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Hearing the word “supplies,” Jiang Ci paused and took a few steps back. “Oh right, lately the potatoes at the restaurant city have been selling really well as they’re both filling and tasty. You could buy more when the time comes.”
Before Jiang Ci left, Tan Ziyi hurried over to express his gratitude once again. At the time, his mind had already been muddled, only instinctively seeking help.
If it hadn’t been for Jiang Ci, not only would he have died, but his parents and friends would have also silently perished in this man-made disaster.
Since the patients here hadn’t fully recovered yet, Lu Dongmei volunteered to stay behind. Jiang Ci had a pile of matters to attend to at her shop, so she had to head back first. She discussed with Lu Dongmei and planned to pick her up in a few days.
When she returned to the base, it was still early. As Jiang Ci walked through the gate, she saw Song Jinchuan urgently making his way through the crowd toward her. The survivors nearby knew that Boss Jiang had returned when they noticed the ice on Song Jinchuan’s face melting away.
Song Jinchuan’s eyes swept over her, as if making sure she hadn’t been injured during her trip, before he finally let out a slight sigh of relief.
“Did anything happen at the shop?” Jiang Ci asked.
“Nothing happened,” Song Jinchuan’s expression softened a bit. “Everything’s been fine at the shop these past few days, except that there’s a new open space in the backyard. I went to check it out, and it seems to be a farm, with a few livestock pens marked out.”
Jiang Ci also habitually shared her experiences from this trip, the people she met, and Lu Dongmei, who stayed behind at the Sunrise Base.
“Luckily, Sister Dongmei left some basic medicine here. We’ll be relying on Huang Yue to keep an eye on things during this time.”
As Song Jinchuan listened to the voice beside him, his heart finally seemed to settle and take root in the ground.
The members of the Cheetah Squad that were sitting not too far away didn’t miss a single expression on Song Jinchuan’s face. Huang Mao clicked his tongue a few times, “Look, doesn’t it seem like a tail is wagging behind our captain?”
The other squad members burst into laughter, teasing, “You better watch out, or the captain might just give you a beating.”
Jiang Ci greeted her employees and then headed to the backyard, unable to wait any longer to see her farm.
Back when she had been obsessed with TV dramas, she had always dreamed of being a farm owner, to be surrounded by little animals, with blue skies and white clouds above her, every scene looking like it had been processed through a filter.
Sure enough, the small yard had already been partitioned off, with a wall erected between the two. However, there was a small gate in the wall, making it convenient for Jiang Ci to come and go.
Entering through the small gate, the first thing that caught her eye was an expansive lawn, with the occasional flower dotted sparsely amongst it.
The scent of soil and fresh grass filled the air. If there were any other survivors here, they would likely be astonished by the vibrant vitality of this land as it was in stark contrast to the lifeless terrain of the post-apocalyptic world.
Half of the farm was fields, currently lush with green vegetables, while the other half comprised of various livestock pens.
Jiang Ci had no prior experience with these, so she wasn’t particularly familiar with which animals these pens belonged to.
In her store, alongside various seeds, there were also a large number of young livestock available.
Since Jiang Ci wasn’t confident that she could raise them well, she first bought ten chicks and ten piglets.
After the purchase, the pens were soon filled with ten fluffy chicks and ten chubby, white piglets.
Although Jiang Ci had to admit that the meat from these animals was indeed delicious, she couldn’t deny the fact that they were incredibly cute when young, almost melting her heart.
Jiang Ci also bought feed for them from the store. Because they were still so young, she had to mix the feed with water to create a paste before feeding them.
Watching the chirping chicks and snorting piglets start to eat the feed, Jiang Ci felt a strange sense of satisfaction, as if she were in a childrearing simulation game.
At the front of the farm, there was another gate that served as the main entrance, which was wide enough for a large truck to drive through.
After ensuring that the piglets and chicks had settled in, Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan went to the fields to water and harvest the crops.
The well was located in the small courtyard, and there were dedicated faucets here for watering. Jiang Ci sometimes used her own abilities as well.
After finishing all this, Jiang Ci rubbed her waist and said, “Let’s hire a few people to manage the farm.”
Previously, they hadn’t hired anyone because the fields had been situated in the small courtyard, and Jiang Ci didn’t want too many people entering her private space. But now that it was separated, it was completely feasible for her to hire help.
Song Jinchuan nodded, “Alright, I’ll help with the screening.”
Jiang Ci held an immense trust in Song Jinchuan’s judgment. After all, the employees he selected were always of good character and diligent in their work.
*
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:
Zhao Ping and his teammates arrived at the hotpot city. Their base wasn’t far from City C, so the journey wasn’t particularly long. They had witnessed the hotpot city being built step by step, all the way to its current state today.
“The hotpot city has more and more employees now. I’m telling you, Zhao Ping, you should really try applying next time. Boss Jiang isn’t the type to judge by appearance,” a teammate remarked, looking at the increasingly orderly shops and the busy employees inside.
