RIACMET chapter 89

 

After Liang Yunhao left, the next few days were peaceful.

During this time, Jiang Nian occasionally saw Xia Weiwei around the base. They would exchange cold stares and part ways, both displeased.

It was nearly May, and the weather was getting hotter.

The grocery store’s renovations were finished, and Jiang Nian focused on inspecting the insulation to ensure the shop could withstand the extreme heat.

Once the final inspection was complete, he paid the foreman the remaining balance, and that phase was finished.

While he was busy preparing for the store’s opening, however, he also hired a professional contractor to assess building protective fencing for the farmland and installing greenhouse structures.

There was no need to rush. They could proceed step by step. Judging by the current timeline, they would have to wait until the extreme heat had passed before growing vegetables on a larger scale.

The contractors he’d worked with before were easy to communicate with, and they agreed to measure the site and draft blueprints the next day. Once the drawings were ready, they would sign a formal contract and begin construction.

Jiang Nian promptly paid a partial deposit and calmly began final preparations for the store’s opening.

Now that the basic hardware was in place, they were responsible for the rest of the outfitting.

For this reason, Cheng Jing asked for time off for the team. They had only had four days off all month, and none of those days had been used.

After calling Zhou Li to report the plan, the team began their leave the next morning to help Jiang Nian.

He had to admit that having connections made things much easier. Otherwise, he would have had to go straight to headquarters the following day to file a stack of paperwork.

But with Zhou Li and Yang Kai there, they could handle all of that.

…

The renovation team had already completed the shop’s general wiring layout, so the remaining work was fairly simple.

The first issue to tackle was electricity. After all, a grocery store needs freezers, which require continuous power.

Most people would find it nearly impossible to get continuous electricity in a shop, let alone run high-powered appliances.

However, Jiang Nian and his team had prepared in advance, so this was no problem at all.

In addition to the solar power equipment commonly used in daily life, they had several types of generators:

gasoline, diesel, and solar.

There were a few of each type, enough to distribute among several teammates’ dorms. Cheng Jing had arranged everything, so there was no need to worry about quality.

Solar generators could be used in dorms and houses. The gasoline and diesel generators were noisy, so they would be perfect for the farmland later on. Everything was ideal.

Jiang Nian did some calculations based on the timeline from his previous life and determined that the extreme heat would begin around mid-July and gradually ease by the end of October.

In other words, solar power alone would suffice for the coming months.

Besides, under that kind of blazing sun, the soles of ordinary shoes would melt when walking on the ground. Only setups like theirs could endure.

Air conditioning, electric fans, and freezers were Jiang Nian’s three “magical tools” for surviving the extreme heat. He didn’t care if others had them or not—he had them.

The shop and the dorms were fully equipped.

It took a whole day to modify the wiring and set up all the batteries and emergency solar panels.

The following day, they closed the shop to start stocking the shelves:

Staple foods, snacks, daily necessities, and some medicines. All sorts of goods soon filled the racks.

Under normal circumstances, grocery stores weren’t allowed to sell medicine, but during the apocalypse, they were.

Unless an item was explicitly banned by the state, anything could essentially be sold.

Cigarettes, alcohol, and tea were displayed in glass cabinets behind the cashier’s counter.

Once the shelves and counters were in place, two large freezers were brought out of the spatial ring.

One was stocked with popsicles, ice cream, drinks, sodas, and desserts, while the other was filled with frozen foods, pasta, meat, and various ready-to-eat meals.

They didn’t have a large quantity; he’d just buy more when they sold out.

The other freezer was empty and divided into compartments with food storage boxes. Jiang Nian planned to use it for herbal teas, saline water, and sugar water—low-cost, practical items.

In his previous life, when he first arrived at the base, he could still go out for walks occasionally. He remembered that herbal tea, sugar water, and saline water in disposable cups all cost five points per cup.

The weather was scorching, and there was a water shortage. Many people couldn’t afford canned drinks, so these had become popular substitutes.

There was plenty of sugar, salt, tea bags, powdered milk, and all sorts of instant drink mixes.

“…”

As Jiang Nian explained the plan, his teammates watched him and Cheng Jing pull out all the supplies. Their expressions were even more excited than a cat’s when it sees fresh fish.

They hadn’t gone hungry since the apocalypse began and were accustomed to eating and drinking the finest. Today, they were happiest that their two “fathers” had arranged for solar generators, batteries, and solar panels to outfit all their dorms.

They could have normal electricity, and if they wanted, they could even turn on a disco ball.

At the base, as long as you didn’t violate management regulations, you could bring anything you liked, including weapons.

This is why so many powerful, ambitious superhumans have been able to build personal forces and sanctuaries in the apocalypse.

During the zombie apocalypse, the entire country—and even the world—slipped into a state of fragmented authority. However, national teams remained stronger and more organized.

Once the shelves were stocked with goods, the freezers were filled with food, the point-of-sale machine was activated, and a rocking chair was placed by the register, the grocery store was fully operational.

The storefront itself looked pretty standard, but the most interesting part was in the back.

A kitchen, a dining room, and a lounge combining work and relaxation. The lounge was fully furnished and equipped with all necessary appliances.

His teammates had strongly requested the kitchen and dining area, openly saying that they wanted to eat there for free. What could Jiang Nian say to that?

When everything was finally in place, Jiang Nian took out the ledger to check the accounts.

In total, he’d spent over 30,000 points, including supplies, financial contributions from his teammates, and help from the three Li family members and Li Sheng.

In short, everyone could be proud that the grocery store was officially open for business.

Aside from the points he’d spent, Jiang Nian shared the current balance on his point card with his teammates—a total of 280,000 points.

Of those, 200,000 were earned for keeping watch over Xiaoya.

Jiang Nian felt that his teammates, especially Huang Qian and Lu Ningzhou, deserved more credit for monitoring Xiaoya, but the two had refused to accept it.

The others had also unanimously declined, saying they had been eating and drinking his supplies since the beginning of the apocalypse. In the end, all 200,000 points were deposited in Jiang Nian’s account.

“It’s only 200,000. Brother Nian deserves way more,”

Tang Yi said sincerely, and the others echoed him. They truly meant it.

Cheng Jing also thought this was a good idea and immediately said,

“Since everyone agrees, you will be responsible for managing the team’s finances from now on. Any future investments or planning will be left to you.”

Since his teammates didn’t plan on striking out on their own and starting businesses, they were happy to pool their funds and spend them as they wished.

“All right…”

Jiang Nian had no choice but to agree. He looked at the account balance, thought for a moment, and laid out the next step.

“Upgrading the farmland will require more points. Once that’s done, we’ll focus on saving. Then, we’ll buy a house big enough for everyone to live in together.”

Although the dorms were nice, they were too small. It wasn’t convenient for the team to be spread out, and it made it difficult to discuss things in a timely manner.