Author Archives: Thandar

The Assault of New Specialties

The sweet kiss filled their hearts with memories and satisfaction, even when they went to sleep, a smile lingered on their lips.

This kiss was like an invisible signal, bringing the two closer in their emotions, as if they had become more intimate.

Where there is a first, there will naturally be a second. After taking the difficult first step, the second time becomes much more natural.

The next morning, after washing up and before starting work, Yu Qingze hugged Brother Le and gave him a good morning kiss. Although Brother Le’s face was still blushing, it was evident that he welcomed and liked the kiss. Not only did he welcome it, but he also imitated Yu Qingze’s actions and attempted to kiss him back.

Yu Qingze clearly felt the change in Brother Le, and he was delighted by it.

Previously, although they had expressed their feelings for each other, due to Brother Le’s personality, he held back a lot. Whenever Yu Qingze teased him, Brother Le would feel shy for quite a while and even hide from him. Yu Qingze also didn’t dare to tease him too much, fearing that it would scare him away. Therefore, their interactions were limited to holding hands, hugging, and occasionally kissing on the forehead, with the drunken kiss being an unexpected incident.

Finally, after a long time, Brother Le gradually became more cheerful, gained some confidence, and through Yu Qingze’s deliberate teasing, he became accustomed to his occasional flirtatiousness. Although he still felt shy at times, Brother Le could now also counterattack besides feeling shy!

Just like a few days ago when Yu Qingze mentioned staying at the shop, Brother Le fought back. In the past, Brother Le wouldn’t have even responded, let alone engage in a conversation about sleeping together. He probably would have wished to immediately retreat into his shell.

This version of Brother Le, who could stand up for himself compared to the previous shy one, made Yu Qingze’s heart flutter even more.

Flirting back and forth makes things more intriguing, after all.

Moreover, they were meant to be together for a lifetime, and the more natural their interactions, the stronger their relationship would become.

A good morning kiss filled both of them with energy, and they enjoyed a good mood throughout the day.

The three-day promotion period for the opening was over, and Jiabao took over the cashier’s work. Yu Qingze watched him for a while, making sure he was doing fine, and then went to help in the kitchen.

Starting today, he planned to introduce a new item every three days to attract customers. As more items were added, he would replace the ones that didn’t sell well, constantly changing to maintain freshness.

Today, he decided to introduce pan-fried dumplings as the first new item.

They had Brother Le and the others wrap regular meat dumplings. The stoves in the kitchen were all in use, so Yu Qingze pushed the snack cart back into the backyard. He lit the coal balls in the stove, placed a pot on it, and it was ready to use. Frying dumplings would inevitably produce smoke, so it was better to do it in the backyard where the odor would dissipate faster, and it wouldn’t dirty the main hall.

He heated up the pan, added oil, and placed the dumplings in it. After frying them for a while until the bottom turned golden brown, he added some water and covered it to steam. When the water was almost evaporated, he poured in a mixture of flour and water, cooked it until dry, and then uncovered it. The pan-fried dumplings with a crispy golden brown bottom were ready.

The fragrant smell of the crispy dumplings wafted through the corridor and entered the already aromatic main hall.

“Mmm, what’s that smell? It smells so good!” In the main hall, a customer who was picking up their order caught a whiff of the strong aroma and asked.

“Is Boss Yu making some new dish again? What is it?” Another customer who had tried all the current dishes in the shop and didn’t recognize this smell asked Brother Chang.

Brother Chang didn’t know either, so he followed the aroma to the backyard and saw that Yu Qingze was frying dumplings on the snack cart.

“Brother Chang, you’re just in time. The pan-fried dumplings are ready. Take them to the main hall. You don’t need to put them in the steamer. Serve them separately and charge two extra wen per plate compared to steamed dumplings. Also, let the customers know that from now on, we’ll introduce a new dish every three days, continuing until November. After that, we’ll release new items irregularly.” Yu Qingze packed the pan-fried dumplings into plates of three while talking to Brother Chang.

“Okay.” Brother Chang carried the pan-fried dumplings and went to the main hall, immediately starting to advertise to the customers.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

“Esteemed customers, attention please! Freshly cooked new dish here! Fragrant and delicious pan-fried dumplings, only seven wen per plate! Come and have a look, have a taste! First come, first served! If you’re slow, you’ll have to wait!”

Upon hearing this, the customers thought to themselves, “Oh, there’s a new dish again. It must be good, judging by the enticing aroma. But I still have plenty left on my plate. What should I do?”

One customer who happened to be ordering acted quickly and took a plate of dumplings before Brother Chang even placed them on the stove.

“Hey, sir, you’re too fast! Don’t rush, let me put them down first…” Seeing this, Brother Chang smoothly took a bamboo token worth seven wen from the basket tied around his waist and placed it in the customer’s plate. Then he placed the plate on the vacant spot near Xiaoshu and instructed him on the arrangement before setting up the price sign. Afterward, he went to the center of the main hall to announce the regular release of new dishes every three days.

The customers widened their eyes in astonishment and excitement.

Just how many new ideas does Boss Yu have?! These dishes are already delicious enough! They were fortunate to be in Tongshan City; otherwise, how could they taste such delectable food?

The bottom of the dumplings was fried to a golden brown, already enticing to the eyes. Taking a bite, the crispy and fragrant texture combined with the flavorful meat filling, creating an absolutely fantastic taste!

The customers couldn’t help but salivate as they looked at the pan-fried dumplings on the plates of those who got them first. They just had to have a plate!

Their eyes were fixed on Brother Chang’s figure, watching as he went inside. Those who couldn’t buy one yet stood by the stove, waiting eagerly. As soon as Brother Chang came out, they would pounce and snatch!

The pan-fried dumplings were being smoothly introduced. Whenever Yu Qingze fried a batch, Brother Chang would bring them out, and they would immediately be snatched up.

During a break from making the dumplings, there were still two left from the previous batch that hadn’t been plated. Yu Qingze carried them into the kitchen and approached Brother Le, using chopsticks to feed one to him.

“Brother Le, open your mouth.”

Chang Le was busy making shumai, but when he saw the dumpling near his mouth, he took a bite and nodded while chewing, giving a thumbs up to indicate that it was delicious.

“Tasty, right?” Yu Qingze smiled and finished eating the other half.

Chang Le nodded, his eyes flickering, and he smiled, feeling pleased that Brother Yu ate the other half of the food he already took a bite.

Yu Qingze smiled as he put down the plate and then turned to Brother Chang’s mother who was kneading dough behind him. He said, “Uncle, you should taste these pan-fried dumplings too. I’ll bring another plate in later.”

Brother Chang’s mother turned his head and smiled, saying, “Alright.” One of the great benefits of working for Boss Yu was being able to eat delicious snacks every day!

The pan-fried dumplings were warmly welcomed.

After closing up shop in the evening, Yu Qingze specifically went to Liu’s place and had him write a promotional sign to display tomorrow.

Before going to bed that night, Yu Qingze and Brother Le hugged each other and exchanged kisses for a while, satisfying their cravings. They also endured the strong resistance from Little Aze and Little le before finally falling asleep.

The next morning, Cai Chenxi and Cai Yunwei arrived before the store even opened. As soon as they arrived, they saw a wooden sign placed at the store entrance with the words: Today’s Special: Pan-Fried Dumplings.

Cai Chenxi asked, “Big Brother Yu, I heard there’s a new dish? Is it these pan-fried dumplings? I didn’t get to taste them yesterday, so I want to be the first today!”

Cai Yunwei also looked at Yu Qingze with bright eyes.

Yu Qingze saw the two brothers and smiled, “Why are you so early today?”

Cai Yunwei replied, “To eat pan-fried dumplings!”

Yu Qingze laughed and sighed, “There’s no need to be this early. Rest for a while first, and we’ll open the shop later. You’ll have the first portion.”

The two brothers happily went to the backyard to freshen up and rest. These days, they almost considered the backyard as their own.

When the shop opened, regular customers noticed that the Cai brothers from the Cai family had indeed arrived again. Looking at Second Young Master Cai’s body, it was getting better day by day, and his appetite was also good. Look, he was enjoying the food so much!

You can’t tell at all that he used to have trouble eating.

But thinking about Boss Yu’s culinary skills, they naturally understood.

The business at the snack shop was steadily rising. On the third day, the village chief sold all the rice beds and earned more than sixty taels of silver. The whole family was overjoyed.

Brother Le and Jiabao also did well in arithmetic.

As for Yu Qingze and Brother Le, they kissed each other good morning and good night every day. If they didn’t exchange affection, it felt like something was missing. They were becoming closer and more intimate, just like honey mixed with oil.

In their peaceful, busy, and happy days, time unknowingly reached the end of the month. After closing the shop on September 27, a notice was hung outside the snack shop announcing a four-day closure.

The rice in the fields was ready to be harvested, and everyone would take a break and go home to harvest the rice!

When Yu Qingze and Chang Le finished packing up, Jiabao said to them, “Brother Yu, Brother Le, can I go with you? I want to help you harvest the rice.”

Yu Qingze said, “Harvesting rice is very hard.”

Jiabao shook his head and said, “It’s okay, I’m not afraid of hard work. You’ve been so kind to me, and I want to help you with something too.”

Yu Qingze glanced at Chang Le and saw him nodding. He said, “Alright, then pack your clothes and come back with us.”

“I’ve already packed!” Jiabao pulled out a bundle from under the counter and happily exclaimed.

Yu Qingze and Chang Le smiled when they saw it.

Yu Qingze patted the young boy’s shoulder and said, “Let’s go.”

The next day, when the customers who usually came to the snack shop saw the sign, they could only shake their heads helplessly and wait for the delicious food.

Meanwhile, in the neighboring Wang’s Noodle House, the son of the owner told Boss Wang something that instantly brightened his eyes, which had been despondent for quite some time.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar: There he goes again. Can’t he create his own damn recipe instead of stealing shit?

Ji Cha never expected Liang Jincheng to be removed from his position like this.

“This is too much.” He was somewhat annoyed. Since the establishment of the base, Liang Jincheng had been risking his life with the team of ability users both inside and outside the base, and now Cheng Feng had just wiped it all out with a casual remark?

“It’s nothing.” Liang Jincheng sat opposite Ji Cha, restraining himself from trying to appease Ji Cha because of the presence of Grandma Ji. “I had a bit of a feeling about it earlier, and it’s only temporary. Let’s just treat it as a vacation.”

“That’s right,” Grandma Ji chimed in. “Jincheng is always running outside, and I’m always worried sick every time. Now that he doesn’t have to go on adventures, I think it’s better for him to work at home. There’s no shortage of positions here.”

“Grandma is right.” Liang Jincheng smiled and spoke in a relaxed tone.

But inside, he knew that the situation was not so easy. Everything Ji Cha had now seemed stable, but it required effort to maintain. Especially in a post-apocalyptic world like this, it all depends on who has the stronger fist. Wealth and power are assisted by force, and if he wants to protect Ji Cha, being an ordinary person is far from enough.

At night, Ji Cha was still angry, not because of anything else, but because a military notice suddenly popped up on the computer screen, sent to various recruitment offices, stating that Liang Jincheng had been dismissed and the reason for his dismissal.

As for the incident on the farm today, other than the dead little leader, nothing had happened to the others. Ji Cha checked their files later and found that those people had been assigned to a very lucrative section of the construction department.

“What the hell is going on!” Ji Cha closed the laptop and lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

Liang Jincheng came in after taking a shower, saw his angry appearance, and smiled again, coaxing him, “Don’t be angry, don’t be angry.”

He sat on the edge of the bed, and the weather in May wasn’t too cold yet, but Liang Jincheng seemed to not be afraid of the cold, with his hands propped up, he leaned over and kissed Ji Cha’s lips. “I have a plan, and the captain’s position doesn’t matter much.”

Ji Cha pried off the hand that was on his waist and stood up in one go, closing the door.

