Apocalypse Rebirth: 3000 million won at the beginning

Chapter 2232 The Post-Apocalyptic Workers

Staying at headquarters is no easy feat.

After leaving the boiler factory in Buffer City, Xie Dongshan and Xu Qiang took an electric bus from nearby and returned to Edge City.

Because they joined the camphor tree relatively late and weren't particularly talented individuals, they could only reside in the outermost city.

The two transferred buses once and rode for nearly 50 minutes before finally arriving at a residential area in the southwest corner of the outskirts of the city.

This residential area is located in a relatively remote area compared to the rest of the city.

It is close to a large polluting industrial park, and although it is upwind, you can still occasionally smell industrial waste gas.

The residents living here are all on the ground floor of the big camphor tree.

The two got off the BH31 bus. The wind was biting cold and snowflakes were flying everywhere.

A snowplow passed by not far away, and its loud noise caught the attention of the two men.

Xu Qiang looked at the snowplow and said with some envy:
"I wish I could be a snowplow driver or a bus driver. I heard the benefits are great. It's a pity that you have to have an A-class driver's license and have been with Dazhangshu for more than two years before you can even apply."

Xie Dongshan put his hat on and said to Xu Qiang:

"Brother Qiang, let's go back first. It's too cold outside, and I'm starving."

"Okay, let's go, let's hurry up and fill our stomachs." Xu Qiang nodded.

The two walked towards a street outside the residential area. This street had some shops, including basic food supply points and some restaurants, such as noodle shops and paomo (pita bread soaked in mutton soup) shops.
The prices of food sold in these restaurants are much cheaper than those in the buffer city's commercial district.

After all, in a commercial district where land is extremely valuable, rents are very expensive, and the costs for businesses there are very high.

There are usually some restaurants around their neighborhood.

Braving the cold wind, the two arrived at the small street.

"How about we skip the cornbread today and have some steamed buns soaked in soup instead?" Xu Qiang asked.

He smelled a rich aroma of meat in the air, which made him stop outside Old Chen's paomo shop.

Xie Dongshan smelled the aroma of meat, and his stomach rumbled.

It has indeed been a very, very long time since I've eaten meat.

These paomo (pita bread soaked in mutton soup) shops sell broth, but it's just broth—a broth made from a few large bones, topped with a little oil and sprinkled with chopped green onions. As for the meat...
Anyway, Xie Dongshan and his group have eaten here four or five times, and they have never tasted any meat in the soup.

Even so, it was enough to satisfy them.

At least it has the aroma of meat, and there's oil on top of the soup.

For people like them who do hard labor year-round, it's really hard to keep going without some oil or fat in their stomachs.

"Let's go to this place." Xie Dongshan swallowed hard, smelling the aroma of meat in the air.

As you climb the steps and push open the shop's curtain, the aroma of meat wafts out.

Xu Qiang walked to the front desk and said to a shop assistant sitting behind the counter:
"Two bowls of meat soup and two steamed buns, please."

The staff didn't bother to ask if we wanted more meat, since residents of this neighborhood rarely get to afford meat.

"Give me the points card," the clerk asked lazily.

Xu Qiang handed over the light gray points number card, unique to Level 6 personnel.

The clerk skillfully swiped the points card on the card reader.

"Two bowls of meat soup cost 0.6 points, two steamed buns cost 0.6 points, for a total of 1.2 points."

"Enter your password."

Even though he already knew the price, Xu Qiang still felt a pang of heartache.

After all, he only earns 2 points a day, and now he has used up most of his points in one meal.

He entered the password.

The clerk handed him the printed receipt along with the points card.

"Find a seat yourself, and collect your ticket at the window later."

"Thank you." Xu Qiang took the receipt and number card, and led Xie Dongshan to an empty seat.

As it was rush hour, the store was quite busy, and there weren't many empty seats.

Most of the customers around them ordered the same set meal.

Steamed buns with meat broth.

The cost of broth is very low, as large bones have little meat to begin with, so it is relatively cheap for businesses to purchase them.

A large bone might be simmered for three or four days, until it has completely lost its flavor.

Once the meat flavor is completely gone, it will be crushed and ground into powder with an iron hammer and added to the broth to enhance the meat flavor.

The flatbread is similar to cornbread, but it contains a little flour and other ingredients, so it tastes better than cornbread and is slightly more expensive.

The two sat there and waited for their number to be called from the window.

The shop was well-heated, and although the two were dressed lightly, they didn't feel cold.

The two men had just come out of the boiler room, and they were covered in dirt. They even had black coal dust under their fingernails from years of working with coal.

The two hadn't washed up yet; their hair, clothes, and even shoes were covered in black coal dust, making them look extremely disheveled.

Ten minutes later.

"Number 299, come and pick up your meal." A middle-aged woman wearing a mask lifted the curtain at the window and shouted into the lobby, her voice booming like thunder.

