As for this, Jiang Fuyue was quite open-minded.
Even if she could only give birth on the island in the end, she felt it didn’t matter.
After all, there was medical equipment and obstetricians here.
The only regret might be that the children’s father couldn’t be by her side.
But Xie Dingyuan had his mission and responsibilities, and Jiang Fuyue didn’t blame him.
She even felt a faint bit of sympathy for this man, some things only happen once; if you miss them, you miss them forever, with no chance to make up for it.
He must feel very upset inside, right?
Who told him to sow his seeds at the wrong time? Jiang Fuyue thought with a hint of schadenfreude.
“Professor Jiang.”
“Come in.”
“Well…” The person scratched his head, seeming unsure how to speak.
“If you have something to say, just say it.”
“The network is down again. We didn’t want to disturb you,” he glanced at Jiang Fuyue’s belly, looking a bit embarrassed, “but the technician checked and couldn’t find the problem, so…” we had no choice but to ask you to come take a look.
Jiang Fuyue stood up and walked out.
“What are you standing there for? Aren’t we fixing the network? Take the toolbox by your feet. Let’s go.”
“Ah!”
Forty minutes later, Jiang Fuyue climbed down steadily from the ladder. After standing firm, she removed the safety harness.
“The line was corroded. It’s fixed now. You can try it.”
“It’s working! It’s working!”
“Thank you, Professor Jiang! Take it slow…”
After fixing the network, Jiang Fuyue went to check in on two science lecture sites. The villagers were listening very attentively.
Then she went to the short video office to look at the operational status.
After this period of effort, several accounts had already become big influencers.
There was no need to mention [Little Zhong Horoscope], not only was every episode full of useful content, but it was also the ultimate blessing for voice-control and hand-control fans.
Fans were all very curious about what “Little Zhong” looked like, and related topics had made it onto Douyin’s trending list multiple times.
However, Fu Suizhong’s stance had always been clear: no face reveal! Not even if beaten to death!
At the same time, accounts like [Little Shark Beachcombing], [Monkey Loves Climbing Trees], and [Magical Hunter] were also steadily gaining followers.
Not only that, the villagers had gradually learned how to use mobile phones.
From the beginning of renting them for five yuan a day, to now some people proposing to buy them from Jiang Fuyue.
“They’re very expensive.”
“I know! Just tell me the price!”
Jiang Fuyue quoted the original price and even brought out the mall receipt.
The other party looked at it, then left in silence.
Jiang Fuyue thought that was the end of it, but the next day, the man really brought the money!
Gritting his teeth, he said firmly: “I’m buying!”
Everyone was surprised: “Where did you get the money?”
“Saved it.”
Jiang Fuyue asked his name.
“Mai Yezhu.”
“…”
Oh, that explained it. “Mai” was one of the island’s three major surnames, and only direct lineage members used animals to name their descendants.
So this Mai Yezhu was from the direct line of the Mai family, indeed much wealthier than ordinary villagers.
Money was exchanged for goods.
In the end, Mai Yezhu took the new phone and turned to leave.
Suddenly, he paused, then came back and asked Jiang Fuyue: “How much is your generator? And light bulbs, I want to buy those too.”
With a phone, naturally you need to charge it.
If you already have electricity, why not buy a light bulb to use?
With experience now, Jiang Fuyue waved her hand and quoted the price, based on the outside market rate, not a cent more, not a cent less.
Oh, she also included installation, mainly helping to set up wiring.
After Mai Yezhu set the precedent, some villagers with a bit of savings followed suit.
A rudimentary business mindset had begun to take shape. Once the island opened to the outside world, it would surely become even more prosperous.
For most villagers, mobile phones were prohibitively expensive, only a few direct-line members of the three major families could afford them.
Ordinary villagers were more interested in generators and light bulbs. Although not cheap, they were at least within an affordable range.
This made the team’s electrician extremely busy. For every household he wired, he earned a 500 commission.
He hadn’t expected that being stranded on the island, not only would he receive his regular salary, but he could also earn extra income.
Were there really such good things in the world?
As a result, he worked even harder!
In the blink of an eye, it was August, and Jiang Fuyue’s belly had grown like a balloon.
By then, most villagers’ homes had been equipped with electric lights.
In the past, only the camp area was brightly lit at night. Now, the entire island sparkled with scattered lights.
Looking down from a high place, it was breathtakingly beautiful.
“Master, you’ve been standing here a long time. Let’s go back?” Fu Suizhong looked at the figure standing ahead with hands behind his back.
The wind blew against his thin frame, giving the illusion he might ascend to immortality at any moment.
And below this hill where they stood were the medical team’s prefab houses.
Among them, the one with two pots of iris flowers at the door was Jiang Fuyue’s room.
