Author Archives: Thandar

I Want You to Marry Me in Style

Yu Qingze returned to the snack stall, and Chang Le noticed the disappointment on his face, guessing that things didn’t work out.

He pulled him aside and gestured, asking if it didn’t work out.

Yu Qingze nodded and said, “Yeah. Someone else rented it. The owner said he only informed them yesterday that he was closing, and in the afternoon, someone came to view the place and ended up renting it.”

Chang Le opened his mouth wide in surprise and gestured, expressing how fast it happened.

Yu Qingze also nodded helplessly and said, “Yes, I don’t know who it is. The news spread quickly.”

Chang Le sighed as well and consoled him, saying, “Then let’s wait a little longer and see.”

Yu Qingze nodded and said, “We can only do that.”

He looked at Chang Le while thinking.

Chang Le’s bangs had grown longer lately. Unlike when he first got them cut and you could still see traces of the haircut, now they looked more natural and even better. Moreover, Chang Le had become more outgoing and confident. The gentle and warm expression on his face, coupled with his bright and radiant eyes, often left Yu Qingze mesmerized.

My Chang Le, becoming more charming by the day. Yu Qingze thought proudly.

He reached out and brushed Chang Le’s cheek, then gently tousled his bangs, sighing with regret, “It’s such a pity about that place. I wish we could find a good location soon and start earning more money.”

Chang Le comforted him, gesturing, “No need to rush, take it slowly.”

Yu Qingze sighed and leaned close to Chang Le’s ear, whispering softly, “But Chang Le, I’m really anxious. I want to marry you soon.”

Chang Le’s eyes flickered, and he blushed slightly, not knowing how to respond. He couldn’t just tell Yu Qingze directly, “I also want to marry you soon!” Although that’s what he thought in his heart, he felt too shy to say it outright.

After thinking for a moment, his face still red, Chang Le gestured, “It doesn’t matter if we don’t have a house. Neither I nor my grandfather care about that.”

That was already quite bold and obvious! It was almost the same as saying, “I don’t mind not having a house, we can get married soon!”

Yu Qingze felt as if something had struck his heart, a tingling sensation. He really wanted to hug Chang Le, but there were too many people around, and Chang Le was shy. If he hugged him, Chang Le would probably get flustered.

So he simply held Chang Le’s hand and said earnestly, “I know you and Grandpa don’t mind, but I don’t want to make you feel deprived. I want you to marry me in style, in front of the whole village!”

He wanted Chang Le to no longer be someone others pitied and overlooked, but rather someone everyone in the village envied!

Upon hearing these words, Chang Le’s heart raced like a beating drum. His eyes were filled with intensity, feeling that at this moment, Yu Qingze was exceptionally tall and made his heart flutter.

“Half a year, Chang Le, wait for me for half a year, okay?” Yu Qingze asked softly, his hand gently caressing Chang Le’s captivating eyes, longing to kiss him.

Chang Le nodded firmly. Half a year, one year, two years, it didn’t matter. After all, he had already chosen Yu Qingze for the rest of his life.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

“Brother Yu!”

At that moment, Boss Liu saw Yu Qingze returning from afar and approached to ask about the situation.

As soon as Chang Le heard Boss Liu’s voice, he quickly pulled his hand away and grabbed an empty bucket nearby, running to the back of Boss Li’s shop to fetch water.

Yu Qingze:…

“Oh, am I interrupting you? Sorry about that,” Boss Liu walked to the back and happened to see Chang Le pulling his hand away. A hint of embarrassment flashed across his usually serious face, and he immediately turned away, saying, “I, I’ll come back to find you later.”

Yu Qingze:…

“Hey, it’s fine, no worries,” Yu Qingze caught up to Boss Liu in a few steps and asked, “Are you here to ask about the shop?”

Boss Liu nodded, saying, “Yes.” Then he discreetly glanced back at Chang Le and said, “Or should I come back later? It’s not urgent anyway.”

“…,” Yu Qingze touched his nose and helplessly said, “It’s okay, I just mentioned the matter to Brother Le.”

Chang Le had already left, and the atmosphere was completely ruined. What’s the point of coming back later?

Boss Liu looked embarrassed and said, “I’m sorry, it’s my fault for not noticing.”

Yu Qingze sighed and said, “It’s okay. Brother, the shop has already been rented out. I was too late, it was rented out yesterday afternoon.”

“What? So fast?” Boss Liu asked in surprise.

Yu Qingze nodded, feeling regretful as he said, “I don’t know who took it, but they acted quickly.”

Boss Liu sighed as well and reassured him, “It’s alright, I’ll keep an eye out for you and let you know if there’s any news.”

“Okay, thank you, Brother.”

In the evening, when they closed their stall and returned home, they saw the previous owner of that shop directing people to move things out. It would probably be empty today.

Yu Qingze sighed and pushed the cart back home.

The next afternoon, Steward Zhao came to find Yu Qingze and said he wanted him to go somewhere with him.

“Steward Zhao, where are you taking me?” Yu Qingze asked, puzzled.

Steward Zhao smiled and said, “Just come with me, I promise it’s a good thing.”

Yu Qingze nodded and looked at Steward Zhao, asking, “Are you going to introduce a business opportunity to me?”

Steward Zhao chuckled and said, “There’s also a business opportunity. In a few days, the mansion will have esteemed guests visiting. Our master wants to host a garden party, and we’ll need you to make some pastries for the occasion.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingze agreed, “Sure, no problem. Just let us know two days in advance.”

As they walked and talked, they arrived at a shop, where Steward Zhao stopped.

Yu Qingze looked up and realized that it was the same shop that was emptied yesterday. Why did Steward Zhao bring him here?

Just as he was about to ask, he saw Steward Zhao walk to the entrance of the shop, take out a key from his pocket, and open the door.

Yu Qingze:…

“Steward Zhao, did the Zhao Family rent this shop?” Yu Qingze asked.

Steward Zhao nodded and said, “Yes. Come in and take a look.”

Yu Qingze didn’t know what to say for a moment and walked into the shop in a daze.

The interior was empty, with only a cash register counter standing lonely in the corner. Without tables and chairs, the shop appeared larger than it actually was.

Steward Zhao stood in the middle and asked, “What do you think of this shop?”

Yu Qingze nodded awkwardly and said, “It’s very nice. I heard yesterday that Boss of Man Tang Xiang was quitting, so I hurried over to take a look, but it had already been rented out.”

Upon hearing this, Steward Zhao was momentarily stunned and asked, “You came to see it yesterday?”

Yu Qingze nodded and said, “Yes. The layout of this shop is good, quite nice. There’s a water well, a storage room, and a small rest area at the back. It’s pretty good. Oh, Steward Zhao, what kind of business are you planning to do here?”

Steward Zhao chuckled and said, “We’re not doing any business.”

Yu Qingze looked puzzled and asked, “Then why did you rent it?”

Steward Zhao walked over and handed the key to Yu Qingze, saying, “We’re not doing any business here, but you are.”

Yu Qingze:…? Does that mean it’s for him?

Steward Zhao explained, “This shop was instructed to be rented to you by Master Zhao. It’s a gesture of gratitude for your assistance during the birthday banquet.”

Just as he suspected!

Yu Qingze’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, and then he widened his eyes, pointing at himself, displaying utter astonishment. He said, “Rented to me?”

The Zhao Family really knows how to repay a favor…

Steward Zhao nodded and affirmed, “Rented to you. We’ve already paid three months’ rent. The rest is up to you.”

Yu Qingze was momentarily stunned, then shook his hand and said, “Steward Zhao, I’ve mentioned it before. That day was just a coincidence, and besides, you have already paid for the birthday peach buns. This gesture of gratitude is too valuable, I can’t accept it.”

Steward Zhao smiled and said, “Boss Yu, you don’t have to be polite. You were just looking for a shop, weren’t you? If you don’t accept it, we don’t know what to do with this shop either. Moreover, this shop belongs to a branch of the Zhao family. On that day, the head of the branch happened to be visiting the main family, and I overheard him saying that a shop here was vacant. I mentioned it to our master, and he requested the shop from the head of the branch. It wasn’t much trouble at all, so just accept it.”

“Well, this is…,” Yu Qingze hesitated.

“It’s not like we’re giving it to you for free. You’ll still have to pay rent. It will be nine taels of silver per month.”

Naturally, Yu Qingze really wanted it in his heart, but accepting it outright didn’t feel right. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Steward Zhao, how about this? I’ll repay you for the three months’ rent in advance.”

Steward Zhao immediately waved his hand and said, “That won’t do. The old master said it’s for you, and if you give it back, he’ll be angry. Just accept it, so I can report it as done.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingze had no choice but to accept the key and said, “Alright then. I’ll thank the old master for this.”

Steward Zhao saw him accept the key and smiled, saying, “That’s the way to go.”

“Steward Zhao, thank you too,” Yu Qingze sincerely expressed his gratitude.

Steward Zhao waved his hand and said, “No need to be polite. Last time, you helped me in a way too. Otherwise, if the birthday banquet had gone wrong, I wouldn’t have felt good either.”

Yu Qingze smiled and said, “It was just a coincidence.”

Steward Zhao laughed heartily, appreciating Yu Qingze’s character. Then he took out the lease agreement from his pocket and handed it to Yu Qingze, saying, “This is the lease agreement. It starts from yesterday, and the monthly rent will be nine taels of silver. If you continue to operate afterward, you can renew the contract, and the rent can be negotiated at that time. But don’t worry, at most, it will be based on the market price. He won’t overcharge you.”

