Chen Xin’s trip this time was not deliberately to antagonize the special forces protecting him or to express a desire for unrestrained freedom.

Although there might be a hint of that sentiment, the primary reason was indeed that Chen Xin had some things he wanted to handle outside.

With Chen Xin having attained the status of an academician, and with a research base being constructed outside his refuge, the original deal he had with the city’s SWAT team naturally couldn’t proceed further.

It’s not that Chen Xin was unwilling to continue providing vegetables and fruits for the SWAT team, but under the current circumstances, their transactions had become awkward.

Therefore, Chen Xin’s outing this time was to discuss with the SWAT team how to handle this situation.

Escorted by armored vehicles and special forces, Chen Xin and his entourage went not to the city bureau, but to the city government.

The change in his identity meant that the people he interacted with also changed accordingly.

When Chen Xin was just an ordinary online writer, the people he dealt with were friends of similar ordinary status, with no contact at all with government officials. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

It was only after the disaster, with the transformation of the old order due to natural calamities and his own system-aided advancement, that he began interacting with people he previously couldn’t have reached.

Now that he is an academician at Flame Country’s highest academy of sciences, the people he deals with have naturally risen in status as well.

In the past, when Chen Xin visited the city government, he would at most meet a few ordinary staff members, and the responsible leaders were rarely seen. But now he was greeted by a Deputy Mayor.

"I didn’t expect our city to produce a talent like Academician Chen. Not discovering your talent earlier was a failure on our part. I hope you won’t mind!" After some pleasantries, the Deputy Mayor asked about the purpose of Chen Xin’s visit: "I wonder what brings Academician Chen here today? If there’s anything you need us to handle, we’ll do our best."

Chen Xin didn’t take the Deputy Mayor’s flattery seriously and, after a modest smile, explained: "Previously, I engaged in a transaction with the city’s SWAT team exchanging supplies for fresh vegetables and fruits. This transaction greatly assisted me, and the SWAT team also helped me a lot.

However, my side is now constructing a research base, and there are plans to build a large planting greenhouse to research ecological agricultural technology. The output of agricultural products will significantly increase, and this change affects my dealings with the SWAT team.

So, I wanted to ask if the city government could sign a new agreement with the research base to procure its agricultural products. This would help consume the research base’s output and improve the living quality of city residents."

Chen Xin’s proposal left the Deputy Mayor pondering; it’s neither a trivial issue nor an insignificant one.

The city’s shelters already have underground farming facilities, which can’t fully meet the entire city’s demand for vegetables and fruits, yet they ensure a certain level of production.

However, this limited production cannot satisfy the entire city’s needs, and it’s even difficult to solely meet the demand of a single shelter.

Thus, the government adopted a distribution method in which fresh produce and other agricultural products are used as rewards for individuals or collectives that made outstanding contributions each month, maximizing resource usage and preventing inequitable distribution issues.

But now, with Chen Xin saying that his research base is to set up a large planting greenhouse and research ecological agriculture technology, leading to a significant agricultural output, it’s clear that the original material distribution plan of the government would be affected.

Therefore, the Deputy Mayor must carefully consider how to respond to this.

"I wonder, Academician Chen, how much agricultural output do you expect from your side?" After some thought, the Deputy Mayor cautiously inquired.

If the output is limited, it can easily be absorbed by the city and continue as rewards alongside the original agricultural products. However, if the research base yields a substantial amount, it brings about complications.

After all, it’s just a research base; although the agricultural output may not be small, it can’t meet an entire city’s needs. But if the output is quite high, continuing to use it as rewards would cheapen it, awkwardly affecting the original reward system.

"Currently, since the planting greenhouse is not yet under construction, it’s hard for me to give a precise answer, but the planned area for the greenhouse is 12 hectares. It will be used to research three-dimensional ecological agricultural planting techniques. In terms of output, we should have several tens of tons of agricultural products each month." Chen Xin also found it hard to estimate, as different fruits and vegetables have different yields and the greenhouse will use three-dimensional planting, so the specific output is uncertain.

This output is obviously considerable, yet not much; several tens of tons may sound a lot, but for a city, it’s still insufficient. Averaged among all residents, it might just be enough for one meal, and using it as a reward, like before, would be too much.

"That’s quite an output! If there really are so many fruits and vegetables, it would be a huge boon to the citizens of the city!" Whatever the Deputy Mayor thought internally, this was undoubtedly a good thing, and he naturally agreed with enthusiasm.

As for how to handle it afterward, he could only say to Chen Xin: "But with so many agricultural products, we need to hold meetings with the relevant departments to determine a conclusion. Academician Chen, how about this: we draft a preliminary plan, and once your produce is harvested, we can finalize the specific handling scheme?"

"That works too, handle it as you see fit; I’m not very knowledgeable about these things." After a few formal exchanges, Chen Xin took his leave.

Upon leaving the city government, Lieutenant Deng, in the armored vehicle, suddenly curiously asked Chen Xin: "Academician Chen, isn’t several tons of fruits and vegetables not much? Can’t the research base consume it internally once it’s completed?"

"Hehe, do you think there’s only one greenhouse?" In response to the question, Chen Xin smiled meaningfully.

Although only one greenhouse is currently planned, Chen Xin had already planned large-scale greenhousing since before going to Lin City, and now that conditions are ripe, how could he stop at just one?

Ignoring the puzzled Lieutenant Deng, Chen Xin said to the driver, "Don’t be in a hurry to return—I still want to visit a friend."