Author Archives: Thandar

The egg incubator has been running continuously for twenty days, and as expected, these two days should be about the time when the chicks hatch.

Ji Cha endured the discomfort of his buttocks and got up early, guarding the small storage room where the eggs were hatching. Every now and then, he stood up to carefully check if there was any movement in the incubator.

Around noon, the outermost egg finally showed some changes. Ji Cha saw a little chick pecking hard and breaking out of the eggshell, squeezing out its head, still somewhat wet all over.

Ji Cha didn’t dare to help and quickly turned around to turn on the heater in the room. The weather now was clearly chilly, and the newly born chicks could not be directly exposed to outdoor temperatures.

The storage room was not large and heated up quickly. With the first little chick’s tender and crisp chirping, many of the remaining eggs also began to slowly change. In one afternoon, more than sixty little chicks hatched. By the time it was almost dark, a total of seventy little chicks had hatched. Ji Cha didn’t touch the other eggs and left them in the incubator to wait for further changes.

As for the seventy little chicks hatched that day, Ji Cha took out the clean feed and water he had prepared early. The chicks eat a lot in the early stages, and their weight can double within seven days of birth, triple within half a month, and increase by five or six times in less than a month. Feed is very important in this process.

When raising chicks, the land area occupied is not large. About five or six dozen chicks can be raised in one square meter. Ji Cha took a small iron cage with upper and lower layers, lined it with newspaper, and put the fully dried chicks in it in two batches. When it was completely dark, the chicks had their first meal of the day. As soon as the crushed corn and millet were put into the feed trough, they were snatched up immediately.

Ji Cha worked tirelessly all day and was extremely pleased with the scene he saw. After all, there were now seventy little chicks, which would later become seventy or more meat chickens.

After settling them in, Ji Cha still couldn’t relax with the incubator. After all, it was a machine he had bought online, and he himself was only half-knowledgeable about many things. He could only spend more time preparing and taking care of them to make up for it.

The other people in the house didn’t have an easier day than Ji Cha.

Early in the morning, Zhang Xing began to modify various mechanical vehicles and equipment outside the gate. He was so busy that he even forgot to drink water. When he stood up suddenly, he almost dropped because of low blood sugar.

Many things planted in the factory have reached the fruiting period. Weeding, spraying pesticides, loosening the soil, and other tasks are enough to keep Wang family busy.

The remaining Zhang Qinqin and Grandma Ji are busy with various food processing tasks with other workers in the factory.

Liang Jincheng stayed at home for a while yesterday but left again early in the morning today. When everyone sat down to eat together in the evening, he still hadn’t returned.

If anyone in the family is idle, it is only Xiaochao, who is just over three years old. However, even Xiaochao was quite busy today.

“There’s a wormhole in the apple we ate today,” Xiaochao mentioned during dinner. “Uncle Ji, is the apple going to spoil?”

Ji Cha, who was busy scooping rice and preparing to go back to the warehouse to continue guarding, was stunned. Indeed, he hadn’t checked the apples for the past two days.

There are still more than thirty fruits picked from the apple tree, which Ji Cha originally planned to keep for everyone to eat daily. But after Xiaochao’s reminder, he went to check and found that the apples didn’t seem as juicy as before.

After dinner, Grandma cut two apples to eat, and when Ji Cha took a bite, he frowned tightly. It was not because it tasted bad, but because it was too sweet. Ji Cha hadn’t thought about eating apples for four or five days, and felt that the apple was twice as sweet as before. Even if a little bit of apple juice spilled on his hand, it felt sticky.

If he made apple sauce directly, he wouldn’t need to add sugar. The shelf life of apple sauce is about three months, which could solve the urgent problem now.

Ji Cha quickly wrote down “make apple sauce” on his notebook and waited until he finished taking care of the little chicks before finding time to do it.

He sat in the chicken-raising warehouse all night, waking up and falling asleep, but the result was barely satisfactory. Only five out of the remaining thirty eggs were hatched, meaning the success rate of hatching was only about 75%, far lower than the promised 90% or more by the online seller.

However, Ji Cha had no place to complain now and couldn’t even leave a negative review online. Moreover, even if he takes a step back, out of one hundred eggs, seventy-five chicks hatched, so he couldn’t say that the egg hatching machine was completely unreliable. After all, it took some time to accumulate the eggs, and he didn’t sort out the dead eggs in advance.

As Zhang Xing’s various mechanical tools were modified, the large piece of farmland behind the factory was gradually cultivated and repaired. Modern agriculture can now achieve out-of-season planting, and the rise in many crops grown in the greenhouse of the tea factory indicates that similar planting can be carried out in the current environment of S city.

The biggest problem at the S city base is currently the lack of various vegetable crops, while staple foods pile up like mountains.

Therefore, the military also meant for Ji Cha to immediately begin preparing for planting. The few technicians who were originally difficult to communicate with were now picked up and dropped off by military vehicles, and they discussed various planting matters with Ji Cha.

They were called technicians, but they were all young people, only two in total. Although they were specialized in their field, they did not have much knowledge about the cultivation of different crops. Nevertheless, it was better than not knowing anything. When Ji Cha picked workers to work with them, he chose those who were older and had rural backgrounds or experience with rural life, not those who didn’t even know how to grow potatoes.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Although the production and construction at the S city base occasionally encountered setbacks, overall, it was moving in the right direction. The people at the base did not have to worry about their safety and had returned to a socialized way of life.

However, for those who were still struggling to survive alone outside, the hardships and fears of the apocalypse did not diminish at all; on the contrary, they increased day by day.

***

Liang Jincheng parked the car at the entrance of a large supermarket, and the people in the car quickly got out after surveying the surroundings. The zombies around them immediately swarmed over when they heard the noise. The ability users were indifferent to the approach of the zombies, each wielding their own handy tools. Faced with the attack of the zombies, they cut down a large area almost like cutting vegetables.

“There are two tasks today. The first is to check if there are any survivors, the second is to survey the surrounding terrain, and the third is to see if there are any factors that may affect the safety of the base. Finally, everyone should be careful and not be careless.”

Liang Jincheng said these words in a deep voice, and the others nodded and left, blending into the surroundings in no time. In secluded areas, pairs of greedy or fearful eyes followed them closely.

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Thandar: Wooooo finally got eggs. I love eggs.

Obtaining Residency

They set off immediately upon deciding to go.

The village where Li Zheng lived was behind Niutou Village, so they had to pass through Niutou Village to reach the county town.

As they passed by the village, Yu Qingze asked the village chief and Li Zheng to wait for him by the roadside for a moment. He went home and brought out the box where Chang Le had stored the money for him. Inside were all the earnings he had made in the past month, from the snack stall, mooncakes, and his share of the noodle money from Liu’s Noodle House. It amounted to nearly ninety taels, almost a hundred taels. This was only possible because he had made a substantial profit from selling mooncakes recently. It was just enough.

Chang Le helped him string the copper coins one by one. The large strings contained one thousand coins each, while the small strings had one hundred coins each.

One tael of silver is equivalent to one thousand copper coins, which is called a yuan in currency. Stringing them together forms a long string, which is quite heavy. Fortunately, Yu Qingze would regularly go to the money exchange to convert them into silver, or else it would be very inconvenient to carry eighty yuan of copper coins when going out.

After counting eighty taels of silver, Yu Qingze put them in a large money pouch, which he then tied around his waist with a bundle, for easy protection. This was almost eighty percent of his wealth, on which he relied for buying land and obtaining household registration.

Grandpa Chang saw it and asked him, “Do you want me to go with you? It’s safer with more people.”

This matter might take a long time to handle, and Yu Qingze didn’t want the old man to go through the hardship, so he replied, “Grandpa, it’s not necessary. The village chief and Li Zheng will accompany me.”

Upon hearing that the village chief and Li Zheng would go together, Grandpa Chang felt relieved and advised, “Still, be careful and stay safe.”

“Okay, Grandpa. I’m leaving now.” Yu Qingze responded, taking some silver and copper coins and putting them in a small pouch for backup. Then he bid farewell to Grandpa Chang and went to meed up with the village chief and others, who waiting at the intersection. The sooner they finished the business, the sooner they could return.

“Alright, stay safe.”

The three of them headed towards the county office in the north of the city.

After the gate guards were informed, Li Zheng led them to the east side of the county administrative building, where the registrar’s office was located. This was the place where land transactions and household registrations were processed.

Upon entering, there were only three people inside. Two individuals were sitting at desks on the left and right, copying documents, while a man who appeared to be under forty was handling official affairs in the middle.

After Li Zheng entered, he greeted first and said, “The humble ones pay respects to the registrar.”

The village chief and Yu Qingze also followed suit and paid their respects.

The registrar looked up, glanced at them, and asked, “What is the matter?”

Li Zheng explained the situation.

The registrar looked at Yu Qingze, then turned to Li Zheng and asked, “Do you both understand the procedures?”

Li Zheng nodded and replied, “Yes, we understand.”

Yu Qingze also nodded in agreement.

The registrar then lifted his chin towards the right side and said, “Over there, do as you need to do.”

“Thank you, Registrar.” Li Zheng expressed his gratitude and led Yu Qingze to the clerk on the left to complete the formalities.

The clerk extended his hand to the three of them. Yu Qingze saw this, glanced at Li Zheng, and upon seeing Li Zheng nodding, he handed the pouch containing eighty taels of silver to the clerk.

The clerk quickly counted the amount and then went to show it to the registrar. After receiving the registrar’s approval, he returned and divided the silver into two portions. Thirty-five taels were placed in the box on the left, while the remaining were placed in another box on the right.

Once the money was collected, the clerk began to inquire, “Which piece of land would you like to buy?”

Li Zheng replied, “A fertile acre in Niutou Village, west of the city.”

Upon hearing this, the clerk went to the back shelf and pulled out a ledger. After flipping through a few pages, he pointed to them and said, “These three documents are all for the public land in Niutou Village. The ones without a red seal are still available for sale. You can choose one for yourselves.”

Yu Qingze took the ledger, looked at it, and then handed it to the village chief, saying, “Village chief, take a look and help me choose a plot. I’m not familiar with the village’s land.”

The village chief took the ledger, examined it, and then pointed to a specific entry, saying, “Let’s go with this one. It has good water source and is close to the road.”

Yu Qingze nodded and said, “Okay, let’s go with this one.”

The clerk took the ledger again and double-checked, asking, “This plot, you won’t make any changes?”

Yu Qingze nodded and replied, “Yes, no changes.”

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

The clerk then stamped a small red mark on the back of the document, indicating that it had been sold. Afterward, he took out another ledger and asked Yu Qingze for some personal information to register. Then he produced a blank official land deed and filled in the necessary information, double-checking it with Yu Qingze. Once the ink had dried slightly, he took it to the registrar.

The registrar looked it over, then took out two seals and stamped them on the deed.

After sealing the document and allowing the ink to dry, the clerk said to Yu Qingze, “Please pay one tael of silver as the document fee.”

Yu Qingze took out one tael of silver and handed it to the clerk.

After receiving the silver, the clerk cut the completely transcribed and sealed deed in half, giving one part to Yu Qingze and keeping the other part for the government’s records.

Yu Qingze held the official land deed in his hand, feeling relieved. Finally, the first step was completed.

Then, the clerk handed him a slip of paper, saying, “Take this to complete the household registration.”

Yu Qingze took a look at it, and it read “Official Land Registration” on it. Yu Qingze murmured to himself, realizing that this was probably their special designation, indicating the method of buying official land with eighty taels to process the household registration.

Truly a shady practice.

The purchase of the land was finally completed, and now he needed to go to the clerk on the right side to process the household registration.

However, at that moment, a gong sounded. The two clerks and the registrar quickly tidied up their desks, stood up, and left.

The clerk who had just processed their land purchase procedures said, “Office hours for the morning have ended. The officials need to have their lunch. Come back in the afternoon.”

Yu Qingze asked, “What time does the afternoon session start?”

The clerk replied, “Come back during the hour of Wei (between 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM).”

After saying that, the clerk hurriedly ushered them out and locked the door as they left.

On the other side, as the county official stepped out of the yamen, he was stopped by someone.

“What are you here for?” the official frowned when he saw the young man in front of him.

The young man grinned and said, “Uncle, my father sent me to invite you to have lunch with us.”

“What does he want?” the official asked.

The young man replied, “Nothing, he just wanted to make it up to you for the trouble caused earlier. He wants to apologize.”

The official sighed and said, “Let’s go then.”

