this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!
After checking on Hui Hui’s egg, Jiang Ci went out to inspect her medicinal herb seedlings.
She noticed that in just two days, the seedlings had matured and were ready for harvest.
When Jiang Ci arrived, Song Jinchuan was already busy and had a pile of harvested herbs beside him.
Jiang Ci wasn’t very knowledgeable about medicinal herbs, only recalling that they needed to be processed in a certain way before they could be used as medicine. It seemed they would have to wait until Lu Dongmei joined to handle that.
After the herbs were harvested, Jiang Ci planted new seeds while Song Jinchuan took care of covering them with soil and watering them.
Once they were done, Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan returned to their respective rooms.
*
Early the next morning, Jiang Ci discovered a small, pitch-black turtle in Hui Hui’s luxurious nest. It was even smaller than Xiao Lulu.
Despite being entirely black, including its eyes, Jiang Ci found it inexplicably adorable.
The newborn tortoise tilted its head, staring at Jiang Ci, then nuzzled her palm, showing her a dependent demeanour.
When they were still eggs, the only beings they had contact with were their mother, Hui Hui, and Jiang Ci, so they were already quite familiar with Jiang Ci’s scent.
Jiang Ci felt her heart melting from the cuteness. She gently touched its head with her fingertip and, following her previous naming habit, named it Xiao Heihei.
No matter what others thought of it, it seemed that Hui Hui and her family were still quite happy with the name.
Now, with two of Hui Hui’s eggs already hatched, that only left one remaining.
When Jiang Ci went to open the shops, she noticed a standalone two-story building directly across from the breakfast shop. The building was entirely white, making it stand out against the three adjacent food establishments.
The first floor housed a pharmacy and consultation room, while the second floor was a patient ward equipped with beds. The facilities were quite comprehensive, and all it needed now to open for business was a doctor and a nurse.
Although everyone had taken notice of the pure white building, it had always been locked, so no one knew what was inside.
*
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:
The bearded man and his group arrived in City C a week later. As they set foot into City C, they felt a bit uneasy, unsure of what the environment around the hotpot shop would be like, what kind of housing they would be assigned, and what their future would hold.
The scar-faced man carried his daughter on his back, wrapped tightly in clothes and sheets, just just enough space for her to breathe.
Although Chen Xin was still weak, her health had improved significantly compared to before. These past few days, the scar-faced man had been giving his daughter jujube infused water daily. Whether it was because the jujubes from Jiang Ci were particularly effective or not, his daughter’s complexion had now visibly improved.
As a result, the scar-faced man would firmly put his trust in Jiang Ci, no matter what the situation was like at her place.
Although they had imagined countless possibilities, when they followed the map to the location of the restaurants, they found it was completely different from what they had expected.
The open space outside was packed with survivors, but upon closer inspection, they were all divided into several orderly queues. Several grand and imposing buildings stood among them. Although they were standing far away, they could still smell the rich aroma of food.
The sound of food sizzling on a grill snapped the bearded man and his group out of their thoughts. Their gaze shifted slightly, and they caught sight of a bustling barbecue stall operating in the courtyard.
The bearded man and his companions were stunned. Barbecue and beer? Were they seeing this right?
The shop seemed to have quite a few employees, all dressed in uniformly customized black T-shirts with the names of their respective stores written in elegant red and gold font.
These uniforms had been recently customized by Jiang Ci using her points from the system, making it easier to identify employees and maintain a sense of unity.
Lu Dongmei’s gaze, however, fell on the pure white building. Although it bore no signs, she instinctively felt that this was the medical clinic Jiang Ci had mentioned.
Just as they were overwhelmed by the scene, Jiang Ci emerged from the hotpot restaurant, wearing the same shop uniform, followed by the tall, black-clad figure of Song Jinchuan.
Seeing this familiar duo, the bearded man and his companions felt slightly reassured.
“You’ve finally arrived,” Jiang Ci smiled at the group. “How’s Little Xin? Is she feeling better?”
The scar-faced man nodded and shifted slightly to reveal the small, barely noticeable bulge on his back. “She’s here. She was thrilled when she heard we were coming to see you.”
Little Xin’s complexion looked much better than before, and she gave Jiang Ci a shy smile. Jiang Ci gently patted her head. “Let’s all head inside first. It’s too crowded here to talk properly. We’ll find a quieter spot.”
The bearded man nodded and called for the others to follow.
Only then did Jiang Ci notice all the survivors from the cave, totaling about twenty people—men, women, and children of all ages. She had met most of them before, but there were a few unfamiliar faces who nodded at her somewhat awkwardly.
Jiang Ci led them toward the dormitory area, introducing the buildings along the way.
