Chapter 103: Do Something
The two of them couldn’t stay on the Moon for too long.
The next day, Fan Ren, led by Li Jian, rode a simple transport vehicle with a group of astronauts to the mining site.
After exiting the base gate, since the base was located in the center of the basin, surrounded by high hillsides on all sides, Fan Ren felt a suffocating sense of oppression after walking for a short while.
It was precisely this feeling that made him respect these team members who had never complained.
He silently followed behind the team.
Although the distance to the mining site wasn’t far, wearing the thick outdoor pressure suits made movement very inconvenient.
By the time they reached the mining site, Fan Ren inside the pressure suit was already drenched in sweat.
He listened to the heavy breathing sounds coming from the helmet earphones, feeling very guilty inside.
If he hadn’t insisted on making this trip, who would know the Moon’s working environment was so poor.
These astronauts were affiliated with the military headquarters, and Xinghai only needed to arrange tasks; they didn’t even have to handle their salaries.
In a sense, they were soldiers who came to the Moon to complete missions.
Fan Ren’s mind flashed with one urgent problem after another that needed to be solved.
This model was fine for now because moon landing quotas were limited, and Great Xia astronauts were desperate to be selected.
With the resilience of Great Xia soldiers, they would never complain about poor conditions during mission execution.
But that didn’t mean Fan Ren could shamelessly exploit these astronauts; it didn’t align with the original company philosophy he envisioned when establishing Xinghai.
Xinghai employees enjoyed salaries and benefits that could be called top-tier in the industry, with plenty of bonuses too.
Just the solid-state battery research and development alone had earned Xinghai the nickname in the industry of “batch-producing millionaires.”
So at this moment, for the Moon project, it had to be the same.
Arriving at the mining site, the astronauts climbed onto large mining vehicles that had been transported in batches, assembled, and completed.
With each slight ground vibration, smoke and dust sprayed from the tails of these mining vehicles, followed by them shuddering to life.
“The site selection for Aiken Basin is excellent; our mining operations don’t need to dig below the ground surface level at all. Just surface operations can achieve a daily mining output of nearly 50 tons.”
Li Jian introduced from the side; Fan Ren already had a rough idea of these data.
50 tons of mining output perfectly matched the payload cycle of 7 days for 5 Star Transport Series Rockets traveling between Earth and Moon.
After this batch of rockets returned to Earth, the remaining 5 rotating rockets would launch again to the Moon to transport the next batch of ore.
Meanwhile, the previous batch of rockets would undergo first- and second-level propulsion system assembly work, which, after continuous optimization, also took about a week.
Resource allocation is a very important discipline, especially in the Moon mining project; if equipment stops due to mismatches, the losses would be huge.
This would also need to be factored into calculations during future expansions.
During observation, Fan Ren noticed that as the mining dug farther away, the distance to the base gradually increased, and the transport vehicles responsible for transportation were starting to struggle to keep up with the mining vehicles’ speed.
“Boss, you plan a mining route, and I’ll arrange conveyor belts to transport the minerals. Using transport vehicles all the time won’t be convenient later.”
“General Manager Fan, you’re absolutely right. With conveyor belts, those of us handling transportation missions could switch to mining tasks, greatly improving efficiency.”
“Yeah, thanks for your hard work, everyone. I’ll arrange these matters right away. Plus, with conveyor belts, traveling to and from the mining site will be much more convenient for you.”
Li Jian nodded and pointed to a flat area in the distance: “How about that spot? For the space elevator, it’s best placed in the basin center, then extend the conveyor belts outward from there. That way, before we level this hillside area, we won’t need to worry about transportation issues.”
Fan Ren looked in the direction he pointed; it was indeed a very flat area. He scanned the surroundings once more.
If they could mine out this entire basin, it would probably be enough to replace all iron-using mechanical equipment on Earth.
This place was truly a treasure trove.
The two went to the flat area for a look around, then bid farewell to the group of astronauts before returning to the base.
In the rest area, he and Li Jian sat facing each other.
“Boss, I want to set up a reward standard for these astronauts. What do you think?”
As soon as Fan Ren spoke seriously, Li Jian fell into thought.
In his mindset, mission execution only came with some subsidies from the military headquarters; there were no other extra reward standards.
Besides, soldiers should take obeying orders as their duty; he truly didn’t care about rewards or not.
But he couldn’t expect everyone to have his high standards, and in management terms, this approach wouldn’t last long.
“You’re right; the current situation is a special phase where no one has too many ideas since the opportunity is rare. Enduring hardship is taken for granted.”
He sighed for a moment, then continued: “But introducing a reward system wouldn’t fit our Great Xia Military Headquarters’ usual style. You know what I mean.”
Fan Ren nodded; that was exactly what he was conflicted about.
“Actually, mining operations don’t require much specialized knowledge. Even with our current highly intelligent mechanical equipment, people’s role is merely for ‘supervision’ purposes. Since that’s the case, have you considered recruiting qualified professionals at high salaries to replace our astronauts? After all, this project will be a long-term process.”
Li Jian voiced his idea.
After hearing it, Fan Ren also fell into thought; Li Jian’s suggestion was from his standpoint as base commander.
There was indeed no issue with that point.
Moreover, training professional astronauts takes a very long cycle, requiring assessments in numerous specialized fields, exceptional physical fitness beyond the norm, and finally emerging from thousands of competitors to be selected.
Using these chosen ones of heaven in mining operations is indeed a tremendous waste.
Moreover, after this, once the Space Elevator Phase Two project is completed, the Star Transport Series Rocket will no longer need to directly enter Earth and the Moon.
After mining output rises, the number of Star Transport Series Rockets will also see rapid growth.
At that time, a large number of astronauts will be needed to operate and run these rockets, responsible for various space transportation missions.
Even if Great Xia Aerospace’s training speed is the fastest, it is impossible to cultivate hundreds or thousands of astronauts every year for his use.
Thinking of this, he nodded and recorded these thoughts.
“There’s also one problem. I plan to additionally set up communication satellites between Earth and the Moon. It’s too desolate here, and the environment is also extremely depressing. Setting up a dedicated line for Lunar Base personnel to contact their family and friends on Earth at any time will also help ensure their mental state remains stable during long-term stays in this environment.”
Li Jian’s eyes lit up.
These words could only be said by Fan Ren. If it were him, or any of the astronauts here belonging to the military headquarters, they could not speak up.
Because they are soldiers, and soldiers must have wills of steel.