“Actually, I also think Grandma has a point, but it’s still this time, and I always feel like Cheng Feng has a plan to take back all the dispersed power.”

“Everyone is on their own.” Liang Jincheng threw the towel under the bed and firmly pinned down Ji Cha, not allowing any objections.

Being dismissed didn’t affect his mood for doing business at night at all.

***

Day and night passed.

Liang Jincheng’s dismissal is notified on the electronic display boards at the recruitment office. Therefore, Liang Jincheng being fired became known to everyone the next day.

Some employees on the farm were uneasy, and some even came to apologize to Ji Cha, saying that if they could have tolerated it yesterday, they might not have caused trouble for Liang Jincheng.

“What does it have to do with you? Just focus on your work. Yesterday’s incident has nothing to do with you. It’s a good thing that you stand up to defend the farm,” said Ji Cha.

Perhaps because yesterday’s incident was a bit embarrassing, Zhao Tiankuo even sent his subordinates to hand over his work. Ji Cha didn’t dwell on these things too much and continued to do what he needed to do.

As for Liang Jincheng, who was dismissed, he now had twenty-four hours of free time, all of which he spent to be Ji Cha’s assistant. This made some people who had wanted to cause trouble for Ji Cha back off.

However, just because they accepted the dismissal didn’t mean that others did. The members of the special abilities team were the first to push back.

In the apocalypse, the most convincing people are those with high combat power and reliable character, not to mention this group of ability users. No one can command them to do tasks except for Liang Jincheng. So the mission planned for the ability users team on the second day after the dismissal notice came out was now in a paralyzed state.

Even many ordinary soldiers in the army were very dissatisfied with this decision because they admired and respected Liang Jincheng very much. Although Cheng Feng anticipated this result, he did not expect it to cause such a widespread reaction at first.

This instead made him feel that he couldn’t relax the development of Liang Jincheng’s power.

As for the ability users team, let them throw tantrums if they want. After all, the power of the base is in his hands, and those who want to stay in the base must listen to him.

Everyone wants to maintain the appearance of peace, but the secret dealings never stop.

At two in the morning, during the curfew period of the base and the time when guards in various places start changing shifts, the defense inside and outside the base is the weakest, and it is also the best time to fish in troubled waters.

A car slowly approached the entrance of the base, and the driver poked his head out and greeted, “Hey, Xiaoliu, open the gate.”

The driver is also a small guard on duty, and he is usually familiar with them. He was inexplicably transferred to be a driver at the beginning of the year, and occasionally he brought some things back during this shift change. He didn’t know what was inside, but because he had a pass from his superiors, it was not easy to check, so he was directly allowed to enter every time.

Seeing the gate of the base open, the car restarted. When it passed by several guards, someone seemed to hear a noise in the car.

“Hey,” the guard named Xiaoliu stopped the driver, “What are you transporting? Why is there still sound?”

“I’m transporting a car full of living dead, hahaha.” The driver laughed heartily.

Everyone laughed, “You’re just talking nonsense!”

Two jokes dispelled their original doubts, and soon the car disappeared into the night, heading towards the depths of the base.

The driver hummed a song and listened to the panting sound coming from the back of the car. Suddenly, a figure stood in front of the car. The driver was scared in the darkness and stepped on the brake hard, but when he looked carefully, there was no figure in front of the car’s headlights.

“It’s really strange…” he muttered to himself, just as he was about to restart the vehicle, a hand suddenly smashed through the car window and grabbed his throat, causing him to faint.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Later, a large hole was kicked through the partition between the cargo compartment and the driver’s cab. The hungry undead, who hadn’t eaten for several days, were now tantalized by the scent of fresh human flesh. After all this, the shadow disappeared again into the darkness.

Five hours later, the first wave of workers leaving for work discovered the vehicle parked in a crooked position. Originally curious, they were shocked to find a skeleton that had already been half-devoured by zombies. The driver had also been infected and could no longer feel pain. Even if he had been eaten alive and only half a person remained, his mouth continued to open and close, his eyes staring blankly around him.

“Zombies, zombies!”

Most of the people living in the base had not faced zombies directly for a very long time. However, they had a very deep and natural fear of this cruel and ruthless species, which was now strongly stimulated.

Immediately, someone notified the security department, and the security staff quickly called in members of the ability users team to capture the zombies.

When they finally caught the zombies, they were shocked to find that there were five of them in the relatively small cargo compartment, of all ages and genders, all still alive and kicking.

The military vehicle, driven by a soldier, had left tire tracks from the outside all the way into the base. How could a vehicle like this transport five zombies?

Those with weak nerves were now terrified, and their emotions exploded. They demanded an explanation from the authorities about what was really going on.

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Thandar: was it Jincheng who did it?

Sweet Moments during the Dragon Boat Festival

Feeling thoroughly satisfied, Yu Qingze lay back on the bed. He felt like a weight had been lifted off him, especially in terms of his mood, which had brightened considerably.

Once he caught his breath and regained his strength, he got up, put on his pants, opened the door, and cautiously peeked at the neighboring door. He listened carefully and heard nothing but silence. He figured that Chang Le must have fallen asleep. Holding an oil lamp, he stepped outside into the courtyard to clean up.

He poured a bucket of water into the wooden basin, washed his hands, wiped away the remnants from his abdomen and chest, emptied the water, poured in a fresh basin of water to wash his face, and then wiped his upper body clean. Finally, he returned to bed and went back to sleep.

Once he entered his room and closed the door, on the other side, Chang Le leaned against the back of his own door, finally letting out a sigh of relief and exhaling deeply.

He didn’t dare to turn on the light. Slowly, in the darkness, he made his way back to his own bed. He lay down gently, curling up on his side and clutching his chest. His heart was pounding heavily, almost jumping out of his chest. He touched his face, feeling the heat radiating from it, as if his face was about to burn.

He had been on the verge of falling asleep earlier when he heard a muffled groan from the next room, as if someone was enduring something. He was worried that Big Brother Yu might be feeling unwell or sick, so he quickly got up, put on his shoes, and was about to go and check on him.

However, as he reached the entrance of Big Brother Yu’s room, he heard rustling sounds from inside. He was about to knock on the door when he heard another groan, followed by a long sigh of relief…

Because he was standing at the door, he could hear a bit more clearly than if he were inside the room. At this moment, he suddenly had an eureka moment, as if something clicked in his mind, and he realized what that sound from Big Brother Yu meant.

Chang Le:…

In a panic, he hurried back to his own room, gently closing the door and leaning against it, not daring to breathe heavily.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

He listened as the door next door opened, heard Big Brother Yu walk out of the room, heard the sound of water being poured twice, and then heard him return to the room.

How did he happen to encounter this?

Chang Le felt both embarrassed and awkward. The sleepiness he had earlier was completely gone, and his eyes were wide open, unable to find any trace of drowsiness.

Unconsciously, his mind echoed with the sounds from when Big Brother Yu was… doing that. When he hadn’t realized what it was, it seemed like a sound of pain. But now that he knew what it was, it automatically transformed into moans that made his face blush and his heart race. He could even imagine the image of Big Brother Yu lying on the bed…

Oh my, Chang Le, you’re shameless!

He hadn’t experienced this kind of thing much himself. Throughout his life, he could probably count the number of times on one hand. One reason was embarrassment, and the other was that he was always busy with work. He was too tired at the end of the day to have much energy to think about such matters.

The first time he felt this desire, his mother had already passed away, and he was the only ger left in the family. There was no one to teach him. The first time he experienced an erection, which happened not because he needed to pee but because it wouldn’t go away, he was terrified, thinking that he might be sick. Fortunately, it subsided on its own after a while. He didn’t dare to talk to his grandfather about it, after all, it was such an intimate matter.

After that, he lived in constant fear for a long time.

It wasn’t until one time when Brother Chang’s mother took him to the mountains to chop firewood and on the way back, they happened to come across a pair of wild Mandarin ducks. Chang Le was stunned, and Brother Chang’s mother quickly pulled him away.

Later, when Brother Chang’s mother saw him constantly looking back, realizing that his mother might not have had time to teach him these things and that he didn’t understand, he asked Chang Le if he knew what they were doing.

Chang Le shook his head.

Brother Chang’s mother knew that there was no one in his family who could teach him, so he stopped and, treating him like his own son, taught him some knowledge. It was then that Chang Le learned that his erection wasn’t an illness but a sign of growing up.

Since he developed feelings for Big Brother Yu, there were times when Chang Le would think about it before going to sleep, but the content of his thoughts was still quite innocent. He would just imagine the way Yu Qingze kissed and hugged him. Mainly because he couldn’t imagine anything more explicit.

Now, because he had just heard Yu Qingze’s moan, his mind was filled with it and the scenes he had imagined. It made his heart race, and to his surprise, he noticed that Little Chang Le had become quite spirited without him realizing it.

Chang Le:…

He endured for a while, but in the end, he buried his face in the pillow and gripped onto Little Chang Le.

…

So, after Yu Qingze opened the door, fetched water, and closed the door, Chang Le quietly followed suit, opening the door, fetching water, and closing the door.

However, by that time, Yu Qingze was already sound asleep and didn’t hear a thing.

The next day, not long after the fifth watch drum sounded, Yu Qingze got up.

He had been up for a while when Chang Le also got up.

They met by the well.

“Brother Le, good morning. You can sleep a bit longer. It’s still early,” Yu Qingze said cheerfully now that he had a good night’s rest.

Chang Le shook his head. He had moved here precisely to wake up early and start working. Besides, he had actually slept quite well last night.

Thinking about last night, Chang Le lowered his head and quickly washed up, not daring to look at Yu Qingze.

Yu Qingze didn’t pay it any mind either. After finishing his ablutions, he went to the kitchen to work.

Outside, it was still dark, probably around four in the morning.

Two oil lamps were lit in the kitchen. Yu Qingze was kneading dough while Chang Le was cooking and steaming sticky rice and red beans. They both arranged firewood in the stoves and started preparing vegetables and stuffing for dumplings and shumai.

They were both busy with their respective tasks. Although there were no words exchanged, their movements were perfectly synchronized.

When Yu Qingze finished kneading the dough, Chang Le had finished preparing the dumpling filling. One of them rolled out the dumpling wrappers while the other started wrapping the dumplings, getting them ready first.

The dumplings were done, and the sticky rice and red beans had finished steaming. They took them off the stove. One person started making red bean paste while the other sautéed the stuffing for shumai and mixed it with the sticky rice…

They were busy until daybreak, and they had almost finished the first batch of dim sum needed for opening. They were already steaming on the stoves, with only a few side dishes and congee left to be prepared.

At this moment, Brother Chang and his mother also arrived. They had bought fresh spare ribs from the market on their way and joined in to help with the preparations.

After the word spread from the previous two days’ customers, Yu’s Snack Stall had transformed into Yu’s Snack Shop, and the two elderly gentlemen from the Cai and Zhao families had even come to participate in the opening, which quickly spread throughout the town.

That day, Yu Qingze noticed that there were noticeably more customers, many of whom were not ordinary people. Most likely, they had come to see for themselves after hearing the rumors, while others came specifically to taste the snacks he made.

On that day, Cai Chenxi and Cai Yunwei came running over again for breakfast, just like yesterday.

Some of the customers in the shop were surprised to see them being so familiar with Yu Qingze. After all, the Cai family had a prominent status, and Cai Chenxi had even passed the imperial examination. It was rare to see them interact with a snack shop owner so casually, disregarding their respective positions.

Then, Old Master Zhao came with his two grandsons and Steward Zhao. Yu Qingze personally greeted them and led them to a private booth to dine. When they left, Yu Qingze gave them the silver ear fungus that Grandpa Chang had brought, along with the instructions for making silver ear fungus soup.

Those who hadn’t seen the opening day now believed that the two prominent families indeed held Yu Qingze in high regard and treated him differently.

Everyone had their own thoughts and considerations.

Before closing time, the village chief and Dajian came to the snack shop.

Seeing their joyful expressions, Yu Qingze smiled and said, “It seems like there’s good news.”

