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“They knew you were coming back today and have been waiting at the base entrance since early in the morning. Do you want to go see them now?” Xie Ling asked.
Xie Ling was one of the managers of the base that had been appointed by Jiang Ci. She would consolidate the information given to her before relaying it to Jiang Ci, as Jiang Ci had too many things to do and couldn’t always be on site in the base.
“Alright, let’s go see them. Which city’s base are they from?”
“They’re from a base in the north of the country. The snowstorms there are even worse than they are here, and many of the bases in that region have been affected. Apparently the snow there can be almost as tall as a person.”
They continued to speak as they walked toward the base entrance.
Not too far away, Jiang Ci saw a group of people standing at the base entrance, holding steamed buns or fried dough sticks and soy milk, eating while chatting with those around them.
“That’s them, Boss Jiang,” Xie Ling said.
Jiang Ci nodded and walked over. The people who had been eating looked up in surprise as Jiang Ci stopped in front of them, not expecting the legendary Boss Jiang to be someone so young.
“You wanted to join my base?” Jiang Ci glanced around at the group, most of whom were between their teens and forties.
Fu Lin, the spokesperson among their group of survivors, stepped forward and said, “That’s right, Boss Jiang. We’ve all come from a base in the north. The heavy snow caused it to collapse, so we thought of seeking refuge with you.”
After speaking, the survivors looked at Jiang Ci with hopeful eyes.
“Sure, but joining us means you’ll have to work,” Jiang Ci replied. The cotton factory was running smoothly now, and Jiang Ci planned to expand it, even considering adding another factory. So she still needed more survivors to join.
“Don’t worry, Boss Jiang. We’ve got plenty of strength.”
“That’s right. We can do any kind of work. Back in my hometown, I worked in the fields. I’ve got a lot of strength.”
As they spoke, the group walked into the base, with Xie Ling accompanying them, acting as Jiang Ci’s spokesperson, introducing the various buildings in the base.
When they saw the brand-new, neatly arranged residential buildings, the survivors couldn’t help but feel excited. They had heard about the good conditions in Gourmet City and had heard many rumors, but seeing it with their own eyes still stirred up a wave of emotion within them.
Fu Yue and Fu Lin exchanged a glance, both seeing the joy in each other’s eyes. They would finally have a real home of their own.
The survivors began registering with Jiang Ci, obtaining their ID cards, and selecting their rooms before settling in. With the recent influx of survivors seeking refuge, the residential buildings were gradually filling up, becoming particularly lively during the busy commuting period.
As the survivors moved about, they felt as though they had traveled back in time by a decade. Both Fu Yue and Fu Lin were momentarily moved to tears.
After settling the survivors, Jiang Ci returned to her own courtyard, too exhausted to speak. She collapsed onto her pillow and fell asleep immediately.
She hadn’t slept the night before, and after handling so many tasks upon her return, she couldn’t hold on any longer and fell asleep as soon as she lay down.
She didn’t even have the mind to close the door. Song Jinchuan, who had been following her, noticed that Jiang Ci was already sound asleep. He entered the room, covered her with the blanket, turned on the air conditioner, and then quietly left, closing the door behind him.
Jiang Ci slept straight through the day until evening. When she woke up, the snow outside was still falling gently, the golden sunset casting a beautiful golden hue over the snow laden ground.
Jiang Ci hugged her blanket, feeling an unusual sense of peace, savoring this quiet moment until a knock sounded at the door.
She opened the door to find Song Jinchuan carrying a tray of food.
Since the weather had turned cold, they had moved their dining area from the pavilion in the courtyard to one of their rooms—either Song Jinchuan’s or Jiang Ci’s.
After entering, Song Jinchuan skillfully arranged the table and chairs, first feeding Hui Hui and her family, then setting out the meals for the two of them.
By this time, Jiang Ci had finished washing up and sat down at the table to eat. Life had been like this for the past few months, and Jiang Ci had already grown quite accustomed to it.
After the meal, the snow outside continued to fall, showing signs of getting heavier.
Jiang Ci had originally thought about planting some fruit trees in the yard, but seeing that the snowstorm wasn’t going to stop anytime soon, she decided to wait until the weather warmed up a bit.
Song Jinchuan poured her a glass of water, and the two of them held their warm drinks while watching the snow, chatting idly.
At that moment, a crisp cracking sound reached their ears.
Jiang Ci thought something had broken, but when she turned her head, she saw the little one that had been stubbornly refusing to emerge from the cracked shell next to Hui Hui finally poke its head out.
Jiang Ci’s eyes lit up immediately, “The little one is finally out!”
She and Song Jinchuan crouched by the eggshell, watching as the little tortoise inside slowly broke through the surrounding shell, eventually emerging completely.
“Wow, it’s actually red!” Jiang Ci was somewhat surprised. After Xiao Lulu and Xiao Heihei, now there was a Xiao Honghong. If there had been more than three tortoise eggs, they probably could have even formed a rainbow.
Song Jinchuan squatted beside Jiang Ci, also amazed by the differently colored little tortoises.
