Chapter 400: The Formidable Bai Yu the Hen

Xia Qing had thought she was only trading Yang Jin for second-hand stainless steel pipes, but it turned out to be a complete set—not just the steel pipe frames for building sheds, but also a full range of accessories including greenhouse roller machines, film shakers, U-clamps, and spring clips, plus even six greenhouse supplemental lights!

No wonder Yang Jin was charging her 200 spinach seeds for the second-hand stainless steel pipes for two greenhouses—the whole set really was worth that price.

Without the hand-cranked roller machines, just the step of rolling up and pulling down the cold-proof grass curtains for her two greenhouses would take her over an hour every day. With the roller machines, this step could be done by Xia Qing, who was no stranger to hard labor, in under ten minutes.

The time saved could be spent at the Forty-Nine Mountain training ground participating in training—these two hand-cranked roller machines were truly exactly what she wanted.

Guan Tong, who had come to deliver the goods, saw Xia Qing fiddling with the roller machine and came over to ask, "This looks pretty complicated—should I get a technician from Territory One to come help with the installation?"

"No need, I can install it." Xia Qing's five years as a squad leader on a construction crew hadn't been for nothing—welding and installing greenhouse steel frames and roller machines was her day job.

Chen Cheng came over and asked with a grin, "Sister Qing, is there anything you can't do?"

"Any skill that requires someone to teach me step by step, I can't do." Because she couldn't afford the price they asked, so no one was willing to teach her. Everything she knew, she'd picked up just by standing nearby and watching.

Xia Qing signaled Chen Cheng to hold the steel frame steady for her while she stood on a long bench, holding up a welding torch to weld the steel pipes.

The greenhouses in Xia Qing's territory were 50 meters long and 6 meters wide, with the north wall 3.5 meters high; welding the north wall's support frame required standing on a bench.

The east and west earthen walls gradually descended in height from 3.5 meters to 1 meter, so the sun-facing side of the entire greenhouse was a sloped surface, high in the north and low in the south, with a drop of 2.5 meters.

This sloped design reduced the impact of strong winds on the greenhouse, and the slope also better resisted the pressure of accumulated snow and rainwater, preventing the frame from bending or breaking due to concentrated weight at one point. At the same time, the slope helped the greenhouse film cover the greenhouse more snugly, reducing gaps and leaks and improving insulation.

If the construction technique was lacking, causing the slope to be too steep or unevenly tilted, it would also affect the greenhouse's service life and stability.

Xia Qing's greenhouse had no problem with substandard technique—her greenhouse earthen walls had been built by Qi Fu and his crew, absolutely up to standard; the steel frame was installed by her personally, guaranteed to pass.

When there was plenty of sunlight during the day, the grass curtains used for insulation on top of the greenhouse plastic film were rolled up with the hand-cranked roller machines, allowing the animals and plants inside to receive sunlight and grow.

When the sun set and temperatures dropped, the grass curtains were lowered to trap the day's warmth, keeping the animals and plants inside from being affected by the cold and allowing them to continue growing. As long as the temperature didn't drop below minus ten degrees, there was no need to light a fire inside the greenhouse for extra warmth.

With the help of Hu Zifeng's squad, Xia Qing finished welding the breeding greenhouse's steel frame in one afternoon, then attached the greenhouse plastic film and covered it with the cold-proof insulating grass curtains.

After dark, all the chickens in the chicken coop had returned to the henhouse. Xia Qing entered the henhouse wearing night-vision goggles. She grabbed the chickens perched on the racks one by one, put them into chicken cages, and carried them into the greenhouse.

When the other chickens were caught, at most they would panic and cluck a few times and struggle a bit—when it was Bai Yu the hen's turn, the creature actually stretched out its head and pecked Xia Qing's hand. This was a bone-strengthened Green-Light chicken, with a formidable beak and claws—one peck or scratch from it would definitely cause injury.

Prepared in advance, Xia Qing grabbed its neck with one hand and its two legs with the other, stuffed it into the chicken cage. Then she used a net to cover the black-feathered rooster flapping around in the henhouse and stuffed that in too.

"Baa." Seeing Xia Qing carrying chickens out, Sheep Leader standing at the doorway called out once.

"It's cold, I'm moving the chickens into the greenhouse where it's warm." Xia Qing set the chicken cage down, went back inside to get Sheep Leader's night-vision goggles and put them on it, then asked, "Boss, Wolf Lao Er, do you want to come with me to the greenhouse to have a look?"

Because Hu Zifeng's squad had been in the territory all afternoon, Sheep Leader and Sick Wolf hadn't gone over and didn't yet know what use the major construction project just built in their territory served.

Xia Qing now really wanted them to see what exactly she had been working from dawn to dusk moving earth for these past days.

The two greenhouses were built side by side to the west of the vegetable greenhouse—the breeding greenhouse on the west side, the planting greenhouse on the east side, with doors on both sides for entering and exiting, and a small room two meters long, wide, and high built beside each door.

This small room could, first, store tools, fertilizer, chemicals, and other supplies, and second, serve as a transitional zone between the outside and the greenhouse, preventing cold outside air from rushing directly into the greenhouse when someone entered or exited and affecting the growth of the animals and plants inside.

After carrying the chicken cage and bringing her two companions into the greenhouse, Xia Qing turned on the greenhouse supplemental lights hanging inside.

Greenhouse supplemental lights are designed based on the principle that plants use sunlight for photosynthesis, providing the light source needed for plant growth and development when sunlight is insufficient. Of course, this kind of light source is also suitable for providing supplemental light to farmed poultry.

"Click!"

After turning on the supplemental lights, before Xia Qing had a chance to show off the greenhouse to her companions, she heard a cracking sound from the chicken cage. Bai Yu the hen had used its sharp claws to break two bamboo slats of the chicken cage.

"Holy shit!"

Xia Qing cried out in alarm and quickly shoved the chicken cage into the coop inside the greenhouse, afraid that if she was a second late, the violent Bai Yu the hen would wriggle out and claw holes in the greenhouse plastic film she had just installed.

To prevent the chickens from destroying the plastic film, the coop inside the greenhouse was built from the leftover wire mesh from wall construction—this wire mesh was extremely sturdy, and Bai Yu the hen's claws couldn't do any real damage to it; the other chickens were even less of a threat.

After securing the chickens, Xia Qing glanced at the thermometer hanging on the wall. Although the greenhouse had only been covered for a little over two hours, the plastic film and cold-proof grass curtains had blocked the outside cold air from invading the interior, and the temperature inside had already reached 6°C, 5°C higher than outside.

The current outdoor temperature was already approaching zero.

Xia Qing installed the chickens' water bucket and feeding trough, pouring in pollution-free spring water and mixed chicken feed. The chickens immediately rushed to the feeding trough led by the black-feathered rooster, sticking their heads through the gaps in the railing and pecking rapidly at the food.

After settling the chickens, Xia Qing led Sheep Leader and Sick Wolf through the small door hung with plastic sheeting in the earthen wall, into the connected small room, then from the small room to the outside of the greenhouse, and then from the small room back into the greenhouse, letting them familiarize themselves with how to enter and exit the greenhouse.

Finally, Xia Qing brought her two companions to the edge of the plastic film and sternly warned, "You must go through the door, you cannot tear the plastic film. Boss—if anyone dares to tear the plastic film, I'll dock your rations; Wolf Lao Er—if you dare to tear the plastic film, I'll dock your Green-Light eggs. Is that clear?"