Chapter 92 The Night Market's Trial Operation Has Good Stuff

After Cheng Zhiyu finished eating, Cheng Mo, wearing an apron, diligently washed the dishes and chopsticks, then pulled the slumped Cheng Zhiyu along, saying, "Come on, let's go upstairs."

Cheng Zhiyu glanced at Cheng Mo, who had taken off the apron he had just put on and found a new one from somewhere, a pink one at that.

Cheng Mo noticed his gaze and immediately defended herself: "There's only this one, nothing else."

Cheng Zhiyu was pulled to her feet by him and smiled, "It's good, pink is good."

The two went upstairs, took a shower, and then saw Cheng Mo take off his clothes, put on a pink apron, and his ears and tail popped out.

To be honest, pink makes his skin look a bit darker, but Cheng Mo is still handsome even with dark skin.

Moreover, an apron can hardly be considered clothing; it's just something that's barely visible.

"Zhiyu..." Cheng Mo had barely opened his mouth when Cheng Zhiyu had already pressed himself against him.

Cheng Mo's lips curled up, almost reaching the sun's level. "Great, I've discovered another hobby of Zhi Yu's. I'll use this to tempt him from now on."

He lowered his head and kissed the other person forcefully.

The next day, Cheng Zhiyu rode his big black motorcycle to work, complaining on the way, "It's all your fault, you made me almost late."

Big Black transmitted to him telepathically: "Yeah, yeah, it's all my fault, it's all my fault."

Cheng Zhiyu patted him on the shoulder: "Hurry up and walk."

Big Black was still moving slowly, mainly because he was afraid of bumping into the person on him: "No rush, I'll make sure it's delivered before I go to work."

Cheng Zhiyu: "You'd better keep your word, or we'll change it to once a month from now on."

Big Black: "!!!"

Finally, Cheng Mo managed to get Cheng Zhiyu to the office one minute before work started.

Cheng Mo pointed to the clock on the wall: "I'm not late."

Cheng Zhiyu: "...Understood."

The newly received residents have been settled in one after another. Due to the shortage of staff at the base, most of them have found jobs, and a small number are being arranged for employment.

The base built a small fabric workshop. Previously, Cheng Zhiyu had given the superhumans a task: to go outside and find fabric-making machines.

The machine has been found, the fabric yard has hired workers, and they've started making fabric.

Currently, the main material used is cotton. It is not the heat-generating mutated cotton, but a different kind of mutation that does not generate heat. The mutation is that the cotton has become much larger. Moreover, Cheng Zhiyu discovered that this type of mutated cotton is very suitable for making fabric.

It is very flexible, and the fabric made from it is very soft.

After making a batch of test samples, Cheng Zhiyu even exchanged his contribution points for a bed sheet.

Although the color isn't very appealing—it's undyed white—it's very comfortable to sleep on.

Some of the newly received residents went to the fabric factory.

There's also the brick kiln. Although we don't plan to build any buildings there now, we need to get things started. We'll begin construction when the weather gets warmer.

Cheng Zhiyu always believed that the Xiaohe base would not always have so few people. As the base expanded, the original houses would naturally not be enough, and new houses would definitely need to be built.

Thankfully, we received a new thousand residents this time, otherwise it might not have been enough.

Cheng Zhiyu was busy preparing food when Cheng Mo reminded him, "It's time to eat, Zhiyu."

Cheng Zhiyu looked up from the document, nodded, and said, "I told Mom and the others that I won't be going home for lunch today. I'll be going to the cafeteria. I heard they recently got a new chef who cooks really good food."

Cheng Mo shamelessly asked, "Is it as good as my cooking?"

Cheng Zhiyu: "..." Most likely yes.

But how could he tell the truth? He cleverly replied, "I've never eaten in the cafeteria."

Cheng Mo, perhaps still possessing some self-awareness, didn't ask any further questions.

The two strolled leisurely to the cafeteria, only to regret it upon arrival. They should have run faster, as there was a long queue at the food serving window.

However, everyone was very well-behaved, and there were no instances of people cutting in line.

Cheng Zhiyu glanced at it, then quickly joined the back of the line and asked Cheng Mo to get the tray.

The person speaking in front fell silent, turned around and saw that it really was Cheng Zhiyu, and immediately became nervous: "Captain Cheng, why don't you stand in front of me?"

