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However, since many people were booking rooms, they couldn’t stay indefinitely. Jiang Ci had previously set a rule that no one could book a room for more than five days at a time.
Winter coats, quilts, and down jackets from the convenience store were still selling well. Survivors who had bought them before, realizing their benefits, came back to purchase a second set as backup.
After returning, Jiang Ci spent a month completing a major mission and exchanged it for a furniture and appliance factory.
The first products they produced were portable heaters and hand warmers.
These were small household appliances that could be placed directly in the convenience store.
When the heaters and hand warmers hit the shelves, the survivors’ eyes lit up after the staff explained their uses.
As expected, the heaters and hand warmers sold exceptionally well.
Not all survivors were willing to leave their homes and move to Jiang Ci’s base, so these heating devices helped them solve their urgent needs.
Placing a small heater in a room made the entire space warm. With winter coats, quilts, and heaters, they no longer feared they wouldn’t make it through the winter.
For those venturing outside, carrying a hand warmer kept their entire body warm. The batteries that came with them lasted a long time and were solar-powered. They only needed to be placed in the sun to start charging.
Before the staff could finish their introductions, survivors flooded the convenience store to buy these two appliances, and the points in Jiang Ci’s account began to skyrocket.
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:
In the crowd, Mao Xiaofeng’s eyes lit up when he saw these two new products.
He hadn’t noticed it before, but he realised his wife was already pregnant. Now that the weather was cold, she was practically frozen indoors and dared not go out. The slightest carelessness would make the baby in her belly restless.
The experienced doctor at their base had told him that if they didn’t take good care of her, the baby might not survive.
This had him deeply worried. This time, he had spent half a month traveling from the base to C City. Only after arriving did he learn that many cities were now interconnected by train. He felt a bit regretful that he hadn’t done his research beforehand, wasting so much time on travel.
But once he got here, Mao Xiaofeng felt that his luck wasn’t too bad after all. If he had come a few days earlier, he wouldn’t have encountered these appliances.
If he brought this back, wouldn’t his wife and the baby be much more comfortable?
Thinking this, he instinctively joined the queue.
After waiting in line for nearly two hours, it was finally his turn.
Mao Xiaofeng bought some daily necessities, cotton clothes and quilts for his wife and baby, and finally, a heater.
Carrying bags of all sizes, he stopped shopping only after confirming he could transport everything back.
Now that he knew about the convenience of trains, for the return trip, he directly took one back. Jiang Ci had opened train routes to multiple cities near bases.
So Mao Xiaofeng boarded the train and got off near his base.
Seeing the distance almost cut in half, he regretted not walking a bit further earlier—just a few more steps would have led him to the newly built train station.
Still, he was happy to have bought so many supplies this time. After getting off the train, he hurried home.
When he rushed back, he found that a crack had formed in the window at home, letting the cold wind seep inside.
His wife, Zhang Ying, was huddled in a corner, wrapped in several layers of animal hides, shivering. Upon hearing Mao Xiaofeng’s voice, she was already on the verge of tears.
But soon, she felt a gentle warmth flowing through the icy room. In no more than three minutes, the entire room had warmed up.
Meanwhile, Mao Xiaofeng had already skillfully repaired the window and reinforced it.
With the drafty gap sealed, the room instantly became even warmer.
Mao Xiaofeng took out cotton clothes from the large bundle he had brought back and had Zhang Ying change into them. He also replaced the thin quilt with a thick cotton one.
After these changes, Zhang Ying, whose lips had been pale from the cold, quickly regained a healthy flush.
Seeing this, Mao Xiaofeng felt a weight lift from his heart. He held his wife’s now-warm hand and asked, “How are you? Has the baby been giving you trouble?”
“It’s fine. My stomach’s been a bit uncomfortable these past couple of days, but it’s still manageable. Our baby is a strong one.”
“I went to the hospital in C City to get some prenatal medicine for you. Take one after you eat later,” Mao Xiaofeng added.
As Mao Xiaofeng pulled supplies out of his pocket, he introduced Zhang Ying to the items he had bought this time.
The last things he took out were the vegetables and meat purchased in C City, along with a small electric-free cooking pot, also bought at Gourmet City.
This was part of a new line of home appliances. It didn’t look very big, but it had a deep capacity, suitable for use for a family of three or four.
“I’ll cook for you, darling. Look, fresh vegetables and meat. The chicken was still alive when I saw it being slaughtered. I’ll make you some chicken soup later. And look, there are so many eggs here. They have everything there,” Mao Xiaofeng’s voice was tinged with excitement.
Having lived through the apocalypse for over a decade, he had never seen such a complete and fresh supply of goods.
Zhang Ying smiled, “The boss of Gourmet City is really amazing.”