“Yes, yes,” the young man gestured for him to follow and whispered, “By the way, uncle, I saw three people in your office earlier, what were they there for?”

The official glanced at him and said, “Why do you ask about that?”

The young man responded, “Uncle, you don’t know, the young one among those three was the person who previously snatched our business. And you know what? He even partnered with our archrival, Liu’s, to come after us. Now they’re stealing all the customers from our noodle shop! Our business is worse than ever, barely making enough to cover rent and daily expenses. It’s really infuriating!”

The official frowned upon hearing this and said, “I have no involvement in your business matters. And you shouldn’t use my name to do anything. I’ve already told your father about this.”

The young man quickly replied, “I know that. But, uncle, since he came to you for something, why don’t you, you know, give him a hard time or cause some trouble for him? Just to vent our frustration.”

The official stared at him and said, “Childish! Official duties are not to be treated lightly!”

With a tearful face, the young man pleaded, “Uncle, we’re on the verge of losing our business, and we won’t have enough to eat. We can’t earn any money, and we thought maybe helping you could help us too. But now we’re left with nothing. What can we do?”

The official suddenly stopped walking, furrowed his brows, and stared intently at him.

Undeterred, the young man nodded and said, “It’s true. Business is really bad. My father hasn’t been sleeping well lately due to the worries. You’ll see when you meet him later.”

The official sighed and said, “Let’s go.”

On the other side, Yu Qingze and the other two watched as the clerk walked away.

“Let’s go. They will take at least an hour for lunch break. We can come back in the afternoon,” the village chief, who was more familiar with the situation, suggested.

Yu Qingze nodded and said, “Let’s find a place to have lunch and take a rest.”

The three of them left the county office, and Yu Qingze found a decent restaurant to treat the village chief and the assistant.

To be honest, the food in this restaurant didn’t taste that great, but the village chief and Li Zheng seemed quite happy. As they chatted, Yu Qingze got to know more about the situation.

After finishing lunch and still having some time, Yu Qingze took the village chief and Li Zheng to his snack stall and treated them to some Guandong-style hot pot.

After taking a few bites, the village chief and Li Zheng regretted their decision. The village chief said, “You should have brought us here earlier instead of going to that restaurant. It’s a waste of money, and the taste isn’t as good as this.”

Li Zheng also nodded and said, “Exactly, ah, it’s a pity that we already ate enough to be quite full. We can’t eat anymore now.”

Yu Qingze laughed and said, “This is just a snack. When we go to my place tonight, I’ll cook some dishes, and we can have a proper chat.”

The village chief said, “That sounds great! I’ve heard that Aze’s cooking skills are excellent. I won’t hold back and will definitely try it.”

Li Zheng exclaimed in surprise, “Really? Aze can cook as well?”

The village chief replied, “Yes, look at all these dishes. He made them. How does it taste?”

Li Zheng nodded while eating a meatball and said, “It’s really good. It tastes even better than the food we had at the restaurant.”

The village chief smiled and said, “See, Li Zheng, I never lie.”

Yu Qingze smiled and said, “Alright, once we’re done with the household registration, let’s all go to my place and have a gathering.”

“Yes, let’s do that,” Li Zheng replied.

Chang Le walked up to Yu Qingze and asked how things were going.

Yu Qingze smiled and said, “I got the land deed done in the morning. We’ll go to handle the household registration in the afternoon.”

Chang Le also smiled upon hearing this, feeling like things were going smoothly.

In the afternoon, the three of them went to the county office again, but they only saw two clerks present, and the registrar was not there.

Based on the morning’s process, it was clear that the registrar would need to confirm and stamp the documents in the end.

Yu Qingze asked the clerk responsible for household registration, “Excuse me, is the registrar not here yet?”

The clerk replied, “He came, but he went to discuss urgent matters with the county magistrate. It’s uncertain when he’ll be back.”

Yu Qingze nodded and asked, “Can we still process the household registration today?”

The clerk answered, “We can process it, but we won’t be able to finalize the results without the main clerk’s return to stamp the documents. It’s uncertain when the registrar will be back.”

Yu Qingze and Li Zheng exchanged a glance, and then Yu Qingze said, “Let’s proceed for now. Maybe when we finish the initial steps, the registrar will be back.”

The clerk glanced at him, smiled, and said, “Alright. Give me your land deed.”

Yu Qingze handed over the land deed and the piece of paper he received earlier in the morning.

Upon seeing the paper, the clerk indeed didn’t ask for the original household registration wooden plaque. Instead, he asked the village chief and Li Zheng to provide additional information for the new household registration. Then, he recorded the information in the county register based on the provided data.

Then he took out a specialized household registration wooden plaque and wrote down all the information one by one. After finishing, he said, “We can only proceed up to this point. The next step is for the main clerk to stamp the documents, and then we can handle the tax assessment.”

Completing these procedures took nearly an hour, but the main clerk had not returned yet.

Yu Qingze asked, “Excuse me, is there any indication from the registrar about when he might be back?”

The clerk shook his head and said, “The registrar didn’t say. It’s uncertain. Maybe you should come back tomorrow; he might be available then.”

“Maybe” he’ll be available tomorrow, but it’s also possible that he won’t be. This is clearly an excuse. When big shots in the workplace don’t want to see someone, the answer they give to the subordinates is always this sentence. It’s like a universal response.

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingze reached into his pocket, took out a silver coin, and handed it over, saying, “Please help us out, sir.”

Unexpectedly, the clerk pushed the silver coin back and said, “I can’t help with this. You should come back tomorrow.”

Yu Qingze tried to offer a little more, but it was still rejected.

If even money couldn’t resolve the situation, it seemed that they wouldn’t be able to handle the household registration today.

Li Zheng suggested, “How about we come back tomorrow?”

Yu Qingze nodded helplessly and said, “That seems to be the only option.”

As the three of them walked out, they encountered someone at the entrance of the county yamen. When Li Zheng saw the person, he exclaimed in surprise, “County Magistrate?”

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Thandar: Isn’t it kinda stupid to stall the household registration by the registrar. Like what is the end result you want outta this? Yu Qingze getting the paperwork a few days later? How does it relate to Wang’s Stupid Noodle Crap losing money? Dumb dumb dumb

Ji Cha covered his eyes and didn’t move for a long time.

His body was soaked in slippery sweat, and even the sheets and covers on the bed had strange, indescribable stains. He couldn’t believe he had just slept with Liang Jincheng…

Slept with…

Liang Jincheng had just gotten out of bed and walked out the door quietly. Ji Cha felt even more ashamed and turned over, but his uncomfortable body touched a certain part, forcing him to grit his teeth and cover his face with a pillow.

The most shameful thing was his uncontrollable reaction just now, it was really embarrassing…

But before Ji Cha could feel sorry for himself for too long, Liang Jincheng came back in from outside. Through his fingers, Ji Cha saw him holding a basin of water with a towel on top, placing it on the floor as he half-knelt on the bed.

Liang Jincheng’s mood was obviously very happy, and it showed in almost every movement of his body.

“Chacha,” his voice was deep, but it made the hairs on the back of Ji Cha’s neck stand up, “Let me help you wash up, you don’t have to move.”

Liang Jincheng reached for Ji Cha’s ankle, trying to pull him closer to the bed.

Ji Cha quickly kicked his hand away and moved back, “No, no need. I’ll take a shower by myself later.”

Mainly because Liang Jincheng’s behavior just now was too scary, Ji Cha was afraid that he might turn into a cannibal again.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Liang Jincheng sat on the edge of the bed and hugged Ji Cha tightly, kissing his forehead over and over again, saying in a low voice, “I’m very happy.”

At this moment, he had returned to his usual gentle and polite demeanor, not at all like the dirty old man full of vulgar words last night. Ji Cha’s heart was pounding, feeling like Liang Jincheng might have multiple personalities, but he couldn’t help but want to smile. His expression and body movements seemed a bit contradictory.

But he didn’t have time to think too much, because at this moment, there was suddenly the sound of someone opening the door and walking outside.

Ji Cha’s heart skipped a beat and he struggled to look at the clock on the wall. The hour hand clearly pointed to six, and it was already time for everyone to start getting up.

Liang Jincheng’s forehead pressed against his, “You probably can’t take a shower yet. Be good, let me help you wipe down, hmm?”

Ji Cha wanted to protest, but he couldn’t do much and could only nod in agreement.

After a tumultuous encounter that lasted for nearly half an hour, Ji Cha almost ignited Liang Jincheng’s desire for another round. Fortunately, Ji Cha resisted with all his might, his eyes turning red, and managed to temporarily subdue Liang Jincheng.

Around seven o’clock, Liang Jincheng went downstairs with light footsteps.

Grandma Ji saw him and said, “Oh, Xiaoliang, when did you come back?”

“This morning,” Liang Jincheng smiled. “Grandma, Chacha seems to have been tired yesterday, so he’s not feeling very well this morning. I let him rest upstairs, and I’ll help him with anything he needs.”

Grandma was also concerned about her grandson, so she nodded and wanted to bring breakfast to Ji Cha. Liang Jincheng naturally took on this task.

Although Ji Cha was embarrassed and a little angry, he ate his breakfast without hesitation. He put down his chopsticks after finishing half a bowl of porridge and exclaimed, “I almost starved to death…”

“Drink porridge all day today. I’m afraid you won’t feel well later,” Liang Jincheng sat by the bed, staring at Ji Cha, making him feel uneasy.

However, after last night, he felt he had a bit of leverage. He tilted his head and hummed, “So you want to starve me.”

“I was too reckless last night,” Liang Jincheng apologized and leaned in to give Ji Cha’s mouth, which still had some porridge, a kiss. He sincerely said, “I’ll go outside the base tomorrow to find a good lubricant.”

Ji Cha’s face, which had just calmed down, turned red again. He almost threw the bowl of porridge in Liang Jincheng’s face, “Get lost!”

He really couldn’t stand Liang Jincheng’s constant teasing.

Liang Jincheng first cleaned up the dishes and utensils used by Ji Cha, then tended to all kinds of poultry raised at home. Many leftover soybean dregs from making tofu couldn’t be used up, so Ji Cha dried them and stored them, not worrying about running out. As the scale of animal husbandry grew in the future, the amount of these feeds would increase exponentially, and they might not be enough.

***

Although the base was invaded by zombies, the impact was not significant because of its small scale, and the troops reacted fast. Except for a few civilian casualties, other losses were negligible.

Although this was good news, it also indicated that the construction of the base’s periphery was far from enough. Many families who had lost loved ones had not had time to mourn before being required by the army to participate in the new day’s production and construction.

The situation outside could not be estimated now, and wasting even a minute could bring unforeseeable consequences. Everyone understood this logic, and they were afraid of being the next one to die.

Liang Jincheng’s team of ability users played an irreplaceable and important role in this situation. To put it broadly, if they hadn’t led the zombies away last night, perhaps the S city base would no longer exist.

Although Ji Cha had gone through a night of “labors” yesterday, he couldn’t rest all day today. Just past noon, a junior officer from the army came to him. This time, for some reason, he unexpectedly relaxed his tone.

“The final result is probably out. You can leave the food you need here, and some straw-like resources can also be used for your animal breeding. However, breeding and planting must first meet the needs of the army to maintain the basic operation of the base. Then you can have the maximum scheduling power for the remaining livestock. As for food allocation, you will also have some say. You can have a certain degree of control over how much food is taken out of the warehouse. As for other small details, we can negotiate and compromise at that time.”

This result satisfied Ji Cha, who nodded and signed a simple agreement with the army. In fact, as far as Ji Cha was concerned, this agreement was useless. When the army wanted to keep its promise, they didn’t need this piece of paper. If the other party didn’t want to keep their promise, then what was the use of this paper? After all, this was not the pre-apocalyptic society, where whoever had the army had the most power.

Finally, the power plant was repaired after three days and basically restored its power generation function. With electricity, the slow pace of many manual labors increased significantly. This allowed many projects that were not moving very quickly before to increase their speed by several times almost overnight. The towering walls were finally completed around mid-November, and the construction of the S city base’s periphery was completed, leaving only its operation inside.

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Gunshots rang out outside shortly after, causing the people in the factory to tense up, but then they all relaxed together. The sound of footsteps grew closer and closer, and then someone knocked forcefully on the door. “Is everyone inside okay?”

“No, there are no casualties inside,” Ji Cha quickly replied.

“Did you kill all these zombies?” the person outside asked.

