Chapter 4
It's hot now, and they arrived at the base late at night. If they wait until tomorrow to sell, they don't know if they'll be able to get a good price.
Upon hearing this, Chen Li's expression visibly tensed up.
He quickly glanced around and, seeing that no one was paying attention, led the person to a corner.
What kind of animal is it?
Ye Qingyun was cautious and only took out the two kidneys that had been poisoned.
"They're from fanged rabbits. We tested them ourselves; both have moderate toxin levels. If you mind—"
"I don't mind!!" Chen Li interrupted loudly. Seeing the strange looks from the family of four, he realized he had been too agitated and cleared his throat. "I mean, moderate poisoning is fine too."
He spoke with restraint, but acted with extraordinary speed, as if afraid that Ye Qingyun would disagree, and directly pulled the kidneys out of the plastic bag.
Then a soft electronic voice sounded—
"Drip, moderate toxicity, appropriate consumption recommended."
Chen Li's breathing became heavier, and more importantly, it was very fresh! He could even smell the fresh blood coming from inside.
"I'll go get the scale!"
Before the others could react, he ran into the office and started rummaging through drawers and cabinets.
Jiang Shu couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Why do I feel like they're not as good as me?"
Although he also craved meat, at least he wasn't as embarrassed as him.
Ye Qingyun slapped him across the face, "Shut up!"
A moment later, Chen Li came out with a small electronic scale.
It was about what they estimated; the two kidneys weighed a total of 3.2 jin.
Chen Li grinned from ear to ear, his eyes narrowed into slits, a far cry from his previous aloof demeanor.
"Brother, the market price for meat is 90 points per pound, and for offal it's 85 points per pound. I'll give you 91 pounds."
So this is what "brothers" are doing?
Jiang Shu felt that his skin wasn't thick enough, at least not as thick as the person in front of him.
"Judging by the size of these two kidneys, the fanged rabbit you encountered must weigh at least fifty or sixty pounds, right?" Chen Li's eyes lit up considerably. "Any others?"
Jiang Shan gave a wry smile, "That's all. The only edible part of that fanged rabbit is its two kidneys."
Chen Li felt a little regretful upon hearing this, but he was already quite satisfied with getting two kidneys today.
Where did you meet?
"We met them on the road."
"On the way?" Upon hearing Jiang Shan's question, Chen Li's gaze intensified. "Brother Jiang, you didn't hunt them yourselves, did you? Are you mutants?"
When Jiang Shan saw that the other party had asked several questions in a row, he quickly denied it, "No, we came to Ancheng Base with other people. We were lucky to kill Fang Rabbit this time."
Jiang Zhi's family knew about her abilities and didn't intend to tell anyone.
Chen Li looked somewhat disappointed. "Then you guys are lucky. If you need meat in the future, you can come to me again."
Seeing that the Jiang family did not respond, Chen Li slapped his forehead, "Look at me, I forgot that you haven't received your ID cards yet."
The ID card he mentioned was actually a wristwatch testing device.
Jiang Zhi raised her hand. "Is this okay?"
Chen Li was somewhat surprised, "What is this...?"
Jiang Zhi said, "I found it on the road."
Chen Li glanced at it and subtly reminded him, "It's possible, but you'd better find some time to delete the information inside. The base will take over accounts that are not renewed every six months. If you leave it for too long, it will be investigated later."
Jiang Zhi and the others understood.
So this thing can only be used in private?
That's true. If it were used openly and legitimately, it would likely lead to many criminal incidents. It would be detrimental to base management.
The group felt a surge of relief; Chen Li's reminder was a timely help. Otherwise, if they had misused it in the base, it might have caused them trouble.
Chen Li directly transferred 288 points to Jiang Zhi, which, together with the original points in the detector, brought the total to 658 points.
This is enough to rent a cheap apartment at the base for a month.
Jiang Zhi was delighted.
It feels great to make money as soon as you enter the base.
Jiang Shu was interested in how the detector was used.
This thing is much better than the old-fashioned QR codes. Once you've locked onto an object, you can transfer points by simply tapping the two watches together.
"Director Chen, what if the testing device is accidentally dropped? Wouldn't the points inside be used by anyone?"
Chen Li was clearly satisfied with Jiang Shu's address. He explained with a smile, "No, when you bind your identity, you need to enter a password and scleral verification. Generally speaking, unless the person in question unlocks it, no one else can use it."
"Miss Jiang is already very lucky to be able to use it."
Upon hearing this, the members of the Jiang family all turned their gazes toward Jiang Zhi in unison.
Jiang Zhi looked completely innocent: "I told you that I was possessed by a koi fish after the Great Cataclysm, but you didn't believe me."
Then they heard Chen Li say, "By the way, I live in the south of Zone D of the base. You can find me if you ask around a few times. If you have any good stuff next time, you can come to me. The price is negotiable."
Jiang Shan nodded in agreement.
After the money was exchanged, the four of them did not linger and went inside.
It was around 7 or 8 p.m. at the time.
The entire base was brightly lit, and for a moment, the group felt as if they had stepped into another world.
Jiang Shu: "Mom, come quickly and tell me, have I traveled back in time?"
Although the windows of the residential buildings were lit by yellow tungsten filament lamps from the 1970s and 80s, which were not as bright as the neon lights before the Great Cataclysm, the group had spent several years in their small camp in the scenic area, using candles and flashlights. How could they not be excited to see the power system running again after so long?
This time, Ye Qingyun unusually didn't look down on her silly son.
