354: Familiar strength, familiar pain

Jiang Fei and the other four left Heping Street, found a secluded spot, took out three Jettas and one commercial van, and made them look old.

"Chu Xia, Zhao Rui, these two Jettas are for you two to drive."

"You'll be interviewing at the Agricultural Park and the Hospital tomorrow, so driving will be convenient."

After handing the two car keys to Xiao Chuxia and Ling Zhaorui, Jiang Fei loaded a wheelchair and a small amount of old-looking supplies into the commercial van.

The wheelchair was the one Lu Yu had used.

Although it wasn't electric, it was lightweight and foldable.

Normally, it would be kept in the grocery store, so if her uncle's leg hurt and he couldn't walk, her aunt could push him home.

"Liu Yuan, please drive these things to the grocery store for me tomorrow."

"If Uncle and Aunt ask where the wheelchair and supplies came from, just say Director Ning sent them."

Now Crippled Wang had a lot of contact with her uncle and aunt, and their two shops were close, so Xiao Jin Yang 1 couldn't take the blame again.

Director Ning lived in the Central District, and her uncle and aunt had no chance to meet him, so he was perfectly suited to be her shield.

The last Jetta was for Jiang Fei and Lu Yu.

The five of them drove the three cars back to the ground floor of Building 2, You Shan Community.

Just then, Xu Qianyao drove back.

"Jiang Fei, where did you get so many cars?"

"I exchanged them for supplies with others." Jiang Fei calmly changed the subject:

"Captain Xu, are Cheng Pingwei and his group on the survivor list?"

Xu Qianyao sighed: "No."

"I asked the Rescue Team to help me search the entire survivor list of Huaxia Base, including the recent repatriation list, and their names weren't there."

"I told Mu Qingzhou about this after returning from the Sea Base."

Remembering that Xiao Chuxia's parents were still missing, Xu Qianyao continued:

"Chu Xia, don't worry about Aunt Xiao and Uncle Xiao. There will be more ships returning to the country in a while. I've asked the staff at the Sea Base's entry and exit points to keep an eye out for me."

"As soon as there's news of someone familiar, the staff will immediately notify me."

Hearing this, Xiao Chuxia wasn't dejected; instead, she smiled and said:

"Thank you, Captain Xu."

Perhaps her parents were on the next ship returning to the country?

She firmly believed that her parents would be fine.

Xu Qianyao was going to take Jiang Fei to the Administration Bureau to see Director Ning, so Lu Yu and the other three parked their cars and went home.

Jiang Fei left in Xu Qianyao's car.

The Land Base's Administration Bureau was in the Central District.

The office building had a total of 6 floors and was the tallest building in the base.

Jiang Fei followed Xu Qianyao to the office on the top floor.

They knocked and entered.

First, she saw a round table in the open space.

On the table were ordinary home-cooked dishes and bottled beer.

Director Ning, Shao Ziyue, and Yang Zhanguo were sitting on the sofa, chatting.

After more than a year, Director Ning's hair was completely white, his back was hunched, but the only thing that remained unchanged was the kind smile on his face.

Yang Zhanguo, next to him, was also stooped, as if he had aged more than ten years, with a weathered face.

And Shao Ziyue, sitting on the edge of the sofa, wore an old purple cheongsam adorned with small flowers, had a buzz cut, and openly displayed the scars on her face.

However, the high heels she used to love wearing had been replaced by a pair of cloth shoes.

"Little Jiang, why haven't you changed at all!"

Yang Zhanguo stood up with a laugh and walked over, slapping Jiang Fei on the shoulder.

Jiang Fei barely managed to steady herself.

It was the familiar force, the familiar pain.

But she couldn't say it.

She had her pride.

"I was lucky enough to go to Mos City, where there were Huaxia people, and I didn't suffer much."

"Old Yang, Little Jiang, let's eat and talk, or the dishes will get cold soon." Director Ning waved for the two of them to sit down.

He, Shao Ziyue, and Xu Qianyao also sat down at the table.

Director Ning had prepared two meat dishes and three vegetable dishes tonight.

Green pepper and potato slices, blanched lettuce, stir-fried cabbage, garlic pork, and saliva chicken.

The staple food was brown rice.

"Little Jiang, try this. These greens and potatoes are grown in the Agricultural Park."

"The meat is frozen meat stored from before. Although it has a slightly strange taste, it doesn't affect consumption."

Director Ning put a piece of each dish on Jiang Fei's plate.

Jiang Fei ate a very thinly sliced potato chip.

It was unusually soft and glutinous, unlike the crispy texture of ordinary stir-fried potato slices.

"Is this a special potato cultivated by Old Kang?"

"That's right." Director Ning looked down at his wine glass:

"The last thing Old Kang left in this world was special potato seeds."

"Thanks to it, we didn't starve to death when we first started building the base last year."

Director Ning spoke in a low voice about what had happened in the past six months.

The reason so many people from the Safety Shelter survived the tsunami was that they had rebuilt their houses after the hot rain.

The safety level was equivalent to a sturdy fortress, and every household was given an emergency supply package, just in case the hot rain came again and flooded the city.

Unexpectedly, they didn't wait for the hot rain but for the tsunami.

The seawater flooded the entire Safety Shelter, and Director Ning and his group miraculously survived with their emergency supplies.

With nowhere to go, Director Ning organized everyone to live on the sea.

