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However, after looking at the list, many were filled with disappointment and grief. There were also messages from those who were still alive, which the survivors read with great interest.
Jiang Ci didn’t disturb them any further and returned to the hotpot restaurant with Song Jinchuan.
The two had lunch on the way, and by the time they arrived at the restaurant, it was nearly dusk, though the place was still bustling with customers.
“Boss, you’re back,” Mao Qianqian peeked out from inside, happily waving at Jiang Ci.
She was still holding a dish in her other hand, and after greeting them, she continued to serve the food to the customers.
At the pot helmet window, Xue Yi’s eyes lit up when he saw Jiang Ci, and he flashed her a particularly sunny smile.
Some of the survivors waiting in line outside had already become quite familiar with the new staff. Seeing this, they teased, “Hey, what’s going on Little Xue? We’ve been waiting in line for so long and you never smiled at us like that, yet you’re beaming so brightly when you see Boss Jiang?”
Xue Yi quickly glanced at Jiang Ci, his ears reddening slightly. “Stop talking nonsense. Your pot helmet is ready, quickly take it and go.”
Jiang Ci chuckled, not taking the teasing remark seriously at all. However, Song Jinchuan, who was following behind her, had a dark expression on his face. He glanced at Xue Yi and then subtly averted his gaze.
After entering the hotpot restaurant, Jiang Ci first went to the kitchen. Although the kitchen was still chopping vegetables by hand, the rewards would only be distributed when no one was around.
“How has the shop been these past two days?” Jiang Ci inquired.
“No problems, and no one has caused any trouble. Everyone’s been well-behaved,” Li Hong, who was chopping vegetables in the kitchen, answered honestly.
“The crystal cores collected and the bills from the past few days are all in the empty drawer next to the counter. You can check them anytime, Boss,” Mao Qianqian said as she came in from outside to carry out more dishes.
Jiang Ci nodded. “Okay, thanks for your hard work.”
“It’s not hard at all. This is the easiest job I’ve ever had,” Li Hong said with a smile.
“Right, it’s much easier than killing zombies and mutated beasts, and we even get to eat our fill and stay warm,” Zhao Shi chimed in.
“Starting tomorrow, there will be an automatic food cutter in the kitchen. Only one person will need to watch over the arrangement of plates and ingredients, so we won’t need as many people chopping vegetables. In a few days, I’m planning to open a barbecue restaurant next door, and we’ll be short-handed there too. So, who among you would like to come with me and work over there?” Jiang Ci gave them a quick heads-up about the new store.
“An automatic food cutter? That’ll free up our hands! No problem, those two can go with you, and I’ll stay here to manage the rest,” Mao Qianqian said.
Li Hong and Zhao Shi were completely fine with Jiang Ci’s arrangements. As long as they didn’t lose their jobs, they were willing to work at any of the shops.
Jiang Ci looked around the kitchen. Although they had been cooking and eating in the shop over the past two days, they hadn’t consumed much of the meat in the store. When Jiang Ci asked about it, she found out that they had been eating very sparingly.
“You don’t need to do that. You’re working so hard for me, so you must eat well and get proper nutrition,” Jiang Ci said helplessly.
The group chuckled, feeling quite touched by Jiang Ci’s words.
For dinner that evening, Jiang Ci ordered large set meals for them, which included a variety of ingredients and rice, with everyone enjoying their meal.
Jiang Ci noticed that Mao Qianqian still took out her lunchbox to save a portion for her sister, Mao Jing. She asked, “Is your sister not able to move her legs?”
Mao Qianqian nodded. “Yes, she was already paralyzed before the apocalypse and had her legs amputated from the thighs.”
Jiang Ci sighed with regret. “You two sisters have really had it tough. Surviving this long in the apocalypse under such circumstances is truly impressive.”
Her praise was sincere. Life in the apocalypse was already difficult, and Mao Qianqian also had to take care of her sister, who was paralyzed from the waist down.
“My sister has always been helping the base with whatever work she can to earn crystal cores. It’s just that recently there hasn’t been much work to do at the base, so she’s been idle,” Mao Qianqian explained, not wanting others to think her sister was a burden.
Jiang Ci nodded, “That’s good. You’re both very capable.”
After a moment of thought, Jiang Ci continued, “You can ask your sister if she’d like to work at the hotpot restaurant. If she’s willing, she could handle kitchen tasks like arranging the plating of dishes and adding ingredients. However, the pay might not be very high, and she’d need to stay in the kitchen all day. You’d also need to spend some crystal cores to buy her a wheelchair.”
Mao Qianqian, who had been focused on her meal, suddenly looked up with bright eyes, full of hope, “Really? Boss, does the restaurant really need a survivor like my sister?”
Jiang Ci nodded. In fact, with the addition of the automatic food cutter in the kitchen, the workload had significantly decreased. Offering Mao Jing a job opportunity wasn’t completely out of the question.
Life was already tough for people with disabilities in the current world, let alone in the apocalypse. Since she had the ability, Jiang Ci thought it was only right for her to lend a hand.
