RIACMET chapter 92

 

“… ”

After discussing farm planning with the construction foreman, Jiang Nian made a few minor design changes and signed the contract.

Fifty percent of the budget was paid upfront, with the remainder to be paid upon completion. He’d offered to pay a bit more, but the craftsmen had politely declined.

Construction would last half a month, starting at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow. He had to admit—the efficiency was touching.

As long as the construction team focused on helping him and didn’t drag things out, progress would be excellent.

Maybe he could purify the soil before the worst of the summer heat. Once that was over, he would start his happy life as a farmer.

The plan was perfect!

“All right, Boss Jiang. It’s a pleasure to work with you.”

After pressing the final fingerprint, the foreman, who was over fifty, gave him a broad smile.

The other workers who had come along looked happy, too.

The main reason was simple. Jiang Nian paid more for the same job, and despite his youth, he was always polite.

“Pleasure working with you,” Jiang Nian said just as politely. He’d always had respect for migrant workers.

After all, skyscrapers are built from the ground up, and the foundations of all infrastructure rely on the hard work of these people.

As he was putting the contract away, the foreman suddenly asked,

“By the way, Mr. Jiang, have you thought about what you want the name on the farm’s sign to be? Would you like to use ‘Niannian Youyu[mfn]Niannian Youyu (年年有余) : May you have surplus (abundance) every year. It’s a traditional Chinese New Year blessing wishing for: Prosperity, Good fortune, Never lacking anything[/mfn],’ like your shop? Or do you not want a sign at all?”

“Hm…”

Jiang Nian thought about it for a moment, then smiled.

“Let’s use ‘Niannian Youyu,’ same as the sign here. I’ll register it at the management office later.”

“All right. ‘Niannian Youyu’ matches your name, too. Folks will immediately know it’s yours. Once we finish installing the fencing, we’ll put up the sign for you, so you won’t have to install it separately.”

The foreman laughed and jotted a note in his construction ledger.

Jiang Nian nodded.

“Great! Thank you so much. Just record the cost. I’ll pay it when the time comes. Keep the style simple.”

“Understood.”

The foreman smiled and took careful notes. He was determined to handle everything properly for such a polite and capable boss. Maybe Jiang Nian would refer more work to them in the future.

When he was renovating the shop, the way those people came to help supervise clearly showed that Boss Jiang had solid backing.

Once the contract was signed and negotiations were finished, it was nearly afternoon, so the construction crew picked up some daily necessities from the grocery store.

Jiang Nian gave them a reasonable discount and handed out a bottle of soda and beer to each of them.

In business, relationships and social courtesy still mattered. After all, he was always straightforward with reasonable people.

The workers took their things with smiles on their faces. They promised again and again that they would help build the farm properly. Then, they filed into their work van one after the other.

Jiang Nian bared his white teeth in a bright smile and waved.

“Then I’ll have to trouble you all to work a bit harder.”

“… ”

While they were chatting, a few customers came by to buy supplies. He made 188 points in sales—a nice little profit.

When he stepped outside, Jiang Nian looked up at the sign. The team had decided on the name “Niannian Youyu” after some discussion.

Honestly, he felt a little embarrassed. He didn’t mind when others used it, but he felt a vague, inexplicable awkwardness when he used it himself.

Nevertheless, it fit both his name and the situation at hand—he really did have more than enough.

Since he hadn’t planned to keep the shop open that day, Jiang Nian locked up and decided to ride around before heading home.

He’d been so busy lately that he hadn’t gone out wandering in quite some time.

With the roar of the engine, he cruised through alleys and main streets alike to kill his boredom. Eventually, he arrived at the waiting area near the base entrance.

Every day, plenty of people entered the base. Today, he was lucky and managed to pick up a lot of supplies, food, and small, everyday items at low prices.

Most newcomers to the base traded supplies for points. They could exchange them officially or sell them to private buyers.

However, the price the base offered was always lower than the market rate.

