Chapter 220

"Whoosh..." 

Lucas's breath was slightly hurried as he walked down the cold hallway. This winter was truly cold; without any heating, he was wrapped in a thick fur coat. 

He had brought plenty of these thick fur coats from Earth, and even Mina and Annie had their own. However, they were still stored away in the castle's internal storage. With the snow now falling, it was time to bring them out for use. 

He decided that he definitely needed to upgrade the castle next year, at the very least installing underfloor heating. Even in such thick clothing, he still felt cold. 

When Lucas arrived in the dining hall, the temperature rose significantly. He noticed a chimney in the corner, brightly lit and burning vigorously. 

"Uh... where is everyone?" Lucas scanned the room and found no one in the dining hall, only a large plate of steaming buns on the table. 

Well, he didn't need to guess; he knew that Mina, Annie, and Nicole were probably too shy to face him. They wouldn't dare to come out until the evening at the earliest. 

"Really, it's not like we haven't kissed before." Lucas said with a smirk, feeling a bit proud of himself. 

"Creak." 

The dining hall door was pushed open, only to be immediately closed again. Ayesha rubbed her sleepy eyes, wrapped in a thick thick fur coat.

"Good morning, young master." Ayesha greeted, holding a baseball bat in one hand and a sword at her waist.

"Morning. No need to go out for patrol today." Lucas replied softly, tearing open a meat bun and stuffing half of it into his mouth.

"Huh? No patrol today?" Ayesha looked a bit surprised, especially since she had already donned her leather armor.

"Nope, you're the head of the patrol squad; you don't need to go out every day. Once every two or three days is enough." Lucas smiled.

"Great." Ayesha nodded, clearly pleased that she didn't have to go out every day. "Then I'll go help out at the pizza shop today."

"Uh…" Lucas was taken aback, thinking she meant she was going to help eat pizza.

"Creak.." 

The door swung open again, and Helen stumbled in, shaking off the snow and stomping her feet in her fur-lined boots, only to quickly shut the door behind her.

"Hey? Where are Mina, Annie, and Nicole?" Helen flicked her long hair, her rabbit ears twitching.

"They… they should still be sleeping in." Lucas said, quickly coming up with an excuse.

"Sleeping in? They didn't have dinner last night and are sleeping in again today? They can't be that hungover. What if they're sick?" Helen said, a hint of concern in her voice.

After finishing her teaching yesterday, she had only found Nicole, and she could still smell the alcohol. As for Annie and Mina, she didn't need to guess; it was obvious they were both drunk since they hadn't shown up.

"They're awake but went back to sleep. Otherwise, how did these buns end up here?" Lucas quickly redirected Helen's attention.

"Buns?" 

Sure enough, Helen's eyes were immediately drawn to the buns, and she quickly took a seat at the dining table, biting into one.

"By the way, did you notify all the students?" Lucas asked, munching on a bun. "How's the orphanage?"

"Yep. Everyone's been informed." Helen swallowed her bite and smiled brightly. "The orphanage is doing great. The few furnaces you sent are keeping the children warm; they're not freezing at all."

When Helen visited the orphanage, the beastkins children were busy getting ready to go out, and she arrived just in time. 

Those furnaces could not only boil water and cook food but also raise the indoor temperature, making it truly a win-win situation.

"That's great." Lucas nodded. It had only been a day or two since the furnaces were set up in the market, and winter had already arrived. The cold front was indeed unavoidable.

He thought to himself that if it weren't for the Forbidden Mountain Range blocking most of the cold air, the western lands might be just as frigid as the other side of the mountains, where it was perpetually covered in ice and snow.

Lucas had a theory that what blew over the Forbidden Mountains was likely a severe cold front, which would emerge during winter. In contrast, the situation on the other side of the mountains should be chaotic from both major and minor cold fronts.

"Alright, I'm full. I'm heading to the pizza shop. Helen, do you want to come?" Ayesha stood up, resting her baseball bat on her shoulder.

"No, I don't feel like going out today." Helen said with a pained expression. Running around to notify students early in the morning had tired her out.

"Then I'll head out first." Ayesha waved her hand, flipping her long purple hair, and stepped out of the dining hall, making her way to the pizza shop.

"Remember to save some room for dinner; there will be delicious food." Lucas called out.

"Got it." Ayesha's voice echoed back from outside as her footsteps gradually faded away.

"Hey, what's for dinner?" Helen turned to Lucas, curiosity evident in her eyes. "Are you going to cook for yourself?"

"Yes. Today is Mina's birthday, so I'm making something special." Lucas said with a light smile.

"Ah? Today is Mina's birthday?" Helen paused, her light eyes blinking in surprise.

"Yes, didn't anyone tell you?" Lucas asked, puzzled.

"No, I just forgot." Helen admitted sheepishly, tugging at her rabbit ears. She had been busy shuttling between the school and the orphanage lately.

