The Thousand-Person Mark

At this moment, with the sudden addition of 182 clones, Li Qingsong finally relaxed from the strain of being so short-handed that he wished he could split every second into two, wished every clone could work all day without rest or sleep.

The Planting Base, which had previously been operating at less than half capacity, immediately entered full-power operation.

Its multi-tier planting system offered a total cultivation area of over 20,000 square meters—roughly 33 mu—and every inch of it was planted with sweet potatoes, potatoes, soybeans, wheat, rice, and other crops.

On the other side of the Planting Base, the Chicken Farm was fully activated. Even with intensive farming, its mere 200 square meters housed more than a thousand chickens.

That was only because Li Qingsong deliberately kept the stocking density down, worried that the chickens might fall ill.

Beyond that, the numbers of pigs, cattle, and sheep also rose substantially.

The entire Planting Base was packed full with all kinds of crops and animals, truly beginning full-capacity production.

"Finally, I don't have to watch all that space go to waste."

Looking at the lush scene within, Li Qingsong was filled with emotion.

Outside the Planting Base, several long-idle blast furnaces in the Metallurgical Industrial Zone finally received operators.

The clones wore new Spacesuits produced by Li Qingsong himself—still with little radiation resistance and no communication functions, but much better insulation and durability—and marched spiritedly up to the furnaces, beginning to feed chunks of ore into them.

In the Metal Processing Industry, dozens of metalworking machines clanged day and night without pause, producing a steady stream of all kinds of components.

In the Energy Industrial Zone, the surge in electricity consumption had made the original generator sets insufficient. But that was no problem. New generators had already been built, and fuel had already been stockpiled. Now that there were enough hands, they could immediately be put into operation.

Not only that, but the power grid was expanding as well.

A team of five clones served as electricians, specifically responsible for maintaining and expanding the grid.

Using copper wire produced by the Wire Factory, they spun dense lines outward from the existing grid like spiders weaving webs. Then, more and more new electrical equipment was connected to the network.

The idle tractors finally had drivers as well. The clones drove them back and forth between different mines and the base, hauling back cartloads of minerals Li Qingsong urgently needed.

Luoshen Star Base, which had been busy yet still felt desolate, finally began to show signs of bustle as more clones joined in.

Even after Li Qingsong filled every remaining labor gap across the other facilities, more than thirty clones were still left idle.

"I've never fought such a well-funded battle before."

Li Qingsong was filled with emotion as he began a new round of construction.

He simply could not stand seeing people idle.

At this stage, the "framework" of the basic industries had already been established, with preliminary divisions such as metallurgy, casting, energy, and chemicals, but it was still extremely crude and rudimentary.

Take the energy industry, for example. At most, it only had a few Steam Generators.

The metallurgical industry was even worse, with only around twenty crude blast furnaces. Their combined annual output of all metals was only about two thousand tons.

It needed further specialization and refinement. Steelmaking, for instance, could be divided into the smelting of many different types of steel, such as Low Temperature Steel, High Temperature Steel, Corrosion Resistant Steel, and Carbon Steel.

Only through specialization could output and efficiency rise.

The same applied to metal processing, chemicals, and even the Planting Base.

Li Qingsong immediately put the thirty-plus idle clones to work constructing more new factories.

To that end, he drew up an ambitious plan.

"All future factories and bases must be specialized and subdivided. We need to build at least five more Planting Bases, three more Steel Factories, ten Chemical Factories, and one or two dedicated machinery manufacturing plants..."

After doing the calculations, Li Qingsong was shocked to find that supporting all of his upcoming construction plans would require at least a million tons of steel.

And that was only during the initial construction phase. After all, he would certainly have even larger construction plans in the future.

Yet at present, his total annual metal output was only around two thousand tons, with steel accounting for merely about fifteen hundred tons!

The gap was far too wide.

"Steel is the foundation of all construction, so the steelmaking industry must be developed first. Then... let's build a high-efficiency, specialized Steel Factory! Its annual output must be at least one hundred thousand tons!"

Leaping directly from fifteen hundred tons to one hundred thousand tons seemed like far too great a step. But Li Qingsong was not in a hurry.

He knew this was a long-term plan, not something that could be completed in a short time. He still had time.

With that goal in mind, Li Qingsong began waiting once more.

During this period, clone cultivation did not stop. The clones continued increasing at a rate of 205 every half year, or 410 every year.

The numbers of Steel Factories, foundries, and Chemical Factories continued to rise, and their production capacity steadily increased.

But these factories being built now were no different from the initial ones. They were equally low-end and equally small-scale, far removed from the specialized, large-scale factories Li Qingsong had planned.

It was simply impossible to rely on this outdated production capacity to supply the steel required for his vast construction plans.

But there was no other way. At this stage, he could only build up his initial strength by increasing the number of such small factories.

After waiting another two years and gradually building up strength for two more years, a total of 800 clones joined him—there had originally been 820, but 20 cultivation attempts had failed. The number of clones under Li Qingsong's control finally broke through the Thousand-Person Mark, reaching 1,100!

A full 1,100 brains and bodies, all available for Li Qingsong to command without impediment!

Moreover, during those two years, the clones had not merely worked like machines.

While they worked, Li Qingsong also used the clones' brains to think.

For example, how should electrical wires be laid out most reasonably? How should a Steelmaking Blast Furnace be operated most safely? How should ore be preprocessed to save more electricity? How should parts be machined for greater efficiency? How should materials be treated to achieve better performance? And so on.

The knowledge database aboard the Deep Space did not contain such detailed knowledge.

But through practical work, Li Qingsong's brains gradually explored and researched these things, and they all became knowledge belonging to Li Qingsong.

"At this stage, I don't have the energy to conduct dedicated research.

But that's all right. At this stage, practice is the best research.

Now, my Industrial System has been further perfected, steel output has increased further, and my knowledge reserves are more or less sufficient.

It's time to put the construction of a large, specialized Steel Factory on the agenda."