411: Chapter 411 As granaries fill up, people's hearts are at ease!

"Currently, including Ruan Li, there are three full-time healers on the Astral Express, and they played a significant role during today's battle."

Lin Xiao handed all five books to Ruan Li while offering generous praise:

"Especially when Sikong Lie and I were locked in close-quarters combat, the sense of security from having healing skills land on us simultaneously is something offensive skills simply cannot replace."

"Once the Public Shop opens again, or if a wandering merchant appears, we'll see if we can purchase another batch of different healing skill books to make this healing team even more complete."

"Understood!" Ruan Li took the skill books with both hands, took a deep breath, and nodded earnestly.

She sat back down in her seat, looking at everyone gathered around the conference table, feeling a wave of emotion.

From the initial distrust to now holding an important position.

Before she knew it, she had already integrated into this big family.

It really is... a very magical thing...

"Next is Captain Lu Gongda."

Lin Xiao's gaze landed on the dark-skinned man to the side of the conference table, and he continued,

"As the captain of the Engineering Team, Brother Lu led over a dozen members to fight alongside the main force today. You quickly constructed multiple temporary fortifications on the outskirts of the Wind Wall and the first floor of the temple, securing critical windows for offense and retreat space for the passengers.

Not only did you play a crucial role on the battlefield, but now that the Astral Express has undergone symbiotic fusion, you also have to help everyone renovate their territories and expand new areas. It really has been quite exhausting!"

"Hey, it's all part of the job!"

Captain Lu Gongda met everyone's gaze, his weathered face flushing red.

Afterward, he rubbed his rough palms together and said somewhat sheepishly, "But... having said that, Train Conductor Lin, our team really doesn't have enough manpower right now."

"After the Astral Express entered its development phase, the planting area on the roof, the expansion of public areas, the second-floor partitions for the new carriages, and the renovation upgrades for passenger rooms—all of this work has been dumped on the Engineering Team.

I only have about a dozen official registered members under my command, plus the few apprentices recruited recently; all told, that's less than twenty people.

And the appointments to help passengers renovate their territories are already booked out for many days; we're completely overwhelmed."

Lin Xiao gave his reply without the slightest hesitation: "Just as I said earlier, you can expand personnel according to demand; you don't need to worry about funding."

Hearing this, Captain Lu Gongda still looked a bit troubled.

He sighed and began to complain:

"Train Conductor Lin, actually... there aren't many people on the entire Astral Express who do civil engineering work. I've already recruited everyone I could...

Just think about it, the Engineering Team does all the manual labor; most passengers would rather go out and fight monsters than suffer through this."

"So, up until now, I've only managed to find three apprentices; there just aren't any more."

"I see..." Lin Xiao nodded.

What Captain Lu Gongda said made sense.

With better ways to earn their keep, why would they want to spend the day in the sun moving bricks?

However, as long as the profit is high enough, there will always be people willing to do it.

Lin Xiao looked at the dark-skinned man and said solemnly,

"How about this: I will increase the subsidies for the Logistics Department's Engineering Team so that everyone's hard work gets the compensation it deserves.

For building materials, go directly to Wen Yiran to get them allocated from the Astral Express warehouse. If you need to purchase special tools or design blueprints, just report how much stardust you need to me or Jiang Wanwan."

These two measures were mainly to stabilize the current members of the Engineering Team, and then...

"Additionally, the temporary increase in position subsidies will only be available to passengers who join the Engineering Team within a limited time."

"Alright, once the meeting ends, I'll go try again!" Captain Lu Gongda responded with a smile.

Lin Xiao nodded slightly, then looked at Xiao He to the side.

"Old Xiao, how is the progress? Did you manage to dig up the soil?"

Hearing the question, Xiao He immediately stood up and began to recount the situation on his end.

He had been researching crops on the Astral Express and had not participated in the fighting over the past two days; instead, he had taken his few members from the Agricultural Department to do something completely different.

Last night, following Lin Xiao's previous suggestion, Xiao He took a few members through the portal and entered the Cloud Palace.

Accompanied by Xu Shan, the group arrived at the Imperial Palace deep within the Cloud Palace and successfully found the former garden of the Heze Royal Court.

Because that area was within Little Red's range of activity, no other creatures had ever set foot there.

And since Little Red doesn't eat soil, the earth in the garden was preserved quite well.

Xiao He spent the entire night digging there, bringing back a large amount of nutrient-rich soil, as well as various cultivation and planting tools.

He also discovered some flower seeds he had never seen before; it could be said that the harvest was full.

After recounting his experience, Xiao He took out bags of sealed seeds and exquisite bronze gardening tools from his backpack, displaying them one by one on the table.

"After I returned, I immediately used this batch of nutrient-rich soil to prepare a batch of planting substrate, and then I started cultivating the wheat seeds."

As he spoke, he took out an independent cultivation grid and carefully placed it in the center of the conference table.

Inside the grid was a cluster of wheat growing impressively.

The emerald green stalks were tall and strong, and the wheat ears were plump and long, several times larger than the wheat ears he had known.

Every grain of wheat was plump just right, glowing with a warm golden hue under the lights of the conference area.

The captains all crowded around the table, discussing it excitedly.

"Holy crap, isn't this wheat?" Fan Sinian stood up directly, hunching over to bring his face within a few inches of the grid to examine it closely. "Brother Lin, does this mean... we'll have staple food to eat from now on?"

He looked up at Lin Xiao, his tone filled with undisguised excitement and anticipation.

From the first stage all the way to the desert, for so many days, the entire train's source of carbohydrates had been almost exclusively coconuts and corn.

It was only when they defeated the people from the Silver-White Train two days ago that they obtained a lot of canned goods, which allowed everyone to eat self-heating rice and finally have some long-lost meat.

But the canned goods were limited and could not meet the needs of everyone on the Astral Express.

Moreover, these items were expensive; often, several people had to pool their money just to buy a can of luncheon meat and some self-heating rice.

Coconuts and corn also couldn't be eaten as a staple food for long.

Because many people reported that eating too much corn caused bloating and indigestion.

"Actually, the black corn we grow is also a staple food." Xiao He quickly corrected Fan Sinian.

"Although the yield of corn is very high, enough to feed everyone on the Astral Express, there are some deficiencies in its nutritional structure.

Corn lacks lysine and tryptophan, which are essential for the human body, and it also lacks Vitamin B3. Long-term, exclusive consumption can easily lead to pellagra; it cannot fully replace the comprehensive nutrition provided by refined rice and flour.

Moreover, the digestive energy efficiency is relatively low. Corn contains a large amount of indigestible crude fiber; while it is good for gastrointestinal motility, it cannot replenish immediate energy for combat personnel as quickly as rice or wheat."