Amidst thunderous applause, Ye Zhou walked up to the makeshift wooden stage somewhat awkwardly. In his hand was a pair of large scissors tied with a red bow, behind him was a stretched red ribbon, and below the stage were hundreds of farm employees and leaders.
Ye Zhou remembered that the last time he spoke in front of so many people was when he was in elementary school. He broke the glass of the school classroom while playing football and was punished to go on stage and make a self-criticism during the flag-raising ceremony.
As he was still young at that time, he was not nervous at all. He was just annoyed that his aim was so bad. The goal was so far away from the classroom but he still kicked it into the teaching building. But now he is an adult, and under the gaze of so many eyes, Ye Zhou only feels nervous.
He felt a little regretful.
If I had known, I would not have agreed to let Yang Guoqin come to help cut the ribbon at the breeding farm.
But Yang Guoqin has been busy promoting the photon cannon recently and is often not at the Luoyang Base. He so earnestly asked Ye Zhou to help cut the ribbon that Ye Zhou really couldn't say no.
After all, if Yang Guoqin could convince the people from other bases sooner, he could get the money sooner, unlock the protective shield and leave here.
Ye Zhou didn't want to stay in one dimension for too long. The longer he stayed, the longer it would take for him to return home.
Ye Zhou took a deep breath, encouraged himself in his heart, and said with a smile: "This is my first time cutting the ribbon. I don't know what to say. I have forgotten all the scripts I memorized before going on stage. I will just go with the script."
The crowd laughed kindly, and Ye Zhou relaxed a little. He continued, "General Yang told me before that the breeding farm is just the first step on the right track. You... we need a lot of things, breeding farms, sugar factories, textile factories, countless factories, and countless jobs."
"In addition to factories, we also need schools, large hospitals and entertainment facilities." Ye Zhou found that with every word he spoke, the smiles on people's faces deepened.
They love to hear these words, even though they may have said them countless times themselves.
Ye Zhou carefully recalled the contents of the manuscript and said whatever he thought of.
"Perhaps in the near future, we won't have to worry about the zombies outside anymore. Just like before the zombies appeared, we can travel freely between cities, there will be amusement parks, and various chain supermarkets..."
Ye Zhou talked about the scenes in his plane.
He used to think that his life was normal, but now it seemed so beautiful that even he thought it was a fantasy world.
“Everyone can receive compulsory education and don’t have to worry about anything before adulthood. Even if you don’t have money, you can apply for scholarships. If your family is poor, you can apply for student loans after being admitted to university.” Ye Zhou’s face unconsciously showed a sincere smile.
"Children don't need to receive training from a young age, and they don't need to pick up guns and go to the battlefield before they reach adulthood." As Ye Zhou was speaking, he saw someone in the audience had tears in his eyes.
For these young people, the "past" is a beautiful, unattainable dream.
They were born in the "doomsday", and everything about the "past" is either based on documents or word of mouth from the elders.
In the "past", as long as you had good hands and feet and were not lazy, at worst you could fill your stomach.
At the end of the story, Ye Zhou himself was a little touched. He felt that the world he described was too unreal and too dreamy.
But this is indeed the place where he has lived for more than 20 years.
Although he always hears his friends complaining about being too tired at work and having too low a salary, he can also hear their hopes for the future, discussing how to get their boss to raise their salaries, and how to gain benefits for themselves if they change jobs.
There may still be poor areas, and there may still be people suffering for various reasons, but overall the situation is getting better.
Ye Zhou cut the red ribbon amid huge applause.
He looked behind him along with the others.
The hastily built farm was not big and not professional enough. It was just a place to shelter from the wind and rain, with only water and electricity.
But no one dislikes its crudeness.
Everyone looked at it as if it were some hard-earned treasure.
People are not afraid of hardship. After more than 30 years of hardship, those who could not endure it have long since died. What they are afraid of is that no matter how much hardship they endure, there is no hope. Walking on a dark, gloomy road with no end is the most terrifying thing.
But as long as a little light appears in the dark corridor, it is enough for them to regain hope and continue to move forward with firm steps.
Ye Zhou came down from the wooden platform. The farm employees walked past him one after another, and some even greeted him.
Most of them don't know Ye Zhou's name or his origins. There are still many people in the base who think that the supermarket run by Ye Zhou is official property, but this does not prevent them from smiling at Ye Zhou.