The village chief nodded with a smile, “Yes, we sold all the rice beds today. We sold more than 80 of them. We used three carts and a cow-drawn cart to transport them. The ones we brought in the morning sold out before noon, so we went back and brought another batch, and they sold out too. If the rice beds weren’t so big, we could have brought them all at once.”

Yu Qingze chuckled, “Congratulations. There are still a few days until harvest, but I’m sure they will all sell out by then.”

The village chief nodded, unable to hide his joy, “It’s all thanks to you for telling us the method. The three city gates are indeed the best selling spots.”

“Hahaha, I just shared my thoughts. Come, have a seat and have some dim sum. You must be exhausted after a busy day.”

Saying that, Yu Qingze had a few plates of dim sum brought to them.

The rice beds sold well on the first day, and they fetched a good price. The village chief and his family finally felt relieved. After eating a steamed bun, the village chief said, “When I go back, I’ll have your rice bed delivered to you. Which style do you want?”

Yu Qingze pondered for a moment and replied, “Let’s go with the one I initially drew for you.” It looked simple, but it was the most efficient.

“Alright.”

After closing, Yu Qingze and the others had dinner. Jiabao went to take a bath first, while Yu Qingze and Chang Le tidied up. They soaked the red beans and seaweed, then the three of them sat down at a table and started learning arithmetic.

Yu Qingze took a wooden board and wrote a row of Arabic numerals on it. Below, he wrote the corresponding Chinese numerals. He then explained, “The arithmetic method I’m teaching you is based on these numbers. You need to memorize these ten digits first, and then I’ll teach you the rest.”

With that, Yu Qingze taught them the Arabic numerals one by one, starting from the units and then the tens, having them practice writing them. Grandpa Chang brought over the sandalwood tray that Chang Le used at home and another new one made by the village chief. Both Jiabao and Brother Le had one, and they began writing on them.

After half an hour of memorizing and writing, Yu Qingze started giving them dictation tests.

The three of them learned, wrote, and were tested simultaneously. In less than an hour, Jiabao and Brother Le had successfully memorized the ten Arabic numerals and knew how to write numbers in the tens place.

Jiabao learned faster than Brother Le because he knew more characters and had a better memory. Fortunately, Brother Le had also learned many characters with Chang Hao at home before, so he recognized the Chinese numerals and managed to keep up with Jiabao’s progress.

“It’s okay, Brother Le, you’re doing great!” After seeing Jiabao off, on their way back, Yu Qingze comforted Brother Le.

Brother Le nodded and gestured, “Test me now, and I’ll learn more.”

“Alright, then I’ll give you one off the top of my head. Seventy-eight.”

Chang Le raised his hand and wrote two numbers in the air.

“Correct. Fifty-three,” Yu Qingze walked to Chang Le’s left side, took his left hand, and continued.

Since they had become accustomed to holding hands, Chang Le didn’t think much of it and used his right hand to write two numbers.

“Correct…”

After going through the numbers, Yu Qingze gave him addition and subtraction problems to solve mentally.

The two of them happily made their way back home like this.

After returning home, they each freshened up and busied themselves for a while until it was time to sleep.

Just before Brother Le entered his room, Yu Qingze stopped him and spoke earnestly, “Brother Le, to strengthen our bond, starting from today, we’ll give each other a goodnight kiss every night.”

Chang Le blinked, a goodnight kiss?

Like the kind Grandma used to give him on his forehead before he went to sleep?

He also remembered that time when he was drunk, before he went to sleep, Big Brother Yu seemed to have kissed his forehead and then let him sleep.

Thinking of that, he nodded.

He also wanted to improve his relationship with Big Brother Yu, make it even better.

Seeing him nod, Yu Qingze curved his lips, placed the oil lamp they were holding on the windowsill, then he pulled Chang Le closer by his waist, cupped the back of his head with one hand, and lowered his head to kiss Chang Le’s lips.

Chang Le: …

Unexpectedly, a kiss on the forehead turned into a kiss on the lips, and Chang Le was a bit stunned, staring wide-eyed at Yu Qingze.

Yu Qingze sighed helplessly, pecked his lips once, and then gently released them, saying, “Brother Le, be good, close your eyes and open your mouth.”

Chang Le’s face turned red, and reflexively, he obediently closed his eyes and slightly opened his mouth.

Seeing this, Yu Qingze kissed him again. Worried about startling Chang Le, he was gentle in his movements, softly sucking and then tentatively exploring with his tongue, capturing the shy tip of Chang Le’s tongue, enticing it to dance together.

…

After the kiss, Chang Le tilted his head back, tremblingly opened his eyes, his eyes moist, his face unbelievably red. He seemed to be holding his breath, a mix of frustration and shyness.

Yu Qingze gently stroked his lips with his thumb and asked in a hoarse voice, “Did you like it?”

Chang Le stared at Yu Qingze, his gaze seemingly ignited by a fire, his voice like a hook that captured his very soul.

And the feeling of the kiss just now, it was so good.

So, this is what a kiss is like? He couldn’t remember the previous time when he was drunk, but it must have been like this, dizzying and sweet, as if soaking in warm water or stepping on cotton, soft and fluffy. He wanted nothing more than to collapse into Yu Qingze’s embrace and be held forever.

Blushing, he nodded gently.

This feeling made him feel close to Yu Qingze, and he liked it very much.

“Would you like more?” Yu Qingze leaned closer, their foreheads touching, their noses affectionately brushing against each other, and he asked in a soft voice.

Chang Le unconsciously nodded. Though feeling a bit shy, he wanted more.

In the next moment, Yu Qingze’s lips descended once again.

They both savored the wonderful taste of the kiss and became somewhat immersed in it.

Until Yu Qingze felt that if he continued kissing, he would lose control, he quickly released Chang Le. “Mmm, I really want to devour you right now.”

Yu Qingze let out a soft sigh, lightly nibbled on Chang Le’s ear, then let go and kissed his forehead, saying, “Go to sleep now. Goodnight.” He couldn’t delay Chang Le from going inside to sleep any longer, fearing that he wouldn’t be able to resist pushing Chang Le directly into his own room.

Chang Le had already sensed the change in Yu Qingze’s body a moment ago, and now upon hearing his words, he quickly took the oil lamp and entered the room.

His little Chang Le was also awake; he couldn’t let Big Brother Yu discover him…

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar: Did you two brush your teeth properly before doing all this?

Those people are just bullies who are afraid of the strong and prey on the weak. Liang Jincheng’s shot scared them. No one expected that someone would come forward and use such violent means, even when no one in the army dared to take action.

“Jincheng,” Ji Cha still felt the sound of the gun ringing in his ears. He couldn’t come back to his senses, but he still worriedly supported Liang Jincheng’s arm and stood up straight. “Here…”

Liang Jincheng stood in front of him, saying calmly, “I know what I’m doing. You take care of the other workers first.”

He then casually twirled the gun in his hand and put it back into the holster on his waist, and then looked coldly at the other people who were causing trouble. “Do you also want to taste the feeling of being shot?”

Those people didn’t dare to stay and ran away, but they still said as they ran that they were going to report to their superiors and have Liang Jincheng, the murderer who killed people openly, arrested.

After all, the person Liang Jincheng killed was just a small character in their base of a thousand people, which was not a big deal. The backbone of the base had not been affected yet.

Zhao Tiankuo, who was standing on the side, felt a bit awkward at this time. It was an undeniable fact that he had retreated earlier.

“Brother Liang, you were a little reckless,” Zhao Tiankuo understood Liang Jincheng’s desire to protect Ji Cha, but he also knew the severity of the situation. The leader of the base of a thousand people and their own military leader had some relationship, and the orders also came directly from Cheng Feng himself. Now, Liang Jincheng’s direct action was almost like hitting Cheng Feng’s face.

“I know what I’m doing,” Liang Jincheng said.

Ji Cha had now completely regained his senses, and he had confidence in Liang Jincheng’s words and actions, so he wasn’t too worried about him. Now, when he looked at the damaged rice seedlings, he felt the most heartbroken for them.

“Ah, I could have made several more meals with these rice seedlings,” Ji Cha squatted down, holding up the rice seedlings that had been trampled in the mud. He called over the workers who weren’t hurt to help clean up and see if any of the seedlings could be salvaged.

Meanwhile, Liang Jincheng didn’t want to make things difficult for Zhao Tiankuo, so he went with him to the military camp to explain the situation.

Ji Cha rode his electric scooter back to the factory with a sigh, and Zhang Xing and Wang Qinxue happened to come in from outside.

Zhang Xing now had his own repair shop, not far from the factory. He called it his own repair shop because he also repaired electronic and mechanical items for civilians, but his main job still included a lot of military affairs.

Wang Qinxue and his parents took care of the livestock for Ji Cha. They all came back together to have lunch with Zhang Xing.

Ji Cha didn’t want to worry his grandmother, so he didn’t mention the fact that Liang Jincheng had shot someone earlier. Zhang Xing complained a bit, “I don’t know why, but I’ve had several plans that haven’t been completed yet, and I’ve been working day and night with them. Cheng Feng sent over a drawing for me to follow, and I don’t know what use a semi-automatic iron cage is at this time. If I could, I would throw a box from the chicken farm at them.”

The name Cheng Feng made Ji Cha a bit sensitive, but the iron cage didn’t catch his attention for long, and he quickly turned to another topic.

“Once the weather gets a bit warmer, we can try to produce some rabbit fur in bulk,” Wang Qinxue said. “The production of the last two batches of rabbits has been quite smooth, and the empty rooms in the breeding area will be used soon.”

“It would be best if we could use all of them,” Ji Cha thought greedily. “We still need meat in the base, and we’re all being so stingy here. We haven’t even been able to form a self-sufficient cycle system.”

According to Ji Cha’s plan, the farm’s production and management should be able to supply the daily needs of the Grain Department’s base with a slight surplus. Some of the by-products from grain production, such as straw and corn stalks, can be recycled as fodder in the breeding area. Many animal feces in the breeding area can be turned into excellent fertilizer after composting, which can help with grain production.

“A single meal won’t make you fat.” Wang Qinxue smiled and said, “We’re already doing quite well now. In the second half of the year, conservatively speaking, our base will definitely have enough meat to eat every day.”

Ji Cha remembered the chaos of the last few years before the apocalypse. It took several years for S city base to truly stabilize last time. Would it happen so quickly this time? He wasn’t optimistic due to many external and internal interferences, but he couldn’t show it now.

In the high-end apartment area of the base, at Cheng Feng’s place, Liang Jincheng walked steadily through the corridor. The guard at the door bowed slightly and respectfully said, “Hello, Captain Liang!”

Liang Jincheng nodded slightly, “Is General Cheng inside?”

The guard nodded and went in to inform Cheng Feng. Zhao Tiankuo stood far away from the apartment building’s security room, feeling very uncomfortable like ants crawling in his heart. He hoped Liang Jincheng could help him turn back, even if he didn’t mention it. He could try to avoid getting involved in this matter as much as possible, so as not to have a bad outcome later.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

It took about ten minutes for Cheng Feng to let Liang Jincheng in, making the guard at the door very uneasy. He looked apologetic as he watched Liang Jincheng.

However, Liang Jincheng didn’t seem to care at all during these ten minutes. He stood straight, looking into the distance as if he were looking at something but not focusing on anything. It didn’t look like he was being left hanging by someone, but rather like he was coming to enjoy the view.

In fact, as long as he wanted to, Liang Jincheng’s ears could clearly hear the sound behind seven or eight walls. For example, during these ten minutes, he could clearly hear the low groaning of zombies coming from the basement, but he didn’t know how many.

In this heavily secured high-end apartment building, someone like Cheng Feng lives there, and there’s an unknown number of zombies locked in the basement near his residence.

Thinking of this, the guard happened to open the door and invite him in. Liang Jincheng looked at his watch and saw that the minute hand was pointing at three, so he calmly walked into the room.

