After Apocalypse, I Got Rich With Superpower
Chapter 134 - 132: Add One More Person

Chapter 134: Chapter 132: Add One More Person

Xue Dong had been busy with the factory since he returned, not only making cheese but also producing fresh milk to sell to the base, providing more residents with cheap, delicious, high-quality milk to supplement their nutrition.

In the past, only the rich district had access to the bottled or cartoned milk that required refrigeration; the ordinary areas of the base could not even get enough to eat, let alone drink milk, which they hadn’t tasted for many years.

The factory was large, producing fresh milk, cheese, by-products of dairy farming, and milk powder.

Milk powder was particularly important since it had a long shelf life, making it a top-tier survival resource.

Why were there hardly any children born to poor families? They couldn’t afford to raise them, and the death of a child would bring unbearable heartache.

If you can’t fill your stomach, mothers are unable to breastfeed; they simply don’t have any breast milk. How would you feed a child? Milk was out of the question since everyone was eating mutant animals—where would the milk come from?

Many children were raised on rice soup, which involved boiling rice or millet into porridge and feeding the children the thin layer of rice soup with floating grains. This meal had to be made from fine grains, as children couldn’t digest coarse grains, which would cause stomach swelling.

Look, raising a child requires a lot of effort. Parents and relatives were already exhausted during peaceful times, let alone during periods of natural disaster.

Back then, with poor conditions and the fear of having children, it was unbearable to watch a child you couldn’t provide for die before your eyes. It seemed better not to have children at all.

Now that conditions had improved somewhat, people were unable to conceive, having consumed too many mutant plants and animals, and many were in a similar situation.

The documents from the higher-ups mean to gradually expand breeding and cultivation, to completely abandon the dietary structure of mutant animals, to increase nutrition for residents, to restore production and life, to settle the residents further, and to provide them with enough food and clothing.

This is the purpose of this factory’s existence—it must succeed, and it must remain under the control of the Base Commander, not for someone to come with terms to negotiate. That would not do.

Only Li Pan was suitable for this job, for she was like a daughter to the Base Commander, a child he had personally helped raise. There was no one more appropriate or more trustworthy than her.

No matter how difficult, Li Pan had to support the work of the Base Commander, also for the better life of her own people.

Starting with the most basic idea of getting enough to eat, we are no longer limited to this.

Instead, we hope that everyone can eat to their fill, no longer have to consume mutant animals, live and work in peace, and gradually return to a peaceful and stable life. This requires the collective effort of everyone.

Although there is still a long way to go and many powerful mutant animals and plants pose a threat, no worries—we are now full, have the strength, life has direction, and the future will be even better.

In the future, we look forward to a world where no child loses their parents, becomes displaced, but instead lives a stable life, happily studying in a classroom—that’s the life they deserve to live.

The Base Commander called Xue Dong.

"Xue Dong, the shop’s decoration is almost done. Come and see what’s missing; we’re ready to stock up and open for business."

"Alright, I’ll come over after I finish up here. Who’s going to mind the store in Zone 13?"

"The store in that area will be registered under the base’s name. I plan to have Cui Yanjun go there, and I’ll send two others from my side, with the remaining staff following orders."

"Okay, I’ll speak to Brother Yan Jun. I was thinking of sending Zhang Qi to manage the store since he’s quick-witted."

"That kid is good, and he does his work well, but he’s too young. He doesn’t know the ploys and schemes of the wealthy in Zone 13; I worry that he’s not experienced enough to match those sly old dogs, and getting deceived again would be troublesome."

"Fair enough, we’ll do as you suggest. The Thunder Spirit Fruits have ripened; there are three of them. What do you want to do with them?"

"You keep one, give the rest to me. I have two from the Thunder Department who are about to advance to high-level,"

"Come over and get them tomorrow,"

"Alright."

In the past few days, Xie Ling became the first to advance to a High-Level Wood Power User. As a result, the Spiritual Peach had upgraded a level, grown in size, and now could bear three more fruits. Moreover, each fruit’s effectiveness had doubled from before, yielding astonishing results.

Sun Wenwen was also close to advancing, and Zhang Qi had already become a High-Level Wood Power User. The thorny vine became more flexible and powerful than before, and he had learned many combat skills, which could be used to protect the farm in the future.

Although he awoke as a member of the Combat System, he also could comb and purify plants, but his healing abilities were far behind Li Pan and Xie Ling. However, his skill level in combing and purifying plants was indeed quite good.

It turned out to be a way to save Li Pan’s energy. Now, Zhang Qi combed and purified the crops in all three farms every day to practice his skills proficiency.

With two more High-Level Wood Power Users around, Li Pan’s burden had lightened considerably.

Xie Ling was now able to heal injuries related to the Spiritual System.

Li Pan shared his notes with her, teaching her hand-in-hand so that in the future, Xie Ling could also take on Base tasks to earn money.

Xie Ling’s orphan siblings were all good children. They gave most of the money they earned to support the orphanage’s daily expenses, as well as the education fees and subsequent upgrade resources for their younger brothers and sisters.

They were learning from their older siblings to support the remaining younger ones, ensuring they had access to education, opportunities to see the world, chances of awakening, and prospects for the future.

Now Zhang Qi and Xie Ling split their work. They each took turns to inspect and purify the farms’ energy in the afternoon and evening. The responsibilities related to the Wood Power input for the three farms were wholly managed by them and Lin Tianyi.

Every three days, Li Pan took time to check thoroughly and purify the farms to ensure a gentle and stable output of energy from the crops.

Meanwhile, Zhang Qi and Xie Ling began learning from Li Pan how to care for Spirit Plants and Medicinal Materials. Sister Qian’s notes were also made available to them for study and observation.

The three of them learned together. Lin Tianyi was not yet at the stage to advance to high-level, so he temporarily wasn’t responsible for the Spirit Plants and Spiritual Medicine. He had to wait until his upgrade was complete to understand the intricacies, as just verbal explanations were insufficient for his level of understanding. The difference in levels meant the perception was not the same, and it had nothing to do with Li Pan keeping secrets.

The orphanage director called.

"Pan’er, I have a matter to discuss with you,"

"Grandpa, go ahead."

"Here’s the thing, I have a child who is a Wood Power User with a double S talent. He’s a bit young and currently studying. I feel embarrassed to ask the Base Commander to look after him for me. He can’t do much work yet, just seven years old. I was thinking you might need Wood Power Users and raising a child from a young age would mean he’d be close to the family. Xie Ling’s siblings are there to keep an eye on him; if you’re willing to take him, I’ll send him over. He’s the last young child I have."

"Absolutely, why wouldn’t I want such a good thing? Grandpa, I’ll have Zhang Qi come to pick you up and handle the formalities. He can study here; I’ve got all the online courses ready. He can study with Xie Ling and the others; there will be people looking after him, rest assured,"

"That’s settled then. I’m relieved to trust him to you, seeing you don’t mind his young age."

"Grandpa, since he’s the last child, why don’t you move in and live with me?"

The orphanage nowadays was actually supported by the Base, funded personally by the director and sustained through social donations.

In the future, the orphanage would be incorporated into the Base and managed by the nation, no longer privately owned. The director, being old, was retiring, and the Base Commander would send trusted personnel to manage it.