Zhao Changxing once again returned to the Fire spacecraft at the fastest speed and saw the waveform of this signal with his own eyes.
"During this period, in the direction of Cygnus, have you observed any natural phenomena worth noting?"
As soon as he asked this question, Zhao Changxing shook his head subconsciously.
If there is, Xiao Xi will definitely report it to herself.
Sure enough, Xiao Xi said: "No."
This is also a radio wave signal that seems to have certain rules. Moreover, Xiaoxi is also unable to decipher the information from it - if it really carries some information.
Also because the sample size is too small.
However, the fact that signals suspected to have certain "intelligent" characteristics were received twice in a row from the same direction was enough to give Zhao Changxing some bad associations.
"Continue to observe." Zhao Changxing made the decision again: "Also, from now on, all our communications will be conducted at the lowest power."
"Okay Captain."
This is considered "radio silence" of sorts.
Zhao Changxing is consciously hiding himself. Although he has no idea whether it is useful or meaningful.
With a sense of crisis and urgency, Zhao Changxing once again devoted himself to the construction of the base.
At this moment, the young men and women only have theoretical experience learned from textbooks and classrooms. Practical experience is almost non-existent, and they still need Zhao Changxing’s guidance. Almost another year has passed, regarding the Spark spacecraft, human beings
The young men and women are really getting started with Base No. 1 and various aspects of industrialization promotion and can start working independently.
Perhaps it is because they are getting older and becoming more mature, so they are more able to understand the difficult situation of human civilization at the current stage. The young people have grown up rapidly and have truly become Zhao Changxing's right-hand man.
Under this situation, the mechanical casting and metal processing equipment in the industrial zone were completed several times faster than before. The focus of the next work was adjusted again, from metal smelting, processing,
In terms of casting, I turned to chemistry and chemical engineering.
Chemical raw materials that are essential in various industrial processes, such as various acids, alkalis, salts, various oxides, various hydrocarbons, aliphatic hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, alicyclic hydrocarbons, or similar methanol, ethanol, formaldehyde,
Acetone, vinyl chloride, etc., scientists on Earth have developed artificial synthesis routes using existing substances on Sedna as raw materials. In the laboratory, if manual and customized methods are adopted, Zhao Changxing is completely capable
Ability to synthesize any required chemical raw materials by yourself.
But the key problem is that the efficiency of this synthesis method is too low. Only industrialization and large-scale production can produce enough chemical raw materials and ultimately produce building materials that can be used to build new planting bases.
Now, what Zhao Changxing hopes to build is a sulfuric acid production line. Sulfuric acid is called the mother of chemicals and is an indispensable part of manufacturing many chemical materials. At this moment, the production line planned by Zhao Changxing has an annual output of sulfuric acid of up to 5
tons, the daily production is about... less than 14 kilograms.
This output would probably be laughable on Earth, which has a wide range of industries and has already achieved large-scale production. But on Sedna, if this production line can be built, it will definitely be a great achievement.
Achievement.
Zhao Changxing plans to build this production line using a process called the "wet sulfuric acid method." Of course, what is used here has been optimized by earth scientists, but the basic principle is still the same.
First, sulfur is burned to obtain sulfur dioxide, and the catalyst vanadium pentoxide is added to oxidize it again to sulfur trioxide. After hydration, sulfuric acid can be produced.
The sulfur element was present in large quantities in the veins where Zhao Changxing collected iron ore before - it was a pyrite. The so-called pyrite is actually ferrous disulfide. After it is smelted and purified, the iron is used to make it.
Steel and sulfur are used to synthesize sulfuric acid, making the best use of everything without wasting anything.
With sulfuric acid as a raw material, Zhao Changxing can start building an ethylene production line to produce ethylene. With ethylene, he can proceed to the subsequent processing of synthetic fibers, synthetic rubber, plastics, and even vinyl chloride, styrene, and epoxy ethylene.
A series of raw materials such as acetic acid can be produced.
Led by the two young men who were his assistants, Zhao Changxing immersed himself in the work.
Today, the two enemies who took turns to the industrial zone were Qian Yue and Chen Feng. Perhaps because they have grown up, Qian Yue's personality has become more introverted, and Chen Feng is no longer introverted, but has begun to become calm.
.But you can still vaguely see the shadow of your childhood.
There seemed to be something wrong between the two of them today. Zhao Changxing was keenly aware that the two of them seemed to be peeking at each other from time to time while working. Once their eyes came into contact, they would instantly look away like an electric shock.
"There is a story between these two little guys..."
Zhao Changxing looked at the time, and it happened to be time for a break, so he announced a break, and then deliberately left the place, leaving the two of them some space to be alone. After a while, when Zhao Changxing came back, he saw their faces
Everyone couldn't help but smile, and seemed to be in a very happy mood.
Zhao Changxing observed the words and expressions and pretended that he didn't know anything.
The days passed slowly in this situation. After a few months, the sulfuric acid production line was finally completed, and after a while, the ethylene production line was also completed. For safety, Zhao Changxing moved these two production lines
It was temporarily moved to an independent building next to the main building of Base No. 1 and connected to the main base through a passage.