Zhao Ping adjusted the brim of his hat downward to cover his face. The areas that were uncovered were clearly visible, with scars crisscrossing on his face and even his neck.
“Better not. My appearance might scare away the customers,” Zhao Ping said with a self-deprecating smile.
Before the apocalypse, Zhao Ping had been a firefighter. The scars on his body had been branded by saving lives. Even in the post-apocalyptic world, those prejudiced looks toward him didn’t diminish in the slightest. Despite having the responsibility to support eight children and the constant urging from those around him, Zhao Ping never considered applying for a job at A Restaurant City to make his life easier since he didn’t want to take advantage of others’ sympathy for him.
“Hey, everyone, look! Boss Jiang is out putting up notices again. Is she hiring again?”
Zhao Ping, surrounded by the crowd, also made his way to the front of the recruitment notice.
“Boss Jiang, which store are you hiring for this time?” a survivor inquired.
After posting the notice, Jiang Ci turned to face the survivors who had gathered around her in layers, shaking her head, “Not this time. This recruitment is for hiring help needed at the farm. Those with experience in farming and raising poultry will be prioritized.”
“Zhao Ping, didn’t you grow up in the fields as a kid?” a teammate patted Zhao Ping on the shoulder, speaking with evident joy.
Zhao Ping and his teammates had been companions for many years and genuinely looked out for each other. Seeing a job that seemed almost tailor-made for Zhao Ping, they all urged him to give it a try.
“Go for it, Brother Ping. This job means you won’t have to deal with customers in the restaurant. Look, the salary and benefits are good, and you’ll even be allocated your own housing unit. You can bring Xiao Le and the others over, and you won’t have to squeeze into a large bunk with dozens of people anymore. That way, it won’t be as hard on you.”
Looking at the contents of the recruitment notice, Zhao Ping felt a stirring of longing in his heart.
He adjusted the brim of his hat and finally made up his mind, “Alright, I’ll give it a try.”
This recruitment involved Jiang Ci posing several questions to test their familiarity with crops and livestock.
These questions were quite simple for Zhao Ping, and he promptly finished answering and handed in his paper.
As expected, he passed the first round of the written test. By the second round of interviews, more than half of the candidates had already been eliminated.
When it was Zhao Ping’s turn, his steady voice and calm responses to the questions left both Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan quite satisfied with him. Zhao Ping had also been the only one who had scored full marks on the written test earlier.
“Can you take off your mask?” Jiang Ci asked, because although she was very satisfied with this survivor named Zhao Ping, he had been wearing a hat and mask the entire time, and she still needed to confirm his identity.
Zhao Ping was taken aback but slowly removed his hat and mask.
Jiang Ci hadn’t expected the face beneath the mask, but she didn’t let any other emotion show through on her face and just nodded calmly, “Alright, please wait outside for the results.”
Zhao Ping hadn’t expected that the other party to not show any pity or disgust like others had. Her calmness almost made him think he was a normal person.
He walked dazedly to the open area on the other side and only snapped out of it when he heard his name called again.
“I… I passed?” Zhao Ping was still in disbelief as he looked at the work uniform that was being handed to him.
“That’s great!” Although Zhao Ping was more reserved and rarely showed his emotions, his friend beside him didn’t hold back and started to cheer outright.
The noise attracted the attention of the nearby survivors, and when they saw the survivor who had been selected, their eyes were filled with either envy or jealousy.
Zhao Ping quickly composed himself and then followed the other survivors to apply for their own staff dormitories.
After filling out his information and receiving the set of keys, Zhao Ping returned to the base with his teammates.
This trip was originally meant to serve as a break for them after completing their mission, but Zhao Ping unexpectedly encountered such a windfall from today.
Over the years, his teammates had witnessed how Zhao Ping lived. His clothes were patched up, and he was reluctant to replace them. The crystal cores he earned through his tightrope between life and death were all spent on raising the eight children.
In fact, none of the eight children were his own. They had all been either picked up by him over the years or orphans of his fallen comrades that he had specifically sought out from orphanages after the disaster had struck.
Although it’s hard to say whether he was overly kind-hearted or just plain stubborn, at the very least, he was a person who had his heart in the right place.
“When you have time off in the future, come out on missions with us again,” his teammates chattered, all genuinely happy for him.
“Sorry,” Zhao Ping’s voice softened at the thought, “I might not be able to participate much in the team’s missions anymore.”
“Come on, what’s the big deal? Seeing you getting better is what really makes us happy. Old Zhao, you’re capable and skilled—no need to live so cautiously. It’s the apocalypse now! If anyone’s got a problem with you, we’ll just deal with them. That scar of yours? That’s your medal as a hero,” one of his teammates said.
Zhao Ping smiled, a sense of relief peeking through in his expression.
The next day, when Zhao Ping moved in with the children, it attracted quite a bit of attention. Perhaps it was because no one had ever seen a group of eight children together with one adult before.
The oldest was already sixteen, while the youngest was only five, clutching a small bundle and stumbling along behind Zhao Ping.
the translator has nothing to add ◡̈
