Author Archives: Thandar

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?

Dress Rehearsal

Perhaps it was because they saw that both Old Madam Cai and Madam Zhao had eaten and nothing happened to them, some of the other gentlemen began to eat as well.

At this moment, they also figured it out. Since Old Madam Cai dared to serve this dessert to guests, it must be certain that it was safe to eat. Moreover, both Old Madam Cai and Madam Zhao had eaten it. If they didn’t eat it, it would feel as if they were not giving face to Old Madam Cai.

Furthermore, if they set aside the claim that eating white fungus would cause itchy skin, solely focusing on this dessert, the taste was indeed very good.

Of course, there are also discussions about not eating the white fungus, such as the one mentioned earlier by Madam Huang. He stubbornly refused to touch the dessert.

Old Madam Cai saw this and didn’t try to persuade him to eat the White Fungus Red Date Lotus Seed Soup anymore. He asked him to have some other pastries and just smiled it off.

On the other hand, Madam Zhao glanced at Madam Huang thoughtfully, lowered his eyes, pursed his lips, and smiled. Then he turned his head and continued chatting with Old Madam Cai.

After bidding farewell to the other gentlemen, Old Madam Cai said to Yu Qingze and Brother Le, “The pastries were all delicious, and the White Fungus Red Date Lotus Seed Soup was also very tasty. The esteemed guests also enjoyed it. Thank you for your hard work.”

Yu Qingze smiled and said, “It’s our pleasure to assist, Old Madam.”

Old Madam Cai smiled warmly and said, “Thanks to all of you, the flower appreciation event will be a great success. I won’t keep you busy anymore. Once things settle down at the shop and everything becomes stable, you must come and visit. Wei’er and the others have become really good at kicking the shuttlecock, I’d love to have a match with you.”

Hearing this, Yu Qingze readily agreed and said, “Sure, Old Madam. We’ll take our leave now.”

“Alright, go ahead.”

After leaving Cai’s residence, Yu Qingze said to Chang Le, “Brother Le, I think we need to set up one or a few secluded private rooms. Two or three tables should be enough.”

According to what Old Madam Cai just mentioned, if the other esteemed guests had a positive response to the pastries, they might also come to the shop in the future. It would be best to provide this group of customers with special treatment, such as private rooms.

Even if they don’t come, the shop won’t suffer any losses. It’s better to be prepared, as there will always be a time when it comes in handy.

Brother Le looked at him with a puzzled expression and asked, “Why?”

Yu Qingze explained, “Think about it. If someone with a status like Old Madam Cai comes to our shop to eat dim sum …. Well, Old Madam Cai might not mind. But if it’s someone like the head of the Zhao family or their sons, do you think they would feel comfortable sitting in the main hall eating with others? Wouldn’t it be awkward?”

Chang Le pondered for a moment. People of their status and position would probably have higher standards and wouldn’t enjoy sitting in a crowded main hall eating dim sum with strangers.

Chang Le gestured and said, “It would be awkward, no, it would definitely be awkward.”

Yu Qingze said, “Exactly, that’s why we can set up a few small private rooms. Our shop might not be able to provide separate elegant rooms, but we can use screens or something similar to create partitions. What do you think?”

Chang Le’s eyes lit up, and he nodded and gestured, “Yes, that way, people of their status might come to our shop  as well.”

“Shall we go and look at the screens?”

Chang Le nodded.

The two of them went to look at the screens again. With a limited budget, they couldn’t afford expensive ones. They looked for screens that had a relatively elegant appearance, noted down the dimensions, and then returned to the shop to start designing. They considered which area would be suitable for creating the private rooms.

After careful consideration, they decided on the wall far from the main street. It was quieter there and had windows for sufficient natural light. They could create the impression of three small private rooms and later add some potted plants to enhance the atmosphere.

Early the next morning, Yu Qingze sent a bag of dried white fungus mushrooms to Cai’s residence. He had already taught Uncle Fu the preparation methods and various ways to consume them, so he instructed Uncle Fu to frequently make the white fungus soup for Old Madam and the others.

When Old Madam Cai learned about this, he was delighted, and his favorable impression of Yu Qingze grew even stronger.

The preparations for the shop were progressing smoothly. Yu Qingze would purchase additional items every day, gradually completing the collection.

The stove was ready, waiting only for it to dry and dissipate the odor. The kitchen utensils, stove, coal balls, and firewood were all purchased. Ten four-person tables had been delivered, and the remaining four large tables would be ready in a couple of days. Screens were also purchased to create three small private rooms.

The staff had been sorted out as well. Brother Chang’s mother confirmed that he could come and make dim sum, which relieved Yu Qingze. He utilized the evenings to teach him other recipes. Sometimes when he was busy, he would let Brother Le teach him.

For the remaining three service staff, he also made time for them to come to his house in the evening to teach them number recognition and provide training.

Small bamboo tags used for pricing were made by Grandpa Chang himself. He had already made around sixty to seventy tags. In the evening, Yu Qingze would use a small file to engrave the numbers on both sides, using uppercase characters. Then he would write over them with ink. Once dried, they would be ready for use.

Furthermore, he asked Brother Chang’s father to weave small bamboo baskets with multiple compartments, tied around the waist with a belt. The small bamboo tags would be placed inside these baskets for easy access by the serving staff.

In addition, Yu Qingze asked the village chief to make a few larger price signs. These needed to be erected, so the village chief and others would handle their production.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

On September 18th, the signboard for their shop was completed. Yu Qingze inspected it, confirmed that everything was fine, and covered it with a red cloth. They would hang it up the day before the grand opening.

On September 20th, the remaining tables were also completed. At this point, all the hardware facilities were in place.

Since it was a day off for the snack stall, Yu Qingze gathered everyone in the shop in the afternoon. They arranged the tables and chairs and began practicing for the opening.

In the morning, Chang Le and Brother Chang’s mother had already prepared ten kinds of dim sum, cooked two small pots of congee, three side dishes, and a pot of Guandong style hot pot.

This was the menu that Yu Qingze had prepared for the trial period. He was afraid of making too much at once, as the staff responsible for taking orders were still unfamiliar and might make mistakes. So he planned to start with a small selection and gradually increase it.

They lit every stove and transferred the dim sum to the new stove, conducting a rehearsal following the procedures of official operation.

Now, the layout of the shop was as follows:

Upon entering, the dining area was on the left, and the order pickup area was on the right.

To the right after entering, there was a table with plates, bowls, and dishes for customers to help themselves.

Next was the L-shaped stove counter, where they placed the Guandong style hot pot, two pots of congee, and three side dishes. After that was the long counter with five stoves, on top of which were steamers containing ten types of dim sum: shumai, steamed dumplings, three types of buns, two types of mantou, sticky rice balls, sticky rice chicken, and pumpkin pancakes.

The wall adjoining the kitchen didn’t have a stove counter. Yu Qingze planned to place the snack carts there in the future, each cart accommodating four stoves.

After passing through the kitchen door and the aisle, there was the cash register counter.

The three newly hired staff members were assigned their tasks. Uncle Zhen was responsible for dishwashing, Yu Xiaoshu, a 19-year-old young man, was in charge of clearing the tables, and Brother Qing, who was about the same age as Brother Chang, along with Brother Chang, was responsible for order pickup.

Jiabao handled the cash register, while the others acted as temporary customers when they were not busy.

Yu Qingze clapped his hands and said, “Alright, everyone take your positions. Let’s give it a try. Brother Chang and Brother Qing, don’t rush. Just remember the prices of the items and make sure not to mix up the bamboo tags.”

They both nodded and tied the small baskets around their waists, then stood in their respective areas.

Brother Chang was in charge of the shorter counter, where the prices for the Guandong style hot pot and three side dishes varied, making it a bit more complicated. Brother Qing was responsible for the long counter with the dim sum, where each mantou cost one wen, each steamed buns cost two wen, and shumai, dumplings, and sticky rice balls were five wen per serving, while sticky rice chicken was five wen each—relatively easier to remember.

“Alright, let’s begin! Brother Le, you can come in now,” Yu Qingze called out.

Everyone started pretending to be customers, walking outside and then entering the shop.

Brother Le went first, instinctively taking a tray and starting to order his meal.

Next was Brother Chang’s mother, who followed to place his order.

Seeing this, Chang Hao initially intended to follow them, but he suddenly thought of a problem. He raised his hand and said to Yu Qingze, “Brother Yu, I’ve noticed something.”

Yu Qingze asked, “What’s the problem?”

Chang Hao replied, “If I were a real customer coming in for the first time, how would I know how to pick up my order? It’s not clear to me.”