Fu Suizhong sighed while swatting mosquitoes: If you miss her so much, why keep avoiding her? You’ve sent tea, sent pregnancy-stabilizing medicine, what’s the point?
Zhong Cheng: “Let’s go. Time to head back.”
Fu Suizhong followed, “Master, how about I arrange for you to meet tomorrow?”
Zhong Cheng still gave the same answer: “No meeting.”
…
As electric lights became widespread, generators began to fall short of demand.
When Jiang Fuyue had done her bulk purchase, she had chosen generators powered by gasoline, diesel, and solar energy.
The gasoline and diesel ones had already been used up, leaving only solar power.
Fortunately, Duofu was located near the equator, with year-round high temperatures and abundant solar energy.
But if they wanted to sustain electricity for the entire island, it was still insufficient.
“There are two options now: either transport more from outside, or develop locally.”
Transporting would obviously be the fastest and most convenient, but with the blockade between Countries A and K still in place, this method had low feasibility.
“But local development is even harder! Gasoline and diesel come from petroleum, are we supposed to go find oil fields first? Then extract it on-site? Then refine and process it?”
That would be incredibly troublesome.
And unrealistic.
After all, they were a group of medical professionals, not experts in chemical refining.
Because opinions were divided and neither method seemed feasible, the matter was temporarily shelved.
Until…
A group of children playing by the seaside discovered a well that was spouting black oil.
They immediately ran to the base to tell Jiang Fuyue.
With her big belly, Jiang Fuyue led people over, and sure enough….
“It really is petroleum!”
What does it mean when someone hands you a pillow just as you’re getting sleepy? This was it!
The seabed held abundant petroleum resources, but they usually required extraction.
Something that spouted out on its own like this was extremely rare.
“Huh? This is petroleum?” A villager scratched his head. “I’ve seen it many times before. I thought it was a rotten whale, and I was afraid it might explode, so I didn’t dare get close!”
Jiang Fuyue: “!”
Many times?!
“Where? Can you remember the locations?”
“Yes! I’ll take you there.”
Then, Jiang Fuyue was stunned.
Duofu’s petroleum resources were richer than she had imagined. Most importantly, it could be extracted through natural spouting, saving even large-scale equipment!
“But we don’t know how to refine it?” one team member said, looking conflicted.
Recently, solar power supply had been insufficient. To save electricity, they had gone from bathing once a day to once every two days. After nightfall, they tried not to use electrical appliances. Daily life in every aspect had been affected, making things very inconvenient.
If a new energy source could be found, life wouldn’t have to be so tight.
But crude oil and gasoline or diesel were two different things.
Otherwise, why would there be chemical plants outside?
“I have a way,” Jiang Fuyue said.
After returning, she called the electrician and the welder into a room.
The next day, sounds of cutting and welding came from inside.
Anyone who had studied middle school chemistry would know that crude oil has a complex composition. In terms of chemical elements, it mainly consists of various hydrocarbons formed by carbon and hydrogen, collectively called “hydrocarbons.”
The rest includes impurities such as sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, and metals.
Based on the differences in boiling points of the components in crude oil, straight-run gasoline can be extracted through distillation.
Generally, gasoline boils first, so gasoline vapor is drawn off first. After cooling, it becomes liquid pure gasoline.
In addition, kerosene, light and heavy diesel, and various lubricating oil fractions can also be extracted.
And this is what is known as primary processing of crude oil.
Afterward, part or most of these semi-finished products can be used as raw materials for secondary processing.
Based on the relevant principles, Jiang Fuyue searched for blueprints online and, together with the two craftsmen, spent six days building a petroleum distillation apparatus.
During this time, she also didn’t forget to submit an application report to the higher authorities for extraction, detailing the necessity and feasibility of what they were doing.
According to laws and regulations, individuals are prohibited from extracting petroleum. Once discovered, it is a serious crime.
But under special circumstances, special considerations were given. After being stranded on the island for half a year, with the medical team nearly running out of supplies, the higher authorities approved an exception, allowing them to extract a limited amount.
Before officially extracting and refining, Jiang Fuyue personally organized personnel to conduct on-site tests.
After repeatedly adjusting plans and improving steps, she finally declared success.
Next came recruitment!
Although the scale of extraction was far smaller than petrochemical plants and refineries, every step required people to follow up and control it carefully, there could be no carelessness.
So in the first batch, nearly thirty people were recruited, all healthy male villagers.
Jiang Fuyue taught them hands-on, from detailed steps to overall operations, with high standards and strict requirements.
During this time, some people quit because it was too hard. Jiang Fuyue did not try to keep them and quickly selected new people to fill the positions.
Finally, after a month of training, these villagers mastered the relevant procedures and techniques.
Only then did Jiang Fuyue let them take over, though she still went to the site every day to inspect, rain or shine.