“I almost know everything about this matter. What you did was too impulsive,” Cheng Feng still had the same look, and it was hard to tell if he was angry or not. “There should be consequences for making mistakes. So for now, you’ll have to temporarily hand over the position of captain of the ability user team, rest for half a month, and then we’ll see how to deal with the matter later.”

Although Cheng Feng’s words were eloquent, the main point was to make Liang Jincheng hand over his position as captain of the ability user team.

Liang Jincheng and Cheng Feng looked at each other, and Liang Jincheng caught the emotion in Cheng Feng’s eyes, but Cheng Feng couldn’t tell what Liang Jincheng was thinking. After a moment of silence, just when Cheng Feng was about to break the calm, Liang Jincheng finally spoke up.

“Okay.”

Then he added, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave now.”

Cheng Feng was surprised by his straightforward attitude, and by the time he regained his senses, Liang Jincheng had already walked to the door.

Liang Jincheng looked at his watch again, and only two minutes had passed. Now he quickened his pace to rush back, so he could still make it to have lunch with Ji Cha.

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Thandar: this Cheng Feng doing some shady shit I can tell

Living Together Happily

When they returned home, Yu Qingze told Grandpa Chang about his plan to stay at the shop. It would save time and allow him to watch over the store.

Chang Le also mentioned that he would stay at the shop, visiting home every few days. He couldn’t let Brother Yu handle everything alone and work so hard.

Grandpa Chang agreed.

Yu Qingze initially disagreed, but Chang Le insisted, saying that if he didn’t agree, he would still go to the shop every midnight. It would be even more unsafe and tiring for a young ger to walk alone at night. Yu Qingze naturally wouldn’t let that happen, so he reluctantly agreed.

Seeing their discussion come to an end, Chang Hao looked speechless and sighed for his own stomach and mouth.

His brother and Brother Yu were going to stay at the shop, which meant there would be no delicious food for him and Grandpa every day…

But he also knew that if his brother and Brother Yu didn’t have to travel back and forth every day, they wouldn’t be so tired. So he didn’t say anything. He couldn’t bear to see them exhausted every day.

Otherwise, should he try to learn cooking too? He had been watching for so long, he should be able to make something tastier than before, right?

The young boy pondered with his chin resting on his hand, worrying about his and Grandpa’s empty stomachs.

That night, Yu Qingze and Chang Le packed a few clothes and necessary items, getting ready to bring them over to the shop the next morning.

The following day, they still woke up early, and the three of them set off together to the shop.

Upon seeing them carrying bags, Brother Chang’s mother asked them about it. Yu Qingze informed him that he and Brother Le would be staying at the shop and advised him to leave at daybreak for safety reasons.

Brother Chang’s mother still expressed concern, “Can you two manage with all the different types of dim sum? Maybe I should go early?”

Yu Qingze shook his head and said, “It’s not necessary. We can handle it. You can leave at daybreak, it’s safer.”

Brother Chang’s mother agreed.

On the second day of the shop’s opening, Cai Chenxi arrived early with Cai Yunwei.

Yu Qingze noticed that Cai Yunwei’s forehead was sweaty, he was panting and his face was flushed. He asked, “Did you run all the way here?”

Cai Yunwei was still trying to catch his breath as he leaned on Yu Qingze’s counter.

Cai Chenxi nodded and replied, “Yes, you mentioned that Yunwei should get up in the morning to jog and exercise. Since we were already running, we decided to come over and have breakfast as well.”

“… ” Yu Qingze pointed to the backyard and said, “Go wash up in the backyard. You can’t have breakfast now. Wait for Second Young Master to rest for a while and catch his breath before eating, otherwise, he might choke.”

Cai Chenxi nodded and took Cai Yunwei to the backyard to freshen up and rest.

There was an osmanthus tree in the backyard, and under the tree, there was a stone table. The scenery was quite pleasant, so the two of them washed up and sat in the backyard to rest.

In the front, many customers had come for breakfast. Most of them were those who had come to try the food yesterday, and some came with their families, young and old, to enjoy a meal together.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot come.

Yu Qingze also noticed several guests who had attended the flower-viewing event at the Cai Residence. They came with their children and servants. Among them was Madam Zhao, who came with his two children and a servant.

Yu Qingze went over to greet them and led them to a private booth while a servant went to fetch food.

“Boss Yu, congratulations on the opening. The shop looks great,” Madam Zhao congratulated with a smile.

Yu Qingze smiled and thanked him, “Thank you, Madam Zhao. It wouldn’t have been so smooth without the support of your esteemed residence.”

Madam Zhao chuckled and said, “You’re too modest. It’s also because of your excellent culinary skills that our whole family loves it.”

Yu Qingze humbly exchanged a few polite words and then turned to the two children, “Young Masters, what would you like to eat? I’ll have it brought over.”

The older child, a little boy of about seven or eight years old, said, “I like ribs. Grandpa says ribs are delicious.”

The younger child, a boy of three or four years old, was playing with a wooden carved bird. When he heard Yu Qingze’s question, he looked up and cutely said, “Bean, red bean bun.”

The older brother glanced at him disdainfully and said, “You always want red bean buns. Aren’t you tired of them?”

The younger brother, feeling challenged, retorted defiantly, “You always have ribs. Aren’t you tired, tired of them?”

The two children started arguing with each other.

Yu Qingze laughed and said, “The young masters are really adorable.”

Madam Zhao chuckled helplessly and said, “They’re like this every day. By the way, Boss Yu, do you have the silver ear fungus soup that we had at the Cai Residence?”

Yu Qingze replied, “That will be introduced in a few days. Once the staff here become more familiar with their tasks, we will gradually introduce desserts. Do you enjoy silver ear fungus soup, Madam Zhao?”

Madam Zhao nodded and smiled, “Yes. I couldn’t forget it after tasting it that day. If it’s available, I’ll have to come here every day.”

Yu Qingze smiled and said, “You’re most welcome. Madam Zhao, young masters, please take your time. I’ll have some refreshments brought over.”

Madam Zhao replied, “Boss Yu, you can go about your business. Don’t worry about us, we have a servant here.”

Yu Qingze stepped back and instructed Jiabao to bring a plate of ribs and a plate of red bean buns. Meanwhile, he made a mental note to ask Grandpa Chang to bring some silver ear fungus tomorrow to send to Madam Zhao.

In the afternoon, the village chief came to the shop to find Yu Qingze. With the autumn harvest approaching, they were preparing to sell the rice beds. The village chief wanted to discuss with Yu Qingze and see if he could offer any suggestions.

“Aze, what do you think would be a suitable price for the rice beds?” The village chief was troubled by this question. Each member of his family, including his eldest son, second son, and himself, had different opinions and couldn’t reach a consensus.

After listening to the village chief’s intentions, Yu Qingze pondered for a moment and asked, “What is the approximate cost for each rice bed?”

The village chief thought for a moment. The rice beds were relatively easy to make, so he replied, “With the cost of wood and labor, it’s less than 200 wen, close to that amount.”

Yu Qingze further asked, “How much disposable income do the villagers usually have?”

“That’s hard to say. Some hardworking families with lighter burdens manage to save seven to eight taels of silver, while others, especially those with sick family members, are so poor that they can’t even afford to eat enough. They can’t save any money. It varies. Generally, an average household would have around two to three taels of silver saved,” the village chief explained.

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingze thought for a moment and asked, “How many rice beds have you made?”

The village chief chuckled, “There are around two hundred.”

Yu Qingze was surprised and exclaimed, “So many?!”

The village chief replied with a smile, “They’re all piled up here.”

After some consideration, Yu Qingze calculated the village chief’s costs, including the purchase of the blueprints for 30 taels and the production cost of about 200 wen per bed. Altogether, it amounted to around 70 taels of silver.

After estimating, Yu Qingze said, “Then let’s set the price at around 600 to 700 wen. Most farming families should be able to afford it. If they find it expensive, you can suggest joint purchases between two households. In this way, after deducting the costs, you can earn around 50 to 70 taels of silver.”

After giving it some thought, the village chief found it appropriate and said, “Alright, let’s go with what you said.”

Yu Qingze then asked, “Where are you planning to sell them?”

The village chief replied, “At the vegetable market, where there are many people.”

Yu Qingze shook his head and said, “Don’t go to the vegetable market. The people who buy vegetables there are city dwellers, and they don’t need rice beds. The farmers who sell vegetables are too busy with their own business and won’t have time to pay attention to your products.”

“Then where do you suggest we go?”

“Go to the city gates. With your large group, split into three batches and sell at the east, west, and south gates. The people entering and exiting there are mostly farmers, and they are your target audience.”

“What about the north gate?”

“No need for the north gate. Outside the north gate is the wharf, and there are no villages nearby. Moreover, most people who go to the north gate are coming from the other three gates, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Alright! We’ll do as you say!”

“Also, village chief, when you sell, remember to demonstrate to others. Bring some rice grains or other grasses with seeds. Let others see the benefits of using these rice beds and allow them to try it out. Once they see the benefits, they will be more likely to buy.”

“Got it! I’ll remember that!” The village chief was excited and felt that coming to Yu Qingze today was the right decision.

The two of them discussed for a while and finalized the plan. Before leaving, the village chief remembered one more thing and said, “By the way, what are your plans for that piece of land after the autumn harvest? The families renting that land asked me to inquire whether you plan to cultivate it yourself or do something else.”

Yu Qingze shook his head and replied, “I won’t cultivate it myself. I don’t have the energy. If they want to continue renting it, they can rent it at the same price as before.” The shop keeps him busy every day, and Grandpa Chang is the one managing Brother Le’s fields most of the time. It’s exhausting, and he’s even thinking about having Grandpa Chang cultivate two fewer fields next year. It’s too tiring.

“Okay, I’ll go back and inform them,” the village chief nodded, then added, “Have you chosen a site for your residential land yet? It’s been quite some time, and I haven’t seen you coming to me.”

“I’ve chosen one! Isn’t there a large empty space about thirty zhang to the right of Brother Le’s house? It’s not far from there, near an old locust tree. Let’s go with that location.”

“The location is a bit far from the village,” said the village chief.

“It’s fine, it’s not too far. And, village chief, I also plan to buy another mu of land. Please keep an eye out for me and make sure no one else takes it.”

“Alright, I understand. No one else will buy the land. I’ll go back now and have them cut some dogtail grass and reed stalks.”

“Okay, if you have any business, come find me.”

“Alright. You take care.”

Busy as always, another day went by.

After closing the shop, Yu Qingze held the usual summary meeting with everyone.

After a day of training and the post-closing summary meeting, the staff performed even better today. The number of issues noticeably decreased, and everything became much smoother. They were becoming more proficient in all aspects.

After the summary meeting, they all packed up and went home together.

Initially, Yu Qingze wanted Brother Chang and his mother to finish making the snacks and then go off work, but they didn’t leave either. Seeing everyone so busy, they decided to stay and continue helping.

Yu Qingze felt helpless about this. If Brother Chang and his mother continued to behave like this, he would have to give them a raise next month. They were working from dawn till dusk, much harder than the others.

Since opening the shop, Yu Qingze changed the daily settlement method of the snack stall to a monthly payment system. At the end of each month, he would pay everyone their wages, making it easier to manage.

After everyone left, Yu Qingze called Jiabao over and asked him to wait for a moment because the beds he had asked Grandpa Chang to buy had arrived. They assisted the shopkeeper in installing the beds. The quilts that Grandpa Chang had also bought were here, so they could finally settle in.

After Grandpa Chang left, Yu Qingze said to Jiabao, “Jiabao, starting from today, Brother Le and I will be living in the shop. You’ll have dinner with us in the evening. Also, do you want to learn arithmetic?”

Jiabao’s eyes lit up. “You mean multiplication and division?”

Yu Qingze nodded and said, “Yes. Do you want to learn?”

Jiabao nodded, “I want to learn!”