Ji Cha confirmed it, and the soldiers outside murmured a few words before speaking up loudly, “Stay inside for now and wait for further instructions.”

With the number of zombies that came and most people having houses to defend themselves, there were only a few unlucky ones who died because they were caught within the range of the zombie attack. The rest of the people were unharmed.

The military quickly disposed of the remaining scattered zombies and took away a few injured people who had not yet turned into zombies.

“I was bitten on my hand, please amputate it! I don’t want to die!” someone shouted, but most people just hung their heads in despair. After living in the apocalypse for so long, they knew that once the virus entered the body, turning into a zombie was only a matter of time. They had already wasted several hours, so amputation or similar treatments were no longer an option.

Before, both the military and individuals had faced the rapid transformation of dead bodies into zombies. It was better to eliminate the risk early on rather than leave a potential hazard. Therefore, more people just turned their heads and didn’t look, creating a surprisingly silent scene.

It wasn’t until around noon that the soldiers came knocking on the door again. It was Zhao Tiankuo, who had some injuries on his face and looked a little unwell. But when he saw Ji Cha staring at the wound on his cheek, he smiled easily and said, “Don’t worry, this was just from the chaos, and has nothing to do with the zombies. I came to tell you that we don’t need to make tofu today. Let’s start tomorrow. Two of the six workers here have died, so remember to go to the recruitment point and find two more workers tomorrow morning.”

Ji Cha’s heart sank. He had been employing them for some time, and compared to the other people outside the base, he felt a greater resonance with those he knew personally who had died.

Zhao Tiankuo casually reported their names, his expression already numb to death.

“Oh, and the technicians we were supposed to bring today, they haven’t come yet. We’ll wait until the security facilities around here are completed and the walls and dormitories are built before bringing them in, ensuring their safety first.”

Although the technicians did not arrive on schedule, the military did send several large agricultural machinery in the afternoon, parked outside the factory gates, and set up protective barriers around the area.

“You can modify it outside here. I’ll leave a soldier behind to ensure your safety. If you need anything, just tell us and we’ll find a way to get it for you.”

Zhang Xing was very excited as he stood in front of the armed soldier. He walked around the agricultural machinery several times, very satisfied with this work. He didn’t know how to farm, but he was very familiar with these things.

So he even had more confidence when he spoke, “Alright, I’ll make a list later and give it to you. I still have to take it apart to see what I need specifically.”

The factory was less busy today, and there were no outsiders around. Everyone sat in the living room, feeling worried about the zombie attack.

Li Xiuzhen sighed, “If they keep coming like this in the future…”

“It won’t happen,” Wang Qinxue said, “The protection outside will only get stronger, and the zombies didn’t cause too much damage today.”

Ji Cha walked to the window and looked up at the setting sun, then at the clock on the wall. It was already four o’clock in the afternoon, and Liang Jincheng hadn’t returned yet.

Although he had told himself earlier that Liang Jincheng might not come back this soon, Ji Cha couldn’t help but worry.

Ji Cha even regretted a little that he didn’t agree to Liang Jincheng’s more excessive demands last night.

“Let’s just stick to moral kidnapping. You’re the one who’s always pretending to be righteous.” In his heart, Ji Cha repeatedly blamed himself, and was afraid that his grandmother would notice something wrong, so he could only hold back his emotions and went upstairs after dinner.

Because of the tension during the day, falling asleep was not difficult. However, because of his worry about Liang Jincheng, Ji Cha woke up shortly after falling asleep.

He sat up in bed and thought for a while, then got up in the darkness, opened the door lightly, and walked to the living room.

Ji Cha felt very lost and uneasy due to the uncertainty of Liang Jincheng’s whereabouts and safety. He walked carefully to Liang Jincheng’s door and looked around. Everyone else was sleeping in the dark.

He then cautiously opened the door and sneaked into Liang Jincheng’s room.

Liang Jincheng’s room was very simply furnished. Compared with Ji Cha’s room, which had a more lived-in feeling, his room was incredibly empty. Apart from a wardrobe, a bed, and a stool, even the desk had been moved out. In its place were several heavy and terrifying pieces of exercise equipment, lying quietly on the ground.

Ji Cha walked to the bed, picked up Liang Jincheng’s blanket, and sniffed his scent on it. This gave him some comfort, and he slowly lay down on the bed, falling asleep at some point.

The night was deep.

Two jeeps drove down the main road, kicking up dust behind them. They stopped at the wall of the S base and were inspected by soldiers.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

When the soldiers saw the symbols on the two jeeps, they didn’t dare to make things difficult for them and simply greeted the people in the cars before allowing them to pass.

The people in the two jeeps did not look tired at all, and instead were full of energy, joking and laughing.

“Can we take a day off tomorrow?” Qin Shuang asked. “This trip has been really tough.”

“We led away several thousand zombies, which we risked our lives to do. Shouldn’t that earn us a break?”

“Boss,” Qin Shuang leaned back in her seat with one hand, grinning at Liang Jincheng who was driving, “They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. When you go back this time, Ji Cha is bound to be thrilled to see you.”

Liang Jincheng heard Ji Cha’s name, and a faint smile appeared on his previously expressionless face. He spoke slowly, almost sparingly, “I hope so.”

The jeeps soon parted ways at the factory gate, and Qin Shuang and the others got out of the car.

Liang Jincheng easily climbed over the wall and then climbed up to the rooftop, without even gasping for air. It was as easy as walking on flat ground.

Without disturbing anyone, he quickly walked to the second floor. Liang Jincheng went to the bathroom first and freshened up a bit, then slowly walked to Ji Cha’s door and pushed it open, only to find that there was no one inside.

Liang Jincheng thought that something might have happened, and he became alert. But he soon noticed that there was breathing coming from his own room. Could it be…?

This hypothesis made his heart race. He walked faster and faster until he twisted the doorknob of his own room.

Ji Cha was indeed curled up in his bed.

His sleeping posture was not very good. At this moment, his legs were entangled with the cotton quilt that Liang Jincheng brought, his cheek was crooked on his pillow, and the collar of his pajamas was unbuttoned, revealing his alluring collarbone.

This scene was like washing a little white rabbit and sending it to the mouth of a big bad wolf for Liang Jincheng at this moment. Who could resist taking a bite?

He chuckled lowly, and slowly began to unbutton his own clothes.

In the darkness where he couldn’t see his fingers, Ji Cha slept defenselessly, not knowing that danger was approaching him.

He rolled over in a hazy sleep, turned his back to Liang Jincheng, and his feet also stretched out from between the futons and placed them horizontally on his back. Liang Jincheng walked over silently, and at this time the shirt on his body had been almost dragged off by him with brute force and thrown aside.

The button fell to the ground with a soft tinkling sound, stirring Ji Cha from his slumber and causing him to wake up slightly, feeling a sense of unease.

At this moment, it was already too late.

Liang Jincheng’s fingers seized Ji Cha’s ankle tightly, gripping it with increasing force as he pulled him closer. Ji Cha felt a surge of fear welling up within him, ready to cry out for help, but before he could, a searing kiss descended upon his lips. Liang Jincheng’s breath was scorching, and Ji Cha instantly recognized who it was.

“How do you…” Only came back at this time … Ji Cha’s words were cut short as he finally regained his senses. He wanted to inquire about the situation, but before he could utter a complete sentence, Liang Jincheng took advantage of the opportunity. His tongue swiftly darted into Ji Cha’s mouth, skillfully locating and entwining with Ji Cha’s tongue, pulling it inside and sucking hard.

Liang Jincheng’s calloused fingertips traced along the edge of Ji Cha’s sleepwear, ascending until they rested upon the two crimson dots on Ji Cha’s chest. What was previously a gentle caress and probing instantly transformed into a ferocious kneading, as if driven by a fervent desire to tear away a piece of Ji Cha’s flesh.

This caused Ji Cha some discomfort, but more than that, it was the scorching sensation brought by the rough fingertips rubbing against his tender and sensitive area. Unable to restrain himself, he arched his chest forcefully and let out a soft moan through his nose. His movements were a combination of evading and accommodating.

Liang Jincheng’s movements were urgent. After thoroughly exploring Ji Cha’s tongue, he shifted his kisses downwards. He trailed kisses along Ji Cha’s neck and gently latched onto his Adam’s apple, tenderly nibbling and sucking on it.

This almost emptied Ji Cha’s rationality. He lay on his back in the darkness, panting uncontrollably, passively accepting all the passion that Liang Jincheng bestowed upon him. It continued until Liang Jincheng’s other hand couldn’t resist the longing to explore further down his body.

“No, it can’t.” Ji Cha’s intermittent attempts to resist and catch his breath seemed feeble at this moment. The fingertips placed on Liang Jincheng’s wrist trembled uncontrollably in response to his actions.

**WARNING: NSFW**

Liang Jincheng grasped Ji Cha’s hardened penis. He had imagined this scene countless times before and knew how excited he might be when this moment finally arrived. He underestimated Ji Cha’s influence on him.

At this time, just touching Ji Cha’s genital and feeling his excitement under his own strokes, Liang Jincheng felt that even his breathing was so hot that he felt like he was about to burn, and his own penis began to swell, clamoring to go galloped in Ji Cha’s soft little hole.

“I want to see you down there.” Liang Jincheng breathed heavily, and his hot breath spraying against Ji Cha’s ear. Following that sentence, Liang Jincheng licked his earlobe, producing a provocative and sensual sound. “Chacha, I want to lick it…”

Ji Cha’s emotions surged in the sea of desire stirred up by Liang Jincheng. His face was flushed to the point where his original color was almost unrecognizable. He never expected that the intense passion he had experienced before was only a fraction of what Liang Jincheng was capable of. At this moment, he found himself uttering such audacious words…

“No, don’t,” Ji Cha was forced to tears by the unbearable intense pleasure, he put his hands on Liang Jincheng’s shoulders, and said softly with a trembling voice, “Liang Jincheng, I’m afraid, don’t be like this…”

“Chacha,” Liang Jincheng slowly stopped his movements, and even withdrew his hand from Ji Cha’s pants. In an instant, all the intense waves of emotion came to a sudden halt, leaving Ji Cha with a faint sense of disappointment in his heart.

He rubbed his eyes and tried to free himself from Liang Jincheng’s grasp when he heard Liang Jincheng’s voice slowly by his ear, “When you cry, I want to fuck you to death on the bed.”

Almost as soon as the words fell, Ji Cha was suddenly turned over and lay on the bed like a small turtle. Liang Jincheng took off his pants almost as easily as breathing and dragged Ji Cha’s pants to his ankles. He then pinched Ji Cha’s waist with both hands and pushed his fleshy butt up high.

Ji Cha exclaimed, and before he had time to react to how shameful his actions were, Liang Jincheng had already begun a new round of attack.

His one hand reached in front of him and quickly stroked Ji Cha’s hard and straight sex organ while the other hand first erotically rubbed his ass cheeks, and then spread them aside to reveal the unexplored flower hole. Lin Jincheng slowly rubbed his thumb at the entrance of the small hole without hesitation.

Ji Cha’s waist was almost soft at once, and the pleasure coming from behind almost overshadowed the joy of the penis. He had no idea that a place that no one had touched could be so sensitive.

Ji Cha’s reaction stimulated Liang Jincheng’s movements even more. He jerked Ji Cha up and put him in a 69 position, and then touched his hard unbearable sex organ to Ji Cha’s lips. Panting, he said, “Chacha, take me in your mouth, huh?”

Ji Cha was in a daze, seeing a big cock knocked down in front of him, he was about to cry and wanted to say no, but when he parted his lips to speak, it felt as if he was granting the man an opportunity. Ji Cha’s mouth was instantly filled with the head of Liang Jincheng’s penis.

The head alone was already huge, almost taking up most of Ji Cha’s mouth, he subconsciously refused. The tip of his tongue pressed against the glans wanting to push it out. Unbeknownst to him, this gesture elicited a heavy snort from Liang Jincheng.

Having been under Liang Jincheng’s control all along, Ji Cha finally grasped a lifeline, realizing that escaping Liang Jincheng’s clutches might not be possible today. This realization filled him with a hint of anger, so he went all out and held Liang Jincheng’s genital. Clumsily, he stroked it up and down and began to suck neither light nor heavy.

Just this move alone was almost enough to suck the soul out of Liang Jincheng. Without anything else, just knowing that it was Ji Cha doing this made him feel so satisfied that he felt he could die.

The thing in his mouth that he thought had swelled to the maximum suddenly became bigger at this moment, Ji Cha snorted and almost burst into tears.

