After returning to the base, Zhao Xian took Qiao Xuejun to the conference room.
Zhao Xian carefully put Qiao Xuejun on a chair in the reception room and said, "Wait, I'll go light the charcoal pot."
Meng Ka and Yuan Zhiyi also followed in and sat down opposite Qiao Xuejun.
The three of them sat down. Yuan Zhiyi took out a can of fish paste from his clothes, put it on the table, and pushed it in front of Qiao Xuejun: "You are injured. This is our Haibao's homemade fish paste. It is rich in protein. You can eat it to replenish your body."
Qiao Xuejun nodded: "Thank you."
She pushed the can back in front of Yuan Zhiyi and said, "Thank you for your concern, but it's not necessary. It's not easy to get some food nowadays, and I don't need any. You can keep it for yourselves."
Yuan Zhiyi pushed it back again: "Don't be polite. Just take it. We have something to ask of you."
Zhao Xian went to get the charcoal brazier, and only Qiao Xuejun was in the meeting room.
Yuan Zhiyi was no longer so reserved when speaking, and went straight to the point: "Teacher Qiao, the First Base is short of steel, and we have it in Sea Fort. But we don't need guns and bullets in exchange, we want food."
Qiao Xuejun looked at her, then at the fish paste: "Isn't there food here? Bullets and guns are also very important during this period. Would Haibao consider this?"
Meng Ka shook his head and said, "Teacher Qiao, we have already considered coming here today. We can trade steel, but we want grain seeds."
Qiao Xuejun: "Seeds?"
Meng Ka nodded: "We need all the seeds you grow now, rapeseed, potatoes, corn, pumpkins."
Qiao Xuejun raised an eyebrow: "It takes a long time to turn seeds into food. Why don't you consider direct food trading. We have extra food in the First Base."
The 40 million kilograms of grain that the system had rewarded had already been redeemed and could be taken out at any time. If Haibao was willing to trade, she could support it.
Mengka insisted: "We don't want food, we want seeds."
Sooner or later, the food will be used up, and when it is used up, they will have to find the First Base to trade, which means they will always be strangled by the First Base. It is better to directly exchange seeds, so that they can grow their own food and eat it without having to look at others' opinions.
It's difficult to grow crops in this climate, but their ship is very big, so they use several rooms as greenhouses. Why can't they grow crops?
Since Qiao Xuejun can grow it, they can definitely grow it too!
Qiao Xuejun shook her head: "We can talk about food, but if we want seeds... our base needs to go to a meeting."
Meng Ka was anxious: "Go to the meeting? Aren't the seeds yours? You can decide on your own, right?"
Qiao Xuejun remained calm: "The seeds are from the base."
Most of the crops that Meng Ka mentioned were seeds grown by Qiao Xuejun herself, only the cotton and pumpkin were from Zhao Xian.
Qiao Xuejun was also unwilling to hand over the seeds.
Now the Sea Fortress and the First Base are in a relatively balanced state. The Sea Fortress is strong and has strong defenses, and there are factory equipment inside that can make steel. But its military strength is slightly low, and its food structure is simple and prone to malnutrition.
The First Base has strong military power, sufficient guns and ammunition, and abundant blue oil energy, but it lacks steel and its outer defense is relatively weak.
If the seeds were given to Sea Fort, and they made up for the deficiency of food, the competition with the First Base would be unbalanced, and Sea Fort would no longer be short of things. If the First Base wanted to trade steel with them in the future, it would not be so easy.
After all, steel is a consumable material for defensive fortifications. The frequent attacks by mutant creatures will cause some damage and all require steel repairs.
However, Haibao would also feel that it is not cost-effective to exchange food for steel.
Their steel is of high quality, and the loss is very small and slow. But the food is consumed very quickly, and there will be a day when it will be gone. So they tend to trade seeds and take the initiative in their own hands.
Qiao Xuejun said again: "Haibao can consider grain trading."
Meng Ka looked contemptuous and said firmly: "We only want seeds."
This is their only mission.
Besides, how much food can the First Base provide? It's just a small area, can they provide a million catties? It's not certain whether they have a million catties themselves. 200,000 catties is good, but how long can 200,000 catties last? At most half a year.
Therefore, what they need is not food for half a year, but all the food for the future.
Seeds are the most important.
In the end, Qiao Xuejun confiscated the gifts they brought and asked them to take them back as they were.
After they left, Zhao Xian entered the conference room and picked her up: "Go back to the room."
Qiao Xuejun had already adapted to hugging his neck and said, "Lord, today Haibao did come to discuss a deal with us. They want the seed resources for the current crops. I said I needed to consider it, and declined."
Zhao Xian had discussed this with her before. However, she also had her own considerations for refusing. If Sea Fortress had an absolute advantage in future competition, it would be difficult for the First Base to recruit people, and her mission would be difficult to complete.
Because of this, it was difficult for her to agree.
But she was actually a little confident. For example, potatoes could never be grown in this kind of weather.
Holland No. 15 is high-yielding, thin-skinned and large. But because of its thin skin, it is not cold-resistant and can be easily frozen. Even its potential for selection and domestication is very low.
The only way to provide food for thousands of people is to reclaim wasteland in the mountains and plant crops on a large scale.
If they grow potatoes in a greenhouse on the ship, they will need a lot of energy for heating, light, and filtering water, which may not be cost-effective. In addition, the space on the ship is limited, and the potatoes they grow may not be enough to eat.
Farming also requires fertilizer, otherwise the yield will not increase.
Zhao Xian: "The steelmaking technology of Haibao is very important."
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