Siheyuan: Domineering life

Chapter 1530 Free Meals
Wang Erwa wasn't the only one with this idea; it's likely that many others in the shelter shared the same sentiment.

Didn't Yang Chengdao think the same way before?

Everyone thought it was just a drill, not the real end of the world, so they didn't take it seriously and thought it was nothing, assuming that a drill is just a drill and it's fake.

Why would anyone choose to suffer in a place like underground when they could be living a perfectly good life?

In fact, it wasn't just them who had this idea; even Yang Jun had the same thought. If it weren't for his special status and the need to ensure the Yang family's continuation, he really wouldn't want to suffer like this.

Fortunately, he had the system to rely on, so he had no worries about food and drink and didn't suffer much injustice. It's just that... his family suffered.

However, these are all unavoidable measures. In order to survive in extreme environments in the future, this suffering must be endured.

As the exercise entered its second day, a sense of unease began to emerge in the shelter. This discontent and anxiety mainly came from the ninth and tenth floors, where Yang Jun's family and closest relatives lived. It was their first time participating in the exercise, and they had not yet adapted to life there, so some of their emotions were understandable.

Yang Chengwu reports to Yang Jun every day, reporting on the situation here, such as the public's emotions, the reserves of supplies, and so on. The work of a shelter for hundreds of thousands of people is enormous and complex. Just providing food, water, and shelter is a major problem. Moreover, it is necessary to consider the physical and mental condition of the people, as well as to do a good job of appeasing the people and dealing with all kinds of emergencies.

Yang Jun couldn't imagine how Yang Chengwu managed to handle the massive shelter operation so well, especially during the first exercise. He wondered how Yang Chengwu managed to calm the emotions of hundreds of thousands of people. He put himself in Yang Chengwu's shoes and realized that even he couldn't have done the job so perfectly.

Fortunately, all of that is in the past. After dozens of drills, the residents of Taiping Town have long since adapted to life in the shelter. For them, there is no difference between above and below ground. Sometimes they treat it as an experience of life on the ground or as a class.

It's important to know that most of the people in Taiping Town are talents recruited by Yang Jun from various universities. They are mostly talents in the fields of medicine, education, and agriculture, as well as their family members. The reason they can live and work here with peace of mind is entirely because they are here for the high-tech industry.

Every year, Yang Jun spends a lot of money and energy to support and retain these talents. Fortunately, his efforts over the years have paid off, as most of them have settled down again, started families, and their lives have gradually become stable.

Therefore, every exercise is no different for them; they do the same thing underground as they do on the ground.

Everything that exists above ground also exists underground. There are hospitals, libraries, schools, stadiums, etc. Whatever work they did above ground, they will still do underground. It's just a change of office location.

People who enter the shelter don't just eat and drink for free; everyone has their own job. Except for the elderly and children who are unable to work, adults go to work and children go to school. Everything here runs smoothly and in an orderly manner.

When Yang Jun had free time, he would follow Yang Chengwu to visit each floor and see how they worked and lived. The first, second, third and fourth floors of the shelter were inhabited by ordinary people, and the atmosphere here was quite lively. Living here, if you didn't look up at the sun, you would feel that there was really no difference from living on the ground.

"When I hoe the field at noon, my sweat drips down to the ground..."

Yang Jun visited Taiping Town Primary School. Standing in the corridor, listening to the children reading aloud from the classrooms, he felt a strong sense of life.

At that time, he felt that living on the bottom floor was worse than living on the floors above, and he even thought about moving to the top. His children also came up to study every day, just like other children, and only went home after school. Sometimes, these children didn't want to go home.

Are the children... all getting enough to eat?

Yang Jun hesitated before asking this sensitive question.

Upon hearing this, Yang Chengwu, who was accompanying Yang Jun on the visit, gave a wry smile and said, "We won't starve to death."

Yang Jun sighed upon hearing this.

He couldn't blame Xiao Wu for anything. Xiao Wu was right to do it. It was necessary to simulate the most extreme living environment. It was impossible to eat whatever you wanted like on the ground, or to eat your fill whenever you wanted.

After all, once they moved underground, the physical labor required would be reduced, and the idea was to gradually decrease people's food intake over the years so that they could better survive here.

