Suddenly, Yu Yifeng felt a lump in his throat. Among the people at the base, these miners had the lowest status, second only to death row inmates.

In the past, to cut costs, the United Government usually recruited miners from places like Africa and Southeast Asia, offering them very low salaries. Usually, just twenty or thirty thousand US dollars could get them to work for a year.

Therefore, these miners simply couldn't afford the vegetables produced at the Moon base. Vegetables that cost a hundred US dollars each? They couldn't bear to part with that kind of money... Or perhaps, even if they wanted to buy, they couldn't get their hands on them.

Now, with the implementation of the rationing system across the entire base, the original economic system had been completely abandoned. Everyone's food was supplied uniformly, and they all ate from the "collective pot". To boost morale, yesterday's meal, in addition to the regular high - energy compressed food, included some vegetables. And that was why these miners had rushed to express their gratitude to him.

People truly reveal their character in times of crisis. Some who seem noble in normal times become dispirited and give up on themselves when faced with difficulties. Others, who are usually unremarkable, remain optimistic and show tenacious vitality, like weeds or cockroaches.

These miners were of the latter kind. During the most chaotic times at the base, they remained law - abiding and worked diligently, providing the base with a stable power supply. They were the most honest and simple - hearted people.

"Everyone, rest assured. In three months, we'll not only have vegetables to eat but also delicious rice and bread!" Moved by their gratitude, Yu Yifeng said, "But this requires the efforts of all of us!"

Upon hearing this, all the miners cheered. Rice and bread were luxury items on the Moon. They couldn't be bought with just money; only those with status and position could get them. But who didn't want to eat a bowl of rice or take a bite of bread? These things, which were so common on Earth, were what they yearned for day and night.

The young black 小伙 suddenly stood at attention, saluted solemnly, and shouted loudly, "Guaranteed to complete the task!"

...

This was just a small detail in the production and construction process. It had to be said that the people at the Moon base had a very high quality. Most of them were positive and upward - spirited. No one wanted to die. Surviving the Earth's explosion only to starve to death would be too frustrating.

With death right behind them, there was no room for hesitation or delay. Only by moving forward could they fight their way out. In such a situation, it was easiest to inspire people's determination to fight to the end.

Many people had channeled their grief and indignation into motivation for work. There had been several cases of people fainting due to working for too long. Fortunately, no major disasters had occurred. Therefore, Yu Yifeng urgently called a meeting and stipulated that the working hours should not exceed 14 hours a day, and work must be carried out in pairs.

However, where there were good things, there were also bad. There were always some people who were decadent, unwilling to work, and lacking in initiative. For these people, first, their relatives and friends were asked to criticize and educate them, and then they were assigned some simpler tasks.

But for those who simply wouldn't listen, there was no choice but to reduce their food rations. The base was poor and couldn't afford to support idlers...

As the ancient saying goes, "People are more concerned about unfairness than scarcity." If people who didn't work could still be well - fed, the motivation of others would decrease, and this was absolutely unacceptable. So, there was no need to be lenient with these people!

What troubled Yu Yifeng the most right now was the "Lunar Society" founded by Calvin. Since Calvin had accurately predicted the "Earth's explosion", more and more people had chosen to join the Lunar Society.

This could be said to be a strange belief. In Calvin's "prophecy", the Son of God was Yu Yifeng, and with his dual identities as a "meta - human" and the leader of the base, more and more people began to believe.

This belief was different from the illusory religions. Instead, it was a bit like idol - worship. Yu Yifeng didn't know what to do. Calvin had been arrested, and everything was spontaneous among the people. Perhaps what people really needed was a spiritual sustenance.

All in all, it wasn't a major issue. The "Lunar Society" was a relatively loose organization with hardly any anti - human regulations. It only required people to believe that "the Son of God will lead humanity out of the predicament".

Therefore, the official side didn't take any special measures and could only let it be.

Perhaps when humanity got out of this predicament, people would regain their rationality, and this phenomenon would gradually disappear.