At the same time, Liang Jincheng’s fingers, which were just lingering at the entrance of the cave, abruptly slipped in. Ji Cha’s back stiffened, and he was just about to break free, he felt Liang Jincheng’s fingertips twirling in his back acupoint. When the fingers suddenly pressed on a slightly different spot, Ji Cha almost jumped out of bed.

He couldn’t help opening his mouth to moan, but his mouth was still blocked by Liang Jincheng’s sex organ, and he could only let out a lewd cry from his nasal cavity that changed its tone to extremely erotic.

Liang Jincheng’s fingertips were quickly pulled out and pushed in again, this time directing at the sensitive point he found just now.

Ji Cha was so fucked that he was at a lost for words. He fell limply. He was so overwhelmed with pleasure that he almost lost consciousness and couldn’t control his own cries.

“Mmm, ummm…mm!”

Fortunately, there was a big thing in his mouth, and he subconsciously knew that he couldn’t yell out loud now.

Liang Jincheng patiently carried out thorough foreplay. He smeared all Ji Cha’s semen on his back hole and slowly turned two fingers into three. When Ji Cha swallowed all four fingers without hindrance and pain. Liang Jincheng picked him up and put his penis against Ji Cha’s hole with the two of them facing each other.

Ji Cha was rendered completely powerless by this actions, feeling limp all over. With freedom between his lips and teeth and the lingering pleasure still coursing through his body, Ji Cha intermittently let out soft moans in response to Liang Jincheng’s touch.

Panting, Liang Jincheng whispered into Ji Cha’s ear, “Who is fucking you?”

“Liang Jincheng, Liang, Jincheng…” Ji Cha covered his eyes with the back of his hand in shame. He knew what was going to happen, but he couldn’t control his lustful reaction, so he could only use a little cover to deviate from what he couldn’t control now. He needed to do something to alleviate this embarrassment.

The thick cock pressed against the soft hole and then slowly drilled into it uncontrollably. Although it has been fully expanded by the fingers, Ji Cha’s hole still seemed a bit reluctant to take in the huge object. Ji Cha only felt that his asshole was so swollen.

Liang Jincheng’s kiss fell on his lips, “Don’t be afraid…”

As he spoke, he began to rub Ji Cha’s penis very gently, and lowered his head to suck the nipple. Only when he fully inserted the entire length inside and Ji Cha showed a relaxed expression again, did Liang Jincheng slowly began to move.

His movements went from slow to fast, and in the end, he hit Ji Cha’s buttocks almost uncontrollably, and he couldn’t help but lean back.

Liang Jincheng’s thick and hard genital was faintly visible between Ji Cha’s ass cheeks, bringing out a rush of slapping sounds. At first, Ji Cha bit his lips and silently endured the pleasure that was so intense that he almost lost all self-consciousness, but soon he couldn’t control himself from moaning from the corner of his mouth.

It is particularly noticeable in the silent night.

Although Ji Cha knew that the sound insulation in the room was very good, he still tried his best to cover his mouth for fear of being heard by others.

“You, slow down,” he said with tears streaming from the corners of his eyes, afraid that Liang Jincheng’s violent movements would wake up others.

Their entangled bodies felt like two blazing flames, growing hotter and larger as they merged. There was no trace of reason left amidst the rising flames.

Ji Cha’s back hole tightly held Liang Jincheng’s dick, swallowing and sucking them, every stroke could bring out Liang Jincheng’s life. Every push of his can get Ji Cha’s enthusiastic response. The two hugged each other face to face, and Liang Jincheng’s movements below the waist almost turned into shadows. Every push could accurately rub Ji Cha’s sensitive inner walls.

Layers of pleasure accumulated, and amidst the constant penetration, Ji Cha hugged Liang Jincheng’s back unbearably, raised his head, searched for Liang Jincheng’s lips, and kissed him deeply.

The two of them ejaculated almost at the same time when the pleasure became so intense that they couldn’t contain themselves.

At the end of their lovemaking section, the two piled up on top of each other, like two mountains, drenched in sweat. They couldn’t move for a while.

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Thandar: That’s what happens when you send yourself directly to the bed, Mr. Ji! 🤭

Buying Land

After the midday rest, Yu Qingze was in the kitchen frying meatballs and preparing tofu puffs, getting the ingredients ready for tomorrow’s Guandong-style hot pot. Chang Hao was tending to the fire for him.

After half an hour of rest, Grandpa Chang had also sobered up. He was making mooncakes to sell at the snack stall the next day. Here, mooncakes were not exclusively associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival, so they could be sold as snacks.

When Yu Qingze finished making the meatballs and the tofu puffs, he noticed that Chang Le was still not awake. He checked the time and realized that it had been three hours since he fell asleep. It seemed like he had drunk quite heavily. Next time, Yu Qingze decided to limit Chang Le’s alcohol intake to a maximum of two small cups. He made a mental note of the alcohol limit for Chang Le.

Was Chang Le still sleeping?

Chang Le had actually woken up earlier but felt too embarrassed to come out. Once he woke up, the dizziness from the alcohol had subsided, and he was clear-headed. Gradually, he began to recall the scenes before he fell asleep.

He remembered that during lunch, he had indulged in drinking too much and was helped back to his room by Big Brother Yu. Then, Big Brother Yu had fed him water, but when Big Brother Yu was about to leave, he had held onto him. And then, had he said something to Big Brother Yu?

“I sleep, and you’ll leave?”

“Wait until I fall asleep before you leave.”

Chang Le covered his face. How could he say such bold words?!

Was he asking Big Brother Yu to accompany him while he slept?!

It was so embarrassing. So shameful.

And then…

He remembered that after he said those words, Big Brother Yu had bitten him, on… his lips?

His lips!

Chang Le widened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, absentmindedly reaching up to touch his lower lip. He faintly remembered the slight swelling sensation when his lips were sucked…

His face turned completely red.

So it wasn’t a bite, it was… a kiss.

Big Brother Yu had kissed him, not like before on his forehead, but on his lips.

His first kiss.

Chang Le’s face felt like it was going to explode. He blushed, covering his face and curling up, wanting to hide himself from the world.

Like a little turtle startled by passersby, he retreated his head back into his shell and didn’t dare to peek out for a long time.

After a while, Chang Le slowly opened his hands, lowered them, and gently touched his lower lip with his index finger. A smile appeared on his face, a silly smile filled with joy.

He kissed Big Brother Yu.

Hehe, hehehe…

In the next moment, he frowned. It was such a pity. He was still dizzy and not fully awake at that time, only remembering bits and pieces.

And then, he suddenly remembered the silly question he had asked.

“Why did you bite me?”

“It wasn’t a bite.”

Ah ah ah, he was going crazy!

Chang Le felt a sense of internal collapse, overwhelmed with embarrassment and anger. He wanted to go back in time and strangle his past self for asking such a foolish question.

How could he face Big Brother Yu again?

He might die of embarrassment!

After much internal struggle, a long time passed, and Chang Le still didn’t have the courage to open that door and step outside. Even though he needed to pee, he held it in and didn’t go out.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Chang Hao’s voice came from outside.

“Brother, brother? Are you awake? It’s time to get up. Is your head still dizzy? Big Brother Yu said if you’re still dizzy, get up and have some sobering soup, take a walk.”

Chang Le:… Can I pretend to be asleep?

Chang Hao, seeing that his brother didn’t open the door for a while, knocked again. He had to wake his brother up. “Brother, get up quickly. We’ll go see the lanterns after we eat. Are you feeling unwell? If you don’t open the door soon, I… I’ll come in, okay?”

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Afraid that his brother was feeling unwell and couldn’t get out of bed to open the door, and with no response from his brother, Chang Hao started to get worried.

When he heard his younger brother was about to come in, Chang Le quickly got up, put on his shoes, and went to open the door.

Seeing the door open, Chang Hao breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at his brother and, aside from a slightly flushed face, everything seemed fine. He asked, “Brother, you’re up. Is your head still dizzy?”

Chang Le gestured, indicating that it was still a little bit.

Chang Hao said, “You drank too much. Look at you, your face is still so red. Big Brother Yu made sobering soup for you. Come and drink it.”

Chang Le nodded, motioning for his younger brother to go ahead. He combed his hair.

After dawdling for a while, Chang Le first went to the restroom to relieve himself, and finally mustered up the courage to go to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, there were only Yu Qingze and Chang Hao. Chang Hao was cooking rice and watching the beef braising on the stove, while Grandpa Chang went to the fields to check.

Yu Qingze was preparing dinner. When he saw Chang Le, he smiled and asked, “Awake now? Is your head still dizzy? There’s seaweed soup in the pot. Have some to help with the hangover.”

Seeing that Yu Qingze didn’t bring up the previous incident, Chang Le felt relieved. He nodded, washed his hands, and then filled a bowl with seaweed soup to drink. However, he still couldn’t meet Yu Qingze’s gaze, so he took the bowl to the entrance and drank it there.

Yu Qingze saw this and his lips curved. Little Brother Le was shy; he must have remembered. But for now, he naturally wouldn’t bring it up. He had some emotional intelligence. If he did mention it, Brother Le would be too embarrassed to let him kiss him anymore. What should he do then?

Despite feeling shy, there were new dishes to learn tonight. After finishing the soup, Chang Le gathered his courage and went to Yu Qingze’s side to learn cooking.

Because they had made a lot of dishes for lunch and still had leftovers, they only made radish stew with beef brisket and stir-fried wild boar meat with vegetables for dinner.

Since the beef brisket needed a long time to stew, Yu Qingze had already started it while Chang Le was in his room struggling. The beef brisket was almost done. He then had Chang Le prepare the stir-fried wild boar meat.

Once he entered the cooking mode, Chang Le’s entire demeanor visibly changed. He became focused, and his previous shyness disappeared.

After dinner, they set off to the city to see the lantern festival.

Because it was the Mid-Autumn Festival, the lanterns on this day were even more lively than the lanterns on the previous festival. People were everywhere.

During the previous lantern festival, it was the time when the two of them confessed their feelings to each other. However, they didn’t enjoy the festival as much afterward. But today, they went to the lantern festival together with Grandpa Chang and Chang Hao. They explored the entire lantern festival, walking along the two main streets, and even went to the riverside to release lanterns. They had a great time.

When they returned home, they sat together in the courtyard, admiring the moon and eating mooncakes, tuan yuan bing, and pomelos.

A cool breeze blew, and the bright moon hung in the sky.

They had a warm and joyful Mid-Autumn Festival.

Yu Qingze looked at Chang Le beside him, then at Grandpa Chang and Chang Hao. He felt very happy. It had been more than ten years since he had such a fulfilling festival since his grandfather passed away. Although the material conditions here were poor compared to the twelve years he lived alone, it clearly brought him a sense of spiritual satisfaction and touched his heart.

The next day, Yu Qingze didn’t go to set up his stall. He asked Brother Chang’s mother for help and sent Brother Chang and his father to go instead.

Today, he planned to find the village chief and ask him to take him to the *Li Zheng’s family to discuss buying land and obtaining residency.

*(T/N: Li Zheng translates to Head of the Administrative Unit. I think he has the higher rank than village chief coz he’s in charge of multiple villages).

After seeing off Brother Chang and his father, he prepared some gifts and went to the village chief’s house. Two days ago, when he came to give holiday gifts, he mentioned to the village chief that he would like him to accompany him for some matters today. Therefore, the village chief had already finished his meal and was waiting for him.

The Li Zheng family lived in a neighboring village, separated by a mountain from Niutou Village.

Li Zheng was a man in his forties. When Yu Qingze and the others arrived, he happened to be at home.

The village chief handed over the gifts brought by Yu Qingze and explained the purpose of the visit.

Li Zheng glanced at the gifts in his hands, smiled, put them aside on the table, and then looked at Yu Qingze, asking, “Where are you originally from? How did you end up here?”

Yu Qingze casually made up a story he had heard from a merchant about a very remote place in the north, and then he repeated the reasons he had previously discussed with Chang Le’s family and the village chief.

Li Zheng frowned when he heard him say that the household registration certificate had been lost along with his luggage. He said, “I see. If your household registration plaque is missing, it will be a bit difficult to handle.”

Yu Qingze asked, “Li Zheng, what should I do in this situation?”

Li Zheng thought for a moment and said, “Originally, if you had the household registration certificate, you could buy a piece of land, record it in the land deed, and I would help you with the registration based on the land deed. Then we would go to the county government to verify and register, and finally handle the tax registration. The county government would then issue you a household registration plaque. But now that your original plaque is lost, you’ll have to go to the county government to handle it.”

