Chapter 400: The Formidable White-Feathered Hen

Chapter 400: Chapter 400: The Formidable White-Feathered Hen

Xiaqing had thought her trade with Yang Jin was just for some used stainless steel pipes. She never expected to get a complete set. It included not only the steel pipe frames for the structure, but also a curtain rolling machine, a film roller, U-shaped clips, retaining springs, and a full set of accessories. There were even six greenhouse grow lights!

No wonder Yang Jin had asked for 200 spinach seeds for the used stainless steel pipes for two greenhouses. The complete set was definitely worth the price.

Without the hand-cranked curtain roller, managing two greenhouses would have meant spending over an hour each day just raising and lowering the insulating straw mats. But with the machine, the task would take Xiaqing, who had strength to spare, less than ten minutes to complete.

With the time she saved, she could go to the Mountain No. 49 training ground to practice. These two hand-cranked curtain rollers were exactly what she needed.

Guan Tong, who had delivered the goods, saw Xiaqing fiddling with the curtain roller and came over. "This looks pretty complicated," he asked. "Do you need a technician from No.1 Territory to come and help with the installation?"

"No need. I know how to install it." Xiaqing’s five years as a construction team leader hadn’t been for nothing. Welding and installing greenhouse steel frames and curtain rollers were her specialty.

Chen Cheng came over, grinning. "Sister Qing, is there anything you can’t do?"

"I can’t do anything that requires hands-on teaching." ’Because she could never afford the price people demanded, no one had ever been willing to teach her. Everything she knew, she had learned just by watching from the sidelines.’

Xiaqing motioned for Chen Cheng to hold the steel frame steady. She stood on a long bench, raising a welding torch to the steel pipes.

Xiaqing’s greenhouse was 50 meters long and 6 meters wide. The north wall was 3.5 meters high, so she had to stand on a bench to weld its support frame.

The earthen walls on the east and west sides tapered down from a height of 3.5 meters to 1 meter. This meant the entire sun-facing side of the greenhouse was a slope, high in the north and low in the south, with a total drop of 2.5 meters.

This sloped design would reduce the impact of strong winds on the greenhouse. The incline would also better withstand the pressure from accumulated snow and rain, preventing the frame from bending or breaking due to weight concentrating in one spot. At the same time, the slope helped the plastic film cover the structure more snugly, reducing gaps and holes and improving insulation.

If construction techniques were poor, resulting in a slope that was too steep or uneven, the greenhouse’s lifespan and stability would be compromised.

Xiaqing’s greenhouse had no such technical issues. Its earthen walls had been built by Qi Fu and his men and were definitely up to code. She had installed the steel frame herself, ensuring it was done right.

During the day, when sunlight was ample, the insulating straw mats on top of the greenhouse’s plastic film would be rolled up with the hand-cranked curtain roller. This allowed the plants and animals inside to bask in the sun and grow.

When the sun set and the temperature dropped, the straw mats were lowered to trap the day’s warmth. This would allow the plants and animals inside to continue growing, unaffected by the cold. As long as the temperature didn’t fall below minus ten degrees Celsius, there was no need to light a fire for extra heat.

With the help of Hu Zifeng’s team, Xiaqing finished welding the steel frame for the Breeding Greenhouse in a single afternoon. They stretched the plastic film over it and covered it with the insulating straw mats.

After dark, the chickens in the run had all returned to their coop. Xiaqing, wearing her Night Vision Goggles, entered the coop. She grabbed the chickens from their roosts one by one, putting them into a cage to be moved to the greenhouse.

The other chickens, when caught, would at most squawk in a panic and struggle a little. But when it was the white-feathered hen’s turn, the creature actually craned its neck to peck Xiaqing’s hand. This was a bone-strengthened Green Light Chicken with a powerful beak and talons; a peck or scratch from it would certainly cause injury.

Prepared for this, Xiaqing grabbed its neck with one hand and its two legs with the other, stuffing it into the cage. Then she used a net to catch the Black Feathered Rooster, which was flapping wildly around the coop, and stuffed it in as well.

"BAA." Seeing Xiaqing walk out carrying the chickens, the Sheep Leader, who was standing by the door, let out a bleat.

"It’s getting cold. I’m moving the chickens into the greenhouse where it’s warmer." Xiaqing set the cage down, went back inside to grab the Sheep Leader’s Night Vision Goggles and put them on him. Then she asked, "Leader, Second, do you want to come with me and check out the greenhouse?"

Because Hu Zifeng’s team had been in the territory all afternoon, the Sheep Leader and the Sick Wolf had kept their distance. They still didn’t know the purpose of the major construction project that had just been completed in their territory.

Now, Xiaqing really wanted to show them what all her hard work—leaving early and coming home late to move all that earth—had been for.

The two new greenhouses were built side-by-side, just west of the original vegetable greenhouse. The Breeding Greenhouse was on the west, and the Planting Greenhouse was on the east. Each had a door for entry and exit, and next to each door, a small two-by-two-by-two-meter room had been built.

These small rooms served a dual purpose. First, they were for storing supplies like farm tools, fertilizer, and medicine. Second, they acted as an airlock between the outside and the greenhouse, preventing cold air from rushing in and affecting the plants and animals inside whenever someone entered or exited.

Carrying the chicken cage and leading her two companions inside, Xiaqing switched on the greenhouse grow lights hanging within.

Greenhouse grow lights are designed based on the principle of photosynthesis. They provide a light source necessary for growth and development when natural sunlight is insufficient. Of course, this type of light was also suitable for the poultry.

SNAP!

Before Xiaqing even had a chance to show off the new greenhouse to her companions, she heard a sharp crack from the cage. The white-feathered hen had used its sharp talons to snap two of the bamboo strips.

"Fuck!"

Xiaqing cried out, quickly shoving the cage into the pen inside the greenhouse. She was afraid that if she were even a second too late, the irate hen would break out and tear a hole in the new plastic film.

To prevent the chickens from damaging the plastic film, the pen inside the greenhouse had been built with leftover wire mesh. The mesh was incredibly sturdy—even the white-feathered hen’s talons couldn’t do any real damage to it, to say nothing of the other chickens.

After latching the pen, Xiaqing glanced at the thermometer on the wall. Although the greenhouse had only been sealed for a little over two hours, the plastic film and insulating straw mats had already blocked the cold outside air. The temperature inside had reached 6°C, which was 5°C warmer than outdoors.

The temperature outside was already approaching zero.

Xiaqing installed the pen’s waterer and feeder, then poured in some Pollution-free Spring Water and mixed chicken feed. Led by the Black Feathered Rooster, the flock immediately rushed to the feeder, sticking their heads through the gaps in the mesh to gobble up the food.

Once the chickens were settled, Xiaqing led the Sheep Leader and the Sick Wolf through a plastic-curtained doorway in the earthen wall and into the adjoining airlock room. From there, she led them outside, then back into the airlock, and finally back into the greenhouse, showing them the proper way in and out.

Finally, Xiaqing brought her two companions over to the plastic film wall and gave them a stern warning. "You have to use the door. You cannot tear the plastic film. Leader, if you dare to rip this plastic, I’ll cut your rations. Second, if you dare to rip it, I’ll take away your Green Light Eggs. Got it?"