After soothing these miners, Yu Yifeng hurriedly went to the food production base. After all, all the production and transformation were for food. This food was of utmost importance!

The upper - most space of the base had been basically emptied. In its place were cultivation dishes of various sizes, about one or two meters in length and width, and generally only twenty to thirty centimeters in height. Here and there, faint green shoots were quietly emerging in the cultivation dishes.

These cultivation dishes were stacked layer by layer in iron racks, saving a great deal of space. Each iron rack was equipped with a sun lamp and a temperature control system to ensure the normal growth of plants.

"Captain Yu, these are the seeds of ordinary early - season rice. The germination rate within 48 hours is over 96%. We're using the hybrid seeds provided by China."

The speaker was Dr. Roman, the chief biologist and the main person in charge of the Food Transformation Plan. He seemed quite satisfied with the progress of the experiment. "The growth cycle of this batch of rice is three months, and it's expected to produce 10,000 tons of unhusked rice, enough for our fifty - thousand people to eat for a year!"

The two walked around and talked as Roman kept introducing the current progress.

"These are wheat seedlings. The growth period is about a hundred days."

"The cultivation dishes here are planted with vegetables, including green vegetables, shepherd's purse, pak - choi, celery, and so on. Rice and wheat alone can't provide all the nutrients the human body needs, so we've also increased the production of vegetables."

"For example, the growth cycle of pak - choi is only thirty days. Look, it's already growing well."

Upon hearing this, Yu Yifeng was delighted. "So, we'll be able to eat pak - choi in a month?"

"Yes! That's right." Roman smiled and said, "This is the power of science and technology, and it's also the result of the efforts of all of humanity."

More than a dozen uniformed staff members were busy measuring the carbon dioxide concentration, the concentration of the culture medium, and recording the growth of the seedlings.

Often, people would stop outside the glass door to watch. Watching these seedlings grow little by little, they felt a glimmer of emotion in their hearts. The hope in people's hearts was like the seedlings in the cultivation dishes, growing and thriving bit by bit with the efforts of everyone.

These people had good self - control. After watching for a while, they would throw themselves into their work with enthusiasm.

"Dr. Roman, here's an idea." Yu Yifeng said, "Arrange for each person who works hard to adopt a seedling, but only one, as a memento of this agricultural transformation."

Although Dr. Roman wasn't a politician, he guessed Yu Yifeng's intention and smiled. "That's easy. Just get sticky notes, let them sign their names, and stick them on the cultivation dishes."

The two then observed the nearby production situation. A large number of facilities were still under production. If all the projects were completed, at least enough food for three years could be produced!

Yu Yifeng made a simple estimate. The current large - scale agricultural transformation plan was carried out under the condition that most of the experiments were suspended. According to the previous calculation method, the economic losses were incalculable.

Moreover, this transformation had used a large amount of previously - stored resources, and most people were working overtime desperately. According to the previous economic system, the three - month transformation would cost at least two trillion US dollars!

Two trillion US dollars to produce 50,000 tons of food. The cost... Well, the key was that it was only a one - time thing. People hadn't established a complete ecosystem, and all the carbon dioxide was obtained industrially. No wonder people in the past preferred to transport food from Earth.

"According to the plan, after the agricultural plan is completed, we still need to raise animals like pigs and sheep so that people can have meat to eat. But the cycle for that is relatively long... Ideally, we still need to establish an ecosystem." Roman said.

Yu Yifeng nodded. "Are the animals in the laboratory being well - fed?"

"Definitely! They're eating better than people." Roman said. There was no way around it. These animals had now become rare species. If people wanted to eat meat, they had to take good care of them.

Yu Yifeng continued walking forward and saw ten plant - like "small trees", each occupying a cultivation dish that was two meters square. As soon as he approached this area, he felt that the temperature dropped a few degrees.

"These are the super - rice transformed by the perfect - element!" Dr. Roman said proudly. "They'll keep growing until they reach a height of seven or eight meters, and each one can produce 2,000 kilograms of grain."

"This is the infinite power of the perfect - element. When will humanity be able to achieve something like this?"