“Great, starting from tomorrow, bring a change of clothes when you come in the morning. Have dinner here, take a shower, and then I’ll teach you. There’s always hot water on the stove here, so you won’t need to heat water for bathing when you go back.”

Jiabao happily nodded, “Okay!”

“Brother Le, didn’t you also mention wanting to learn?” Yu Qingze asked.

Chang Le nodded.

“Then you can learn together.”

Chang Le gestured, indicating that he is not very fast at addition and subtraction, and it might slow down Jiabao’s progress.

Yu Qingze shook his head and said, “It’s alright. I’ll teach you a new algorithm, and Jiabao will start from the beginning too.”

Upon hearing this, Chang Le also happily nodded.

Afterward, the three of them began to prepare dinner. Jiabao took the initiative to light the fire and cook rice, watching Chang Le cook the dishes while Yu Qingze watched from the side, occasionally giving some instructions.

Jiabao realized that Yu Qingze was actually teaching Chang Le how to cook.

Yes, after spending some time together, Jiabao started calling Yu Qingze “Big Brother Yu.” He felt that Yu Qingze and Chang Le were truly like older brothers to him, teaching him everything and taking care of him, which touched the young boy’s heart.

When it was time to eat, Jiabao took a bite of the food and exclaimed, “It’s so delicious!”

Chang Le smiled and picked up a piece of meat for him with his chopsticks.

Yu Qingze also picked up a piece of meat for himself and another for Chang Le, saying, “Eat more meat and grow taller.”

“Mm!” Jiabao happily ate his meal. He had never tasted such delicious food before, well, except when he was with Big Brother Yu, that is!

After dinner, Yu Qingze and Chang Le escorted Jiabao back home. They held hands while walking back and together tidied up the rest area and storage room. They also made preparations for the next day. After washing up, they washed their clothes together, sat under the osmanthus tree for a while to enjoy the cool breeze, and then went to sleep.

From today onwards, Yu Qingze and Chang Le would live alone together.

Apart from not having that particular intimacy, it didn’t feel much different from living together before marriage. Thinking about this, Yu Qingze felt a faint sense of happiness filling his chest, sweet and content.

During this time, he had to seize the opportunity to make Chang Le accustomed to intimate actions with him as soon as possible! That way, their married life would be smoother and sweeter! Hehehe…

Previously, Yu Qingze used to sleep in the same room with Grandpa Chang and Chang Hao. Due to the inconvenience, he hadn’t relieved himself since coming here and had been suppressing it, even developing some pimples as a result.

Now, knowing that Chang Le was sleeping next door, with no one else in the room, Yu Qingze felt a bit excited. That indescribable little flame in his heart ignited, burning stronger and stronger, impossible to suppress.

Of course, he had no intention of suppressing it.

With that in mind, he let himself go.

Bliss!

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar: LOL somebody beating meat after hours

In mid-April, the mutated vegetables that were discovered earlier were finally put into the second round of production to see the results. The traditionally edible leafy part was tested and found that although various growth data were surprisingly impressive, the edible function was not affected.

In other words, under the premise of absorbing almost the same nutrients, the mutated vegetables can grow to three to four times the size of ordinary vegetables. If the seeds of such vegetables can be popularized and planted, the same piece of land will become as productive as three to four pieces of land in the past.

The planting of spring wheat has begun. As the most important and anticipated staple food in the base, after the appearance of mutated vegetables, Ji Cha also pays special attention to rice seedlings with obvious differences in growth. Even though the rice seeds in their hands are already the highest-yielding super rice per mu, it is always good to produce the most food with the least land in the end times.

The weather in mid-April began to warm up really, and the temperature at least at noon was much milder. The big event in the base these two days was the inclusion of a base with a considerable scale, with a total of about one thousand people.

Although the absorption of new residents has been ongoing, this is the first time that a large-scale and large number of people have been included.

Having a large number of people in the base is a good thing, but it may also be a bad thing. This hidden concern was soon revealed shortly after the inclusion of the thousand-person base.

Individuals entering the base usually have to quickly change their habits and abide by the rules of the base in order to be able to live in the base. But the entry of the thousand-person base was very different.

They have their own living habits, and because of the huge group, they are unwilling to change at will. Shortly after entering the base, some very bad habits were revealed due to their strong group mentality.

For example, disrespecting the female workers in the base, or bullying other ordinary residents by relying on their large number of group members, causing trouble and unrest, and so on.

Just listening to it made Ji Cha feel a headache. Although there was some management by the military, it was only treating the symptoms rather than the root cause. Often, once they left, the common people would be treated even worse, and after a certain number of times, no one would dare to report their behavior and could only silently endure it.

As a result, even though the farm was getting bigger and needed more manpower, Ji Cha basically didn’t recruit personnel from the thousand-person base.

Unexpectedly, the day after he cancelled their job application, someone from the military came to inquire, asking if he had biased behavior against the personnel from the thousand-person base.

The leader of the thousand-person base has now become a small backbone of the military, and even the soldiers who came to inquire about Ji Cha were unfamiliar, who knows if they were their own people. The other side looked fierce, making Ji Cha uneasy.

“I decide who to recruit or not. There are countless people applying for work every day, and there are always people being rejected. They are all joining the base. What’s the difference?”

The other party was also annoyed by his counter-question, “When we joined the base, it was agreed that we would have housing and work. What’s going on now?”

“Whoever promised you that, go find them. I only welcome people who work peacefully and don’t cause trouble. You can leave now.”

At this time, Ji Cha didn’t realize that these few words would cause him so much trouble the next day, or rather, he underestimated the courage of this thousand-people base.

Around eight or nine o’clock, when the farm had been busy for a while and it was time to take a break, Ji Cha saved the data collected from various blocks into the computer and hadn’t even had time to do the comparison when someone suddenly called him outside.

He went downstairs and saw a capable staff member from his farm, Cheng Fang.

“Ji Cha, there’s trouble in the rice paddies. A group of people came and insisted on working. They even started hitting people and trampling on the rice seedlings,” Cheng Fang said.

Upon hearing that people were being beaten and the rice seedlings were being damaged, Ji Cha’s mind exploded. He immediately took out his electric scooter and hurried back with Cheng Fang.

“I’ll be back in a bit!” he said without looking back.

Liang Jincheng was talking to Grandma Ji in the kitchen when he heard the news. “Grandma, I’m going to check on Cha Cha,” he said, before chasing after them.

Ji Cha rushed all the way back on his scooter and stopped to jump off. He hadn’t walked two steps when he saw the rice paddies. A large patch of rice seedlings had been trampled, and three familiar workers had bruises on their faces and bodies. The attackers were sitting on the side, looking indifferent and pleased with themselves.

These were the kind of people who were used to being arrogant and thought no one could control them. They were prone to violence and wrongdoing, and they had no sense of restraint when they entered someone else’s territory. Instead, they believed that everyone in the world should respect them.

Ji Cha despised these people the most.

“Cheng Fang, go notify and ask the security department to send people over to arrest all those who beat people and damaged the rice paddies,” he said.

He pointed at those who were committing crimes and said bluntly.

“Earlier when you came to find me, I already sent Xiao Zhang over, people should be coming soon,” said Cheng Fang.

The original workers gathered around as soon as they saw Ji Cha, as if they had found their backbone.

“Boss Ji, they’re really arrogant. They said even the army can’t do anything to them.”

“Xiao Li, take the injured workers to the medical room for treatment, don’t let the wounds get infected,” Ji Cha comforted the injured workers, “You can take a paid leave today, I’ll arrange for other people to handle things here.”

The injured workers then left gratefully and at ease.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

“Boss Ji, we just came here to find a job to support our families. Why are you making things difficult for us?”

“Is this how you look for a job?” Ji Cha frowned, “Even bandits and robbers don’t act like this.”

“But there’s no other way. Why doesn’t Boss Ji hire us and instead give us some hard and low-paying work?”

“Who says that as soon as you enter the base, you can find an easy and lucrative job to do? No matter what others say, there’s no such rule here on my farm,” Ji Cha replied.

The troublemakers, however, seemed fearless and did not take Ji Cha’s words seriously.

“Either Boss Ji arranges work for us brothers, or we’ll stay here every day. What do you think?”

Ji Cha was amused by this and said, “Do you think this is my private farm?”

As he spoke, he heard voices approaching.

Zhao Tiankuo walked in with five or six soldiers, with a fierce look on his face. “Arrest him,” he ordered.

The soldiers immediately stepped forward to make the arrest, but they did not expect the courage to be so great that they would lay their hands on the soldiers in the base. Zhao Tiankuo was stunned for a moment, and then pulled out his gun and aimed it at the leader’s head.

“You’re asking for it!”

The man laughed and said, “Come on, shoot me in the head. Let’s see if you dare.”

This hit a sore spot for Zhao Tiankuo. There were indeed orders from above not to use excessive force against these people, and his behavior was immediately exposed as a show. He didn’t want to offend his superiors and ruin his own future, so he could only compromise.

Ji Cha widened his eyes in disbelief as Zhao Tiankuo slowly lowered his gun in the face of the other party’s smug expression.

However, unexpectedly, a gun suddenly appeared from nowhere and without hesitation, it was aimed at the man’s forehead and blew off half of his brain.

Ji Cha turned to look at Liang Jincheng, who had pressed his ear and was holding him in his arms, and saw his cold face and the gun still in his hand.

“He wouldn’t dare, but I would. Who else wants to try?” Liang Jincheng coldly scanned the room.

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Thandar: Boyfriend to the rescue and as he should 😌

Sleeping Together?

After finishing their meal, the Cai family didn’t stay for long. With so many customers in the shop, they didn’t want to occupy the seats for too long. They bid farewell to Yu Qingze and prepared to go back.

Cai Yunwei didn’t want to go back yet. He wanted to play a little longer, but seeing Chang Hao and Jiabao busy with their work, it was impossible for them to accompany him. So, he looked at his brother with hopeful eyes, hoping that his brother would take him out to play.

Cai Chenxi also felt sorry for his younger brother, who had been confined at home for more than ten years. He discussed with his grandfather and uncle, and then took his brother for a stroll before returning.

After seeing off the Cai family, Yu Qingze noticed that the shop had become livelier than before.

Yu Qingze chuckled. He presumed that the customers who were familiar with Old Master Cai and Old Master Zhao subconsciously lowered their voices while dining in the same hall as them, so as not to disturb their tranquility.

Now that they had left, the customers relaxed, and the volume of their conversations increased.

Yu Qingze listened to their discussions, which mostly revolved around Old Master Cai and Old Master Zhao. Some were planning to come to the restaurant for breakfast in the future, impressed by the delicious food.

The unexpected visit of the two elderly gentlemen today pleasantly surprised Yu Qingze. It was indeed a good thing.

The prestige of the Cai Family in Tongshan City went without saying, and the Zhao Family was also a renowned aristocratic family in the city. Many shops on the street belonged to them, and they were either the richest or the second richest family in Tongshan City.

Today, the two elderly gentlemen not only participated in the shops’s opening lion dance performance but also unveiled the signboard, which was clearly showing their support. Moreover, there were Old Master Cai’s grandson, Cai Chenxi, and Old Master Zhao’s grandson, Jiang Tianrui, both newly appointed jurens.

In the future, within Tongshan City, other aristocratic families would have to consider the face of the Cai and Zhao Families and show them deference. Even those who were dissatisfied and wanted to interfere with his small shop would have to carefully weigh their own influence and consider whether it was worth risking the wrath of these two prominent families.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

It can be said that the two elderly gentlemen have provided him with a protective umbrella. Although he didn’t know why Old Master Zhao from the Zhao Family also came, it was definitely more than just making longevity peach buns for him at the birthday banquet. Yu Qingze pondered and speculated that it was probably related to the Cai Family.

Just as he was thinking, a customer approached to settle the bill.

“Boss Yu, are you not making Liangpi anymore?” a regular customer who operated a snack stall asked Yu Qingze while paying for his snacks.

Yu Qingze shook his head and replied, “It’s getting colder now, so we’re not making it for the time being. The restaurant is too busy.”

