Ch 106: Opening a Survival School Before the Zombie Outbreak

Seeds themselves were not worth much. What truly held value was the labor invested afterward.

By contributing only a small amount of seed, one could gain an extra thirty percent of the harvest without doing any additional work. Once such a condition was proposed, no one would reasonably refuse.

That was why Shen Qingqing had included Aunt Li and the others in her proposal from the start.

If any of them later declined, withdrawing would not be troublesome.

The village chief froze for a moment, then gritted his teeth. “No problem. I’ll make the decision and agree to it. We’ll do it this way.”

He had originally assumed Shen Qingqing’s condition would involve asking for special care for the Shen family during the village lockdown. After all, she had taken such enormous risks. It would only be natural for her to seek something in return for herself and her family.

But to his surprise, the condition she ultimately proposed was simply a fair exchange.

Those with land would provide seeds; those without land would provide labor. Everyone could survive together. No one was deliberately disadvantaged, and anyone with basic reason would find no grounds for objection.

She had considered everything so carefully that even from the chief’s perspective, there was nothing to criticize.

The thought moved him slightly.

Without consulting anyone else, he decided on the spot. “You don’t need to worry about this anymore. I’ll go explain it to them.”

When Shen Qingqing had stated her condition, she had spoken quietly beside him, unheard by the others. After thinking it through, the chief realized it truly would not be appropriate for her to present the proposal herself.

No matter how capable or perceptive she was, in the villagers’ eyes she was still a young junior, and a girl at that. If people learned the plan had been led by her, opposition might arise even against a proposal that otherwise would have passed smoothly.

That was simply how things worked in the village. He had been born and raised there, climbing from migrant laborer to village chief over decades, and until now he had never thought much of such attitudes.

But suddenly, the idea that this urgent plan might be obstructed by such narrow-minded prejudice filled him with unexpected irritation.

Not to mention Shen Qingqing’s own grandfather…

He let out a heavy sigh.

At that moment, Shen Qingqing spoke again.

Hearing him agree, the girl pressed her lips together and revealed a sweet smile. For the first time, she resembled the obedient child she once had been.

Yet the chief, seeing that smile, had the uneasy feeling she was about to stir up something else.

“Thank you, Grandpa Village Chief. But there are a few things we should clarify first. It’s not just food. In the coming period, the village may also lose water and electricity.”

“With limited manpower, the military will prioritize protecting major substations. The distribution lines supplying remote villages like ours won’t receive protection. If any node is damaged by zombies or left unmaintained for too long, the entire system could fail.”

The chief was utterly bewildered. He knew nothing about such technical matters and had no idea where Shen Qingqing had learned all this, but he nodded along anyway.

“If water and electricity are cut off, the village will fall into even greater chaos,” she continued. “So you’re right. We must stay united to survive. Labor will become even more valuable under these circumstances. That’s why I suggest that when forming labor teams, we organize them by individuals, not by households.”

“That way, people who usually slack off won’t be able to hide behind hardworking family members. In times like this, we can’t allow anyone to continue living leisurely as before.”

“Besides that, I suggest forming a patrol team to circle the village daily. On one hand, they can watch for approaching zombies. On the other, they can supervise the labor teams.”

She spoke calmly, but the chief immediately thought of someone.

Zhao Hailin.

If labor were assigned per household, that man would absolutely stay home while letting his wife and mother work in his place. Hadn’t he done exactly that when Old Zhao was still alive?

And there were others too, people lazy enough to lie around all day and sneak vegetables from neighbors’ fields when they needed ingredients. Their character spoke for itself. Some form of enforcement was indeed necessary.

Framing it as a patrol team made it legitimate.

The chief knew Zhao Hailin had past conflicts with Shen Qingqing and naturally assumed this suggestion targeted him specifically.

“You’re right,” he said firmly. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle the mobilization. Not a single worker will be wasted.”

Anyone dreaming of lying at home during a crisis could forget it.

He was already composing sharp remarks in his mind to shame Zhao Hailin later when Shen Qingqing added with a cheerful smile,

“Thank you. And to make things fair, our family will also contribute one laborer.”

“—You can include my grandfather.”

The chief blinked. “?”

He thought he had misheard.

Shen Qingqing said lightly, “My father is recovering from injuries and can’t do heavy work for now. My mother and grandmother need to tend our family’s vegetable plot. That leaves only my grandfather.”

