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as translator, proofreader and editor!
Xie Ling looked at Jiang Ci with a gleam in her eyes. The sudden appearance of Jiang Ci was like a divine blessing for the survivors, so she also felt that it was an honour to entrust the base to Jiang Ci.
But she didn’t urge Jiang Ci for an answer. Instead, she helped Jiang Ci pack up the tents in the base. Everyone pitched in to help, and soon everything was ready.
The medical team had already boarded the vehicle. Jiang Ci walked in last, and when she turned around, she saw a group of people eagerly looking at her. She couldn’t help but laugh, “My vehicle can’t carry so many people, and the base over there isn’t ready for your arrival yet. Everyone, please wait for me a little longer.”
Jiang Ci couldn’t help but smile when she saw everyone’s eyes lighting up.
“So you’re really willing to take us in, Boss Jiang?” Xie Ling asked on behalf of everyone.
Jiang Ci nodded, “Yes, but everyone should be prepared to work hard when they get there.”
“No problem! We’re more than happy to work!” The survivors’ voices were almost loud enough to lift the roof.
Jiang Ci rubbed her ringing ears, “Alright, the train I’ve been building under my name is already complete, so you can all come over by train when I let you know. You should think carefully since I’ll only be developing in C City from now on, so you won’t have many opportunities to return here.”
After Jiang Ci finished speaking, she saw the survivors nod without hesitation. In fact, most of them hadn’t even been from this city originally but had settled here after the apocalypse.
Although they still felt some attachment to this place, they also believed that life with Jiang Ci would definitely be better than their current situation.
After discussing with them, Jiang Ci got into her vehicle and headed back with everyone.
Xie Ling and the others saw them off for a long way before finally stopping. Jiang Ci looked back, feeling a surge of emotions. Unbeknownst to her, it seemed like she had already formed many bonds in this completely unfamiliar city.
On the way back, Jiang Ci saw a large portion of the railway tracks still covered with tarp. The system had informed her just a few days ago that the train as well as its tracks had been finished. It was just waiting for her to perform the final steps, which were for her to name the railway as well as cut the ribbon to officially open it up for use.
Jiang Ci hadn’t expected the system to be so ceremonial, to the point where it even included a public ribbon-cutting event.
However, Jiang Ci also enjoyed personally unveiling unknown surprises herself. After completing this task that had taken two months, the system informed her that the fast-food restaurant had also been unlocked.
Jiang Ci placed it next to the breakfast shop. Her Gourmet City had unknowingly grown larger and larger.
After picking everyone up, Jiang Ci was eager to return home and drove back to her Gourmet City overnight.
When they saw the city walls from afar, everyone felt a sense of homesickness upon returning home.
Entering through the main gate, they could see the lights coming from inside, the warmth forming a stark contrast to the desolate world outside.
Jiang Ci stretched, “Finally home.”
“By the way, the wages and subsidies for these two months have all been deposited into your point cards. You can use them in the cafeteria or to buy supplies. Due to special circumstances, your family’s cafeteria expenses during this period were recorded on credit, so remember to make up the difference with your points later,” Jiang Ci said to everyone in the vehicle. “It’s been tough on all of you these days. These are your travel benefits, and the points have been deposited as well. You have three days off, but make sure to report to the hospital after that.”
Dozens of identical cloth bags suddenly appeared at her feet, filled with vegetables and meat. The piglets on the farm had grown into mature pigs and had successfully given birth to more piglets. The pork from those pigs had been stored in the farm’s warehouse and was now also in Jiang Ci’s spatial storage.
Jiang Ci had already divided them into equal portions on the way, giving each person a piece of pork weighing three to five pounds as well as a bag of assorted vegetables.
Everyone in the medical team was delighted with their benefits. These were things that couldn’t be bought, even if you had crystal cores in the apocalypse. Their boss was truly generous.
When the vehicle finally came to a halt, the medical team bid farewell to Jiang Ci and eagerly headed home. It had been two months since they had seen their families, and they were just as eager as Jiang Ci to return.
They originally thought that their own families would have been just as heartsick with longing as they were, but unexpectedly, they had been living so comfortably in the Gourmet City, their lives so vibrant that they had almost forgotten that there was still someone from their family that was still toiling outside.
When Deng Dayong walked to the staff dormitory and saw the lights on in his home, a strange feeling welled up in his heart, his eyes slightly moist with unshed tears.
Opening the door, his wife came out from the direction of the bedroom, her eyes filled with pleasant surprise, “You’re back! How was your trip this time? What’s that you’re carrying?”
Deng Dayong nodded, “It went smoothly. Boss Jiang provided plenty of medicine and equipment, so we didn’t face any danger at all. These are the benefits we got which Boss Jiang distributed, she said that these are our travel rewards.” Deng Dayong handed the bag in his hand to his wife.
Upon opening it, his wife’s eyes immediately lit up with joy, “So much food? Boss Jiang is really generous! With this pork and vegetables, we can cook at home for several days, we’ll just need to get some rice from the canteen.”
“Our son went with the other kids to package vegetables today. They didn’t have as much to do, so he said Teacher Jiang taught them to recognize a few characters. I’m planning to try and get find a job somewhere in the city when there’s availability,” his wife chattered on while organizing the food.