Yu Qingze frowned and asked, “If I go to the county government, what are the requirements?”

Li Zheng sighed, glanced at the village chief, and then lowered his voice. He said, “Old Yu is also one of us, a fellow villager. I’ll be straightforward with you. Because you don’t have a household registration plaque, the government officials can arrest you as a vagrant at any time. So, if you go to the county government, you need to make some preparations and establish connections.”

Yu Qingze asked, “How much preparation is needed? Are there any specific requirements? If they do something like this, do they need any particular pretext?”

Li Zheng looked at him with surprise and said, “You are a smart person, so I’ll be honest with you. In our area, besides the land owned by our villagers and some big landowners, there is also a significant amount of land under the control of the government. The government has set the price for the land here at 50 taels of silver for good quality land and 30 taels for slightly inferior land. Old Yu should have told you, right?”

The village chief nodded, and Yu Qingze also nodded, saying, “I know about this. I came to find you, Li Zheng, because I have saved enough money to buy the land.”

Li Zheng sighed and said, “If you have only saved 50 taels, it won’t be enough. Save up a bit more.”

Yu Qingze frowned and asked, “How much would be needed then?”

Li Zheng held up eight fingers.

“80 taels?”

Li Zheng nodded.

Yu Qingze asked, “What if I buy the land from a private landlord?”

Li Zheng shook his head and said, “You can only buy land from the government. Without a household registration plaque, even if someone sells land to you, you still need a household registration plaque to process the official deed at the government. Without an official deed, you won’t be able to obtain residency.”

Yu Qingze: … A vicious cycle.

“What about those who don’t have their own land and can only rent land? How do they obtain household registration?”

“They are originally from here. If they are not from here and have no way to buy land, they are not allowed to obtain residency and are sent back to their original place of residence.”

Yu Qingze: …

Li Zheng sighed and said, “Tongshan City has stricter requirements for obtaining residency compared to other places. Take Niutou Village, for example. You know that there are more than ten households that moved here later, the ten-plus households with the surname Chang. During the time when the chaos of war had just subsided, the court issued special decrees to appease the refugees and settle them here. That’s why they were able to obtain land for free and settle down here. Otherwise, they would have been sent back to their original place of residence.”

At this point, the village chief also sighed and said, “The price of land is getting higher and higher. Five years ago, it was still 35 taels of silver per mu for good quality land. Now, sigh…”

“Hush!” Li Zheng glared at the village chief and said, “Don’t speak recklessly!”

The village chief immediately sat up straight and nodded, saying, “Yes, I’m sorry, I spoke out of turn.”

Yu Qingze glanced at both of them and understood when they mentioned five years ago.

If he remembered correctly, eight years ago, it was still County Magistrate Cai Wendong who was in charge, and at that time, the price was 35 taels of silver per mu of land. Later, it was increased to 50 taels. This issue must be related to the current county magistrate.

However, regardless of the price, he still needed to obtain residency.

Yu Qingze then asked Li Zheng, “Li Zheng, apart from the 80 taels to buy the land, is there anything else I need to prepare to obtain residency? Do I need to prepare anything else?”

Li Zheng glanced at him and said, “If you buy the land from the government, they will handle the land deed for you, and they won’t ask for your original household registration plaque. However, there will be a fee of one tael of silver for processing the official deed and the household registration plaque. As for the rest, if you have it, you can prepare some broken silver to treat the officials who handle the matter. They will naturally take care of it for you.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingze asked, “What about the homestead after obtaining residency?”

Li Zheng replied, “Once you obtain residency in our rural area, you can be allocated a homestead based on the number of people in your family. If you settle in the city, you will have to buy your own homestead. In our village, it’s half a mu for households with less than five people, one mu for five to eight people, and one and a half mu for eight to ten people. When the time comes, you can apply to the village and get the consent of the villagers after selecting a suitable location. How many people are there in your family?”

Yu Qingze replied, “One person.”

“That would be half a mu. If you want a larger house, you will need to buy the extra land. One mu of land costs ten taels of silver. You don’t need to go through the government for that. You can handle it with me. Once the house is built, you can go to the government to process the house deed.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingze said, “I understand. Li Zheng, Village Chief, please take me to the county office to apply for residency.”

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar: Money talks~

Unexpectedly, before everything was back on track, the partially repaired defense measures of the base were put to a great test.

During the night when Liang Jincheng did not return, Ji Cha had insomnia. He tossed and turned in bed for a long time and couldn’t fall asleep, so he couldn’t help but complain about himself.

Normally, when Liang Jincheng disturbed his sleep, Ji Cha wished he could go to the ends of the earth, but when the real situation came, it turned out that Liang Jincheng couldn’t even adapt after just one night.

It was also fortunate that because he couldn’t fall asleep, Ji Cha heard the gradually rising turmoil outside very early. There were screams of men and women and sporadic gunfire. He jumped out of bed and opened the door to run towards the rooftop without saying a word.

Strict no-light strategy was being imposed in the S City base at night, but at this time, many people forgot about this rule when the commotion started and almost everyone found a way to illuminate things. The entire base was dotted with dim lights flashing everywhere, almost becoming the horn of death ignited at this moment.

The recent period was too smooth-sailing that Ji Cha almost forgot that they had not completely escaped the shadow of the zombies, and the S City base was not yet strong enough to deal with such zombie attacks as in the later days.

Ji Cha kept calm and looked around the factory building. Fortunately, there were not many people around the factory building, except for the wandering zombies near the wall. He couldn’t see any injured people. There were only two options at this time: either go out and kill the zombies or stay quietly in the factory building.

Ji Cha chose the second option without hesitation, but then he became worried because the daylight was about to begin. The rooster crowing in the factory was about to start in a while, and he lifted his telescope to look at the distant road where zombies were still streaming in.

The peace of the factory building was shattered, and everyone gradually woke up. After learning about the situation, everyone was worried and couldn’t think of a good countermeasure. At this moment, a rooster crowed almost breaking through the sky.

Zhang Xing trembled all over and immediately stood up from the sofa, “Rooster…”

“Why don’t we kill it?” Wang Qinxue continued, “We also have a batch of fertilized eggs on hand, and after hatching, we can still keep some for breeding.”

“But we don’t know if the egg incubator can be successful now,” Zhang Qinqin said, “What if it fails? Where do we find another rooster?”

The poultry had been raised for a long time, and everyone vaguely felt that the fortress they were in was strong enough to stop zombie attacks, so they were not willing to kill the rooster as their first choice.

Because they couldn’t come up with a decision, everyone turned to Ji Cha at this moment.

“We have fewer people here, so attracting zombies might be a good thing to some extent,” Ji Cha said, knowing that the factory fence could withstand several rounds of zombie attacks. “On top of that, if we can kill zombies at a safe distance, that’s the best option.”

“The key is to aim for the head,” Zhang Xing said. “We just need to find the right tool.”

Having watched many zombie movies and played zombie games, he knew a lot about how to deal with zombies, but he lacked courage.

The group made a decision and scattered around the factory to find suitable weapons that could quickly kill zombies with one blow while ensuring safety.

In the end, they settled on the steel pipes left over from the decoration, sharpened at the head with a metal file and wrapped with cloth at the tail to prevent friction with the hands.

Even the elderly grandparents who were waiting on the side did not sit idle. They were ready to lend a hand when needed.

The factory’s two doors played a big role at this time. Ji Cha and Wang Qinxue first moved a large wire mesh from the house. This was a small piece left over from making the fence, with each hole about four or five centimeters in diameter. They opened the first door and then told grandma Ji to immediately close it and not to open it randomly. Then, they fixed the wire mesh in front of the first door and slowly opened the first door to a gap of about thirty centimeters.

Zhang Xing held a thick rope that connected a hook on the ground between the first and second doors, keeping the first door open in this arc. After the rope was fixed, it would not be easily broken by zombies.

The door slowly opened, and there were not many zombies at the entrance, only one or two immediately surrounded them. Ji Cha took a deep breath and whispered, “We cannot be soft-hearted at this time. The head is the key, and it is safest to pierce directly through the skull.”

“If it doesn’t work, just stick the steel pipe into the zombie’s eyes. It’s effortless,” Zhang Xing whispered in Zhang Qinqin’s ear, fearing that she would not be able to make a decisive move.

Zhang Qinqin silently glanced at Zhang Xing, then wordlessly plunged the steel pipe she held through the hole. A muffled sound followed, and the steel pipe easily pierced through the zombie’s skull. With Zhang Qinqin pulling it back, the zombie that had blindly charged forward just a moment ago fell heavily to the ground.

Zhang Xing was lucky to stand far away, otherwise he would have been disgusted by the pus and fluid that might spray out.

Zhang Qinqin’s actions proved that Zhang Xing’s concerns were completely unnecessary.

With someone taking the initial actions, albeit a bit nauseating, it stirred up the emotions of the crowd. In addition, as the zombies heard the commotion from this side, they began to rush towards them. Wang Qinxue and Ji Cha struggled to hold down the wire mesh, allowing Zhang Qinqin and Zhang Xing to kill a wave of zombies first, and then the four of them exchanged positions in pairs to conserve their strength.

For a while, the only sound heard was the sound of flesh and blood splattering, as a dozen or so zombies fell down, almost blocking the entrance. However, the zombies showed no fear or retreat at the sight of their kind dying, and they continued to surge upward, full of desire for fresh meat.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

As time passed, the sky gradually began to brighten, and the previously intermittent crowing of roosters inside the room became less and less frequent. The corpses of the first zombies that fell in front of the main gate had piled up to several dozen, which to some extent slowed down the zombies’ movements, forming a pile of corpses.

Ji Cha took a breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Let’s close the door and take a break.”

At this point, everyone’s strength was exhausted to varying degrees, and it was time to rest for a while.

The two of them struggled to push the door closed, cutting off the zombies’ bites from outside. After locking the door, the four of them relaxed their nerves and could rest for a while.

The first thing Ji Cha did when he returned to the factory was to run to the roof with a telescope to check the surrounding situation. After seeing clearly, he finally relaxed. The current situation was much better than he had expected.

Because it was already fully bright, the surrounding situation was also clear to Ji Cha. Military vehicles had already started to scatter and control the zombies. There were only five or six zombies left at the entrance of his factory, and the pile of corpses made up of zombies was even more eye-catching.

With some free time, Ji Cha was now only worried about what kind of situation Liang Jincheng would encounter when he left in this situation.

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Thandar: For the people who have been living in the safe factory compound since the beginning, I think the group did a great job.

Ji Cha can only think of one method to propagate the preferred seeds, which is to select the excellent seeds from each crop harvest and repeat this process to solve the problem of seed degeneration. Once the complete production chain is established, Ji Cha will not have to worry about this issue alone.

With November approaching, the temperature difference between morning and night is getting bigger, and the greenhouse frame that was prepared earlier now needs to be covered with a plastic film to maintain the growth temperature required for potatoes and sweet potatoes.

The walls around the factory are now lush due to hatching eggs and managing pregnant mother rabbits, and Ji Cha has not paid much attention to the piglets for several days. He went to feed the pigs one morning and saw a boar riding on a sow.

The boar grunted vigorously while the sow lazily leaned against the trough and looked eagerly at Ji Cha, waiting for him to pour the breakfast. Ji Cha didn’t know whether to pour it down or hold it up. He also had to pay some attention to the piglets.

Now that the piglets are more than six months old, it is indeed the age to start breeding. Although Ji Cha has carefully read the guidebook and video tutorials, he did not expect that before he could give guidance, the boar would naturally mate.

Ji Cha was happy and proud. When Liang Jincheng came back to the pigsty in the afternoon, Ji Cha couldn’t help but say to him, “He’s so smart, he knows how to mate at such a young age.”

Liang Jincheng put his hand casually on Ji Cha’s shoulder and spoke naturally, but his eyes looking at Ji Cha had a different meaning, “Not too smart, it’s just that the meat in front of him is so big that he knows to eat it.”

Ji Cha shrank his shoulders and felt chills all over his body. His heart was beating rapidly.

“I’m going out tomorrow. I might not be back at night,” Liang Jincheng paused and changed the subject.

Ji Cha broke free from the embarrassment and turned his head to look at Liang Jincheng with widened eyes, “Where are you going?”