Yu Qingze accepted the lease agreement, nodded, and thanked him, saying, “Alright. Many thanks to Steward Zhao. Please also thank the Old Master Zhao for me.”

“Alright, I will convey your gratitude,” Steward Zhao readily agreed.

The two of them chatted about the shop for a while and then bid farewell.

With that, the matter of the shop was settled.

Returning to the stall, Yu Qingze shared the good news with Chang Le and the others.

They were all very happy, especially Chang Le, who kept smiling. With the shop secured, the day of his marriage with Big Brother Yu was one step closer!

In the evening, Yu Qingze personally cooked a delicious meal to celebrate the successful rental of the shop.

The next day, Yu Qingze specially brought a few boxes of pastries to express his gratitude to the Zhao family.

Afterwards, he took the key and went to the shop to have a good look around.

Originally, he planned to rent a small shop and sell cold noodles, Liangpi, Guangdong hot pot, and teppanyaki, gradually teaching Chang Le and the others how to cook stir-fried dishes and eventually open a small restaurant.

However, now that the shop turned out to be much bigger than expected, it would be a waste to stick to the original plan. But if he opened a small restaurant, Chang Le’s cooking skills wouldn’t be sufficient to handle everything. It would be impossible for him to handle all the cooking alone.

How should he arrange things? What should he do?

He walked back and forth in the shop, going through the hall, kitchen, backyard, lounge, and storage room multiple times. Suddenly, a bright idea flashed in his mind!

Yes, that’s it!

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar: What is it? What’s the plan? Fine dining? Buffet?

The arrival of winter has made many people’s lives difficult.

With the withering of plants and the cold weather, people need more food to maintain their energy and body temperature, but the source of food is becoming increasingly scarce.

The competition outside the base has become more intense, and of course, there are people who covet the base. However, within the current scope of S City base, no force can shake the base, and with the army stationed there, their weapons are far superior to scattered militias. Moreover, S city Base has basically formed a self-sufficient chain.

However, after the incident involving the young boys, the army was indeed alerted. There are still many refugees in S City, and if they are all banished outside, they will inevitably pose a threat to the base. It is better to organize some of them to be incorporated.

Around the time when the chicken coop was completed and the second batch of chicks hatched, the army issued a new decree: to expand the quota for population recruitment and expand the scope of the base.

New planning drawings are being rushed, but Ji Cha knows that after the expansion, the place where they are now will become the inner city of S city Base in the future, and it will be the most prosperous and safest place.

So he is very happy with this decision.

Although the army does not encourage residents to leave the base, it is not prohibited either. After all, in the current environment, there are always people willing to try their luck outside. There are also many vendors active in the black market, many of whom are willing to form their own teams to leave the base and take risks. Although this is a life-threatening situation, the gains are often objective.

In this regard, the management of the base is strict on the surface, but as long as an adult wants to leave the base, after registering the departure time and identity information, they will be allowed to leave.

Ji Cha has never been to the black market, and although he occasionally thinks of going to see it, he has never had the time.

When the time quickly approaches January, the weather becomes even colder. Going out is almost torture. The cold and dampness of southern cities in the first winter after the apocalypse is even more apparent.

To prevent people from freezing to death due to the cold, the army has set up some public coal heating points, with chimneys burning many places warm and cozy. However, this is also the extreme that can be achieved under the current scarce resources.

Ji Cha no longer needs to go to the recruitment point every day to announce the recruitment information. He can now publish the information through his computer connected to the internet. However, sometimes he still needs to personally go to the recruitment point to select the final candidates.

On this day, after finishing the recruitment, Ji Cha rode his electric scooter home. While passing by the black market, he unexpectedly found it very lively inside. This made him curious, so he stopped his scooter and walked over to take a look at the black market for the first time.

The black market was set up in a maze of old rural houses, with stalls distributed at a distance from each other. Each stall was manned by more than one person to prevent uncontrollable situations such as riots and looting.

There were all kinds of things sold in the black market, some of which were limited items sold in military supermarkets, but could be bought here without limit at a higher price. There were also some things that the military didn’t sell, such as small appliances, toys, precious resources and even medicines.

Ji Cha walked around and even found some potatoes and vegetables that had flowed out from his own farm. Due to the winter season, they could be stored for a longer time, and some workers might have bought them in the black market in exchange for more food.

After looking around, Ji Cha planned to leave, but at this moment, he suddenly heard a small cry in a secluded corner.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

He turned his head and saw a skinny little girl about twelve or thirteen years old being pulled by a tall man to one side.

There were hardly any women in the black market, let alone a little girl like her. Ji Cha instinctively felt that something was wrong. He took two steps forward but didn’t act rashly. Instead, he carefully observed the situation there.

In troubled times, women’s status often tends to decline, and this is even more evident in the end times. Compared to the relatively better situation in the base, where there is still supervision and people who can eat their fill are not willing to exchange their women for anything, the women in the base can also find a job to support themselves and avoid falling to that level.

“Come with me, you won’t go hungry in the future.” The middle-aged man grabbed the little girl, but his expression was not that of an elder’s kindness.

On the contrary… Ji Cha felt that it was a man’s desire towards a woman. This made him feel disgusted.

The vendor then spoke harshly to the little girl, “If you don’t behave, there won’t be any record of your identity in the base. If I decide to kill you, no one will know.”

After being threatened, the little girl immediately stopped talking.

Ji Cha couldn’t bear to watch this anymore, so he stepped forward to stop the middle-aged man who was about to take the little girl away. He said to the vendor, “Human trafficking is against the management of the base, you can’t do this.”

Immediately, people around him gathered, staring at Ji Cha with hostility, “Who are you?”

These people were obviously a group protecting each other. Ji Cha didn’t know how many such deals they had done. The military didn’t have much knowledge about the black market’s activities. Perhaps they thought it was just a market that sold various small products. Or what Ji Cha didn’t dare to think deeply about was that the military might know of such things but didn’t take much action to control it.

“I am in charge of the processing plant,” Ji Cha frowned. This identity was well-known in the base, but it was not certain if people could match him with his identity.

The processing plant had a high status in the base, and the farm was also connected to it. Most people knew that it was a lucrative job.

As expected, when Ji Cha finished speaking, those who were eager to take the girl away immediately backed off a bit, but not very pleased, one of them said to Ji Cha, “We are doing business here. What does it have to do with you? If you know what’s good for you, don’t get in our way.”

Ji Cha wanted to say something more, but suddenly someone in the crowd reached out and pulled him back. He turned around and saw that it was a man who had worked for him for a few days. He whispered to Ji Cha, “Xiao Ji, don’t act tough. These people have done things like killing and arson.”

In the blink of an eye, the little girl had been forcefully taken away by someone, and she didn’t even cry at this point.

This made Ji Cha feel uneasy. Even after experiencing ten years in the apocalypse, he still couldn’t bear to see such things happen directly in front of him. Moreover, he still felt that he should be able to change some of the behaviors that he was powerless to change before.

“These girls were all abducted from outside and hidden in the car and brought back. The military seems to be unaware of this, and even if they know, they don’t really care. After all, identity verification isn’t checked every day. After they are bought, they won’t be registered, because once registered, they can find work to support themselves, and they won’t be controlled anymore.”

The man told Ji Cha some information he knew.

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Thandar: omg scummmmmm

The Shop

Jiabao’s home was located at the innermost part of the alley. They bypassed a front yard and entered through a small side door.

Inside, there was a narrow courtyard, roughly seven to eight square meters in size. There were two rooms: one served as the kitchen, and the other had two beds made of bricks, separated by a curtain in the middle.

Taking a look, Yu Qingze noticed that the position of this house in the courtyard was different from the other houses in the alley. It seemed more like an original west wing or a shed. He also observed the wall in front of the house, which was only about two meters away from the entrance. Yu Qingze thought that it was probably a partition within the courtyard.

Jiabao took out a long bench from the room, wiped it clean, and arranged it somewhat awkwardly. He said, “Boss Yu, Brother Le, please have a seat. The house is small, so it’s more spacious here. Let me pour some water for you.”

Yu Qingze stopped him and said, “No need to pour water. We’re just a bit concerned that those ruffians might cause trouble for you. We should head back now. Take care of yourself, and if the ruffians come, don’t open the door, alright?”

Jiabao nodded and replied, “I understand. Thank you for escorting me home.”

Yu Qingze patted his shoulder and, together with Chang Le, headed back.

The next day, after closing their stalls, Yu Qingze and Chang Le accompanied Jiabao home and brought him some vegetables from their food stall.

Seeing the young boy buying steamed buns yesterday, they guessed that he probably ate steamed buns every night and saved the money to repay his debts. They pretended not to know and gave him ten wen every day, acting as if he was eating well.

Sigh, this child…

As they reached the alley where the ruffians had confronted Jiabao yesterday, they unexpectedly encountered those two ruffians again.

The two ruffians glared at Jiabao fiercely when they saw Yu Qingze and Chang Le with him. They then walked away leisurely.

Yu Qingze frowned, realizing that these two individuals hadn’t been properly educated by their parents.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

On the third day, they ran into those two individuals again.

By the fourth day, things took a turn. This time, it wasn’t just two people; it was four.

The more aggressive ruffian spotted them turning the corner and said to one of the other two people walking ahead of them, “Big brother, it’s them!”

“Oh? Is that so? I’d like to see who dared to hit my good brother! They’re asking for trouble!” The two individuals turned around, both appearing to be in their twenties. One of them had a piece of straw in his mouth, exuding a thuggish aura.

Upon seeing the two individuals, Yu Qingze and Chang Le were slightly taken aback, feeling a sense of familiarity.