Hearing this, everyone realized he was right. They were all familiar with the process, but other customers wouldn’t know. They were accustomed to entering the shop and finding a seat.

Yu Qingze was taken aback for a moment, then slapped his forehead, saying, “Oh, I forgot! We need someone to greet and explain the process to customers. We’ll have to find someone!”

He glanced at the people present, and almost everyone had tasks to do. He pondered for a moment and said, “Xiaoshu, you’ve learned how to read as well. Why don’t you go and take over Brother Chang’s position? Brother Chang will come over to greet the customers and explain the process.”

Xiaoshu happily agreed and went over. He was quite interested in the task of order pickup—it was much more exciting than clearing tables.

The two switched places.

Yu Qingze gave Brother Chang some welcoming lines and instructions, and Brother Chang practiced saying them a few times to remember them.

The rehearsal started again.

Brother Le entered the shop once more.

As soon as he entered, Brother Chang greeted him with a smile, saying, “Welcome. How many guests?”

Brother Le held back his laughter and raised his index finger.

Others also chuckled secretly. They were all familiar with each other, and this whole situation seemed quite amusing.

“One guest. Please follow me, sir. Our shop is self-service. Here, you can pick up a tray and choose your food. The staff will place the selected dishes and bamboo tags with the prices in your tray. After collecting your meal, you can proceed to the counter over there for payment. Then, you can choose a seat at any available table. Chopsticks are provided on the table, and the chili sauce is complimentary for you to use as you like.”

Brother Le nodded with a smile and began ordering his meal.

Brother Le ordered one serving of each dish with different prices, which made Xiaoshu a bit flustered. He wasn’t familiar with the prices yet, especially for the Guandong style hot pot, which had several different prices and didn’t have large price signs like the other dishes. As a result, his speed was a bit slow.

Brother Chang’s mother, who was behind Brother Le in line, waited for a while but couldn’t wait any longer, so he went around to the front.

Seeing this, Yu Qingze stood beside Xiaoshu and reminded him twice. Xiaoshu gradually memorized the prices.

One by one, the customers came in, and Yu Qingze observed from the side. Whenever he noticed a problem, he promptly pointed it out and corrected it for them.

The challenge for the staff responsible for order pickup was that they hadn’t fully memorized the prices of the dishes yet. However, this wasn’t a major issue as practice makes perfect, and within a day or two, they would definitely become proficient. Another issue was that during peak hours, things could get a bit chaotic. This problem could be solved by increasing the number of staff, but it would depend on the shop’s revenue and cost evaluation before deciding whether to hire more people.

On the other side, at the checkout counter, Yu Qingze initially thought Jiabao was calculating the bills in his mind. However, to his surprise, Jiabao actually took out an abacus and swiftly calculated with a “clack, clack, clack.”

Yu Qingze:…

“Jiabao, when did you learn to use an abacus?” This was truly surprising!

Jiabao finished calculating Brother Le’s bamboo tags and scratched his head apologetically, saying, “When you rented the shop, you told me that I would be in charge of the checkout in the future. I was afraid of making mistakes just by mental calculation, so I learned how to use the abacus from Boss Liu across the street.”

Yu Qingze asked in astonishment, “You learned it in just a few days?”

He had been busy with shop matters lately and didn’t have time to manage the snack stall. He rarely visited Liu’s place either. Yet, Jiabao had managed to contact Boss Liu and learn how to use the abacus?

Jiabao nodded and said a bit shyly, “These numbers are small and quite simple.”

Yu Qingze didn’t believe it, so he took the bamboo tags that Brother Le had just used and calculated them himself. The result matched Jiabao’s calculation.

He continued to observe Jiabao calculating a few more times, and everything was accurate. Yu Qingze couldn’t help but pat his shoulder with excitement and said, “Jiabao, you’re a good kid, learning so fast!” He thought of nurturing him well, as he might have the potential to be an accountant!

Jiabao blushed and smiled bashfully.

After an afternoon of rehearsal, Brother Chang had practically memorized the entire process and could recite it without even thinking. It came naturally to him.

Twice, Chang Hao noticed someone trying to sneak past the counter without paying, but Jiabao caught one of them, and Brother Chang caught the other.

Brother Qing and Xiaoshu finally became familiar with all the prices of the items and were no longer flustered. Jiabao diligently and accurately handled the accounting, without making any mistakes.

The most crucial aspects were more or less covered.

Finally, after practicing all day, everyone was hungry and finished all the dim sum and food. Nothing was left.

That evening, when they returned home, Grandpa Chang found another helper to take care of clearing the tables.

On September 21st, in the morning, they hung up the signs, which were covered with red cloth. They would unveil them on the opening day.

Then, they practiced for another day. After finishing, they tidied everything up, wiped the tables and chairs once again, and confirmed that everything was in order. Yu Qingze spoke loudly, saying, “

“Great! Tomorrow at the hour of si (9 a.m. to 11 a.m), we’ll open on time!”

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar: It was a bit difficult choosing pronouns for the madams because direct translation did not work well. The author used male pronouns but also quite female in a sense, which worked in Chinese but not so much in English. And I’m not good with Chinese, so I chose the term “Madam.” If there is a better option anyone can think of, let me know 😀

Once the lively atmosphere of New Year’s Eve had passed, the base immediately entered into a more intense phase of production and construction.

Now, the resources and personnel at the base are not yet sufficient for them to sit back and relax, and every moment must be utilized. The farming department, which is responsible by Ji Cha, is the most crucial, as without enough food and clothing, nothing else can be achieved.

Ji Cha got up early, but he was not the first to arrive at the workplace. Zhao Tiankuo had already arrived early with several technicians.

Under natural conditions, there is almost nothing that can be grown at this time, and it would be troublesome to try. However, with the use of greenhouse technology, as well as considering the short planting period and cold tolerance of many vegetables, it is entirely possible to grow some edible vegetables.

There was previously a problem that had been looming over the farm, which was the degradation of critical seeds. Seeds that could be bought from stores before the apocalypse were mostly for one-time use, and the seeds grown from the fruits of commercial seeds would inevitably experience degradation. However, Zhao Tiankuo suddenly gave Ji Cha some good news: “Two technicians who used to work in this field came by yesterday, and with our current seed inventory, there’s no need to worry about running out of seeds before we achieve results.”

“That’s great!” Ji Cha’s mood immediately brightened. “I also kept many carefully selected seeds on my end. The previous batch of seeds that I used for planting did not show significant degradation, so this can also be a backup plan.”

With the first batch of vegetables planted and harvested after the new year, the cafeteria is now able to serve vegetables every day. With the arrival of spring, the planting of various grains has also begun, and the farm has officially become the busiest area outside of various construction projects.

But what makes Ji Cha the happiest is the successful management of the livestock. The chicks have now been sent to market, providing meat for the cafeteria for several days. The remaining young chicks have also accumulated in number. The employees who initially needed Ji Cha’s guidance to do their jobs have now become proficient, which has also lightened Ji Cha’s load.

The speed at which the rabbits give birth is also astonishing, just as expected by Ji Cha. Now, the original breeding rabbits have already produced three times, and the first batch of baby rabbits have also begun to show signs of sexual maturity. With over 200 baby rabbits, Ji Cha kept most of the female rabbits, while the others were sent to the cafeteria. Their fur was kept and sent to the production and textile area being built in the base.

However, the current prosperity did not completely relieve the pressure in Ji Cha’s heart. After all, even a small disaster at this time could ruin the harvest.

Unexpectedly, the outbreak of disease and pests did not wait, but other problems arose.

At the end of March, the weather gradually began to warm up. Since everything was stable, Ji Cha could stay at home for half a day without running around. However, just as he finished his lunch, a technician rushed over from the farm, with a worried expression, and told Ji Cha, “Xiao Ji, there’s a problem in the vegetable area.”

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Ji Cha immediately put down his bowl and, riding on a small electric donkey with the technician, rushed to the vegetable area.

To say that there was a problem, it could be big or small. A few days ago, after the newly planted seeds had sprouted, a mutation was found in a corner of the green vegetables. Not only did its color become withered and yellow, its body also became very plump, and it began to feed on the surrounding vegetables.

“Damn, this is so strange. It can even grow a mouth to eat its own kind?” Zhao Tiankuo squatted on the side, staring in shock.

Ji Cha had experience with this. During the last apocalypse, the farm also experienced this phenomenon. He quickly pulled Zhao Tiankuo away, “Don’t get too close.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a leaf was thrown at the spot where Zhao Tiankuo was squatting. The seemingly soft leaf was deeply embedded in the soil.

Zhao Tiankuo was so scared that he sat on the ground, not daring to stand too close.

