Chapter 23 A Visit to Apologize
After learning about the basic prices, Yun Zhao returned to his neighborhood.
The residential buildings near the farmers' market are significantly more dilapidated compared to those on East Third Street. The residents of their neighborhood are neatly dressed and mostly have stable jobs.
Yun Zhao got a general idea of the base's housing prices and rents.
The cheapest housing in the outer city is the shantytown.
Besides temporary accommodation, many outsiders also live there long-term, with a monthly rent of only 30 points.
There is no electricity, and water is supplied only at limited times; conditions are very poor.
The most expensive areas are the streets in the East District, which were completed in recent years. They are among the few high-rise buildings in the outer city of the base and can be considered the 'rich area' of the outer city.
Yun Zhao carried several bags of new clothes home.
Aunt Zhao still hasn't returned, but there's food left on the table.
He Pingping was very sensible. When she saw that her older sister Yun Zhao had returned, she followed her mother's instructions, heated up the food, and then told her younger sister to run and knock on the door.
High-rise buildings are not allowed to burn firewood, so honeycomb briquettes are used for cooking.
The kitchen is located next to a balcony with iron railings, separated by a half-person-high wall, creating a semi-open-air environment.
Two hundred years have passed, and today's technology and science cannot compare to those of that time.
The base lacks the expertise and equipment to describe natural gas as described in old books.
Maintaining basic power and water supply is the best effort the base can do.
Yun Zhao helped serve the rice and said to He Pingping, "Next time Mom isn't here, let me know and I'll heat up the food."
The child is too young.
What if a fire breaks out due to improper handling in such densely packed dwellings?
He Pingping honestly replied, "Mom said that Sister Yunzhao is not allowed to enter the kitchen."
Yun Zhao: "..."
When Zhao Yan was in confinement after giving birth, Yun Zhao once set the kitchen on fire.
She was twelve or thirteen years old at the time. After her uncles passed away, she was afraid of being accused of being a freeloader. She wanted to help out, but she always ended up making things worse.
It seems as if they were born lazy and unwilling to do physical labor.
Perhaps in Zhao Yan's opinion, the probability of six-year-old He Pingping burning down the kitchen is not as high as the probability of her doing so.
Yun Zhao fell silent and buried his head in his food.
afternoon.
The furniture delivery person came to my door.
Accompanying them was a leader from the Commerce Bureau.
And the shopping mall manager, and the sales clerk who called her a "country bumpkin".
The person in charge arrived with gifts, his face full of apologetic smiles: "Ms. Yun, I am so sorry. It was a serious management oversight on our part that caused you to suffer. We have already dealt with the employee seriously."
They were unaware of Yun Zhao's identity.
But Minister Shao personally called to hold him accountable, which reportedly alarmed even the base manager.
This gave the person in charge and the leaders of the Commerce Bureau a real scare.
The female clerk blushed deeply and lowered her head.
With a trembling voice, she said, "Ms. Yun, I'm so sorry. I hope you can give me a chance to make amends. I will treat every customer equally from now on and provide the best service..."
Yun Zhao pursed his lips slightly and said slowly to the person in charge, "She is just a microcosm."
They just happened to run into the muzzle of a gun.
"We will strengthen employee training to prevent such incidents from happening again," the person in charge said sincerely.
The bureau chief nodded repeatedly, "We will also strengthen supervision to ensure that similar incidents do not happen again. We hope that you will not lose confidence in the base's commercial services because of this incident."
"I hope so," Yun Zhao said honestly.
The person in charge quickly replied, "Don't worry, we will definitely keep our word. As for the clothes you bought, the employee in question will pay for them. You don't need to refuse; consider it a lesson for them."
Yun Zhao did not refuse.
It's not that I'm short of those 120 points, but these sales clerks who treat customers differently based on their status really need to be taught a lesson.
An apology might be due to pressure from above, but the points are your own.
The female clerk was filled with shame and didn't dare to look up.
The person in charge continued, "In addition, we have already taken action: the person involved will have one month's salary deducted, other employees will have half a month's salary deducted, and they will be required to participate in assessments and undergo retraining before returning to their posts."
He tentatively asked, "What do you think of this outcome...?"
"That's good." Yun Zhao nodded slightly.
The matter is neither too big nor too small.
The base responded by personally visiting the site to apologize.
She's not one to make a mountain out of a molehill.
This matter is considered closed.
The person in charge breathed a sigh of relief, said some polite words, and finally handed over the gift, saying, "This is a small gift we prepared for you to express our apologies."
The bag is quite large, not small at all.
The three of them placed their belongings on the table before saying goodbye and leaving.
As they talked, the wardrobe and desk in the room were installed, and the installation staff came out and asked Yun Zhao to come over and check them.
Yun Zhao didn't see them off; instead, he turned and went into the bedroom to check.
She chose a wardrobe and desk in natural wood color, which matches the wooden bed well.