“Absolutely, I heard she’s still just a young girl herself,” Mao Xiaofeng said with admiration.
The room was warm, and with the food in the pot bubbling, it created a cozy atmosphere.
Meanwhile, Jiang Ci was standing in the newly exchanged agricultural market. All the mature vegetables, fruits, and poultry from the farm were sold here.
These two days would be considered a trial run. Cartloads of fresh vegetables and poultry were delivered to the market and placed in designated spots.
“Wow, the fish today are huge,” Jiang Ci remarked, looking at the lively fish in the tank, suddenly craving some sour fish slices.
“Look, Boss Jiang, these are the river crabs caught today. So plump,” a farm employee said with a smile.
Jiang Ci swallowed her saliva, thinking about how much she wanted to eat some spicy stir-fried crab.
All the shelves were full of ingredients, giving the workers a strong sense of accomplishment.
Jiang Ci officially opened the doors, allowing survivors to come in and pick freely.
The survivors outside had been eager to enter, having watched from the doorway for a while. Usually, Jiang Ci occasionally sold supplies, either vegetables or poultry, but the quantities were small and the variety limited.
Seeing so many vegetables and meat at once naturally excited the survivors.
Taking advantage of the initial small crowd, Jiang Ci quickly left the market. Soon, the market was full, and the employees stopped more survivors from entering, requesting them to wait until some people left.
Seeing the survivors queuing up in an orderly fashion to buy things without any pushing or arguing, Jiang Ci felt reassured and left.
Jiang Ci returned to her small courtyard to rest for a while and checked the surveillance. Her phone was now connected to the surveillance system in the real world, allowing her to check in whenever she had free time. Under Manager Huang’s management, the hotpot restaurant was now thriving with a huge flow of customers.
In the afternoon, Old Cheng, the head of A City’s base, and Fan Zhipeng came by. Jiang Ci learned that during her two-month absence, A City’s base had undergone another major reshuffle.
Chen Hanjiang and Sun Yimin, the rebels, had already been backed into a corner by the forces Old Cheng left behind and had reportedly fled the A City base.
Speaking of this, Old Cheng and Fan Zhipeng were somewhat worried. These people were now desperate, so Old Cheng had recently increased his security detail. However, they still feared that Jiang Ci might be implicated.
When expressing their concerns, Jiang Ci waved her hand dismissively, “This entire area is under my jurisdiction now. No one can cause trouble here.”
In fact, after the base and the train station were established, Jiang Ci had invested heavily to cover this area with a safety net that prohibited fighting and protected the survivors.
After all, the survivors’ sense of security here couldn’t be without reason.
“Currently, A City is leaderless, and we are planning to return to handle the situation. During this time, we have been deeply grateful for Boss Jiang’s hospitality,” said Old Cheng, who had stayed at the base for several months now. With good food and rest, his overall condition had improved significantly.
Jiang Ci nodded and politely declined the crystal core offered by Fan Zhipeng as a token of gratitude.
“You’ve already paid the required crystal cores to stay at the base, and all other expenses have been settled. That’s enough. We won’t accept anything extra.”
After some back-and-forth, Fan Zhipeng finally retracted the crystal core at Old Cheng’s signal.
“Boss Jiang, we won’t ever be able to repay your kindness. If there’s anything you need in the future, all the survivors at A City’s base will spare no effort to help,” Old Cheng said.
After seeing off Old Cheng and Fan Zhipeng, Jiang Ci received a new mission.
[In the south of this country, there is a group of survivors who have retreated deep into the mountains. They are highly skilled—some are exceptional in medicine, others in carpentry, and there are even scientists who can craft weapons. In short, they are a group of talented individuals. However, they are now under the control of a man called Brother Hu, and their village has been taken over and occupied by them. The host should rescue them and bring them back to be utilized,] the system explained.
Jiang Ci briefly discussed the situation with Song Jinchuan and then began preparing to embark on the mission.
The main person in charge of Gourmet City now was Mao Qianqian and her sister, Mao Jing. Jiang Ci had given Mao Jing a metal-type ability orb, advising her to think carefully before deciding to accept it.
Mao Jing didn’t hesitate much and consumed it immediately. That night, she had indeed suffered from a high fever, but by the next morning, she had awakened as a metal-type ability user.
She even crafted a prosthetic limb for herself using metal, and now she could walk faster than the average person. With her new prosthetic, Mao Jing became more energetic and efficient in her work. Together with Mao Qianqian, they managed Gourmet City quite well, so Jiang Ci was more than willing to delegate authority to them most of the time.
At the base, Xie Ling, though highly skilled in combat and decisive when dealing with monsters, was not an ability user. She was also one of Jiang Ci’s appointed managers at the base, so Jiang Ci also gave an ability orb to her.
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