“Deal with these mutated vegetables first, and quickly patrol the other greenhouses to see if there are any similar situations,” Ji Cha frowned, “burn them with fire, don’t touch them with your hands. Don’t plant anything in this area for a month.”

The workers below quickly followed his instructions. When the flamethrower was activated, the originally yellowed vegetables suddenly stood up, shedding their weak disguise, and their leaves flickered as if to catch the flames. Unfortunately, they were ultimately burned to ashes.

“Use a shovel to dig out the roots below and burn them clean, don’t leave anything behind.”

Ji Cha’s thoroughness had a reason. When the workers dug out the roots with a hoe, they found that they were still wriggling. The sight made many of them nauseous and turned away.

After dealing with this greenhouse, the farm area became tense for the next few days, and each greenhouse was patrolled more closely.

Although there was such a mutation, timely control prevented any major losses. Ji Cha wasn’t too worried because mutations in the post-apocalyptic world could go either way. The mutation of the vegetables was negative, but trees like apple trees in a backyard could mutate positively. If they could obtain positive mutations and make use of them, it might help to solve part of the food problem.

Therefore, Ji Cha began to pay special attention to avoid hastily eating any positively mutated crops before the harvest.

After patrolling the vegetable area for five days, Ji Cha finally discovered something different. In the greenhouse next to the one with negative mutations, there was a small patch of vegetables growing particularly rapidly. They looked lush and vigorous.

“This one is twenty days old, and theoretically it should only be one-third this size, with leaves and stems not as well-hydrated. “

” It’s almost as big as the fully grown ones,” said Ji Cha, squatting down to touch the leaves. There was nothing unusual on the surface of the plant, and it felt no different from a normal cabbage, but the difference was clear. “Has this ever happened before?” he asked, looking up.

The worker replied, “Yes, it has happened before. Some plants grow much larger than they should, up to 60 centimeters instead of the usual 20, but it’s rare, so we didn’t think much of it. We just sent them all to the canteen, and there were usually a few in each batch.”

“Okay,” Ji Cha said, now having an idea. “Next time you see something like this, don’t harvest it. Save it for seed.”

“Got it,” the worker nodded.

Ji Cha finished his busy day and returned home, sitting on the sofa and rubbing his eyes.

Grandma Ji walked out of the kitchen and lightly patted his hand. “Have you washed your hands? Don’t rub your eyes, or they’ll start to hurt later.”

Ji Cha sniffed and smelled the fragrance coming from the kitchen. “What are we having for dinner tonight, Grandma?”

Zhang Qinqin smiled and peeked her head out from the kitchen, “Braised rabbit meat is the main course.”

Xiao sat on a small stool at the kitchen door, looking at picture books with a serious expression.

Ji Cha couldn’t help but smile when his phone buzzed twice in his arms. He quickly took it out and looked at it, but was somewhat disappointed.

The message was just an internal notification sent by the base, not from Liang Jincheng that Ji Cha had originally anticipated.

Liang Jincheng had been out for two days now, and the last time he had contacted Ji Cha was last night. The signal station at the base could only provide short-distance signal communication, and contact would naturally be lost after walking a certain distance away. Although Liang Jincheng’s recent departures from the base had become more frequent and he stayed away for longer periods of time, Ji Cha still couldn’t get used to it. Although the base was always considered peaceful, Ji Cha was well aware of the stormy and crisis-ridden world outside.

No matter how strong Liang Jincheng’s combat ability was, he could be threatened with his life every minute and every second outside.

The sky gradually darkened. A team of ability users was resting in a sleeper car a hundred kilometers away from the base.

After the car was refitted to increase its external strength and its interior was large enough to accommodate twelve adults, Liang Jincheng lay at the bottom of the first layer, pinching his phone and looking at the message he had exchanged with Ji Cha yesterday. After reading it a few times, he couldn’t help but click on Ji Cha’s photo, from when they were in college until the one he had secretly taken before leaving this time.

“Boss, are you missing your wife?” Qin Shuang, who was on the top bunk, poked her head out and said with a smile, “Why don’t you bring *them along next time, so you don’t have to look at your phone all day long.”

*T/N: In Chinese, there’re no distinct pronouns between genders. It’s they, them; no he, she, him, her.

“Hahaha, how can the boss bear to make his beloved suffer outside?” someone else laughed.

Liang Jincheng didn’t mind their little jokes. He sat up and suddenly everyone stopped talking and listened together.

“Someone’s coming,” Qin Shuang put away her smiling face and reached for her weapon under the pillow.

After the car had turned off, it was mostly camouflaged in the trees, and there weren’t many footsteps, only about a dozen. For ability users, this number was completely stress-free, let alone a dozen ability users together.

“Everyone in the car, get out!” A low voice came from outside immediately.

Liang Jincheng looked out through the one-way glass. A group of young to middle-aged men were coming. From their clothes, it seemed they were doing alright, proving they weren’t struggling to survive. At a time like this, it would be difficult for just a small team of a dozen or so people to survive like this. This only further suggests that they might have larger forces behind them.

It’s not surprising that there are other bases outside of S city base, but whether they are friend or foe, one must be cautious. Liang Jincheng put his phone back under his pillow and put his knife and gun into the leather bag at his waist.

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Cai Mansion Flower Appreciation Party

On this afternoon, Yu Qingze was in the shop watching the plastered stove being whitewashed by the master mason. While halfway through the task, they suddenly heard the sound of gongs being beaten outside. After a while, the sound gradually faded away.

The two of them walked to the door to see what was going on but didn’t find any particular reason. However, they noticed that people on the street were excitedly discussing something.

After listening for a while, Yu Qingze learned that the results of the provincial examination had been announced, and Jiang Tianrui, the second young master of the Jiang family in the southern part of the city, ranked sixth, making him a top scorer. The person beating the gongs was bringing the good news.

The mason sighed and said, “Boss Liu will be proud. His son-in-law has become a juren!”

(T/N: The following is the breakdown of scholar rankings, from lowest to highest, per wikipedia.

Tong sheng – child student; an entry-level examinee who had passed the county/prefecture exams.

Shengyuan / Xiucai– student member; an entry-level licentiate who had passed the higher level (like college) exam.

Juren – recommended man; a qualified graduate who passed the triennial provincial exam.

Gongshi – tribute scholar; a recognized scholarly achiever who passed the triennial national exam.

Jinshi – advanced scholar; a graduate who passed the triennial court exam.)

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingze was delighted and said, “Yes, I will go congratulate him later!”

While they were talking, another round of gong sounds rang out.

The mason poked his head out to see and asked in confusion, “Did someone else pass?”

After a while, the news came from the intersection.

It turned out that the eldest young master of the Cai family, Cai Chenxi, had achieved the highest score and became the top scholar. The person delivering the good news had already reported it in Yunzhou, but since Cai Chenxi had been staying in Tongshan City recently, he asked the person to come and report the news again at the Cai residence in Tongshan City.

“The top scholar! Boss Yu, did you hear that? Young Master Cai from the Cai family has done remarkably well. His father, Master Cai, was also the top scholar in his year!” The mason was particularly excited.

“Really?” Yu Qingze asked in astonishment.

The mason nodded, then went back inside and continued working while talking to Yu Qingze. He said, “Yes, indeed. Master Cai was quite a prominent figure in our Tongshan City. He was the youngest among the candidates in his year’s provincial examination. I remember he was around seventeen or eighteen at that time. However, his grandfather passed away, and he had to observe mourning, so he didn’t go to the capital for the metropolitan examination the following year. Then, a few years later, his younger brother also passed away, causing further delays. It’s a pity. Otherwise, he might have become the youngest Zhuangyuan.”

Yu Qingze sighed in contemplation, “Is that so? Master Cai didn’t have much luck when he was young.”

The mason nodded and continued applying plaster with a trowel, saying, “Fortunately, he eventually passed the examination and was assigned to serve as an official in Tongshan City. I heard that he could have stayed in the capital, but for some reason, he chose to return.”

Yu Qingze didn’t respond to that comment. The world of officials is indeed complex.

“By the way, Boss Yu, once this stove is finished being whitewashed, we’ll need to open the windows in this room for ventilation. The smell of the lime isn’t pleasant. Once it dries, it’ll be ready for use, and after some time, the smell will dissipate,” the mason said to Yu Qingze.

“Alright, thank you for your help.”

It didn’t take long for the mason to finish applying the plaster. After tidying up his tools, he noticed there was still a little bit of mortar left in the bucket and said to Yu Qingze, “Boss Yu, I noticed a large patch of wall plaster has come off in your backyard. I have some mortar left here. How about I patch it up for you?”

Yu Qingze’s eyes lit up. There was an unsightly patch on the exterior wall of his storage room, so he replied, “Sure, thank you.”

