Chapter 44: Busy Farming in the Last Days

Ji Cha was placed in a very modern room, and the person who brought him here quickly left. Having been used to the dark and damp basement, the lack of electricity, and the hard work outside, he could hardly believe the cleanliness and technology of the room and its furnishings, except for the dirt still visible in the seams, making him feel like he had returned to the modern society before the apocalypse that had never come.

Ji Cha slowly walked to the side of the sofa and tentatively twisted the desk lamp, and the light suddenly turned on. He stepped back and was tripped by the sofa, falling into its soft embrace. The bright and clean ceiling looked so real that it seemed unreal.

“Yes, the person is inside.” A whisper came from the door. Out of habit, Ji Cha quickly stood up, stepped back a few steps until his heels hit the corner of the wall. He anxiously looked towards the direction of the sound, and subconsciously looked around for something he could use for self-defense, but all he saw were useless things.

At this moment, the door creaked open from the outside, and the person who entered the room was tall, slightly bowing his head. Ji Cha vaguely smelled a familiar scent from him, but just as he was about to look up, he suddenly felt a sense of weightlessness.

He suddenly opened his eyes and woke up from the dream, realizing that he was being held in Liang Jincheng’s arms. “You’re back,” Ji Cha struggled to straighten his waist and wanted to jump to the ground from Liang Jincheng’s arms. “I’m awake, I can walk by myself.”

“Mmm.” Liang Jincheng responded softly, non-committal. His gaze was much more indifferent than usual, but he still held onto Ji Cha, not allowing him to move.

Ji Cha’s heart was pounding, the overlapping of the dream and reality making him a little unsure of the situation. Similarly, the change in Liang Jincheng’s attitude since he kissed him made him feel uneasy and unable to express it in words.

“Where did those two people go?” They’re not dead, are they… Judging from the situation at the time, Liang Jincheng’s state of mind was indeed furious and seemed to want to kill someone.

“I’ve taken care of it,” Liang Jincheng’s footsteps stopped at Ji Cha’s door, he reached out and turned the doorknob, stepped in and put Ji Cha on the bed, saying before leaving, “I saw you sleeping on the sofa, I’m afraid you’ll catch a cold so I brought you up.”

This seemed to explain why he reached out to hug him, but it only added an invisible distance between the two.

Ji Cha suppressed his disappointment, nodded and forced a smile, “I know, senior, you should rest early too, I’m going to sleep.” He pulled the nearby blanket over his head to conceal his expression.

As a result, he did not see the helplessness and restraint on Liang Jincheng’s face after his action.

Before Ji Cha had made up his mind about his feelings, Liang Jincheng dared not touch him easily, he was afraid that a kiss would lead to irreparable consequences, he was afraid that he might force Ji Cha by accident.

***

The military’s construction projects were very rapid, and along with the dormitory building, a vast wall was built. The resources and machinery left behind by the original cement and brick factories were enough for them to build a thick and high wall around the current base to ensure their safety.

Everything proceeded in an orderly manner under the military’s planning, and a huge amount of manpower was needed for the project. Most of the successful escapees, who were used to living in luxury in the urban cement jungle, had never done this kind of work before, but now, in order to receive the daily distribution of food to sustain their lives, the vast majority of citizens had to join the production and construction teams.

Ji Cha decided to sign up as well. Currently, autumn potatoes, sweet potatoes, peppers, and other crops had already been planted, and all kinds of greenhouses in the factory had been completed, so there was little heavy physical work to be done.

Liang Jincheng also began his early morning and late night life, but he was not with Ji Cha and often couldn’t be seen all day.

“Everyone needs to complete ten meters long and two meters high of work to receive their food. If they cannot pass the inspection, we will deduct their rations according to a certain ratio.”

The military command had caused many people to complain, but at the same time, it greatly increased production efficiency and improved the quality of the wall.

The ten-meter-long and two-meter-high wall was only temporary. After the cement dried, it would need to be thickened and heightened. Even with thousands of people working together, it would still take almost half a month to complete the enormous wall.

Ji Cha was assigned to the northwest corner several miles away from the factory, working with people of various ages, including many women. The standards took into account the physical strength of women, so they were slightly relaxed, but the rations for women were also reduced. Overall, it was still a case of more work, more pay, and no one could take advantage. The number of women at this time had not yet created a significant gap with men.

