I can upgrade the shelter-Chapter 80 - 79 Bargaining

The list Qin Lan brought had quite a few supplies, but all of these needed to be exchanged with vegetables produced in Chen Xin’s shelter. The list also included the exchange ratios deemed suitable by the special police team after discussion.

Chen Xin had no objection to the resource exchange since it was beneficial for him as well. However, he did have different opinions on the exchange ratios.

"A hundred pounds of fresh vegetables for five bags of cement? This ratio is acceptable." Chen Xin checked each exchange ratio marked on the list: "But the one for rebar is a bit exaggerated, isn’t it? It takes twenty pounds of vegetables to get a single piece of rebar?"

Rebar was extremely useful for Chen Xin; needless to say, reinforcing the door of the shelter required rebar concrete.

"We’re providing standard φ12X12 rebar, plus you know well that there’s no steel mill in the city, so all of these rely on rail input. It’s understandable for the price to be a bit high." Qin Lan explained to Chen Xin.

Though they were once a couple, neither of them let past feelings influence their bargaining; they both held their ground tightly.

"But needing twenty pounds of vegetables for a single piece of rebar is still outrageous. I think ten pounds is an acceptable price," Chen Xin said, immediately cutting the exchange ratio in half, but he kept his eyes on Qin Lan, waiting for her counteroffer.

As expected, Qin Lan shook her head and directly refused: "Ten pounds is too little; the most I can do is eighteen pounds."

However, Chen Xin stood firm, still repeating: "Ten pounds, or else I’ll find someone else to trade with."

"That’s impossible. Even before the disaster, you couldn’t get a rebar for ten pounds of cabbage." Qin Lan shook her head vigorously but still compromised: "Fifteen pounds, no less."

Hearing Qin Lan say this, Chen Xin smiled and said to her, "Let’s meet halfway at twelve pounds, and first get me fifty pieces of rebar, it’s urgent."

"Urgent? What do you need so much rebar for?" Qin Lan was immediately curious when Chen Xin mentioned it was urgent.

Chen Xin straightforwardly stated, "It’s been three months since the apocalypse began, and the temperature is nearing freezing. Before it freezes over, I plan to reinforce the shelter’s door. So besides rebar, I need cement, sand, gravel, and steel plates. I can accept the exchange ratios for these construction materials. Bring them over quickly."

Hearing that Chen Xin needed them to reinforce the shelter’s door, Qin Lan nodded in understanding and agreed readily.

The official shelters are also undertaking large-scale expansion work, and all shelters have been allocated a large amount of construction materials. The amount that Chen Xin needed wasn’t much; the special police team could easily spare a little from their supplies to meet his needs.

After negotiating the demand for construction materials, Chen Xin proposed another item not on the list: "Ah Lan, could you get me some glass? Preferably large cylindrical glass tubes, or an aquarium in that shape would be even better. Also a vacuum pump."

"I might be able to get those, but what do you need them for?" Qin Lan asked curiously.

Chen Xin smiled and explained, "The aquarium can be converted into a makeshift algae oxygen generator. Staying in an underground shelter will definitely have oxygen issues. I need one for myself, and Long Niang needs one too. If I help her with one, I can trade it for her good liquor. In cold weather, a drink can really warm you up."

"You’re not Russian; what’s with drinking to keep warm!" Qin Lan joked, but she agreed to Chen Xin’s request and jotted down what he needed in her little notebook.

The two then cross-checked the exchange ratios of all the items on the list again, as well as the additional items Chen Xin had mentioned, before ending their negotiations.

Once the negotiation was over, the topic among the three lightened up. Chen Xin also asked about a topic he was interested in.

"So what’s the main food in the shelters now? It can’t really be something like rat, worm, and mushroom soup, right?" Chen Xin joked.

But rats, worms, and mushrooms are indeed suitable for raising in low-temperature, underground, lightless environments and were announced by the government as the main food sources for shelters before the disaster.

To this question, Ding Ning just shrugged, leaning on the sofa in Chen Xin’s living room: "I just returned to the shelter recently, not sure. But it’s mainly potatoes and mushrooms stewed with rat meat, although there’s enough rice, which is quite surprising."

"It’s not surprising to have rice. The country had stockpiled a lot before the disaster," Qin Lan knew more about the situation than Ding Ning, so she explained to Chen Xin: "As for mushrooms and potatoes, mushrooms are something every shelter is currently growing. The yield from the government-provided mushroom spawn packs is quite good; they can be harvested once a month. If it weren’t for not enough growing space, mushrooms alone could meet food needs."

At this point, Qin Lan paused before continuing: "Regarding potatoes, the country hasn’t promoted large-scale planting. Although they’re high-yield, they require fertile soil and a lot of fertilizer, unlike mushrooms which have more stable yields.

They also consume a lot of water and electricity, and most shelters don’t have the conditions for large-scale planting, so the city has a designated underground growing area near the power plant for potatoes, hence the low yield."

Chen Xin nodded in understanding upon hearing this from Qin Lan.

In fact, when he built the shelter, the first thing he thought of growing was potatoes.

Thanks to that movie, "The Martian," everyone knew growing potatoes could help them survive, so in the apocalypse, shouldn’t potatoes be planted?

Especially in all those time-travel novels, besides making glass and soap in ancient times, finding potatoes was almost a must.

Everyone seemed to think of it as a divine crop, with yieldization overwhelming traditional agriculture which perhaps couldn’t even reach a tenth of a potato’s yield.

Potatoes indeed have many advantages. Naturally, the first is high yield; thousands of pounds per acre seem common for potatoes.

Moreover, potatoes are well suited to grow in cold regions; Flame Country’s Mongolia and Siberia in Lucia are main planting areas. They manage to grow healthily in environments below 10 degrees, not needing much water irrigation to assure high yield.

Potatoes are also rich in nutrients and starch, meaning in colder climates, they offer a significant calorie and nutrient intake, making them essential for survival.

But potatoes aren’t flawless.

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