The farm was on track on the first day of official operation.
Although the people working here have little experience, they are obedient enough. Yang Guoqin treats the farm like an army, and his biggest requirement is to enforce strict discipline.
With the guidance of professionals, nothing went wrong after several days.
The losses in livestock were within the expected range.
When Yang Guoqin came back, he wanted to find Ye Zhou to buy a batch of dairy cows and machines for making milk powder.
At the same time, Ye Zhou also received the good news that the other six bases wanted to purchase photon cannons.
·
Probably because he was about to leave, Ye Zhou had not opened his shop for the past two days. The supermarket was not receiving customers and had hung a closed sign.
Employees were busy setting up tables outside the supermarket's back door.
Because there were so many people, they didn't make any stir-fried dishes, so Cao'er Niang boiled the soup base to make a shuangyuan hotpot.
Others washed and cut vegetables and served drinks.
Chen Gang was also among them. He was so busy that his forehead was covered in sweat, but he always had an excited smile on his face.
"Wipe your sweat." Qian Lan called Chen Gang with some disgust and took out a tissue to wipe her husband's sweat.
"Mom." The girls held hands. It was their first time in the supermarket, so they didn't dare to walk around. They stuck close to their mother and whispered, "We want to go to the bathroom."
Qian Lan looked at Chen Gang. Just as Chen Gang was about to point the way, Feng Ling beside him stood up and said, "I'll take them there."
Chen Gang and Qian Lan thanked her together.
Feng Ling waved her hand: "It's okay."
She took the two little girls into the supermarket through the back door. The children were old enough to go to the toilet independently, so she let them go in together while she waited outside.
While waiting, Feng Ling looked at herself in the mirror at the bathroom door.
Her complexion looked much better, no longer sallow, and her lips had a rosy color.
During this period, she relied on the "help" of her companions and had meat and rice for almost every meal. Occasionally, she could also have steamed eggs and drink vegetable soup. Her companions would also buy her candy after receiving their wages. She has not suffered from hypoglycemia for a long time.
Sometimes she even felt that the days when she was hungry were a thing of the past life.
The tortillas all seemed to be a thing of memory.
"Why are you here?" The half-grown boy came running over, holding a box of soy milk in his arms. He found Feng Ling looking in the mirror and winked, "What? Are you checking to see if you've become prettier?"
Feng Ling pretended to hit someone and rolled her eyes in a rather lively manner: "I wonder if my complexion has improved."
"I am here to accompany Uncle Chen's two children to the toilet."
The boy enviously said, "Uncle Chen is now on top of his game!"
Chen Gang worked very hard, got a salary increase, and brought his wife and children to the Luoyang base.
Even if the supermarket no longer opens, it will be easy for him and Qian Lan to find jobs in Luoyang. Luoyang is now in a state of disrepair and everything has to start from scratch, so it is a time when people are needed for construction.
Changfeng Base did not try to keep Qian Lan. After all, although her job was tiring, she was highly replaceable, so either Qian Lan or Zhao Lan would do.
They took out a bag of rice and asked the convoy to pick up the mother and daughter.
"And he moved to a bigger house." The boy was even more envious, "It's good to be an adult."
Nowadays, houses are allocated according to family size. If there are more people in the family, the house will be larger, and if there are fewer people, the house will be smaller.
Chen Gang's family includes four elderly people and two children, a total of six people.
Originally, Chen Gang and four elderly people lived in a house of over 80 square meters with three bedrooms and a living room. Now they have moved to a house of over 100 square meters with four bedrooms and a living room. The house has a suitable height and is located on the third floor.
Boy: "When we grow up and become a family, we can get a big house."
"It would be best if it's a double-story building." Another person came over and said, "Then we men will live upstairs, and you guys will live downstairs."
"Yes, yes, that's good." The girl said with a smile, "I'm too lazy to climb the stairs."
“I’m too lazy to even climb the first floor.”
Feng Ling was moved by the future they envisioned. She pursed her lips and whispered, "I heard that they might open a textile factory in the future. I'll go and see if I can apply for the job."
Others were not very supportive: "You are not in good health, so it is best not to go."
"Yes, we are enough. We have saved a lot of things during this period of time."
Ye Zhou did not deliberately conceal the fact, so the local employees in the supermarket all knew that the supermarket would be closed soon and the boss and others would also leave. Although they felt regretful and afraid, they finally accepted it.