Chang Le recognized them first and gestured, “Big brother Yu, these two are the ones who robbed us before!”

Now Yu Qingze also recognized them. He narrowed his eyes, pulled Brother Le and Jiabao behind him, and picked up a large stone from the ground, preparing for a fight.

Chang Le tightened his grip on his pole, ready as well. These past few days, just to be safe, he had been carrying his pole when accompanying Jiabao.

On the other side, the two accomplices the ruffians brought along were also taken aback upon realizing it was Yu Qingze and the others.

One of the accomplices said to the person next to him, “Hey, isn’t this the person the boss mentioned before, the one who has a good relationship with the Cai Family? The one we robbed before?”

The “big brother” nodded, spat out the straw from his mouth, and said, “Yeah. Damn, why are we so unlucky to run into them?” He had wanted to show off in front of the new recruits, but now that he encountered this person, how could he boast? He could only retreat in disgrace!

The other person asked, “So, should we still go?”

The “big brother” smacked him on the head angrily and said, “Go? You go if you want to! The boss already said he’s connected to the Cai Family. If we encounter them in the future, we better steer clear; otherwise, we’ll end up empty-handed!”

“Then?”

“Let’s go!”

They were about to leave when the two individuals stopped them. These two young ruffians, who had recently joined the gang at the age of seventeen or eighteen, quickly intercepted them and asked, “Big brother, didn’t you say we should teach these guys a lesson? Why are we leaving just like that?”

The “big brother” scolded them, “How the hell did you guys provoke them?! Don’t you know who that tall man is?”

The two ruffians were dumbfounded. “Who? Isn’t he just a guy running a food stall?”

The “big brother” curled his index and middle fingers, tapping each of their heads with a knock, and said, “He’s the benefactor of the Cai Family in the southern part of the city. If you dare lay a finger on him, you’ll end up rotting in jail!”

Saying that, the accomplices brought by the two ruffians left. As they passed by Yu Qingze and the others, they even smiled ingratiatingly at Yu Qingze and said, “Hehehe, it was a misunderstanding, mistook the wrong person, hahaha…”

Yu Qingze and Chang Le: …

“Halt!”

“What, what’s the matter?”

“Let’s settle the score!”

Just now, Yu Qingze had heard their entire conversation clearly. He didn’t expect these small-time ruffians to be so well-informed. This was truly great!

Saying that, Yu Qingze dropped the stone from his hand and rushed forward, giving those two individuals a good beating.

Those two individuals were nervous and didn’t dare fight back against Yu Qingze. They were no match for him in the first place, so they could only passively endure the beating. In the end, they were unilaterally pummeled before rolling away in pain and humiliation.

The two ruffians who had brought the hired help were stunned by their cowardice. Then they saw Yu Qingze approaching them, and in a hurry, they quickly turned tail and fled.

The two ruffians never expected that the owner of the food stall had quite a powerful background and was not to be messed with. What’s more surprising to them was that Tian Jiabao, this little guy, actually knew him!

Damn it!

They couldn’t exact revenge for the beating they received from their family!

Jiabao still hadn’t figured out what was going on when he saw four people approaching to corner them, but they were quickly driven away by Boss Yu.

Admiration sparkled in his eyes.

Boss Yu is so amazing!

In the following days, when they accompanied Jiabao home, they didn’t encounter those two ruffians again.

On the other hand, during these days, apart from Jiabao’s situation, Yu Qingze had another worry—he couldn’t find a shop space.

He would wander around in the morning and wander around again in the afternoon, but there were no vacant shop spaces on North Street.

He even went to South Street to have a look, and there was a shop space that was barely suitable, but it was clearly not as good as North Street, so he didn’t consider it and decided to wait a little longer.

However, during these days, quite a few guests who received gifts at Zhao Mansion’s old master’s birthday banquet came to the food stall and placed orders for some snacks. It was an additional gain for him.

One afternoon, he went out again and saw that a previously vacant shop space was now being filled with goods. It seemed like someone was going to start a fabric business there.

With this shop space rented out, there was only one vacant shop space left on North Street.

Yu Qingze felt a bit anxious.

“Oh, Boss Yu? What a coincidence to meet you here.”

Yu Qingze turned his head and saw Zhao’s steward walking over with one of his subordinates carrying many things.

“Oh, Steward Zhao, what a coincidence. Are you out shopping?”

Steward Zhao smiled and said, “Hey, isn’t it Boss Yu! And Yes, we’re buying a few stuff for the mansion. What are you up to?”

Yu Qingze sighed and said, “I came to check out the shop spaces, but I haven’t found a good one.”

Following Yu Qingze’s gaze, Steward Zhao asked, “Boss Yu, are you looking to rent a shop?”

Yu Qingze shook his head and replied, “I don’t have enough money to buy a shop now. I want to open a restaurant, but there are no suitable options here. The only two available shops have already been rented out.”

Steward Zhao glanced at the shops and said, “It’s not easy to find a shop here.”

“You’re right,” Yu Qingze sighed.

“But isn’t there one more?” Steward Zhao asked.

Yu Qingze shook his head and answered, “That one isn’t suitable either. It’s similar to this one, long and narrow, not suitable for a restaurant. I’ll have to keep looking.”

Steward Zhao then asked, “What kind of shop are you looking for, Boss Yu?”

Yu Qingze replied, “I want one with good lighting, a somewhat square shape, not too big. It should be able to accommodate around fourteen or fifteen tables. It’s really difficult to find.”

Steward Zhao smiled and said, “This is North Street, of course it’s difficult. Have you ever thought about opening on South Street?”

Yu Qingze shook his head and said, “The foot traffic there isn’t as high, and besides, North Street is close to the wharf, attracting more merchants and customers. With my food stall, I don’t earn much per item. I mainly rely on a high customer flow to make some sales, otherwise, I won’t earn much money.”

Steward Zhao nodded thoughtfully and said, “Then you’ll have to wait for now.”

Yu Qingze helplessly replied, “Yes.”

They chatted for a few more moments before parting ways.

Two days later.

On this day, Boss Liu was waiting at the door early in the morning. When he saw Yu Qingze and his group arrive, he quickly went over and whispered to Yu Qingze, “Brother Yu, I heard that Man Tang Xiang Restaurant is closing down. They’re planning to shut their doors in a couple of days. Do you want to take a look? The shop space there is quite good, just a bit bigger than mine, I reckon.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingze immediately became energized and hurriedly asked, “Really? Man Tang Xiang, is it the one next to Wang’s Noodle House, next door to next door?”

Boss Liu nodded and said, “That’s the one. If you’re interested, go and take a look. Don’t let someone else snatch it away if you’re too late.”

“Great, great, great! I’ll go right now. Thanks, Brother!” Yu Qingze happily parked his cart in place and quickly informed Brother Le and the others before rushing over to Man Tang Xiang Restaurant.

Man Tang Xiang Restaurant hadn’t opened for business yet, but they had one door open for people to enter and exit.

“Is anyone here?” Yu Qingze knocked on the door from outside.

“Hey, coming! Who is it? Come in, I’m in the kitchen!” A voice from inside responded loudly.

Yu Qingze entered the restaurant and casually looked around the dining area. It was about the same size as Liu’s place. However, at this hour, there weren’t many people inside. All the chairs in the dining area were still flipped upside down on the tables. It seemed like they were truly closing down.

He then proceeded to the kitchen and saw only two people in there, packing up – the kitchen utensils?

“Do you need something?” a middle-aged man looked up and asked.

Yu Qingze snapped back to reality and quickly asked, “Excuse me, is the owner here?”

The middle-aged man replied, “That’s me. Do you have any business with me?”

Yu Qingze responded, “Oh, hello, boss. My surname is Yu, and I sell snacks over there. Are you planning to close down?”

The middle-aged man glanced at Yu Qingze and said, “Oh, I know you, Boss Yu. Yes, we’re not operating anymore. We’re actually in the process of packing up.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingze felt delighted and asked, “Then, boss, do you know if someone will be renting this place next? Or could you recommend me to the landlord? I would like to discuss renting this space.”

The middle-aged man asked, “You want to rent the place?”

Yu Qingze nodded and said, “Yes.”

The middle-aged man sighed and said, “It’s too late. Someone has already rented it.”

“What? But didn’t you just decide to close down?” Yu Qingze exclaimed in surprise.

The middle-aged man nodded and said, “Yes. I informed the landlord just yesterday morning, and in the afternoon, someone came to view the place.”

Yu Qingze:!

He hurriedly asked, “Do you know if they have already paid and signed the contract?”

The middle-aged man nodded and said, “They signed on the spot and even paid three months’ rent in advance.”

Yu Qingze:…

“…Boss, thank you anyway,” Yu Qingze said with a dejected tone as he left the premises.

Sigh, he was a step too late.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar: Hmmmmm I have a feeling!!!

The first thing Ji Cha did when he got up early in the morning was to run downstairs and find the leftover crayfish from yesterday in the fridge. After heating it up a little, he pinched one and ate it.

When he lightly twisted the head and tail of the crayfish, the juicy meat was revealed. Heating it up did not affect the texture of the meat at all, and Ji Cha’s teeth could feel the springiness of the meat.

Perhaps it had been ten years since Ji Cha last ate crayfish, so he thought the taste of the meat was surprisingly good.

His grandmother walked in from outside and saw Ji Cha eating crayfish early in the morning. She said he was gluttonous and brought out breakfast, “Eat this, don’t eat crayfish. It’s oily and greasy.”