Following Jiang Ci’s naming convention, it was naturally named Xiao Honghong.
Xiao Honghong’s special ability was to spit fireballs, though its fireballs seemed to be different from ordinary fire abilities—it seemed to condense all its energy into a single fireball.
When it spat out its first fireball, Song Jinchuan, upon sensing the immense energy within it, quickly threw it into the nearby pond at top speed.
The water in the pond boiled over and exploded in an instant, sending a column of water shooting up several meters high, startling the nearby survivors and killing all the fish in Jiang Ci’s pond. Even Song Jinchuan, who also had fire abilities, was humbled by this display of power.
Jiang Ci cooked the dead fish and fed them to Hui Hui.
Now, with such a formidable display of power right after birth, who knows how big the fireballs it made would be when it grew up.
Jiang Ci handed the somewhat mischievous Xiao Honghong over to Hui Hui for proper discipline, instructing it not to spit fireballs again until it could control its abilities, or else her well-kept yard might be blown to pieces by it.
While Hui Hui was busy educating the youngest, Lu Dongmei and the others successfully produced the first detoxification pills.
When Jiang Ci went to the hospital, upon seeing that Lu Dongmei and the other traditional Chinese medicine practitioners had dark circles so dark that they almost reached their chins, she knew they must have stayed up all night to make the pill.
Jiang Ci had always admired their spirit of exploration in medicine.
“We’ve already tested the medicine ourselves, and the results are excellent. Boss Jiang, the formula you provided is truly good,” Lu Dongmei said with a smile.
Jiang Ci nodded, “The news has already been spread, so it’ll be very busy these next few days. You’ll have to work a bit harder.”
“As long as it can eliminate the toxins in everyone’s bodies, this little hardship is nothing,” Lu Dongmei replied cheerfully.
They had all seen survivors who had been tortured to death by the deadly toxins, emaciated to the point of being skin and bones, almost looking like walking skeletons.
To ensure everyone knew about this, Jiang Ci spent points to have the system broadcast the advertisements in every city, just like last time.
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:
So, on that day, all the survivors witnessed another miraculous scene near their bases.
Two zombies sat opposite each other.
“Have you heard? A hospital in C City’s Gourmet City has produced detoxification pills.”
“The effect is amazing. Take one pill, and your back won’t ache, your legs won’t hurt—you’ll even be able to climb eight floors in one go!”
“That’s the detoxification pill produced by A Hospital—definitely trustworthy.”
Finally, the two zombies simultaneously gave a thumbs-up to the side while smiling at the survivors.
Both of their thumbs had already lost their flesh, leaving only their gleaming white bones behind, which looked quite horrifying, leaving the survivors utterly speechless.
They even wanted to see what was going on in the Boss’s head. How could every advertisement be so bizarre and terrifying?
However, after the initial shock, they latched on to the detoxification pills mentioned by the zombies.
They were well aware of the issues within their bodies. In this post-apocalyptic world, no matter how careful you are, you inevitably inhale varying amounts of toxins as the air and water contain significant amounts of it. With resources scarce, complete purification is impossible.
The younger ones haven’t yet shown symptoms, but the older survivors are starting to experience various problems, with some even bedridden.
Thus, the survivors, clad in thick animal hides, began flocking to Gourmet City to purchase the detoxification pills.
Gourmet City entered its peak period, with the hotel fully booked and many survivors spending crystal cores to stay at the neighboring base.
Many survivors ended up not wanting to leave and eventually joined the base or found jobs at Gourmet City, moving into the employee dormitories.
Jiang Ci was also extremely busy, running around non-stop. She and Song Jinchuan started working separately, going wherever they were needed, like versatile cogs in a machine.
The detoxification pills weren’t a one-time solution. Doctors would diagnose and then prescribe the pills based on the amount of toxins in their body.
These past few days, Lu Dongmei and her team were the busiest. The clinic was packed from morning till night. Jiang Ci even brought them meals, but Lu Dongmei and the others didn’t have time to talk, only managing to give her a grateful smile amidst the bustle.
Despite the rush, Jiang Ci’s staff grew significantly, and the neighboring base added several hundred people, expanding rapidly.
This frenzy gradually subsided after a month. Most survivors had received treatment and had spent a month eating, drinking, and having fun here before reluctantly boarding trains back to their own bases.
It was at this time that Jiang Ci received an urgent mission: survivors at a small base were on the verge of freezing to death, and Jiang Ci needed to bring them warmth.
The map was flashing red, indicating the urgency of the situation. Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan quickly and efficiently packed their things, then took three little tortoises and Hui Hui with them.
Hui Hui hadn’t been on a mission with her in a while, so this time she brought the whole family along for some fun, while also letting the long-suppressed Xiao Honghong spit out a few fireballs.
Nowadays, they always travel by bus. When the survivors heard the roar of the engine and saw the eye-catching bus that stood out in the post-apocalyptic environment, they knew that Boss Jiang was heading out again.
the translator has nothing to add ◡̈
The famous travelling bus.