After all, there is no way to refuse to accept it.
Feng Ling: "I still have to give it a try. I can't let you support me forever. You think it's okay now, but when you don't earn as much as you do now, and I'm still a freeloader next to you, you will definitely feel uncomfortable after a long time."
"Or we can open a stall." A girl said, "We have saved so much money, we can open a snack stand, and you can be responsible for collecting money and giving change."
“That’s a good idea!”
Their eyes sparkled. These young people in their teens did not really want to work in a factory and preferred jobs with more freedom.
When the girls came out, they saw a group of older brothers and sisters standing at the door of the toilet, enthusiastically discussing what they would sell in the future.
They tilted their heads slightly, some afraid to speak.
"Let's go, let's go eat first." Feng Ling naturally took the girls' hands and said, "Say less."
The companions smiled sheepishly, carried the boxes and walked out the door with them.
Cao'er's mother had already brought the induction cooker to the table, and the bottom of the pot was boiling hot. She had specially used pork bones and chicken racks to make the broth. After frying the hot pot ingredients, she poured them into the broth. Even before anything was added, the aroma was already mouth-watering.
Wu Yan and his friends moved out two boxes of wine.
There are white wine and beer, but some people still can't get used to beer and always say that beer has a strange taste.
Beef rolls and lamb rolls were placed on the table, as well as tripe, freshly shelled live shrimps, and cod cut into pieces.
The meat dishes filled one side and the vegetarian dishes filled the other side.
Qian Lan sat at the table somewhat awkwardly. She had brought her children here three days ago and had just become familiar with the route from home to the supermarket. It was also the first time she met Chen Gang's colleagues. Although the supermarket owner said that family members could be brought to the dinner, she still felt that she had taken advantage.
"Are you Cheng Gang's wife?" Cao'er brought Qian Lan a cup of hot water.
Although Qian Lan felt that the word "Madam" was too retro, she still nodded and asked with a smile, "Do you work here too?"
Cao'er nodded: "I have been working in the supermarket for a long time."
She was a little proud: "The boss even praised me."
Qian Lan complimented him politely: "Then you must be very dedicated."
Cao'er became even more proud.
"Eat more meat when you eat later." Cao'er swallowed his saliva, "Beef is delicious."
The employees couldn't eat spicy food. There were no chili peppers in the Daliang Dynasty, only Sichuan peppercorns. Sichuan peppercorns were considered spices, and spices were not affordable for ordinary people, so they had never eaten spicy food before coming to the supermarket.
So even when eating hot pot, the soup base is made with light oil and slightly spicy flavor.
Ye Zhou himself doesn't like spicy food, so the overall taste of the supermarket is light.
Qian Lan nodded and asked in a low voice: "I heard from Chen Gang that the supermarket will be closed soon? Have you thought about where you will work after the supermarket closes? My relative said that the sugar factory in the base has started recruiting people. Do you want to try with me?"
Cao Er shook her head, her face unable to hide her pride: "I won't go. I want to work in the supermarket forever. Not only me, but also my children and grandchildren will all work in the supermarket if I have children in the future."
Qian Lan: “…”
Little sister, your ideal is so grand, is it like Yugong moving mountains?
"But the supermarket is about to close." Qian Lan didn't understand.
Cao'er: "It's just that it's closed here. We can go somewhere else. We came to your place after the last place closed."
Qian Lan opened her lips slightly: "...Aren't you from Luoyang Base?"
Cao'er: "Yes."
Qian Lan suddenly became anxious: "What about Chen Gang? Can Chen Gang also go to the next place with you?"
Cao'er remembered what her boss had said before. She touched her hair and said, "If he wants to go with us, then it's fine."
"But I don't know when he will come back next time. It could be a few months, or it could be a few years or even ten years. It's hard to say." Cao'er looked at Qian Lan and said, "You still have two children. You can't let them be without a father forever."
Qian Lan looked at Cao'er with a complicated expression.
It seemed as if Cao'er had suddenly become a different person, no longer an ordinary supermarket employee.
But another kind of creature.
I just work in a supermarket, why can’t I come back after a few years or even more than ten years?
If they are not from Luoyang Base, where are they from?
There's something wrong with this supermarket.
But she couldn't tell what was wrong.
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