"However, Godfather, please rest assured, the children are still in the stage of growing and studying, so their daily supply of milk and eggs can still be guaranteed, and the standard of supplies is about four ounces... Oh, it is also distributed according to each grade level. The rations for older students are the same as those for adults, so... they can eat until they are about 80% full," Yang Chengwu said.

"That's good."

Yang Jun took two steps, then stopped and said, "You've always been in charge of the shelter. It's been operating the same way it always has. You can't change anything just because I'm here."

"Yes, godfather."

Yang Chengwu was also very fortunate that Yang Jun could fully support his work. He was afraid that his godfather would change his mind frequently and put him in a difficult position. You know, the reason he did this was to ensure that everyone could survive in the future.

"In addition, I have another suggestion."

Yang Jun looked into Yang Chengwu's eyes and said, "There's no need to hold exercises so frequently. Once or twice a year is enough."

"Yes, Godfather, I'll do whatever you say."

In fact, Yang Chengwu didn't want to do it so many times. Over the years, the frequency of these exercises had drawn complaints from many people. However, with Yang Jun and his group arriving this time, he thought that since his godfather was there, he could also participate in an exercise so that he wouldn't be caught off guard if something really happened in the future.

Now that Yang Jun has taken the initiative to request that the number of exercises be reduced as much as possible, he readily agreed.

"but……"

Yang Jun suddenly changed his tone and said, "Although the number of exercises has been reduced, Taiping Town should still focus on development, including healthcare, education, and technology. Healthcare and agriculture, in particular, are the foundation for the future."

"Yes, Godfather, that was our original plan, especially now that we're increasing our investment in medical funds. We now have about a thousand high-end medical professionals, and nearly three thousand professionals in education, science and technology, agriculture, and industry."

"These talents are the treasures of our Taiping Town. Whether we can survive safely in the future depends entirely on them."

Yang Jun listened and nodded repeatedly.

"Well done. These talents are invaluable; we must not let them slip away."

"You must be willing to spend money on them. If it's not enough, ask your godmother for more."

"Understood, godfather, I won't mistreat them." Yang Chengwu.

"Also... tell Xiaoxiao to vigorously cultivate talent in this field, and to keep them at all costs," Yang Jun said.

"Yes, godfather."

Yang Jun spent a lot of money to establish several universities, whose majors mainly train education and medical professionals so that they can have medical care in the future. As for talents in science and technology, chemical engineering, and agriculture, he adopted the attitude that it would be best if they had them, but he would not force them if they did not. After all, the biggest difficulty in the future is how to survive, not how to develop anything.

"Alright, let's go take a look at the cafeteria."

Afterwards, Yang Jun and his group visited the canteen.

The lives of hundreds of thousands of people require at least several hundred canteens, with dozens of canteens on each floor. Each canteen is divided according to the living area, and the supplies in the canteens are uniformly distributed by the shelter, with food rations based on the population of the area.

Upon arriving at the third floor, Yang Jun randomly chose a cafeteria to visit.

It happened to be lunchtime at the cafeteria, and there were many people queuing up for food, but it was all very orderly. No one was pushing or cutting in line, and everyone was very polite in their queue.

Lunch is relatively plentiful, with staple foods including noodles and rice, mainly to cater to individual tastes. The dishes are also quite abundant, with both meat and vegetables, four dishes and a soup. The daily ration is six liang (approximately 300 grams), averaging two liang (approximately 100 grams) per meal, and one steamed bun is one liang (approximately 50 grams), so each person can get two steamed buns on average. As for the vegetables... they are not included in the ration, since the vegetables here are all artificially cultivated, and animals such as pigs, horses, cattle, and sheep can also be raised. The rations are distributed under the condition that the shelter can maintain its circulation. Although the food is not plentiful, it can ensure nutritional sustenance.

The only downside is that you won't get enough to eat, but you won't starve either. "Godfather, would you like to try some of the food?"

Yang Chengwu took a tray, ready to serve food to Yang Jun.

Yang Jun waved his hand and said, "No need to try it, the food looks pretty good."

"If I eat it, they'll have one less bite to eat."

Afterwards, Yang Jun watched for a while longer before leaving with his men.

It was lunchtime, and Yang Jun went back to his floor to eat after finishing his tour. After all, there would be plenty of time for future tours.