Cheng Zhiyu smiled and said, "No need, I'll take my time queuing."

The other party repeated it several times, but seeing that Cheng Zhiyu really said it wasn't necessary, they stopped talking.

While they were talking, several more people lined up behind them. They didn't notice Cheng Zhiyu and were excitedly asking, "What's on the menu today?"

"Didn't you see the sign at the door? Hot and sour shredded potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, and braised eggplant."

"They're all vegetarian dishes."

"Oh, you've become picky now. Have you forgotten the days when we couldn't even afford to eat?"

"Where? I didn't choose, I was just saying."

"They're just ordinary home-style dishes, are they really as delicious as you say?" Some people who hadn't tried them were skeptical.

The main reason is that eating in the cafeteria is more expensive than cooking at home, so many people want to save money. They were afraid of being hungry before, and having food in hand makes them feel less anxious.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Zhiyu nodded in agreement, wondering if it was an exaggeration.

"This chef is famous for his home-style dishes, you know? Before the apocalypse, he opened a restaurant and bought a car and a house with his skills."

"Wow, that's really impressive."

"Yeah, restaurants weren't doing well before the apocalypse either."

When Cheng Zhiyu heard what the man said, he also became hopeful. No matter what, it wouldn't hurt to come out and change things up after eating home-cooked meals every day.

Perhaps the cafeteria knew there would be a long queue, so there were two ladies serving food at the window. Unlike the cafeteria ladies in pre-apocalyptic university cafeterias who had shaky hands, these two ladies were very generous, serving the food to the brim.

Someone holding a plate glanced at it and said, "I must say, although it's a bit more expensive than cooking at home, they're really generous with the oil and fat."

"Indeed, it smells better than what I make myself."

When it was Cheng Zhiyu and Cheng Mo's turn, Cheng Zhiyu said, "We need three servings, and we want every dish."

The cafeteria lady said, "Oh, Captain Cheng, you're here for lunch too?"

Cheng Zhiyu smiled and said, "I heard that a chef came to the cafeteria, so I came to have a taste."

"Then you've come to the right place! The new lady here cooks really well." The cafeteria lady said, her hands moving slowly but filling the serving bowl to the brim.

Since Cheng Zhiyu and Cheng Mo couldn't take it down, Cheng Mo simply used his water-based supernatural abilities to stall for time.

There were quite a few people with superpowers eating here. When they saw someone using water-based superpowers, their lips twitched, but when they saw it was Cheng Mo, they immediately felt normal again.

This guy is ridiculously strong.

Cheng Zhiyu and Cheng Mo searched for a long time before finally finding two spots.

"Let's try the candied sweet potato first." This is a bit more complicated, and we don't eat it often.

He took a bite and instantly realized, no exaggeration, it really was delicious.

Shredded potatoes and braised eggplant are both very appetizing dishes. Cheng Zhiyu: "Delicious."

Cheng Mo said sourly, "Is it really that delicious?"

Then, he took a big bite.

Cheng Zhiyu: "..."

The cafeteria food portions are already large, and the two of them even ordered enough for three people, which looked like a lot. But they still ate it all up.

After finishing his meal, Cheng Mo said, "It's okay to eat in the cafeteria occasionally."

Cheng Zhiyu: "Are you sure it's just a one-off thing?"

Cheng Mo: "Well... we have some new dishes to try."

Cheng Zhiyu already knew that Dahei was a glutton; otherwise, he wouldn't have gone through all that trouble to jump onto the table and eat that beef.

Cheng Mo gave up: "...Can you please stop bringing this up?"

Cheng Zhiyu: Haha, but it's really funny.

Cheng Mo: It seems like I've made Cheng Zhiyu lose his memory!

Cheng Zhiyu pursed his lips: "I won't say anything more, really."

Cheng Mo said quietly, "You'd better be... I was really affected by my body at the time."

He further explained that it wasn't because he was greedy.

Cheng Zhiyu tried hard to suppress his laughter and nodded: "Yes, I know, you're not greedy at all."

Cheng Mo glanced at him a couple more times, and seeing Cheng Zhiyu's serious expression, he was finally satisfied.

After Cheng Zhiyu and his group finished eating, they put their plates in the recycling area, where staff would take them to be washed and disinfected, just like in a university cafeteria.

