Chapter 81: Bringing the Gift for Farming to the Moon

Upon hearing this, the two exchanged awkward glances, the atmosphere instantly becoming tense. “Junior Brother, are you joking? Me and her, a good match?”

Xu Yuqing took offense immediately. “What? You think I’m not good enough for you? Look at yourself! If anything, I wouldn’t even consider you!”

“Xu Yuqing!”

Peng Dongli let out a furious roar. “That’s too much! It’s fine to be angry, but personal attacks are unacceptable!”

“Tch!”

Xu Yuqing rolled her eyes at him. “Look at your sleazy face, still daring to covet me. I’ll castrate you for your wife’s sake!”

“You… shameless!”

“Me, shameless?

You…!”

The two sparred for nearly half an hour before Peng Dongli finally conceded, leaning against the frame, panting heavily, staring at Xu Yuqing with wild eyes, ready to devour her as if he were a zombie from a movie.

Zhang Mingyang, meanwhile, sat on a nearby bench, enjoying the spectacle until even he grew tired.

“Are you two finished? Aren’t you thirsty?”

Peng Dongli, breathless, sighed in defeat. “I never imagined a seemingly delicate young woman could be so sharp!”

“You’re not bad yourself. You’re the first to last so long against me.”

“Both of you, please look outside,” Zhang Mingyang said, pointing at the window.

Peng Dongli looked up and saw a crowd pressed against the glass, watching the drama; no one knew how long they’d been there.

“Scram!”

Xu Yuqing shouted, and the crowd scattered instantly, fleeing the scene like startled birds and insects.

Zhang Mingyang swallowed hard, unable to reconcile the reputation of these ‘good people’ with what he’d just witnessed.

As the crowd dispersed, Xu Yuqing pointed at Peng Dongli. “Well? Admit defeat? If not, we can keep going.”

Peng Dongli waved her off, shaking his head. “I wasn’t prepared today, so I’ll let you off this time. Next time you won’t be so lucky.”

“Tch! If you don’t admit it, you’re just making excuses.”

“I…!”

“Beep beep…!”

Xu Yuqing’s communicator rang.

“Hello? What?” Xu Yuqing suddenly tensed. “Alright, I’ll come right away!”

Seeing her urgency, Zhang Mingyang quickly asked, “Xu, is something wrong? I can help.”

Xu Yuqing hurriedly rummaged through a nearby box for a large roll of tape and, before heading out, turned to Zhang Mingyang. “Little brother, come with me and help your sister.”

“Sure!”

Zhang Mingyang eagerly followed. “Hey Xu, should my senior brother come too?”

Xu Yuqing glanced at Peng Dongli, “If he came, he’d only make things worse. Just the two of us.”

Zhang Mingyang smiled at his senior and ran out after Xu Yuqing.

On the way, he asked what had happened.

Xu Yuqing explained as she walked, “There are several cracks in the researchers’ outdoor greenhouse. I need to patch them with tape. It’ll be faster with both of us.”

“Oh!”

Donning their spacesuits, the two headed north, bounding across the terrain.

After a short while, Zhang Mingyang saw a transparent white greenhouse, much like the ones used for vegetables on Earth.

Inside, he found it truly was full of vegetables, and on the outermost layer, a few cracks stretched nearly two meters long.

“Xu, what should we do?”

Xu Yuqing handed him a roll of silver tape. “Just like sticking anything else, tape up the cracks.”

“Got it.”

Zhang Mingyang carefully tore off strips, pressing them over the cracks, methodically sealing each gap until they were all patched.

Once finished, Xu Yuqing inspected the greenhouse again for any missed spots.

Holding the tape, Zhang Mingyang asked, “Xu, is this tape really enough?”

Xu Yuqing laughed. “You don’t get it, little brother. This is high-strength aerospace liquid tape. If a hundred-ton ship sprang a leak, this tape would seal it instantly.”

“Is it really that powerful?”

Due to lunar gravity, Zhang Mingyang couldn’t sense its weight, but guessed it must weigh at least a kilogram or two.

After confirming there were no more cracks, Xu Yuqing led him inside the greenhouse.

Removing their spacesuits, Xu Yuqing rushed to check the vegetables.

Looking at the lush greens, Zhang Mingyang gently touched them. “Xu, why are you growing vegetables here?”

“Don’t you know our country’s natural talent?”

“Oh!”

Zhang Mingyang understood—they were bringing their agricultural prowess to the cosmos.

Yet he was still puzzled. “Xu, isn’t the research institute growing vegetables? Why plant outdoors as well?”

Xu Yuqing finished inspecting the crops and explained, “The vegetables inside the institute are potted; the microbes, air, water, and heat are all controllable and adjustable. But the greenhouse vegetables are planted directly in lunar soil. We ensure they have water, air, microbes, and heat, but don’t adjust the environment, letting them grow naturally.”

“What’s the purpose of that?”

“The purpose?”

Xu Yuqing patted her stomach. “To eat, of course. But also to prepare for future lunar immigration. Space law says you can occupy more area if you have enough bases, and building bases consumes massive amounts of food and water. We can’t afford to transport supplies without regard to cost. The best solution is to cultivate vegetables that can grow directly in lunar soil, so the country can reduce supply costs and focus on building more lunar bases.”

“And if we only used the institute’s bioculture rooms, the cost of feeding everyone would skyrocket. In the future, you’d see half the precious buildings in a base turned into vegetable cultivation rooms.”

“I see, that makes sense.” It was clear humanity still had a long journey toward true extraterrestrial settlement.

After confirming all the vegetables were unharmed, Xu Yuqing led Zhang Mingyang out of the ‘vegetable greenhouse.’

On the way back to camp, Xu Yuqing suddenly asked, “Little brother, what are you two doing on the moon?”

Hearing the question, Zhang Mingyang hesitated. “We… are just… inspecting the mine area, checking its operations. Nothing else.”

“Really?”

Xu Yuqing seemed to see through him. “Then what was your friend doing sneaking to the eastern launch tower last night?”

“Eastern launch tower?” Zhang Mingyang shook his head. “I don’t know!”

“You don’t know there’s a launch tower to the east?”

“No, I don’t.”

Xu Yuqing pointed east. “Down the slope is a launch tower over sixty meters tall. Supposedly, it’s a relay for distant satellites. None of our base personnel are allowed near it. Five guards rotate duty there daily, and their quarters are under the tower, not in the camp.”