"As long as you don't forget to wish her, Mina won't mind too much." Lucas said with a gentle smile.

"I'll make a big meat bun for Mina tonight." Helen's eyes sparkled, and her lips curled into a beaming smile.

"Uh…" Lucas couldn't help but facepalm; it seemed like the rabbit-eared girl had been wanting to try that idea for a while now.

"Wait, come with me to a place." Lucas said, finishing the last bite of his bun.

Helen was taken aback for a moment but quickly replied, "Okay."

She suddenly realized that she rarely had one-on-one time with Lucas. This was the first time, and for some reason, her heart started to race, and she felt a bit nervous.

"Are you full?" Lucas looked at the dazed rabbit-eared girl with curiosity.

"Full." Helen nodded, her rabbit ears twitching, even though she had only eaten enough to fill half her stomach.

"Then let's go." Lucas noticed her expression but didn't call her out on it. He tightened his thick fur coat and stepped outside.

Helen stood up and quickly turned back to grab two buns, stuffing one into her mouth and slowly chewing, making her cheeks puff up like a bun.

Lucas, walking ahead, couldn't help but smile as he heard the crunching sounds. This rabbit-eared girl was still adorably silly.

Once they left the dining hall, they headed to the backyard, holding an oil-paper umbrella to shield themselves from the falling snowflakes. The research department was currently working on improving the complicated umbrella frame, so only a few were made.

Previously, some oil-paper umbrellas had been tested in the market, but they were priced too high, leading to their removal from sale. They would be relaunched after improvements. For now, one of these umbrellas was being sold in town for as much as three hundred copper coins.

Lucas was headed to the vegetable greenhouse in the backyard. This greenhouse had been set up over ten days earlier than the ones outside which had been set over 2 months ago, so the vegetables inside were ripe and ready for picking.

Fresh vegetables were essential for tonight's birthday dinner for Mina. Lucas remembered setting up the greenhouse first with the help of head craftsman Mark. 

*

Lucas had already made a plan on Earth on how to set up the greenhouse in the backyard.

First thing to make anything required materials, so he started with the materials first. The first thing in the materials was plastic sheets, not normal ones but heavy-duty polyethylene plastic was chosen which was uv-treated for durability. After choosing the plastic now comes the support frame, for frame lucas choose the pvc pipes as they won't get destroyed easily as bamboo.

Initially he thought about using the bamboo but the bamboo would get damaged in snow, so he chose pvc pipes for the backyard and bamboo for the rest of the city. As using strange material might attract more unwanted attention then he already has attracted.

Now comes the thing which would fix all these things together. Heavy-duty, weather-resistant tape or plastic clips to secure the plastic sheeting to the frame. And now comes the last thing to hold the frame in place and make the structure wind-resistant anchors.

After getting all the material now it was the turn to make a greenhouse out of it. Lucas picked a location with good exposure to sunlight, ideally where it gets at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily and made sure the ground has good drainage to prevent water pooling inside the greenhouse.

As for the design of the greenhouse Lucas chose the A-Frame for the castle backyard and hoop house for the rest of the city. As for the reason why Lucas chose hoop house design for the rest of the city as it is the easiest structure to build with plastic sheeting. So Lucas could leave it to Mark after giving him the design. As for the greenhouse made in the backyard Lucas himself helped Mark and they finished it in one day.

Lucas thought that he could rest after this but he was wrong, the next day Mark called him for his help in the hoop house making. Lucas knowing the importance of greenhouse could only help Mark. So he helped them in building one hoop house in the city's territory. 

He with the help of Mina stuck both ends of the bamboo into the ground to form the arches. These arches will be the frame of the greenhouse. After carefully fixing the bamboo in the ground Lucas turned around to see all the people's mouths open as they couldn't believe that thing could bend so much. Sensing Mark's gaze Lucas signaled him to shut his mouth and just watch.

He then secured the base of the frame to the ground using stakes and heavy rocks. This will ensure the structure remains stable during windy conditions. Then comes the covering part, as Lucas had already brought tailored sheets for the greenhouse. He easily put the sheet on the structure with Mina's help. And leave extra plastic at the ends to overlap or fold for better sealing.

Mina then draped the plastic sheeting over the frame. Ensure it covers all sides completely, reaching down to the ground. And then used clips to attach the plastic to the frame. Meanwhile Lucas with the help of Mark and workers bury the edges of the plastic in the ground to keep the plastic taut and prevent it from flapping in the wind.

Then Lucas made a doorway by simply cutting a slit in the plastic. to serve as a doorway. For ventilation he cut small windows on opposite sides of the greenhouse for cross-ventilation, securing them with plastic flaps that can be opened or closed.

He then told Mark to regularly check the internal temperature of the greenhouse. On hot days, to open the door or ventilation windows to prevent overheating and to regularly inspect the plastic for any tears or damage and report to him. After finishing the greenhouse and giving instruction Lucas left with Mina to the castle for official work.

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