When I left, there was still a long queue at the window, which shows that the new chef's food is really popular.

In the kitchen, Ning's mother was busy at work; yes, she was the new head chef.

When she first arrived at the Xiaohe base, Zhou Min assured her that she could work in the canteen as long as her cooking was good.

But life after the apocalypse always made Ning's mother feel uneasy, because there were too many changes. Unless she kept her job firmly in hand, something could happen at any time.

Not to mention, she and her son eat three meals of steamed buns a day, so they must owe the base a lot of contribution points, and Ning's mother is afraid that she will not be able to pay them back.

The Xiahe base is different from other bases; it treats ordinary people like them very well and is willing to give them steamed buns on credit. Ning's mother is really grateful.

You have to understand, other bases wouldn't even give them steamed buns on credit, let alone let them work themselves to the bone to get them.

Moreover, ordinary people always seem to be inferior, unlike the Little River Base, which treats ordinary people and people with superpowers equally.

Because she had a good impression of the Xiahe Base, Ning's mother wanted to do everything she could to stay there. If she couldn't repay the money for the steamed buns she owed, she would leave a bad impression on the base and be kicked out.

So, as soon as she arrived at the base, she approached the person in charge of managing them and told him that she could work in the canteen.

The person in charge glanced at Ning's mother. It was no exaggeration to say that this aunt was walking with a limp, as if her leg was injured, and her hands were swollen. She looked extremely weak.

If we make her work like this, won't she be exhausted to death? Then it will be his responsibility.

The person in charge immediately shook his head: "No, no, I can't assign you any work in your current physical condition. You should continue to rest and recuperate. Come back to me when you feel better."

Ning's mother became anxious upon hearing this: "I'm perfectly fine, why can't I work? Besides, I see that the family next door has all gone to work."

On their first day back at work, they brought back a whole bag of wheat. Looking at the smiles on their faces and the grain in their hands, Ning's mother was so envious that she couldn't help but come over to find the person in charge.

The person in charge said, "There's nothing wrong with their health, of course they can work. Look at you, you walk with a limp. No, no, you need to rest for a couple more days so I can take a look."

Before Ning's mother could say anything more, the person in charge said seriously, "Auntie, please don't bother me. If I let you go, it will be my responsibility. It wasn't easy for me to get to this position. I'm still in the probationary period. If something happens, I won't pass the assessment."

Upon hearing this, Ning's mother immediately dared not say anything more, fearing that she might implicate others.

Ning Wen'an, as a person with superpowers, had already been assigned a place. When he returned from work that night, he saw his mother sitting in the dark room, lost in thought. The room was dark and the lights were off.

Ning Wen'an found the light switch, turned on the light, and saw that Ning's mother's eyes were red.

Ning Wen'an's heart tightened, and his face immediately darkened: "Mom, what's wrong? Who bullied you?"

It wasn't that he was overreacting; rather, back at his previous base, someone had taken advantage of him being away at work to rob his family.

Ning's mother quickly wiped away her tears: "Nothing of the sort."

Ning Wen'an frowned: "Then what's wrong with you?"

Ning's mother: "The person in charge wouldn't let me work. They said I wasn't healthy enough."

Ning Wen'an breathed a sigh of relief: "So that's why. Then you can rest. Anyway, I'm here. Let me tell you, the Xiahe Base is very generous. If I work hard here, it won't be a problem to provide for our family's food and drink."

As soon as he said that, he was glared at by Ning's mother.

Ning Wen'an: "?"

Wasn't his statement filial enough?

Little did she know that Ning's mother had come to the Xiahe base with high hopes. She hoped that she could earn money on her own, just like before the apocalypse, instead of still being a burden to her son as she was now.

Even if her son said he could support the two of them, Ning's mother had run a small restaurant by herself before the apocalypse and was very ambitious. She had no choice before, but now that she knew there was hope to rely on herself, why would she want to continue being a burden?

Ning Wen'an scratched his head, understood what was going on, and said, "Mom, it's not like they're stopping you from going. They're letting you rest because it's for your own good."

Ning's mother nodded: "I know, I'm just feeling unwell. It's all because of my poor health."

Ning Wen'an was also distressed. His mother had suffered because of him, which was why her health was deteriorating.

