Chapter 89 Hope Brand Canned Food Lin Yue practically fled...

Lin Yue practically fled from the red-brick building that served as a makeshift laboratory, the young man's inquisitive shouts seemingly still echoing behind him: "Mayor, I was just thinking, could we use this thing to make... uh... noodles that can be stretched really, really long? Look how elastic it is..."

"Stop." Lin Yue stumbled, leaning against the wall, feeling his temples throbbing. "I beg you, stop thinking about it. Is rubber for eating?"

He leaned against the wall, his mind still flashing back to the black, tight-fitting underwear, full of postmodern deconstruction style, adorned with bizarre protrusions in key areas and exuding a strong rubbery smell.

The mental impact of that thing felt even stronger than when the Red Scorpion Army was at the city gates last time.

"I really underestimated the creativity of the people." Lin Yue patted his chest with lingering fear. "Once these guys are liberated, their imaginations run wild. No, we must strengthen ideological and political education and guide their creativity onto the right path that conforms to the core socialist values... oops, I mean, to the broad road of sustainable development strategy for Hope Town."

He took a deep breath, forcibly erasing the horrifying images from his mind, and then turned and went to the testing ground outside.

Under the sunlight, several serious inventions are undergoing their final field tests.

Li Ge was wearing a pair of brand-new New Hope brand work boots with black rubber soles and deep anti-slip treads, and he was walking briskly across a muddy slope. The boots not only perfectly insulated him from the wet and cold ground and sharp stones, but their strong grip also made him feel as if he were walking on flat ground, drawing envious exclamations from those around him.

Meanwhile, Ah Hu was directing two rock-walking lizards to pull the Hope No. 1 heavy truck, now fitted with four thick, dark rubber tires, on a specially designed bumpy section of road for a stress test. The truck, now equipped with tires, moved exceptionally smoothly, with almost no "clunking" sound from the old wooden wheels hitting the ground; the shock absorption was outstanding.

"Not bad, not bad." Lin Yue nodded in satisfaction. "This is what technology should be like. Practical, efficient, and able to solve real-world problems."

As he was engrossed in his wonderful plans for the future, a young Silent One responsible for inspecting the farmland rushed over, his face showing a mixture of barely concealed excitement and confusion.

"Mayor...Mayor," the young man said excitedly, pointing to the highest experimental field in the distance, "You...you must go and see! That crop you planted before...the one with the golden grains...it...it's grown a beard!"

"Grows a beard?" Lin Yue was taken aback, then realized what he meant and quickly followed the young man to the experimental field of solar corn that he had placed high hopes on.

Sure enough, there were corn stalks taller than a person standing in the field, and among the broad leaves, the corn ears wrapped in thick husks were already plump and full, with the corn silks at the top swaying gently in the wind.

"Mayor, it's these." The young man pointed to the newly sprouted corn silks, still a mix of green and pale yellow, and asked somewhat uncertainly, "Is this... considered ripe?"

Lin Yue smiled and shook his head, patiently explaining, "No, this is just the beginning. Right now they are still greenish-blue. After a while, these whiskers will slowly turn dark red, or even blackish-brown, and they will become dry and a little wilted. That means the corn kernels inside have truly grown and absorbed enough of the sun's essence, and they are ready to be harvested."

He patted the young man on the shoulder and solemnly instructed him, "You and your agricultural team partners need to keep a close eye on things lately, and come check on them every day. Once you find that most of the beards have turned black and dry, come and let me know immediately. Then we'll organize the whole town to come and harvest them together."

The young man nodded repeatedly as he listened.

"We've got it! We've got it! Now we have one more type of staple food." Lin Yue could almost smell the sweet aroma of roasted corn, the thick corn porridge, and even... the tempting scent of popcorn.

"Cluck-cluck-cluck—! Cluck-cluck-cluck—!"

"Help! They're going to dig up all the vegetables in my yard!"

"Oh no, those chickens have come up on my roof and pooped again."

"Mayor, something terrible has happened! Uncle Shi Quan's blacksmith shop has been taken over by a flock of chickens, and he's currently confronting them with his big sledgehammer."

As soon as Lin Yue returned to the town's residential area, he heard a cacophony of complaints and deafening crowing of roosters, making him feel like his head was about to explode.

The incident stemmed from the negligence of a new farmer who had just joined the farm. When feeding the chickens, he forgot to fully engage the latch on the fence. As a result, one of the boldest roosters, during a routine escape attempt, accidentally pried open the fence gate.

And so, the clucking chickens, like a flood bursting its banks, rushed out of the farm and surged into the whole town, and they consciously did not run into the depths of the forest.

The entire Hope Town has now been completely submerged by the vast ocean of Stone Chickens.

They began to roam the streets and alleys of the town in large numbers, devouring the seedlings that the residents had worked so hard to plant, leaving indescribable marks on the newly paved cement roads, and even daring to fly onto the rooftops to launch precise air-to-ground attacks on pedestrians below.

"They've rebelled! They've rebelled! These hairy bandits have really gone too far!" Lin Yue looked at the several piles of fresh evidence outside his office door, trembling with rage.

Without hesitation, he picked up a tin megaphone and, with all his might, unleashed a deafening roar:

"Gentlemen, these lawless, destructive stone chickens have seriously threatened the peace and hygiene of our home. It's time to let them know who the real masters of this town are. We must catch them."

"Brothers, the mayor has spoken. It's time for revenge."

In an instant, the entire Hope Town was transformed into a huge hunting ground filled with chaos and disorder.

The residents used their simple and brutal methods to their advantage, chasing, blocking, intercepting, and surrounding the area, employing every trick in the book.

And the MVP of this battle is undoubtedly Xiao Fen.

