Chapter 213 Fostering the Growth of Celestial Wood

The morning after the first snowfall, when Zuo Shan took his family to the plantation, he found the streets, which had been cleared of high-radioactivity snow, unusually deserted.

The area had just experienced a heavy snowfall with high radiation levels, so the radiation levels of the mutated plants at the collection points were definitely above the standard. However, since firewood is used for heating, a slightly higher radiation level wouldn't have a significant impact. Therefore, a few people who hadn't stockpiled enough firewood would still go out to collect some.

They were all wearing winter coats, but most of them were very worn out, with patches upon patches on top of each other.

Residents of District 48 have a slightly better life than those of District 50, but not by much.

A piece of heat-insulating or cold-weather clothing is worn for many years until it is completely worn out before one is willing to buy a new one.

Achen, in the stroller, was wrapped up tightly in a fan-shaped coat. The hood of the coat covered his forehead and face, leaving only his big, bright blue eyes peeking out as he looked around.

Once they arrived at the plantation, Zuo Shan loosened the restrictions on the baby, turned on the switch on the anklet Mina had given him, and then covered him with the jelly defense ball that Han Han had given him, letting him float around the plantation as he pleased.

Ah Chen is no longer like he used to be, rushing into his mother's arms the moment he got a chance to control his body's movement.

He now prefers to play with his friends.

His only friends are Hanhan and Xiaobao. These two are clearly not afraid of the cold. As soon as they meet, they run around in the botanical garden, playing and frolicking.

With Achen joining them, the two cubs chased after Xiaobao's jelly ball, their cheerful laughter, humming, and cooing echoing through the plantation, adding a touch of brightness to the cold and quiet days.

The constant temperature greenhouse uses heat-absorbing materials, but because ventilation must be ensured inside the greenhouse, some ventilation openings must be left, so the indoor temperature can only be maintained at around zero degrees Celsius.

After all, the outside temperature has already reached minus 30 degrees Celsius, and it is expected to reach around minus 70 degrees Celsius within the next month.

Fortunately, the mutant plants have also become much more tolerant of temperature changes, with many plants able to survive between 70°C and -70°C.

However, plants grow slowly in extreme heat and fall into a dormant state in extreme cold.

Fortunately, they will not stop growing as long as the temperature does not drop below -20°C.

Zuo Shan found this amazing, since water freezes at zero degrees Celsius and plants cannot function without water. So how do they maintain their circulation when the water inside their bodies is frozen?

She asked Xiaobao to make a microscope for her, and after careful observation, she finally understood.

It turns out that the mutated plant has a special type of heat cell. When it circulates within the plant along with other cells, it releases heat when it encounters frozen water molecules, melting the frozen water molecules.

However, the number of these heat cells is also limited. Once the outside temperature drops too low, the frozen water molecules will freeze again as soon as they melt, and the heat cells will be overwhelmed.

At this time, plants can only choose to go dormant in order to reduce the loss of their own vitality, endure the long period of extreme cold, and wait for the arrival of spring to regain their vitality.

Given the current situation, Zuo Shan believes that when the temperature really drops to -70°C, the temperature inside the temperature-controlled greenhouse will probably drop to around -30°C. At that point, she will have to resort to other methods to keep warm.

Among the methods she knew, there were two that were simple to operate and relatively effective: First, hang a reflective screen to increase indoor lighting and raise the indoor temperature;

Secondly, dig a frost-proof trench. One meter outside the wall of the botanical garden, dig a trench more than one meter deep, cover the bottom and surface of the trench with a frost-proof membrane, and fill the middle with weeds. This can prevent the invasion of cold air from the surrounding ground.

However, she had already dug the frost protection trench, and she planned to use the reflective screen when the temperature dropped another 10°C. If that still didn't work, then she would have to use the most troublesome method—steam heating.

Water is heated in a boiler to generate steam, which is then piped into the greenhouse.

This method generates a lot of heat, but the cost is also relatively high. The left fan is not planned to be used unless absolutely necessary.

After all, she didn't know how much profit her plantation could generate, and she wouldn't do something that wouldn't be worth the loss.

Despite the drop in temperature these past few days, the transplanted plants haven't suffered widespread frost damage or death as Zuo Shan had feared; only a very few look rather wilted.

Lele then asked Suisui to give them some extra help. Seeing that Suisui had found a use for her skills, Wanwan was also eager to try.

Unfortunately, the plantation was too large, and its ability to purify the soil's radiation levels was simply insufficient in such a large yard.

Zuo Shan didn't want to discourage the child's enthusiasm, so after thinking it over carefully, she gave him the potted plant, the Heavenly Stem Tree, which was kept alone in the bedroom as a decorative plant, to practice on.

As expected, Wanwan reduced the soil radiation level in the planting box where the Heavenly Stem Tree was planted to zero. Suisui also felt that it was the only treasure left in the family and should be taken special care of, so she would inject some vitality into it from time to time.

When I returned home in the evening, the Heavenly Stem Tree had actually grown a tenth branch, although it still looked a bit tender.

Zuo Shan clearly remembers that when Mao Li first brought it back, it only had nine branches.

After being planted in the storage box, it was watered and fertilized in the same way, but it didn't change at all. Zuo Shan even suspected that it had fallen into a deep sleep.

The chestnut was incredibly excited about this, circling around it more than a dozen times without stopping.

"Chestnut, didn't you say it needs to grow eighty-one branches before it can advance to the ninth rank? It's only grown its tenth branch, why are you so excited?" Zuo Shan asked, puzzled.

“Master, you don’t understand! Heavenly Rank Wood cannot be moved easily. There is a record in the secret book that it is said that once Heavenly Rank Wood is transplanted, nine times out of ten it will not survive.”

But ours not only survived, it also grew new branches, which means it has adapted to the new environment and has a promising future! Mao Li explained.

Seeing that Mao Li was unusually interested in something, Zuo Shan wanted to help him by accelerating the growth of the Heavenly Wood to make him happier.

Suddenly, she remembered the super-powered liquid that was in the vacuum-sealed bag.

Since bringing this treasure back, she hasn't dared to take it out of her spatial storage to look at it, for fear of revealing its aura and being discovered by some high-level ability user who happens to be passing by.

However, with the arrival of extremely cold weather, unless there is a mission, most people are unwilling to go out and wander around.

Even so, Zuo Shan still carried the flowerpot containing the Heavenly Stem Tree to the basement.

This flowerpot was specially made by Xiaobao with a lot of effort. It uses special high-density stainless steel, and the rim is decorated with beautiful patterns in colored metal. The base is also fitted with an iron flowerpot stand.

After all, this is the only potted plant in the house.

After Zuo Shan entered the basement, he closed the heavy iron door tightly. Then he took out a sealed bag, carefully opened it a crack, dipped his finger in a few drops of the viscous liquid, put it in a basin of water, and stirred it to make sure it had been diluted.

Then I poured a little water from the basin into the flowerpot.

Then she stared intently at the plant, her eyes unblinking.

She was just conducting an experiment and couldn't be sure whether the plant could absorb the rich energy in the super-energy liquid.

At the same time, she was also worried that absorbing too much energy would cause the Heavenly Rank Wood to almost explode and die like Cui Bin.

That's why she's so cautious.