CHAPTER 571: CHAPTER 469 CELEBRATION AND FAMILY VISIT LEAVE

A basket of fresh vegetables and fruits was turned into a sumptuous meal by Chen Xin. Although there was no meat, fresh vegetables were quite satisfying in the current environment.

With a few cans and some alcohol, even before the disaster, this could be considered rich.

Considering that he still had to work tomorrow, Chen Xin didn’t prepare any alcohol for himself. After all, in Lucia, the alcohol obtained is mostly high-strength vodka, and the low-alcohol red wine he has, he plans to take back as Georgia red wine for Mo Qingyan.

That was a gift given to him by Lucia’s leader, with historical collectible value, so drinking it directly felt like a waste.

Even without alcohol, this was still a sumptuous dinner. It was obviously too much for Chen Xin alone to enjoy, so he invited several other people from the base to join, making it a celebration of the experiment’s success.

"Wow! So rich! Academician Chen, your cooking skills are truly impressive!" The first to arrive were the captains of the two ships. As soon as the captain of the Xu Gou ship entered, he displayed an expression of praise.

The Hai Zhu ship’s captain actively offered Chen Xin a gift, a box of canned fruit.

Compared to fresh fruit, canned fruit is more durable for storage, so this item, originally not popular in the market, has become the only way for ordinary people to consume fruit now. Even the two captains of the ships bring canned fruit as a gift when visiting Chen Xin.

Chen Xin didn’t mind about this; given his status, whether fresh fruit or canned fruit, he could get whatever he wanted.

Instead of the gifts brought by the two captains, Chen Xin was happier that they could join in the celebration of the experiment’s success.

Besides the two captains, Chen Xin also invited the captain of the Mobile Base, the commander of the security forces, and the deputy of the experiment team.

Originally, Chen Xin also invited two leaders of the rescue team and expert group, but they were busy treating patients and didn’t have time to come, so this sumptuous dinner was enjoyed by only five people.

"Academician, I’ll toast to you. Without your leadership, it’s uncertain when this research would have succeeded. With this experiment’s success, you should be the chief contributor!" The experiment team’s deputy raised his glass, using brown sugar water instead of alcohol, and toasted Chen Xin.

Chen Xin also raised the glass filled with brown sugar water. After clinking glasses with the other party, he smiled and said, "The success of this research is thanks to each participant. We all fought for half a year on this land far from our homeland, Lucia, to get this machine running. Everyone has sacrificed a lot of effort, everyone should be a contributor."

Though Chen Xin’s words seemed like a formality, he truly meant them from the heart.

System upgrades enabled the Weather Controller to operate, significantly influencing the weather, but without the hard work and contribution of all staff, Chen Xin alone, even if he could upgrade the Weather Controller, couldn’t operate such a large machine by himself.

This experiment’s success was a result of everyone’s collaboration rather than just one person’s contribution.

"Indeed, it is a success realized through everyone’s efforts." Those sitting around the table didn’t feel that the success of the experiment belonged to any individual, though the deputy mentioned Chen Xin deserving the chief credit, it was just to address his significant contributions, not denying others’ efforts.

After a few chats, the captain of the Xu Gou ship proposed, "Speaking of which, we’ve all stayed in Lucia for almost half a year. In a few days, it should be the Mid-Autumn Festival. How about we organize some activities to celebrate well? It can serve as a celebration for everyone."

"That’s a good idea. With Mid-Autumn coming up, we should celebrate properly." The proposal immediately won unanimous approval.

Although in this post-apocalyptic world, there is no real sense of holidays, such celebrations of traditional festivals become even more necessary, allowing people to remember the past and not become numb to mere survival.

If forgotten, people would gradually lose the memories of the glorious days of human civilization, left only with numb survival in the cold and darkness.

If these past traditions and customs are not remembered, they can easily be forgotten.

So celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival seems very necessary.

On one hand, it can console homesickness for those who have stayed in Lucia for almost half a year. On the other hand, celebrating traditional festivals reminds everyone of past traditions and customs even in this post-apocalyptic environment far from home.

However, the most important reason is to give everyone a reason to celebrate the success of the Weather Controller experiment.

The few people were the main leaders of the base, so after a bit of discussion, the decision was made.

Apart from this, Chen Xin suddenly recalled something and said to the others: "Speaking of which, everyone has left the homeland for nearly half a year. Unable to call home or return, do you miss it? Anyone wants to go back to visit family?"

Mentioning this topic caused everyone’s expressions to turn somewhat serious.

Even though everyone volunteered initially, staying in Lucia for over half a year exceeded everyone’s original expectations.

Despite similar experiences before the disaster, such as spending up to half a year without seeing family, or even longer, before the disaster there were ways to communicate like phone calls or writing letters, preventing total loss of contact.

But now, under the current circumstances, even if people desire to contact family back home, they can’t find suitable channels or means.

So, when Chen Xin mentioned whether anyone wanted to visit family, everyone couldn’t help but think of their families.

However, as leaders, they needed to set an example. Even if the discussion approved visits back home, they wouldn’t be in the first batch.

"I agree to letting everyone go home to visit family, but let’s do it in batches. Too many people going at once might delay work," the deputy came forward first, as such administrative tasks should naturally fall under his responsibilities.

Chen Xin nodded in agreement, thought for a moment, and said, "Let’s arrange according to the time everyone has been in Lucia, those who have been here for more than four months can apply for a return home leave to visit family, with a holiday time of one week.

I will contact folks back home and coordinate transportation matters to ensure everyone can visit their family."