I took the elevator to the tenth floor and just got back to my home when I saw that the dining room was full of people. In addition to my family, my sisters Yangmei, Yangyu, and Yangliu had all come with their children.

"Big brother."

"uncle!"

When Yang Jun returned, everyone stood up to greet him.

"Sit, everyone, sit down."

Yang Jun waved his hand, gesturing for them to sit down.

Then he sat in the main seat.

Cooking was underway in the kitchen, and the faint sound of voices could be heard; it seemed that lunch was being prepared.

Fortunately, Yang Jun brought a group of cooks and nannies with him when he participated in the exercise. He didn't need to cook for himself, and the cooks, nannies, and guards all had their own rations, so they didn't have to eat with Yang Jun.

The restaurant is right next to the kitchen, and the air is filled with the aroma of food.

The dozens of people in the restaurant sat there quietly, occasionally sniffing, their eyes constantly fixed on the kitchen, and some children even drooling.

After two days of drills, they were basically half-full, going hungry every day, and some of them visibly lost weight.

Although Yangmei, Yangliu, and Yangyu tried hard to control their expressions, the gurgling sounds in their throats betrayed them.

Seeing this, Yang Jun guessed their purpose and smiled slightly.

"Are you all here to freeload?"

"how is this possible?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Mei looked flustered for a moment, then said in a serious tone, "The children said they missed their uncle, so I brought them to see you. Please don't think of us as materialistic."

Yang Yu: "Yes, brother, we came here specifically to see you. Please don't judge us by our own petty standards."

Upon hearing this, Yang Liu smiled and said, "Brother, I'm different from them. I came to see you because I missed you."

Yang Jun listened, smiled, and shook his head.

How could he not know the purpose of his three younger sisters' visit?

They probably all felt they were enjoying special privileges, and that Yang Chengwu couldn't mistreat anyone else, so they brought their families to freeload a meal. They didn't expect to eat anything fancy, but at least they didn't have to go hungry.

"We're all family, how could I not know you all? Is there any need to hide anything?"

"Yes, we're all siblings, so what if I admit it?" Yang Yu sneered. "We're just here to freeload, do you think you, as the older brother, can kick us out?"

"Pfft!" Yang Mei laughed so hard she almost fell over, saying, "Big brother, we're just here to freeload, so you absolutely have to make sure we're full today!"

Yang Jun laughed and said, "Sure, eat whatever you want. I didn't say you couldn't eat."

At this moment, Yi Qiushui smiled and said, "My sisters, nephews and nieces, please eat whatever you like, just... don't be disappointed."

"Sister-in-law, how could we possibly be disappointed? We can make do with delicacies from land and sea, and we won't even mind pickled vegetables and cornbread, as long as we can eat our fill," Yang Mei said with a smile.

“Okay, as long as you don’t mind.” Yi Qiushui.

After chatting for a while, the food was ready, and the nannies began to bring it in.

After they put down the food, everyone was dumbfounded.

They thought Yang Jun had special privileges, that he would at least be able to eat his fill, if not eat well. But they didn't expect that their meals were no different from theirs, and even worse than their own.

The staple food was steamed buns, which were very small, about one ounce each, and were clearly divided according to the number of people. In addition, there were four large plates of dishes, which included both meat and vegetables, but the portions were very small, not even enough for each person to have a single chopstick.

As soon as the food was served, the children started scrambling for it, while the adults were slow to pick up their chopsticks.

Looking at the food on the table, Yang Mei and the others' facial muscles twitched slightly.

Then, he exchanged a glance with Yang Liu and Yang Yu, and the three of them got up and left without saying a word.

They weren't selfish people. If they ate a bite, their brother's family would have nothing to eat, and they didn't want their brother's family to go hungry, so they had no choice but to leave.

"Why aren't you eating?" Yang Jun asked with a smile.

Yang Mei pretended not to hear and left, but when she reached the door, she couldn't help but turn back and complain.

"This food is so bad, even a dog wouldn't eat it."

After saying that, he left without looking back, taking his own children with him as he went.

"Hey."

Seeing this, Yang Jun gave a wry smile.

Seeing the resentful looks in his wife's and children's eyes, he hardened his heart and said, "Just hang in there a little longer."

After saying that, he didn't eat his share of food and went straight to the study.

(End of this chapter)