Jiang Ci quite liked Mao Qianqian and wanted to keep her around. She was competent, diligent, and always greeted customers with a smile. Jiang Ci has heard a lot of customers singing her praise, so this move of hers could also be seen as a way to win her loyalty.
Reassured by the positive response, Mao Qianqian thought about the issues Jiang Ci had raised and added, “But there’s nowhere to buy a wheelchair now.”
“I can get one here. Don’t worry about that, just make sure your sister is willing to come, that her health can handle it, and that you’ve considered the safety of your journey to and from the restaurant. You’ll need to think about these things yourself since I’m not responsible for your safety once you leave the premises.”
Jiang Ci laid out the issues clearly to avoid any future disputes. These points were also included in the contracts, which the survivors were already well aware of.
Mao Qianqian didn’t find Jiang Ci’s straightforwardness off-putting. She understood that Jiang Ci was considering their safety and that she needed to discuss this with her sister. She nodded quickly, “Alright, I’ll ask her when I get back.”
As she continued eating, she discreetly wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes. Her judgment hadn’t been wrong; Boss Jiang was indeed a good person.
pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:
After all the employees had left, Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan checked over the various facilities in the restaurant, then turned off the lights and locked the doors before returning to the backyard.
Jiang Ci had closed the restaurant early today specifically to plant the seeds she had just acquired. The restaurant began upgrading as soon as they left.
Jiang Ci mentioned the planting to Song Jinchuan, who silently rolled up his sleeves without another word.
Jiang Ci exchanged some points for a set of planting tools in the system and took out the seeds as well.
Having been busy with the restaurant and completing tasks these past few days, she hadn’t had the chance to take a good look at the cultivated land. Now she noticed a small well not far away, which would make irrigation very convenient.
[The water isn’t just for irrigation. The host can also drink the water from the well more frequently, which will be very beneficial for the body,] the system said.
Jiang Ci raised an eyebrow. It seemed there was something special about the water from this well. She leaned over to take a look inside. Under the light, the water was crystal clear, seemingly nothing out of the ordinary. But since the system had mentioned it, she figured she should drink more of this water.
Song Jinchuan had already changed his shoes and put on gloves, holding a hoe in hand for tilling the soil. “It looks like this land has already been tilled,” he said.
Jiang Ci nodded. “Then we can just plant the seeds directly.”
Song Jinchuan assigned the lighter tasks to Jiang Ci, and the two of them worked together efficiently.
The bag of seeds contained a variety of plants. Some Jiang Ci recognized, but most she didn’t. Fortunately, Song Jinchuan was reliable, mentioning that he had helped with planting vegetables back in the military, so he recognized most of them.
After a lot of hard work and sweating, they finally managed to plant all the seeds.
The tilled land was quite vast, and even with all the seeds planted, it hadn’t been completely filled.
After irrigating the land with water from the well, the entire process was complete.
Jiang Ci didn’t leave immediately. Instead, she scooped up a ladle of well water and took a sip. She had already asked the system which had said it was safe to drink directly.
The well water didn’t have the usual taste of untreated water, carrying a hint of sweetness instead. After doing such hard labour, drinking it felt especially refreshing.
Jiang Ci casually handed the ladle to Song Jinchuan. “Here, have some water.”
She didn’t think much of it as she handed it over, still savoring the benefits the system had mentioned.
Song Jinchuan paused for a moment before taking the ladle and drinking a few sips. It had to be said that drinking this well water on a stuffy night really did make him feel refreshed from the inside out.
The next morning, after Jiang Ci got up, she looked out the window and saw Song Jinchuan standing in front of the field, seemingly observing something.
After washing up, she walked over and saw that the seeds they had planted just yesterday had already sprouted small, tender green shoots, swaying gently in the wind.
Song Jinchuan turned around upon hearing her footsteps. He was quite shocked. Over the years in the post-apocalyptic world, humanity had spent countless resources trying to grow plants successfully. Yet, here these plants were, growing effortlessly without regard to the surrounding environment, sprouting in just one day.
This left him with a deep sigh.
Jiang Ci was also surprised. Although she had never farmed before, she still knew common sense—seeds shouldn’t sprout this quickly. She glanced at the well, and concluded that it must be due to the water from the well.
The two didn’t stay long before heading to the front to open the shop.
The hotpot restaurant had expanded again. The first floor now had a row of single-person hotpot stations, and the second floor had four new private rooms, decorated more luxuriously than before.
Jiang Ci walked around, admiring how the hotpot restaurant was looking better and better. Looking at it again, she couldn’t help but think of her own hotpot restaurant in the real world, wondering when she would finally be able to open it.
After Jiang Ci returned, Mao Qianqian returned the keys to her. As they opened the door, they saw people already waiting outside.
Once the door was open, Jiang Ci noticed that Mao Qianqian had a gentle and elegant-looking woman behind her, who must be her sister, Mao Jing…
Jiang Ci quickly let the employees in and closed the door again.
“Let’s put your sister on the stool first,” Jiang Ci said.
the translator has nothing to add ◡̈