Ji Cha followed her advice and ate two bowls of porridge. Just as he was about to ride his electric scooter out, the boys he met outside while catching crayfish appeared at the factory gate. They looked a little confused at first, but as soon as they spotted Ji Cha, their eyes lit up and they came over to talk to him, “Have you eaten that crayfish? We ate it on the day we brought it back…”

They seemed afraid that Ji Cha would blame them and quickly added, “We didn’t bring back much food that day and were a bit hungry. But fortunately, there was no problem with the crayfish meat. We plan to go out and catch some more later. Do you want some? We can bring it for you.”

Ji Cha didn’t have time to go out and deal with this today, and their offer was tempting, but he didn’t want to trouble them for nothing.

“You haven’t had breakfast, have you? Wait for me here for a while.”

Ji Cha went back to his room and took out four steamed buns from the steamer, which were still warm. He handed them over and said, “Fill your stomachs first.”

Two boys didn’t hesitate and immediately took the steamed buns and ate them hungrily. One of them even put a steamed bun in his pocket, saying that he wanted to bring it back to his sister.

The boys left, saying that they would be back around noon, but Ji Cha didn’t think too much of it. He spent the day supervising the farming area and checking on the construction of the chicken coop, everything going smoothly.

Unexpectedly, something happened in the evening.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

The two boys who were supposed to be back at noon had not returned even when it was almost dark outside. Ji Cha suddenly remembered and was startled. He stood up to go out, ready to search for them.

Liang Jincheng grabbed his hand. “Where are you going?”

“There were two kids who said they’d be back at noon, but they haven’t returned yet.” Ji Cha frowned. He had a feeling that something had happened to them. “I have to go out and look for them.”

Since it was not completely dark outside, and the place they were going to was not far from the base, the danger was relatively small.

The world outside was in a state of chaos, and there were all kinds of people with ulterior motives. Ji Cha didn’t want to think about the worst, but he couldn’t help but think about it. Although the boys seemed to have some experience, they were still relatively innocent.

After hearing the whole story, Liang Jincheng stood up too. “I’ll contact the military.”

“Will they help?” Ji Cha hesitated, because the military strictly forbade anyone from leaving without reporting it.

“Let’s go and see.”

The two quickly found Zhao Tiankuo, who took the matter seriously and immediately said, “I’ll inform the higher-ups and send people out to look for them.”

He saw the surprise on Ji Cha’s face and continued, “Everyone in our base is registered with a status and they are all our people. We cannot lose anyone.”

Without Liang Jincheng saying anything, the army also dispatched a six-person team to search for the missing kids. Ji Cha originally wanted to go with them, but Liang Jincheng didn’t allow him to go. Besides, Ji Cha knew his own weaknesses and realized that he would most likely only cause trouble for Liang Jincheng if he went out, so he didn’t insist and instead found the residential addresses of two of the missing teenagers in the system.

The address showed that five children lived together, four teenagers and a girl around ten years old who was probably the sister of the teenager from earlier that morning.

When Ji Cha arrived, the three of them were planning to venture out to find someone but were stopped by Ji Cha.

“The army has already gone out to look for them, and there should be results soon.” He brought some food with him, enough to feed the teenagers for a meal.

“You should make some food first. They might come back to eat when they’re found.”

His words were obviously meant to comfort them, but they still had a reassuring effect on the three children since there was an adult present. The little girl thanked Ji Cha for bringing the food and went to start a fire and cook.

The house they lived in was an old one, and they used a stove inside. This was actually more convenient since those who were assigned to modern houses didn’t have access to natural gas anyway.

The little girl was skilled at cooking and quickly put the rice in the pot to cook. She then carefully washed the bean sprouts and potatoes that Ji Cha brought and stopped working, sitting on a bench with the other two teenagers to wait.

Ji Cha couldn’t bear to leave and waited with them.

They waited until midnight, and the little girl silently wiped away tears. The other two teenagers also had red eyes. When Ji Cha stood up, not knowing what comforting words he could say at this point, the sound of a car engine suddenly came from a distance.

The four of them looked at each other and immediately stood up, quickly running outside.

To Ji Cha’s surprise, the two teenagers who went out didn’t have any major injuries, despite their disheveled appearance. They both had a look of relief on their faces.

While the teenagers were catching their breath, Ji Cha learned from Liang Jincheng, who was driving, what had happened. It turned out that some outsiders had come to the base, and they had been coveting the resources here for a long time. They had just happened to run into the two teenagers when they were exploring the area.

Five or six people had chased and tried to capture the teenagers, but they were familiar with the terrain and managed to evade them until the afternoon. Fortunately, the outsiders did not have firearms, so the teenagers were unharmed.

Just when the teenagers were feeling hopeless, the people from the base happened to go out to search for them. Liang Jincheng’s team ran into the outsiders who were searching for the teenagers, and a fight broke out. In the end, four of the outsiders were killed and two were captured alive, with some minor injuries on the base’s side. The two captured outsiders were brought back for interrogation to find out more about their situation, how many people they had, and whether the base was in danger.

“Thank you so much.” When Ji Cha was about to leave, the disheveled teenager caught up with him and took out a large bag of crayfish from behind, looking a bit embarrassed. “We caught a lot of them on the way back.”

They had brought all the rewards they had risked their lives to get back to Ji Cha. The teenagers had also learned from the military that Ji Cha had remembered them, and that was how the military found out about what had happened. They were also very grateful that they had mentioned going to Ji Cha’s place before they went out, or they might not have made it back alive today.

Ji Cha took the bag and poured half of the crayfish into the bag he had left in the car, then gave the rest back to the teenagers. “Remember to go to the medical station later to check your injuries.”

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Thandar: I feel so sad for these kids … damn apocalypse!!!

For Ji Cha, crayfish is something from a distant past. The last time he ate it was probably more than a decade ago, when he and Wang Qin hanged out at a night market stall.

But despite the long time that has passed, the refreshing taste of crayfish in the summer is still fresh in Ji Cha’s memory. When he heard that there were crayfish ahead, it piqued his curiosity. He not only wanted to explore the possibility of eating it, but also wanted to see if this creature, which was not particularly gentle before the apocalypse, would undergo any more ferocious changes in the post-apocalyptic world.

Imaginations of the two large claws becoming even larger, able to crush a person’s hand, and the like kept wandering through Ji Cha’s mind. This made him stunned when he arrived at the destination.

Well, crayfish had hardly undergone any physical changes, at least it was exactly the same as Ji Cha remembered.

But…

Ji Cha stared in amazement at the crayfish in the pond. Aren’t there way too many? They were so numerous that there was almost no grass growing around the pond. The crayfish were crawling all over the ground, almost eating up all the green vegetation on the surface.

When Ji Cha was a child, he used to fish for crayfish with his childhood playmates. He vaguely remembered that there were people breeding crayfish here, but he didn’t know that crayfish could grow so tenacious and strong after leaving the human breeding environment. They could almost survive by eating dirt.

Liang Jincheng squatted on the side and observed the crayfish for a while, then picked one up.

“Hey,” Ji Cha was about to warn him to be careful, but Liang Jincheng quickly dismantled the crayfish, and with a turn of his hand, the white, shiny flesh inside was revealed, which was very tempting.

Ji Cha seemed to recall the fragrant, spicy, and tender taste of the crayfish in the night market. Liang Jincheng smelled the crayfish and immediately gave a positive response, “It’s edible.”

How amazing is the human nose?

Ji Cha looked at Liang Jincheng with some skepticism, but immediately felt happy inside.

There were so many crayfish in the pond that it was unclear how many pounds there were. Just by looking at those on the shore, they didn’t know how many meals they could have.

Two young boys followed behind Ji Cha and were also happy to hear that they could eat the crayfish. “Can we take some back to eat?”

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Ji Cha turned his head, “Of course, you can take some if you want. These crayfish are not mine, but I can’t guarantee the safety issues behind it.”

He had originally come to catch fish today and had brought several snake skin bags with him. Now, he took out one bag and filled it with about five pounds of crayfish.

The boys looked uneasy because they hadn’t brought anything to carry the crayfish with.

Ji Cha stopped them from taking off their clothes to carry the crayfish. Jokingly, with this weather, they would freeze to death. “I’ll take some more back, and you can come to the processing plant at the base to pick it up later.”

The boys visibly breathed a sigh of relief and thanked Ji Cha repeatedly.

In the end, they brought back three fish and eight pounds of crayfish. They gave three pounds to the boys at the factory entrance and reminded them to wait a day before eating it. “If you come back here tomorrow, I can tell you if it’s poisonous.” Ji Cha said.

He certainly wouldn’t risk eating the crayfish immediately. After all, Liang Jincheng was not a virus detector. He planned to pick a little chick to test the poison first before deciding whether it was safe to eat.

So the crayfish had to be kept alive during the night.

Thinking of the crayfish’s starving state during the day, Ji Cha fetched some green grass from the chicken-raising area for them to eat.

The green grass was grown in a small greenhouse by himself, and Ji Cha occasionally let the chicks roam there naturally, which was considered a small part of free-range farming.

The next morning, Ji Cha walked over to the bucket, yawning, to see if the crayfish were still alive. But once again, the crayfish overturned his beliefs.

Not only did none of the crayfish die, but they also ate all the green grass by the bucket and many of them even wanted to escape. If the bucket wasn’t too high, they might have successfully escaped.

He had never seen such a rough form of aquaculture, where the crayfish could be raised so plump and healthy.

“Can we eat them?” Xiao Chao, holding a steamed bun, walked over from behind and wobbled in front of Ji Cha to take a look.

He is small and wrapped in winter clothes like a round little ball, looking cute.

Ji Cha rubbed his head and said, “It should work, but I still need to try.”