At the same time, she trained dedicated safety inspectors and quality inspectors to ensure safe production and efficient output.
The island officially began large-scale oil refining.
Immediately, the energy problem was resolved.
Many petroleum products also began to be sold on the island.
Only later did everyone learn that the villagers recruited for oil refining were paid extremely high wages,
8,000 yuan per month!
After working for a month, they could afford to buy a phone and eat pork!
This made other villagers eager to try, wanting to take on this job as well.
But Jiang Fuyue personally declined: positions were full, try earlier next time.
Just as life was becoming more and more hopeful, with energy secured and every household starting to use electric lights and appliances, one calm night, a loud explosion suddenly rang out, and the entire island trembled.
“What’s happening?”
“Is it an earthquake?”
“Run! The houses are going to collapse, ”
The team members ran out in panic, not even having time to put on extra clothes, and saw a red glow ignite over the distant sea, carrying immense eruptive force.
The villagers also woke from their sleep and fled to open ground.
For a moment, discussions, screams, and children’s cries mixed into a chaotic scene.
The situation was in complete disorder.
When Jiang Fuyue sensed something was wrong, she immediately grabbed her computer and ran out. Just as she exited, she ran into Liu Weihua, who quickly supported her as they ran together.
As dawn quietly arrived, the red glow over the sea gradually disappeared, and the island stopped trembling.
“Is this punishment from the gods?”
“Are we going to die?”
“…”
“Everyone, listen to me, ” Just when everyone was at their most panicked and helpless, a calm voice rang out.
Looking up, they saw Jiang Fuyue, holding her belly, supported by Liu Weihua, standing at the highest point with a loudspeaker.
Under the morning sun, a sacred light enveloped her, like a deity descending.
The fear and unease were instantly soothed, and the screams and cries gradually faded.
“This is an underwater volcanic eruption, a common natural phenomenon… According to statistics, there are more than 20,000 underwater volcanoes in the world, with over half in the Pacific Ocean… Duofu Island itself was formed by volcanic eruptions…”
Very quickly, everyone calmed down and no longer panicked.
“Agata…” someone murmured.
Then countless villagers began to echo: “Agata has come to save us, it’s Agata, ”
Fan Sheng and Fan Ye stood in the crowd, their eyes filled with emotion and awe.
That’s right, she was Agata!
—the guardian deity of Duofu!
Jiang Fuyue had only conducted an on-site science explanation, yet unexpectedly gained the worship of the entire island’s villagers.
She opened her mouth but was too exhausted to explain, her throat already dry and smoking.
Liu Weihua silently handed her a bottle of water. Only after drinking did she slowly recover.
However, was that the end of it?
Not at all!
Next, there was an even more serious practical problem to solve…
The volcanic center was too close to Duofu Island. The powerful impact caused the entire island to shake violently, with destructive force no less than a magnitude-seven earthquake. Countless bamboo houses and earthen homes collapsed.
Although no one was injured, their homes were gone, and their belongings suffered varying degrees of damage.
Even the prefabricated housing at the base, built with highly earthquake-resistant materials, was on the verge of collapse.
“What do we do? Where are we going to live now?”
The team members looked at each other.
Most villagers had already begun to cry.
In the end, everyone turned their pleading gazes toward Jiang Fuyue.
She was still heavily pregnant, clearly as vulnerable as any expectant mother, yet now carrying everyone’s hopes.
Jiang Fuyue took a deep breath and lifted the loudspeaker,
Her firm voice rang through the crowd: “If the houses are gone, then we build!”
Based on Duofu’s geographical conditions and climate, Jiang Fuyue designed a type of “elevated frame structure” house that was convenient for drainage and moisture prevention.
The idea of elevation came from the local bamboo houses.
The frame structure could withstand earthquakes up to magnitude 8 and winds up to level 13, while also saving time and labor.
The beams and columns were easy to standardize and shape, making it convenient to adopt an assembled integrated structure and shorten construction time.
As for building materials, bricks, sand, stones, soil, cement, steel bars, and so on, Jiang Fuyue explained the methods and let the villagers prepare them themselves.
Then she personally guided them on how to build the houses.
A month later, the villagers’ new homes rose from the ground, and Jiang Fuyue officially entered the stage of resting for childbirth, no longer running around.
At eight months, her belly had grown very large. She couldn’t see her feet when looking down, and moving around was very inconvenient.
Fortunately, the two little piglets didn’t trouble their mother at all. Jiang Fuyue had almost no morning sickness, and every routine prenatal check showed excellent indicators.
…
At the same time, in F Country.
Xie Dingyuan’s final vaccine trial achieved great success. The new virus had been conquered, and he could finally apply to return home.
On the helicopter, he took out his phone and turned it on for the first time in half a year.
Then he saw countless missed call notifications, as well as the WeChat messages Jiang Fuyue had sent…
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