Like an experienced sheepdog, it charges through the flock of chickens, using its intimidating growl and agile movements to drive the scattered chickens into a pre-set encirclement, greatly improving the efficiency of the capture.

The battle between humans and chickens continued until evening.

Ultimately, through the joint efforts of the entire town, the rampant gugu chicken infestation was successfully suppressed.

Rows of cleaned, plump chickens were neatly hung on the beams in the back kitchen, creating a spectacular sight.

That evening, a grand whole-chicken feast was held at the No. 1 store. Roast chicken, stewed chicken, salt-baked chicken…

"Aunt Lian, give me another bowl of wild vegetable soup... I really can't eat any more chicken..." Li Ge weakly pushed away the roasted chicken leg offered to him, his face full of despair.

“That’s right,” a man next to him said with a bitter face. “I never dreamed that there would be a time in my life when I didn’t want to eat meat. I feel like for the next six months, I’ll have to avoid anything with wings.”

Everyone nodded in deep agreement. Having already eaten Gugu Chicken for quite some time, and after a whole day of wits and courage with the chicken, plus this sumptuous whole chicken feast in the evening, everyone's craving for chicken had been completely worn away, and they even felt a little afraid.

Seeing everyone's terrified expressions at the mention of "chicken," Lin Yue realized that he still had to find a way to turn this excess protein into a strategic resource that could be stored for a long time.

So, after the festivities, the core project of the Hope Town Food Processing Plant, the canned food production line, was officially launched.

The first and most crucial step is the design of the container and the sealing cap.

Lin Yue engaged in a heated technical discussion with Ella and Shi Quan.

"Currently, using earthenware pots is the best option."

“The airtightness of the terracotta pot mainly depends on the lid and the sealing ring,” Ella added, pointing to a cylindrical terracotta pot with a smooth inner wall. “We can make the mouth of the pot very flat, but how to make the lid fit perfectly with the mouth of the pot and maintain a seal after heating is a challenge.”

Shi Quan stroked his chin and pondered, "Use a ceramic lid? That works too. But ceramic things always warp a little after firing, so it's too difficult to achieve a perfect fit. Besides, ceramic lids are too brittle. If they get bumped or knocked during transport, the whole jar of good stuff will be ruined."

“I have an idea,” he said, picking up a piece of iron and drawing on it. “We can make an iron lid. We can stamp it from a thin sheet of iron, and then make a groove around the edge to fit snugly against the mouth of the jar. We can then place one of your elastic rubber gaskets between the lid and the mouth of the jar. Finally, we can use an adjustable iron buckle to clamp the lid onto the raised edge at the bottom of the jar from above, and press it firmly to seal the lid tightly against the mouth of the jar. This way, we can ensure a tight seal and make it sturdy and durable.”

As he spoke, he drew a simple structural diagram of a storage jar similar to those of later times, sealed with wire clips.

"Uncle Stone Fist, you are simply a genius," Lin Yue exclaimed sincerely.

"Hmph, stop flattering me." Stone Fist snorted smugly. "But this thing is quite difficult to make."

For a long time afterward, the kitchen in Hope Town was transformed into a highly efficient food processing assembly line. In addition to making canned goods, Lin Yue also guided everyone to process some of the chicken breast into chicken floss, which is easier to preserve, and another part into smoked chicken with a unique flavor.

Mia and Aunt Lian's team of cooks then began making canned goods in various flavors.

There are savory and flavorful braised chicken pieces in cans, spicy and addictive spicy chicken pieces in cans, tangy and appetizing pickled cabbage stewed chicken in cans, and even a creamy mushroom chicken can specially prepared for children and those with a milder palate, made with mushrooms and a small amount of animal milk.

In addition to chicken, they also cooked some sweet and sour wild fruits with honey and starlight wheat flour into a thick jam, which became the first batch of canned fruit in Hope Town.

There are also canned meat sauces made with a large amount of smoked minced meat, fire peppers, and exotic herbs, as well as canned mashed potatoes made by steaming stone potatoes, mashing them, and adding animal milk and snow salt for seasoning.

Each canned food undergoes thorough cooking and seasoning before being canned.

Then comes the canning and sealing process. The workers fill the scalding hot food into the cans, and while they are still hot, they put on the iron lids with rubber sealing rings, and then use the special iron buckles made by Shiquan to fasten them tightly with a "click".

Finally, there is the high-temperature sterilization process.

A massive, tiered steam sterilization pool, capable of holding hundreds of ceramic jars simultaneously, was built using red bricks and cement. The sealed jars were placed in the pool, and the water was boiled over a high flame, allowing for prolonged high-temperature sterilization using the scalding steam.

This process kills most of the bacteria in the canned food, and combined with the oxygen-deficient environment created by the seal, it enables long-term food preservation.

When the first batch of Hope brand canned goods, labeled with different colored ceramic shards as flavor tags, were taken out of the steam tank and neatly arranged on the warehouse shelves, everyone involved felt an unprecedented sense of pride.

Lin Yue picked up a can of braised chicken pieces, looked at its thick earthenware jar and tight iron clasp, and nodded in satisfaction.

He found Ah Hu, who was about to lead a transport team to Blackrock City to deliver goods.

“Ah Hu,” Lin Yue handed him several sealed ceramic jars containing samples of food, “When you get to Blackrock City, after visiting the branch, go to a small alley on North Street. There’s a small courtyard with a clover flag in the alley; that’s the courtyard the Clover Caravan bought. When you get there, personally hand this to Barry, the owner of the Clover Caravan. Tell him that what I promised him has been made. Tell him to bring a large enough vehicle and enough sincerity to pick up the goods in Hope Town.”

Ah Hu solemnly accepted the sample and nodded.