The only somewhat jarring element was the pink chair, which came with a pink cushion.
It was a gift from Bai Yu.
Next time I treat her to a meal, I'll pick out a gift as a return gift.
Yun Zhao sat down at the desk. The once empty room now had a desk and a wardrobe in the bedroom.
Because no fire was lit, there was no sign of cooking, making it seem particularly deserted.
I remembered there were still two bird stands.
Yun Zhao thought to himself that as more and more items were added, this place would become more and more like a home.
She opened the gift bag.
Inside was a small desk lamp and another box of delicate sponge cakes.
*
It was a little past 5 p.m.
Yun Zhao's communicator received a notification that points had been deducted from his account. There were two charges totaling 56 points.
Not long after.
When Zhao Yan returned, she indeed only bought meat and two bunches of wild vegetables.
“It’s not easy for you to earn these points; prices in the base are too high.”
Zhao Yan had always lived in Qingshan Town and had never had any contact with outsiders.
She prepared breakfast in the morning, told her two children to watch the house, and then left home with a heavy heart.
Although Yun Zhao had taught her how to take the bus, Zhao Yan was unwilling to spend money and walked to the inner city instead.
She stood outside the shopping mall for a long time, watching the people coming and going dressed smartly. After hesitating for a long time, she didn't dare to go in at all.
In the end, they had no choice but to return the way they came.
They found another aunt in town and, together, asked for directions to the farmers' market.
I couldn't find milk, but I saw a butcher selling meat. When I asked the price, I was almost scared to death.
Zhao Zhao spent all the points she earned on food, so what did she spend...?
Zhao Yan dared not buy it.
Remembering that Zhao Zhao said she wanted to eat meat, she followed the advice of others and stayed until the butcher shop closed.
Then I went up with others to negotiate the price and spent 50 points to buy two and a half pounds of meat.
After listening to her, Yun Zhao comforted her, "It's okay, I'll go buy it tomorrow."
It was her oversight.
I thought everyone could adapt as quickly as she did.
Mutant animals are extremely ferocious and not always encountered. Hunting teams risk their lives to hunt them, so the price is definitely high.
It's normal that Zhao Yan is reluctant to buy it.
But Yun Zhao still hoped that she could adapt as soon as possible, so he said, "I have decided to send Pingping and An'an to school. Auntie has to go to the service hall tomorrow to get the resident certificate and points card."
Go out and explore more often.
Sooner or later, I'll get used to life in the big base.
Zhao Yan was startled when she heard this, "Won't the tuition be very expensive?"
"Not expensive."
Yun Zhao emphasized, "I am very rich now."
Zhao Yan hesitated, remaining silent for a long time.
When her husband brought Yun Zhao back to the town, she lived in their house.
Zhao Yan watched Yun Zhao grow up and was the one who took the most care of her among the eight families.
But in reality, the two were not close at all.
After the search team in town had an accident, Yun Zhao didn't speak to them for a long time.
At the time, Zhao Yan was pregnant, and Yun Zhao would voluntarily help with farm work, washing clothes, cleaning, etc.
But whenever she has free time, she goes to sit on the high wall of the town.
Sometimes I sit for an entire day.
She won't come down for dinner even when we call her.
Back then, only He Xiang followed her around every day.
Later, she awakened to become a guide and gradually became more talkative, but the town's sentries became somewhat afraid of her.
Or rather, they feared her spiritual form.
Yun Zhao's personality is unpredictable.
They knew that she was actually very loyal and devoted to her family.
She completely considered the search team's family as her own responsibility.
No matter what I say, it's useless; it's completely unreasonable.
Knowing that refusing was useless, Zhao Yan nodded in agreement, "Okay, I'll go to the service hall first thing tomorrow morning. I'll go make dinner now."
Seeing her busy in the kitchen, Yun Zhao went back to the room, took out another box of eggs, and added four more eggs, dividing them into seven portions.
She took out the new clothes she had prepared for the children and divided the meat she had bought and the box of chicken cakes among them.
Then, taking the two children, Pingping and An'an, they delivered the gifts to the other seven families.
Yun Zhao told them that he was going to send the children to school and asked them to go to the service hall as soon as possible to apply for resident permits.
The families reacted differently upon learning the news.
When He Xiang heard that Sister Yun Zhao wanted to send him to school, he shook his head vigorously, "I'm already so old, I'm not going."
He's the breadwinner of his family now, so he needs to find a way to earn points.
It's enough that my younger sister has a school to attend.
The old town mayor was over seventy years old, somewhat hunchbacked, and wearing an old-fashioned coarse cloth shirt.
Thinking of her deceased son and that her grandson is now able to study, tears welled up in her eyes as she turned her back to Yun Zhao and wiped them away.
Among the other families, some expressed their gratitude joyfully, while others, thinking of their deceased loved ones, covered their faces and wept bitterly.
Yun Zhao put down his things and left quietly with the two children.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