It was already late September, and the weather was changing every day. In a little while, people would have to start wearing two layers of clothing.

The customer expressed some regret and said, “I really liked eating it.”

Yu Qingze smiled and said, “You can buy dried liangpi at the West Street market and make it at home. It will satisfy your craving.”

Previously, when they were hiring, Wen Li wanted him to hire his younger son Brother Yue to work at the restaurant. However, Yu Qingze firmly rejected the idea. He had decided not to make Liangpi in the restaurant anymore because he was afraid Wen Li would bother them every day. Instead, he allowed Wen Li to make and sell Liangpi in the city, but he was not allowed to reveal the recipe.

Wen Li was also worried. When he made Liangpi before, he promised to supply only to Yu Qingze and not sell it in the city, and he kept his word. But now that Yu Qingze’s snack shop no longer served Liangpi, wouldn’t they revert back to square one?

Upon hearing that Yu Qingze permitted them to sell on the street, Wen Li stopped mentioning Brother Yue’s matter and happily went home. If they could sell Liangpi, they would still have income. He wouldn’t be foolish enough to sell the recipe. If everyone knew how to make it, how would they make money?

Upon hearing Yu Qingze’s words, the customer was pleasantly surprised and asked, “Really? Liangpi is available in the market?”

Yu Qingze nodded and said, “Yes, you should be able to find it if you go to the market tomorrow morning.”

“Great!” The customer settled the bill and went off to find a seat.

During lunchtime, the snack shop experienced a peak in customers.

Some passing merchants noticed the crowded shop and assumed that the taste must be good, so they decided to eat there. They traveled extensively, facing hardships along the way. The only consolation in each city they visited was the local delicacies. They needed to reward their stomachs so that they would have the motivation to continue their arduous journey.

Yu’s Delicious Delights truly lived up to their expectations by serving incredibly delicious snacks and dim sum. Having traveled to many places, they could confidently say that this was the best they had ever tasted.

After finishing their meal, they packed some snacks for the next two meals. Having too many would cause the snacks to spoil.

On the long journey, only good food could ease their worries.

As for the locals who didn’t enter the shop in the morning because they weren’t hungry or were still hesitant, they immediately decided to come and try the food after hearing the feedback from those who had already eaten.

After tasting the food, they couldn’t help but praise it. Boss Yu’s creations never failed to impress! They quickly bought more to take home and share with their families.

The advantage of these snacks compared to Yu’s Delicious Delights’ previous dishes was that they could be easily packed. Previously, whether it was cold noodles, Liangpi, or Guandong style hot pot, it was inconvenient to pack as they needed a bowl. Now, most of the dishes were snacks, so as long as they didn’t pack congee or Guandong hot pot, they didn’t have this worry. A package of oil paper was enough.

The buns here were tastier than the ones outside. How could they not buy some to take home for their families to try!

As a result, Yu Qingze’s initial estimate that the oil paper for the day would be enough was proven wrong as it was used up by late morning. He had to go to the storage room to get more.

As for the helpers, after a busy morning, they had become quite proficient in their respective positions.

Although they had rehearsed before, facing actual customers, especially such a large number, brought about different pressures and situations than during the rehearsal.

Initially, they were a bit nervous and made some mistakes or became flustered. These were inevitable problems that arose at the beginning. Yu Qingze observed and didn’t blame them. Instead, he reassured them not to worry, take their time, and make sure they got the right snacks or bamboo tags.

In the kitchen, it was equally busy. Grandpa Chang, Brother Le, and Brother Chang’s mother had been working non-stop, making dim sum. They took turns having lunch in the afternoon.

It wasn’t until Yu Qingze noticed that it was around 3:30 PM that he told them to stop making more. By the time they sold the remaining snacks and the ones still steaming, it would be close to closing time.

Grandpa Chang and the others finally took a break. After resting for a short while, Brother Le and the others went outside to help clean the tables, serve food, and wash dishes.

After a busy day, they sold out all the snacks in the afternoon, and the sun hadn’t even set when they closed the shop.

After seeing off the last customer, Yu Qingze gathered everyone together and they ate the reserved snacks to fill their stomachs. Then, Yu Qingze began the meeting.

“Today was our first day of business, and I want to thank you all for your hard work! We had more customers than I expected, which is a good thing. Everyone performed well today, although there were some minor issues in the beginning, things went smoother by noon.”

Everyone was pleased to hear this. They had been busy and on edge all day, and now they could finally relax.

Seeing that everyone was in good spirits, Yu Qingze continued, “In order to make our work smoother in the future, I want everyone to reflect on today and share your thoughts. Talk about where you did well, where there are still problems, and how you plan to solve them. Let’s discuss and learn from each other.”

Nobody had much experience speaking openly about their thoughts and problems in front of others, so they felt a bit embarrassed and no one spoke up at first.

Yu Qingze anticipated this and knew that it wasn’t easy for individuals to change their mindset.

He encouraged them, saying, “Don’t be shy, this is work. We can only help you solve the problems if we identify them together. By doing so, we can avoid making the same mistakes and facing the same issues in the future, don’t you think?”

With his words, everyone felt more comfortable.

Yu Qingze then said, “I’ll start with an example.”

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at him curiously and with anticipation. After all, Boss Yu was the big boss. Could he have problems too?

Yu Qingze cleared his throat and said, “On our first day of business, I didn’t expect there to be so many customers, especially during lunchtime. It caused some of you to have lunch late, and that was my mistake. From now on, we will take turns having lunch during noon and make sure we don’t upset our stomachs.”

Upon hearing this, everyone was touched. The fact that Boss Yu’s first concern was about their lunch was heartwarming.

After Yu Qingze finished speaking, Brother Le gathered the courage to be the second one to share his summary. He wanted to support Brother Yu.

Under Yu Qingze’s encouraging gaze, Brother Le gestured and explained his points, which Yu Qingze then translated for everyone.

Brother Le pointed out that there were times when the kitchen didn’t coordinate properly with the front of the shop. Sometimes, they didn’t start steaming certain types of dim sum even though they were already sold out, while in other cases, they made too much of a certain type that didn’t sell well. He concluded by saying that tomorrow they should carefully observe the sales situation and make timely adjustments to ensure a seamless supply, avoiding any disconnects between the kitchen and the front of the shop.

After Brother Le finished speaking, Brother Chang followed and shared his own issue with welcoming guests and the remedies he thought of.

With someone taking the lead, everyone started speaking one by one, and even Chang Hao shared his own problem.

Yu Qingze listened and felt pleased. The problems they spoke of were the practical issues he had observed throughout the day.

Finally, Yu Qingze summarized their discussions and further optimized the solutions they proposed, providing them with more effective ways to address the problems.

Everyone agreed and was convinced by Boss Yu’s suggestions. They unanimously decided to make efforts to rectify the issues they encountered today and make their work smoother.

After the meeting, they tidied up and locked the door before heading home together.

Yu Qingze and Chang Le accompanied Jiabao home as usual, and then the two of them slowly walked back.

When they reached the city gate, Yu Qingze said to Chang Le, “Brother Le, starting tomorrow, I plan to stay at the shop. There’s a resting area in the shop where I can stay overnight.”

Chang Le was surprised and looked at him in astonishment.

Yu Qingze turned around, looked at him, and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Chang Le hesitated and gestured, asking why and if Yu Qingze wasn’t comfortable living at home.

For so long, Yu Qingze had been sleeping on that makeshift wooden bed and never changed it.

Yu Qingze walked back, tapped his forehead, took his hand, and said, “What are you thinking? What I meant is that if I stay at the shop, you and Brother Chang don’t have to come so early in the morning. I can wake up early and prepare the dim sum.”

The shop opens at 7:30 am, and Brother Chang and the others are supposed to come to work around 7 am. If they want to sell breakfast, the few of them who make dim sum need to prepare at least two to three hours in advance and then spend an hour commuting. They would have to wake up in the middle of the night every day, or they won’t make it in time. After thinking it through, Yu Qingze decided to stay at the shop so he could start working earlier.

Also, from tomorrow on, after finishing the afternoon dim sum, he would let Brother Chang and the others go home and rest. Otherwise, if they work for too long, their bodies won’t be able to handle it. It’s reasonable for those who start working in the morning to finish early.

Upon hearing this, Chang Le pursed his lips, pondered for a moment, and then gestured, saying, “Then, I’ll stay at the shop too and make dim sum together.”

Yu Qingze blinked and said to Chang Le, “Brother Le, there’s only one resting area in the shop with a single bed. Are you saying you want to sleep together with me?”

Sleep together…

Chang Le’s face turned red upon hearing that and he quickly withdrew his hand, walking ahead.

Sleeping together… He hadn’t even thought about it. They weren’t married yet, it’s too embarrassing…

As he was thinking, a thought crossed Chang Le’s mind, making him flinch: Could it be that Brother Yu has been thinking about that for a long time? But they haven’t married yet, so it’s not right, that thing…

Yu Qingze chuckled lightly, catching up to him in a few steps and reaching out to tease him.

Blushing, Chang Le quickly opened his hand and walked forward, afraid that Brother Yu would notice what he had been thinking just now. How embarrassing! How did he even let his mind wander in that direction?

After walking for a while, Chang Le suddenly stopped and turned to look at Yu Qingze.

“What’s wrong?” Yu Qingze asked when he suddenly stopped.

Chang Le gestured, saying, “There’s also a storage room! Just add another bed!”

Yu Qingze: …How did he suddenly become so clever? Not fun at all.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

The girl leaned in close, and Ji Cha could clearly smell the faint scent of her perfume.

At a time like this, when there are people who have the luxury of time to put on makeup and perfume, it’s a testament to how well-off their lives are. But this girl had clearly been down on her luck before, to the point where Ji Cha had felt sorry for her.

Considering how she had just called out Cheng Feng’s name and her subtle attitude, and the fact that she was able to come and go from this place so freely, Ji Cha couldn’t help but think that her current identity was somewhat ambiguous.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

“Um,” Ji Cha’s waist was hugged by someone other than his boyfriend, making him feel very uncomfortable. “Can you hold onto the back shelf? I’m a bit ticklish.”

The girl didn’t give Ji Cha a hard time, she just chuckled lightly and let go, putting a little distance between them.

“To be honest, I’ve been meaning to thank you, but I haven’t had the chance. Today I happened to run into Boss Ji.” The girl said.

“It’s nothing, just something I did on a whim. I’m just glad you’re doing well now.” Ji Cha rode his electric scooter out of the heavily guarded apartment area, gradually heading towards an open area.

The girl’s voice was a little louder this time when she spoke. “When you thank someone, you should give them a thank-you gift. I don’t have anything good to offer, so I’ll just say a few words.” She leaned in close to Ji Cha again, her cheek pressed against his back. “Don’t get too close to Cheng Feng, and if there are things that can be done by other people in the army, ask them to do it instead. Cheng Feng is not a good person, he’s ruthless.”

Ji Cha was stunned. He hadn’t expected the girl to say something like this to him.

Cheng Feng…? While he knew that some of the people in power weren’t purely kind-hearted, he never immediately labeled others as bad. He didn’t expect the girl to be so straightforward.

Seeing that Ji Cha was silent, the girl knew he had doubts in his heart, so she continued, “You have to send a lot of things to Cheng Feng, right? All kinds of meat, all ostensibly for him to eat alone.”

Ji Cha let out a low “hmm”.

The girl lightly scratched Ji Cha’s back with her fingertips and said, “Do you know that Cheng Feng only eats vegetarian food?”

“Then why he wants so many chickens from me in a week then?!” Ji Cha almost hit the brakes.

The girl patted him on the back and said briskly, “Okay, I’ve said enough. Consider it a thank-you gift. Just drop me off at your factory gate later, and I’ll walk the rest of the way myself.”

