Tang Yue kept an eye on the time. Twenty minutes later, he and Old Cat scooped out the soaked tomato seeds from the beaker.
"The disinfection is complete. The next step is to accelerate germination. The same method is to soak the seeds."
Mai Dong said, "But this time, the soaking time is longer. You need to soak the seeds in the water for eight hours, so you can soak the seeds in the water tonight and take them out tomorrow morning."
Tang Yue unplugged the electric heater and took the beaker down from the shelf. This precious cup of fresh water could still be used, and Tang Yue did not want to waste a milliliter.
They soaked the seeds in the water again. This time, they had to soak the seeds for an entire night so that they could absorb enough water.
Sufficient fresh water would awaken the dormant seeds and restore their vitality. This was the result of millions of years of evolution for plants to adapt to the environment. Sufficient water often meant the arrival of a warm rainy season, which was a season suitable for plant growth. The seedlings would seize this precious opportunity to break out of the soil and grow healthily. The wisdom of life was always subtle and infinite.
"What are you going to do with the planting space?"
Old Cat walked around in circles in Kunlun Station. "This place is only so big. You can't just put soil on the floor, right?"
Kunlun Station had a yurt-like structure with a truss structure and a circular bottom plate. It was no more than ten meters in diameter. Such a small space was already crowded with living, fitness, medical, scientific, eating, drinking, sleeping, and other facilities. Among them, the most important facilities were desks, computers, toilet cubicles, and life support systems. If they had to put soil on the floor to plant tomatoes, they would not be able to survive.
"We can't plant them on the floor. That way, we won't be able to walk. It won't be easy to control the water and fertilizer, and it will pollute the indoor environment."
Tang Yue shook his head, looked around, and pointed to the shelves placed against the wall. "We can plant the tomatoes on the shelves, just like planting flowers."
In the lobby of Kunlun Station, there was a circle of cabinets and shelves against the wall. The shelves had four layers and were made of plastic. They were usually used to store food, clothes, samples, and other miscellaneous items. Now, the shelves were filled with food.
Old Cat and Tang Yue started to move the boxes from the shelves and stuffed them into the empty passenger compartment, clearing out two rows of empty shelves.
"Old Cat, do you have any suitable containers?
The kind that won't leak water or soil and is easy to seal. "
Old Cat rummaged through the cabinets and pulled out a bunch of bottles and jars. "There are also two plexiglass sinks. They were probably left behind by Zheng."
Tang Yue took the square sink, squinted his eyes and examined it under the light. It was very light and strong, without any cracks. It could be used as a container for planting tomatoes.
He put the sink on the shelf by the wall, took a step back, and looked up and down. "Let's plant it here. Old Cat, Mai Dong, what do you think?
The soil, fertilizer, and water are all stored in the sink, so they won't be scattered everywhere. "
"Five tomato plants in one sink?" Old Cat measured the length and width of the sink. "Won't it be a little too crowded?"
"It can't be helped. For now, we can only make do with the tomatoes. We're sleeping in kennels, and we really can't find a big villa for them to live in." Tang Yue clapped his hands. "Even the landlord doesn't have any extra food."
"Is it okay to plant it like this?" Old Cat asked the camera behind him.
"No problem."
Mai Dong said, "After all, the conditions are limited. We'll plant it here when it's still a seedling. When it's bigger, we'll find a way to vacate it. Tomatoes aren't delicate plants. They're very tenacious."
The conditions in Kunlun Station were limited, and Tang Yue couldn't find anything better to plant tomatoes. There were only two sinks left. If they wanted to expand the planting scale in the future, Tang Yue would have to personally make the containers.
Tang Yue had previously thought of planting the plants outdoors and making an experimental field. He came up with a rather complicated design — enclosing a small piece of land in front of Kunlun Station, padding it with plastic film, then spreading it with soil, sprinkling the seeds, and then using the plastic film to support a sealed greenhouse … But this idea died before he could say anything. Tang Yue himself could see that this design was too difficult to implement. It was not feasible. Not only did he lack materials, but he also couldn't guarantee the air pressure and temperature.
Then, Tang Yue came up with a second idea. He would enclose a small piece of land on the edge of Kunlun Station, dig a large square pit, cover the bottom of the pit with plastic film, sprinkle the seeds, and seal the top of the pit with plastic film to create an underground experimental field … Of course, this idea died before he could say anything. Tang Yue couldn't guarantee the stability of the air pressure and temperature.
Tang Yue's third idea was to drive the Mars Wanderer out, free up space in the garage, and plant tomatoes in the garage. But this was still not feasible. Although the temperature in the garage was stable, the highest temperature was only about zero degrees. Tomatoes were plants that liked warm temperatures. They probably couldn't survive in such low temperatures.
Tang Yue's fourth idea was to tear down the floor of Kunlun Station, dig a hole, and put soil on it to plant tomatoes. But since doing so was likely to kill himself, he had to give up this dangerous design.
Tang Yue racked his brains and came up with every conceivable idea, but he finally found that no matter what method he used, there were always two obstacles in front of him that couldn't be solved. The first was the air pressure. The external ambient air pressure was too low, and the tomato seedlings exposed to the atmosphere couldn't survive at all. The second was the temperature. The temperature of minus fifty degrees could freeze the tomatoes to crisp. In order to solve these two problems, Kunlun Station used complex thermal insulation materials and an OGS system, but Tang Yue couldn't make an OGS system with his bare hands.
After all, he wasn't Tony Stark.
If Iron Man were here, he would have dismantled Kunlun Station and assembled it into a spaceship. Then, he would use some inexplicable element as a power source and leave Mars to find Thanos.
Obviously, Earth was destroyed by Thanos with a snap of his fingers.
Don't ask me why Kunlun Station can be assembled into a spaceship. It is well known that the Marvel Universe does not abide by the conservation of mass.
In the end, Tang Yue could only obediently plant the delicate seeds in the flower pot.
Tang Yue was frustrated to realize that no matter what he wanted to do, he was limited to the small space of Kunlun Station. He couldn't expand his living space even by a small step.
On the harsh environment of Mars, every small step taken outside was a huge leap in basic science and engineering.
"That's all for today's work," Mai Dong said, "Tang Yue, Mr. Cat, have you soaked the tomato seeds?
Remember to take them out and dry them after eight hours. "
“OK，OK！
Agricultural expert Miss Mai Dong, thank you for your careful guidance! "Tang Yue turned his head and gestured to Mai Dong." Mai Dong, are you going to rest now?
If you're not in a hurry to rest, why don't we play online? "
"Play your ass!
You still want to play games at a time like this! "Old Cat kicked Tang Yue in the butt." Go and put away the solar panels! "
Tang Yue put on the Bright Light Armour and angrily went out.
Old Cat clapped his hands and looked up.
"Mai Dong, are you going to rest now?"
Mai Dong: "Uh … I'm not in a hurry to rest."
Old Cat's eyes lit up.
"Then why don't we play online and catch up?"