The two of them moved to the backyard, and the mason scraped off the loose plaster, prepared the surface, and began applying the mortar.

After the worker finished and left, Yu Qingze took a good look at the newly plastered stove.

The stove had an L-shaped design, divided into two parts. Inside was the stove for cooking, which would be used for keeping food warm. On the side facing the guests, there was a platform that was fifty centimeters wide, where guests could place their plates. The height of the platform was about ten centimeters higher than the overall height of the stove inside. In between, there was a low wall about ten centimeters high to separate the two sections.

Looking at the white countertop, Yu Qingze found the color unappealing and easy to get dirty, making it difficult to clean. He thought about asking his grandfather to weave some bamboo mats to place on the outside of the countertop at home, so it wouldn’t get dirty easily.

Having made up his mind, he tidied up a bit, opened the windows facing the courtyard, and locked the door before heading back to his snack stall.

Jiang Tianrui and Cai Chenxi both passed the imperial examination, so he needed to prepare some gifts to congratulate them.

For such a significant occasion, it wouldn’t be suitable to always give pastries as gifts. After discussing with his friend Brother Le, Yu Qingze went out to buy presents.

After buying the gifts, Yu Qingze went to Liu’s place.

“Congratulations, Boss Liu! Your son-in-law has achieved the title of juren!” Yu Qingze congratulated Boss Liu upon seeing him.

Boss Liu had already received the news and was overjoyed. He looked completely different from his usual stern expression. When he saw Yu Qingze, he couldn’t help but smile openly, without any pretense. “Brother Yu, thank you, thank you! It’s all Tianrui’s own merit! Today is truly a great day! Hahaha…”

Yu Qingze handed him the gifts, and Boss Liu didn’t hesitate to accept them, saying he would give them to Jiang Tianrui. Then the two of them chatted and laughed together for a while before Yu Qingze returned to his snack stall.

The next day, taking advantage of the morning when there weren’t many people around, Yu Qingze first went to congratulate the Cai residence, and then he was invited to stay by Madam Cai.

“Xiao Yu, I was just looking for you,” Madam Cai said as he gestured for Yu Qingze to take a seat.

Yu Qingze asked, ” Madam Cai, is there something you need from me?”

Madam Cai replied, “Since Xiaoxi has achieved the title of juren, various families in the city sent congratulatory gifts yesterday, all from prominent families in Tongshan City. I’m planning to host a flower appreciation gathering tomorrow, inviting the heads of these families to gather and show our gratitude. Originally, Xiaoxi should have been in charge of this, but he is still in Yunzhou, so I had to take over. That’s why I want to ask you to prepare some snacks to entertain the guests.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingze immediately responded, “That’s great. What kind of snacks does Madam Cai want?”

After thinking for a moment, Madam Cai said, “We’ll need a variety of sweet and savory snacks. Since everyone loves the snacks you make, you can decide on the specific types. Around eight or nine varieties should be enough.”

Yu Qingze pondered for a moment and said, “Alright. How many people are expected to attend?”

Madam Cai answered, “There will be around fifteen or sixteen madams of esteemed families, and they might bring their children along as well. So we need to prepare for about twenty to thirty people.”

Yu Qingze further inquired, “Will it be in the morning?”

Madam Cai nodded and said, “Yes. The flowers will bloom beautifully in the morning.”

“Alright, Madam Cai. Tomorrow morning, I will bring Brother Le with me,” Yu Qingze agreed with a nod.

Upon hearing that Brother Le would be coming, Madam Cai asked, “If Brother Le is coming, what will happen to your snack stall tomorrow? Will it affect your business?”

“No worries, there will be someone taking care of it,” Yu Qingze shook his head. With the madams of various prestigious families present, it was a great opportunity to promote the snacks.

Hearing his reassurance, Madam Cai felt relieved and said, “Alright then, thank you for your hard work, both you and Brother Le.”

“No problem, please don’t mention it,” Yu Qingze replied politely.

“When will your shop be open? We’ll have to come and take a look then.”

“It will take a few more days, probably around the 22nd.”

“Alright, once you’re sure, let us know. I and the old man want to go and see.”

“Sure.”

On the same day, Yu Qingze went to the kitchen to communicate with Uncle Fu, ensuring that all the necessary ingredients were prepared, and then he returned.

In the evening, they prepared three dishes that could be served cold, and the rest would be prepared at the Cai residence.

In the middle of the night, Yu Qingze got up and soaked the white fungus. Just before leaving, he also soaked the lotus seeds and brought them along.

He planned to showcase the white fungus dessert, making a red jujube and lotus seed sweet soup at Madam Cai’s flower appreciation gathering.

Early in the morning, as the sky was just getting bright, he set off with Brother Le. They had already arranged for Uncle Chang, Brother Chang’s father, to oversee the snack stall in the morning, and once they finished their tasks, Uncle Chang would return.

With the help of Uncle Fu and the kitchen staff, they prepared all the snacks before the flower appreciation gathering began. They even made extra as suggested by Madam Cai, so that the guests could take some back home.

In the back garden of the Cai residence, preparations had been made for the flower appreciation gathering.

Various chrysanthemums were blooming brightly, the scent of osmanthus filled the air, purple butterfly orchids swayed gracefully, and red roses and begonias showed off their charm…

The madams of various prestigious families, dressed elegantly, arrived one after another, just as Madam Cai had expected. They also brought many young gers with them, of all ages, creating a lively atmosphere.

Cai Chenxi was of marriageable age and still unmarried, so it was likely that each family had some thoughts in that regard.

Madam Cai led them into the garden, where tables, chairs, and refreshments had already been set up.

The esteemed guests chatted and laughed while enjoying the flowers for a while.

Two young boys noticed the snacks on the table and mentioned it to their mother. They went over and started eating the snacks.

“Mother, these snacks are so delicious. Can we buy them when we go back? Please?” One of the boys held a snack in his hand and asked his mother.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at the red bean cake in the boy’s hand and realized that these snacks were not available in the market.

“Ah, these snacks… Madam Cai, are these made by Yu’s Delicious Delights?” one of the esteemed guests asked.

Madam Cai nodded and said, “Yes, I specifically asked him to make them. Everyone, please have a seat and taste his craftsmanship.”

As soon as they heard that it was made by Yu’s, their interest was piqued. They sat down in different places and started tasting the snacks.

Recently, they had tried several kinds of snacks from both the Cai residence and the Zhao residence, all made by Yu’s. The taste was much better than the snacks from other pastry shops in Tongshan City. However, Yu’s usually took custom orders and rarely sold their products directly.

An esteemed guest from the Zhao residence tasted a sticky rice cake and said, “Yu Qingze, the owner of Yu’s, is truly talented. The snacks he made for our patriarch’s birthday banquet were all exquisite. Especially the longevity peach buns, they looked and tasted just like the real thing. The patriarch was delighted.”

Another esteemed guest who had also attended the banquet replied, “Yes, I tasted them at the banquet too. They were not only visually appealing but also delicious.”

Everyone discussed these snacks for a while.

“Today, Boss Yu also made a new dessert called Silver Ear Red Date Lotus Seed Sweet Soup with goji berries. Everyone should give it a try,” Madam Cai said when he saw that it was almost time. He waved his hand, signaling Mi Ge’er to have the final dessert served.

Mi Ge’er brought the dessert, silver ear sweet soup, and placed it on the table before stepping aside.

Madam Cai called out, “Everyone, please try it. Boss Yu said that this dessert is especially beneficial for us gers. It promotes beauty, nourishes and moisturizes the skin, nourishes yin, and moistens the lungs. Drinking more of it is good for your health.”

Curious, everyone started tasting the dessert.

The lotus seeds were soft and sticky, the red dates were rich and sweet, and the cooked silver ear was tender and smooth.

They instantly fell in love with it.

“It’s delicious.” “Not bad at all.”

They had seen lotus seed, red date, and goji berry combinations before, but they had never seen transparent and smooth silver ear before.

“What is this transparent and smooth thing? I don’t think I’ve ever eaten it,” one of the esteemed guests asked.

Madam Cai replied, “Boss Yu said it’s called silver ear, also known as white fungus.”

“White fungus? Oh, white fungus is not edible, right? I know about it. It makes your skin itchy when you eat it,” one of the esteemed guests immediately exclaimed, a little startled, and put down his spoon.

Upon hearing this, the others were also frightened and put down their spoons, looking at Madam Cai with confusion. How could Madam Cai give them something that is not edible?

