On this day, except for the two Clones remaining on the (Deep Space) Spaceship and one Clone responsible for adding fuel to the steam turbine, the remaining 9 Clones all gathered at Base 1.
The nine Clones worked together; so were specifically responsible for harvesting sweet potatoes, so for transporting them, so for gathering the sweet potato vines, and the remaining few Clones were there to organize the fixtures and recycle the nutrient solution. Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.
After a full day’s work, the sweet potatoes from this less than one-acre plot were all harvested and piled up in a corner of Base 1.
Looking at the large pile of sweet potatoes of various sizes stacked high in front of him, Tom was filled with joy.
He had already weighed these sweet potatoes, and the result was that their total weight reached 520 kilograms!
Of course, this also had to account for Loshen Star’s relatively low gravity. If it were on Earth, the total weight of this pile of sweet potatoes would be around 4160 kilograms.
Tom had initially estimated only 4000 kilograms, so he hadn’t expected the yield to slightly exceed his expectations, harvesting an extra 160 kilograms.
"With these sweet potatoes, adding five more Clones will be no problem at all."
Looking at these sweet potatoes, Tom was filled with satisfaction.
At this mont, five brand-new Clone bodies were developing inside the Deep Space.
When the first batch of sweet potatoes was just planted, the seeds for those five Clones had already begun cultivation. The current cultivation period was already halfway through, and they were expected to truly be born and provide Tom with another batch of helpers when the next batch of sweet potatoes was harvested.
Besides these sweet potatoes, the small amounts of peanuts and rapeseed Tom planted were also harvested, but there was only a little.
About 8 kilograms of peanuts were harvested, and only 7 kilograms of rapeseed.
This small amount of material wouldn’t yield much oil if pressed. Tom simply kept it all as seeds for future use.
Tom left a small amount of sweet potatoes at Base 1, and transported the rest to the Deep Space via the landing spaceship for storage.
There were no storage conditions on Loshen Star, and they would spoil if left for too long. For now, they could only be stored in the spaceship.
Along with the sweet potatoes, sweet potato vines weighing over a thousand kilograms were also transported into the Deep Space. As a result, the livestock, chickens, and ducks raised in the spaceship’s cultivation room were also in for a treat, able to vary their diet.
Not only the livestock, chickens, ducks, and geese, Tom also took out so tender sweet potato vines, blanched them, and stir-fried a pot. Thus, the Clones, accustod to vitamin tablets, finally ate fresh vegetables alongside the main body, feeling pleased both ntally and physically.
After completing this first harvest, the second batch of sweet potatoes was imdiately planted.
After all, there were no seasonal restrictions in this planting base; planting could begin at any ti.
The preparation of the nutrient solution was more troubleso. However, with the accumulation of feces during this period, and the crushed discarded plant matter as a supplent, the supply of nutrient solution could barely keep up.
For Tom, any organic matter—whether it was Clone feces, livestock feces, even livestock hair, bones, etc., and plant matter—would not be wasted. It would all be processed and beco nutrients for the next round of plant growth.
With the planting of a new round of sweet potatoes, the total of 12 bodies returned to their previous routine over these three months.
Two Clones remained on the Deep Space for study, two acted as stokers, four mined, and four cared for plants, still busy without rest days or holidays.
Their food mainly consisted of sweet potatoes, supplented by small amounts of at, grains, and vitamin tablets stored in the Deep Space. Their sleeping place was the aisle of the planting racks in the planting base; a blanket laid on the ground served as a bed.
There were two beds in the landing spaceship, from which a large amount of internal equipnt had been removed, but they were very cramped and small.
Even so, only Clones who felt unwell or were overly exhausted were eligible to sleep there for a night.
Fortunately, these Clones had no self-awareness and would not complain. If they were normal humans, they would probably have rebelled.
Ti flowed again for three months under these circumstances.
On this day, Tom’s spirits were lifted once more.
The sweet potatoes at Base 1 had another bumper harvest, yielding over 4000 kilograms of sweet potatoes and a large quantity of sweet potato vines.
But this was not the main reason for Tom’s renewed excitent. What made him happiest was the birth of five brand-new Clone bodies.
After half a year of careful cultivation, they had finally developed from initial cells into adults and could be born.
Under Tom’s control, the two Clones remaining in the spaceship carefully manipulated the culture tanks, draining and collecting the culture solution, opening them, and carrying the five Clones, still in a state of deep coma, to the observation room, awaiting their awakening.
At the sa ti, five new cell samples were again placed into the culture tanks, and cultivation began anew.
Several hours later, the five Clones opened their eyes one after another. But without self-awareness, they still lay quietly on the beds, making no movents.
Tom’s heart stirred, and his consciousness instantly spread, connecting with their brains. The next mont, the five Clones stood up.
Initially, their body movents were still a bit stiff and unnatural. But with so adaptive training, their bodies quickly returned to a normal state.
A al, prepared to be easily digestible and nutritious, was already waiting for them.
After eating their first al in this life, resting for a while, and undergoing so adaptive training, the five sets of miscellaneous spacesuits prepared in advance were put on them.
"Ti to work."
The landing spaceship roared as it departed the mothership and once again landed on Loshen Star.
With the addition of these five Clones, Tom’s shortage of manpower was finally alleviated.
But at the sa ti, a new problem arose.
"Seventeen Clones will consu 51 kilograms of fresh sweet potatoes daily, which is 4590 kilograms in three months.
When the new batch of five Clones is born, they will consu almost 6000 kilograms every three months.
In that case, even if Base 1 produces at full capacity, there will still be a deficit of roughly 2000 kilograms each quarter.
The sweet potatoes produced by Base 1, after half a year of consumption, now have a surplus of less than 2000 kilograms, which will only last one quarter.
After one quarter, we’ll have to dip into our reserves, and that won’t do."
Tom thought to himself, "Now that we have ample manpower, it’s ti to expand the planting base."
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