Ji Cha took out two small crayfish, dissected and crushed them, and then fed the pieces to two separate chicks, letting them eat.

Ji Cha went to check in the evening; the chicks had not had any problems and were still lively and energetic. When they saw Ji Cha, they even chirped and asked him for food.

Ji Cha was still not completely at ease, and it wasn’t until the next morning when he saw the chicks were still fine that he felt relieved and planned to eat the crayfish that night. Luckily, there were still plenty of spices in the house.

After hearing about the crayfish, Zhang Qinqin volunteered to be the chef. She had already cooked the spicy grilled fish the night before, and even Xiao Chao had eaten half a bowl of rice more than usual.

When they heard that there were crayfish to eat tonight, even Wang Qinxue laughed and poked Ji Cha’s chest with his elbow, “Hey, do you remember when we had skewers together in the middle of the night? The barbecue near Xiaonanmen was pretty good, right?”

“Yeah, it was pretty good.” Ji Cha also laughed.

Liang Jincheng sat on the sofa on the side, looking as if he was watching TV with Grandma Ji.

Now, Grandma Ji liked Liang Jincheng very much and even said in front of Ji Cha that Liang Jincheng was her second grandson. This was thanks to Liang Jincheng’s sweet talk and good manners, which he showed every day. Even in front of Zhang Qinqin, Ji Cha’s cousin, he was gentle and warm. He knew how to flatter people.

Grandma Ji and Zhang Qinqin were both very happy about this and seemed not to have realized the principle of “flattery without any intentions is tantamount to deceit.”

Wang Qinxue reminisced about the past and kept talking, “Do you remember when you liked the girl in the next class? Hahaha, she got a boyfriend before you could confess. We went out at night to comfort you, the heartbroken person.”

He was speaking entirely in jest, and the other people in the room couldn’t help but smile or laugh along with him. Only Liang Jincheng turned his head to look at Ji Cha with an unclear expression and said, “Is that so?”

Ji Cha immediately got goosebumps all over his body.

“Exactly!” Wang Qinxue was oblivious and even laughed as he whispered to Liang Jincheng, “Ji Cha likes long legs and a perky butt.”

“Oh,” Liang Jincheng also laughed, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes. He glanced at Ji Cha and then turned his head as if nothing had happened.

Only that night did Ji Cha know that when Liang Jincheng pinned him to the bed and ate him clean. Then he repeatedly asked, “Are my legs long enough? Is my butt perky enough?”

Ji Cha: “Yes, yes, yes, all your legs are long. Please have mercy.”

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Coming to the Rescue

Seeing the anxious look on the steward’s face, Yu Qingze asked, “Steward Zhao, what’s the matter?”

The others also looked at Steward Zhao with curiosity.

The steward said anxiously, “We have a chef who was supposed to make the Longevity Peach Buns, but he suddenly fainted. His two apprentices, one of whom is experienced, can’t complete the task on their own. I couldn’t find anyone else, so I came to ask for your help, Boss Yu. You see, have you finished making the dim sum? Can you spare some hands to help make the Longevity Peach Buns?”

Upon hearing that the chef responsible for making the Longevity Peach Buns had fainted, everyone was somewhat surprised.

Today was the sixty-sixth birthday celebration of the patriach of the Zhao Mansion, and the Longevity Peach Buns were indispensable and could be considered the most important part of the birthday celebration. Regardless of their taste, they held significant symbolic blessings.

If the birthday feast lacked the Longevity Peach Buns, it would be an incomplete celebration, with a sense of regret.

No wonder Steward Zhao was so anxious.

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingze said, “We just finished making the dough here, and it’s currently being steamed. We do have some available hands. However, it’s almost time for the banquet to begin, and it’s too rushed. How did this happen? Fainting at a time like this?”

Steward Zhao sighed, “Exactly. We can only rely on you to come up with a solution.”

Yu Qingze pondered for a moment and asked, “Is the dim sum served at the end of the birthday feast?”

Steward Zhao nodded, “Yes!”

Yu Qingze said, “Considering that there’s still about three-quarters of an hour to half an hour before it’s time to serve, it’s a bit rushed. However, we’re short on ingredients here, and I assume your Longevity Peach Buns are made differently from how we usually make.”

“The ingredients are available in the kitchen,” Steward Zhao replied. “As for the recipe…” He called a young man from outside the door and said, “Quickly, explain it to Boss Yu.”

The young man then proceeded to explain the recipe.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingze said, “Isn’t that just a regular red bean bun with a red dot on top? How can it be called a peach bun without even resembling a peach? Is this the only recipe you have for the birthday peach buns?”

The young man nodded.

Steward Zhao immediately asked, “Boss Yu, do you have another recipe?”

Yu Qingze replied, “I can make them in the shape of peaches.”

Upon hearing this, Steward Zhao exclaimed, “Ah, peach buns! Peach buns! Let’s follow your recipe then! Can we make it in time?”

“It’s a bit rushed, but we can discuss it on the way. Brother Le, Xiao Hao, you two stay here and make sure not to oversteam them. The rest of you come with me to make the peach buns,” Yu Qingze instructed. After arranging things on this side, he led the others to follow Steward Zhao.

They arrived at another courtyard’s kitchen where there was another person kneading the dough. When the person saw Steward Zhao bringing people over, they stopped and waited for instructions.

“You two, listen to Boss Yu’s instructions. Do as he says,” Steward Zhao immediately told the original chef’s two apprentices.

“Yes, Steward Zhao,” the two apprentices replied.

Yu Qingze looked around and found that all the ingredients were there, and half of the dough had already been kneaded. There was also red dye prepared, but they were lacking green dye for the peach leaves. He quickly said to Steward Zhao, “Steward Zhao, please find some green vegetables, like spinach, completely green. They should be able to produce green juice when squeezed. If not, sweet potato leaves will do.”

“Alright, alright. Anything else?” Steward Zhao asked.

“No, that’s all,” Yu Qingze replied. Steward Zhao immediately instructed someone to prepare it.

Later, Yu Qingze had the two apprentices continue kneading the dough while Brother Chang and Jiabao mixed and made the red bean paste, letting it cool before rolling them into small balls. Then, he taught Brother Chang’s father how to make the peach leaves and showed Brother Chang’s mother how to make the peach buns.

Before long, Steward Zhao returned with a lot of green vegetables. Yu Qingze had them washed thoroughly, and then the leaves were mashed and the juice was filtered and mixed into the dough, turning it into green dough.

Everyone was busy and sweating profusely. Yu Qingze even asked Steward Zhao to slightly extend the intervals between serving the other dishes, trying to delay some time.

Finally, rushing against the clock, they managed to finish making the peach buns at the last moment.

“It’s done!” Yu Qingze lifted the steamer lid, took a look, and said.

Everyone turned their gaze to the steamer, and Chang Le and Chang Hao also came over. The other dim sum dishes had already been successfully served.

Steward Zhao watched anxiously yet expectantly, feeling both worried and hopeful.

Would Boss Yu’s peach buns turn out well?

As the steam dissipated, the true appearance of the peach buns revealed itself.

When everyone saw the peach buns in the steamer, they couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

The top of the peach buns was pink, resembling ripe peaches, fresh and tender. The shallow groove on one side of the peach was vivid, and there were even two peach leaves at the bottom.

These peach buns looked as if they had just been picked from the peach tree early in the morning.

“They really look like peach buns!”

“Wow! They look just like the peaches we eat!”

“They’re just like the real thing!”

“Wow, look, there are even leaves!” It was Chang Hao who had just arrived. Neither he nor his brother had seen the process of making them, so they didn’t know that Yu Qingze had added the leaves.

The two apprentices were also dumbfounded. The peach buns they had made before couldn’t even be called peach buns. These were the true “peach buns”!

Steward Zhao, filled with excitement, kept saying, “Excellent, excellent! Boss Yu, you have made a great achievement!”

Yu Qingze said, “Steward Zhao, quickly have the dishes served.”

Steward Zhao finally realized and hurriedly said, “Yes, yes, quickly, serve the peach buns!”

Yu Qingze said, “Brother Le, Brother Chang, come and help. Place a large one in the center and arrange ten smaller ones around it in a circle, with the tips of the peaches facing the center. Also, Steward Zhao, tell them that the largest one is for the main table, don’t get it wrong.”

Brother Le, Brother Chang, and Yu Qingze started plating the peach buns. Servants carried trays of lifelike peach buns and headed towards the banquet hall.

On the way, they couldn’t help but stare at the peach buns. They had never seen such peach buns before, they were truly beautiful. As they were looking, one servant almost stumbled, but luckily, another person caught them, or else the tray of peach buns would have been lost.

In the banquet hall, everyone was toasting and laughing, creating a lively atmosphere.

“The Longevity Peach buns are served! Wishing Old Master Zhao a long and blessed life, may the pine and cypress remain evergreen!”

With the cry of the serving boy, the servants carrying the Longevity Peach buns entered the hall slowly.

Longevity Peach buns were a common dish at celebratory banquets, and many people didn’t pay much attention. They continued drinking and chatting, unaffected by the servant’s cry.

It wasn’t until the servant placed a plate of Longevity Peach buns that looked like fresh peaches on the table that the guests’ eyes widened.

“What is this? Are there peaches in season now?”

“It’s not peaches, look closely, it’s still steaming hot. Didn’t you hear the serving boy just announce the dish? It’s Longevity Peach buns! Buns!”

“They look too similar! Look at the groove on the peach and the ripe red color, and even the leaves! How alike!”

“Quick, taste it!”

“…”

Immediately, everyone picked up their chopsticks, one person per bun, and the ten small Longevity Peach buns disappeared in an instant, leaving only the large Longevity Peach bun in the center.