Xu Qiang glanced at the receipt in his hand; it was number 299.

He quickly got up and walked to the window with Xie Dongshan.

On the window, two bowls of steaming meat soup floated on top, with a thin layer of oil and green scallions, making one's mouth water.

The heated steamed buns now emitted a faint aroma.

The two carried the meat soup and steamed buns back to their seats.

Slurp~
Xie Dongshan took a sip of the hot broth along the rim of the large bowl, and the warmth spread from his throat to his stomach and then instantly throughout his body.

Comfortable~
A look of satisfaction appeared on Xie Dongshan's face.

This is the taste.

The broth was very salty, and it would taste too salty to people who eat meat regularly, but it was just right for most people in the neighborhood.

Physical labor consumes a lot of salt, and if you frequently ingest salt in your daily diet, you won't have the energy to do physical labor.

Both of them were starving, so they tore the bread into their mouths, chewed it, and swallowed it.

Then take a sip of hot broth to fill your empty stomach.

Two minutes.

In just two minutes, they finished more than half a bowl of meat soup.

This kind of flatbread, like cornbread, is very large, about the size of a Xinjiang naan bread from before the apocalypse, about the size of a face.

After eating half of the bread, they tore the rest into small pieces and threw them into the broth.

These steamed buns absorb water very well, and when soaked in broth, they taste even better and become softer.

The steamed buns were soaked in the flavor of the meat broth, making them even more satisfying to eat.

The two devoured the soup and bread in a matter of minutes, like a whirlwind.

They even licked the leftover scallions off the bowl.

The two of them were completely unrefined, looking as if they hadn't eaten in ages.

The bowls were licked so clean after eating that not a trace of oil could be seen, and they practically didn't need washing.

Although they have no image to maintain, they don't care at all.

In fact, the customers who enter this store eat in a similar way to them.

We are all residents at the bottom of society, and our lives are pretty much the same.

No one looks down on that.

Xie Dongshan touched his slightly bloated stomach and let out a loud burp.

"Brother Qiang, I'm a little sleepy now that I've just finished eating."

"Hahahaha." Xu Qiang stood up and said:

"I need to take a shower, I can't sleep well without one. Let's go."

The two walked out of Old Chen's steamed bun shop side by side.

After eating and drinking to our hearts' content, the snowy weather outside, at four or five degrees below zero, didn't seem so cold anymore.

A short while later, the two arrived at the entrance of the residential area.

Above the main entrance of the residential compound, there is a sign that reads: Bian C8 Residential Compound.

These few words contain a wealth of information.

"Bian" refers to a border town.

If it's in Buffer City, then the first word is: 缓 (huǎn, meaning slow or gradual).

C refers to Class C housing.

In the border cities and buffer cities, there are three levels of housing: A, B, and C.

Some of these communities may have two or three types of housing. However, these communities are generally located in more central areas, near the commercial districts of buffer zones.

These types of residential communities are usually marked like this: Huanzong XX Community.

"Comprehensive" actually refers to a comprehensive category.

However, these Class C apartments in the community are generally unavailable to the general public because of their excellent location; most of them are occupied by residents who joined Dazhangshu earlier.

As for the final number 8, it's easy to understand.

This is the eighth neighborhood in neighborhood C.

The two swiped their points number cards on the gate, which recorded the residents' identity information. They could then freely enter and exit the community using their points number cards.

The barrier gate is opened.

The two went inside.

The security guard in the guard booth at the entrance was dozing off in the security room. Hearing the two people's footsteps, he looked up for a moment, then looked away and continued to doze off.

The two walked without exchanging a word.

After walking a dozen meters, Xie Dongshan suddenly felt the cigarette in his pocket.

"Brother Qiang, how about we finish our cigarettes? Otherwise, if Bo Yao and Er Pang find out when we get back to the dorm, we'll lose them."

Xu Qiang thought about it and agreed.

When I was chatting with Old Sun just now, he only held the cigarette under his nose and smelled it, but he didn't want to smoke it.

But if you bring the cigarettes back, everyone will probably want to have a puff.

There are only two cigarettes, not enough to go around.

Thinking of this, Xu Qiang took out the slightly crumpled cigarette from his pocket.

"Um, do you have a fire?"

Xie Dongshan looked at each other blankly, "I don't have such a thing."

Xu Qiang turned his head and looked towards the security booth.

"I remember Old Wang at the security booth also smokes, could you go and borrow a light?"

"alright."

Xie Dongshan ran over to the security booth and knocked on the glass.

"Hey Wang, can I borrow a light?"

Old Wang looked exhausted. He looked up at Xie Dongshan outside the window and recognized him.

Wow~
He opened the glass and handed over the lighter.

"Off work?" he asked.

Xie Dongshan chuckled and said, "Yeah, just got off work."

