While the original 12 clones maintained their original work content unchanged, the five newly added clones also became busy. Based on previous experience, Li Qingsong once again manipulated the two clones to use the existing parts and began manufacturing the second steam turbine. The other three clones repeated the construction process of Base No. 1. They first used electric heating equipment to clear the frozen gas from all areas of the cave except Base No. 1. The total area of this cave is about 600 square meters, and only 200 square meters are currently occupied. Now that there are sufficient manpower, Li Qingsong plans to make use of the remaining space. Electric heating equipment requires a lot of electricity, but the power supply is limited at this time. In order not to affect the power supply of fluorescent lamps and the growth of crops, the refrigerant gas removal work at this time can only be maintained at a lower efficiency, which took almost ten days to complete. Afterwards, several clones were busy knocking off all the sharp protrusions on the cave walls and polishing them to avoid piercing the membrane. Afterwards, Li Qingsong brought over 80% of the special films stored in the Deep Space spacecraft and laid them in this cave along the rock wall. The original No. 1 planting base was directly incorporated into the new planting base. After completing this series of work, including splicing, laying and fixing of the film, checking the sealing, and installing temporary lighting fixtures, Li Qingsong looked at the huge empty hall and imagined the future. He was busy again and transported all the remaining planting racks and usable pipes from the Deep Space spacecraft. By the time the planting racks were assembled, the pipes laid, and the fluorescent lamps installed, the second steam turbine had also been built, and a new generator was removed from the Deep Space spacecraft and connected to this steam turbine.
The installed capacity of this new steam turbine reaches 30 kWh, which is not enough to supply the electricity needs of the entire planting base on its own, but it is more than enough when combined with the first one. "Turn it on!" Following Li Qingsong's order, the clone acting as the fireman immediately threw the frozen tholin ore and oxygen ore prepared in advance into the thawing chamber. The heat from the first generator extended here, slowly thawing it. After mixing with oxygen, it immediately began to burn violently. The water ice melted, turned into liquid, and then turned into water vapor. The heavy rotor began to rotate, making the earth seem to tremble slightly. The surging electricity flowed out from it and flowed into the fluorescent lamp, and the bright light was released instantly. At the same time, the water vapor, which still has extremely high temperature after doing work, also flows along the pipes to the underground of the base. After cooling, it flows back into the steam turbine. The temperature at Planting Base No. 1 began to rise immediately. When the temperature had risen to a certain level and the atmospheric pressure was consistent, several clones stepped forward and directly removed the membrane of the original Base No. 1. The two bases, large and small, are truly integrated at this moment. The fixed materials, nutrient solution, sweet potato vines, etc. prepared in advance were planted in an orderly manner on the new planting rack. From this point on, they will grow alongside the existing sweet potatoes. The new planting base now has a total area of 600 square meters and a height of meters, of which 400 square meters are still used to grow sweet potatoes, and the remaining 200 square meters have other uses. The newly added planting racks for growing sweet potatoes are still four-layer. Therefore, the original 400 square meters of sweet potato planting area has directly quadrupled to 1,600 square meters. This 1,600 square meter planting area is expected to produce about 10,000 kilograms of sweet potatoes every quarter. Based on the calculation that each clone consumes 3 kilograms per day and 270 kilograms per quarter, Base No. 1 can now feed about 37 clones with sweet potatoes alone! In addition to the area for growing sweet potatoes, the remaining 200 square meters, 80 square meters of which are used as a nutrient solution preparation room, temporary storage, lounge, kitchen, etc. In addition, with the additional 80 square meters brought by the second, third or fourth floors, the total planting area is about 200 square meters. Li Qingsong planted some crops such as wheat, soybeans, peanuts, rapeseed, oil wheat and spinach. Not much of each kind is planted, and the yield is not much, so they are used as seed reserves and as occasional food to adjust the diet.
The remaining 40 square meters are used for internal passages and the like. Base No. 1, with a total area of 600 square meters, was fully arranged by Li Qingsong, and the space utilization rate almost reached the extreme. As the cultivated area expands, the demand for electricity increases, and more manpower is needed. The addition of these five new clones was just enough to keep the entire base running, leaving Li Qingsong with almost no manpower to do anything else. The two steam turbines roared all day long, like two hungry monsters. No matter how much tholin ore and oxygen ore the clones brought, it would be consumed in a short time. This forced Li Qingsong to add a clone to the mining team, bringing the total to five people. The number of stokers also increased from two to three. They worked in shifts, with each person working more than 12 hours a day, which was barely enough to meet the consumption of the steam engine. The bodies of the two people who stayed behind on the Deep Space spacecraft cannot move easily. In addition to the most important reason of avoiding team annihilation, they are also responsible for studying and cultivating new clones. The remaining seven clones were all put into the planting base, spending their days repairing faulty circuits, mixing nutrient solution, and taking care of crops. There are 17 clones in total, and they are busy all day long. Time passed quietly under such circumstances, and in the blink of an eye, another three months had passed. This time, the clones gathered at Base No. 1 again and worked together to harvest all the ripe crops. A day later, Li Qingsong smiled as he looked at the more than 10,000 kilograms of sweet potatoes piled up in the temporary warehouse, as well as a wide variety of wheat, grains, beans, peanuts, vegetables, etc. "The survival crisis has finally been temporarily resolved. With so many sweet potatoes, I don't have to worry about starving to death. but……" Feeling the busyness of the moment, Li Qingsong's expression gradually became solemn. “My current agricultural foundation is still too fragile. If something unexpected happens and the film is severely damaged, the air will leak out in an instant and all the crops will die immediately. There is no industrial system at all. Fortunately, we now have some food reserves, and we have enough manpower for agricultural production. Once we have more clones, we can finally stop agricultural production and do other things. "