Chapter 141

Chapter 141

Since it was after work hours, apart from Uncle Li and his family trio, Li Sheng, Yang Kai, and Zhou Li were also present.

This meant Cheng Jing could bypass the standard return paperwork at the office. He could just give a quick debrief now and submit a written report along with a physical the next day.

Uncle Li had already prepared most of the dishes, waiting for their return to put the finishing touches on dinner.

With friends, there was no need for formalities. After exchanging greetings, everyone headed upstairs.

Uncle Li let them rest in the living room while he and Li Liang went into the kitchen.

As the aroma of food wafted from the kitchen, the exhaustion from the journey gradually eased for Cheng Jing and the others.

Two tables were pushed together to form one large dining table, laden with over a dozen dishes—meat, vegetables, hot and cold plates—all looking and smelling amazing, making for a seriously impressive feast.

The star of the evening was a whole roasted suckling pig.

The kicker was that it had been freshly roasted, not the store-bought vacuum-packed stuff.

Though Jiang Nian’s ring space also contained vacuum-packed roasted suckling pigs, this one was different.

Upon asking, they learned Yang Kai had specially brought it over upon hearing about their return that day.

Jiang Nian noticed Yang Kai was in an especially good mood today—his smile never faded, and even his relaxed posture while smoking by the balcony door looked cooler than usual.

While the others were busy getting the table ready and chatting, Jiang Nian stared at the golden-brown roasted pig for a moment before walking over to Yang Kai.

"Bro Kai, where’d you get this flavorful pig breed? Are there any live ones left? I’d like to raise some."

Yang Kai didn’t hide anything.

"The base’s breeding farm has them, including piglets. Once your farm is ready, I’ll get you a few—no charge. Bama fragrant pigs stay small, and there are other breeds too."

He was pretty much part of the team now, just waiting for Cheng to make it official. Naturally, he’d funnel any free resources he could into the group.

"Great, thanks, Bro Kai."

Jiang Nian’s eyes sparkled as he pictured his farm setup—a mix of cultivation and livestock. Beyond purifying the land for crops, he’d also planned space for livestock areas.

Five acres of land would be just enough for proper allocation.

Yang Kai stubbed out his cigarette and tossed it into the trash.

"We’re all family here—no need for thanks."

Jian Cheng, munching on half a cucumber, happened to walk over just then and gave Yang Kai a thumbs-up.

"Bro Kai, you rock."

No surprise he went from Jiang Nian’s rival to his brother—the dude’s got class.

"Oh, and one more thing..."

Yang Kai nodded at Jian Cheng before turning back to Jiang Nian.

"Later, I’ll check the hatchery units in the experimental zone to see what else we can raise for you—chicks, ducklings, things like that. It’s good to have a bit of everything for self-sufficiency."

During his undercover days, he’d imagined that if he ever retired normally, he’d escape the city hustle and embrace a peaceful rural life—keeping chickens, growing veggies—the whole homestead deal.

Though things weren’t going as planned, he was content to live a relatively stable life with people who see eye-to-eye in this chaotic world.

No more scheming or looking over his shoulder—though he was good at it, that didn’t mean he enjoyed it.

"I feel the same way, heh!"

Jiang Nian patted his shoulder and casually tossed out a promise:

"Bro Kai, once the farm’s up and running, you’ll get a share. Every time we slaughter chickens or ducks, I’ll hook you up with a leg."

Yang Kai nodded happily. "You’re on."

"Brother Nian, I want some too!"

Jian Cheng chimed in loudly while snacking on a cucumber, not even trying to keep it down. His shout caught the attention of the others setting up the table for dinner.

Young Master Liao, always eager to stir the pot, plopped down in his chair and declared:

"Whatever it is, I want a share too, Pops."

Jiang Nian: "..."

From then on, thanks to the back-and-forth between these two clowns, Jiang Nian’s promise to Yang Kai became common knowledge.

They even started debating the best ways to cook chicken and duck—ridiculous.