In the future, these chemical plants will obviously have independent premises, but for now they can only make do with it.
After initially solving the production of sulfuric acid and ethylene, Zhao Changxing had more development directions and could build at least thousands of factories producing different products. However, Zhao Changxing cut them all off.
At the current stage, Zhao Changxing's purpose is very clear, which is to produce whatever materials are needed for the construction of the new planting base first, and everything else will be discussed later.
The world is huge, and eating is the biggest problem. If people starve to death, no matter how many talents and strategies they have, they will not be able to display them.
What is currently being developed is a synthetic rubber, fiber, and plastic production line. The sealing gaskets, cable insulation and heat insulation layers required to build a new planting base, etc., all require this production line to produce.
With the improvement and increase in the types of production lines, the demand for basic materials is also increasing. Based on this, the Red Flag space vehicle has to rush around on the land of Sedna all day long, transporting one truck after another of ore.
Transport in. In addition to the two people driving the space vehicle and the two people who stayed behind in the Spark spacecraft, the remaining six people plus Zhao Changxing were also busy all day long, and rarely had time to rest.
The process of the rubber production line is much more complicated than the previous basic material production lines. There are even some parts that cannot be produced with the existing metal processing technology, so we have to rely on 3D printers to customize them manually. This also wastes a lot of time.
It took Zhao Changxing and others more than three years to complete it.
At this time, the second generation of children are already ten years old. The first generation of teenagers are already 23 years old. Zhao Changxing's age has reached 51 years old.
During this period of time, Xiao Xi received signals with special characteristics from the direction of Cygnus twice more. But so far, Zhao Changxing has not found anything else. So in addition to continuing to monitor, he has not
What can be done.
Today, in order to celebrate the completion of the rubber production line, Zhao Changxing specially brought thirty kilograms of mutton, as well as a large number of vegetables, mushrooms, sesame paste, etc., and took everyone back to the Tinder spacecraft to prepare for a meal of the children's favorite hot pot.
Celebrate.
Zhao Changxing and the ten children of the first generation sat at a table with a total of eleven people. The 30 children of the second generation were divided into three tables for a total of four tables. They divided the mutton and vegetables, and the group of people became lively.
Start eating.
At this moment, Zhao Changxing felt quite like three generations living under the same roof, and he also had a sense of accomplishment in his heart. Because he knew clearly that almost all of these children could be said to have been raised by himself.
The dinner was enjoyable. When they were almost halfway through the meal, Qian Yue and Chen Feng looked at each other. Finally, Chen Feng said to Zhao Changxing a little shyly: "Dad, there is something..."
"Oh? You said."
The first and second generation children, regardless of their age, all became quiet.
"I, I..." Chen Feng hesitated, his face was red and he couldn't say anything. Qian Yue looked impatient, so he stood up and said, "Dad, Chen Feng and I are planning to get married."
"marry?"
This familiar yet unfamiliar vocabulary made Zhao Changxing feel dazed for a moment, and he couldn't help but recall the time when he attended other people's weddings on Earth.
Before you know it, decades have passed...
Seeing Zhao Changxing's silence, Chen Feng said anxiously: "Dad, don't they say on TV that people have to get married when they reach a certain age? They have to sleep in the same bed and have children..."
Qian Yue pinched Chen Feng quietly, causing him to grimace in pain.
Zhao Changxing woke up from his memories, and a smile immediately appeared on his face.
"This is a good thing. Good boy, good boy. Then...it's better to choose a different day than to hit it. Let today be your wedding ceremony, okay?"
"Yeah! Yeah!"
The children of the second generation cheered one after another, and the sound spread throughout the entire Spark spacecraft. If there was air outside the spacecraft, the sound might be directly transmitted to Humanity Base No. 1.
"Wait a moment."
Zhao Changxing suddenly stood up and quickly walked to the back of the cabin. Everyone looked at him, wondering what he wanted to do.
But Zhao Changxing took out dozens of apples, handed them to the kitchen robot, and issued an instruction. After a while, the kitchen robot, under Xiao Xi's control, brought out a large bucket full of juice.
"On Earth, when a couple gets married, they have to toast the guests to express their gratitude. We don't have wine here, and we can't drink it, so we can use juice instead."
The kitchen robot took the cups and poured juice for everyone. The second-generation children looked at the apple juice and their eyes almost went straight.
Apples are very precious. There is only one apple tree planted in the entire Humanity Base No. 1. Due to environmental factors, the number of fruits grown every year is pitiful. Zhao Changxing usually uses this thing as a reward for outstanding performance.
People are reluctant to eat it, let alone use it to make juice.
They had only seen juice on TV and had never drank it. Zhao Changxing was also very happy today and became cruel and took out dozens of apples to squeeze juice.
Qian Yue, who was slightly shy but still bold, and Chen Feng, who was even more shy, stood up and came to Zhao Changxing with cups in hand.
"Dad, thank you."
The two of them bowed to Zhao Changxing at the same time.