After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World novel Chapter 1786

Chapter 1786: Still Preparing! (Part 2)

Melissa’s tool was another great thing here. Melissa’s was, conveniently, a heating and lighting tool, which was the perfect tool to have in this weather.

It was cleaner, didn’t require fuel, and only needed some mana, and it’d last for several hours. However, she could only make one every day at most, so only a few households could actually receive one for now.

That said, Althea was studying the arrays in the tool quite diligently. Other than helping produce the potions, this was what she had been busy with, neglecting most tasks except for spending some time with her family.

She did not know if she’d be able to figure out anything on time—she was just looking for something that would passively increase temperature by at least 1 degree—but she wouldn’t stop trying.

It wasn’t that she had to create something in such a short amount of time. Althea was trying so hard because it could help someone in the future. That was more than enough reason for her to do her best in this project, even if it pushed back a few others.

Other than those, the production of various heat-producing items were at their peak.

Since things happened quickly, Mathilda set aside thousands of these to distribute to households after the official announcement, and they’d just be credited for them at a later date.

They also had to make sure it was accessible even to the ’poor’, so they released some how-to-do and use on their bulletin boards.

The longest-lasting oils for lamps were olive oil and animal fats. While the factories increased production for those, they also showed how to maximise the use of the lard they could get from monsters.

For example, methodology on how to render and clarify it, as well as the proper storage handling of them, was detailed in the guides. They didn’t care if guests knew this. This was a common thing, and everyone should know if they didn’t already. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Many better-off households would study this, too. Multiple small fires were better than a big one, so every household should have more than one in their homes.

That said, since the Ministers had yet to make an official mass announcement about the Extreme Cold, they didn’t really explain what the random step-by-step guide to make lard oil was for, but since it was useful, people just didn’t think much of it.

For food, high-calorie and high-fat meals were best. Soup and stews, and a lot of spices would help out. Eating regularly was important because it would maintain body temperature.

Alterra had no lack of food, and like other things, the Elders also set aside a huge amount. A portion would be left in the warehouse for emergencies, while the rest would be distributed to avoid chaos and panic buying, also to be credited on a later date if the household couldn’t pay for it upfront, upon the announcement.

They might also need to send subsidies to their allies and subsidiaries, though naturally their own citizens would have priority.

There were also sleeping quarters in the factories, and they added a few mattresses in case workers had to stay. Rather, bonuses would be given to the labor force willing to stay in the factory and keep things running.

It was just that they’d likely be trapped there for weeks. To encourage more to be prepared to do this, other than the bonuses, aether letters would also be lent to them so they could contact their families more efficiently.

The canteens (all factories had small canteens) were also filled with long shelf life foods. Basically, the goal was to keep some of these factories completely functional regardless of the disasters outside. This was the worst-case scenario for them, though.

The best case scenario would be that each factory could work as needed, though attendance (and therefore salary) was on a volunteer basis, but that was just them being idealistic that the Extreme Cold would just be a little cold.

They still wanted to be productive regardless, but safety-first, of course. For the rest of the citizens who didn’t want to go out, they would still get a small fraction of their salaries (like a paid leave of sorts), but it’d probably only be enough for sustenance.

They’d adjust these policies as needed, depending on the actual situation. For now, that was all they could do for the workers.