Ren Yuanyang glanced at Qin Haonan. "You don’t need to understand them right now. Just memorize them."
To gain wisdom, one must read the classics.
The *Tao Te Ching*, *The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon*, *The Divine Farmer’s Classic of Materia Medica*...
These were the culmination of the ancient sages’ wisdom. It didn’t matter if one didn’t understand them; the first step was to read and recite them.
Qin Haonan, who had thought he could escape his fate of having to read, immediately hung his head and muttered, "I don’t even understand them. Is there any point in memorizing them?"
Ren Yuanyang didn’t bother explaining further. "This is an order. If you can’t memorize them, you won’t be able to go out on missions anymore."
"Don’t do that, Chief! I’ll memorize them, alright?!" Qin Haonan immediately relented.
Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly, then turned to Xin Wan. "Has the base’s textile industry gotten underway?"
"Yes, Chief. I’ve found four or five people who are learning about textile production. The loom has been built according to the schematics, and once this batch of cotton is harvested, we can start trying to weave," Xin Wan replied.
"Good. Once it’s running smoothly, find some workers to help you," Ren Yuanyang instructed.
"Yes!" Xin Wan nodded.
"Chief, as the Banyan Forest expands, more and more areas need to be lit. We’ll need more Fluorescent Cacti," Lu Jiamei said. The patrol teams needed sufficient light.
Ren Yuanyang thought for a moment before replying, "We’ll be switching to a different lighting method. I’ll go check the seed vault after lunch."
"A different lighting method?" Lu Jiamei was surprised. "Are there other plants that can provide light?"
Ren Yuanyang nodded. "Of course. The world is vast and full of wonders."
"Alright!" Lu Jiamei replied.
Just then, the galley on the supply ship finally finished preparing lunch.
With so many people, they had to cook a larger meal, so it naturally took a bit more time.
Si Youqin pointed to a large tub of rice and two tubs of vegetable dishes, instructing her fellows on the supply ship, "Take this to the prisoners first, then come back and eat."
The aroma of the food wafted over, leaving them all a bit stunned.
"Even the prisoners get treated this well?"
"Peach Blossom Base really is amazing. They even have stir-fries!"
"I can smell how rich the oil is. They must have used a ton of it!"
Hearing their quiet murmuring, Si Youqin couldn’t help but urge them, "Hurry up, or you’ll hold up this afternoon’s work!"
At her urging, the group sprang into action. They loaded the three tubs of food and a stack of utensils onto a cart and pushed it toward the cabin where the prisoners were being held.
Meanwhile, the prisoners from Xi’an Base were also starving.
"Peach Blossom Base won’t starve us to death, will they?"
"Who knows? Food and water are precious right now. I’m more worried they’ll let us die of thirst."
"I really don’t get why the higher-ups had to provoke Peach Blossom Base. Our lives were so peaceful. Now look what happened—we got completely wiped out!"
Just then, a food cart was wheeled in, and a rich, savory aroma filled the air.
"Line up. One by one, come get your food," Huo Wu told the prisoners in a cold voice.
The prisoners froze for a second, then immediately stood up and formed a line on their own. They never expected to get food as prisoners!
Once they had their food, everyone was dumbfounded. It was just two vegetable dishes, but the aroma was incredible—a hundred times better than what they normally ate!
"You have thirty minutes to eat. After that, we’re collecting the utensils," Huo Wu announced, scanning the crowd before leaving.
The people who had delivered the food also left, returning to the mess hall on the supply ship to have their own meal.
As they were getting their own food, they were surprised to find they had a meat dish as well!
"There’s plenty of rice, as long as you don’t waste any. The other dishes are limited, though. I’d advise against stuffing yourselves; there’s work to do this afternoon," Si Youqin said. "Alright, let’s eat!"
Hearing Si Youqin’s words, everyone was shocked.
"Unlimited rice? Does our base really have that much grain?"
"Peach Blossom Base is incredible! At this point, I’m actually kind of glad Dawn Base sold me to Xi’an Base!"
"Me too! If the people at Dawn Base knew that being sold meant you could come to Peach Blossom Base and enjoy a life like this, they’d probably be lining up to sell themselves!"
"Let’s just eat. We have to work later, and the prisoners only got thirty minutes. We probably shouldn’t take too long either."
Everyone nodded in agreement and began to dig in.
They never had such plentiful food back at Dawn Base. Eating as much rice as you wanted was impossible.
Everyone had at least two bowls of rice for lunch. Even though they could have eaten more, they didn’t dare stuff themselves, knowing they had work in the afternoon.
When Si Youqin came over after her own lunch, she found that they had already finished eating and washed their utensils.
"You all eat so fast!" Si Youqin said, surprised. "Since you’re finished, take a break. Work starts at two-thirty. Someone will come get you then."
With that, Si Youqin turned and left.
The group was stunned once again.
"Peach Blossom Base is so considerate, isn’t it? We don’t start work until two-thirty?"
"We get to eat our fill, and we have work! Peach Blossom Base truly is a Peach Blossom Spring on Earth!"
"It’s not just that we get to eat our fill—we eat *well*. And we even get a break! If I’d known, I would’ve had another bowl of rice!"
"From the way that lady was talking, Peach Blossom Base isn’t short on rice at all. There will definitely be more chances later, so there’s no need to stuff ourselves silly!"

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