Madam Cai calmly continued drinking, taking two more sips before saying, “Don’t worry, it’s fine. Boss Yu said that if you pick it, eat it immediately, and go out under the sun afterwards, it would make you itchy, just like Madam Huang said, but after drying and soaking it in water, it’s safe. Look, I ate it and nothing happened, right?”

Uncle Fu had recognized the white fungus when he saw Yu Qingze taking it out earlier. Later, Yu Qingze explained and then drank it in front of them. He even went to sunbathe for fifteen minutes, and nothing happened.

Seeing that Brother Le was indeed fine, Uncle Fu finally reassured the guests.

Seeing their skeptical expressions, Madam Cai smiled and said, “This is a good thing. Don’t blame me if you regret not drinking it later. If you want to drink it later, you’ll have to spend money at Boss Yu’s shop.”

Upon hearing Madam Cai’s words, a few bolder individuals, like Madam Zhao, continued drinking. Madam Cai had already drunk it, so what were they afraid of? Besides, Madam Cai wouldn’t harm himself.

The taste was indeed good, and Madam Zhao asked Madam Cai, “Madam Cai, is Boss Yu still here? Can I buy two pounds from him to try at home?”

Madam Cai looked at him and nodded, saying, “You have a discerning eye. However, he mentioned that the quantity is limited, and he doesn’t sell silver ear separately. It’s only used in the desserts at his shop. When his shop opens, you can go there and have it.”

“When will his shop open?”

“They said it will be in a few days, probably around the 22nd.”

“…”

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Since the incident with the teenagers near the pond last time, the military has taken control of that area and strictly monitored it. On one hand, this is to prevent that area from becoming a weak spot for the base, and on the other hand, it is to increase the base’s production resources.

Ji Cha followed Zhao Tiankuo to catch fish, but he didn’t need to do anything. He just went along to watch.

“We’ve already dealt with some zombie fish before, but we still can’t clean them all up. So catching fish is not entirely safe,” Zhao Tiankuo told Ji Cha. “But we caught some safe and edible fish before and stored them in another pond. They should be okay.”

A total of about 700 kilograms of fish were caught after the two nets were pulled in. Because the mesh size of the fishing nets was relatively large, only larger adult fish were caught. This ensured that many young fish would remain in the pond, and also avoided overfishing, which laid the foundation for long-term development.

However, even with over 700 kilograms of fish meat, when it was divided up as dishes, each person only got less than one or two. Compared to other New Year’s dishes, it was still relatively simple.

Ji Cha thought and thought, and still wanted to find a way to make the first year of the base better.

As for meat, it was still not being produced in large quantities, so each piece was precious to Ji Cha. He stood in the pigsty and counted several times. With only ten adult pigs left, after several months of pregnancy, seven sows were left with their young. The number of piglets born to each sow in the first litter is usually less than the subsequent litters. Originally, the person in charge of the pig farm told Ji Cha that a sow could give birth to around 12 piglets in the first litter, but on average, the seven sows only gave birth to nine each. Now, there are more than sixty piglets that are barely a month old, looking cute and chubby as they suckle milk.

Although the prospects are good, at the moment, there is still not much meat available. Ji Cha calculated that the only usable meat was from a fully grown male pig. The male pig had been well-fed and was estimated to weigh around 500-600 kilograms.

“If we take one pig and make it into braised pork, everyone should be able to get a few pieces, right? That’s not a bad idea,” he thought carefully and told Zhao Tiankuo about the proposal.

Zhao Tiankuo was somewhat surprised, but more happy. “That’s a great idea!” he said. “Also, the troops want us to kill two more sheep that we retrieved last time to supplement the food supply. They can take the male sheep, right? You said there were a lot of male sheep last time.”

Although there were many, it still made him feel sorry to kill a few more. At this time, Ji Cha was almost like a penny-pincher, calculating things for the long term. Even eating a little more now made him feel distressed.

But Zhao Tiankuo was right. In his opinion, seven male sheep were too many, and from a breeding standpoint, too many male sheep would be difficult to manage in the long run.

Ji Cha selected two of the older male sheep and a male pig, and had them transported by the troops. The two male sheep weighed a total of 400 pounds, and the male pig weighed over 550 pounds. So counting sheep meat, pork, and fish, there were at least three meat dishes for the New Year’s dinner.

In addition, a batch of vegetables produced from the outside fields could also be put on the table. Before nightfall, Ji Cha gathered the workers to pick the last batch of vegetables such as Chinese cabbage and bok choy before the New Year’s Day. Because of the large planting scale, the thousand pounds of vegetables required by the troops were also provided.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

The vast majority of the New Year’s Eve dinner was also provided by the factory, including tofu, bean sprouts, and even soy milk, which was served as a beverage. None of it was wasted and all was sent to the cafeteria for final processing.

The New Year’s Eve dinner was completely free, with the cafeteria staff assigning dishes and unlimited rice provided. Of course, this kind of welfare was only for this one meal. Ji Cha heard that the base cafeteria would also provide free porridge the next morning, but the accompaniments such as side dishes would have to be prepared by oneself.

In these difficult times, the New Year is a time of hope. The base also wants to take this opportunity to boost morale. What comes after the New Year may not necessarily be bright. In fact, the current environment of the base cannot be considered completely safe and stable, with many external threats, including zombies.

S city originally had a population of one million. Apart from the nearly ten thousand people in the base, there are likely still many scattered survivors outside. However, based on conservative estimates, the number of uninfected humans still alive outside may be less than 100,000. Each person is struggling to survive, and it’s very possible that they may not see the sun tomorrow.

Putting aside these heavy factors, the atmosphere in the base today is indeed high.

Starting from three in the afternoon, many public places in the base were covered with curtains and projected comedy movies and TV shows. Except for a few areas such as the factory cafeteria that are still working, other places have started to rest before the New Year.

People in groups carry stools or cushions and find a place to sit and watch TV. The cafeteria not far away has already started to be busy, sorting out and cooking the dishes allocated to their side.

It takes some time to stew the lamb soup, so it was put into the pot early. The clear stewed lamb soup uses simple ingredients other than the lamb itself, all of which are supporting spices. It takes some time, but after simmering, the aroma is delightful.

After the apocalypse, who can smell this kind of aroma a few times? Suddenly, it aroused the appetite of everyone.

“I remember the announcement said that the New Year’s Eve dinner is free today, right? Wow, what is this stewed so fragrant? It must be meat!”

“Give me two mouthfuls of soup. I can eat three big bowls with white rice! No, I’m starving now…”

While watching TV, everyone discussed enthusiastically, with joyful smiles on their faces, feeling so comfortable in their hearts for the first time.

They didn’t expect this to be only the first wave of aroma. After the pig was slaughtered and divided into two halves, it was transported to two different canteens. Before, they could only smell the scent, but now they could see the half pig being carried in, and everyone couldn’t help but salivate, wishing to pounce on the raw meat and take a few big bites.

The aroma of braised pork was even more tempting, and there was also stewed fish with pickled vegetables, spicy tofu, stir-fried bean sprouts, and oyster sauce vegetables. There was no shortage of ingredients in the base, and there were even some leftovers. After all, these seasonings have an expiration date, and it would be a waste to leave them unused.

Three meat and three vegetable dishes might have been considered inadequate for a New Year’s feast before the apocalypse, but now it was a feast. When the canteen door finally opened, people rushed in, afraid of missing out on the good food.

The staff in the base had already hastily eaten their own portions or set aside their own portions in advance. Now they quickly poured the pre-portioned amount into the bowls and plates brought by the people, and then quickly measured the next portion. With dozens of staff members needing to serve hundreds of portions, it was a tiring job.

But there wasn’t a single person on either side without a smile on their face. In the apocalypse, who could ask for more? Having enough to eat and warm clothes was already a great privilege that countless people outside couldn’t even dream of.

The first year of the apocalypse ended in the relaxed atmosphere of the base, but the second year of the apocalypse was about to begin.

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Thandar: I’m a little confused by the number of people in the base. A few chapters back, I remember it was 5,000 but now it’s 10,000. Did the population doubled during this time?

A special shoutout and heartfelt thanks go to SheungMun for their generous support on Kofi. This chapter is dedicated to you, dear reader.

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Even in the apocalypse, the meaning of the New Year still has significant importance for people in Country C. Especially for those who can live a stable life in the base, they want to reward themselves after more than half a year of exhaustion and running around.

The army is also very thoughtful. Not only have they increased the number of personal limit purchases in the supermarket ten days before the New Year, but the labor income during these ten days is also 1.5 times more than usual. Even in many places, notices have been posted on the job board stating that people can take a break after the New Year, and those who have reserved their work before the holiday won’t lose their job because of choosing to take a break.

Some people want to take a break, and some people want to make more money during this time. It’s a win-win situation, and nobody loses.

