Chapter 234: A Bountiful Harvest of Crystal Cores
There were only 45 staff members at the Dongyang Maternity and Child Health Hospital.
When they received the email about salary increases and benefits, they were both surprised and overjoyed.
Qiu Bureau Chief’s wife, Tao Xue, was taking a walk in the hallway while cradling her pregnant belly. She used to hate walking around because it was unbearably hot everywhere—just a little movement would leave her drenched in sweat, and bathing was inconvenient.
But now, things were different. The corridors were cool, and even if she broke a sweat from walking, it didn’t matter—there were bathrooms and showers on the same floor, and water usage was free.
Qiu Bureau Chief had just gotten off work and came to visit his wife. Seeing her looking radiant and full of energy, he couldn’t help but hold her and sigh emotionally,
“Seeing you like this makes me feel that handing over those three crystal cores was worth it.”
Then he added enviously, “Honestly, I wish I could live here with you every day. This place is way more comfortable than home.”
Even though their home was luxuriously equipped with air conditioning, in the post-apocalyptic world, electricity and water costs were sky-high. Even someone like Qiu Bureau Chief couldn’t afford to run the AC all the time.
Tao Xue playfully nudged him with her elbow, “This place is full of women, and there aren’t any extra beds for you anyway.”
Qiu Bureau Chief thought about it and had to agree—every bed in the hospital was precious.
“What a shame my little sister got married off to Wutai.”
Hearing this, Tao Xue frowned. “Is there really no way to bring her over? When I called her last time, she said Wutai isn’t that safe anymore.”
Qiu Bureau Chief shook his head, “For now, it’s not possible. But she still has some time before she gets pregnant and needs a place to give birth. It all depends on Xiao Ding. He’s been getting close to Taoyang—maybe there’s a chance.”
Tao Xue could only nod in response.
At that moment, a group of nurses walked by, chatting happily as they headed toward Director Guo’s office.
Tao Xue rarely saw them this cheerful and couldn’t help but feel curious. She pulled aside a familiar nurse and asked if something good had happened.
The nurse beamed and said,
“We just heard that Boss Su from Taoyang raised our salaries! And she said that in the future, we’ll all be moved to live in Taoyang!”
Tao Xue was shocked. “All of you?”
Qiu Bureau Chief was also wide-eyed.
The nurse nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! Our director said that as long as we’re registered employees, we’ll be arranged housing, though we’ll have to wait for a bit.”
Before Tao Xue could ask more, another nurse tugged on her colleague’s arm. “Come on, hurry up! Director Guo is calling us for a meeting.”
The nurse quickly excused herself, “Sorry, I have to go!”
After she left, Tao Xue and Qiu Bureau Chief stared at each other.
Finally, Qiu Bureau Chief sighed and broke the silence, “My job is so damn frustrating.”
Tao Xue scoffed at him.
To be honest, they both wanted to move to Taoyang, but Qiu Bureau Chief was considered a key government official in Dongyang, and he had to avoid any political controversy—moving there simply wasn’t an option.
Feeling wronged, Tao Xue muttered, “You’re always so cautious. But isn’t Commander Pei Dong from the City Defense Army and Major Shi Zijin from the Pioneers also living in Taoyang openly?”
Qiu Bureau Chief protested, “My dear wife, they’re military personnel! They’ve made huge contributions—who would dare gossip about them? Besides, whether it’s Shi Zijin or Pei Dong, they don’t even stay in Taoyang all the time. Most of the time, they’re either out on missions or guarding the city.”
Tao Xue ignored him and sank into her own melancholy.
She was the wife of a bureau chief in Dongyang, yet she was living worse than a maternity hospital nurse. The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt.
Qiu Bureau Chief tried to console her, but he had no idea how to fix the situation.
*
Su Tao had no clue that her actions had caused a domestic dispute in the bureau chief’s household.
She was in a great mood because her latest batch of customers had been incredibly generous. Three of them had each handed over eight crystal cores to become premium members, while two others had paid three crystal cores each for a one-month package.
Since they had all come as a group, that meant Su Tao suddenly had 30 more crystal cores in her possession.
Her customers left fully stocked—not only did they buy large quantities of food and water, but they also stocked up on fuel. Their departure was so grand that even Gu Mingchi in the Eastern District caught wind of it.
Gu Mingchi logged into Taoyang’s website and spent a long time browsing the resource purchase section. He resisted the urge to place an order, closed the page, and asked his subordinate, Hui Shu,
“How’s the land rental situation going?”
Huishu hesitated. “Boss Su said she won’t be leasing out large plots of land anytime soon. I pressed for details, but she wouldn’t explain her reasons.”
Gu Mingchi tapped his fingers on the table thoughtfully for a long time before saying, “Forget it, we don’t have time to wait.”
A storm brewed in his eyes. “If we can’t rent it, we’ll take it by force. Go scout for suitable land in the southern region. Once we find a good spot, we’ll move in. I’ll personally lead the battle—we can’t keep drifting forever.”
The brothers who had followed him from the Old Station had been homeless ever since. They ate, drank, and even relieved themselves in their vehicles—it was a miserable existence.
Hui Shu’s heart ached. He was one of the men who had come from the Old Station himself, but he had been lucky enough to gain the boss’s favor and find stability in the Eastern District.
Clenching his teeth, he called Su Tao again.
Su Tao sighed when she picked up, “I’m sorry, but I really don’t have any land available for rent right now.”
Even though she had just acquired 30 crystal cores, she had already earmarked them for taking in the orphanage and nursery.
Rumor had it that there would be another city attack soon, and if things went badly, two more districts could fall. If that happened, the orphanage and nursery would be completely exposed to the zombies.
She had to act fast.
Huishu was deeply disappointed. He hesitated for a moment before asking, “What would it take for you to rent land to us?”
Su Tao didn’t overthink his use of the word “us.” She pondered for a moment, then sighed and said, “Alright. If your friend really wants to rent 3,000 square meters, they can pay me 30 crystal cores upfront. After that, I’ll reduce the rent and mostly charge in Federation credits.”
Hui Shu’s heart trembled.
Thirty crystal cores… that was an enormous amount.
But he still agreed and relayed the message to his boss.
Gu Mingchi spent an entire afternoon thinking about it before finally calling Huishu back. He had his deputy hand over a small box and said,
“There are 12 crystal cores in here. Go talk to Su Tao as soon as possible. See how much land we can get for this and at least settle some of our brothers.”
Hui Shu’s eyes turned red as he accepted the box.
Every one of these crystal cores had been earned with blood and sweat.
And this was probably all the reserves the boss had left.
He nodded heavily, determined to make the best deal possible.