He was actually very grateful for the arrangements made by the Xiahe base. If his mother were to work in her condition, she would still work herself to the bone, and at the very least, she would suffer lasting health problems. He didn't even want to think about what would happen if she were to become seriously ill.

Ning Wen'an: "Then you should take a good rest now, be happy, and you'll recover quickly and be able to get back to work soon."

After hearing what he said, Ning's mother thought it made sense, and immediately said, "Then I'm going to sleep, don't disturb me."

Ning Wen'an: "..." Does it have to be this whirlwind?

Later, Ning Wen'an took Ning's mother to the base hospital, got some medicine, and rested for a few days before Ning's mother went to see the person in charge again.

After the person in charge took a look, they found that Ning's mother was in much better condition; at least she didn't look so weak.

The base isn't actually that strict about this. If they really required someone to be in perfect health, who knows how long it would take to recover.

So as long as it looked roughly right, the person in charge relented and gave her a note: "Okay, go to the cafeteria to register tomorrow. You have to get up early for the cafeteria. You have to be there at seven in the morning to prepare the food. There's one meal at ten in the morning and another at three in the afternoon. After that, you can pack up and go home."

Ning's mother gratefully put the note away and kept the person in charge's instructions in mind. She had already visited the cafeteria because she had been thinking about working there and had made a special trip to see it.

The next morning, before going to work, Ning Wen'an first took his mother to the cafeteria.

It's cold. It's a little past six, not quite seven, and it's still pitch black. Luckily, there are streetlights on the road, so they don't have to wander in the dark.

When they arrived at the location, Ning Wen'an was still a little worried. Ning's mother waved her hand and said, "Go and do your work. What could possibly happen at the base?"

After she finished speaking, she was stunned for a moment, never expecting that she would say such a thing so naturally one day.

Things still happen at the old base. Although there are no zombies, there are people who bully others.

Ning Wen'an was also very confident about the security at the Xiaohe base. Hearing his mother say that, he left because he had to hurry over to work.

Here, Ning's mother found the person in charge of the cafeteria and handed the note to them.

The person in charge was a woman in her forties, with a smiling face and a good temper. As soon as she saw the note, she exclaimed excitedly, "Sister, you're the head chef we've hired this time! I've been looking forward to your arrival every day!"

Seeing how warm the other party was, Ning's mother was completely relieved. She had been very uneasy the whole way, afraid that they would not want her because she was late.

"How can we not want it? Our cafeteria is short of a good chef!" The person in charge was already referring to "our" cafeteria.

She was also ambitious. The canteen was initially set up for positions in the base that included meals, but other people would also come to eat there, though not many.

The reason for this is not solely because everyone wants to save money—though that is part of the reason—but more importantly, it's because they lack competitiveness.

The food I cook is just so-so. People think to themselves, "I can cook the same thing at home, so why bother eating in the cafeteria? I can save money by cooking at home."

Wouldn't that make them less willing to come to the cafeteria?

So when the person in charge learned that a group of people were coming to their base, he found Zhou Min and repeatedly instructed him to make sure that the other party found a chef who could cook delicious food.

She didn't stand on ceremony; she genuinely hoped that Ning's mother would come.

"Come and see, these are the dishes from our cafeteria," the person in charge said, leading Ning's mother to look around.

"These vegetables are so fresh." Ning's mother took one look and couldn't take her eyes off them. She and her son had just arrived at the base and were living frugally, reluctant to use their contribution points to exchange for vegetables.

"Isn't it fresh? Just picked from the field," the person in charge said. "Take a look and see what dishes you can make with it."

Ning's mother glanced at the menu and roughly understood what was going on. She named a few dishes and then cooked them for everyone in the cafeteria to try. When it came to her area of ​​expertise, Ning's mother was very confident. Sure enough, everyone in the cafeteria praised the dishes after tasting them.

The menu for today has been finalized and placed at the entrance of the cafeteria.

On the first day, the quantity was not large. Ning's mother was a little nervous in front of the newly opened window, worried that everyone would be frugal and unwilling to spend the money.

She is very confident in her cooking skills, but someone has to be willing to try.

The first person to eat was Ning Wen'an, who also brought a few friends he had recently met. They were all superhumans and didn't need a meal. After eating, they immediately thought the food was delicious.

As a result, word spread quickly, and the number of people at Ning's mother's window grew larger and larger.