Ji Cha also has no time to spare. A large amount of farmland must be prepared before spring arrives, and it’s not just Ji Cha who’s busy. Many workers are also busy. However, due to the recent intensive work in the farm, the points have increased a lot. It’s much better than many other jobs, so even though it’s tiring, countless people are still eager to get in.

“Now we need to figure out what crops to plant on each of these plots of land and what to plant after the first harvest,” Ji Cha sat under the desk lamp, constantly scribbling on a piece of paper and carefully recording each set of data in his notebook.

Liang Jincheng sat beside him, propping his chin with one hand and focusing his gaze on Ji Cha’s face.

After about ten minutes of calculations, Ji Cha couldn’t help turning his head to look at Liang Jincheng and said, “You should go to bed first.”

“I can’t sleep alone,” Liang Jincheng leaned on the table. “When will we finish?”

Ji Cha flipped through the materials he had prepared for the evening and replied, “Hmm, it’ll probably take about two hours.”

Liang Jincheng glanced at his phone, which was still lit up, and showed that it was already one o’clock in the morning.

“You have to leave at six tomorrow, right?” Liang Jincheng frowned. “You should go to bed now, or you won’t have the energy.”

Ji Cha shrugged, “Don’t you always stay up like this?”

“Are you me?” Liang Jincheng rubbed Ji Cha’s head forcefully. “The shortest time I’ve slept is half an hour. What about you?”

Ji Cha’s face turned red immediately, and he kicked Liang Jincheng in frustration. But Liang Jincheng’s stomach was as hard as a rock, causing Ji Cha’s foot to hurt.

Unable to convince Liang Jincheng, Ji Cha could only say, “I don’t have to leave early tomorrow, so I can sleep until noon.”

Since Liang Jincheng was always busy and had been working long hours for the past month, Ji Cha doubted that his statement would make a difference. Liang Jincheng laughed, “That’s perfect. I don’t have anything to do tomorrow either. Let’s sleep together.”

“Dare to touch me again and I’ll chop off what’s between your legs.” Ji Cha covered Liang Jincheng’s face with his hand.

Although it was supposed to be a day off the next day, neither of them really got a break.

Ji Cha was barely able to take it easy and got up at eight o’clock to check the progress of the record work everywhere. Liang Jincheng didn’t have to lead the ability team out of the base for tasks like usual, but he wasn’t really idle either. He was supervising the personnel outside the base to collect and store items from the missions from before the Chinese New Year until the sixth day of the first lunar month.

Because the absorption of external personnel had caused three or four incidents at the entrance of the base recently, and basically only those with abilities could react immediately and solve violent issues.

The entrance of the base was full of ragged people, thin enough to reveal their ribs in the harsh winter weather, waiting for the base’s review and striving for a slim chance to enter.

There were many preparations to be made before entering the base, and reporting work ability or age was only a few of the simplest items, but the key was to pass the base’s health check. If even a trace of the zombie virus showed up on the body, they would be executed without hesitation.

Fortunately, the base was still humane overall. At this time, considering the harsh weather, many fire points were set up outside to prevent refugees from freezing to death in the cold.

Another reason why Liang Jincheng was there was to quickly identify the people with abilities.

The ratio of people with abilities to ordinary people was disproportionate, and during the long period of expanding the population of the base, only six more people with abilities were added, all of whom were recruited by Liang Jincheng to work in the ability team. Compared with ordinary people, people with abilities had stronger abilities and naturally received better treatment. One person with abilities could easily support five people.

Now, there were few elderly and children anxiously waiting outside the base, and the vast majority were young men, with very few women.

After completing a series of audits and being granted entry to the base, one still hasn’t truly obtained the status of a resident. First, one must be taken to a corner of the base, to a house that has been isolated. They must live there for three days, during which the base provides food and shelter. Only if there are no health problems after three days can one enter the identity registration process. Anyone who has any problems during those three days will undoubtedly be dealt with.

“In addition, the house is provided by the base,” explained the staff member in charge of assigning rooms. “Different houses have different specifications, and the number of points that must be paid each month is also different. This is something that everyone can choose for themselves.

The first type of house is the most expensive, requiring 150 points per month. It is the largest in size and has a kitchen where one can cook, as well as bathroom facilities and the ability to charge electronics. Of course, water and electricity bills must be calculated separately.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

The second type of house is cheaper, requiring 90 points per month. It is of medium size and does not have a kitchen, but it does have bathroom facilities and cannot charge electronics.

The third type is a collective dormitory, requiring 50 points per month. It is small in size, does not have a kitchen, has a shared bathroom, and cannot charge electronics.

Currently, the total number of points earned by the average worker in the base is only about 300 per month. Obviously, not many people can afford the first type of house, but if it is shared by a family, it is not considered expensive. Many people choose to rent the first type of house together for convenience, but most still live in collective dormitories.

Regarding charging electronics and such, first of all, hardly anyone has electronic communication devices. Second, in public places like recruitment points, paid charging services are available, so it’s not necessary to charge electronics at home. Many people consider this a waste of money.

As for things like charging, firstly, there are basically few people with electronic communication devices, and secondly, in public places such as recruitment sites, paid charging services are provided, so there is no need to get electricity at home, which is considered a waste of money by many people.

It seems that the dormitories in the base have become very scarce. Although construction projects have never stopped, the influx of more people is a problem that construction projects cannot keep up with. Some people with flexible minds who entered the base early have ideas. Recently, the village houses where early people live are relatively large and have more open space. Some people have started to rent out their houses, living in one room and letting others live in the remaining rooms, at a slightly cheaper price than the base.

For a while, such “commodities” are also very scarce.

Ji Cha stood by the farmland, carefully recording something on his notebook, and then took a long breath.

It is estimated that the population of the base will reach 8,000 after the year, and it is estimated to reach at least 12,000 when the first batch of crops is harvested. The current farmland is designed to produce enough food for at least 15,000 people, so there will not be a shortage of food at least.

In addition, there is a strong tendency to nationalize the breeding industry in the base.

Ji Cha didn’t think too much about this. Instead of taking credit for it later, he might as well maximize the benefits of the resources he currently has and try to get more benefits from the army.

For example, breeding can be publicized, but the decision-making and management rights he holds must be the largest. Feeds and other necessities should all be provided publicly, and the final decision-making should not be forced by the military.

Currently, the troops have not fully agreed to the requirements proposed by Ji Cha, but Ji Cha believes that the base will still agree to this requirement, as it is not a losing deal for either side.

Two days before the Chinese New Year, Zhao Tiankuo found Ji Cha.

“I inquired about the condition you proposed, and there have been some doubts about it from higher up,” Zhao Tiankuo said. “But I’m here for another matter today.”

“What is it?” Jicha asked.

“We don’t have much meat to eat during the New Year,” Zhao Tiankuo said. “Those pigs, sheep, and chickens are being kept for breeding, so we plan to go out and catch some fish from the river behind us. It’s also a way to have some meat during the holiday.”

The military plans to have a big pot of free food in each cafeteria during the New Year, and it seems they want to use this opportunity to improve their meals.

After all, everyone wants to have a good time during the New Year.

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Shop Concept

What did Yu Qingze think of?

He thought of Cantonese-style dim sum.

Steamed buns, dumplings, pan-fried dumplings, meat buns, taro buns, red bean buns, mantou, red bean rolls, glutinous rice chicken, glutinous rice balls, chicken feet, glutinous rice ribs, and some refreshing side dishes like cold marinated wood ear mushrooms, cold marinated seaweed, and jellyfish…

In addition, there would be Guangdong style hot pot, cold noodles, liangpi, a variety of congees, and a few stir-fried dishes. Well, let’s skip the noodles and not compete with Liu’s for business.

Then, a few desserts would be added as well.

There would be a wide variety of choices with different flavors. In the future, more desserts could be added or reduced as needed, such as lotus seed paste buns, crab roe buns, and so on. It would be absolutely perfect.

Various delicious desserts, paired with tea, adopting a semi-self-service format, would make full use of the shop space.

Customers would come in and choose their own meals. Once they made their selection, they could start eating without waiting for the dishes to be served. They would pay first and eat later, and once they finished, they could leave. For people in a hurry, it would save time. For those who were not in a hurry, they could sit and enjoy the delicious food slowly, which would be a kind of indulgence.

Moreover, this new business model might also attract people’s attention.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

And one more crucial point: the training for making dim sum is much easier compared to stir-frying dishes. Yu Qingze noticed that Brother Le seemed to learn dim sum much faster than stir-frying. During their usual breakfasts, Yu Qingze had already taught Brother Le many types of dim sum, and Brother Le could make them all.