In the next moment, someone swiftly picked up the large peach bun with their chopsticks, leaving the rest of the people glaring angrily at the person who ate an extra one!

How could their hands be so fast!

At the main table, seated were prominent figures and representatives of the influential families in Tongshan City.

Old Master Zhao looked at the Longevity Peach buns with great delight. Especially when he saw the surprise on the faces of the other elderly gentlemen, he felt even more proud, considering it a great honor.

This kind of Longevity Peach buns was unique in the entire Tongshan City.

And it was at his birthday banquet! Hahaha!

He beckoned the steward with a smile and asked, “The chef did a great job today, reward him!”

Steward Zhao whispered in Old Master Zhao’s ear, “Old Master, it wasn’t the chef who made them, he fell ill earlier.”

Old Master Zhao asked in surprise, “Then who made them?”

Steward Zhao replied, “It was Yu Qingze, Boss Yu, who brought his own people. He’s the one who specializes in making custom pastries.”

“The one who makes mooncakes?” Old Master Zhao asked.

Steward Zhao nodded, “Yes, him!”

Seeing Steward Zhao’s confirmation, Old Master Zhao happily said, “Then the other desserts were excellent too! Reward them all!”

“Yes, Old Master.” Steward Zhao smiled and responded.

In the kitchen, Brother Le and the others were also tasting the peach buns. In reality, the taste was similar to red bean buns, but they looked so appealing and seemed to taste even better.

When Steward Zhao brought his people over, he saw them all happily enjoying their Longevity Peach buns, one in each hand.

Steward Zhao said with a smile, “Boss Yu, everyone, thanks to all of you, our birthday banquet went smoothly. Old Master is very pleased with the peach buns and the desserts you made. He asked me to thank you on his behalf. This is a token of his appreciation, please accept it.”

As he spoke, Steward Zhao gave each person a couple of silver coins, and he handed a silver ingot to Yu Qingze.

Everyone knew that this was Old Master Zhao rewarding them out of joy, so they happily thanked him and accepted the gifts.

A couple of silver coins! Their hearts were filled with joy!

Chang Hao and Jiabao also received their share. The two young boys looked at the silver coins in their hands, unable to stop smiling.

As they laughed, Jiabao suddenly burst into tears.

Chang Hao was beside him and quickly asked, “Jiabao, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

Jiabao wiped his tears and said, “I’m fine, I’m just too happy.”

The adults understood clearly that he must have been thinking about his mother. They had experienced such hardship before, struggling to gather enough money for medical expenses. Now, they suddenly received a couple of silver coins, and Jiabao couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with emotions.

Chang Le walked over, took out a handkerchief, and wiped away his tears while making gestures.

Chang Hao translated, “My brother says not to cry, things will get better in the future.”

Jiabao nodded, wiped away his tears, sniffled, and said, “I know, Brother Le, Boss Yu, thank you, thank you so much.” He then bowed to Yu Qingze once again.

Yu Qingze patted Jiabao’s head and said, “Don’t cry. Today is Old Master Zhao’s birthday celebration. It wouldn’t look good if the people of the Zhao Residence saw you like this, understand?”

Jiabao nodded and said, “I understand, Boss Yu.” With that, he managed to control his emotions and stopped crying.

After having lunch, in the afternoon, they made some more pastries for the Zhao Residence’s afternoon tea. Once they finished serving the pastries, they packed up their belongings and prepared to go home.

Yu Qingze confirmed the quantity with Steward Zhao and agreed to settle the payment the next day. Then, he led the group back home.

In the evening, Yu Qingze calculated their earnings. Just from the order of the Zhao Residence, after deducting the costs, they made around thirty taels of silver, mainly from the three types of packaged pastries.

This didn’t even include the emergency order for the Longevity Peach buns they made for the Zhao Residence. Since he didn’t know how the Zhao Residence would calculate the price for those, and the situation was urgent, it wasn’t appropriate to negotiate the price at that time. It could be considered selling a favor to the Zhao Residence, and they could settle the payment in any way they saw fit.

“Wow! That’s a lot! Can we open a small shop with this?” Chang Hao asked eagerly, his eyes shining.

Yu Qingze smiled and nodded, saying, “It should be enough to rent a storefront!”

Upon hearing this, everyone smiled happily.

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PLEASE READ:

The next chapter will be password protected. PW is peach.

However, Ji Cha encountered a difficulty.

Fresh potatoes were not priced in the system.

Ji Cha tried to input it himself, but the system told him that there was no such option. He had to click on the “contact us” button in the corner of the page.

“What is the price of fresh potatoes?” he asked.

“Fresh potatoes,” came the quick response, “where did they come from?”

Before Ji Cha could answer, the other side knew it was from the factory through his login terminal and naturally knew that he had grown them himself.

“At present, there is no such item. The suggestion here is not to enter this item temporarily because the point requirement here is for something that everyone can buy. Potatoes should not have reached mass production yet, right?”

This did hit the key point. Ji Cha thought about it and agreed with this approach.

Before getting off work in the evening, the workers were also quite nervous. Who knew if this credit card would work smoothly or not?

But some people were still happy. “It’s great. I live alone, and it’s okay now that the weather is cold. But in the summer, I used to worry that things would break down in just one day. Now I can keep them in the card and take them out whenever I need them.”

“You can go to the black market to exchange things,” someone suggested.

The man was not convinced, “Why is it called the black market? The keyword is ‘black.’ I’m not going to lose out like that. When I save up some more, I can buy meat from the army and make myself a dish of braised pork with white rice. Isn’t that just great?”

After he finished speaking, everyone present became drooling and even more looked forward to the payment of their salaries.

Ji Cha had prepared their magnetic cards early on. Now, one by one, they walked out with the distributed cards according to their names. He also took out a portion of potatoes for each person and explained, “Potatoes currently cannot be counted as points, so they cannot be converted into points for you. As for the other things, one portion of staple food, one portion of tofu or bean sprouts, a total of fourteen points, all of which are stored in the magnetic card. If you need to take away the food, come with me to settle the account. If not, you’re good to go.”

He added, “And one more thing, the points in the magnetic card can be checked at the recruitment point, where you can see real-time point information.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Most of them took the potatoes and went home, while one or two took half a portion of staple food from Ji Cha.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Ji Cha had set up a small, makeshift workshop outside, with wires and a laptop. As for the living room inside the house, he simplified it as much as possible. He was still very cautious about things that would be exposed to others.

For now, everything was in order.

At night, after a lot of fussing, Liang Jincheng held Ji Cha tightly and kissed him on the ear and cheek.

“You’re as hard as iron all over,” Ji Cha complained. “I want to sleep on top of the blanket, move over.”

“Hard all over?” Liang Jincheng chuckled and asked, “Where is it the hardest…?”

Ji Cha pursed his lips and refused to answer the suggestive question from the pervert. Then he suddenly said, “I kind of want to eat fish…”

The few boys that he had seen before reminded Ji Cha of the possibility of being able to have fish during the end times. Combined with the various seasonings stored at home, he thought of the grilled fish he had had at the night market before, which was fragrant, spicy, tender, and smooth.

He dared not think too much about it, otherwise he would start salivating.

“Fish?” Although Liang Jincheng played the rogue, he still cared about Ji Cha. He got up to get a dry towel and wiped their feet. Then he pulled out the quilt that they used as a flat sheet and covered Ji Cha with the warm and soft quilt. “I’m free tomorrow. Let’s go take a look.”

“I also want to go take a look.” In fact, Ji Cha had been wanting to see the place the boys mentioned with his own eyes.

“It’s dangerous outside.” Liang Jincheng’s first reaction was to refuse. He pinched the tip of Ji Cha’s finger under the blanket. “You have calluses.”

Ji Cha pulled his hand back. He had already figured out Liang Jincheng’s temper and knew that he was someone who couldn’t be forced. He held Liang Jincheng’s cheek in his hand and kissed him several times on his face and mouth. “Take me, please take me!”

Liang Jincheng’s expression immediately softened. Ji Cha continued to sweet-talk him in his ear. Although they ended up having sex again immediately, the next day, Ji Cha still followed Liang Jincheng out of the house, feeling sore all over.

They didn’t need to sneak out of the base like the teenagers did. The soldiers at the main gate didn’t even check their IDs and greeted them politely. They even offered to lend them a military vehicle. According to the teenagers’ descriptions, Ji Cha had a rough idea of where to go, a place within walking distance. They declined the offer and walked all the way there.

It was only about a fifteen-minute walk, and a small river appeared before them. Ji Cha accidentally kicked a piece of soil into the river with his shoe, and before any splashes could be made, a group of fish immediately jumped up and swallowed it whole. If Ji Cha hadn’t seen the fish with his own eyes, he would have thought they were crossbreeds between fish and tigers, judging by their sharp teeth.

If a person fell into the river, they would also be eaten by the fish. What if there were no remains left…? As he was thinking this, he suddenly saw two half-devoured corpses lying in the water. They were zombies, or to be precise, zombies that were once intact but were now half-eaten. Many fish were still fighting over their bodies, leaving only a little meat around their chest and head. Even so, when they saw Ji Cha and Liang Jincheng, a primitive sense of raiding appeared in their eyes.

Ji Cha couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable, with goosebumps all over his body, he turned his head away.

Liang Jincheng was already very accustomed to this kind of scene. He covered Ji Cha’s eyes with one hand and held his waist with the other. Almost like carrying a child, he led Ji Cha through the various grass and stones, avoiding the many dangers without mentioning them, and easily guiding him through.