At first, she could occasionally come to the window to get food, but later she was so busy in the kitchen that the canteen even assigned two cooks to help her.

Seeing so many people, Ning's mother finally felt at ease, and her overall mental state improved. The canteen usually closed around four or five o'clock after get off work, and after get off work, she could talk to her new friends, unlike at the previous base where she stayed cooped up in her room all day.

Moreover, the cafeteria provides meals, so after deducting the major expense of food, you can basically save up all the contribution points you earn each day.

With contribution points in hand, Ning's mother felt at ease, and would often go to the base's small shop with her friends to exchange them for daily necessities.

There are many people like Ning's mother whose lives are getting better and better.

Previously, it was easy to distinguish between the old residents and the new residents of Xiaohe Base because of their different mental states. But now it's basically impossible to tell them apart. The new residents are just a little thinner, but otherwise they are basically the same.

"Hmm?" Cheng Zhiyu was reviewing documents, while Cheng Mo, acting as his assistant, served him tea and water and categorized the documents.

Because Cheng Mo was there, Cheng Zhiyu didn't need to hire an assistant.

Cheng Mo rested her chin on her hand and sat down next to him: "What's wrong?"

Cheng Zhiyu glanced at him: "Don't you have a chair? Why do you have to squeeze in with me? I'm your boss, what kind of behavior is this?"

Cheng Mo smiled: "I just love defying superiors."

The leader's ears turned red silently: "Try to stop watching those weird things."

"Get out of the way, get out of the way, your butt is too big, you've taken up all the seats." Cheng Zhiyu pushed the person away.

He pointed to the documents: "Someone has applied to open a night market. Is the weather suitable for it?"

Cheng Zhiyu really wanted to set up a night market. Firstly, it would revitalize the economy, and secondly, he was also craving one!

He thought for a moment and decided to let it operate for a few days as a trial. If business was good, they would continue; if not, they would stop for now.

The person who handed over the documents had naturally planned out the location as well. Cheng Zhiyu saw that there were no problems, so he wrote down a three-day trial operation.

The news was quickly disseminated, and the people at the base knew they could start doing business.

Everyone was thinking about what to do at their stalls that night. Those who had some snack-making skills set up stalls to sell snacks, while those who didn't had any skills looked for things they could exchange for contribution points.

A night market brought life to the entire base.

Before they knew it, it was the first day of the trial operation. After getting off work, Cheng Zhiyu took Cheng Mo to the night market.

I thought I had arrived early enough that there might not be many vendors, but everyone was very enthusiastic and set up their stalls.

Cheng Zhiyu immediately noticed that they were selling starch sausages, and Cheng Mo, the foodie, asked, "Are those tasty?"

"It's so delicious, let's go buy two." Cheng Zhiyu pulled the person over.

Cheng Mo bought two starch sausages and finished them in a few bites: "Give me ten more."

Cheng Zhiyu: "?"

Oh well, I have a big appetite anyway, so I'm not worried about not being able to finish eating later.

These starch sausages are clearly homemade by the stall owner, unlike the ones we ate before the apocalypse. They were all the same size, and these handmade ones are a bit crooked, but as long as they taste good, that's all that matters.

Cheng Zhiyu: "Once the soybeans are ripe, we'll set up a stall and sell tofu pudding!"

Cheng Mo: "What is tofu pudding? Is it delicious?"

Cheng Zhiyu glanced at Cheng Mo, the foodie, and said, "Forget it, let's not set up a stall."

Cheng Mo: "Why?"

Cheng Zhiyu: "I'm afraid that you'll eat it all, and then there won't be anything left to sell to others."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Mo thought the tofu pudding must be delicious: "Zhiyu, then you can make me some tofu pudding later."

She even started to act cute because she needed to speak.

Cheng Zhiyu snorted: "We'll see how you perform then."

The night market is not just about food; there are also stalls selling small commodities. Most of these stalls are run by people with superpowers, or their family members. They find these not-so-useful small commodities while on missions and sell them at their stalls.

Cheng Zhiyu even spotted Zhou Min, whose stall was full of trinkets.

Zhou Min: "Han Ping and I came across a jewelry store, so we simply emptied it out and set up a stall there."

Cheng Zhiyu nodded, showing little interest in the jewelry.

Zhou Min smiled mysteriously and said, "Hehe, I have some good stuff here, do you want it? I'll give you a discount."