CHAPTER 548: CHAPTER 446: DESIGN ISSUES OF THE SHELTER

Lucia’s people were naturally very pleased that Chen Xin was willing to provide technical assistance to help them rebuild the shelter. They quickly arranged for the person in charge of the shelter reconstruction plan and the designers to meet with Chen Xin.

"Didn’t your shelter design include a greenhouse?" In a meeting room, Chen Xin tapped on the Lucia people’s design drawings with his hand and asked them this puzzling question.

"Due to energy issues, we can only ensure the electricity and heating for these shelters. Building a greenhouse would double the electricity consumption, which we can’t afford," the person in charge spread his hands helplessly, explaining why they didn’t include a greenhouse in their plans.

Hearing this, Chen Xin was momentarily stunned before he realized that Lucia was not like Flame Country. With the Energy Tower and Isotope Battery technology provided by Chen Xin, they had already solved the energy issues in this apocalyptic environment and could build greenhouses on a large scale.

However, after thinking for a moment, he still asked them, "Then how did those people previously living in these shelters solve the food problem? Surely they didn’t rely only on reserves?"

"Well, this..." The person in charge and the designer exchanged a glance before the designer spoke up, "They had a greenhouse, but it was a small one, supporting the food consumption for maybe a dozen people. Its energy consumption was low and manageable, and they could even raise some fish.

But our renovated shelter is meant for about five thousand people. Their original greenhouse was only enough for an extra meal for the management staff. So we simply canceled the greenhouse, and these shelters rely on external inputs for food supply."

As the designer explained the reasons, there was one he did not mention: the authorities controlled the food supply channels. Even if someone caused trouble, as long as the authorities cut off the supply channels, they could directly solve the problem.

This kind of thing could be done but not spoken, as letting the public know would lead to more significant troubles.

Chen Xin quickly thought of this unspoken reason but pretended not to know, saying, "This won’t do. What if your food supply has issues? Would you watch these people starve? It’s better to prepare a greenhouse in the shelter that can produce food."

"Well..." The person in charge hesitated for a moment and then asked Chen Xin, "So how do we solve the energy issue?"

"Use ground source heat pumps." Chen Xin had already prepared for this and, more so, his shelter was still using this system, so he immediately explained, "By laying pipes in the shallow earth layers, energy can be harnessed from shallow geothermal.

Although this technology can’t provide a lot of energy, it can at least keep a greenhouse running. That way, even if it can’t make five thousand people self-sufficient, it ensures that in emergencies, they can hold on a bit longer."

After hearing Chen Xin say this, the person in charge and the designer quickly discussed in low voices before the person in charge asked Chen Xin, "We don’t have a budget for this technology, nor the necessary equipment. Can Flame Country help us solve this problem?"

The person in charge of the Lucia project was clearly making a mental calculation here. If Flame Country didn’t provide aid, they could stick to their original plan without changes.

However, if Chen Xin said Flame Country could provide equipment assistance, then increasing investment a little would be acceptable. They just needed to control the greenhouse’s scale, ensuring it couldn’t meet the food demand of the shelter’s population.

Of course, they could also report the budget to Flame Country based on a design that meets the shelter’s population needs. During the subsequent construction, they could withhold some equipment and budget for use elsewhere, like building a new, well-equipped shelter for the government.

Chen Xin didn’t know that the Lucia project’s head had such thoughts, but he didn’t immediately agree.

Although back home, Chen Xin had been given some level of authorization to provide technical assistance to the Lucia people, he wasn’t foolish enough to directly say Flame Country could offer aid.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "We can provide you with the relevant technology, provided you have the need for it. As for direct material assistance, that’s not for me to decide. If you genuinely need it, you can make requests to domestic authorities, and it’ll be up to you to negotiate the specific assistance you’ll receive."

At this point, Chen Xin shrugged humorously, "This technology is already very mature in Flame Country, and we’ve used it extensively. A single setup can power and heat a shelter for more than five thousand people, and paired with your Nuclear Battery, it can ensure the shelter’s self-sufficiency."

As he said this, Chen Xin started flipping through the design drawings on the table again, saying to the two Lucia people, "Your building plan also has some issues. Private kitchens can indeed increase the happiness of the people, but for the overall safety of the shelter, it’s a risk.

Even with electric stoves, it’s hard to ensure absolute electrical safety. If a fire or something similar happens, it could endanger the entire shelter.

So, I suggest adopting a centralized food supply method, like the canteens of the Suyia era. I think the original plan on this drawing was probably designed like that, with the space you added as a gathering area originally meant to be the canteen."

"Yes, we considered the issues of privacy, personal tastes, and habits of the people, so we planned to design a simple kitchen for each family. At least they could make something they want to eat; canteens don’t give a good impression," the designer quickly explained, offering seemingly ample reasons that embodied typically correct thinking, respecting privacy and freedom.

However, Chen Xin mercilessly tore through the pretense, pointing at the drawing, "Don’t be funny. Your original plan was to provide food uniformly from external supplies. Unless you can ensure food diversity, the most suitable approach is to provide every person with a standard meal!

In this situation, don’t tell me you think the people can play around with it and make something different! We have a saying in Flame Country that goes ’Even the cleverest housewife cannot cook a meal without rice.’ If you can’t even ensure food supply, how can the people’s bellies be full enough to worry about cooking methods?"

"This..." The designer’s face showed some embarrassment, but he turned his gaze to the side, seeking help from the person in charge.

The person in charge blushed slightly under the designer’s look but still attempted to explain to Chen Xin, "Sir, please let me explain..."