"It might sound cruel, but it is hunger that has brought the human race to where it stands today. These weak creatures rallied together, created fire, built tools, constructed walls, and eventually progressed to building cities, industries, and even reaching for the cosmos. Essentially, it's all for filling an empty stomach."
"Humans are constantly worried about going hungry, about never possessing enough. Even if sothing sits there, never to rot for millennia, they would still desire to claim it, because they feel hungry."
"A deep-seated hunger has tad humanity, so people crave more than others, not because they can eat more than the rest, but because they dread the day they might go hungry. Hence, they feel they must amass more than others. This is the root cause of human strife."
"Interesting perspective," Bruce remarked, turning to look into Diana's eyes, "It's far too authentic and objective, as though you aren't one of us."
Diana's lips parted slightly, a fleeting flicker of sorrow barely perceptible beneath the perpetual glow of her eyes. She bowed her head, her dark hair hiding her striking features as she replied, "Indeed, I once wasn't a part of your society, but soone led into it. Now, I can't part ways with it."
"If there's nothing to eat, people starve. But if food was unlimited and readily available, civilization might die of ease. It's unclear whether humanity has reached the stage of accepting unlimited material goods. However, I harbor a pessimistic view about this." Diana shook her head as she continued, "I've seen a group of beings with infinite lifespans, trendous power, and barely any needs for survival, but they couldn't develop any decent civilization and are now barely surviving."
Bruce took a deep breath and said, "Alright, feeding the entire human race sounds a bit too ambitious. But what if we can grow a certain plant that can survive Gotham?"
"Let's get back to discussing how to feed the human race then." Clark interrupted abruptly.
Seeing Bruce turning his gaze towards him, Clark sighed, "I'm serious. How to increase crop yields and how to make plants grow healthily without sunlight are two issues of entirely different levels, just as different as you and your psychology professor."
Bruce grimaced as Clark stood up from the couch, clapping his hands, "Alright, let's end our philosophical discussion here. When is the technician supposed to arrive?"
"Tomorrow."
"Then today we clear out the warehouse, do so weeding, till the ground lightly, and prepare the tools we need to use."
Shortly, they all began the preparatory work. While modern agriculture doesn't require heavy labor, there are still chores that need to be done.
The seeds needed to be transported to the nearest warehouse. In front of the warehouse door, they also had to make room for the tractor's parking.
Diana handled the cleaning of the warehouse near the field; Clark transported the fuel needed for plowing with his pickup truck, and Bruce lubricated the connecting parts of the sowing machine.
The three of them all focused on their tasks. These tasks weren't all that difficult,but sowhat tedious. After the warehouse was tidied up, while there was still daylight, Clark went to transport seeds from the main warehouse; Bruce took the car to pick up the agricultural specialist to determine the specific sowing ti.
Since the farm is extensive and there's a limited number of specialty vehicles available, they still needed to go back to Jonah to arrange the timing for the irrigation vehicles, trying to avoid the peak tis and not to disturb the irrigation of the other fields.
They worked till late into the night, but the most ti-consuming and burdenso task had yet to be completed - the initial check of the field, to ensure there was nothing that could hinder the tractor's function. However, with Clark and Diana present, the most troubleso task turned out to be the simplest.
Clark flew above, using his super vision to scan the area for problems, and directed Diana to deal with them.
And Bruce? Martha sent him to his room to rest forcefully at 9 o'clock.
The next morning, Bruce brought a checklist to Clark. Clark instinctively looked at the paper in his hand and asked, "What's this? It looks like agricultural tools?"
"It's the list of things you need to prepare for starting a farm. Check to see if anything's missing, will you?"
"Really? Are you serious? You're really planning on starting a farm in Gotham?... Spare the plants, spare yourself!" Clark exclaid in resignation.
"It's just a small experintal field." Bruce crossed his arms and replied, "If I were planning on operating a modern large-scale farm, would it need only these? You clearly underestimate Wayne."
Bruce sighed, "You only saw the successful part of the Gotham renovation plan but not the resistance. I'm bound to step on soone's toes. They won't let change Gotham easily."
"If I'm able to solve a problem that is a thousand or even a hundred tis more complex than they can handle, they will face criticism for their incompetence. Hence, they will do anything to prevent from reaching my goals."
"Regardless of the ti, food will always be vital. If a special circumstance were to arise, all of Gotham's citizens would feel uneasy and panic due to the complete lack of food production here. I must prepare for this in advance."
"Can't you grow crops indoors?" Clark asked again.
"What I need to solve is not rely how to keep the plants alive, but how to guarantee, after growing them, they won't go mad, get polluted, and can safely end up in people's mouths." Bruce shook his head in vexation, "It might sound ridiculous, but I must make sure that the plants won't go mad and harm people, adding further burden to Gotham's knife-edge security situation."
"So, I asked you, how about growing broccoli?" Bruce touched his temple, a tinge of uncertainty in his tone. "Broccoli is relatively safe because if broccoli goes crazy and starts hurting people, there will be people to deal with them."
"Then let's grow broccoli." Clark looked at Bruce seriously and said, "Earning a bit less is not a big deal. You've done so much already. I don't mind doing my part."
But Bruce seed hesitant. Just as he was struggling with his decision, Martha suddenly walked in. "Clark, it seems a friend of yours is here. He said he's a pilot and you should know him. Shall I invite him in?"
Clark was montarily stunned, but then his expression turned to one of pleasant surprise. He smiled at Martha, "Oh, yes, that's Hal. He might be here about Little Kryptonite. You go get on with your tasks. I'll go greet him."
On the way to the farm's main entrance, Bruce asked, "Who's Little Kryptonite?"
"My dog, though earlier, it suffered from pet depression, and had been hospitalized in a pet clinic in tropolis. After I left tropolis, I entrusted him to Hal."
"How did your dog get pet depression?... Bat Cat?"
"You are very self-aware."
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