At home, Ji Cha had some reservations, but outside, he didn’t mind having intimate actions with Liang Jincheng. He leaned contentedly against Liang Jincheng’s side, and the two of them quickly found the small pool hidden in the cave halfway up the mountain. Because the teenagers had been catching them all the time, there weren’t many fish left in the pool.

Ji Cha was concentrating on looking at the types of fish in the pool when Liang Jincheng suddenly pulled him behind him and asked sternly, “Who’s there?”

Ji Cha looked at the direction of his gaze dazedly, “Someone?”

As soon as Liang Jincheng finished speaking, two teenagers walked out slowly from behind the tree, looking at them with a frightened expression.

“We, we’re just here to catch fish. We’re not bad guys. Brother Ji, you know me,” one of the teenagers said.

Ji Cha recognized one of the teenagers at a glance, and the teenager also recognized him.

“I know him,” Ji Cha said to Liang Jincheng. Then he turned to the teenager and asked, “Didn’t I tell you not to come out? Why did you come out again?”

“We found crayfish over there,” said the boy.

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Thandar: I googled crayfish and it looks like shrimp. Why is it called fish then? @_@

This chapter is dedicated to Fran and Aprillen for their Kofi support. The translators and I will continue to work hard (∩˃o˂∩)♡

Love,

Thingyan (Editor-in-cheese)

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The Zhao Residence’s Birthday Banquet

After returning home, Yu Qingze discussed the upcoming tasks with Grandpa Chang and Brother Le.

It was certain that Brother Chang’s father and mother would be asked to help, and on the day of the Zhao Residence’s birthday banquet, Chang Le would also accompany them. However, they were unsure if the current team was enough or if they needed to hire another person.

According to the steward of the Zhao Residence, there would be at least thirty-five tables, with ten people per table. Each table would require shumai, crystal dumplings, and jujube cakes. Just for the lunch banquet, they would need to make at least 350 of each item. And if there were any extra tables or the afternoon tea, the quantity would be even greater. As for the return gift pastries, there would be a total of 300 boxes for three different types.

It was truly a massive order.

“I can also make pastries in the afternoon. I’ll talk to Dagen’s family and ask them to take care of the cattle for the last four days of the month. Then I can make up for those days at the beginning of September,” Grandpa Chang suggested.

Yu Qingze nodded and said, “That works. Then we don’t need to hire an additional person. Grandpa, let’s call Brother Chang and his mother over to discuss.”

“Alright, Xiao Hao, go to Brother Chang’s house and invite them over to discuss the matter,” said Grandpa Chang.

“Yes, Grandpa.”

After Brother Chang and his mother arrived, they readily agreed to the plan. They decided to start learning how to make Shumai that evening, and then learn one type of dish every night thereafter.

Though the method for making Shumai was relatively simple, it involved several steps. So, first, Yu Qingze explained the process to them, and then he guided them while they did the actual work. He didn’t participate initially.

While steaming the glutinous rice, Brother Chang’s mother started preparing the filling, while on the other side, Brother Le began kneading the dough for the Shumai wrappers.

Finally, Yu Qingze asked everyone to try rolling out the Shumai wrappers. He discovered that Brother Chang’s mother was the quickest and best at rolling them, so he decided to assign him the task of rolling the wrappers for both Shumai and Crystal Dumplings. Combining the two, they would need at least seven to eight hundred wrappers.

Both Yu Qingze and Brother Le knew how to do it, so they could take turns when they got tired.

The next day, following Yu Qingze’s instructions, Grandpa went to several households in the village and bought jujube and glutinous rice at market prices.

When they arrived at the snack stall, they saw Tian Jiabao already there.

The young boy sat quietly on the large stone beneath their usual shade umbrella, observing the hustle and bustle of the street. When he saw them approaching, his eyes brightened, and he quickly stood up, tidying his clothes.

“Boss Yu, Brother Le, Brother Chang.”

“Jiabao, have you had breakfast?” Yu Qingze responded and asked.

Jiabao nodded and replied, “I ate two steamed buns.” He then handed sixteen wen to Yu Qingze and said, “Boss Yu, this is the remaining money. Please take it back.”

Yu Qingze frowned as he looked at the sixteen copper coins and said, “Did you only have two steamed buns last night? Yesterday, I gave you twenty copper coins, and now there are sixteen left. You’ve only spent four coins, so it can only be for four steamed buns.”

Jiabao nodded and said, “I’m full.”

Yu Qingze took the money from his hand, ruffled his hair, and said, “When you start earning wages, make sure to eat something more nutritious, okay? You’re still growing, be careful not to stunt your height.”

Jiabao nodded again and replied, “I know, thank you, Boss Yu.” But he still had debts to repay. Once he returned the borrowed money to the neighbors, he would be able to eat better.

Chang Le brought over a food container, opened it, and took out a plate of Shumai and an egg pancake, handing them to Jiabao. These were the Shumai they had practiced making last night, and it served as Jiabao’s breakfast. Chang Le specially brought some over for him to eat.

Jiabao looked at the snacks and the egg pancake on the plate, then looked at Chang Le and asked, ” Brother Le, are these for me?”

Chang Le nodded, gesturing for Jiabao to take them.

“Thank you, Brother Le.” The young boy’s eyes welled up with slight tears of gratitude.

Yu Qingze patted his head and said, “From now on, you don’t have to worry about breakfast. We’ll bring it for you.”

The boy looked up in a panic and said, “How can that be? Boss Yu, I’m already grateful for being able to work here. I don’t need… I don’t need any more…”

Yu Qingze interrupted him and said, “It’s alright. Just focus on your work. Consider it an early reward for you.”

Hearing this, Jiabao paused for a moment, then said earnestly, “Thank you, Boss Yu. I will work hard.”

“Eat up. Afterward, go and learn from Brother Chang. He will teach you how to make them.”

“Okay.”

Yu Qingze handed Jiabao directly to Brother Chang, partly to help Jiabao become familiar with the work and partly as a training opportunity for Brother Chang.

Old Huang was not wrong. Jiabao was indeed intelligent and diligent. He quickly memorized all the tasks at the snack stall.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

To Yu Qingze’s surprise, Jiabao was surprisingly good at arithmetic.

Once, a customer ordered a portion of Guandong-style hot pot, and Yu Qingze forgot to inform Jiabao about the price. However, when he looked up, he heard Jiabao telling the customer the correct price and collecting the money.

“Jiabao, do you know arithmetic?”

Jiabao nodded. “My mother taught me.”

Yu Qingze thought for a moment and purposely didn’t mention the price for the following Guandong-style hot pot orders to see if Jiabao could calculate it correctly.

In the end, it was confirmed that Jiabao got all the calculations right.

Yu Qingze was pleasantly surprised and immediately said, “Jiabao, you’ll be in charge of the Guandong-style hot pot, and you’ll handle the money too.”

Since Brother Chang was a bit slow at mental calculations, he was currently responsible for both cold noodles and Guandong-style hot pot. Sometimes Brother Le would also come to help. When there were many customers, it became a bit overwhelming. But now that Jiabao could do calculations, things would be much simpler. Whenever a customer ordered Guandong-style hot pot, Jiabao would take care of it.

It was like finding a treasure!

Yu Qingze was overjoyed.

Brother Chang and Chang Le were also happy when they heard the news. Jiabao had really helped them a lot.

“Oh, Brother Le, should we learn arithmetic too? I’m so slow at calculations. Look at Boss Yu and Jiabao. They can just glance and know the exact amount of money. They’re so impressive. If Jiabao can learn, we should be able to learn too, right?” Brother Chang said to Chang Le while collecting the dishes and chopsticks.

Chang Le had been thinking about the same thing, so he nodded, indicating that he also wanted to learn. That way, they could assist Big Brother Yu more.

Brother Chang then said, “Once we get through these busy days, let’s ask Boss Yu to teach us, okay?”

Chang Le nodded in agreement.

The two friends exchanged a smile, reaching an unspoken understanding.

After a whole day, Jiabao had become completely proficient in running the snack stall.

When it was time to close the stall, Yu Qingze gave him sixty coins and some Guandong-style hot pot leftovers, saying, “Don’t eat steamed buns for dinner tonight. Cook yourself a meal at home, understood?”

Jiabao took the money, counted it, and said, “Boss Yu, you gave me ten extra coins.”

“That’s right. Consider it your payment after the trial period. Keep it well. Now, go home,” Yu Qingze replied.

Jiabao was very happy. He put the money in his pocket, took the food Yu Qingze gave him, bowed to express his gratitude, and headed home.

Old Man Huang, who was also preparing to close his stall, saw Jiabao walking away and said to Yu Qingze, “Boss Yu, thanks to you giving him work, otherwise he would probably still be at home, neither eating nor drinking, grieving for his mother.”

Yu Qingze sighed and answered, “I thought that keeping him busy would help him maintain a normal life and prevent him from sinking into sadness.”

“That’s the right approach. The living has to continue moving forward,” Old Man Huang said, shouldering his stove and pots and went home.

Several peaceful days passed, and Yu Qingze gradually gathered all the ingredients and packaging materials needed for making snacks.

Jiabao also settled down at the snack stall. Every morning, Brother Chang would bring him breakfast. Jiabao was grateful and worked extra hard. He looked more spirited with each passing day.

On August 26th, when it was time to close the stall, Jiabao informed Yu Qingze that he would need to take half a day off tomorrow.

Yu Qingze realized that tomorrow was the seventh day since Jiabao’s mother’s passing, and he would need to go for memorial rites.

“Alright. Do you want me to accompany you?” Yu Qingze asked.

Jiabao shook his head and said, “No need. I’ll be fine. Thank you, Boss Yu.”