"Alright, let's hurry up and rent a room to rest while there's still electricity. We have a ton of work to do tomorrow."
The back of the registration form contains some site-specific notes.
One of the rules specifies the power-on time: power is on from 7 to 9 p.m., and after 10 p.m., lights are turned off in all areas except the medical station and guard post.
Jiang Zhi glanced at the dark entrance to the meeting hall, above which hung a sign that read, "If you need anything, find the staff on duty."
The arrows even thoughtfully point to the base shop on the left.
Jiang Zhi looked over and saw a staff member sitting at a table at the entrance of the base store, chatting with the salesperson inside.
Jiang Zhi:......
It seems that being a public servant at the base isn't so bad; a nine-to-five job is simply too wonderful.
After a quick glance around, Jiang Zhi found that the layout of the base was more grand than she had imagined.
About one kilometer from the city gate is the Reception Hall, and to the left is the base store.
To the right is a planned parking lot.
Further to both sides are residential areas resembling neighborhoods.
Almost every building has only 3 floors, with about a dozen rooms on each floor.
From a distance, the smoke and fire were visible.
When the group passed by and looked inside, they found that the internal structure of the apartment building was similar to that of the old tenement buildings from the 1970s and 80s.
The corridors in the public area were filled with kitchenware, and each household had a stove and cooking utensils placed in front of their own door. When cooking, the air was filled with fumes and various smells that wafted out from inside.
Toilets are also public, and there are often a limited number of them, requiring people to queue to use them.
The building's lighting and ventilation were not very good, making it appear somewhat dim and damp.
After observing for a moment, Jiang Shan sighed, "It seems that after the catastrophe, our human living standards have regressed by several decades."
Ye Qingyun: "It's good enough that we're alive. Once we settle down, we might not even be as well off as them."
Jiang Zhi pouted: "Mom, why don't you look forward to something better? Our family of four, no, once we find Grandpa and Grandma, our whole family will definitely be able to live a good life!"
Jiang Shu: "Exactly, exactly. I also want to live a life where I can eat meat every day."
Ye Qingyun smiled and said, "Yes, yes, yes, our Azhi is right. As long as our family is together, we will always be able to live a good life."
Jiang Shu: "Mom! You're being unfair to me again! You always ignore me!"
The family chatted and laughed as they spent 10 points to rent a temporary single room from the staff on duty.
It is said that several residential areas nearby have such low-rent housing, including single rooms, double rooms, and even suites for large families, all specifically provided for residents who cannot afford to buy houses.
Of course, the prices vary, ranging from 5 to 50 points per day, but monthly rentals are more cost-effective.
However, Jiang Shan and his wife were both thinking about the car they had left in the wilderness. Moreover, they were new to the area and had many places where they would need to spend points. The couple wanted to make the most of every penny, so they didn't consider the monthly rental fee.
Soon the staff on duty led them to the end of the second floor.
The room was only 20 square meters in size, and it was bare, with nothing on the floor except for two wooden planks.
A bright yellow tungsten filament lamp hung on the wall, bathing the room in a warm yellow light.
"To renew your lease, you need to arrive at the meeting room an hour in advance to accumulate points, otherwise our staff will clean the room regularly."
The staff member on duty left after saying that.
Once the others had disappeared, Jiang Shu couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Why is there nothing here?"
Jiang Zhi squatted down to look at the two wooden boards. They looked fairly clean and had no strange smell.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Shu's expression changed slightly, as if he had just realized something: "These two wooden planks wouldn't happen to be our bed, would they?!"
Blocking the view of the other tenants, Ye Qingyun glared at him.
"We've slept in places even more rudimentary than this before. What, you want to be the emperor?"
Jiang Shu shrank his neck.
His mother may look delicate and weak, but her Iron Palm technique is no joke.
"I was just saying, I thought things would be better here at the base, but who knew it would turn out like this—ouch, ouch, Mom, take it easy! I'm not even married yet, if I lose my ear, where am I going to find you a wife?!"
Ye Qingyun twisted the sheets even harder. "I think you're asking for trouble. You haven't even finished your own meal and you want to mess with that girl. Stop nagging! Hurry up and clean up the sheets."
Taking the opportunity, Jiang Zhi raised her hand and asked, "Mom, I request to share a bed with you tonight so that my brother can sleep further away. His snoring is just too loud."
Jiang Shu laughed angrily, "Why don't you just let me live outside the door!"
Jiang Zhi blinked. "...It's not impossible."
Jiang Shu glared angrily at the other man in the Jiang family: "Old man, are you just going to stand by and watch them bully me?! Since when did women become the bosses in our Jiang family?!"
As Jiang Shan took his luggage out of his backpack, he replied leisurely, "This is a fine tradition of our Jiang family."
The family was laughing and joking, as if they had returned to the time before the Great Cataclysm.
The four of them worked together and quickly tidied up the room.
The wooden planks on the ground were one meter apart, and Jiang Zhi's idea of sleeping separately was a complete failure.
They could only put two wooden planks together so that the family of four could barely sleep sideways.
Jiang Shan pushed the wooden plank against the wall, laid a thin mattress on it, and piled up their clothes to use as pillows.
Jiang Zhi took out a folding table and chairs and set them up.
Although they didn't have much luggage, they had all the daily necessities they needed, almost all of which were what their family had prepared for road trips and camping before the cataclysm, and now they had become their most treasured survival tools.
Jiang Shu placed a small pot and a camping stove near the window. After packing her luggage, she asked Ye Qingyun, who was checking the food, "Mom, what are we having for dinner tonight?"
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