“Okay.” Ji Cha was still digesting the information the girl had given him, and his response was a little uncertain. If the meat wasn’t for Cheng Feng, then who was it for? While the other superiors also received a certain proportion of meat, only Cheng Feng had special requirements. Ji Cha believed that Cheng Feng wouldn’t ask for meat on behalf of someone else, even if meat was indeed a scarce resource at the moment.

Many dirty secrets from before the apocalypse would become even darker and more unmentionable afterwards. Ji Cha’s fingertips holding the handlebars suddenly felt cold, and he felt uneasy.

Lost in thought, he rode his bike to the factory gate without noticing the SUV parked there, which belonged to Liang Jincheng. After completing his mission, Liang Jincheng rushed back without rest, and drove directly to his home after entering the base. As he was about to call out to Ji Cha, he saw a girl sitting on the back seat of Ji Cha’s electric scooter with her eyes closed, leaning against Ji Cha’s back.

He felt something stirred in his heart. He couldn’t describe what he was feeling.

“I’m leaving now.” The girl jumped off Ji Cha’s scooter without looking back.

Ji Cha turned his scooter around to go inside, but then he noticed that Liang Jincheng’s car was parked at the entrance.

Without thinking about anything else, Ji Cha jumped off his scooter in excitement, almost tripping himself.

Liang Jincheng also got out of his car and walked towards Ji Cha.

“You’re finally back!” Ji Cha couldn’t think about anything else, all the anxiety he had been feeling these past few days flooded over him. He grabbed Liang Jincheng’s sleeve and examined him from head to toe.

“Um.” Liang Jincheng’s expression was a bit unhappy, but he restrained himself and quickly brushed his fingertips over Ji Cha’s cheek. “Shall we talk inside?”

Ji Cha nodded, and the two of them hurriedly walked towards the door, almost running upstairs without looking back, straight to Ji Cha’s room.

As soon as they entered the room, before even locking the door, Ji Cha was lifted by Liang Jincheng and pressed onto the bed.

“My shoes, I haven’t taken them off yet!” Ji Cha hadn’t finished speaking when Liang Jincheng’s hands had already slipped under his clothes.

“Fuck, now there’s this kind of remote grabbing operation, um!” Ji Cha didn’t even have time to marvel at Liang Jincheng’s abilities, as Liang Jincheng had already sucked on his lips, then his tongue swept in and ravaged his mouth, leaving Ji Cha gasping for breath.

Liang Jincheng didn’t need to ask who the girl on the back seat of Ji Cha’s scooter was. He remembered her, and he knew more about what was going on with Cheng Feng. When he heard that Ji Cha had gone to Cheng Feng’s place, he was a little anxious, but after a little investigation, he found out that the girl was brought back by Ji Cha from Cheng Feng’s place.

But knowing Ji Cha’s character was one thing, and caring about this kind of thing was another.

In the end, Liang Jincheng did thoroughly ravage Ji Cha once, but seeing Ji Cha pitifully unaware of what had happened afterwards, he felt a little sorry for him. So he held him in his arms and just talked to him for a while, not doing anything else.

“Will you have to go out for such a long time like this frequently in the future?” Ji Cha was feeling sleepy.

Liang Jincheng answered with Ji Cha’s head pressed against his bare chest, “No, I will delegate many tasks to the people below me in the future. Most of the time, I won’t need to go out. There are many things to deal with in the base.”

“That’s great.” Ji Cha finally fell asleep after saying this.

There were indeed many things for Liang Jincheng to deal with in the base, such as discovering new ability users, managing and training their abilities. All the ability users in the army were under Liang Jincheng’s management. With their ability to defeat ten enemies alone, Liang Jincheng had hundreds of elite soldiers under his command. In the past, this level of power might not have been significant, but in a base with tens of thousands of people, it was enough to make him a hidden threat in other people’s minds. Moreover, the ability users, who were originally soldiers, now only believed in Liang Jincheng’s leadership.

The conflict between Liang Jincheng and Cheng Feng would eventually escalate and become a problem that must be solved. The cost of solving this problem could be significant or small, but the only prerequisite for Liang Jincheng was that Ji Cha could stay out of it.

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

A Prosperous Opening

On September 22nd, the weather was clear and pleasant, and Tongshan City was bustling as usual.

As the hour of si approached, a lion dance troupe, accompanied by the sound of drums and gongs, paraded from the central crossroads of the city, led by the ball-pulling person, all the way to the North Street.

People on the street heard the drums and saw the lion dance, so they stopped and made way for the lion, enjoying the lively scene.

The majestic lions ran, jumped, and pounced from time to time, capturing the attention of many passersby. Especially the children, who loved excitement, followed behind the lions, running along with them.

Many onlookers joined the lion dance troupe, curious to see where they were headed.

The lion dance continued for half a street, and the lion dance troupe stopped in front of a particular shop and began performing. Upon seeing this, the onlookers realized that the shop was about to open, as there were red flowers and red cloth hanging on its signboard.

Just then, a person walked out of the shop, and when the crowd took a closer look, they realized it was the owner of Yu’s Delicious Delights. So, he was the one opening this shop?

As he gestured to invite someone, a group of people emerged in front of him. Leading the group was none other than Old Master Cai from the Cai family in the southern part of the city, accompanied by another elderly man, who had a servant by his side.

“Hey, isn’t that Old Master Cai and Old Master Zhao from the Zhao family?” someone recognized them. The elderly man behind them was indeed Old Master Zhao from the Zhao family.

“Wow, Boss Yu is really lucky. He managed to invite Old Master Cai and Old Master Zhao to attend his grand opening ceremony. They are among the most prominent families in our city,” another person commented.

“Well, you might not know, but I heard that Boss Yu cured the strange illness of the second young master of the Cai family. And recently, at Old Master Zhao’s birthday banquet, Boss Yu made a special longevity peach that Old Master Zhao really liked!”

“Oh, I see! I wasn’t aware of that. I’m out of touch.”

“Hey, look at those two young men following behind. Aren’t they the two scholars who passed the imperial examination a few days ago?”

“It does seem like it! The scholars are here too!”

“And who is the young boy beside the young master of the Cai family? He looks unfamiliar.”

“Well, judging by his appearance and age, could he be the second young master of the Cai family?”

“But doesn’t the second young master of the Cai family never leave the house? This young man doesn’t seem so delicate. He’s just a bit thin.”

“Well, then it seems the rumors about Boss Yu curing him must be true. The second young master of the Cai family has recovered and can leave the house now.”

“…”

Yu Qingze didn’t expect Old Master Cai and Old Master Zhao to arrive so early, and they even brought Cai Chenxi, Cai Yunwei, and Jiang Tianrui with them. He thought that when Old Master Cai mentioned coming to see the shop, it would be after the opening to have some snacks or something.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

What surprised him even more was that shortly after Old Master Cai arrived, Old Master Zhao also came with the company of Steward Zhao.

According to Old Master Zhao himself, he simply loved Yu Qingze’s pastries and had heard that his shop was opening today, so he wanted to come and enjoy some.

Yu Qingze was overjoyed. These were all influential and prominent figures in the city, and their presence at his small shop was a great honor. He was even a little overwhelmed by the attention.

Boss Liu had also arrived early and, upon seeing the people who came, he said to Yu Qingze, “Brother Yu, your shop is going to be a hit!”

Yu Qingze smiled and replied, “Thanks for the kind words, Brother Liu.”

Yu Qingze led everyone out of the shop.

Outside the door, a crowd had already gathered, creating a lively atmosphere. People were watching the lion dance. Because there were so many people, the road was blocked, and those who wanted to pass had to stop and join in watching.

When the members of the lion dance troupe saw them coming out, the two lion mascots approached, wagging their heads and tails, and began performing for them. When another member of the troupe came over with cinnabar and a brush, they gestured for Yu Qingze to dot the eyes of the lions. The two lions then settled down and remained in place.

Yu Qingze handed the brush to Old Master Cai and Old Master Zhao, inviting them to dot the eyes of the lions.

“We’ll do it?” Old Master Cai asked with a smile.

Yu Qingze nodded and said, “Please bless them with your good fortune.”

“Alright, Old Zhao, shall we?” Old Master Cai asked Old Master Zhao with a smile.

Old Master Zhao burst into laughter and said, “Sure!”

The two elderly gentlemen each took a brush, dipped it in cinnabar, and dotted the eyes of the lions. Then they accepted silver coins from Yu Qingze and fed them to the lions.

After the eyes were dotted, the two lions became even more lively and vigorous. They leaped, jumped, stood upright, and performed a series of difficult moves. They alternated between fierce tiger-like pounces and playful scratching, rolling, and wagging, charming the crowd and earning applause.

Chang Hao specially took a day off and came to witness the grand opening with his master. He was now pulling Cai Yunwei and Jiabao, squeezing to the front to watch the lion dance.

The three young boys, one of whom rarely had the chance to see a lion dance in the countryside, one who stayed at home most of the time and hardly ever went out, and another who had seen it before but never had the opportunity to watch it carefully due to the struggles of life.

Now that their situations had improved, this rare opportunity captivated their attention. They chatted and exclaimed from time to time, wearing innocent smiles on their faces.

Patriarch Cai, looking at the smile on his precious grandson’s face, felt deeply moved. After waiting for more than ten years, he finally saw his grandson living a normal life.

He glanced at Yu Qingze standing beside him, realizing that it was all thanks to him that his grandson could recover like this.

After an impressive performance by the two lions, they successfully plucked the green, and then the lions stopped and stood on both sides.

Next was the unveiling of the plaque.

Yu Qingze invited the two elderly gentlemen to join him in removing the red cloth from the plaque.

As the three of them pulled the cloth, it slipped down, revealing the plaque with five prominent characters (T/N: five in Chinese, three in English) that read ‘Yu’s Delicious Delights’.

At the same time, a small tree nearby was lit up with firecrackers, creating a deafening noise that echoed through the sky.

Yu Qingze looked at the plaque with excitement. This was his first shop.

After the firecrackers finished, the crowd erupted into enthusiastic applause.

Brother Chang and the others who were watching the spectacle outside returned to the shop, ready to welcome customers.

Yu Qingze stepped forward and respectfully addressed the onlookers, “Esteemed elders and fellow villagers, today marks the grand opening of our shop, specializing in various types of delicacies. We have been grateful for the support of our fellow villagers. In the first three days of our opening, we offer an 20% discount. We welcome everyone to come and taste our delicacies!”

With that, Yu Qingze turned and invited the two elderly gentlemen and the crowd into the shop.

The onlookers, upon hearing about the 20% discount and knowing that Yu Qingze’s snacks were delicious, followed suit and entered the shop to have a taste. Those who hadn’t tried the snacks before were also intrigued. After all, they had heard that Boss Yu’s various food items were tasty, and now there was a discount. Curiosity led them to enter with the mindset of giving it a try.

Even though it had only been a short while since they had their breakfast, going in to have a look wouldn’t cost them anything, right?

Inside the shop, Yu Qingze led Old Master Cai and the others to a small private room.

Old Master Cai waved his hand and said, “Let’s just sit in the main hall. Old Zhao, shall we sit at a large table together?”

Old Master Zhao readily agreed, saying, “Sure.”

Yu Qingze didn’t insist and, after they were seated, had Xiaoshu bring them a pot of tea, while Brother Le served them some snacks.

Yu Qingze apologized, saying, “Gentlemen, today is the first day of our opening, so I need to be responsible for handling the cash register. I won’t be able to accompany you. Feel free to order whatever you like today, and it’s on me.”

Old Master Zhao said, “That won’t do. It’s not auspicious for you to give us a free meal on the first day of business. We’re here to support you, so how can we let you waive the charges? Don’t mind us, go ahead and attend to the customers. Looks like there are quite a few coming in.”

Yu Qingze smiled and said, “Alright then. I’ll trouble Young Master Cai and Steward Zhao to see what the gentlemen would like to eat. It would be great if you could bring the food over. You can also experience our self-service dining concept.”

Cai Chenxi laughed and said, “Sure, sure. Brother Yu, go ahead and take care of your business. We’ll handle things here.”