“We’re going to investigate the situation of the survivors outside. It’s a task assigned by the military, and I’m going with Qin Shuang and others.” Liang Jincheng put his two fingers on Ji Cha’s neck and groped slightly. “The base is relatively safe for now, and we have close contact with the military. You are safe at home.”

“What about you?” Ji Cha felt anxious. He didn’t want Liang Jincheng to go out during the zombie apocalypse. “Can you guarantee your absolute safety? How about…”

Anyway, they had enough food and didn’t need to risk their lives outside.

But Ji Cha didn’t say it out loud. During the last apocalypse, he knew that Liang Jincheng didn’t just want to find a safe haven.

Liang Jincheng’s eyes showed a smile, “If you are willing to give me a little extra motivation, maybe I can work harder.”

“You’re totally morally blackmailing me,” Ji Cha’s face turned red.

“Is that a no?” Liang Jincheng’s face was full of disappointment, but if Ji Cha looked carefully at this moment, he could see the teasing deep in his eyes.

“It’s not a no,” Ji Cha muttered in his heart about his own awkwardness, but his expression couldn’t be corrected for a while. He lowered his head and couldn’t look directly into Liang Jincheng’s overly enthusiastic eyes. He whispered, “If you can safely come back, we’ll talk about it then.”

“Can I come into your room and sleep with you?” Liang Jincheng asked. “If I can hold you while I sleep, I’ll definitely sleep more soundly.”

“Okay,” Ji Cha nodded.

“Can I kiss the places I want to?” Liang Jincheng continued to ask.

Hey, where does he want to kiss? Ji Cha looked at Liang Jincheng with a suspicious look, but he didn’t dare to ask. He was afraid that Liang Jincheng would say anything, and he would be the one blushing later.

It’s better to be vague now, and if it doesn’t work out later, just play dumb.

“Um, okay.”

“Can I take a shower with you? It can save water,” Liang Jincheng continued.

“You’re going too far!” Ji Cha couldn’t take it anymore, and pushed Liang Jincheng back two steps.

“It’s okay, I’m already satisfied with the first two things. I’ll be leaving early tomorrow morning, so I can’t say goodbye to you. Can I move our farewell kiss to tonight?”

“Who said yes to these nonsense!” Ji Cha couldn’t take it anymore and walked ahead by himself.

No matter what he said, Liang Jincheng continued to plot to himself, “Actually, one farewell kiss is not enough. Can I sleep with you tonight? I promise not to do anything else.”

With this kind of promise, it actually made people feel more dangerous!

After arguing for half the night, Ji Cha woke up a little later the next day. Fortunately, the various processing projects in the factory were already very organized and did not require much supervision from him.

However, there was also something unexpected that day.

Ji Cha was recording data in the fields while silently calculating where Liang Jincheng might be at this moment. That was when Zhao Tiankuo came over.

“This morning, the leader called me over to talk about the matter you raised last time. There are still a lot of land outside of the planned area, and it is indeed necessary to develop production. The higher-ups have made it clear that the land can be approved, but the army will also need to send personnel to manage it. At present, it has been decided that the grain produced cannot be sold commercially for the time being, and the distribution of grain will also be taken over by the army. The army also has some seeds and technical personnel. If you can confirm that the land can be developed, the army will prepare tools and manpower for you.”

Ji Cha understood what was going on here. This was actually a collective farm from his previous life, a public ownership system. This was a system that had to be implemented in the end times and was also for the management of the base.

Zhao Tiankuo continued, “Actually, I think this is great. Isn’t dealing with food your strong suit? The army is just to save the trouble of setting up an agricultural department or something. Your work with making tofu, sprouting beans, and planting vegetables is quite good, and the leaders trust you,” he lowered his voice a bit here, “The leaders also said that this doesn’t sound like there’s much benefit to it, but you won’t know until you actually do it. Although the distribution of grain is decided within the army, it still has to be managed by you at your level. And from what I’ve heard from the leaders, they aren’t too strict, so you can always negotiate with them in the end.”

“I understand,” Ji Cha nodded. He had worked on a farm before and knew how it all worked.

If he was really in charge of this, on the surface it would be said that all the grain would be distributed to the army. But, just like the leaders in the farms in the previous era, who didn’t move grain to their own homes? As long as it wasn’t too excessive, the army wouldn’t manage this small shortfall.

Even so, Ji Cha was clear that he still needed to clarify things face to face.

He didn’t need to store grain. What Ji Cha wanted was the supply of feed for animal husbandry.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

When he went with Zhao Tiankuo to see the leader in charge of this matter in the military, he made his requirements very clear, “I hope to get ownership of some byproducts, like straw, corn stalks, and other types from production. Additionally, I have about ten people to feed in my factory building, and I hope to keep some of the grain for ourselves.”

It didn’t matter if the army took charge of all crop production. Ji Cha just needed to focus on animal husbandry and if necessary, he could still use meat to exchange for grain.

Public ownership can never be a long-term system, it’s only a way to gather all productive forces during times of crisis. As time goes on, it will inevitably dissolve and become more liberalized. This trend had already started to emerge in the end times that Ji Cha had experienced and was also confirmed by the development of C country itself.

Therefore, Ji Cha had to reserve some of his own rights and interests during these times.

The requirements that Ji Cha proposed were not excessive to the leader’s ears. He had originally planned to offer more than this, and now that he saw Ji Cha being so straightforward, he agreed.

“After I send a report up, I’ll have them bring over a few technicians tomorrow. They can stay in the dormitory building near your factory until the farmland planning is complete. It won’t be too far away, just the area behind your factory. We’ll have someone discuss the details of personnel management and other issues with you later. As for many of the mechanical tools, they may be a bit difficult because you know that fuel and other things can only go out and not come in…”

“I have a solution to that. As long as there’s electricity and some materials, people in my factory can modify those machines.”

“Alright,” the leader’s eyes lit up. “Electricity shouldn’t be a big problem. There’s a small power plant within the range of our base, and it’s already being repaired intensively. It will be usable in no time.”

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Thandar: Good for him to set things straight since the very beginning.

Celebrity Effect and Reservations

In the southern part of the city, inside the Zhao family’s mansion, the steward was busy counting and registering the festival gifts. During every New Year and holiday season, this was their busiest time. They had to meticulously count and record the gifts received from each household, noting what each gift contained, in order to assist the master of the house in deciding what gifts to send. They also had to register the gifts prepared by their own family, creating a dedicated record.

While registering the festival gifts received from the Cai family, the steward picked up the last box of pastries and examined the name and the pastry’s type before recording it: a box of “Yu’s Delicious Delights” mooncakes.

Mooncakes? Wasn’t “Yu’s Delicious Delights” a food stall that had recently opened? The steward opened the box, realizing it was a variety of pastries he had never seen before. He closed the box and handed it to the servant next to him, saying, “These are the pastries sent by the Cai family. I’ve never seen them before. Take them to madam and young master to taste.”

The servant took the box and left, while the steward continued with his registration.

Shortly after, the servant returned, informing the steward that madam Zhou was looking for him. The steward immediately went to see him.

“These pastries taste quite good. I’ve never had them before. Has a new pastry shop opened in the city? I don’t recall any shop named ‘Yu’s Delicious Delights’,” said the mistress of the Zhao family, who was feeding a three or four-year-old child bean paste mooncake as he saw the steward approaching.

The steward promptly replied, “Madam, I haven’t heard of any pastry shop called Yu’s Delicious Delights in the city, apart from the Yu’s Delicious Delights noodle shop. But they don’t specialize in pastries.”

“Who sent these?”

“They were sent by the Cai family, madam.”

“Oh? The Cai family,” Madam Zhou straightened up and pondered for a moment. He then said, “Inquire about where they bought them. Let’s try something new. We’ve been receiving the same pastries from the same few families every year, and I’m getting tired of them. Also, buy a few more boxes and send one to each courtyard.”

The steward bowed and replied, “Yes, madam.”

Similar scenes unfolded in many grand residences that received festival gifts from the Cai family.

***

In the afternoon, after the busy lunchtime rush subsided a bit, Yu Qingze and his team finally had a moment to rest. Although they didn’t sell many mooncakes, their business for cold noodles, liangpi, and Guandong Zhu remained good. They were still bustling with activity.

“Boss Yu, Brother Le, and father I brought back the noodles. Come and eat,” Brother Chang said as he returned from Liu’s noodle shop across the street. This was their lunch.

“Brother Le, Uncle, you go ahead and eat. I’ll join you in a moment,” Yu Qingze quickly packed the Guandong Zhu that a customer ordered, collected the money, and then finally sat on a small stool to eat.

The four of them sat under the shade of an umbrella, enjoying their delayed lunch.

“In the future, let’s take turns to have our meals. Eating too late isn’t good for our health,” Yu Qingze swallowed a mouthful of noodles and suggested.

Brother Chang’s father replied, “We can’t afford to take the time. Lunchtime is our busiest period. It’s not a problem to eat a bit later.”

Brother Chang chimed in, “Yeah, it’s not much of a delay. We’ve gotten used to it, and we usually feel hungry around this time. When we’re busy, we don’t even notice the hunger.”

Chang Le nodded in agreement.

Yu Qingze looked at them, sighed, and said, “You’ve all been working hard.”

The group shook their heads and continued eating. There were still a few customers at the table, so they had to eat quickly.

Just then, a middle-aged man walked over and his eyes lit up when he saw the mooncake gift boxes on a small table. He asked Yu Qingze, “Boss, can I take a look at your mooncakes?”

Yu Qingze immediately got up upon seeing someone interested in the mooncakes and replied, “Of course, come here, sir. We have samples for you to taste. There are several flavors. Which one would you like?”

The middle-aged man tried each flavor and then picked up the mooncake gift box. He found the same name on it as the one on the gift box he had at home, so he happily asked, “Boss, how much are these mooncakes? The ones in these packaged boxes.”

Yu Qingze answered, “The Four Seasons Prosperity gift box is 108 wen per box, the Five Blessings at the Door gift box is 128 wen per box, the Six Harmony gift box is 168 wen per box, the Seven Stars Radiance gift box is 198 wen per box, and we also have the Perfect Harmony Super Deluxe gift box for 288 wen per box. These are all premium packaging options, perfect for giving as Mid-Autumn Festival gifts.”

The middle-aged man widened his eyes and exclaimed, “Why are they so expensive?”

Yu Qingze explained, “Sir, you see, our pastries have thin crusts and generous fillings. They are different from the ones you find elsewhere. Not to mention the effort and expensive high-quality ingredients that go into making them. Most importantly, the taste is unique. We aim for that uniqueness, and besides, the symbolism behind them is also quite meaningful, don’t you think?”

The middle-aged man seemed hesitant and looked at the other options nearby. He asked, “Why is the packaging different for these?”

Yu Qingze replied, “These ones have a deluxe packaging, which is a bit more cost-effective compared to the premium packaging. Each box is 20 wen cheaper.”

“Then what about for one single mooncake?”

“The small ones are 8 wen each, and the large ones are 16 wen each.”

“Boss, the difference in price is too significant,” the middle-aged man said, pointing at the singles and packaged mooncakes, astonished.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Yu Qingze chuckled and said, “Sir, people are different, and mooncakes can be different too.”

The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment and then said, “Give me some time to consider.”

Yu Qingze smiled and replied, “Sure, but please consider it quickly. We don’t have much inventory left.”

The middle-aged man waved his hand and walked away. Yu Qingze saw him walking towards a carriage and speaking to someone inside through the window. Yu Qingze chuckled softly and turned back to continue eating his noodles.

Chang Le and the other two secretly listened to Yu Qingze’s conversation with the customer. Now that the customer had left, they all sighed and said, “Ah, he’s gone again.”

Seeing Yu Qingze sitting back down, Chang Le put his chopsticks on the plate and gestured with his right hand, asking, “He left again?”

Yu Qingze glanced in that direction and smiled, saying, “It’s fine. I think he’ll come back, and who knows, he might be a big customer.”

All three of them stared at him in astonishment.

When they heard Yu Qingze’s individual pricing for the mooncakes, they were shocked. It was so expensive! The small mooncakes the size of a child’s fist cost 8 wen each, while the larger ones cost 16 wen each, but they were even bigger than an adult’s fist.

When they heard the price of the boxed mooncakes, they were completely dumbfounded. They thought there was something wrong with their ears and confirmed it three times before finally accepting that their ears were fine and it was Yu Qingze’s mind that was messed up.

They hadn’t sold a single box of mooncakes in the morning. They only sold the singles, and even those didn’t sell much.