“He’s physically healthy with all his limbs intact. If the elderly and women can work, then naturally he can too. Please feel free to assign him tasks.”

The chief stared blankly for several seconds. “…Huh?”

His gaze drifted toward Old Shen, who stood at the edge of the crowd smoking and impatiently complaining about wanting to go home. A single thought surfaced in his mind:

What goes around comes around.

It was not that retribution never came. The time had simply not arrived yet.

“Alright,” he said at last, withdrawing his gaze. “I’ll announce it shortly.”

…

Aunt Li could hardly believe her ears.

Just by providing a little seed, they could receive thirty percent of the harvest for free? Translated on Hololo novels. And the village chief had made it clear that for these newly reclaimed fields, they would not need to do any work at all. They simply had to wait at home until harvest time, when others would gather the vegetables and deliver them straight to their doors.

For people like Zang Lijun and Grandma Shen, who had always tended their own plots, this was one thing. But for Aunt Li and the others, who had stopped farming for a period and only recently resumed working their fields, it felt like pies falling straight from the sky and landing on their heads.

“That’s not something falling from the sky,” someone muttered nearby. “Shen Qingqing threw it to us.”

Aunt Li wholeheartedly agreed.

With the outside world in such chaos, even if the zombies were eventually cleared away, they would not dare travel into the county anytime soon. The tragic fate of Old Zhao and the others had frightened them too deeply.

Under such circumstances, having more food stored at home meant a greater chance of survival.

How could they not feel grateful to Shen Qingqing?

If she had not pulled them along at the crucial moment, how could they possibly have gained such an advantage?

The village chief had announced that before the newly planted crops matured, those with vegetables already growing would temporarily share some produce with households that had none.

Not too much. Each family’s own needs came first. And whatever was shared was not a gift.

Everything taken would later have to be repaid.

After repayment, an additional thirty percent would still be owed before the remaining produce could belong fully to the growers.

Once this was explained, not only Aunt Li and the others but even Zang Lijun and her group could not help smiling.

The vegetables they grew were originally meant partly for sale anyway. Now that they could not travel to the county market, consuming them within the village worked just as well. They were not losing anything at all.

Some even felt this system was better than before. Before the disaster, neighbors often picked vegetables freely from others’ fields. Out of courtesy, people rarely said anything even when they noticed.

Now that a patrol team existed, sneaking into fields to pick vegetables would be impossible.

As for the patrol team, since its official duty was to “protect the village” and “watch for approaching zombies,” everyone in the village had to take turns participating, not just those with farmland.

And once patrols existed, village order naturally fell under their watch as well. With so many eyes observing, anyone trying to slack off, avoid labor, or secretly keep more harvested vegetables than reported would have to think twice about the shame of being exposed.

No matter how they calculated it, they were clearly benefiting.

They received more while worrying less.

Aunt Li felt delighted inside, and even the gloom brought by the apocalypse faded somewhat.

In stark contrast stood the villagers without farmland.

Having to hand over thirty percent of crops they worked hard to grow was something few could accept.

Zhao Hailin was the first to object.

“I don’t agree!” he said, face flushed red. “Seeds don’t cost much. We can just pay for them. Once we’ve paid, how we plant and distribute the harvest should be our own business.”

“And who knows how long the outside chaos will last? Crops have to be grown continuously. If things stay chaotic for a year, are we supposed to farm for others for free all year? That makes no sense.”

A few people voiced agreement.

But others still resented Zhao Hailin, believing everything had started because of him. If he had not spread rumors earlier about relocation housing, they might now be among those receiving free vegetables.

Feeling the angry stares behind him like needles in his back, Zhao Hailin raised his voice even louder, demanding an explanation from the village chief.

Unbeknownst to him, his energetic arguing only made him look worse in others’ eyes.

Old Zhao had just died, and in such a tragic way. Translated on Hololo novels. Aunt Zhao sat off to the side, spirit visibly broken, barely reacting to anything around her. Yet Zhao Hailin was already calculating his own losses and quibbling over benefits.

The label of an unfilial son settled firmly upon him, and in a village like this, that meant public scorn.

Even the most conservative elders, those who traditionally favored men, now looked at him differently.

Shen Qingqing stood at the edge of the crowd the entire time, silent, keeping her presence as small as possible.

She only watched, expressionless.

At last, the village chief spoke.

