Chapter 3
Upon hearing this, Ye Qingyun's smile immediately became genuine, and without further ado, he stuffed the candy into her hand.
“Auntie, it’s fate that we can talk. I only gave it to you because I felt comfortable with you. I wouldn’t give it to anyone else who wanted it.”
The woman couldn't refuse; she had a five-year-old grandson who was born during a natural disaster and didn't even know what candy was. She really couldn't bear to refuse him.
Finally, gritting his teeth, he accepted the gifts: "Fine! I'll take the liberty of accepting them. Ask me anything you want to know, and I promise I'll answer everything I know."
"By the way, you can just call me Aunt Zhu."
Ye Qingyun didn't stand on ceremony, "Aunt Zhu, our family of four wants to settle down at the base. Is there anything we need to be aware of?"
Aunt Zhu: "If you want to live a stable life in the base, I suggest you grit your teeth and spend more points to buy a piece of land in Zone D and build your own house. There's a new policy recently that all the land available now has permanent property rights. This is only possible because the base has expanded this year. You can't buy one even if you come early or late. My son said there aren't many left now."
Jiang Zhi pouted upon hearing this.
It seems that even in the face of disaster, one cannot escape the fate of having to buy and pay for a house.
Ye Qingyun frowned: "Sector D?"
Seeing Ye Qingyun's confusion, Aunt Zhu asked with some surprise, "Didn't your old base have separate zones?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Qingyun mumbled, "Yes, there is, but it's a little different from what you're doing here..."
Aunt Zhu thought she didn't want to go into details, so she didn't take it seriously and continued, "Our Ancheng base is divided into five areas. Area A is the agricultural area, and Areas B and D are residential areas."
Ye Qingyun: "They're all residential areas, why are they divided into B and D?"
Aunt Zhu raised her head, looking very proud. "Of course, Block B is where the powerful and influential live. Of course, if you're rich enough, you can buy one too."
Jiang Zhi: "Aunt Zhu, which district do you live in?"
A hint of embarrassment flashed across Aunt Zhu's face: "Our family is just getting by, we can't afford to live in Block B."
Ye Qingyun glared at the mischievous Jiang Zhi and asked, "Aunt Zhu, what kind of place is Zone C?"
"Sector C is specifically for the mutated members of the patrol team."
Jiang Zhi blinked: "A mutant?"
“Yes, mutants,” Aunt Zhu turned to look at her suspiciously, “You don’t even know what mutants are?”
No, that's not it. They've heard some information about mutants on the radio. But perhaps because of the need for secrecy, they don't know much about it.
Just as Ye Qingyun was about to find an excuse to brush it off, a loud roar of a car engine suddenly came from behind him.
Aunt Zhu was immediately overjoyed, "The exploration team is back!!"
Jiang Zhi and the others all looked over and saw four or five steel behemoth-like cars driving towards the base gate not far away.
The cars were covered in rust and battle scars, their tires huge and heavy with deep treads. The bodies were reinforced with thick steel plates, the rough welding marks making them appear even heavier. A large trailer loaded with spare fuel and repair tools was towed behind each vehicle.
The front bumper is thick and menacing, and the windows look like they've been specially treated, but they're covered in tiny scratches and cracks.
The powerful spotlights on the roof were blinding in the darkness. Everyone raised their hands to shield their eyes, yet they were unwilling to miss the chance to witness the mutants' prowess, craning their necks to look.
"They are a pioneering team and an exploration team. I wonder how much edible meat they brought back this time."
"I've been saving up points for so long, I'm definitely going to buy a pound of mutated beast meat this time!"
Like everyone else, Aunt Zhu watched anxiously as the vehicles entered the base, muttering, "If only we had Fire Phoenix Chickens this time..."
Ye Qingyun asked at the opportune moment, "This is..."
When Aunt Zhu saw that she had asked, she explained casually, "You mean this? Every time the reclamation team comes back, they bring back a lot of meat. We ordinary folks usually rely on them to be able to eat meat from time to time."
Jiang Zhi's expression was strange.
While mutated beasts are dangerous, it's really strange that a base with hundreds of thousands of people would rely on an exploration team to capture them.
When the family of four lived in the settlement, they encountered some small mutated beasts almost every day. Although the mutated beasts had become stronger, the group of four could still deal with them with relative ease by working together.
Jiang Shan asked directly, "Aunt Zhu, don't you go and kill the mutated beasts yourselves?"
Aunt Zhu was startled: "For ordinary people like us, it's already tough enough to go to the designated collection areas of the base, let alone dare to kill mutated beasts. If we see one, we can't even run away in time. We're lucky if we can find any food to eat."
Jiang Zhi and the others exchanged glances but remained silent.
Ye Qingyun asked a few more questions, and after getting the answers she wanted, she heard her son waving at them from the front of the line: "Ms. Ye! Miss Jiang, come over here! You can register now!!"
Upon hearing this address, Jiang Zhi felt like digging her toes into the bedroom.
What an idiot!
She forced herself to remain calm, ignoring the stares of those around her, and walked past them with feigned composure.
Ye Qingyun picked up his luggage and said goodbye to Aunt Zhu: "Aunt Zhu, thank you. I'll treat you to a meal another time."
Aunt Zhu agreed with "okay, okay," but she didn't really take it seriously.
In this day and age, it's already a blessing for family members to have a full meal; how could they possibly invite outsiders to eat?
