Chapter 57

Chapter 57

That evening, as Cheng Jing was preparing dinner, Li Kaiyun called again, inviting everyone over for a meal.

He said everyone had been busy lately, and now that things had settled down, it was time to get together. Naturally, no one refused.

At the dinner table, Li Kaiyun told everyone about Xiao Ya’s registration and her upcoming enrollment in the base’s supervised school starting the next day.

He left out the part about no further contact, keeping it from Xiao Ya and others who didn’t know the full story.

Xiao Ya was in good spirits. Li Shuhui and Huang Qian urged her to study hard at the regulated school and promised to visit when possible.

Meanwhile, Jiang Nian and the others learned that Li Kaiyun and Li Liang had joined the base’s security team, assigned specifically to maintain order in the commercial street near the West Gate.

Their expressions made it clear this was intentional, likely with Li Cheng’s help—a solid arrangement.

Li Shuhui, on the other hand, took an easy gig as a warehouse clerk in the rescue center’s logistics department.

With everyone’s jobs settled, Jiang Nian felt a wave of relief and decided to finalize renting the shop the next day.

A fresh start awaited them.

……

Between exchanged supplies and his teammates’ generous advance on their "salaries," Jiang Nian scraped together a hefty sum of credits.

The next morning, while Cheng Jing and the others trained at the command center, Jiang Nian rode out on an e-bike to the base’s market management office to sign the contract.

The base’s rental policy was standard—first and last month’s rent—a considerate setup for survivors.

A stall space rented for 300 credits a month.

A storefront cost 3,000 credits monthly, totaling 6,000 with the deposit. Electricity followed base regulations, while water credits had to be loaded onto a card.

The storefront covered nearly 40 square meters, standing about 5 meters tall. Its layout was tapered at the front, spacious at the back, with a private bathroom.

The rear section had a round skylight roughly a meter wide, fitted with specialized thermal-resistant coating.

Given the height, a loft could be added for storage or living space.

But Jiang Nian had no plans for a loft. Instead, he’d reinforce the insulation—the coming heatwave was deadly serious.

The storefront sat right across from a security post in the stall plaza, first unit left of the West Gate exit.

At the very least, the location offered peace of mind. If Li Liang’s team was on duty, he could shoot the breeze with them.

Renovations would run him about 20,000 credits, give or take—labor and materials at current rates.

The shop wasn’t just for him; he needed a smart layout for when teammates visited.

That was his motto: if he was going to do it, he’d do it right.

After signing, Jiang Nian headed straight to the contractor hub near the West Gate.

He laid out his requirements, haggled the price, put down a deposit, and signed a service agreement.

They broke ground the next morning.

Jiang Nian never considered DIY renovations. He knew his limits—some jobs were for the pros.

Here’s the refined translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

He only needed to stay nearby to state his requirements while occasionally supervising the work, while spending the rest of his time riding his e-bike around.

Aside from the grocery store, there was another matter he needed to quickly research and finalize:

Renting land.

Otherwise, all the seeds he bought would go to waste.

After a few days of inquiries, Jiang Nian learned that, just as in his past life during the same period, none of the research institutes across the country had yet developed a formula to purify and enhance soil quality.

As a result, Southern City Base currently had no purified land available for rent.

Only the outermost wasteland areas had pre-designated farm plots available for lease.

The base’s planned farms were designed for combined crop cultivation and animal husbandry:

Within a designated plot, tenants could both cultivate crops and raise animals. Each plot ranged from 1 to 10 acres in size.

There was abundant wasteland with decent planning, yet currently, the farms only had a few livestock sheds set up by the base itself, where soldiers raised chickens, ducks, and pigs.

As for planting, the area was completely barren—not so much as a blade of grass.

With crop seeds in short supply during the apocalypse, the base wouldn’t waste them on polluted land.

At present, vegetables and fruits were only grown in the nutrient-rich greenhouses at the central research institute, driving prices to outrageous levels.

To encourage survivors to rent and develop the land, the base set the rent extremely low, but for now, it remained virtually untouched.

What Jiang Nian wanted to do was capitalize on the cheap rent to lease a plot for farming.

Farming and husbandry infrastructure is the foundation of civilization’s creation and continuation—it never goes out of style, no matter the era.

Running a small shop and growing vegetables—wasn’t this the post-apocalyptic take on rustic living?

Wearing a straw hat bought from an old lady’s stall, nibbling on an ice pop, and lounging in a grand chair while watching the busy construction workers,

Jiang Nian cheerfully jiggled his crossed leg.

……

Temperatures kept rising, the sun beating down mercilessly—no rain, no wind, just a heavy, oppressive heat.

Seeing Jiang Nian zipping around daily on his e-bike in sun-protective gear, Cheng Jing left the Hummer for him and used another off-road vehicle assigned by the base instead.

Thus, Jiang Nian graduated from his e-bike to cruising around the base in a Hummer.

While most people looked haggard and worn, he seemed to have turned into some pampered young master:

Well-dressed, with smooth, delicate skin, even being picky about his meals daily.

Especially in recent days, with Cheng Jing too busy with his new job to join him for dinner on time, Jiang Nian’s dinners became even more slapdash.

Since the new team was still in their orientation period, Cheng Jing and the others divided their time between training and patrolling the base.

As a result, they often ran into Jiang Nian during patrols—their affectionately known Brother Nian turned up everywhere like he was uncovering map fog.

"Honk—honk—"

Here's the edited translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

In the eight-man patrol vehicle, Tang Yi, who was driving today, smiled and pulled over to the side of the road upon hearing the familiar honk from behind.

Soon, the Hummer parked beside them.

Jiang Nian, wearing sunglasses and a short-sleeved white shirt, leaned halfway out of the window and handed over a bag of ice pops:

"Here, cool you guys down."

The patrol team looked sweltering in their gear under the scorching sun.

He made a mental note to remind his Cheng later to apply some prickly heat powder or something—while the man wasn't bothered by heat, heat rash would kill his vibe.

Cheng Jing's gaze swept over Jiang Nian's collar with two buttons undone. *The AC's busted again?* As he took the bag, he pinched Jiang Nian's fingertips and asked,

"Where are you off to now?"

This guy's got no boundaries.

"Going to check out the new farms they're planning in the badlands," Jiang Nian replied, dragging his thumb over the back of Cheng's hand.

Too bad Cheng was wearing gloves and could hardly feel it.

"Thanks, Brother Nian..."

"Appreciate it..."

"We owe you one, boss..."

"..."

As thanks came from all around, Jiang Nian waved them off:

"Alright, dig in before these turn to soup. I'm out—later!"

With that, he hit the window switch, punched it, and left them with nothing but a badass silhouette and a kicked-up dust cloud.