“Pay money instead? At a time like this, money is nothing but scrap paper. Supplies matter more than anything. You won’t die without money, but without food you won’t even survive the week.”

He did not believe Zhao Hailin failed to understand this. The man was simply using others in the same situation to stir trouble under the guise of collective fairness.

The more he thought about it, the more the chief felt both amused and irritated. “You want to trade for seeds? Fine, I’ll allow it. But you’ll have to trade using your stored grain.”

The moment grain was mentioned, Zhao Hailin’s wife, who had been caring for Aunt Zhao, rushed forward in alarm.

“No!” she cried.

Without vegetables, they could still try gathering wild greens in the mountains. But without grain, life truly could not continue.

Crops took time to grow. Without stored food, how would they survive until harvest?

Zhao Hailin flew into a rage from humiliation. “Shut up! What business is this of yours?”

Without thinking, he shoved at his wife, trying to push her aside. The others could not stand it any longer. Several people, blood boiling, pointed at Zhao Hailin and began shouting at him.

His wife had reached her limit as well. She clawed at his face with her nails and screamed hoarsely, “Zhao, if you dare give away our grain, we’re getting divorced! I can’t live like this anymore anyway!”

They had only been married a short time, yet Zhao Hailin’s bad habits had surfaced one after another. With no children tying her down, she truly no longer wanted to endure it.

Just as the couple seemed ready to come to blows, Shen Qingqing, who had been standing aside with folded arms and watching coldly, noticed from the corner of her eye that Aunt Zhao, who had stood like a statue with her head lowered the entire time, suddenly moved.

Because both of them stood near the edge of the crowd, they had unknowingly ended up side by side.

Aunt Zhao reached out and pointed at the wood-cutting knife Shen Qingqing carried. “Qingqing, may I borrow that knife?”

Slightly surprised, Shen Qingqing nodded.

Taking the knife, Aunt Zhao pushed through the crowd and walked to the center.

She had once been someone who cared deeply about appearances. Shen Qingqing remembered countless times she had proudly boasted about her capable, reliable son, her eyes shining with pride. But now this Aunt Zhao, Wang Yuqin, had disheveled hair and clothes smeared with dirt from when she fainted earlier. She was almost unrecognizable.

Carrying the knife, she slowly walked up to her son and pulled her daughter-in-law to her feet.

The two had been grappling on the ground. Accustomed to farm work, the younger woman’s strength had surged with anger, and she had actually pinned Zhao Hailin down, scratching several bloody streaks across his face.

When she was abruptly pulled away, she still burned with fury, but upon seeing the wood-cutting knife in her mother-in-law’s hand, her face turned pale.

Wang Yuqin simply gestured for her to stand aside. Lowering her gaze, she looked at her son, who lay on the ground clutching his face and shouting curses, her expression filled with disappointment.

This was the son she had once been so proud of.

All the love and careful upbringing she had given him, all the protection since childhood. No matter how little Zhao Hailin achieved, she had always believed he would someday make something of himself.

She had never realized he was rotten to the core long ago.

Still spewing insults and cursing his wife, Zhao Hailin suddenly found a wood-cutting knife pressed before his eyes, its bright blade pointed directly at the tip of his nose.

Wang Yuqin’s face was exhausted, but her grip was steady. Years of farm labor made such tools extensions of her hands.

“Tomorrow you will go work in the fields with the labor team,” she said evenly. “You will be the first to arrive and the last to leave.”

“If I find out you slack off, show up late, or leave early… well, I don’t particularly want to live anymore anyway. You can come with me and keep me and your father company. All right, Hailin?”

Her voice held no emotion, as though her heart had already turned to ash. That calmness frightened Zhao Hailin far more than anger would have.

The mother before him felt like a stranger.

He had a sudden certainty that if he refused, Wang Yuqin might truly strike.

The man who had been making a scene moments ago instantly fell silent.

Staring at the blade, he swallowed hard and stammered, “…I… I understand.”

Wang Yuqin nodded, withdrew the knife, and said flatly, “Good.”

Then she turned, walked step by step back to Shen Qingqing, returned the knife, and once again sank into silence.

Everyone’s gaze followed her. The gathering, which had been filled with heated arguments over the formation of the labor team, suddenly grew quiet as well.

The surroundings fell completely silent. Even the voices of opposition disappeared.

Shen Qingqing exchanged a glance with the village chief.

And just like that, the matter was settled.

₊˚.🎧📓✩

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