Chapter 11: Steel
After finishing this fuel transport run, the tractor didn’t stop. It set out again, taking over an hour to reach a pre-scouted open-pit iron mine.
A vast area here was covered in iron ore, but it was clear that Li Qingsong currently lacked the ability to mine it on a large scale.
He couldn’t even break up the larger chunks of ore. For now, he could only gather some of the smaller pieces from the surface to take back.
But even just picking out the small pieces from the surface, it didn’t take long to fill the trailer bed. There were about ten tons in total, which, at the current rate of consumption, would be enough to supply the blast furnace for over a month.
The tractor rumbled as it headed back, hauling the ten-ton load of iron ore.
Fortunately, the gravity on Ceres was low. The ten tons of iron ore only weighed about 800 kilograms here, which was how the simple steam-powered tractor could pull it.
If this were on Earth, the tractor probably couldn’t move it an inch, even if the boiler was fired to the point of exploding.
When he finally returned from this transport run, Li Qingsong’s heart swelled with excitement.
’The first step of industrialization is finally about to begin!’
Although he had previously smelted metal using the refining and processing equipment brought from Earth, that was clearly Earth’s technology, not technology he had developed himself.
But now, this entire set of smelting equipment—from the generator and the blast furnace to the transport machinery—was all built by him!
This meant the whole setup was replicable and could be scaled up, putting it in a completely different league from the machinery brought from Earth.
The massive steam generator, with a total installed capacity of 130 kilowatts, was fired up. The boiler vibrated, humming low.
The heavy rotor began to spin. As it continuously cut through magnetic field lines, a steady stream of electric current was generated and sent through the wires to the nearby blast furnace.
The first batch of iron ore, weighing 300 kilograms, was placed inside and gradually heated.
Gases frozen within the ore heated up and expanded. Once the pressure reached a certain point, they were expelled through the exhaust port. After the gases were gone, only the minerals remained inside.
Various elements were continuously separated. Following a formula, other elements like chromium and nickel were added. After a series of processes, a steady stream of long steel plates—ten centimeters wide, three centimeters thick, and fifty centimeters long—slid out from the exit.
This was the perfect size for the multi-functional metal processing machine to handle.
Looking at the first batch of steel he had produced himself, Li Qingsong felt a heartfelt joy.
Having established a basic steel production capability, the old multi-functional metal smelting machine was no longer used for steel. Instead, it was repurposed to produce custom batches of minerals that Li Qingsong couldn’t yet produce but were essential.
For example, nickel ore, chromium ore, and so on.
With steel production temporarily on the right track, Li Qingsong turned his attention to another area.
Metal processing capability.
Currently, all of Li Qingsong’s metal processing ability came from that one multi-functional machine. But this highly precise and extremely advanced piece of equipment was originally designed for high-precision work on special metals. Using it to process crude steel was far too wasteful.
It had more important uses; its productivity couldn’t all be wasted on steel. Li Qingsong had to develop his own metal processing capabilities.
Thus, using it as a mother machine and the steel from his self-built blast furnace, a large number of components were once again produced. With the help of the Clones, they were assembled into a series of metal processing machines.
Metal processing machines for cutting, drawing, grinding, bending, stamping, and drilling appeared before Li Qingsong one by one.
By the time all seven types of metal processing equipment were completed, more than half a year had passed.
The knowledge for manufacturing this metal processing equipment was also absent from the Deep Space Spaceship’s database. But that was fine; as long as he had the basic principles, it was enough.
Over the past half-year, Li Qingsong had been continuously studying while also directing the Clones on Ceres to experiment through trial and error. Stumbling along, he had finally managed to build all these machines.
At this point, Li Qingsong commanded a total of 27 bodies. Another five Clones were currently in cultivation and would be "born" in about four months.
Looking at the seven metal processing machines arranged in the open, all powered by the large steam generator, Li Qingsong’s heart filled with relief.
"I finally have my own metal processing capabilities. From now on, I can process some of the simpler metal components that don’t require high precision myself."
Having reached this stage, Li Qingsong could finally see a glimmer of hope for something he had long been anticipating.
That "something" was building another, larger cultivation base using his own industrial capabilities.
At this stage, the fluorescent lights, cultivation racks, special films, and other supplies from the Deep Space Spaceship were almost completely used up.
If he wanted to build another cultivation base, he would have to rely entirely on himself.
At the same time, the number of Clones under his command would soon climb to 32, and in another half a year, it would increase to 37.
And 37 Clones was the maximum that Cultivation Base No. 1 could support. Any more, and it wouldn’t be able to feed them.
’This number of people is nowhere near enough. It’s completely inadequate.’
’I have to solve the food supply problem once and for all.’
Li Qingsong secretly made a resolution. ’It might not be a permanent solution, but at the very least, I need to ensure I’m not troubled by food shortages for the next decade or so.’
However, when it came to building a new cultivation base, finding a site was easy. There was a nearby cave with an area of over 10,000 square meters, which was more than enough.
The cultivation racks were also easy to handle, since he now had his own steel production capability.
Cabling and power were also solvable. Ceres had copper deposits, so he could make his own copper wire.
Although the insulation problem was difficult to solve, for now, he could make do by using distance for isolation. As for power, he just needed to build a few more generators.
There was only one problem that gave Li Qingsong pause.
Fluorescent lights.
You couldn’t do any farming on Ceres without fluorescent lights. But these lights were different from steel components; they required a certain level of technology.
’To make fluorescent lights, I first need to master glass tube forming, electrode manufacturing, and the technology to make ballasts and starters. I’ll also need phosphorus powder, mercury, and rare gases.’
Li Qingsong silently calculated. ’I understand the basic principles for all these things, but mechanized manufacturing... that’s not going to be easy.’
After weighing his options for a long time, Li Qingsong gritted his teeth. ’I should be able to handle the glass tubes with machinery. As for the others—the electrodes, ballasts, and starters—if it really comes down to it, I’ll just have to make them by hand for now.’