In addition, Brother Chang and Jiabao had also learned three types of dim sum after their visit to Zhao Mansion. If it would be possible to have Brother Chang’s father and mother work at the small shop, it would be even better. However, only one of them might be able to come since there would still be work to be done in the fields.

The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. Yu Qingze excitedly began planning the layout of the shop space.

First, on the right side of the entrance, a space of about three to four meters would be set up as the pick-up area. After the dim sum was steamed in the kitchen, they would be placed here. So, they would need to install two long stovetops with burners here. In the winter, they could use them to keep the food warm, so they would need to hire someone to build the stovetops. Well, the functionality of the stovetop area would need to be carefully planned.

Next, they would need to order customized tables and chairs and purchase kitchen utensils.

Then, there was the issue of settlement.

In the past, some of the morning tea shops used small round stamps to mark the corresponding prices on the guests’ bills, which made settlement very convenient.

Yu Qingze thought this format was great. However, paper was quite expensive here, so they could use small bamboo or wooden plaques instead. They would mark the prices on the plaques, and when customers picked up their meals, they would place the plaques in their trays. The settlement would be calculated based on the prices indicated on the wooden plaques, and then the plaques would be returned to the staff for reuse…

Oh, there were so many things to consider. Afraid of forgetting something, Yu Qingze locked the door, went to a snack stall to get the writing materials for Jiabao to keep the accounts, bought a small notebook, and then returned to the shop to start thinking and jotting down ideas.

From then on, except for the busiest hour during lunchtime at the snack stall, Yu Qingze helped out and spent the rest of his time in the shop, thinking about things.

In the afternoon, he thought of something else and hurriedly went to Zhao Mansion to ask Steward Zhao to inquire with the shop’s owner whether it would be possible to build a stove in the house.

Since their food was all steamed and wouldn’t produce smoke in the main hall, and considering the owner’s respect for Old Master Zhao’s reputation, it was approved.

Having obtained permission, Yu Qingze felt relieved.

In the evening, after dinner, he shared his ideas with Grandpa Chang and Brother Le, showing them the layout plan he had drawn for the shop. He explained his thoughts on how to arrange things, what to do here and there, and so on.

After finishing, Yu Qingze asked them, “Grandpa, Brother Le, what do you think?”

Grandpa Chang and the two brothers looked at him in shock.

The shop could be run like this? Without waiters taking orders, the customers would just go and pick up their own meals, and then they would settle the bill directly?

After they recovered from their shock, they carefully pondered it for a while and realized that if this format could really work, it would be very convenient. At least they wouldn’t have to personally take orders and serve the dishes!

Grandpa Chang thought for a moment and asked, “What if some customers take advantage of the chaos and start eating without paying?” He pointed to the dining area.

Yu Qingze pointed to the cash counter and said, “Grandpa, look, the entrance is almost facing the kitchen door. We can place the cash counter directly on the right side of the kitchen door. When they pick up their meals, they have to pass through here to reach the dining area. If someone hasn’t paid, the staff can remind them. With so many people around, the customers wouldn’t have the audacity to eat without paying. Even if someone does, our staff can be quick-witted and remind them.”

“Hmm, that works,” nodded Grandpa Chang, saying, “It’s quite innovative.”

Yu Qingze smiled and noticed that Brother Le had been staring at the blueprint. He asked, “Brother Le, do you have any concerns or questions?”

Brother Le looked up and gestured, saying, “Do we need to hire more staff? We’ll need someone here for meal pick-up, someone here for placing the wooden plaques, someone for handling the cash, and someone in the kitchen. Altogether, we would need at least five or six people.”

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Yu Qingze nodded with a smile and said, “Yes, we need to find at least four more people. They should be quick and agile, specifically responsible for greeting customers. Two for the meal pick-up area and placing the wooden plaques, two for clearing tables and washing dishes. Additionally, we’ll need two people in the kitchen, one for handling the cash, and the last one can be more flexible, helping out wherever it’s busy. When it comes to handling the cash, Jiabao and I can take turns.”

Grandpa Chang nodded and said, “This method works. However, we’ll have to teach the new hires how to read, at least recognize numbers.”

Yu Qingze agreed, saying, “Yes, numbers should be relatively easy to learn. And we can try to group the items with the same price together and place price labels in front of them. Then it will be easy to match them with the wooden plaques.”

Upon hearing this, both Grandpa Chang and Chang Le felt that it was feasible and didn’t have any major issues. They hadn’t run a shop before, let alone seen one operated like this, so they couldn’t think of any other problems. However, they trusted Yu Qingze’s decision. Whatever he said to do, they would cooperate.

Yu Qingze thought for a moment and continued, “Grandpa, I want to ask if Brother Chang’s mother would be willing to come to the kitchen and handle making the dim sum. I’m not sure if they will agree since they have a lot of household chores to take care of.”

“I’ll ask them tomorrow,” replied Grandpa Chang. He then asked, “What about the other three people? Should we continue hiring from the village or look for people in the city?”

Yu Qingze pondered and said, “We can still hire people from the village. Their main responsibility will be outside, which won’t be a problem. As long as they are obedient and follow the rules, and are quick and diligent, it should work. In the kitchen, we’ll have me and Brother Le. If Brother Chang’s mother is willing to come, we’ll include him. If he can’t make it or when it gets too busy, Brother Chang can help in the kitchen with the dim sum. That shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Alright. Should we look for younger men or older ones? Any other specific requirements?” Grandpa Chang asked.

Yu Qingze replied, “Both younger men and older ones are fine. In addition to what I mentioned earlier, it would be preferable if they are relatively young, between sixteen and thirty-five years old. However, we need to make it clear to them about the rules. If there are any fundamental issues, we can dismiss them at any time. We absolutely cannot tolerate someone like the previous employee from Liu’s place.”

Grandpa Chang nodded and said, “Alright, I’ll think about it and see if there are suitable candidates in the village.”

The group continued to discuss other matters. It was suggested that tomorrow, on the tenth day of the month, they should all go to the shop together and see it in person. It would be easier to understand with a practical demonstration.

The next day, the family arrived at Beida Street early in the morning. Inside the shop, Yu Qingze explained the layout once again, giving the three a more visual impression.

As they looked at it this way, the three became even more convinced that Yu Qingze’s approach was a good one. They all agreed to proceed with the shop as planned.

Without further ado, they divided the tasks and worked together.

Grandpa Chang took Chang Hao back to the village to recruit people. Chang Le followed Yu Qingze’s instructions and bought a stove, a regular pot, and a large pot used for cooking large quantities of rice.

Yu Qingze immediately went to find Boss Liu and asked if he knew a skilled mason who could build the stove. Boss Liu introduced him to a mason he had used when he opened his own shop.

Then, Yu Qingze, along with Chang Le and the mason, measured the length, width, and height of the long stove and determined the distances between each stove burner. They then went together to buy the necessary materials for building the stove and arranged to start the construction the next day.

After that, Yu Qingze and Chang Le had lunch at Liu’s place and then went to order custom-made tables and chairs.

They took reference from Liu’s restaurant, which had twenty-four tables for four people each. Apart from the area for food collection, they estimated that they could accommodate approximately ten tables for four people and four tables for ten people. They initially placed an order based on this quantity and planned to add more if necessary.

This time, they didn’t go to the village chief’s house for the furniture. The village chief and others were busy making rice beds, and they wouldn’t have been able to handle such a large number of tables and chairs. Additionally, they wanted slightly more upscale furniture that required painting, so they found a larger carpentry workshop in the city. The workshop already had some finished products, and they selected the style. The shop assured them that the order would be ready for delivery in seven days.

With the tables and chairs ordered, it was getting dark, and the two hurried back.

While halfway there, a heavy rainstorm began, forcing them to take shelter in a pavilion outside the city.

“The rain came down so suddenly.”

The torrential rain arrived swiftly, leaving both of them drenched.

Yu Qingze wiped his face and turned to Chang Le, asking, “Brother Le, are you okay?”

Chang Le shook his head and took out a handkerchief to wipe Yu Qingze’s face.

Yu Qingze took it from him but didn’t wipe his own face. Instead, he extended his hand to wipe Chang Le’s face, saying as he wiped, “Sigh, it’s all my fault. If I had paid more attention to the weather and returned home earlier, I wouldn’t have let you get wet.”

Chang Le shook his head. He had intended to take the handkerchief and wipe his own face, but Yu Qingze didn’t allow it. Chang Le had no choice but to tilt his head back slightly, squinting his eyes, allowing Yu Qingze to wipe the rainwater off his face, bit by bit.

After Yu Qingze finished wiping Chang Le’s face, Chang Le quickly grabbed the handkerchief and started wiping Yu Qingze’s face.

