Travel through famine years and awaken a post-apocalyptic survival system.

I got up early in the morning, and when I got back to the department, it had only been a short while since I started work.

"I'm back!"

Old Liu greeted him as he came in, then asked anxiously, "I heard something happened last night?"

Zhao Qingsong hummed in agreement.

"yes!"

He gave a brief overview of the situation and then said, "I went to the infirmary this morning. Section Chief Wu is fine, but Xu Jing is still unconscious. I don't know when she will wake up."

Old Liu nodded slightly, and the group chatted there.

After a while, Gao Dazhi and Sun Guodong came in together.

He gathered everyone together and held a meeting.

……

"The factory leaders are aware of the case and were furious. These enemy agents are too rampant."

"Continue the investigation; we must find this criminal."

"Of course, the organization emphasizes learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones and curing the disease to save the patient. By seriously exposing and criticizing past mistakes, we aim to educate and unite comrades and promote common progress."

Those who can be persuaded to turn themselves in will certainly be treated leniently by the organization.

The crowd listened.

Sun Guodong rattled off a whole bunch of things.

Everyone could see that he was very angry.

Come to think of it, killing someone inside the security office is a blatant slap in the face.

In this era, investigative capabilities were insufficient, and much of the work relied on the masses.

Each department will investigate evidence that the individuals were not present yesterday.

Zhao Qingsong was also assigned work.

……

After the meeting, Zhao Qingsong naturally followed Gao Dazhi to investigate other departments.

Walking along the road, thinking about returning to the countryside the day after tomorrow, he said, "Um... Brother Gao, can I talk to you about something?"

"What's wrong? Just tell me, don't be so polite."

"Hey, I'm going home the day after tomorrow, and it's a long way, so I was thinking of borrowing your car. Don't worry, if the car gets damaged, I'll fix it for you."

Buying a bicycle back then was more difficult than buying a car in later years.

Even in rural areas in later generations, 70-80% of people own private cars.

But in those days, even among city dwellers, no more than 30% owned bicycles, and that was calculated per household.

Gao Dazhi smiled and said, "Hey, it's no big deal! You can pick up the car after get off work on Saturday, and I'll take you to identify it later."

"Thank you so much!"

"Don't mention it! By the way, can you ride one?"

"No, I can't! But I can learn. I'll study it in the next couple of days."

"Alright then, take care of yourself."

……

In the morning, the two went to other departments in the factory to inquire about the situation.

There was nothing gained.

noon.

Zhao Qingsong and his colleagues went out for a meal, chatting as they walked.

Thinking that my family still lacks cotton to make quilts and cotton-padded coats, it's time to go to the black market. Moreover, the steel mill workers are rich, and I heard that the black market here is quite large.

He glanced sideways at Old Liu beside him.

He casually asked, "Hey, Brother Liu, are we security guards also involved in cracking down on the black market? Where are the black markets around here?"

People like Lao Liu definitely know about the black market, even if others don't.

Old Liu, of course, had no idea what he was thinking.

He chuckled and said, "Yes, there are only six people at the police station. When we crack down on the black market, we also send people to assist. There are quite a few black markets here, like fleas, you crack one down and they move on to another. But there are a few suitable locations, so even if we crack down on one, someone else will go there."

"So, do we go there often?"

"Not really, I go occasionally, depending on the attitude of the higher-ups. If they're pushing hard, I'll go more often; if they're not, I'll go less often. They used to be very strict, but now it's not easy for anyone, so sometimes they just turn a blind eye."

"What happens to those who are caught? Are they all sent to labor camps?"

Old Liu laughed: "If everyone were sent to labor camps, the farm wouldn't be able to hold them all! Sigh... Life's tough these days. Most of the time it's just criticism and education, and we notify the production team or the work unit/street office to come and pick people up. We mainly target repeat offenders."

Ordinary people are just trying to survive, while those habitual criminals even collude with certain organizations to resell state-owned goods…

The group chatted as they walked.

Zhao Qingsong seemed to be deep in thought.

They chatted idly behind him.

"I'm going upstairs to get some meat, are you guys coming up?"

In the cafeteria, Zhao Qingsong asked a question to the group.