They couldn’t understand why. The mooncakes were so delicious, and if they were priced similar to other pastry shops, they would have sold out in no time. Even if the small ones were priced at 5 wen and the large ones at 8 wen, they would have sold a lot.

But now, with such high prices, 8 wen for the small ones and 16 wen for the large ones, even the single mooncakes didn’t sell well, let alone the boxed ones.

They felt it was such a pity, but they didn’t dare say it out loud, especially Brother Chang and his father. They could only think to themselves and comfort themselves by saying that there must be a reason behind Yu Qingze’s actions.

Chang Le did ask once, and Yu Qingze said that people would buy them, so he believed him.

But now, seeing the poor business, they couldn’t help but worry. They were so worried that they couldn’t even enjoy the delicious fried sauce noodles in front of them.

Yu Qingze reached out and tapped Chang Le’s forehead, saying, “Don’t furrow your brows. I said someone will buy them. Trust me, hmm?”

The sudden intimate gesture startled Chang Le, and he quickly reached out to cover his forehead, his face turning red.

Wait, Brother Chang’s father was right there!

Although he felt embarrassed, there was a hint of sweetness in his heart. It was really maddening.

Yu Qingze also felt a bit stunned after he did it. It was a completely subconscious action. He quickly glanced at Brother Chang and his father and found that they were tactfully pretending to lower their heads and eat their noodles, not looking up at all. He smiled at Chang Le to indicate that everything was fine.

Chang Le kept his head down and didn’t look at him.

Yu Qingze: …I should be more careful next time.

“Boss!”

Just then, the middle-aged man from earlier returned, accompanied by a servant boy.

“Ah, you’re back!” Yu Qingze responded.

Chang Le and the other two looked at the customer in astonishment.

He really came back?!

Suddenly, none of them felt like eating anymore. They perked up their ears, listening to the commotion over there.

The middle-aged man pointed at the premium packaged mooncakes and said, “Two boxes of each variety of these, and two boxes of each variety of these. Then, I want to select some flavors from the single ones.”

“Alright, take your time to choose. Once you’re done, I’ll pack them for you,” Yu Qingze replied.

Upon hearing that the customer wanted so many mooncakes, Chang Le and the others quickly put down their chopsticks and came over to help.

All three of them were extremely shocked. This was truly a big customer!

Their inventory was suddenly reduced by half!

The middle-aged man also chose quite a few single mooncakes, with various flavors and sizes. After counting, there were thirty small ones and twenty large ones.

Yu Qingze quickly calculated the total on paper, which came to 3,920 wen.

The middle-aged man also used an abacus to double-check the calculation, confirmed its accuracy, and then paid with silver.

The three of them helped the servant boy to carefully place the mooncakes on the carriage and, upon returning, Chang Le and the others were all dumbfounded, laughing.

“Someone really bought them!” Brother Chang’s father exclaimed.

Brother Chang also felt like he was dreaming, but having been working outside for a long time, he had a bit more insight than his father. He said, “Wealthy people don’t care about the price; they care about rarity.”

Chang Le nodded happily, unable to contain his joy.

Yu Qingze collected the money and looked at Chang Le, saying, “Feeling relieved now? I told you someone would buy them.”

Chang Le excitedly nodded and gestured, “I’ve always believed in you!”

Yu Qingze chuckled. Wasn’t it him who had been so worried before? But things changed so quickly! Ah!

Not long after the middle-aged man left, two more people arrived who also wanted to buy mooncakes. These two customers bought a lot as well, and their remaining stock was completely depleted.

While these two customers were still there, three more people arrived. Seeing that the mooncakes were sold out, they sighed in disappointment, saying they had arrived too late.

Yu Qingze quickly said, “If you’re not in a hurry, you can make a reservation and come back tomorrow morning to pick them up.”

Those three individuals quickly agreed, made reservations for a specific quantity, and paid a partial deposit. They took the note that Yu Qingze had written and left.

Afterward, several more people came one after another to buy mooncakes. Yu Qingze estimated the quantity they had made at home today and realized that accepting a few more orders would likely leave them short. He informed the customers about the situation. Some of them wanted to use the mooncakes as gifts, as tomorrow was the 14th, the final day for gift-giving. If they couldn’t get their orders in time, they decided to settle for single ones for their own consumption and planned to come to collect them on the 15th.

By the time they closed up shop, not only had they sold out all the mooncakes that hadn’t sold well in the morning, but they had also taken reservations for the following two days.

Chang Le and the others had smiles in their eyes, no longer doubting any of Yu Qingze’s decisions.

When they calculated the accounts at night, Yu Qingze told Chang Le and Grandpa Chang that they had earned over seven taels of silver just from the mooncakes today, and that was pure profit, not including the portion from the Cai family and the reserved orders.

Hearing that they had earned so much money, all three of them stared at Yu Qingze with wide eyes, unable to believe it.

They had made over seven taels of silver in just one day!

Could they have ever imagined such a thing before?

They wouldn’t even dare to think about it!

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar: I’d buy them all if it’s Boss Yu who made it #BlindTrustInOurMC

Mooncake Market Cools Down

The next day, the group once again noticed the dark circles under Chang Le’s eyes, but he seemed to be in good spirits and not as listless as last time.

When asked, he replied that he was feeling fine and there was nothing to worry about.

During breakfast, Chang Hao took a bite of his food and glanced at his brother, eating and smiling with a particularly good mood.

Yu Qingze and Grandpa Chang were also in a good mood, but they didn’t stare at people like Chang Hao did. Instead, their lips were constantly upturned in a smile.

Finally, there was a method to remove the long-standing haze, and the initial experiments were successful. How could one not be happy about it?!

Chang Le blushed under their gaze. Even though they were family, he had thin skin and felt quite embarrassed.

Yu Qingze noticed Brother Le’s unnatural expression and gave Chang Hao a pat, saying, “Why are you always staring at your brother? Hurry up and eat. Finish your meal and go to school.”

Chang Hao chuckled and said, “I just think that my brother looks really handsome! The more I look at him, the more handsome he becomes! What do you think, Brother Yu?”

Upon hearing this, Chang Le’s hand trembled as he was picking up a small bun, causing it to fall back into the steamer. He quickly picked it up again and stole a glance at Yu Qingze, only to meet his gaze.

Brother Le:…

Yu Qingze smiled faintly, looking into Chang Le’s eyes, and said, “Brother Le has always been good-looking.”

Chang Le’s face turned red as if blood would drip from it. He quickly averted his gaze, but his lips involuntarily curled up.

Seeing Chang Le becoming even redder, Yu Qingze shifted his gaze away, turned to Chang Hao, and said, “Eat quickly, eat more, so you can grow taller!”

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

“Mm! Brother Yu, can I grow as tall as you?” When it came to height, Chang Hao quickly started eating and couldn’t help but ask about his potential for growth.

Height was a sensitive topic for him. There were several boys in the school who were two years younger than him but almost the same height or even taller. He dreamed of growing a little taller, ideally as tall as Brother Yu.

Yu Qingze understood well how important height was to boys. He nodded and said confidently, “Yes, you can. You just haven’t reached your growth spurt yet. In a few years, you will definitely be taller than me.”

With proper nutrition, exercise, and a positive mindset, he could grow well.

Upon hearing this, Chang Hao ate another bun!

Grow taller, grow taller, he wanted to grow taller!

After breakfast, Brother Chang and his father came over with a cart ready to set off.

Putting the freshly made mooncakes from yesterday into the cart, Yu Qingze instructed Brother Chang, “These are the mooncakes ordered by the Cai family. They use them for gifting and reciprocation. This morning, Mi Ge’er and the Cai family’s steward will come to collect them. According to their requirements, there are two types of packaging, one more expensive and one cheaper. Please tell Mi Ge’er and the others that for the ones to be sent to Yunzhou, they should choose the baked ones if possible. Also, let them know that the remaining mooncakes won’t be finished until tomorrow, so we’ll settle the accounts together then.”

Brother Chang nodded and replied, “Okay, Brother Yu, you can rest assured.”

After giving further instructions, the three of them set off with the cart.

Just as they left the house, Chang Le and the others encountered a middle-aged man.

“Are you guys setting up a stall? Oh, and this, is it Brother Le?” The middle-aged man saw the three of them pushing the food cart and the flatbed cart. He knew that ger and the others were going to set up a stall, but when he saw the person walking in the middle, he was momentarily stunned. It took him a moment to realize that it was Brother Le.

After seeing someone for more than ten years, suddenly cutting their long bangs to reveal their eyes and eyebrows, he didn’t recognize them at first.

Brother Chang replied, “Yes, Uncle Amin, this is indeed Brother Le.”

Chang Le, who was accustomed to instinctively lowering his head upon seeing someone from the village, had just lowered his head but remembered what he had promised Yu Qingze yesterday. He gritted his teeth, gathered his courage, and looked up at Uncle Amin. He forced a shy smile, tugging at the corners of his mouth.

The middle-aged man named Amin was momentarily stunned, but then he reacted and exclaimed, “It really is Brother Le! I almost thought I mistook someone!”

Chang Le nodded and smiled sheepishly.

Brother Chang laughed and said, “Uncle Amin, how do you find him? Isn’t he good-looking?”

Uncle Amin nodded repeatedly and sighed, “Very good-looking. The long bangs before covered his eyebrows and eyes. He has really grown up. It’s like a transformation.”

Upon hearing this, Chang Le’s anxious heart finally settled back into his chest.

“Yes, indeed. But Brother Le was already good-looking to begin with.” Brother Chang noticed the mushrooms and white fungus in Uncle Amin’s bamboo basket and asked, “Uncle Amin, are you going to pick mushrooms?”

“Yes, earlier Grandpa Chang mentioned that they are collecting mushrooms and white fungus. So I took the opportunity to go to the mountains this morning and managed to collect quite a few.” Uncle Amin chuckled.

Brother Chang replied with a smile, “Then you should hurry. Boss Yu and Grandpa Chang are both at home.”

“Alright, alright. You guys go set up your stall. After I give them the mushrooms, I need to go back and continue working in the fields. I still haven’t finished picking the grass.”

Ever since they started making Guandong-style skewers, Grandpa Chang would take a walk in the mountains every day, collecting mushrooms. He would also regularly visit the forest where they found the white fungus and bring some back to dry. Previously, they used the mushrooms that Grandpa Chang collected from the mountains for the skewers. However, if it hadn’t rained, the supply would be inconsistent, and sometimes all the mushrooms would be sold out in the morning.

Seeing this, Yu Qingze asked Grandpa Chang to inform the villagers that they would purchase mushrooms and white fungus.

Since the villagers were unaware of the value of white fungus, they bought it at an extremely low price of three cents per kilogram. However, in the eyes of the villagers, it didn’t seem cheap. They wondered if they were being foolish since the fungus couldn’t be eaten, questioning its purpose. Nevertheless, they didn’t hold any grudges over the money. Some people thought that Yu Qingze must have a great use for it, even if they themselves didn’t know, so they might as well earn some cash.

As a result, the villagers of Niutou Village now had an additional task. After finishing their farm work, they would go to the mountains, not only to the mountain behind the village but also to other mountains in search of mushrooms.

With the villagers joining in the mushroom picking, the Guandong-style skewer stall could now ensure a continuous supply of mushrooms throughout the day. They even had extra mushrooms to dry and store for the winter when there would be no mushrooms available. They also managed to collect a considerable amount of white fungus, which would come in handy during autumn.

With a stable source of ingredients, the villagers also increased their income, and the gossip about them in the village diminished. It could be considered an unexpected gain.

After bidding farewell to Uncle Amin, they encountered several villagers who were going to the market to sell vegetables. They all stared blankly at Brother Le and, once they realized who he was, expressed their regret, saying that he was quite good-looking. It was such a pity.

They also ran into Dahe and Chang Shun, who were heading to the dock.

(T/N: Chang Shun is the son of Chang Sheng, Grandpa Chang’s younger son in case you forgot 🙂

Chang Shun’s reaction wasn’t too dramatic; he was just slightly surprised and called out in a daze, “Brother Le.”

Chang Le nodded at him.

However, Dahe, upon seeing Chang Le’s appearance, initially walked faster and was about to overtake them. But as they continued, his steps became smaller and slower until he eventually fell behind Chang Le and the others.

“Dahe, why did you slow down? Weren’t we supposed to arrive early today?” Chang Shun looked at Dahe with confusion. With their pace, they should have overtaken Brother Le and hurried to the dock. But now, they were simply walking behind Brother Le and the others.