“That tallest building is the hotpot restaurant. Next to it is the barbecue restaurant, and over there is the breakfast shop. The one outside is the convenience store, where you can buy daily necessities. You can use your wages to exchange for items there, so you don’t need to buy them separately. And this is the barbecue skewer stall, currently run by Brother Du and Sister Fu.”
As Jiang Ci spoke, the survivors gradually gained a clearer understanding of the place.
“As you can see, it’s always this busy here, so I need people to help maintain order,” Jiang Ci explained.
By the time she finished speaking, they had already passed through the bustling area, and into a quieter area.
The bearded man and his companions suddenly felt their vision open up as several relatively new buildings came into view.
Although most of the employees were working in the front, some of their family members were here, so the area didn’t feel deserted.
Upon seeing Jiang Ci, the survivors waved and greeted her with relaxed smiles.
Witnessing this scene, the bearded man almost felt as if he had traveled back in time to the days before the apocalypse.
“These three buildings are our staff dormitories. They are allocated as a family unit and are exclusively for our store employees. The monthly points required to stay here are minimal, serving as an employee benefit. Over there is the cafeteria, which provides meal subsidies every month. Just swipe your card to eat. The ingredients used in the cafeteria are the same as those in the store.”
“That building over there is the food processing factory, which produces some instant food.”
Seeing such a good living environment, the bearded man and his companions exchanged glances, all feeling very excited.
Honestly, they hadn’t held much hope for this place before coming. Even though Jiang Ci was their benefactor, they had to admit that many bosses tend to exaggerate benefits in order to recruit workers.
But unexpectedly, Jiang Ci didn’t exaggerate at all; it turns out she had only mentioned it briefly.
Jiang Ci led them to the cafeteria, where there were seats available. The bearded man and his group put down their luggage and sat at the cafeteria tables.
At this time, there were still people in the cafeteria getting food, with the entire cafeteria filled with the dense aroma of food.
Dong Ye, who was carrying a lunchbox, saw Jiang Ci and happily came over to greet her, “Sister Jiang.”
“Getting food for your dad?” Jiang Ci asked. Dong Ye was the daughter of Dong Xingyu, a worker at the food processing factory. It was also right about time for the workers to get take their break.
Dong Ye nodded, then took out a delicately crafted bracelet from her pocket. It was made of red braided rope with a small golden ball that was hollow hanging from it, both small and exquisite.
Seeing Dong Ye looking at her shyly yet expectantly, Jiang Ci accepted the gift.
“Did you make this for me?” Jiang Ci said with surprise, “It’s so beautiful, thank you.”
Dong Ye’s cheeks turned slightly red, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Jiang Ci. Seeing that Jiang Ci had other people in front of her, she didn’t linger any longer and left with her lunchbox.
Jiang Ci carefully put the bracelet away before turning her attention to the group of survivors sitting in front of her.
She briefly outlined her recruitment plan. Naturally, the bearded man and a few other ability users would maintain order in the area. Lu Dongmei would be the first doctor at the clinic, and also recommended another young girl, Huang Yue, to Jiang Ci.
“She’s kind of my apprentice. She worked in my family’s pharmacy before the apocalypse and has been with me since then. She’s learned to identify and process medicinal herbs and can also prepare prescriptions without any issues,” Lu Dongmei said.
Jiang Ci didn’t just blindly accept her and nodded, “Then, like you, she’ll have a one-week probation period first.”
If Lu Dongmei hadn’t recommended Huang Yue, Jiang Ci would have needed to recruit someone else anyway.
Several other survivors were also looking at Jiang Ci eagerly, clearly hoping for a job opportunity.
Jiang Ci assigned a few people to the food processing factory, picked one for the convenience store, and distributed the rest among various shops.
Finally, only a few children under fourteen were left without jobs.
Jiang Ci thought about it and decided to let them help Dong Ye with packing vegetables.
This simple, non-technical work wasn’t difficult for them and allowed them to earn points.
Jiang Ci also sought their opinions, and they all expressed willingness to help earn points.
Jiang Ci noticed that children in the apocalypse were very sensible, displaying a maturity beyond their years. Except for a very few, there were hardly any unruly children left.
Regarding this, Jiang Ci, who detests unruly children, was very satisfied.
After arranging their tasks, Jiang Ci treated them to dinner at the cafeteria, having just heard the survivors’ stomachs growling loudly.
The meals here were prepared with the survivors’ appetites in mind, and each portion was quite substantial.
After the meal, Jiang Ci proceeded to issue them personal ID cards. Not only would the adults receive them but also the children. The most intelligent feature was that the cards would automatically be updated as the employees aged, eliminating the need for renewal every year.
Next, she took them to the staff dormitories to settle in. As it was already late quite late, their official employment would begin tomorrow. Seeing the staff dormitories that were growing closer with each step, the survivors couldn’t hide their excitement.
If all went well, this would be their home from now on.
the translator has nothing to add ◡̈
