Chapter 362 - 260: Each Busy
How can the accumulated water from melting snow be utilized? Before the disaster, probably no one would have considered this issue.
Although freshwater resources on the Blue Planet have always been relatively scarce, generally in areas where water resources are not particularly lacking, there aren’t many restrictions on water usage. Moreover, the majority of the time, people let snow naturally melt and evaporate, with few considering recycling it.
This is similar to how few people consider collecting rainwater unless they are in drought-stricken areas.
But now, to prevent the formation of ice layers on the railway after the snow melts, which would affect railway traffic, Chen Xin must consider the problem of water drainage after melting the snow around the train station using the heating hub.
Letting it naturally flow away is obviously not an option because it would follow the slopes along the railway, which is precisely what Chen Xin wants to avoid.
"By the way, can we pump away this accumulated water and make ice bricks to build houses? Aren’t we living in snow caves? Building an ice house with ice blocks shouldn’t be a problem, right? Didn’t the Inuit in the Arctic use to live in snow houses?" Cao Daren suggested, recalling videos he had seen of Inuit snow houses.
After exchanging a glance with the researchers, Chen Xin shook his head, ultimately explaining to Cao Daren: "The snow houses you saw built with regular snow bricks are just attractions for tourists. Real Inuit snow houses involve digging a pit and then covering the top with snow bricks, leaving only a small entrance.
Those neat and pretty snow houses are either artistically crafted or commercial attractions for tourists. Real Inuit snow houses aren’t much better than the snow caves and tents we’re living in now."
"Uh, in that case, can we only drain it?" Cao Daren asked, feeling a bit embarrassed by Chen Xin’s explanation, but still inquiring about how to handle the snow.
Chen Xin shook his head, thought carefully, and said: "Building a snow house is actually feasible. Since the snow here will eventually melt, and we’ll need to relocate our tents, instead of continuing to dig snow caves, we might as well utilize the snow and build a semi-submerged snow house, which would be more comfortable to live in."
"That makes sense, but are we still going to live here afterward?" Cao Daren was puzzled. With the hot spring tapped and the heating hub built, would they still live here? Chen Xin surely has a refuge, and even if he had no place to stay in Lin City, he wouldn’t live in the snow for long, right?
"We won’t stay here permanently, but I will remain here until the heating hub operates normally and I confirm there are no issues. ’Daren,’ after you finish drilling the well, you can go home." Chen Xin understood Cao Daren’s implication and did not prevent him from going home.
After all, Cao Daren was just helping him and once the work was done, he would naturally want to return to his life.
Cao Daren was relieved to hear Chen Xin’s words. Although living in a tent in a snow cave wasn’t uncomfortable, it wasn’t convenient for bathing or using the bathroom compared to the comfort of his own refuge.
If it hadn’t been for Cao Daren’s previous engineering experience of often eating and sleeping outdoors, he wouldn’t have found it easy to leave a good refuge and come live in a tent with Chen Xin under current circumstances.
Seeing that Cao Daren had no issues, Chen Xin turned his gaze to the researchers and said: "Since construction has started on this side, please report to the higher-ups as soon as possible about inviting geologists to help. Also, please have the materials I need sent over promptly."
"Don’t worry, I’ll contact the higher-ups right away. I believe the next train from the three towns will deliver both the supplies and the geology experts." The researcher nodded and immediately turned to find a place where he could contact the upper departments.
Watching the researcher leave, Chen Xin said nothing, just nodded toward Cao Daren and said: "’Daren’, arrange for the workers to start construction as we discussed."
"Okay! I’ll arrange for the workers to start as soon as the water stops spraying." Cao Daren nodded, as this was his job.
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"Sister Lan, could you please help take this patient to the back ward? Thank you!" A special police officer wearing an exoskeleton handed a patient who had just undergone surgery over to Qin Lan, asking her to take the patient to the ward.
Qin Lan nodded, took the patient, and headed towards the ward.
Chen Xin was busy with the heating hub, while Qin Lan and Mo Qingyan stayed behind at the rescue station to help.
Although the rescue station had been bolstered by sixty more medical staff from the three towns, alleviating the shortage of personnel significantly, the patient load from Lin City was overwhelming, and nearly a hundred medical staff and fifty volunteers were still extremely busy every day.
However, with the arrival of the second batch of medical personnel, the operation of the rescue station had become smoother, and more patients could be treated each day. The situation was gradually improving.
The reason Qin Lan and the special police were helping to transport patients was mainly due to the rescue station being short-handed, and they volunteered to assist. Given that Qin Lan had Power Armor and the special police had Exoskeletons, they were better equipped to handle many tasks compared to ordinary medical staff.
After all, Power Armor and Exoskeletons are far stronger than ordinary people, allowing one person to transport a patient single-handedly rather than needing two or three people.
Qin Lan transported the patient to the ward and helped the medical staff place the patient onto the bed before leaving the ward.
Although she was merely assisting, there were numerous tasks to handle.
Fortunately, the staffing situation at the rescue station had improved, allowing medical staff to rotate shifts, rest, and eat without overloading.
Qin Lan was kept busy until a medical staff member called her to eat, only then did she realize it was mealtime.
Joining the medical staff at the temporary canteen, Qin Lan saw Mo Qingyan managing a team of volunteers to serve meals to the medical staff and greeted her.
Mo Qingyan originally wanted to help in the wards as well but later found the logistics side to be more suitable for her, so she assisted in the canteen.
It’s undeniable that Mo Qingyan’s ability to manage such a large outdoor goods store demonstrated her strong organizational skills, and the simple operation of a canteen was extremely orderly under her management.
"Ah Lan, you’re here? We received some fresh vegetables today; make sure to eat some to supplement your vitamins!" Mo Qingyan smiled at Qin Lan, but remembering something, she asked: "Is Ah Xin still busy over there and hasn’t come back?"