There's practically no meat available now. If there is, it's in the cafeteria upstairs. To get meat dishes, you have to go to the small cafeteria upstairs.

Old Liu chuckled and shook his head: "We don't have many meat coupons. We ate all the meat we got at home. Go ahead and get it! From now on, our department's meals will depend on you!"

"Okay, I'm going up now!"

I said hello and went upstairs.

There were significantly fewer people in the cafeteria on the second floor, and they were all wearing different clothes.

They were all factory leaders.

The canteen here is slightly different from the one downstairs; it doesn't only serve Chinese cabbage and white radish, but also some other dishes.

Vegetables are hardly produced in Beijing during winter, but the south supplies Beijing. Some easily transportable vegetables can still be transported here, but the prices are somewhat high.

"The price is really not cheap!"

Zhao Qingsong looked at the stir-fried spinach and stir-fried tomatoes in the shop window for 1 cents and muttered to himself.

The cabbages downstairs cost only two cents a serving.

In state-run restaurants, a plate of stir-fried shredded pork costs 55 cents.

I'll try something different today.

With two ounces of meat coupons, he ordered a spoonful of stir-fried pork with scallions, a serving of spinach and tomatoes, and then left the second floor.

……

As they came down, they ran into Shen Wanqing.

The other person was eating with a girl at a table in the cafeteria.

Zhao Qingsong looked at the lunchbox in his hand, thought of what he had said that morning, and walked over with a smile.

"Let's eat! Can we sit down?"

It's not surprising that you might bump into someone from the medical clinic or the security department, since they can go to eat early.

Shen Wanqing and the other person were talking in hushed tones when they heard this and looked up.

After hesitating for a moment, he nodded and said, "Sure!"

This is a public canteen, not her home, so there's no reason for her to refuse.

Zhao Qingsong smiled.

He sat down directly opposite him.

After sitting down, I looked at the food in their lunchboxes.

One steamed bun and one vegetable dumpling.

Chinese cabbage and stir-fried carrots.

"There are carrots today!"

Zhao Qingsong chuckled and muttered something before opening his lunchbox.

A fragrant aroma immediately wafted over.

Shen Wanqing and the other woman glanced at the food in his lunchbox and swallowed hard.

She hummed in agreement: "Yes, we have carrots today."

He then lowered his head and continued eating the food in his lunchbox.

Seeing this, Zhao Qingsong smiled and picked up a large piece of braised pork from his lunchbox and put it into Shen Wanqing's lunchbox.

This is the canned braised pork that he just secretly put into his lunchbox.

"Here, this is for you."

He's happy to maintain some relationship with girls he's really interested in.

It's no more than two ounces of meat.

Shen Wanqing stared at the meat in her lunchbox for a moment, then quickly picked it up and said, "No need, I can't have it."

Zhao Qingsong smiled and covered his lunchbox.

"Don't mention it. I have to thank you for Xu Jing's matter; otherwise, it would have been very difficult to investigate. As a token of my gratitude, please have a meal."

Then he laughed and said, "Besides, it's all in your rice bowl, it's all covered in your saliva, are you... sure you want to give it to me?"

Shen Wanqing blushed instantly upon hearing this.

"I...there's no saliva in this!"

"You slurped the chopsticks, so why are you saying you didn't drool?"

Zhao Qingsong joked, then laughed and said, "Alright, just kidding. We've been through some things together, so we're friends now! I caught a lot of meat during my hunt, let's eat."

Shen Wanqing felt a little awkward as the chopsticks hovered in her hand.

Should I pay it back or not?

When asked to return it, he actually said he had saliva.

And... if he ate his own saliva, wouldn't that be...?

Thinking of this, her face turned even redder.

She would feel embarrassed to ask for it back if she didn't return it.

The girl next to him swallowed hard several times.

My mind was screaming, "If you don't want it, give it to me! I don't mind the drool."

Unfortunately, no one paid any attention to her.

………………

P.S.: These chapters have been heavily revised. If you see anything wrong, please let me know.

Also, what items are suitable to appear in treasure chests? Can you list a few for reference? It's giving me a headache to think of them!