Chapter 120

“This is the central cafeteria renovated from the Wheat Factory.”

At 1:20 PM, Zhang Hu led the group to the east side of the Wheat Factory. It was a vast, empty warehouse covering twenty-two mu, now transformed into a dining hall with a thousand four-person tables. Around the tables was a ring of transparent kitchens. Currently, only three windows were open, with a few researchers lining up for food.

“It’s past lunchtime, so it’s not too crowded,” Zhang Hu explained.

Farm regulations stated that non-farm buildings within the farm’s perimeter suffered from a continuous debuff. As the farm expanded and researchers’ tastes diversified, the Wheat Factory was repurposed into what was now the farm’s cafeteria. This was a basic-level cafeteria, capable of serving ten thousand people at once.

The tour group had set out at 8 AM and had only snacked on some biscuits and chocolate along the way. After a quick word with the cafeteria manager, Zhang Hu signaled for the visitors to grab trays and line up for food.

“Haven’t eaten in a cafeteria in three years,” Zhou Changsheng remarked as he queued up, holding his tray.

Zhou Changsheng was the CEO of Dongshan Corporation. He used to line up with shareholders to inspect the company cafeteria, but in recent years, with the economy struggling, he’d been too busy managing company affairs to experience something as simple as waiting in line for a meal.

Ten minutes later, Zhou Changsheng, Gao Dong, and another colleague each received a tomato-based meal set.

“This is delicious!” Zhou Changsheng exclaimed after the first bite, his taste buds instantly awakened. It was a tomato and egg rice bowl—the eggs golden and fluffy, the tomatoes perfectly sweet and tangy. He’d never had tomato and egg this good before.

“The oilseed lettuce is amazing.”

“The romaine’s really tasty too.”

…

Others around them gave thumbs-up in praise.

“All of this is grown right here on the farm—remember the vegetable garden we passed on the hillside?” Zhang Hu said with a smile. Due to the challenges of transporting supplies to the Uninhabited Zone, aside from a few seasonings like garlic, all staple foods and vegetables were grown on-site.

The farm-grown vegetables were just too good. After finishing their first servings, everyone instinctively went back for seconds.

By 2 PM, with everyone full and satisfied, the group began their tour of the Wheat Factory.

The Wheat Factory covered 100 mu, and after re-planning, about 70 mu were allocated to the factory itself. As the group stepped inside, they were greeted by a clean and minimalist interior. Twenty flour milling machines were running automatically.

“Are these fully automated milling machines?”

“The threshing conveyor is incredibly stable—flour yield must be over 90%!”

…

The moment they saw the setup, representatives from various flour companies were visibly excited. Among the visiting companies were Red Sun, Changsha Peak, and Great Rivers—all nationally renowned enterprises. With strong financial backing, these companies had imported top-tier production lines from abroad, each costing nearly ten million. Although they were proud of their own setups, standing here, they couldn’t help but feel their own production lines looked a bit… outdated.

“Where did you order this from?”

The flour company reps turned to Zhang Hu. In flour production, yield and quality are everything. Everyone had studied Fengshan Flour before—it was noticeably finer than regular flour.

“Developed by the Chengfeng Research Team. Due to issues with parts and materials, it’s still in the research and testing phase, not ready for mass production,” Zhang Hu replied.

“Chengfeng Team?” The crowd perked up at the name. The Fengshan Research Team was often referred to as the “Fengshan Dream Team.” Though both “Fengshan” and “Chengfeng” shared the character for “wind,” it was clear they were separate project groups.

“The Chengfeng Team is one of the farm’s veteran research teams. Even the Fengshan Team is learning from them,” Zhang Hu added.

The group listened, slowly piecing things together. In short, before the farm entered into national collaborations, it already had its own independent R&D team—code-named “Chengfeng.” This team operated separately from the Fengshan Base.

“Two different project groups?”

The visitors exchanged glances. According to public information, Zhou Yuanheng, Song Yueshan, and Xiang Qingchuan—national-level talents—were all part of the Fengshan Project Team. Fengshan was considered the top-tier research group in Longxia. But now, there was another team that even Fengshan was learning from…

They tried to imagine the kind of talent behind the Chengfeng Team—but couldn’t.

“Is the Chengfeng Team also based here at the farm?” the manager from Wind Wheat asked Zhang Hu.

Zhang Hu made a “pause” gesture, signaling that this was classified information. Though curiosity burned in everyone’s eyes, they wisely chose not to press further.

For the next half hour, the group focused on the factory equipment.

Zhang Hu finally relaxed a bit.

