binnovel Chapter 310 Shopping
Chapter 310 Shopping
On February 1, 2026 (the 14th day of the twelfth lunar month), the zombies ceased their expansion and activity. Li Chenglong temporarily changed the city's Level 3 alert status to General Alert status. With the Spring Festival approaching, all troops were no longer on missions to hunt down the alien species. At most, they would escort convoys traveling for trade, but this task was mostly handled by the city's defense troops.
Yesterday, Li Chenglong, along with Zheng Yong, Feng Tian, and some division-level and deputy division-level officers from the other three divisions, visited the 4th Division of the Dawn Army. With the assistance of the other three divisions, and with the comprehensive support of the Equipment and Logistics Department, the Support Department, and the Industry and Information Department, the 4th Division led by Lei Qingcheng is now basically fully equipped, with abundant supplies, and is significantly better than before.
In order to allow the 4th Division of the Dawn Army to have a period of development, Li Chenglong stipulated that the 4th Division of the Dawn Army would not participate in any combat missions for two months, but would instead train new recruits and familiarize them with various weapons.
Besides the 4th Division, other combat units have also seen development. The Rocket Regiment now possesses forty crystal beam cannons, along with other types of artillery, significantly enhancing its combat capabilities. On the information support side, Li Chenglong has used the space factory to create more advanced crystal communication devices and a complete crystal radar system, greatly improving their ability to collect and process various types of information. Simultaneously, the information support unit has moved away from desktop crystal computers, equipping itself entirely with powerful Noah 01 laptop-type crystal computers.
Today is Sunday, a day for rest. The Dawn City government only has Sundays off, while the Dawn Army doesn't have a real day off; they simply reduce some training volume and certain training programs on Sundays. As for the factories in the light and heavy industrial zones, except for certain units such as the virus vaccine production plant and the crystal bullet production plant which operate year-round, the others only have one day off per week.
Qin Fangyu didn't have much work to do today. She said goodbye to Yunlan and Li Chenglong early in the morning and then took her grandson to a friend's house. Yesterday was Song Yixin's last day working at Li Chenglong's house; the family prepared a sumptuous meal to say goodbye. Meanwhile, another 17-year-old girl named Su Xi started working for Li Chenglong as a full-time maid. She was also recommended by Song Yixin and had worked with Song Yixin for a week; Li Chenglong's family was quite satisfied with her.
Li Chenglong's house is 160 square meters, divided into 4 bedrooms, 1 living room, 2 bathrooms, 1 kitchen, 1 dining room, and 1 study. Since there are plenty of rooms, and Li Xue and Han Xiaoling all have assigned apartments on the 7th floor and generally don't live here, after discussing it with Yunlan, Li Chenglong gave one of the secondary bedrooms to the maid, Su Xi. Li Chenglong had also investigated Su Xi's family situation; she only has one older brother, currently a company commander in the 1st Division of the Dawn Army, who last month received a psionic apple for his outstanding performance and became a superhuman.
Another key reason that convinced Li Chenglong to agree was that the little guy really liked Susie, and the two got along very well. Yunlan also noticed that Susie was very kind to children, which earned her many points. As for the benefits, in addition to free food and lodging, and unlimited fruit, Susie also received 15 jin of high-grade Dawn Rice and 2 level 3 orange crystals every month. This was quite a good deal. Ordinary workers in the Dawn City factory, besides having lunch and dinner provided, also received 10 jin of ordinary rice or 15 jin of flour per month, plus 5 jin of high-grade Dawn Rice and 1 orange crystal.
It wasn't that Li Chenglong was exploiting them; it was mainly because in the apocalypse, being able to provide enough food to fill their stomachs was already a great favor. They also received extra food and crystals, plus free schooling and housing allocations, so the pressure of supporting their families was minimal. This welfare system was the envy of people from other bases. Xu Qingming from the Feiyun base once complained that Dawn City could lower its welfare benefits, otherwise all their people would flock to Dawn City.
After eating breakfast prepared by Susie, Li Chenglong and Yunlan met up with a group of women of varying ages. Last night, Yunqian had contacted some of her friends through the "SuperChat" messaging app on her Crystal phone, deciding to take advantage of their day off to explore the shopping streets. Li Chenglong initially thought it inappropriate for him to go shopping alone, especially since Han Xiaoling and Yunlan were capable of carrying things and wouldn't need his help. However, Yunlan insisted on coming along, and Li Chenglong couldn't refuse, so he went.
