binnovel Chapter 497 New Type of Cigarettes
Chapter 497 New Type of Cigarettes
The following days passed peacefully in Dawn City. Li Chenglong arrived at headquarters early in the morning to handle some less important documents left over from the previous day.
Feng Tian, sitting at another desk, said with a smile, "I think we should assign you a bodyguard. That way, he can help you receive and send documents at headquarters, or run errands. People shouldn't do everything themselves. It's not only tiring for you, but it also prevents your subordinates from getting any experience."
Li Chenglong nodded, agreeing with the idea, but deciding on a bodyguard was proving difficult. After a moment's thought, he said, "Since you've brought it up, why don't you recommend someone? I just need someone clever and absolutely reliable."
Without hesitation, Feng Tian said, "Since it's a male officer's bodyguard, it's more reasonable to have a male. And it also has to meet your requirements. I think Luo Liang is a pretty good guy; he's the deputy company commander of the guard company directly under our headquarters."
Li Chenglong immediately thought of the person's specific information: "Luo Liang, that level 9 ice and wind dual ability user, right? I remember he just turned 20 this year and is already a member of the Chinese People's Association. Moreover, he is meticulous and has good insight. He is a good person."
Feng Tian said definitively, "Comrades Zheng Yong and Qi Guoan and I have been investigating him for a long time, and we feel that he is the most suitable person to be your bodyguard."
Li Chenglong thought for a moment and said, "Let me think about it some more. It's not that Luo Liang is a bad guy, but the situation in the special forces is still unclear. I may have to travel back and forth to various places, and it would be inconvenient to have a bodyguard."
The two were still chatting when Zheng Yong walked in from outside. He closed the door, patted the snow off his clothes, and said with a smile, "I didn't expect it to snow so early in November, and it's snowing quite heavily. But thankfully, thanks to Li Chenglong's supervision, all kinds of electric heaters were delivered to every household by the middle of last month. We've installed so many crystal generators in Dawn City, so people can have a warm winter now."
Li Chenglong said with a smile, "The fourth-generation crystal generator can use level 10 and level 11 crystals. I calculated that even if our current electricity consumption doubles, the total crystal consumption from November to February will not exceed 50 level 11 crystals. This number is already very small and is nothing to us."
After finishing their discussion, Li Chenglong returned to his work at the Crystal Computer. A while later, he noticed Zheng Yong and Feng Tian acting suspiciously, seemingly engaged in some activity. Upon closer inspection, he realized the two were discussing the ownership of the last pack of cigarettes.
After some haggling, the two decided to settle the matter with a game of Chinese chess. The winner would get the last pack of cigarettes, while the loser would have to watch from the sidelines.
Li Chenglong personally doesn't smoke, but he doesn't object to smoking either, as long as it's appropriate for the occasion. After all, we're in the apocalypse now, so there's no need to worry too much; some relaxation is still necessary.
Seeing that the two had already started playing chess over a pack of cigarettes, Li Chenglong took out two packs of cigarettes with the Dawn City logo and design and placed them on the table.
The two men's attention was immediately drawn to the two packs of cigarettes. Feng Tian picked up a pack, held it under his nose, and smelled it. He said excitedly, "Commander, where did this come from? It smells very fresh and fragrant, much better than the two packs we have that have been sitting for years."
Li Chenglong said with some pride, "When Yunqian, Shen Menghua, and I were patrolling the troops last time, we gained a deep understanding of the soldiers' needs for cigarettes. Although you can't drink alcohol freely, you can still smoke. However, our previous stock has been used up, so after research with Teacher Lena, Cecily, and others, we finally developed this new type of cigarette."
Li Chenglong then gave a detailed introduction to this new type of cigarette. The tobacco used in this cigarette wasn't the tobacco leaves commonly used on Earth, but rather the leaves of black orchids grown in Li Chenglong's natural region. To provide a large quantity of black orchid extract for the super potion, Li Chenglong had cultivated a vast area of black orchid fields in his psionic space.
However, the black orchid sheds its leaves every two weeks in the psionic space. Li Chenglong had previously ignored these leaves, using them as fertilizer. Now, at the suggestion of Lena and others, they could be used to make a new type of cigarette.
Furthermore, the new cigarettes not only use black orchid leaves as tobacco, but also a specially cultivated psionic plant, which the people of Roland Star call "fragrant silk." This herb is naturally excellent for making cigarettes, with a very high yield per acre, and the cigarettes made from it have a very good flavor. Most importantly, both cigarettes made from black orchid leaves and fragrant silk have analgesic, detoxifying, calming, and energy-restoring effects for those with supernatural abilities.
Moreover, this type of cigarette has so many benefits, and it is not addictive, unlike regular cigarettes that can cause addiction.
Zheng Yong and Feng Tian were surprised to find such a treasure. Each of them picked up a pack, skillfully opened the packaging, and lit one. After just one puff, they both exclaimed in surprise. Feng Tian said happily, "Awesome! It's so awesome! I've never smoked such a good cigarette in my life." Zheng Yong's pack was made of fragrant silk, and he couldn't stop after one puff, clearly enjoying it immensely.
Two minutes later, Feng Tian and Zheng Yong walked over together. Feng Tian said with satisfaction, "Commander, I wonder how much cigarettes we produce here, and how the price is set?"
Li Chenglong put down his pen, thought for a moment, and then said, "Minister Shen Menghua has already started setting up the Shuguang City Cigarette Factory, which has begun trial operation. Once the production lines are all set up, it is expected to produce 8 packs per day. As for the price, the Black Orchid Leaf cigarettes cost 10 white crystals, and the Fragrant Silk cigarettes cost 6 white crystals. In addition, there are some ordinary cigarettes, which will remain at the same price of 3 white crystals."
He paused for a moment and then continued, "Besides using crystals, you can also exchange them with points, but there is a limit to the number of points you can exchange each week."
Zheng Yong nodded: "This price is not expensive at all, and I believe it will be very popular. If we don't use it all, we can export it to other bases. This thing is like a special kind of strategic material, so we definitely won't have to worry about sales."
Feng Tian chimed in, "Now that we have cigarettes, we need rules and regulations too. Otherwise, if smoking causes a fire or other trouble, that would be terrible. Besides, even though cigarettes have been introduced, we can't encourage smoking." Li Chenglong and Zheng Yong both agreed and supported this.
After finishing his work, Li Chenglong left the headquarters. Before leaving, he gave each of Feng Tian, Zheng Yong, and the other staff members and employees of the headquarters a pack of new cigarettes, which was well received by everyone.
As Li Chenglong passed by a newly opened commercial street, he saw Han Xiaoling, Cao Yuechan, and several girls of similar age buying fried skewers and grilled skewers.
Looking at his watch, it was already 11:30 in the morning. Li Chenglong walked over and called out, "Xiaoling, why aren't you home for lunch? Why are you eating snacks here?"
Han Xiaoling was a bit older than the other girls, turning 15 this year. She turned around and saw that it was her older brother. She quickly and embarrassedly hid the meat skewers she had just received behind her back and said shyly, "This commercial street has only been open for a few days. I wanted to come and stroll around with Yuechan and some other friends. I was a little hungry earlier, so I bought some to eat. Brother, you should try some, it's quite delicious."
She handed him a skewer, and Li Chenglong smiled, took it, and took a bite. He thought the taste was indeed quite good. Looking at the group of girls staring at him, he nodded and said, "The taste is indeed good; you can eat some. But don't waste money, and don't let it interfere with your regular meals. Okay, I'm leaving now. You guys continue having fun."
After saying goodbye, Li Chenglong headed towards the Dawn Tower.