Until they met the troops led by the national Leader.

Learning that there were supplies stored in logistics warehouses across various regions and that the seawater was gradually receding, Director Ning proactively took on the task of building the base.

Therefore, he became the Director of the Administration Bureau.

It was the highest position in the Huaxia Base, apart from the Leader.

Xiao Ma and Hao Hao were also alive.

Xiao Ma had the day off today, while Hao Hao was kept at home by Yang Zhanguo.

"Old Kang used to always say I overthought things and worried too much. I'm just grateful that I thought enough, otherwise, the Safety Shelter wouldn't have been able to save nearly half of its survivors."

"Little Jiang, have you been in Mos City this whole past half-year?"

"No, I found a yacht before and drifted at sea for a few months."

Jiang Fei made up a story, fabricating a difficult experience.

"No matter what, it's good that you're alive." Director Ning poured Jiang Fei a glass of wine:

"Are you interested in resuming missions?"

"Currently, half of the cities nationwide still have warehouse supplies that haven't been recovered."

"Huaxia urgently needs this batch of supplies to restore civilized society as quickly as possible."

"But the base's current total population is less than 50,000. Building the base requires enough manpower, and transporting supplies also requires manpower, so everyone is stretched thin."

"I plan to form a trustworthy team, solely responsible for retrieving supplies from logistics warehouses and transporting them home."

Director Ning spoke frankly: "The disasters in different regions vary, so this mission will be very dangerous."

"It might be a one-way trip."

"Think it over carefully before you tell me."

"Even if you don't go, you will still enjoy the benefits of a Rescue Team member." Director Ning took out a certificate from his office desk drawer and placed it in front of Jiang Fei:

"Your new ID."

"You're no longer a temporary worker, but an official member of the Rescue Team."

Not wanting to put too much pressure on Jiang Fei, Director Ning changed the subject and chatted.

Everyone was laughing and talking, but only Jiang Fei looked at the certificate on the table, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

Actually, she didn't want to travel anymore.

She was inherently a selfish person.

The supplies in the Supermarket were enough for her and her friends for dozens of lifetimes; she wanted to settle down.

Yet, she had to admit that she was very suitable for this mission.

After all, no one else had such a vast space like her.

If she went, she could not only reduce manpower and avoid excessive casualties but also collect gold everywhere.

But doing so would undoubtedly expose the Supermarket, and she could easily be treated as a guinea pig for experiments.

Not going... but the country needed these supplies.

Jiang Fei fell into a dilemma, eating her meal distractedly.

After dinner, Jiang Fei and Xu Qianyao bid farewell to Director Ning. As they were about to go downstairs and head home, Shao Ziyue came out and caught up with her.

"Miss Jiang, this card is an access card for the Agricultural Park. You can go there directly to get any crops you need."

"The crops you take will be deducted from my salary, consider it a small token of my gratitude for saving me back then."

Jiang Fei didn't decline and accepted the access card: "I still have some special potions. I'll bring them to the Agricultural Park for you tomorrow."

Shao Ziyue's eyes lit up: "Great! Come to my office to find me then!"

Jiang Fei took Xu Qianyao's car back to You Shan Community.

She took out her key, opened the door to 102, and walked in.

Lu Yu came over with a glass of water.

He had guessed that Fei Fei would drink alcohol tonight, so he had prepared hangover medicine and honey water in advance.

Seeing Jiang Fei frowning, looking preoccupied, Lu Yu pulled her to sit on a chair: "What's wrong?"

Jiang Fei told Lu Yu about what happened tonight.

Lu Yu gently hugged her: "Whatever decision you make, I will support you."

"Get a good night's sleep. Maybe you'll have an answer when you wake up."

It wasn't Lu Yu's fault for not having an answer.

If it were him, he would also be troubled by how to choose.

Most people find it difficult to be truly selfless and fearless.

Especially in the apocalypse, being able to take care of oneself was the greatest fortune.

Jiang Fei hummed in response and went to wash up and sleep.

The next morning, Ling Zhaorui and Xiao Chuxia left for their interviews.

Before leaving, the two came to 102 to find Jiang Fei.

Su Liuyuan also came down with them.

Ling Zhaorui: "Sister Jiang, I'd like to take a mutated hybrid sweet potato seedling."

Jiang Fei took out a sweet potato seedling from the Supermarket, put it in an insulated box, and gave it to Ling Zhaorui:

"Crippled Wang is treating us to a meal at 11 AM today. Are you two going?"

Xiao Chuxia: "If we can't make it back by noon, then we won't go. Anyway, there will be other opportunities in the future."

"Miss, we're leaving."

After Ling Zhaorui and Xiao Chuxia left, Jiang Fei took Lu Yu and Su Liuyuan into the Supermarket to feed Big Yellow, Little Black, poultry, and livestock, still thinking about what happened last night.

Unconsciously, it was ten o'clock in the morning.

Jiang Fei came out and packed a bag of supplies.

There was tobacco, moutai, lollipops for Dao Rong, and chocolate.

Su Liuyuan drove the commercial van to the grocery store to deliver things to Jiang Zhengkang and his family.

Jiang Fei and Lu Yu drove to Tongxin Community in the South District, according to the address Crippled Wang had given them.

After parking the car downstairs of Building 5, Jiang Fei entered and was about to knock on the door of 101 when she heard a baby crying.

"Wah—wah—"

Did I go to the wrong place?