Humans Shrunk 100 Times

Chapter 132: Plastic Sealing

To reclaim their original way of life, there were still many things that humanity needed to do. But for the people of Qiming, the most urgent matter at hand was to find a place to store the 36 wooden boxes.

"I suggest taking out a week's worth of food and placing it in the kitchen area. The rest can be stored in a shady place."

"Under the shelves should work nicely."

"Yes, that can be designated as the future warehouse area, but for now, we don't need to divide it so precisely."

"But can tomatoes last long in storage?" Du Jiajia expressed some concern.

Among the six types of food they had, rice, potatoes, and carrots had relatively longer storage times. However, the remaining tomatoes, green peppers, and eggplants posed a problem.

In this weather, without a refrigerator, it would be considered good if the tomatoes could last for a week. Once these items started to rot, they would become a burden.

"There's nothing we can do about that. We'll try to eat these three things first and then store the rest. If there are signs of spoilage, we'll dispose of them as soon as possible."

"Furthermore, when the time comes, Chen Mu can seal the boxes, and they might last a bit longer."

"Speaking of that, I have an idea."

"Plastic sealing?" Tang Jing seemed to have already thought ahead.

"Yes."

"Is your ability sufficient to make the plastic evenly thick?"

"I can give it a try. Also, regarding the material, perhaps we can make use of the instant noodle packaging that you brought back last time for the seasoning packets."

Chen Mu had been reluctant to throw away the plastic bags from the instant noodles that they used to hold the seasoning.

"That's a good idea."

"By the way, what material are instant noodle packaging bags made of? Plastic?" Chen Mu asked, puzzled.

Tang Jing replied, "They are made of POF heat shrink film, which is tough, environmentally friendly, and non-toxic. It's commonly used for packaging convenience and fast-food products."

Pretending to understand, Chen Mu nodded.

For Chen Mu, sealing food in plastic was not difficult, especially when there was no need to adjust the thickness of the material significantly. However, the problem was that there were just too many items to seal.

Three boxes of tomatoes, five boxes of eggplants, and five boxes of green peppers.

If he had to do it one by one, it was likely that by the time he finished sealing half of them, the rest would have already rotted.

Nevertheless, with the idea of sealing whatever he could, Chen Mu still planned to give it a try.

Next, everyone pitched in and moved all 36 wooden boxes under the shelves. Before that, they had set aside a week's worth of food in the kitchen.

Now, the shelves had undergone some changes.

The most noticeable one was the addition of a ramp about 5 centimeters wide, with speed bumps on its surface to increase friction.

This ramp was meant for moving goods, often requiring several people to stand on it simultaneously, so it was designed to be relatively wide.

Next to it, Chen Mu also built a 1-centimeter-wide staircase for people to pass through.

After building the staircase on the door, which was 80 centimeters high, the one on the shelf was a piece of cake for him.

The 10-centimeter space under the shelf was somewhat wasted if not utilized. However, since they had enough temporary space, there was no need to stack the boxes.

Due to the large number of boxes, relying solely on Lao Wei (Old Wei) to move them was too slow. Therefore, everyone participated, and even Tang Jing came over to lend a hand.

Since the iron cage was gone, Gu Yingliang seemed a bit lost, not knowing where to stay.

Dong Junwei always kept Gu Yingliang by her side, and when it came time to move things, Gu Yingliang naturally came forward to help.

However, her small and delicate frame could only do so much. She tried her best to assist with her short legs but often got squeezed and pushed around by others. When Wei Dalei was carrying boxes, he even made an effort to avoid her, afraid of accidentally stepping on her...

Around 4 PM in the afternoon,

All the boxes were successfully moved.

Chen Mu didn't participate in the moving process; instead, he spent the whole time sealing the tomatoes.

The afternoon's accomplishment was 59 tomatoes.

Not too slow, but according to Tang Jing's estimation, there were approximately over 4000 tomatoes in one box, and there were a total of 3 boxes of tomatoes, along with 5 boxes of eggplants and 5 boxes of green peppers awaiting him.

In terms of the total number, these items could last a long time, but the amount they could store was not substantial.

Clearly,

Until they gained the ability to cultivate, fresh vegetables would still be considered luxury items.

Dinner was incredibly abundant.

Besides rice, the potatoes and carrots couldn't be preserved until they were all eaten. So, for now, their plan was simple.

Cook!

They grilled potato slices together with tomatoes.

The aroma of roasted eggplant filled the air, only missing some minced garlic.

...

After dinner, Dong Junwei's first thought was to arrange a place for Gu Yingliang to stay.

Currently, there were two rooms for the girls, and with Gu Yingliang included, there were a total of eight people, just enough to fill the rooms. Adding one more person would not be possible.

The newly built room had much better facilities than before. At least the beds were ready-made, and they just needed to lay a towel on top.

Dong Junwei felt sorry for Gu Yingliang's situation and intentionally made her bedding thicker. Despite it being June, they didn't feel too hot at night. On the contrary, if there was a breeze, they might even feel cold.

This was due to the increased heat dissipation efficiency of the skin's surface after humans shrank and their relative surface area increased. According to Tang Jing, this should have resulted in humans freezing to death, especially when their bodies got wet.

However, now the basic survival conditions for humans seemed to be guaranteed, but they were still more sensitive to cold than before.

Because of this, Chen Mu had thought more than once about the issue of humans' clothing when winter came...

...

The next morning.

Chen Mu got up early and continued to plastic seal the food.

The so-called plastic sealing was actually using his ability to tightly attach the plastic bags to the surface of the tomatoes and then seal them. This way, they could eliminate as much air as possible and increase the food's storage time.

From a distance, he saw Tang Jing leading Gu Yingliang back after using the restroom.

There were still many places the newcomer needed to get familiar with.

But apparently,

Since she hardly used her ability yesterday, Gu Yingliang's sleep was normal, and she woke up slightly earlier than others.

The two of them came over to Chen Mu's side, watching him work with great interest.

Gu Yingliang even rested her chin on the edge of a wooden box, staring at it curiously.

While working, Chen Mu was also munching on a tomato. Seeing Gu Yingliang looking so focused, he casually handed her a tomato.

Gu Yingliang took the tomato, paused for a moment, then opened her small mouth as wide as possible and took a big bite.

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