“It’s just too hard. We have to work from morning till night to get so little. Fortunately, I can earn enough for my whole family on my own,” a young man complained.

“Having food to eat is not bad at all. You’ve never been hungry before. When I was trapped in the apartment building before, I wished I had a job like this to eat a full meal,” another person said.

The atmosphere at the wall construction site was not dull, and everyone was expressing their opinions.

Ji Cha didn’t say much. His gaze swept over these people, trying to see if anyone here would become a powerful figure in the future. After looking around, he didn’t find anything particularly noteworthy.

Most people worked in silence, wanting to save their energy for bricklaying.

On Ji Cha’s left, a young woman was carrying a baby in a bundle. The child was sleeping at first, but gradually woke up and began to cry, kicking its legs.

The baby’s cry was hard to suppress, and the crowd was already agitated from their heavy workload. They all looked over with a mixture of curiosity and annoyance.

The young woman had no choice but to stop her work, untie the bundle on her back, and gently comfort the baby in her arms.

“Maybe he’s hungry,” someone whistled, their tone flippant. “Give him some milk!”

“Hahaha.” Many of the men laughed, but a small minority felt uncomfortable and frowned.

The young woman felt uneasy. She knew that her baby was indeed hungry because she hadn’t fed him, but now they were in an open space with no cover, and the leering eyes of those around them made her blush.

Just then, someone behind her handed her a thin coat.

Ji Cha took off his own coat and handed it to the person, saying, “There’s a stool over there. You can use this to cover up for now.”

The woman gratefully glanced at Ji Cha and hurriedly walked over with her baby.

The young man who whistled earlier joked, “Hey, dude, you’re such a killjoy. We were all waiting to watch…”

Ji Cha looked at him disdainfully and said, “Respecting a mother is the minimum requirement as a human being.”

The young man was taken aback by his words and although he was angry, he was also embarrassed. He threw the brick in his hand to the ground and strode towards Ji Cha aggressively, saying, “What the hell are you talking about? What do you mean?”

“You heard it.” Ji Cha was not afraid of him. He tightened the brick in his hand and looked back with a hostile gaze. “If you want to fight, I’ll accompany you. If not, I’ll keep working.”

The soldier standing nearby took two steps forward and looked at the young man.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

The young man cursed under his breath and had to swallow his anger and continue working. Although he had been working in the factory for several days, Ji Cha thought he had built up some resilience with his small body. However, when the day’s work was done and he received two cans and some rice, he was so sore all over that he felt useless.

The mother of a child received only one can of food and half a bag of rice because she did not meet the quota. She looked very discouraged.

Ji Cha saw several men next to him who had done a good job and received three cans of food, looking at the young mother with deep meaning. He quickly went over and blocked their gaze, and said to the young mother, “I don’t like to eat this kind of canned food, so you can have it.”

The young mother hesitated at first, but when she heard her child crying on her back, her reason overcame her shyness. She needed more food to feed herself and her child.

“Thank you…” She took the can of food from Ji Cha and said softly.

“Don’t do anything you’ll regret.” Ji Cha turned to look at the child behind her and praised, “What a cute child.”

After the apocalypse, many women started doing things that they would never have done before for various reasons. Some did it to seek an easier life, while many others did it out of helplessness.

Ji Cha walked back to the entrance of the factory with his thoughts, and saw Liang Jincheng and a big-chested girl walking towards the factory not far away. Although it was the apocalypse, the girl did not seem to be the least bit disheveled. Her hair was neatly tied into a ponytail, her face was pretty, and her eyebrows and eyes were beautiful. At this moment, she was smiling and looking up at Liang Jincheng, like a perfect couple.

As for Ji Cha, he had been busy all day, and he smelled of sweat. His pants were torn, and he wore a pair of old sneakers while carrying a small bag of rice. He looked no different from a beggar who had just begged for food.

At the moment he noticed Liang Jincheng, the other person also looked up at him almost simultaneously.

Ji Cha: “Oh shit…”

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Thingyan: Why would Ji Cha go out and work? Like was it to train his body to become stronger or to help build the wall faster? Definitely not for food coz he got plenty.