Chapter 181: Tea Leaves

This idea had actually been in Chen Mu's mind all along; implementing it isn't that difficult, but on one hand it takes relatively more time, and on the other hand its effect isn't obvious.

One can enter and exit through the gap under the door, so there's no need to make another exit, because the door gap itself is one meter long, taking up most of the wall's width.

Moreover, aside from the wall where the door is, going out the other three sides leads directly into the greenery, which is obviously dangerous.

But now, with the base exposed, we have no choice but to make more plans.

"The wall is 240 mm thick, and brick and stone are much denser than wood, so it might take some effort," Tang Jing said.

"It doesn't need to be finished in a day; just slot it into the daily work schedule," Chen Mu said after thinking.

Dong Junwei sighed: "Your work schedule is already booked up to ten days from now."

"It doesn't matter; anyway, these are the daily tasks, and nobody gets a break."

That said, within Qiming, Chen Mu's workload is undoubtedly the largest, because almost all construction work relies on his cooperation.

Wei Dalei's working hours are roughly comparable to his, but in terms of difficulty and importance, he falls short of Chen Mu.

The plan is set; next is to discuss the exact location of the passage.

After lunch, a brief rest, then work continued.

Qiming's top priority for all current work is to build an elevated gun emplacement on top of the door, similar in function to a watchtower, except that Cao Zishan will eventually man it alone, mainly to increase range and power.

Dong Junwei's hand grenades keep getting bigger, and their power grows ever more terrifying.

But once they reach a certain point, their usefulness also becomes limited.

Because everyone's strength has a limit, throwing distance cannot be infinitely extended; once a grenade's power hits its limit, making it larger would endanger the user.

Therefore, increasing range is the most reasonable solution.

Turning a stainless-steel stew pot into several 2-meter-long, 5-millimeter-diameter cylindrical rods—just thinking about it shows how huge the project is.

Chen Mu must proceed step by step, building in sections, then hoisting and joining them.

In fact, according to Tang Jing's plan, the elevated gun emplacement's lift has three intermediate transfer platforms installed in the middle; to avoid wasting these platforms, two additional lookout posts were designed, and a certain amount of explosive material is stored, which might be needed if the fighting reaches a stalemate.

This project likewise consists of two lifts, each using eight pillars; just the rails consume 2,449 g of stainless steel, equivalent to 1.5 stainless-steel stew pots.

Adding the platforms, steel cables, etc., it almost uses up two iron pots.

Everyone initially thought the storage room's materials were inexhaustible, but just this door‑side project has already consumed so much.

And according to the decision team's long‑term plan, Qiming will remodel the entire storage room in layers; by then, these materials will clearly be insufficient.

……

In the afternoon, after Chen Mu buried himself in continuous work for two hours, he stopped to prepare a short rest.

He returned to the living area, poured a cup of water, drank it, and was about to lie down on a towel for a while.

The result was that not far away, Gu Yinglong sat alone on the ground, fiddling with a long green thing in front of him.

Curious, Chen Mu walked over.

Only when he got close did he realize it was actually a tea leaf.

This tea leaf is overall cylindrical, lush and dewy, covered in fine hairs, about a person's length long and half a person's thick, currently lying horizontally on the ground.

Chen Mu knew this was the item Dong Junwei had found in the second cardboard box last time; the tea leaves were stored in a tin, and he had only taken them out after cutting a hole in its side.

According to Tang Jing, this tea is called Lushan Cloud Mist, one of the top ten famous teas, with a fresh fragrance, mellow flavor, and clear broth.

Everyone then broke off a small piece and had Du Jia Jia brew a pot.

In the absence of fresh leafy greens, tea leaves can to some extent supplement vitamins; it is said that ancient sailors relied on tea leaves to ward off scurvy.

Finally.

That pot of tea received unanimous praise from everyone.

Since then, the kitchen has prepared a large pot of Lushan Cloud Mist every day for anyone to drink at any time.

But the tea‑making method is special: a too‑small container can't boil water, while a too‑large one wastes water, so in the end Chen Mu sealed water and tea leaves together in a stainless‑steel tin, which Dong Junwei then heated.

This method works for boiling water, but using it to cook food is hard to control; it's essentially a pressure cooker, and Dong Junwei hasn't yet mastered its temperature handling.

……

The spot where Gu Yinglong sat was a smooth wooden board, like a cooling mat; as the weather grew hotter, everyone found it hard to sleep on towels, but making a mat is troublesome, and Chen Mu didn't have much free time, so he knocked together a few wood pieces for everyone to sleep and rest on.

Since Gu Yinglong realized she couldn't help much, her mood has stayed low; aside from occasionally moving a small stool to watch Chen Mu "perform magic tricks," she just hides in a corner watching everyone busy.

Chen Mu had still never seen her doing something seriously.

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"What are you doing?"

He squatted beside the girl, watching her press her palm against that tea stalk.

"Playing."

Gu Yinglong saw him approach and smiled.

Only then did one see tiny bumps slowly sprouting on the huge tea stalk; looking closely, they were shrunken tea leaves.

Because Qiming lacks a suitable plant for Gu Yinglong to split, aside from having once seen her "plant rice," Chen Mu had never seen her use her ability since.

But now, these tea leaves happen to be excellent test material.

However, compared with the rice she once grew, Gu Yinglong's "cultivation" of tea leaves is far inferior in both quantity and speed.

Chen Mu watched her for a while, but saw only a dozen or so shrunken tea leaves produced.

"Who told you to do this?" Chen Mu asked curiously.

"Sister Dong."

Since the last time we doubted Gu Yinglong's identity, everyone has become less sure whether she is a student of Ziwei High School; if she indeed isn't, her petite stature actually finds a reasonable explanation.

Because she looks cute and has a dazedly endearing personality, Gu Yinglong has almost become Qiming's team pet, with both boys and girls taking extra care of her.

And the girls like to have her sleep beside them; Dong Junwei and Tang Jing go to great lengths to coax her into calling them sister.

Gu Yinglong is innocent and naive, and just like that she has come to call many people sister.

She sat cross-legged on the wooden board at this moment, with a considerable amount of tea leaves already piled up beside her; it looked like today's yield.

Chen Mu thought, "No wonder I haven't seen her coming over to watch me work these past few days; it turns out she now has work of her own."

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