Chapter 83: Busy Farming in the Last Days

Aug 08 2023

After eating the meat buns, Wang Qiang’s family had no more doubts about the S base. Moreover, Wang Qiang was so confident that they were willing to cooperate. There were still twenty cows left on the cattle farm, and the largest military trucks had enough capacity to transport ten cows per vehicle. The family set off on their journey to the base with hopes for the future and kept asking Wang Qiang questions.

“How do we eat there? Can we eat meat regularly?”

“Eating meat regularly will cost a bit more, but it’s not a problem to satisfy your cravings. Boss Ji said they haven’t stabilized pork production yet, but in another two months, they should be able to produce four or five pigs a month. In addition to that, there are also chickens, ducks, and rabbits, so I don’t think there will be a problem with eating meat.”

“It doesn’t matter if we don’t have meat,” said Wang Qiang’s sister, Wang Tian. “We’ve been eating only meat here, and I don’t even know what vegetables taste like. If we can, I can eat vegetables for a whole month.”

“Don’t worry,” Wang Qiang smiled. “I saw a large vegetable patch over there, and they were all growing well. The cafeteria also sells vegetables at a cheap price.”

“Ah! They have TV too!” Wang Tian became even more excited.

At least this indicated that the life in the base was indeed safe and stable. The family was so engrossed in their conversation that they had no intention of sleeping until they were halfway through their journey and eventually dozed off. It was still dawn when they arrived at the S base.

The expansion of the base is constantly underway, but no matter how fast it expands, many pre-apocalyptic buildings cannot be integrated all at once. For example, there is a brick and cement factory that is more than an hour away from S base, which is now only under the jurisdiction of the base. Every morning, the base shuttle bus takes workers there and picks them up in the evening. At other times, soldiers are stationed there to guard against other forces occupying the place.

There are many similar places that require a large number of personnel to station and operate.

These places are often ignored by those who speak and work inside the base. Most of the time, the workers follow the squad leader, and the troops stationed there do not care about them. Even if they become familiar with each other, they just idle around.

After the incident with Liang Jincheng and Ji Cha, many people regretted it and felt that the matter was handled poorly. But to their surprise, the two of them came back intact. What was the matter that the soldiers sent out before?

There are various rumors among ordinary people, but the most widely accepted one is that someone from the top wanted to kill Ji Cha and the others. Anyone who knows the internal situation of the base can see it.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

But the fact is the fact. When someone mentions it, it triggers Cheng Feng’s sensitive nerves. He can still control the speech within the military, but it is not easy to control those outside. At this time, the more he tries to control, the more suspicious it becomes, and the more people will talk behind his back.

Cheng Feng was so angry that he ordered the arrest of several people, but the backlash was even stronger.

“What are you arresting for if you’re not guilty?”

Cheng Feng had no choice but to release them in a hurry after arresting them for only half a day.

Outwardly, the base is still safe and sound, but everyone has their own thoughts in secret. Even under Cheng Feng’s command, there are people who have given him ideas and are now eager to take his place.

***

The car that came back from the cattle farm was stable, and it arrived at the base only at noon the next day. After being checked at the gate of the base, it was smoothly allowed in.

The base outpost immediately contacted Ji Cha with wireless equipment, asking him to prepare on the farm.

It was not an easy task to drive more than 20 cows into the fence. The farm workers and the Wang family members were busy for a while before everything was settled. After a rest, Ji Cha took them to the cafeteria on his electric tricycle.

As they rode in the car, everyone except Wang Qiang looked around at the scenery along the way. The buildings in the base were not yet densely packed, but they were planned neatly and people could be seen walking back and forth, proving that it was a very safe place. What the Wang family members liked most was the social nature of the base. There were various departments with different functions, almost like a town before the apocalypse.

Ji Cha introduced the facilities of the base to them as he drove.

“Here is the market. It opens every morning before work and every evening after work. It is the official market of the farm, but there are few things sold on the same day. Generally, you need to order one day in advance and come to pick up the goods the next day.

This place is generally used to broadcast some TV programs and important notices. The screening time is the same as the start time of the cafeteria dinner. There are four places like this in the base, east, south, west, and north. You can see which one is closer to where you live, and it’s quite lively.”

The Wang family listened attentively as Ji Cha spoke.

“Oh, by the way,” Ji Cha remembered something else, “Wang Qiang, I reported the issue of your family’s housing allocation yesterday.”

“Housing allocation?”

The Wang family contributed more than 20 cows to the base, which would be confiscated in the future. Ji Cha felt guilty about taking them for free, although the Wang family seemed to be content with having a safe place to stay.

“Well, the original idea was to compensate you with some points, which is the currency in the base. But I don’t think that’s worth it, so I reported asking if we could exchange it for a house. The reply came back this morning, saying that it’s possible to exchange it, but the base’s housing is currently very tight. The channel for buying houses has been cut off. The proposal is to give you one big and one small house, which is suitable for your two small families. If you pay the rent for one year, the two houses can be transferred to your name. The rent for the first year is also halved, which means you can buy the house by paying half a year’s rent. It’s up to you to choose whether to take the points or the house.”

Needless to say, the house is the better option. There won’t be another chance once they pass this village. Wang Qiang and his family agreed to divide the two houses, with one big one for Wang Qiang and a small one for his uncle and cousin.

Ji Cha had already anticipated this solution, and now he felt a bit relieved. After all, he was the one who brought them back to the base, and he didn’t want to leave them in an uncomfortable situation.

“Here’s your identity card, which already has half a day’s salary. After you finish eating, return to the farm. You’re most skilled at taking care of the cows, and I’ve hired some workers to help. They may be a bit inexperienced, so please teach them.”

Ji Cha handed them their identity cards and drove away on his electric tricycle.

It was a dark and oppressive night, and a thunderous clap suddenly exploded over the apartment, waking Cheng Feng from his sleep.

He turned over, his brow furrowed with annoyance.

“Damn it, I finally fell asleep and now I’m awake again.” He closed his eyes, but suddenly heard a creaking sound in his ear, as if the door had been pushed open from the outside. Cheng Feng thought he had misheard, but when he turned to look, he saw that the door had indeed opened a crack, and the darkness outside was impenetrable.

His heart thudded in his chest, and cold sweat broke out on his palms.

“Who’s there? Xiao Liu, Xiao Liu!”

He called out the name of the guard, but there was no response. Cheng Feng trembled as he tried to turn on the lamp, but the switch had been turned several times and the light wouldn’t come on. In the darkness, he could hear labored breathing, close yet far, clear in his ears.

Although the window was tightly closed, the curtains fluttered as if they were being tugged by an invisible hand.

Unable to bear the slow, torturous pain any longer, Cheng Feng jumped out of bed and hurriedly closed the door from the inside, locking it with a resounding click. The sinister feeling of fear was finally shut out.

Cheng Feng breathed a sigh of relief and turned around, but a sticky hand suddenly grabbed his ankle.

He looked down in horror and saw a zombie with a grin on its face, opening its mouth and biting down on his lower leg.

“Ah!”

The scream of terror on that rainy night had no penetrating power.