Yu Qingze smiled and cooperatively lowered his head, letting Chang Le wipe his face. He whispered teasingly to Chang Le, “Brother Le, look at us now, don’t we resemble an old married couple who have been together for many years?”

Chang Le’s face turned red as he heard that, and he gestured, saying, “Old married couple? We should be wiping our own faces!”

“Oh, you’re right! Then we’re an engaged couple in the midst of passionate love,” Yu Qingze chuckled and continued, “But when we become an old married couple, I’ll still be the one wiping your face.”

Blushing, Chang Le awkwardly gestured, “I… I’ll also wipe your face.”

Yu Qingze looked at him, pulled Chang Le’s waist with one hand, embracing him, and pressed his forehead against Chang Le’s, whispering softly, “Alright. When we grow old, we’ll still be a loving old married couple.”

With that, Yu Qingze kissed Chang Le’s forehead and held him tightly.

Hearing these words, Chang Le’s heart thumped heavily. He loved this statement, and in his mind, he could already envision two old men wiping each other’s faces affectionately.

He nodded gently and, seeing that there was no one around, he wrapped his arms around Yu Qingze’s waist, resting his face on Yu Qingze’s shoulder, gazing at the pouring rain outside the pavilion, quietly savoring the romantic tenderness and tranquil emotions of this moment.

The heavy rain lasted for about two quarters of an hour before turning into a drizzle.

The two of them found some branches by the roadside to partially shield their heads from the rain and hurried home.

In the following days, Chang Le focused on the snack stall while Yu Qingze stayed busy at the shop.

However, before their shop was ready to open, a piece of great news spread throughout the entire Tongshan City.

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Thandar: Damn, that restaurant idea sounds amazing

The situation that he learned is far worse than what Ji Cha had anticipated. It is not just an isolated case he saw today, but rather an ongoing behavior that has been happening in secret for some time. When he recalled passing by some places, he did see some young women with fearful expressions.

He immediately went back to inform the military, and Zhao Tiankuo promptly reported the situation. To his slight comfort, Ji Cha knew that the military did not tolerate human trafficking even in the end times.

The next morning, the military conducted a surprise investigation of the population in every household. Those without identification were singled out for processing. Most of the girls were abducted, but there were also two young boys. In Ji Cha’s eyes, the middle-aged and young men were disgusting and sordid, and the boys and girls had no power to resist being caught without identification.

Even if they were rescued from the clutches of the traffickers, they could not react for a while, and some of them were tortured so badly that their eyes were hollow and lifeless.

After sorting out the details, even more disgusting facts were revealed. The so-called human traffickers would often kill the guardians of the targets they were looking to abduct. To make them obedient, they would resort to r*pe and gang r*pe, among other means. After losing their loved ones and suffering physical and psychological harm, they would be dragged to the black market for trafficking, and after being sold, most people would face even more tragic fates and have to live a miserable existence to survive.

A solution was quickly developed, but the approach was relatively brutal. Those who had participated in human trafficking or r*pe more than once were ordered to be executed. This type of punishment was intended to deter those who were motivated by profit and considering entering this line of work. Those who bought the abducted individuals were also subjected to high fines and permanent recordkeeping on their information card. Those who were punished in this way could not work in many industries and were essentially limited to the bottom level of the base.

Finally, for the victims, as long as they were willing, they could obtain proof of identity within the base and become official members of the base. They could earn a living by working in the base.

For those young boys, this was undoubtedly great news. When they were rescued earlier, they were still worried about being kicked out of the base. Although life was very difficult now, nobody wanted to be exiled and face death. Now that they had an official identity within the base, they had a treatment that many outside could not obtain.

However, this incident also reflected a problem: there were too few women in the base. Ji Cha queried through the computer and found that the male-to-female ratio in the base was almost eight to one, with only a few people having wives and daughters. The majority were single men. This was definitely not a good thing, as an imbalanced gender ratio often leads to many violent crimes. The good public security in the base was due to the high proportion of security personnel. Without them, there could be a high incidence of crime.

However, in the long run, this problem will eventually lead to conflict. When Ji Cha recalled his last visit to the base, this issue seemed less apparent, perhaps due to the introduction of population control measures.

However, there is currently another thorny issue: the young people who have been rescued do not have any particular skills and cannot find work in the short term. As the work in the base is mostly fixed and quantitative, those who have been there longer have become skilled at their jobs, leaving the young people at a disadvantage when it comes to recruitment.

Ji Cha wanted to help them out. The advantage of young people is that they are quick learners when it comes to many things. Ji Cha helped to contact the scheduling team and managed to secure some positions for them. In the future, as more people arrive, the military is preparing to operate some machines that have been brought back, such as textile and processing products.

At the same time, the expansion of the base must also begin. Skilled workers are given priority, followed by physically fit young people. In fact, in the end times, it is rare to see people over the age of fifty. If there are capable people who can support their elderly relatives, the military will still allow them to come in.

By the end of January, the population of the base had expanded to 5,000 people, and various projects had to be accelerated to meet the needs of housing and daily life. Many of the newly constructed dormitories could not provide cooking facilities, so the military built two large canteens near the center of the base. This not only solved many job vacancies, but also solved the problem of food.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

During their breaks in the day, people can go to the canteen for all three meals, and all they need is to swipe their information card for payment. The information card now has a transfer function, so people can transfer their points to family members who need them at the recruitment or settlement points. However, when using the information card, personal and card information must match to prevent the card from being stolen.

Ji Cha harvested most of his vegetables in December. He dried some of the peppers into dried chili peppers, while selecting fresh red peppers to make chili sauce. Chili sauce is well-known in S city, but not as famous as in other provinces. In times of scarcity, chili sauce is actually a very practical and convenient food preservation method.

By January, the last peppers in the greenhouse had also stopped growing. After counting, Ji Cha had produced more than 100 kilograms of chopped peppers, not including the dried peppers and those used for regular consumption.

The radishes were also harvested early. Some were preserved to extend their freshness, while others were dried into radish shreds for longer storage. A small portion of the radishes were pickled for eating.

The new batch of crops was not limited to the factory. In fact, besides the few hundred square meters of small vegetable plots in the factory, most of the vegetables were no longer planted. The original farmland areas were left for factory use, such as processing soy products and other foods.

After two months of cultivation, the farm’s land had been divided into an area sufficient for a planned population of 10,000. Although it was currently the off-season for farming, Ji Cha did not plan to waste this time. He covered the greenhouse and planted some cold-resistant crops.

After this period of time, the chicken farm had bred five batches of chicks. The first batch had grown to the size of adult chickens. Currently, there were a total of 300 chicks of different sizes in the farm, and soon the first batch of chicks would also be able to breed. At that time, the chicken farm would truly be on track.

The breeding speed of the meat rabbits was indeed as crazy as described. The previously born baby rabbits had also grown up. The situation with the piglets was the same, except that their numbers could not compete with the chicks. However, once the piglets grew to a sufficient scale, pork would undoubtedly be the main source of meat for the base.

Ji Cha had been thinking about how to maximize his resources when the military brought him a surprise. When they were patrolling and searching outside, they found more than a dozen sheep from a dilapidated farm. The workers in the farm had turned into zombies and were wandering outside the farm, deterring anyone from getting close. Most people assumed that any living creatures in the farm had been eaten by the zombies, but surprisingly, the quality of the fence and the feed inside the farm were both excellent. The more than a dozen sheep not only did not turn into zombies, but also lived well. The numbers were uneven, with seven male sheep and five female sheep. Female sheep meant breeding, and the more the better, but given the current situation, Ji Cha was satisfied with what he had.

Sheeps are amazing, their whole being is basically a treasure. Aside from the fact that sheep milk can be consumed, sheep meat can be eaten, and the regularly sheared wool is an excellent material for textiles and warmth, sheep horns and hooves have countless benefits.

However, overall, Ji Cha really wants cows. It would be great to have dairy cows and cattle for meat. Dairy products are really important. With milk cows, there are more things that can be processed and produced. Not to mention, beef is also an excellent type of meat. In some areas where machines cannot work, cows are also great companions.

Zhao Tiankuo listened to Ji Cha’s vision and patted him on the shoulder. “You should first try to get some sheep’s milk. I’ll have someone help you find cows.”

“I know,” Ji Cha smiled. He knew that rushing things wouldn’t help. “One step at a time.”

From the beginning of the apocalypse to now, it has been almost half a year, and everything has finally begun to enter a stable state after bidding farewell to chaos. The first New Year after the apocalypse is just around the corner.

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Thandar: I’m glad Chacha brought out those disgusting people’s deeds. Why are some people so bad!!!!