CHAPTER 545: CHAPTER 443 DISPOSAL OF MATERIALS

"academician, Lucia has already resolved the remaining resisting opponents. Currently, all the heating pipelines are being laid according to the original plan, and it is expected to be fully completed within a week." A staff member reported to Chen Xin while holding the compiled report.

Hearing this, Chen Xin nodded with satisfaction and asked the staff, "What about the construction progress of the Energy Tower? At what stage is the construction now?"

"Currently, the main part of the Energy Tower has been completed, and the related supporting facilities are under construction. We expect to finish all the basic construction in three more days, and within five days we can start the pressure testing. If there are no unexpected issues, we can start formal heating a week later." The staff, naturally very concerned about the Energy Tower matter, reported everything he knew as soon as Chen Xin asked.

"Oh? It seems that the construction is progressing faster than we expected!" Hearing the report, Chen Xin couldn’t help but exclaim.

The originally estimated construction period was to be about three to five days longer than the current pace. Now that the construction is ahead of schedule, Chen Xin felt somewhat surprised.

However, he still reminded the staff, "Although the progress ahead of schedule is a good thing, quality control must be maintained. Arrange for a day of inspection after all construction is completed to ensure everything meets the quality and quantity requirements before conducting the pressure test."

"Yes, academician!" The staff quickly agreed, nodding earnestly, "Please rest assured, academician, we will conduct thorough inspections and not leave any safety hazards."

Hearing this, Chen Xin said no more, feeling very confident in the meticulousness and dedication of these domestic technical personnel.

After discussing these matters, another staff member began to report on other affairs, "The second batch of domestic aid is also being prepared. According to the message from home, this batch consists mainly of emergency food, medical supplies, and high-yield crop seeds for use in greenhouse structures."

"Has the domestic side already prepared the second batch of aid so quickly?" This somewhat surprised Chen Xin.

He was also aware of the domestic situation. Although an aid agreement was reached with Lucia, in Chen Xin’s view, the domestic side should have first resolved its own issues before considering aiding other countries. Yet he didn’t expect the second batch of aid to arrive so quickly.

The staff nodded and said, "The domestic situation has somewhat improved. The Southwest Region has moved past the earthquake and is currently undergoing post-disaster reconstruction. Thanks to new technology, a lot of manpower and resources have been saved. Additionally, the greenhouse structures in the Qinghai-Tibet Region have entered the harvest period, so there is still plenty of food supply, allowing us to organize the second batch of aid materials quickly."

The staff’s words enlightened Chen Xin. Before the disaster, the country had built numerous greenhouse structures in the Qinghai-Tibet Region and the Lingnan Region to address post-disaster food issues.

Since these are not ecological greenhouses, they have harvesting cycles for grain production. Now it happens to be harvest time, allowing the country to spare resources to support Lucia.

Understanding the situation, Chen Xin then nodded and instructed the staff to arrange for receiving this batch of materials, "Can the base’s warehouse accommodate this batch of materials? Let’s store them at the base first, and once Lucia’s situation stabilizes a bit, we will hand over the materials to them."

Unlike the Energy Tower and greenhouse structures, food and medical supplies are urgently needed materials for both Lucia sides. Once obtained, they can be immediately put to use.

To avoid any conflict over resources between the two sides, Chen Xin felt it best to temporarily store these materials at the base and hand them over once the situation stabilized between Lucia’s official forces and the revolutionaries.

The staff did not oppose Chen Xin’s decision. After understanding Lucia’s current situation, they also felt that these materials should not be handed over directly to Lucia.

Given the limited quantity of materials, handing them over to either the Lucia official forces or the revolutionaries would not be sufficient, let alone splitting them into two portions for both sides.

Moreover, they were uncertain whether these materials could be directly distributed to the needy populace under current circumstances.

Out of this concern, one staff member suggested, "Since it’s not appropriate to give these materials to either Lucia’s official forces or the revolutionaries, should we distribute them ourselves?"

"That might not be appropriate. If we do that, both sides may have objections," another staff member considered this an unreliable approach.

"But these materials are urgently needed by the people. It’s not appropriate to just hold onto them!" The staff member who proposed distributing the materials pointed out a crucial point: given that this is aid, it should be distributed to the needy populace immediately.

Regarding this issue, Chen Xin stopped them from continuing the discussion, "It’s not suitable for us to distribute them ourselves; it can easily cause unnecessary misunderstandings. People’s emotions in Lucia are very tense right now. If we cause unnecessary misunderstandings during the distribution, it will only delay more things.

Therefore, we should wait until the Energy Tower is completed and the Lucia Capital’s situation improves before handing over these materials. Now, first send someone to notify both the Lucia official forces and the revolutionaries, telling them about these materials and explaining the situation clearly — it’s not that we want to withhold them but rather to avoid causing troubles."

"Okay, academician, I will contact the representatives of both the Lucia official forces and the revolutionaries afterward." Upon seeing Chen Xin’s decision, the staff did not continue the discussion and simply nodded in agreement.

"Besides these two matters, is there anything else?" Chen Xin asked the staff members in front of him after a glance.

"Lucia’s official forces plan to transfer some residents from other areas within the heating range of the Energy Tower after its construction is completed and rebuild some damaged areas. They hope we can provide assistance." Another staff member spoke while spreading out the plans they brought in front of Chen Xin, "This is their design and the new shelter construction plans. Please examine them, academician."

Hearing this, Chen Xin picked up the plans and began to examine them carefully.