I can upgrade the shelter
Chapter 53: The Dragon Maiden Who Grows Mushrooms (Seeking recommendations, seeking favorites)

Chapter 53: Chapter 53: The Dragon Maiden Who Grows Mushrooms (Seeking recommendations, seeking favorites)

With the help of Qin Lan and Mo Qingyan, Chen Xin quickly moved all the supplies they brought into his shelter and stored them in the storeroom.

As the supplies were too numerous, the storeroom ended up being packed to the brim, forcing some items to be placed in the garage next to Chen Xin’s SUV.

"Why did you trade so many supplies if it was only for ingredients? Most of them are building materials." Mo Qingyan took off her gloves, brushed off the dust from moving supplies, and looked curiously at the mound of items before her, wondering why Chen Xin needed so many resources. "Even if you wanted to expand the greenhouse, you wouldn’t need so much, right?"

Standing beside her, Qin Lan, upon hearing Mo Qingyan’s question, also looked at Chen Xin with curiosity, eager to know why he exchanged for so many supplies.

"I just thought to remodel the shelter before the temperature drops below zero!" Chen Xin laughed, giving an explanation that was not a lie but didn’t fully reveal the truth either.

Actually, expanding the greenhouse does require plenty of materials, but Chen Xin had clearly acquired extra during the trade.

The disaster hadn’t struck long ago, making it relatively easy to gather supplies, so it was wise to stockpile as much as possible now before the situation worsens and resources become scarce.

"Remodel the shelter? You alone? Can you do it, or do you need me and Aning to help?" Mo Qingyan seemed startled upon hearing Chen Xin’s intention to renovate the shelter, as she did not recall that he possessed skills in that area.

Faced with Mo Qingyan’s offer to help, Chen Xin, though grateful for her willingness to assist at such a time, shook his head and declined, "No need, the workload isn’t large; I can handle it myself. There’s not much else to do in the shelter anyway, so it can pass the time."

Inevitably, Chen Xin couldn’t let Mo Qingyan come to help; otherwise, it would be hard to explain if she found there was nothing to do.

"Besides, I don’t have room here for you guys to stay. If you come over to help, you’d have to travel back and forth every day, which would be too inconvenient, right?" Seemingly trying to distract her, Chen Xin added, "Besides, in these circumstances, doesn’t your shelter also need reinforcement?"

"That’s true, running to and from your place every day, you’d have to take care of food and lodging..." Mo Qingyan thought for a moment and felt it indeed troublesome, and she agreed with Chen Xin’s rationale, "For my home, it looks like I should fix the walls, and also seal the door over at the first-floor shop."

Regarding Mo Qingyan’s thoughts, Chen Xin quickly suggested, "What you really need to reinforce is the gate in your yard. The old iron gate was fine before, but now, a car could easily crash through it, so it’s better to fortify it."

With Chen Xin’s remark, Mo Qingyan suddenly realized that her shelter indeed had several vulnerabilities.

"Got it. I’ll go back and remodel my shelter according to your suggestion, A-Xin!" Mo Qingyan seemed to take Chen Xin’s advice seriously and decided to refurbish her shelter.

Listening to Chen Xin and Mo Qingyan discuss shelter renovations, Qin Lan found herself somewhat unable to contribute to the conversation. She was staying at the collective shelter of the city police department, unlike these two, who had their private shelters.

However, Qin Lan still reminded Mo Qingyan, "Actually, the three floors above your home can be utilized. Although the temperature has dropped and living on the surface isn’t feasible, on the flip side, couldn’t the cold be used to store supplies?"

"That’s a good point! When the surface temperature drops to below minus several tens of degrees, it turns into a natural freezer, right? Anything that doesn’t fear freezing could be placed up there, couldn’t it?" Mo Qingyan, reminded by Qin Lan’s idea, excitedly snapped her fingers, showing considerable enthusiasm, "This way, I can free up some space in my original storeroom and don’t have to rush to clear out the wine cellar."

Hearing Mo Qingyan mention the wine cellar, Chen Xin immediately thought of her wine collection.

Because Mo Qingyan’s bar only catered to members, the prepared wines were all genuinely high-quality, many of which were considered collectible.

These wines were nominally prepared for the bar, but the rarities weren’t available just anytime. Even with Chen Xin’s good relationship with Mo Qingyan, he could only occasionally enjoy them.

With this in mind, Chen Xin advised Mo Qingyan, "Qingyan, you could convert the wine cellar into a greenhouse. Although you can’t grow vegetables or rice like on my side, you could cultivate mushrooms or hydroponic vegetables."

"Turn the wine cellar into a greenhouse to grow mushrooms?" Mo Qingyan pondered seriously for a moment about the feasibility of such an idea, "But if I do that, my wines won’t have a place to go."

"Your wines...honestly, in an apocalypse, they are precious, non-renewable resources and should ideally be preserved well," Chen Xin commented, clearly mindful of the wines and then quickly added, "However, right now, the key is to fill your stomach first. Qingyan, your shelter lacks self-sufficiency and relies entirely on your stored resources. But how long can these resources last? If you don’t think about it now, it will be very dangerous in the future."

Chen Xin’s words made Mo Qingyan reflect, realizing she indeed needed to figure out what to do after exhausting her supplies.

However, concerning mushroom cultivation, Mo Qingyan was clueless, having no idea how to start under the current circumstances.

"As for your wines, instead of letting them go to waste, why not trade some with me?" Chen Xin remained keenly interested in Mo Qingyan’s fine wines.

"So you had your eyes on my wines! I was wondering why you pushed me to convert the wine cellar into a greenhouse!" Mo Qingyan, upon hearing this, playfully pouted and said after some thought, "Trading another batch of wines with you is not a problem. I initially planned to clear out the wine cellar, sell off the stock, and free up space for additional storage.

Now, since we can use the upper floors to store supplies, converting the wine cellar into a greenhouse might not be a bad idea. But I don’t understand mushroom cultivation, so even if the conversion happens, it’s uncertain if it’ll be useful at all!"

"Regarding that, the police station has a complete set of mushroom cultivation manuals, initially prepared by the government for every shelter. I can copy a set for you, and also sell you some mushroom growing kits," Qin Lan said, offering Mo Qingyan substantial help at that moment.

Delighted to hear Qin Lan could provide technical support, Mo Qingyan immediately expressed her gratitude to her.

The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!