“That’s right, you go ahead. Go greet the customers. We can take care of ourselves,” Old Master Cai said.

Yu Qingze left apologetically.

“Brother, let’s go get some food!” When Yu Qingze left, Cai Yunwei grabbed Cai Chenxi’s sleeve, his eyes shining brightly. He rarely went out, so he was curious about everything and wanted to give it a try.

Cai Chenxi patted his head and said, “Alright, Grandpa, Grandpa Zhao, Uncle, Uncle Liu, what would you like to eat? We’ll go get it.”

Old Master Zhao waved his hand and said, “Just pick whatever you like. After all, everything tastes good here.”

“Alright, let’s go then. I didn’t even have breakfast, so I came on an empty stomach. Tianrui, Tengrui, let’s go,” Cai Chenxi said, taking the two with him. When he saw Steward Zhao about to get up, Cai Chenxi said, “Uncle Zhong, you sit here and chat with Grandpa. We’ll go get the food.”

Upon hearing this, Steward Zhao quickly responded, “Alright, Young Master, Second Young Master, Master Jiang, please take care.”

The three of them eagerly went to experience the self-service dining.

Since there was an 20% discount for the first three days, Yu Qingze had to handle the cash register himself. Jiabao was good at addition and subtraction, but he was still a bit lacking when it came to calculating the discount. Yu Qingze planned to teach him modern multiplication and division algorithms so that he could learn how to keep accounts in the future.

At the entrance, Brother Chang and Chang Hao were guiding the customers. Both of them had quick tongues and kept talking non-stop, guiding the customers to collect their food one by one.

As Yu Qingze took care of the cash register, Jiabao went to help Xiaoshu and the others with bussing the tables.

The people who had come in out of curiosity earlier, upon entering the shop and smelling the aroma of the food, and seeing the delicious-looking snacks, the fragrant congee, the refreshing seaweed salad, the savory meat bun, the tempting sticky rice balls, and the thin-skinned dumplings that revealed the filling inside… They unconsciously picked up trays and joined the queue for ordering.

It was only after they paid and sat down that they realized they had taken so much food all at once. They felt a bit regretful in their hearts…

But as soon as they took the first bite, that regret was immediately thrown out the window.

Delicious! Why didn’t the snacks they had eaten before have this taste?

Look, the steamed pork ribs are so tender and succulent. You don’t even need to bite, the meat easily separates from the bone. The sticky rice inside is soaked in oil and salt, making it even more flavorful and fragrant!

And this dumpling, the skin is so thin that with one bite, you feel like you’re only tasting the filling!

…

In less than fifteen minutes, all the seats in the shop were filled, even the three private rooms were occupied. Later, when some customers couldn’t find a place to sit and had to rush, they simply asked Yu Qingze to pack the food for takeaway.

After finishing their meal, the customers were still craving for more, but when they touched their bellies, they were already swollen.

Ah, these snacks from Boss Yu are just too tempting!

Not only did the Cai family come for the opening of Yu’s Delicious Delights, but even the Zhao family also came. And the shop was fully packed from the very beginning, which made the neighboring shop owner, Boss Wang, green with envy.

Originally, the thriving business of Liu’s, their arch-rival, was already a cause for concern. And now, Yu’s Delicious Delights just opened and their business is booming too!

How can anyone survive this!

Especially since these two rivals have joined forces!

The other side has a bigger backer than him, making it difficult to deal with!

It’s infuriating!

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar: you know what Mr. Wang, if you were nicer to people, you could have unknowingly hugged the protagonist’s thick thigh. What a shame aiiii

The chaos after the end of the world brings not unity and courage, but more suspicion and doubt due to the loss of inherent security.

Liang Jincheng’s foot stepped on the slightly damp ground, and he immediately received the fierce gaze from the opposite person.

“Are you the only one in the car?” The leader was a middle-aged man with a shrewd and savvy face, but his hair was already half white, highlighting his age.

Under the suspicious gaze, Liang Jincheng lifted his chin and didn’t answer the question directly. Instead, he asked, “Are you guys from the nearby base?”

As soon as these words came out, the other party became even more alert. Several young people behind the white-haired man couldn’t help but pull out their weapons and aim at Liang Jincheng.

“Be careful, go and search.” The white-haired man gave the order, and he was sure that Liang Jincheng wouldn’t make any reckless moves under the barrel of a gun. So his men relaxed, leaving only two people who were cautious and watching Liang Jincheng while the other eight people entered the car one by one.

Thinking that there must be Liang Jincheng’s accomplices in the car, they were surprised to find that the car was empty.

“Boss, there’s no one here.” One person rushed out of the car and whispered, but he was startled by what he saw in front of him before he could finish his sentence.

Liang Jincheng, who had been restrained in front, had now grabbed the white-haired man, and the other two men had been knocked down. The situation instantly changed, and the atmosphere also immediately shifted.

However, this was not the end. They wanted to rush out of the car to subdue Liang Jincheng, but suddenly several ghostly figures appeared in the empty car compartment, and with a few clicks and clacks, they confiscated all the weapons in their hands and immediately kicked them down.

Now they knew they had provoked the wrong people. Even though Liang Jincheng did not intend to take their lives, they answered all his questions in order to save their own lives.

“It’s a small base with just over 300 people. We rely on scavenging from nearby villages that are abandoned,” the white-haired man said, quickly changing his tone when he saw Liang Jincheng’s expression change.

At S city base.

Ji Cha had regained his composure and thrown himself back into work. Keeping busy helped him distract himself from worrying about Liang Jincheng.

Zhao Tiankuo had been promoted earlier in the year and was now a semi-important official, but he couldn’t put on airs in front of Ji Cha. He spoke and acted just as he had when he was a lowly soldier.

“How many chickens do you have that are ready for sale?” Zhao Tiankuo asked.

“Chickens?” Ji Cha knew the number and selling time for all sorts of livestock. “I just sent a batch to the cafeteria. There aren’t many ready for sale right now, and I need to save some for the next batch. I’ve calculated everything. Why, do you need some?”

Based on current production ratios, they could only provide the cafeteria with around 200 chickens each month. That may sound like a lot, but it averages out to only about nine chickens a day. Keep in mind that this was one of the meat dishes served every day at a base of 10,000 people. The cafeteria had to come up with various ways to prepare the chicken just to make it stretch, using every last drop of broth to make tofu or stewing vegetables with it to impart some meat flavor.

As of now, it seems that the base is really tight on meat. However, Ji Cha is relatively optimistic about this. Once the piglets are grown, a few can be sent to the market every month, in addition to rabbit, chicken, and lamb meat, which should be enough for everyone’s daily meals. Not to mention that fish farming is also in his plan.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

When Zhao Tiankuo was asked by Ji Cha, he replied a bit embarrassedly, “It’s not that I want it, but the higher-ups said that the cafeteria doesn’t make much profit and the food tastes bland. They want you to send five chickens over separately for a week. It’s about 20 chickens a month, can you do it?”

Ji Cha frowned, “I can barely squeeze out 200 chickens a month here, how can I manage to send 20 chickens over there? I already sent two separately for a week before, and now they want five. Won’t the others complain?”

Only with Zhao Tiankuo did Ji Cha express his true feelings. Zhao Tiankuo smiled, “I know it’s like this, but isn’t there anything we can do? We are all just following orders from the higher-ups.”

The “higher-ups” refers to the current overall leader of the S base, who was already a high-ranking official before the apocalypse and is not old, only fifty this year. He has been lucky enough to avoid hardships so far and now lives a stable life in the base. He has been constantly asking for various vegetables and meats from Ji Cha’s side, without considering the need for future breeding. Ji Cha is already quite annoyed, and this latest request conveyed by Zhao Tiankuo has made him even more upset.

“I’ll take a look here first. Help me tell them that five chickens a week might not be possible, but three is still doable.”

As far as it stands, the base is really tight on meat. However, Ji Cha is relatively optimistic about this. Once the piglets grow up, they can be sent out steadily every month, plus rabbit meat, chicken meat, and lamb, which should be enough for everyone’s daily meals. Not to mention that raising fish is also on his schedule.

The words were spoken like this, but the next day, Zhao Tiankuo brought back bad news again. The other side was asking for five more.

Ji Cha was at a loss for words. “Five more? If I had fifty, I would have stuffed them over there and made it all peaceful!”

Zhao Tiankuo was startled by his sudden outburst. In his impression, Ji Cha was always a person with a gentle temperament. Why was he so angry today?

Grandma on the side reminded Zhao Tiankuo slowly, “Jincheng hasn’t come back yet.”

Ji Cha took a deep breath and calmed down the anxiety and impatience brought about by the absence of Liang Jincheng. He stood up and said, “Take me to see the leader. I’ll talk to him myself.”

Zhao Tiankuo also didn’t want to deal with this hot potato, so he arranged this meeting between Ji Cha and the leader in the middle.

The head of the base was named Cheng Feng, who came to S City from Beijing. Although his resume was impressive, he was someone who had never really experienced any real hardships. The people with status and position in the base lived in the relatively safest area. The apartment building was newly built, and there were many green spaces inside. When Ji Cha stepped into the apartment area and saw the scenery inside, people walking back and forth with ordinary clothes and smiles on their faces, he seemed to think he had returned to the world before the end of the world.

This place was high above and truly isolated from the world.

Ji Cha walked into a small building under the guidance of the guards. Cheng Feng was already waiting for him inside.

However, before seeing Cheng Feng, Ji Cha caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to see a young but mature-looking girl in the distance.

The girl was familiar to him. He had seen her before among the kidnapped girls in the black market. The girl had also spotted him and recognized him. Their gazes met briefly before quickly turning away.

Before Ji Cha could express his doubts, Cheng Feng greeted him with a hearty laugh, “Xiao Ji, I’ve been wanting to meet you. Today I finally found the opportunity. Come on in, let’s talk.”

Cheng Feng’s smooth talk couldn’t stop Ji Cha from getting straight to the point.

“General Cheng, the demand you requested from the farm cannot be met at the moment.”

“I heard the same from Xiao Zhao, but I think even without the conditions, we should overcome difficulties. If you can give me twenty out of two hundred chickens per month, what about the remaining one hundred and eighty?”

“That leaves only one hundred and eighty left.” Ji Cha stood his ground, “I understand your demand, but if you can wait for a couple of months, I can give you fifty per month. But at the moment, it’s impossible.”

Cheng Feng’s eyes lit up, “Fifty?”

“Yes,” Ji Cha nodded, “most of the chicks are still in their early stages. If they are all released at once, there will be a gap. But if you can wait a little longer, I can give you five per week.”

“Didn’t you say fifty earlier?”

“That was just an example.” Ji Cha acted stingy.

Cheng Feng laughed heartily, “Okay, I’ll wait another month for you. Don’t change your mind when the time comes.”

“I won’t. I’ve already noted it down in my notebook.” Ji Cha breathed a sigh of relief.

He did not expect Cheng Feng to be so easy to talk to, and when he left, he felt a bit unreal. When he walked out of the apartment building, the security guards left him and let him walk by himself. Just as Ji Cha was riding his electric scooter, he was stopped by a voice from behind, “Boss Ji.”

He turned around and saw the young girl he had seen before. “Are you leaving too? Can I give you a ride?” It was quite far from anywhere around here, and it was really tiring to walk.

The young girl was no longer as naive and shy as she was when Ji Cha last saw her. She sat on Ji Cha’s electric scooter casually and hugged his waist with both hands. “Boss Ji, what are you doing here? Did Cheng Feng ask you to come?”

Although her voice was low, it could not stop her boldness in calling Cheng Feng’s name. Ji Cha even vaguely heard a little contempt for Cheng Feng in her tone.

At that time, the girl who was rescued with a face full of fear had undergone a complete transformation in just a few months, as if she had become a different person.

For a moment, the discomfort of being suddenly hugged was overwhelmed by the doubts in Ji Cha’s heart.

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Thandar: So, the final boss is Cheng Feng?