Yu Qingze patted the boy’s head and gave his shoulder a reassuring pat. He said, “Alright, you’re a strong young man now, and I believe in you. Be safe on the mountain, understand?”

“Mmm, thank you,” the boy bowed and headed home.

In the following three days, Yu Qingze stayed at home to make snacks while Brother Chang’s father came to help at the snack stall.

During this time, Jiabao’s presence became particularly important. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, when Yu Qingze was making snacks at home, Brother Chang and Chang Le sold the Guandong-style hot pot, but they were slow at counting money. Now with Jiabao around, there was barely any difference from usual.

“Jiabao, this child, is really capable,” Brother Chang’s mother praised.

Chang Le and Brother Chang nodded in agreement.

Jiabao blushed slightly, lowered his head, and continued working with a hint of shyness. However, he was secretly pleased.

On the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth, Yu Qingze and the others were extremely busy. Finally, late at night on the twenty-eighth, they finished making all the snacks. They just needed to let them cool and then package them.

The next morning, Yu Qingze and the others packaged the remaining snacks from the previous day. They sealed them with the Yu’s Delicious Delights brand and waited for the ink to dry. Once it was done, they loaded three carts with a total of three hundred boxes of snacks.

In the afternoon, Yu Qingze, Brother Chang’s mother, and Grandpa Chang each pulled a cart and delivered the snacks to the Zhao Mansion in the southern part of the city. After the Zhao family inspected the goods, they promptly settled the payment.

In the meantime, Yu Qingze also went to check the kitchen prepared for them for the next day. He familiarized himself with the layout and utensils before returning home.

On the thirtieth of August, it was the birthday celebration of the Zhao Mansion’s patriarch.

Early in the morning, Yu Qingze’s group dragged two carts filled with ingredients and utensils and headed to the Zhao Mansion. When they reached the West City Gate, Tian Jiabao met up with them and they went together.

Upon seeing Jiabao, Chang Hao immediately displayed his outgoing nature. He affectionately called him “Brother Jiabao” and engaged in conversation. Even before reaching the Zhao Mansion, the two had already become quite familiar.

Friendship among young people always develops unexpectedly fast. Thanks to Chang Hao’s friendly nature, Jiabao became closer to them as well.

They entered the Zhao Mansion through a side gate and were led by the staff arranged by the steward to the kitchen, where they began their preparations.

Yu Qingze assigned different tasks to each person based on their abilities.

Brother Chang was in charge of making jujube cakes, which was relatively easier and less meticulous. Chang Le, being strong, was responsible for chopping the filling. Yu Qingze and Brother Chang’s mother kneaded the dough and rolled out the dough for shumai and crystal dumplings. Brother Chang’s father and Grandpa Chang washed the vegetables and assisted, and later they would also help in wrapping the shumai and dumplings. The two boys were in charge of making the fire and assisting with washing the vegetables, as well as mashing the jujube and red beans into a paste.

Each person had their own task and they were all busy, but it was organized and orderly.

The lunch banquet was scheduled to begin at noon. Just before noon, they successfully wrapped the shumai and crystal dumplings needed for the banquet and waited for steaming. They made some extras, fearing any unforeseen accidents or spills during the serving of the dim sum, just in case they needed backup.

Yu Qingze looked at the time and estimated that they had about half an hour before the banquet. He placed the shumai and crystal dumplings in the steamer and instructed Chang Hao and the others to start the fire and begin steaming.

At that moment, the steward of the Zhao Mansion rushed in and, upon seeing Yu Qingze, said, “Ah, Boss Yu, it’s so good to see you. We’re in a desperate situation!”

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Thandar: No worry, steward bro. Boss Yu to the rescue.

Ji Cha actually had some ideas about fish farming. But firstly, he already had a lot of things to do, and secondly, there was nowhere to find fish.

The military once visited a fish farming village where most of the tens of thousands of fish had already turned into zombies. Not to mention eating them, even touching them could be deadly. The fact that these teenagers had caught such fish made Ji Cha ponder a bit.

However, fish farming is not a simple matter. Just like when he first considered rice fields for fish farming, the problem of introducing running water still exists. Fortunately, they can now think of a solution together with the military, and there are technicians who know more than Ji Cha. Once the problem of fish is solved, it will be much easier to farm fish in the future.

“The behavior is still very dangerous. There may be zombies or mutated animals outside, and if you’re not careful, you could lose your life.” Ji Cha felt obligated to say these words, even though they made him feel like a hypocrite.

The teenager was also helpless, “But if we don’t catch fish, we won’t have enough to eat, and there are many jobs that we’re not allowed to do.”

Ji Cha thought for a moment and said, “Why don’t you go to the labor department these days and see if there are any suitable jobs?”

Many of the fields on the farm were already being prepared for cultivation. Although most of the work was done by machines, there was still a need for human operators, especially in the smaller areas where machines couldn’t reach.

The teenagers were too young to work, but Ji Cha had some authority in this regard, and it was no problem to relax the age requirement.

The teenagers looked at each other and reluctantly agreed, but they didn’t know if they would actually follow through and go to sign up.

Ji Cha returned to the factory building, and the first thing she had to do was prepare the “wages” for the workers today. Before long, the workers had come from the work site to the factory and were waiting at the door.

They still couldn’t believe that they would receive fresh potatoes.

Where could they find potatoes at this time, let alone fresh ones? It was impossible.

But then Ji Cha took out the things and distributed one portion of staple food and potatoes to each person. He then carefully asked each person whether they wanted bean sprouts or tofu.

After the shock came the excitement. Once they got the food, all the exhaustion of the day vanished. On their way back, everyone was bouncing with joy.

Who would have thought they would receive fresh potatoes? Juicy, not at all wrinkled, fresh potatoes!

All five of them were grateful they had waited for Ji Cha this morning. Otherwise, they would have had to eat wild vegetables mixed with bran.

With their potatoes in hand, they happily made their way home. Once there, they cooked up some potato slices, braised tofu, or stir-fried bean sprouts. It was a great meal.

After finishing the distribution of the other workers’ wages and making sure there were no strangers around, Ji Cha closed the factory gate.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Chili peppers were also starting to be harvested. They could pick almost half a pound of fresh peppers in one day.

Besides using them for cooking, Grandma and Zhang Qinqin turned the fresh red peppers into chopped chili, so they could store them for a long time. Some peppers were dried in the sun and spread out on the roof.

Dinner was simple, a portion of spicy stir-fried meat, braised tofu, stir-fried vegetables, and a pot of chicken soup. Ji Cha had already eaten a third of the frozen meat he had saved. If everything went smoothly, the meat production of chickens, rabbits, and pigs here could just be used with what was left in his home.

The next morning, Ji Cha got up slightly earlier due to yesterday’s experience and went to the labor office. Today, to his surprise, not only were people waiting, but there were also about twenty or thirty of them for only five positions. This was unheard of during a time of relative labor shortage.

Word had already spread about someone bringing back fresh potatoes last night. When they heard there were five vacancies, who wouldn’t come? Some people who received potatoes yesterday were reluctant to eat them and traded them on the black market for three portions of staple food, which was a great deal.

Ji Cha felt somewhat comforted that he saw several of the young boys he had seen yesterday at the recruitment office, consulting with the staff at the window. And he had also submitted the new recruitment requirements, which the boys met.

Sure enough, the boys turned their heads with a smile and hurriedly went to get the forms to compete for tomorrow’s job opportunities.

Ji Cha wanted to turn around and leave, but he saw a notice at the entrance.

“Starting the day after tomorrow, wages will no longer be immediately issued based on food standards but recorded as credit points. Workers are requested to come to my office these two days to collect their magnetic cards and enter their identity information.”

The barter trade method was finally going to change.

Ji Cha returned to the workshop, and Zhao Tiankuo was already there. He brought a small machine and a stack of magnetic cards to Ji Cha, “With this, you can connect to the military network. It can’t be considered the Internet, just a LAN. Every morning, workers have to clock in, and every evening, they have to clock out, then the credit points will be loaded onto their cards. When they need to buy food, they can use the card to deduct the credit points. In the future, every person will have one card, real-name system, and their identity information needs to be verified every time they use the card. “

“Then these are for your family. You can take care of them yourself today, anyway, Zhang Xing will definitely understand.”

“Okay.” Ji Cha nodded. Although these cards were basically useless for the people in the factory compound at the moment, they didn’t need to worry about their livelihoods.

Ji Cha returned to his room on the second floor, turned on the computer, and after Zhang Xing helped him fix all the data problems, he opened the web page, which was no longer a network error symbol but a military network page.

The webpage displayed a lot of information, mostly the many notices that the military had to do every day, including “food credit points,” which were set up for the credit cards. For example, ten credit points for a serving of staple food, three points for a serving of bean sprouts, and four points for a serving of tofu. Meat, which is still mostly unavailable, is also assigned points, and it is much more expensive, with fifty points for one or two servings of meat.

Most people in the base have not eaten a whole piece of meat for a long time. When they do eat meat, it was usually found from an outside breeding farm occasionally by the military. After confirming that the pigs inside can be safely eaten, the soldiers would slaughter a few pigs to satisfy their cravings.

Ji Cha logged in to his account online. His account had some management permissions, and there was an item on his personal page called “Salary Distribution.” Ji Cha clicked on today and input the identity information and corresponding food points of ten workers under him. This way, when the workers finish work in the evening, they only need to bring their magnetic card with their identity information to Ji Cha to swipe, and the card will have the point information.

And the data here will also be immediately transmitted to the military’s central database, managing in real-time the property and life situation of each person in the base.

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