect his own duties. Hearing Li Yulong mention coal supply, he immediately began discussing prices.