Next, Mike led them through a central wooden corridor and pointed to the ground beneath: "This is our big innovation for the year! Originally, each greenhouse had its own spring water system, and the efficiency... uh, it was like using a matchstick to burn a castle."

He patted the thick iron pipe embedded in the ground beside him, his eyes full of pride.

"Now it's much better! This is the connected heat corridor, we've connected the entire greenhouse cluster. The hot water flows through the main pipe, reaching everywhere. Plus, there's a recovery vent to channel the excess heat to the adjacent storage rooms and workshops, doubling as insulation. And there's more..."

Emily raised an eyebrow slightly: "You've even considered thermal energy recovery? That's very professional."

"All on Lord Louis's advice! 'Heat is a scarce resource, not a single bit should be wasted,' I remember it very clearly!" Mike laughed, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes bunching up.

Then Mike pointed to a distant pipe outlet embedded in the corner, speaking faster: "The double-layer exhaust valve! No more fear of the pipes exploding, really, last year I was so scared I couldn't sleep!"

Louis crouched down, expertly twisted a set of brass adjustment valves, gave a gentle twist, and a stream of warm steam hissed out, quickly stabilizing again.

"Pressure stable, valve response fast," he muttered.

The group continued forward, the sunlight growing more abundant.

"And then there's... lighting!" Mike pointed to the roof, which was no longer the thick burlap of the past but semi-transparent oilcloth, woven with a silver-lined reflective net.

The walls on both sides were also inlaid with large slabs of smooth stone, like natural mirrors, reflecting the light from the Light Stone repeatedly, making the entire greenhouse so bright there was almost no shadow.

"Now, even on the cloudiest days, we're not afraid of insufficient light. Even if it snows, there's enough illumination for the whole day." As Mike spoke, he motioned for Knight to watch his step.

"We've also hung pottery and cloth nets to regulate humidity; the geothermal heat is too strong, and the moisture is heavy. It's easy for water vapor to drip down and freeze the seedlings, which would make all previous efforts in vain."

He pointed to the roof again, "We've made a 'downflow slope structure' at the top, watch... when it snows, it slides off by itself, no need for manual sweeping. Convenient and safe."

Louis nodded silently: "Now it looks like a greenhouse that can withstand winter."

"Uh, also, also..." Mike hurriedly added, "Now there's a reserved connection between the greenhouses, so when we expand, we can just connect them directly. The heat pipe can connect too, no need to cut grooves in the ground."

Emily softly said: "Just like assembling building blocks?"

"Yes, that's exactly it!"

Louis looked into the distance, dozens of greenhouses neatly arranged, with reserved connecting corridors and hot steam interweaving and rising on the roof, resembling a steaming underground village.

He patted Mike's shoulder: "Good job."

"Hehehe..." Mike grinned widely.

He wiped the mud off his hands and pointed to the depths of the greenhouse: "Uh... sir, this way. We're no longer planting rye and potatoes now."

He quickly led Louis and Emily through a low corridor into a warm, moist greenhouse.

On the neat ridges, seedlings freshly sprouted spread densely.

The leaves exhibited an unusual pale green, with a slight purple hue at the tips, emitting a strange cool light under the Light Stone's illumination.

The tags beside them read: Snow Bone Wheat Experimental Cultivation Area.

"This is... Snow Bone Wheat." Mike's voice carried an uncontrollable pride, "Through the seed you gave me for cultivation, after our trial planting, we discovered that it truly is a crop naturally prepared for this winter."

He crouched down and carefully pinched off a sample of wheat stalk, handing it to Louis.

Louis naturally knew that the seed was something he learned about from the Daily Intelligence System and had Knight procure for Mike to cultivate.

It was said to be an ancient crop with a very poor taste but was extremely suitable for planting in colder places and had a huge yield.

"See, this thing... it only takes thirty-five days to mature a batch, and it's very high in calories, one bowl equals three bowls of rye rice. The taste is indeed coarse... and a bit bitter, but it can save lives. It can be eaten with rough processing."

Emily gently stroked the wheat stalk and whispered: "Its leaf veins... differ from ordinary wheat."

"Indeed, and even the stalk is particularly tough, usable as fodder for livestock without waste."

"This crop... would be disliked by the people in the South, but now it has become the lifeline of our Northern Territory," Louis said calmly.

Mike paused for a moment and then led them to the other side.

"And this."

They reached another low greenhouse where the smell was more humid, a faint earthy odor mixed with a slightly bitter scent.

Large knobby tubers poked out from the semi-buried soil, with deep brown, rough skins and drooping leaves, looking completely unremarkable.

"Bitter Frost Potato." Mike introduced, "Extremely hardy. It has a natural fibrous toxin, which isn't fatal but makes the taste very bad."

"High starch, the key is that its yield is enormous." As he spoke, he deliberately emphasized his words, "Do you understand? When there's not enough food, this can save lives."

"Uh, indeed the bitterness is heavy, eating more makes the tongue numb, but in a year of disaster... even this is considered a luxury."

He shrugged, "Compared to starving to death, what's this numbness."

Louis spoke slowly: "These crops' taste and variety... don't matter."

His voice was gentle: "As long as we can survive through winter."

Emily looked at him, an indescribable respect gradually appearing in her eyes.

And Mike seemed to finally let go of the biggest pressure in his heart, rubbed his hands and laughed twice, cautiously adding: "We're still trying to improve... perhaps we can produce less bitter varieties in the future. But this year... surviving is the priority."

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