Due to work commitments, Yun Qian, Shen Menghua, and others couldn't attend. Besides Yun Lan and Li Chenglong, the others included Li Xue, Han Xiaoling, Chen Xiaoke, Yang Liu, Wang Shuang, Wu Ruilan, Zhao Liying, and Wang Jie. Seeing that everyone was finally there, Li Chenglong smiled and said, "Buy whatever you want today. As long as it's reasonable, I'll pay for it out of my own pocket. Consider it a reward for your hard work this year!" "Hooray! Captain Li is so kind!" the women exclaimed in unison.
What Li Chenglong found truly astonishing was the shopping desire of women, especially when they were together in groups. He first followed the women to a food street, which was almost entirely filled with various snacks. If they wanted to eat, they had to go to the next street. Whether it was common northern snacks, common southern snacks, or local specialties, everything was available. The women formed a beautiful sight, eating their way from one end of the street to the other, trying every kind of snack. Li Chenglong, however, wasn't particularly interested in the snacks. Yunlan, Li Xue, and Han Xiaoling would take a portion of any delicious snacks they found and give it to him.
An hour and a half later, the group finished exploring the food street. Including him, there were nine of them in total, and they spent a total of 5 level 4 yellow crystals, which was quite cheap. Next came the highlight of this shopping trip: the street specializing in clothing. This street was even longer than the food street, stretching for at least a kilometer.
However, with Han Xiaoling and Yun Lan around, he didn't follow behind carrying large bags like other men. He had previously obtained three storage pendants from El and Triss, and for the sake of Dawn City's development, he had distributed them to Yun Qian, Shen Menghua, and Qin Fangyu. Li Chenglong thought that if he acquired another such treasure, he must give one to Li Xue as well; she was his own younger sister, and he had to cherish her.
Four hours later, Li Chenglong and the women finally finished shopping on the commercial street. This was only because Li Chenglong suggested that they avoid going into some of the same shops, which shortened the time to three hours. Most of the women bought two new outfits. Yunlan bought the most. She bought two outfits for herself and two for Li Chenglong. She also went to a children's clothing store and bought five outfits for Li Yunhao.
With a few hours left before dark, at Yunlan's suggestion, they went to the street selling all sorts of small commodities. It sold almost everything: daily necessities, small gifts, handicrafts, and so on. Han Xiaoling and Li Xue bought some fun little gifts for Li Yunhao, and the others also bought some small things they needed. Because they had a specific purpose this time, they walked quickly and finished shopping in just over an hour.
Dinner was at a restaurant run by the same couple who had previously run it. Through their hard work, their small restaurant had grown into a three-story establishment. Seeing Li Chenglong lead so many beautiful women in, the proprietress quickly approached and said, "Lord Li, Miss Yun, and all of you ladies, your presence today is a great honor for our humble establishment. What would you like to eat?"
Li Chenglong smiled and said, "Boss, boss's wife, we have a lot of people today, and they are all superhumans, so we might eat a lot. Is that too much trouble?" The male boss immediately replied, "No trouble at all. This shop has expanded, and we've hired some more people. We can cook very quickly now. Wife, please ask Lord Li and the others to go upstairs first. We'll start preparing the dishes right away."
Whenever Li Chenglong treated people to a meal, he would go to the rooftop restaurant on the 20th floor of the Shuguang Building, and if he was out, he would go to this restaurant. Firstly, he was familiar with the couple, so he wanted to let his acquaintances earn more money. Secondly, this restaurant was indeed good value for money and very popular.
After finishing dinner, it was already 7 p.m. They had been out all day and hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time; everyone was very happy. When they got home, Susie promptly brought them hot tea to warm them up. Then she said, "Lord, Madam, the young master hasn't returned yet. They said he'll be sleeping there tonight and won't be coming back."
Li Chenglong had corrected her form of address many times, but Susie insisted that she was a full-time maid and should be addressed that way. After several attempts to correct her, Li Chenglong realized it wasn't working and let her be. After taking a shower, Yun Qian walked into the bedroom in her pajamas and snuggled up to Li Chenglong, asking, "How much did it cost today?" Li Chenglong calculated, "Not much, just one blue crystal. It's worth it to make everyone so happy with just one blue crystal."
The two chatted for a while longer, and Yunlan changed into four or five new pieces of underwear she had bought that day, showing Li Chenglong which one looked best. Li Chenglong had originally wanted to go to sleep, but Yunlan's antics made it impossible for him to fall asleep. He immediately picked Yunlan up, threw her onto the bed, and snuggled up to her.