In truth, there was no Chengfeng Project Team at all. But the equipment in the Wheat Factory and the Seed Laboratory was so far ahead of its time that the farm had to come up with a cover story. After much discussion, they decided to attribute all the advanced tech to a fictional “Chengfeng Team.” When Sun Yiping heard about it, he immediately refused.

The equipment was undeniably ahead of current technology, and the farm was willing to acknowledge that. But since it wasn’t the result of their own hard work, the Technology Group didn’t want to take credit. Neither did the Agricultural Group or the Biology Group.

It was a matter of respect—for themselves and for the unknown interstellar researchers behind the tech.

“Chengfeng” had become Longxia’s codename for system-based project researchers. Longxia didn’t know the teams behind each piece of technology, but they genuinely respected and appreciated them. In previous research efforts—like with wheat and rice seeds—any study based on farm data was labeled: “Longxia XXX, based on Chengfeng XXX data.”

After careful deliberation, the farm decided to credit the Wheat Factory, Seed Laboratory, and similar projects to the Chengfeng Team. The name “Chengfeng,” which means “riding the wind,” symbolized the system carrying the seeds of survival to Shuilan Star. As for the actual researchers behind Chengfeng? That was classified—no comment.

After touring the Wheat Factory, the group moved on to the Virtual Technology Lab.

“Is that a LiDAR system?”

“The graphics and signal processing speeds are three to seven times faster than what we have in the Wind Wheat Lab…”

“This is some seriously advanced AI processing!”

…

The moment they stepped into the virtual lab, Gao Dong and the other tech experts couldn’t sit still. They were all seasoned researchers with access to the most advanced labs in the country, yet even they could feel the gap in equipment the moment they entered this room.

If researchers are like swordsmen, then the laboratory is the sword in their hands. While others wield ordinary blades, the virtual laboratory hasn’t even been unsheathed, yet its sharpness is already palpable.

At the moment, members of the Technology Group were fine-tuning the Ice Storage Machine and the Purification Machine. Zhang Hu exchanged a few words with the lab assistants, then walked over to Sun Yiping. “Academician Sun.”

“Hello, everyone.”

Sun Yiping greeted the group. The designs for the Constant Temperature Series and the Purification Mask had already been finalized. If everything went smoothly, a small-scale launch could happen by the end of the month. Because of this, even though he knew a delegation would be visiting, the heavy workload over the past few days had pushed it to the back of his mind.

After a brief chat with Zhang Hu, Sun Yiping signaled that the visiting group could begin their on-site tour. Aside from the tour itself, the main goal for the twenty-one tech companies was to establish cooperation with the base. As soon as they heard they could observe the equipment up close, everyone turned their attention to the Ice Storage and Purification series.

“The ice storage pendant…”

“There must be a thermal conduction device inside—beautifully integrated.”

…

Most of the researchers had already seen concept images of the ice storage pendant online, but seeing the finished product up close was something else entirely. The pendant gleamed like a piece of jade, its lines delicate and translucent, almost ethereal.

Click click! The accompanying photographers instinctively snapped a few more shots.

Over the next three hours, the group toured the Seed Laboratory, the sweet potato factory, and the underground grain depot… At each stop, they were struck with awe, but none more so than at the grain depot.

Due to the farm’s expansion, the underground grain depot now stretched as far as the eye could see. Inside, it was lined with massive silos, currently storing 100,000 tons of grain. While 100,000 tons might not be much by global standards, seeing it in person was overwhelming. Beyond the shock, there was a profound sense of security.

Grain means survival. Grain means confidence. After living through the Food Crisis, everyone understood that food was the most reassuring resource of all.

At six in the evening, after dinner, the group rested at the farm.

The loess cave dwellings were equipped with automatic temperature control systems. Though the accommodations couldn’t compare to a five-star hotel, lying in bed, everyone felt an unexpected sense of comfort and peace.

The next morning, after touring the farmland, the delegation gathered for a general meeting.

“Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the farm tour…” Liu Wensheng chaired the meeting, while Qin Yun sat below, taking notes.

Liu Wensheng began by thanking the seed and fertilizer companies for their cooperation over the past two years. Then he turned his attention to the tech firms.

“This is the Fengshan Base cooperation plan.” Liu Wensheng distributed the proposal documents to the tech companies.

“We hope everything stays within a reasonable scope…” As the documents were handed out, the representatives from the tech companies straightened up in their seats. Judging from the tour, it seemed the farm was open to new product collaborations. But how to collaborate, and under what terms… that was still a big unknown. Everyone was feeling a bit on edge.