Once the brother and sister reunited, Jiang Shu excitedly said, "Azhi, I've inquired, and as long as we bind our identities at the base, we can each get a detection device."
Jiangzhi: "Free?"
Jiang Shu said, "You can buy on credit first. Each watch costs 5 points. This is to make watches more affordable for ordinary people. I've inquired and now one point is about the same as one yuan before. However, prices are cheaper than before. If you rent a place in the outskirts, 500 points a month is enough. It's just that meat is particularly expensive, costing 90 points per pound. And it's not always available. Even when it is, there are purchase limits."
Jiangzhi: ...So all you care about is meat.
"Have you inquired about the resettlement procedures?" Ye Qingyun and his wife walked up from behind and asked.
Jiang Shu choked upon hearing this, but he didn't ask.
Ye Qingyun could tell what was going on just by looking at his expression, and she was immediately furious.
"You brat, you never do anything right!"
Jiang Shan glared at his silly son, then led his family to the registration desk next to the small gate of the base.
There sat a middle-aged man there, wearing a name tag like a staff member, who didn't seem easy to talk to.
Jiang Shan walked over and asked, "Comrade, our family of four would like to apply for residence permits at the Ancheng base. What procedures are required?"
The middle-aged man lifted his eyelids and glanced at them. "Are there any mutants among you?"
The family of four exchanged a glance. "No."
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man tossed over a piece of paper, saying, "Register here."
The group craned their necks to look over.
Besides requiring the recording of some basic personal information, the most prominent item on the registration form is the section on personal abilities.
After filling in their information, the four people handed it to the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man's mind was clearly on the convoy of vehicles still being disinfected at the entrance. He glanced at it casually, stamped it, and tossed it back to them.
"Go to the consulate to register first thing tomorrow morning."
The group of people were stunned for a moment.
—Is it really that simple?
Jiang Shan asked, "Brother, where can we rest when we go inside?"
The middle-aged man waved his hand impatiently and said, "I don't know, I don't know. Go inside and ask someone yourselves."
After saying that, he took out a sign that read "Service Temporarily Suspended" and placed it on the table, then hurriedly walked towards the convoy.
Clearly, their target is also the flesh of the mutated beasts.
Jiang Shu winked at Ye Qingyun and said, "See? Compared to this uncle, your son isn't that greedy, is he?"
Ye Qingyun ignored him.
If you don't discipline that brat for a day, he'll be climbing on the roof and tearing off the tiles.
The family of four went inside with the registration forms in hand.
Walking along the 3-meter-long city wall, under the dim yellow light, the brother and sister observed it curiously, and Jiang Shu even curiously knocked on the wall.
"It's such a strange material; it doesn't look like stone, steel, or iron."
Jiang Zhi touched it; the wall was indeed smoother than stone. "Maybe it was made from the bones of some animal."
Jiang Shu rolled her eyes at her. "My dear sister, what you're saying is giving me the creeps."
Such a big bone triggered his megalophobia.
Jiang Shan used to be a construction engineer, and his occupational habit kicked in. Looking at the internal structure of the city wall, he couldn't help but say, "Such a project used to take a lot of time, but if it's really made from the bones of large animals, it can indeed save a lot of time."
I just don't know how the base leadership managed to capture such a large mutated beast.
After entering the base, the staff carried out simple disinfection and issued them temporary residence permits before letting them pass.
Before leaving, Jiang Shan asked the staff, "Comrade, do you have a department that helps transport large items?"
What are you transporting?
"Off-road vehicle."
Upon hearing this, the staff member glanced at them a few more times, and their tone became much more amiable.
"Where is the car parked?"
Jiang Shan gave a brief explanation, and the staff member said, "You can go to the Reclamation Hall tomorrow morning to ask the reclamation team for help, as long as you pay them enough."
Ye Qingyun, standing to the side, shamelessly asked, "Comrade, you see, we're new here and don't know anything. Could you recommend someone to us?"
The staff member said, "Go find Captain Luo. His team is the strongest, and he's a good guy too."
Having obtained useful information, Ye Qingyun beamed with joy, "Thank you so much, comrade!"
The staff member smiled and said, "My name is Chen Li. You can give me my name when you're looking for Captain Luo."
Jiang Shan thought a little deeper: "Comrade Chen, is there anything we can do for you?"
They may not be able to repay favors they receive for no reason.
Chen Li was quite straightforward, "Don't worry, there's nothing you need to do. If you want to sell cars in the future, you can choose me first."
Ye Qingyun felt a little embarrassed upon hearing this. That SUV was their only private property, and they would not sell it unless absolutely necessary.
"I'm sorry, Comrade Chen, we didn't intend to—"
But before Ye Qingyun could finish refusing, the other party continued, "Don't be so quick to refuse. It's okay if you don't want to sell. Just consider it making friends."
“My wife works in the local production and sales area of D district, and she has access to internal pricing. If you need her services in the future, you can contact me.”
Jiang Shan and Ye Qingyun exchanged a glance and then said politely to Chen Li, "That would be great. Thank you in advance, Comrade Chen."
Chen Li waved his hand and added a reminder, "You've arrived too late; the meeting hall is probably already closed. You can go to Section D to register for a room first, and we'll arrange the details tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shan had already made his judgment.
He called out, "Qingyun."
Having lived together for so many years, Ye Qingyun naturally knew what her husband was thinking.
She took the takeout bag out of her backpack.
"Comrade Chen, I don't know if you accept animal offal."
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