Just how much lower depended on the item.

Generally, though, it was in the 20–40% range—never even close to 50–50.

For example, if an item was worth 100 points on the market, you would only receive 60–80 points in exchange for it at the base.

Because of that, it made sense for merchants to buy things directly from newcomers.

Another major source was purchasing supplies from superpowered individuals traveling from other areas.

After picking everything up, Jiang Nian went to the agricultural planning office to report on his farm renovation.

As the workday was nearly over, he thought he might run into Jiang Wenwen. But, to his surprise, he was told that she had been dismissed a few days ago.

When he asked why, the staff vaguely hinted that it had something to do with Xia Weiwei.

Xia Weiwei had tried to force Jiang Wenwen to go to S Base. When she refused, Xia Weiwei reported their relationship and used S Base’s influence to put pressure on Jiang Wenwen.

To avoid any unnecessary trouble, Jiang Wenwen voluntarily ended her employment contract with the base.

No one knew where she went after her contract expired.

Jiang Nian had a bad feeling. He tried calling Jiang Wenwen immediately, but his calls were blocked, and she didn’t reply to any of his messages.

He asked Zhou Li and Yang Kai, too, but neither of them knew anything.

“She’s a rich young lady. There’s no need for her to be so hard on herself by staying here and suffering for just 1,500 points a month.”

The older staff member said this before walking away, leaving Jiang Nian alone in the reception hall and lost in thought.

Considering Jiang Wenwen’s personality and how she handled Xia Weiwei’s aggression, she probably would leave South City Base over something like this. What a pity.

Some kind of indescribable disappointment or regret welled up in his heart. Perhaps because he knew that Jiang Wenwen didn’t have a good relationship with her family, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

“I guess I’ll go to her dorm and take a look…”

Jiang Nian rubbed his face and muttered to himself. Even though he had no evidence or information, he just felt that things weren’t as simple as they seemed.

After driving to the intersection of Dorm Street No. 11 and parking, Jiang Nian got out and walked toward Jiang Wenwen’s building.

He stopped outside Room 1120 and was just about to knock when he heard unsettling, lewd noises coming from Room 1121 next door.

He froze for a moment, then remembered that the woman who lived there was someone he’d saved during the earthquake.

It was still broad daylight. Most people were out scavenging or running errands, but not these two.

Putting those thoughts aside, Jiang Nian lifted his hand and knocked on the door, calling out, “Jiang Wenwen?”

“Jiang Wenwen…”

After knocking twice, the door slowly swung open. It hadn’t even been locked.

“…”

On reflex, Jiang Nian took a step back.

After waiting a moment, he pushed the door all the way open.

It was an empty, single wooden room with four bare walls.

The room was made of wood and was empty except for its four bare walls.

Jiang Nian glanced around, opened the door wider, and stepped inside. Everything that could be taken was gone, even the basic supplies allocated by the base.

In cases like this, it was unlikely that the tenant had packed up; it meant that the door hadn’t been locked and someone else had come in to steal everything.

Although there were signs that things had been disturbed, nothing looked rushed.

Either Jiang Wenwen left without locking the door or she forgot to lock it for some reason.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.

“…”

Inside the room, the sounds from next door were even clearer: The squeaking of the single bed hitting the thin wooden wall and the rising and falling moans were audible.

Jiang Nian’s ears burned just from listening to it. He quickly scanned the place and left after confirming that nothing seemed out of place.

Nobody lived here anymore. He didn’t know if the management office had re-registered the unit. If he could check the records, he would know if she had returned it herself or if the unit had just been reclaimed.

However, he didn’t have the authority, so he’d have to ask Li Sheng.

It wasn’t that he cared about Jiang Wenwen so much; it’s just that Xia Weiwei wasn’t your run-of-the-mill troublemaker.

Anything abnormal involving her deserved extra attention.

At the very least, it would be helpful to know if Jiang Wenwen had left on her own or if she had disappeared for an unknown reason.