MTLNOVEL Chapter 224: Technology is the Primary Productive Force_2
"Among them, the most important is cognition,"
"We must understand that technology is the primary productive force."
Lu Yuan took these more than three hundred people to visit the "fully automated agricultural base" that had been meticulously built recently.
The Green Grass Civilization naturally needs to produce food.
They placed agriculture in huge greenhouses and carried out automated operations through the vines of the Opium poppy, only needing about a dozen people to complete the food production for the entire civilization's population of over a hundred million!
After learning about this, Lu Yuan naturally took it to heart. It took him and Miss Conch over four months to repair a small portion of the engravings and robots, which were the bare minimum for the farm's operations.
Fortunately, the current population was not large, and a small greenhouse of about 30 hectares was basically sufficient.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please come in!"
The door... slowly opened.
What met their eyes was row upon row of neat transparent shelves.
On the shelves were... green plants?!
An ocean of green, speckled with blossoms woven together, filled the garden with aromatic fragrances.
The air was somewhat humid, mixed with a faint salty smell of inorganic salts.
Everyone's eyes widened, seeing such a miraculous scene for the first time.
Amazingly, these plants did not need soil and were simply anchored with some rocks.
Those roots, soaking in liquid, were growing extremely well!
Inside the greenhouse, the air humidity was at 70%, and the temperature was around thirty degrees Celsius, almost constant—this feature was controlled by the engravings.
Suspended from the ceiling were strands of emerald vines—all extensions of the Opium poppy. These vines, controlled by the artificial intelligence of "Green Grass Paradise," would automatically replenish the nutrient solution and harvest the crops.
In the greenhouse, the majority of the culture vessels were planted with common types of crops like rice, wheat, and various green vegetables.
These seeds, in fact, grew well and rapidly nourished by the Tree of Life.
"Captain Lu, where did these... come from?" Even for a Super-thinker like Sha Mo, it was an incredible shock.
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There was no helping it; their knowledge was just too limited.
Even the most intelligent people are constrained by their experience and the times.
Lu Yuan smiled and said, "Growing plants in the desert, you can only plant cacti, otherwise due to the dry soil, you'd have to keep watering... But with soilless cultivation, the water consumed is manageable."
"And who wouldn't want to eat delicious rice?"
"I know you may be wondering how this was achieved. Ladies and gentlemen, the answer lies within Green Grass Paradise."
"This farm is the result of four months of labor between me and Miss Conch."
"We used knowledge of engravings, program editing, and soilless cultivation... Its productivity is roughly equivalent to that of six thousand farmers."
Two people equal to six thousand?!
Many eyes bulged in disbelief.
But the reality was right before them.
This green sea was truly refreshing.
The remaining part of the plantation was for Mutated Plants and Extraordinary Plants; their soilless cultivation was more difficult, so they had to be planted in soil.
These seeds were all collected by Lu Yuan during his long journeys, and now they finally came in handy.
"They have great medicinal value."
"They can effectively solve our shortage of medicines."
Even, there were two hundred fruit trees!
To give the greenhouse a bit of splendor, Lu Yuan specifically allowed the Tree of Life to use 1 unit of Life Essence to give these fruit trees a burst of Fertilization.
Don't think of him as stingy; 1 unit really is a lot!
So, the fruit trees looked as though they had been growing for ten years and had actually started bearing fruit!
Fifty of the fruit trees were a kind called "Pupu Fruit Tree," a desert Mutated Plant brought from the Rize Civilization.
Suited to the desert environment, growing quickly, with a taste and nutritional value that were quite decent.
Those clusters of Pupu fruits, hanging on the lush branches, emitted a pleasant fruit scent.
Soon, they would welcome a bountiful harvest!
The rest included apples, oranges, pears, with quite a variety.
Furthermore, they didn't even need people to pick them; the vines hanging from the ceiling would harvest them automatically.
Lu Yuan picked several bunches and shared them with them.
Sha Mo sniffed them and tasted one, unable to hold back his praise: "This is really delicious..."
Meanwhile, the other three hundred possessors of Divine Skill were eating and discussing fervently.
This scene...
It was like a miracle!
It struck directly at their souls.
It was really amazing, unbelievably so!
Just like a dream.
"A one-time harvest, more bountiful than the largest landlord ever had!"
"Even great empires, with mountains of gold and silver, can't buy this... greenhouse?"
Their imagination was too limited, only able to compare with past empires.
But so much food truly gave a sense of security.
They had really been frightened by famine.
Lu Yuan paused for a moment, then said earnestly, "My friends, this is not the work of one person alone."
"Part of the reason is because knowledge brings power."
"Another part, is the legacy of the Green Grass Civilization."
"We are a fortunate civilization. Standing on the shoulders of our predecessors, having this greenhouse, having the Opium poppy, only then could we perform miracles."
"This farm is just a classic example, and it's the main reason I brought you all here to see it. Now you finally understand why technology is the primary productive force."
"Why bother with traditional farming? Just run farms like this one, and that's it!" someone whispered.
Laughter spread through the crowd.
"Mr. Lu, there's only one Miss Conch, they can't create that many farms," someone else retorted.
Lu Yuan waved his hand and said, "I must clarify that what I can do, you all can do as well. Do you want to operate a farm like this? Then you must study hard!"
"Miracles need to be created together."
"And lifting Sky City is difficult, it may need a thousand, ten thousand such miracles."
"We, must work together to escape our dire situation!"
Lu Yuan's speech was quite sincere.
Although there were exaggerations—for example, the Engravings; they only knew of their existence, still clueless about them!
But painting a big picture, that's an essential quality for a leader.
Those who hadn't seen much of the world were filled with surging emotions, yearning to immediately go and create miracles, then lift up Sky City.
Lu Yuan's conversation took a slight turn, his voice a bit lower: "From an individual's perspective, studying hard and applying for higher-paying jobs can greatly improve your standard of living."
"These materials will be placed on supermarket shelves, not given away for free, and you will need money to buy them."
"Then you'll understand the benefits of a high salary."
...
...
The advent of the fully automated agricultural base truly inspired people!
The 382 Divine Skill holders all started working vigorously as if infused with chicken blood, endeavoring tirelessly.
They worked around the clock, wishing they could spend all 24 hours in the learning pods!
This group of people also indirectly motivated some of the more positive-minded civilians.
They gradually realized that higher-level positions offer higher salaries.
Like construction teams recruiting workers, monthly salaries… 300?
In this era, that's not low at all.
The monthly salary for electricians is even as high as 600!
My goodness, isn't that a monthly income of 600 kilos of food?
When you think about it, the cost-effectiveness of farming really doesn't seem that high.
Keep in mind, a person only needs to eat 30 kilos of food a month to be satisfied.
600 could feed 20 people!
It was indeed a huge number beyond their imagination.
Of course, the currency hadn't yet been anchored in food.
The public held a wait-and-see attitude towards the so-called "purchasing power of money."
People weren't fools; they had experienced currency collapses before, like during the famine when a chunk of gold couldn't trade for a bit of food!
Therefore, the promise of 1 currency unit per kilo of food, some believed it, others didn't.
Most people were still watching and waiting.
...