I Am Cultivating in the Apocalypse

Chapter 772: I’m not in the martial world, yet the world is full of my legends.

It was strange. In Wu City, with temperatures at fifty degrees below zero, nobody got frostbite. Yet, in the slightly-above-zero southern temperatures, many did. Some areas oozed pus, others scabbed over, and on some, fresh wounds developed before the old ones had healed, yellowish fluid soaking their bodies.

This phenomenon was especially common among the huge migration troops that had just crossed the Sichuan border, affecting not just the ordinary people; even the permanent staff couldn’t find a solution.

Those who could afford it wore hats to cover their ears and soaked their feet in hot water every day.

It only cost one Virtual Coin to boil a kettle of water.

So, the boiler and hot water trailer became the busiest place each day. People waiting in line would chat idly, gossip about recent events, and compare whose work benefits were better.

"Our north is dry and cold; many people’s skin dried and cracked before. But the south here is damp, so it’s easy to get frostbite. Everyone suffers all the same."

"It’s not the same. Cracking is just painful, but frostbite is both painful and itchy—horribly tormenting. It’s nothing for an old woman like me, but my daughter has suffered greatly on this migration. Luckily, our Insect Factory has good benefits. The lubricant oil they provided has been very effective; she’s almost healed in just two days."

"I know, I know! In all of Wu City, only your Insect Factory provides such rare items. Not only that, each person gets half a bar of soap, half a serving of soybean sauce, ten synthetic meat patties, a pair of warm shoes, one hat, and a pair of gloves made of new material each year. I heard you’ll even get a few cigarettes added to your benefits each month?"

A middle-aged woman stroked her white hair back behind her ears, her worried expression subtly tinged with a hint of bragging, "Heh, they’re even adding more lubricant oil to our monthly share. But my salary will be a hundred Virtual Coins lower, which is almost the same as ordinary workers now."

Behind her came expressions of envy, jealousy, and resentment. Honestly, listen to that! Is that how a human should talk?

"Ahua, just the value of the labor protection benefits at your factory exceeds our salaries. It wouldn’t make sense if your salary was much higher too."

"Ahua, no men in your family smoke. Do you sell the cigarettes?"

Ahua nodded. "Same rule as always. I’ll sell them at a 10% discount from the market price."

"Ahua, how about 50 Virtual Coins for your share of the lubricant oil?"

Ahua rolled her eyes. "Not selling, not selling. My daughter doesn’t even have enough; it’s too precious. But I’ll sell my share of the synthetic meat."

"Ahua, you’re earning so much at the Insect Factory. Why do you still need so many Virtual Coins?"

Ahua sighed. "Once we reach the migration destination, I need to pay the factory to upgrade to a larger dormitory. Otherwise, the Insect Factory’s allocation for an individual won’t be enough for us. It took me pulling strings and spending money to get my elderly mother’s residence registered in Wu City. I still need to skimp and save to provide for my mother and daughter."

"You have to admit, the Insect Factory is really something. Nowadays, whose salary can support three people? They even provide housing for you too! They cover everything from food, accommodation, and clothes, and they still pay you a salary."

A smile edged at Ahua’s lips. What she hadn’t mentioned was that the higher-ups were recruiting veteran employees—those with three years of service and a three-star rating or above—for the new Cigarette Factory, and she had been selected.

The Cigarette Factory? Even before the apocalypse, its benefits were exceptional. And now, after the apocalypse... The news hadn’t even been officially released before it was absorbed internally by the staff. Getting into the Cigarette Factory definitely meant you were trusted by the organization.

She’d only heard that her Insect Factory was selecting one group, the Township Government another, and that other regions would also be inserting some people. The factory hadn’t even opened yet, but she could already smell the gunpowder in the air.

Regardless, once they reached the migration destination, she could start her new position. Her salary might even increase a bit. She just had to hold out until her daughter finished another year of online classes; after graduation, her daughter could be internally recruited into a company under the Insect Factory’s umbrella.