As he spoke, he lit the cigarette made of real tobacco.

Old Wang's eyes suddenly lit up when he saw the cigarette in his hand.
"Holy crap, you have this thing? Where did you get it? Give me one, I even lent you a light."

For a long-time smoker like Lao Wang, cigarettes made from real tobacco are simply a luxury.

But he couldn't afford it, and he couldn't buy it either.

On weekdays, he can only afford to smoke the cheapest corn silk cigarettes, and he has to be careful with his intake.

After taking two puffs, Xie Dongshan smiled and returned the lighter.

"Oh dear, I can't afford to smoke this. It was all given to me by others. I only have one. If I had one, I would definitely send you one."

Old Wang looked at the cigarette dangling from his mouth and couldn't help but feel envious.

Give me a bite.

"Uh..." Xie Dongshan was stunned for a few seconds, but he really couldn't refuse this request.

After all, the fire was borrowed from someone else, and Old Wang was, after all, a security guard in this community.

If I forget to bring my points card one day, I'll have to bother them to open the gate, which is not something I want to offend.

So Xie Dongshan handed over the cigarette he had just taken a puff of.

Old Wang smiled broadly, "Just one puff. Just one puff."

As he spoke, he carefully held the cigarette and took a deep drag.

Under Xie Dongshan's horrified gaze, the cigarette burned from the tip all the way to the middle and back.

Just one bite.

Just one bite.

About two-thirds of it has been smoked.

Beast!
Old Wang took a deep drag, held it in his chest for a while, and after more than ten seconds, he slowly exhaled the smoke, handing the remaining cigarette butt to Xie Dongshan.

"That's really good."

That one bite made him a little dizzy.

The corn silk cigarettes I smoke regularly aren't satisfying enough.

Traditional tobacco still feels the best.

"I'll just take one puff, just one puff, here you go."

Xie Dongshan took the cigarette butt with a sullen expression. What the other person said was right; it really was just one puff.

But he didn't expect to smoke more than half of it in one go.

He took a few deep breaths, then said, "I'm leaving."

He quickly ran back to Xu Qiang and handed him the cigarette butt that was almost completely burned out.

Xu Qiang quickly used the cigarette butt to light his crumpled cigarette.

call--

After taking a puff, Xu Qiang smiled broadly and said, "It's really good. After so many years, I've finally had a chance to smoke this."

cough cough-

Perhaps it was because he hadn't smoked in a long time that he started coughing.

Xie Dongshan took the cigarette from his hand and complained:

"I just asked Lao Wang for a light, and that bastard Lao Wang smoked all my cigarette in one go. What a beast! Just one puff."

Xu Qiang smiled and said, "Then let's split the draws."

The two walked towards the dormitory while smoking.

Under the dim yellow streetlights on both sides of the road, the shadows of the two people were stretched out.

Puffs of smoke drifted onto the streetlights.

A few minutes later.

The two arrived at the dormitory, a ten-person room occupied by members of their former team.

Some residential areas have separate dormitories for men and women, while others do not; it all depends on the residents' personal choice.

Because some of the survivors from outside the area were in groups, and people in groups naturally wanted to live together.

For those survivors who are alone, they will choose either the male or female dormitory buildings.

Xie Dongshan and Xu Qiang were a team, so they chose a mixed-gender residential building.

Upon entering the dormitory.

Xie Dongshan then saw Bo Yao and the other two lying in bed sleeping.

"Boyao, where are Aunt Lai Di and Erpang? Haven't they come back yet?"

Bo Yao wasn't asleep. He turned over and saw them come back, so he simply sat up in bed.

"No, they're still at work, I think it's the night shift."

"Wow, you guys went to eat meat soup again? It smells so good." Bo Yao sniffed at them and said with a face full of envy.

Xie Dongshan didn't sit on the bed, but instead took out a plastic basin and a towel from under the bed.

They were still wearing their work clothes, which were covered in coal dust; sitting on the bed would definitely leave marks.

"You still haven't found a job? If all else fails, you could just go work at the garbage sorting plant," Xie Dongshan asked.

Bo Yao looked resistant. "No, the garbage sorting plant is too dirty, and you only get 1.5 points a day, which is too low."

Xu Qiang's expression changed.
"Our team is now implementing a points-based self-management system. If you don't find a job later, we won't lend you any more points. Do you think it's easy for the rest of us to earn points?"

"You have to survive first. You're lucky to have a job. You're so picky. You have so many bad habits!"

"Humph!"

He snorted coldly, then turned around with the plastic basin in his hand.

"Dongshan, let's go take a bath."

Neither of them glanced at Bo Yao again. Bo Yao, who remained in the dormitory, looked grim. Gazing at the snowflakes outside, a conflicted expression appeared on his face.

"Why can't I have a good job? Something close to my dorm, with more points, and preferably one that doesn't require much work and isn't tiring."