"Wow, the farm isn’t even set up yet, and you’re already arguing over roasted chicken or beer duck. You two are unbelievable."

Cheng Jing couldn’t help but laugh. His Nian Nian was getting better at talking big.

But it didn’t matter—he didn’t need to compete because he got first dibs on everything Jiang Nian had. The others could fight over the scraps.

Jiang Nian’s ears turned red as he shot him a glance and muttered:

"What’s wrong with having a plan? It’s not like it’s impossible."

For them, this was no big deal anyway. They were just discussing recipes a bit ahead of time.

"Exactly! If Brother Jiang Nian says it’s possible, then it is."

Li Shuhui chimed in with a giggle, then blinked.

"I don’t want drumsticks—I want wings."

"Ha ha ha..."

"..."

"Alright, come eat first. Worry about farm-fresh chicken later. Let’s finish this feast in front of us."

Uncle Li chuckled and waved everyone over to the table.

As they ate, the group caught each other up on the base and beyond.

Cheng Jing ran through their team’s recent mission, what went down, and what they scored—though he omitted details about the Medium Crystal Core, focusing instead on Xiao Qi and its former owner.

Since everyone present was an insider, some things went without saying.

Everyone felt sorry for what happened to Xiao Qi's late owner. Fortunately, Xiao Qi had a cheerful personality and adjusted well thanks to his late owner's voice recordings.

The base also had a dedicated military dog team, but Cheng Jing wasn’t planning to enlist Xiao Qi.

Zhou Li also suggested they keep Xiao Qi themselves. Otherwise, if Xiao Qi was enlisted into the base’s K-9 unit, he would have to be reassigned to a new handler, and they might not even get to see him again.

However, they could take Xiao Qi to the base’s training grounds for training.

After weighing everyone’s input, they all agreed this was the best arrangement.

"......"

After discussing Cheng Jing’s team’s experiences outside the base, they turned to discussing the situation inside.

During the few days they were away, the base continued to receive a constant stream of survivors.

Naturally, among them were some Superpowered with rare abilities.

Exchanging zombie cores for points had become a standard practice across all bases.

Therefore, most Superpowered individuals entering the base during this period had stockpiled zombie cores.

Upon arrival, they could exchange them for enough points to bypass the free barracks in the outer district and directly rent or buy housing in the inner district.

This gave a boost to the housing market within the inner district.

The base’s Resource Department also took the opportunity to screen recruits.

"Is housing in our base about to go up?" Jiang Nian asked curiously. In his past life, he’d never heard much about housing prices since it wouldn’t have affected Xia Weiwei and the others anyway.

Zhou Li shook his head:

"No, we’re still in the intake phase. Most newcomers are ordinary people who’ll choose the free outer district barracks. Even those capable of entering the inner district mostly rent—very few buy. Prices won’t rise that quickly."

"Oh..."

Jiang Nian nodded, mentally noting that he must buy property before prices went up.

When they had previously looked at houses, the realtors said that even if the apocalypse ended, the base’s structures would remain. The defensive walls might be dismantled, and the base could expand into a new city.

Though it sounded like a sales pitch, it wasn’t entirely impossible. So, snapping up property would be useful—even if the apocalypse ended and everything was demolished, there’d be government payouts.

Speaking of renting, Li Cheng suddenly remembered something and asked Jiang Nian:

"By the way, Jiang Nian, do you remember that neighbor woman when we investigated Jiang Wenwen’s disappearance?"

Without much thought, Jiang Nian replied:

"Yeah, she gave a fake name at registration, Su Jing, right? What about her?"

How could he forget someone who bit the hand that fed him?

Their teammates were also aware of the incident, and at the mention, everyone recalled Jiang Nian getting scammed. Cheng Jing frowned:

"Is she causing trouble again?"

Li Cheng said after a pause:

"She rented a place in the inner district and blew a huge amount of points on purchases... like she’d hit the jackpot."

"......"