Dahe looked at Brother Le’s back and shook his head. “It’s alright, we still have time.”

Chang Shun: …

When they reached the main road, Brother Chang purposely pushed the cart to walk parallel to Brother Le and said to him, “See, I told you that you look good, right? It’s not that difficult to change, is it?”

Chang Le gently nodded, and his lips curled up slightly.

Indeed, it wasn’t as difficult as he had imagined.

The mocking and teasing from his childhood that had caused him distress seemed to have diminished. Perhaps there were still words of regret and pity, but they no longer affected him as much.

Brother Chang smiled and leaned closer to him, whispering, “Has Boss Yu praised your looks?”

As soon as he heard this, Chang Le couldn’t help but blush and glared at Brother Chang, refusing to answer.

Brother Chang chuckled and said, “You don’t have to say it. Hahaha…”

They continued on their way, laughing and joking, their mood brightening like the rising sun on the horizon.

When they arrived at the small stall, Mi Ge’er and the steward were already waiting for them.

Mi Ge’er immediately noticed the change in their appearance and exclaimed, “Your new hairstyles look so good! How did you come up with this idea? Can you teach me?”

Brother Chang winked at Chang Le and said, “Sure, I know a few different styles. I’ll draw them for you later, and you can choose your favorite. Then you can have someone help you cut it accordingly.”

“Really? That’s great!” Mi Ge’er exclaimed happily. “I’ve been unhappy with my hairstyle for a while. Everyone looks the same, and there’s no uniqueness.”

Brother Chang nodded in agreement and said, “Exactly! Mi Ge’er, you have a small face, and I think there’s a particular style that would suit you well. I’ll draw it for you later.”

“Okay, okay, okay!” they all laughed together.

After handing over the mooncakes and passing on the instructions from Yu Qingze to Mi Ge’er and the steward, Brother Chang borrowed some writing materials from the steward and drew five different hairstyles, that Yu Qingze had designed, for Mi Ge’er.

Mi Ge’er took the paper with excitement and happily went back.

Back at the Cai residence, Madam Cai arranged for suitable mooncake gift boxes to be quickly sent to various prestigious families in Tongshan City. He also arranged for another batch of mooncake gift boxes and other gifts to be sent out, some as presents and some as return gifts.

It was already August 12th, and Mid-Autumn Festival was just a couple of days away. The gifts had to be sent out promptly.

Mooncake gift boxes bearing the “Yu’s Delicious Delights” logo were delivered to the homes of prominent families in Tongshan City, while some were rushed to the residence of the governor in Yunzhou.

On August 13th, the small snack stall officially launched the mooncakes.

Since it was the first day of the new product, Yu Qingze came over to help. Grandpa Chang and Brother Chang’s mother continued making mooncakes at home.

In the morning, as the crowd gradually grew, they followed the usual practice of cutting small portions of each variety of mooncake for customers to taste.

However, although the customers praised the taste, few of them actually bought the mooncakes. And those who did buy only purchased one or two, not more.

“They are delicious, no doubt, but they are too expensive. Even the most famous shop in the city doesn’t sell them at such high prices.”

“That’s right. The most expensive pastries over there cost only five wen, but these small mooncakes are eight wen each, and the larger ones are sixteen wen. The boxed ones are even more unaffordable.”

“Sigh, I can only buy one or two to let the children have a taste and satisfy their cravings.”

“After they taste them, won’t they crave for more?”

“Well, that’s true.”

And so, the morning passed with very few mooncakes being sold. They didn’t receive the enthusiastic response like the cold noodles, liangpi, and Guandong Zhu dishes did when they were first introduced. Instead, they were met with indifference.

Brother Chang and his father looked at Yu Qingze with some concern, but they didn’t know how to comfort him. They could only focus on their own tasks.

Chang Le approached Yu Qingze and asked him, “What should we do? It seems like they are too expensive, and customers can’t afford them. Should we lower the prices?”

Yu Qingze shook his head and said, “We can’t lower the prices. If we do, we won’t make much profit. Don’t worry, Brother Le, there will be people who will come to buy.”

In fact, if they slightly lowered the prices to match other pastry shops, they would still make a profit, albeit a smaller one. However, Yu Qingze was gambling in his heart.

He was gambling on the influence of the Cai family in Tongshan City!

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar: Fine, don’t buy it now. I guarantee you won’t be able to even if you want to later (it’ll all be sold out) ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝

Today, the army sent a truck to pick up tofu, which was already waiting outside early in the morning. There was still over an hour until lunchtime.

The soldier who delivered the goods smiled and said, “The kitchen staff specifically asked me to come early today. The brothers didn’t get enough tofu yesterday and were all clamoring for more. They’re waiting for you to give them a satisfying meal today.”

There were about three thousand soldiers in the s city, and the ratio of ordinary people in the base to soldiers was 3:1. Few people had orderly retreated without being bitten by zombies. Currently, the s city base was only a small base with a population of just over ten thousand, which was much smaller than when Ji Cha arrived in his previous life. The tall walls that were being constructed would gradually become walls that separated different sections later on, and the base would continue to expand outward.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

China was originally a populous country, and the situation in such a country during a zombie outbreak would be chaotic by many times. However, if there were any advantages, it could be said, albeit cruelly, that because of the large population, there was also a large amount of food reserves, which would be enough to sustain the remaining people for a long time even if a large number of people died or turned into zombies.

However, the control of resources always depended on strength, regardless of the time.

Ji Cha stood at the entrance of the factory and saw the military trucks coming into the base, one after another. There had been almost no break in the morning. He asked the soldier in front of him, “What did they bring back? Why so much?”

The soldier turned around and looked at him, not hiding anything, “They found a few large warehouses outside. They were probably used for online supermarkets and stored a lot of goods. They’ve all been brought back now, along with a few grain warehouses. We’ve been rushing to build warehouses over there, and they’re gradually being completed these days, so we brought everything back as soon as possible.”

Ji Cha nodded knowingly, “That’s great.”

Having more resources in the base was certainly not a bad thing.

“In a few days, there will be a supermarket opening up in the middle,” the soldier smiled, “we can use food to exchange for oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and other things.”

“Really?” Ji Cha was a little surprised. He had saved quite a bit of these things, but there would always be a day when they ran out. It was really good news that the army had such plans.

However, he was also a little worried. Such a “supermarket” did not exist in the s city base during his last apocalypse. Either the butterfly effect prevented its establishment, or it existed but could not be maintained due to various reasons. It was also simple to think that without a circular industrial system, only exporting and not importing would naturally lead to this result.

The farm had only barely sustained the production and life of the s city base, which was far from being able to make people’s lives rich and comfortable.

“Really,” the soldier nodded, “I’ll let you know when it opens. It was smooth sailing for me to deliver the tofu today, so I can take you along.”

Ji Cha was already familiar with several young soldiers, and they were polite in both speech and behavior.

Ji Cha thanked him and kept this matter in mind.

Although six people were assigned to work, the daily production of 2,000 catties of tofu still overwhelmed Ji Cha. The problem was that there were too few molds, and insufficient rotation caused too much time to be spent. Finally, all 2,000 catties of tofu were pressed and delivered only at 6 pm.

Solving this problem was not difficult; finding a carpenter would only take half a day. However, Ji Cha didn’t have such talent on his side, so he had to seek help from the army. He also asked the soldiers who usually pick up tofu to send a soldier to ask if there were suitable containers for making bean sprouts in the army’s warehouse.

To produce 1,000 catties of bean sprouts every day, nearly 4,000 catties of bean sprouts had to be cultivated simultaneously. Ji Cha had already used up all the tools he had at home, and even the dishes used for meals were taken out.

Fortunately, things related to the army’s interests were resolved relatively quickly. That night, a soldier came to greet Ji Cha, and the army’s warehouse had enough basins. Ji Cha didn’t even need to give anything in exchange; he just needed to take them and register how many he took. The basins were specially made for tofu production. Moreover, the army even found a soldier who was skilled in carpentry for Ji Cha. He would come to the factory tomorrow and make the tofu molds.

With this good news, Ji Cha finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He took out his phone and checked the time. There were five minutes left until the alarm he set to inseminate the mother rabbit again. Ji Cha decisively turned off the alarm and took out a flashlight to go to the backyard.

At this moment, the backyard was quiet, and all the livestock and poultry had entered a state of rest.

Ji Cha put the flashlight on the shelf against the wall, letting the light shine on the ceiling and illuminating the room dimly. He squatted down and followed the method he used during the day to examine a few rabbits. With the double insurance, he finally had some confidence and took off the flashlight to leave.

Expanding the scale of livestock breeding was just as important as crop planting. Compared with crop planting, raising livestock could see profits more quickly.

If both could be developed and improved, they would complement each other and move towards the direction that Ji Cha hoped for.

Considering that Liang Jincheng had given him hickies all over his body last night, Ji Cha was very firm in rejecting Liang Jincheng ‘s request for a goodnight kiss in his room tonight.

Liang Jincheng and Ji Cha faced each other through a thickened door panel. One exuded aggression and invasion, while the other merely pretended to be tough. Although the door panel was a thickened type requested by Ji Cha to resist zombie attacks, it was not enough to withstand Liang Jincheng’s strength.

Ji Cha knew this well and felt even more uneasy. He turned his unease into verbal threats towards Liang Jincheng, “Don’t come in, or I’ll be angry…”

The moment the words left his mouth, Ji Cha felt like slapping himself. What kind of threat was that? It was utterly useless!

As expected, Liang Jincheng didn’t react in any special way, but Ji Cha’s face turned bright red in embarrassment.

“Can’t I kiss your cheek?” Liang Jincheng asked regretfully, his gaze fixed on Ji Cha’s rosy cheeks, filled with desire.

Ji Cha firmly held onto the door panel and his own bottom line, shaking his head vigorously, “No!”

He pulled down his collar to reveal a patch of red kiss marks and said, “Until these marks fade away, there is nothing else to say.”

Liang Jincheng’s eyes darkened. To him, Ji Cha’s actions were a clear temptation. Ji Cha was all too familiar with this kind of look. Every time Liang Jincheng kissed him, it felt like he wanted to swallow him whole. He was so scared that he immediately closed the door and said, “Goodnight!”

If he had smashed the door in anger, Ji Cha would have been really angry. After a moment of hesitation, Liang Jincheng chose to compromise. He gently tapped the door and said, “Goodnight.”

***

The seven hens began to lay eggs one after another, producing an average of seven eggs a day.

Ji Cha discovered this after the bean sprouts began to grow in scale. Every morning, he found a round egg behind each hen and quickly picked them up.

According to Wang Qinxue, who was responsible for feeding the chickens, he had seen the roosters and hens mate. Therefore, Ji Cha hoped that all seven hens had been fertilized and that their eggs could hatch into chicks smoothly.

It was important to pick up the eggs from the henhouse every day to ensure that the hens didn’t stop laying eggs because of brooding. Otherwise, if the hens stopped laying eggs, the losses would be too great. As for the hatching of the chicks, Ji Cha had long been prepared. He bought two egg incubators, one small and one large.

The small incubator could hatch 140 eggs at a time, while the large one could hatch 2,300 eggs at a time. It was enough for the initial stage of poultry farming. If everything went smoothly, Ji Cha believed that he could find other alternative methods later.

Fifteen days after the last mating of the female rabbits, Ji Cha confirmed that they had been successfully fertilized since none of them had gone into heat again. Normally, the success rate of hatching fertilized eggs in an incubator should be at least 90%. Ji Cha used light and soil methods to determine their fertilization status, and now hopes that the hatching rate can meet the standard.

Tofu production in the factory has been ongoing, although eating tofu every day can be annoying. But fortunately, the soldiers in the army have come up with some good ways to make tofu, and the results are still good for now. However, Ji Cha still suggested reducing the production of tofu and bean sprouts and finding a way to change the taste.

As for what flavor to change to? He has already prepared for it early on.

The small greens planted earlier have grown to be half their size after more than twenty days of growth, and can be harvested in about a week. Ji Cha wants to send these greens to the army to pave his own way, and is also researching how to use them as seeds.

Under current conditions, seeds are also a non-renewable resource. If the existing conditions are not properly utilized, even more seeds will eventually be used up. The problem is that the excellent characteristics of commercial seeds are almost impossible to pass on to the next generation. Overcoming this difficulty is the key.

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Thandar: eating tofu every single day would be a bit rough, end of the world or not 😬