Deng Dayong looked at his wife’s delighted face and smiled with tears in his eyes. Previously, due to his profession, which had almost become obsolete in the apocalypse, their family’s conditions had been poor due to his inability to earn crystal cores. They had lived in a subpar place and survived only consuming the cheapest of the nutrient solutions.
But now, everything was getting better.
When Jiang Ci returned home, she found Hui Hui, whom she hadn’t seen for two months, toddling over to her on her short feet, looking up at her.
Jiang Ci bent down and with some effort, picked up the increasingly hefty Hui Hui and placed her on the bed. Perhaps because it had been too long since she had seen her, Hui Hui was now extremely clingy to her, to the point where she was even more so than Xiao Heihei and Xiao Lulu.
As for the last remaining egg, the original crack had now turned into a fissure after two months. Jiang Ci peeked inside, but was unable to see the little tortoise inside as the interior was pitch black.
Both Xiao Heihei and Xiao Lulu wanted to climb onto Jiang Ci. Vines with small flowers appeared on her body, followed with a bracelet made of black stones.
The two little tortoises seemed to be competing with each other, until finally, Jiang Ci was almost overwhelmed and had to laughingly make them stop.
After more than enough play, Jiang Ci sat up and checked the distribution range of the tracks as well as the train routes. The system informed her that this was something she needed to decide herself.
Upon opening the map, Jiang Ci realized that the route that had been given to her as a system task reward wasn’t very long—just one that connected two cities. To expand further, she would need to spend points.
The start and end points were both at Gourmet City. Jiang Ci set a route towards the city where Xie Ling’s base was located, with plans to expand it further to include two more cities.
She didn’t spend points to purchase any further expansion, wanting to see the response first before considering whether to establish stations in other cities. She wasn’t a philanthropist.
After completing the earlier two tasks, Jiang Ci was then required to take on an urgent mission, so she hadn’t had the chance to upgrade her shop or spin the lucky wheel yet.
The system brought up the lucky wheel, and Jiang Ci pressed the button in the center. Soon, the wheel began to spin.
Finally, the pointer landed on an automatic vegetable chopping tool set. This tool was different from the one Jiang Ci had won before, as it could be installed in every shop she owned. This meant that the kitchens in all her establishments, including any future unlocked restaurants, would automatically be equipped with this chopping tool set.
The shop and courtyard also began their upgrades under the cover of night.
[By the way, the surveillance has detected something unusual with the employees at the farm, Host,] the system suddenly spoke up.
“What’s unusual about it?” Jiang Ci immediately became alert. The farm was a crucial part of the gourmet city.
Without saying much, the system showed Jiang Ci a few clips of the surveillance footage it had captured.
In the videos, during the time Jiang Ci and the others were away, a thin man with tan and weathered skin had been seen several times at the back door of the farm, meeting with a survivor wearing a hat and mask that obscured their face. This secretive behavior was indeed worth noting.
Jiang Ci frowned deeply and decided to visit the farm the next day to see what was going on.
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 night passed quickly amidst various chores, and the next morning, Jiang Ci, burdened with a lot on her mind, woke up early.
As soon as she stepped out, she bumped into Song Jinchuan during his daily exercise. This time, Song Jinchuan had been doing most of the driving. Seeing him, Jiang Ci could almost feel the muscle pain herself.
She had offered to take over several times, but Song Jinchuan had refused, insisting on being her reliable support.
“Are you okay?” Jiang Ci walked over and asked with concern.
Song Jinchuan stood up from the ground, the muscles in his arm still taut and strong. “I’m fine, didn’t you give me a massage earlier?”
At the mention of this, the tips of Song Jinchuan’s ears were tinged with red. Back then, he had been driving non-stop all day and night, and even with his robust physique, his muscles had inevitably cramped and ached.
Jiang Ci, who had been sitting in the passenger seat, noticed his discomfort and had walked over to give him a brief massage.
At that moment, Jiang Ci had been in extremely close proximity to Song Jinchuan, and her refreshing scent had brushed the tip of his nose. Song Jinchuan had instinctively held his breath, his heart racing.
Jiang Ci had massaged him for less than ten minutes before Song Jinchuan called it off.
Yet even now, he still felt deeply moved when he recalled his emotions and the situation at the time.
Jiang Ci shared all the recent events with Song Jinchuan. He was the only person in this post-apocalyptic world with whom she had signed a “soul-binding” contract, and was the only person she could trust wholeheartedly, so she kept him informed.
“There’s quite a lot to do today. We’ll need to organise the ribbon-cutting ceremony, arrange staff at the new shop, and check out the situation at the farm,” Jiang Ci counted on her fingers.
“No worries, we’ll take it step by step. I’ll always be by your side,” Song Jinchuan said, his dark eyes gazing at Jiang Ci, filled with a tenderness she hadn’t noticed.
The upgraded courtyard was slightly larger now, featuring a rockery, a flower bed, and an additional kitchen.
The flower bed was currently bare, so Jiang Ci casually scattered a few flower seeds, looking forward to the day they bloomed.
With the kitchen in place, Jiang Ci could now order food directly from the system’s interface, with the meals being delivered straight to the kitchen. She could also cook her own meals in this private little kitchen.
the translator has nothing to add ◡̈