She’d heard the New Material Clothing Factory also had good benefits, like an extra coat issued each quarter. But the cushiest job was at the Green Giant Bus Factory. You just had to sit inside, report any issues, and if there were none, you could slack off and still get meals. That position was also highly competitive, surprisingly requiring graduates from top-tier universities with online degrees!

She had to find a good position for her daughter. Also, during the day, her elderly mother could go to a senior care facility to do some simple tasks and get a meal... Once they reached the migration destination, there would be a ton of things to keep her busy.

The Ahua who had despaired after the deaths of her husband and son was gone. The current Ahua was incredibly busy, but also incredibly fulfilled.

Unwittingly, Jing Shu had given countless people the happiness of being alive.

"It’s wonderful! Today, the three of us can use hot water to soak our feet again."

The apocalypse was a time of darkness, but Ahua saw a light. She resolved to work hard and repay her boss. Although Ahua had never met the big boss, tales of Boss Jing’s legendary deeds were everywhere in the factory.

Even details like how many people were in the boss’s family and what they all did became subjects of widespread gossip. It couldn’t be helped; the boss’s family was just too impressive. Her mother was with the Ministry of Agriculture, making the weekly vegetable deliveries from their collaborative efforts impossible to keep secret. Her father was in the livestock industry—and who didn’t know about the daily deliveries of rare eggs they coordinated? Of course, these were all legitimate business dealings and didn’t need to be concealed.

A commotion suddenly arose in the distance.

"There’s a fight up ahead!"

Ahua shook her head. Who dared to cause trouble at the Township Government’s doorstep these days? She wasn’t concerned and didn’t leave her place in the line for water.

"Someone hit Granny Yu, the one who oversees the hot water!"

"Who is so reckless?"

"Oh, they say it’s a relative of the Insect Factory’s Boss Jing!"

"The Insect Factory?"

This time, Ahua couldn’t sit still anymore. "Watch my kettle for me! I’m going to check it out!"

After all, a hot water kettle was a valuable item, equivalent to a fridge or a TV before the apocalypse. Damaging or losing one cost 100 Virtual Coins.

「The time shifts back to the day Jun Bao returned from the negotiations.」

Not just sausage congee, but also egg-filled scallion pancakes, and stir-fried chives with bean sprouts. Everyone in the Elite Camp even got an extra serving of pan-seared synthetic meat.

"Regarding the negotiation results, there’s one piece of good news and one piece of bad news."

Jing Shu raised her hand. "Start with the bad news."

"The bad news is, according to the new law on territorial rights, both Xinlan and Sichuan have the rights to mine for Ticks."

Indeed, it was bad news. This meant Wu City would definitely have to share some of its benefits.

"The good news is, even though they both have mining rights, they lack the ability to extract raw materials from the sea of Ticks, so they can’t build factories. Both parties can only participate in the shareholding at a one-to-nine ratio relative to us."

At this, everyone sighed in relief. This meant Xinlan would hold 5% and Sichuan 5%. They would contribute funds and personnel according to this ratio, but the most crucial decision-making power still remained with Wu City.

The negotiation ended on terms that were generally satisfactory to both parties. Neither Xinlan nor Sichuan had to manage anything; they simply provided some manpower and resources. In return, no matter what decisions were made or where new factories opened, they would share in the profits—it was like getting something for free. Wu City, however, held the crucial decision-making power. Whatever Wu City decided, that was final.

"Our next plan is to initially establish three raw material factories at the border of Xinlan and Sichuan, and then roll out sixteen processing factories nationwide. Time is tight, and the task is heavy. The Cigarette Factory must strictly recruit on a 1:1:8 ratio: ten percent from Xinlan and Sichuan, ten percent local workers, and eighty percent from Wu City."

"Jing Shu, your next task is to select personnel and lead the workers to Guiguang Lake and other locations to establish processing factories. You’ll travel all the way to the migration destination, and there, you will establish our main factory."