“What’s going on?” Mother Xu looked at Yue Zheng in confusion, then glanced at the entrance to the information hall.
“Nothing, where are we going?”
“D District.”
“D District?” The rumored impoverished district?
Mother Xu chuckled and said, “Not all squads can afford housing in the C District. While D District may be chaotic in some ways, it’s more affordable.”
The car slowly entered the D District, where affordability and poverty seemed to coexist. Yue Zheng looked at the streets outside, feeling somewhat uneasy.
Unlike the remote and desolate G District, or the bustling chaos near the central streets, this place gave off a sense of disorder—yes, it was disorderly.
The snowy streets were covered with white, and the cold air was probably the culprit behind the deaths of these people.
Mother Xu also noticed the people carrying corpses out, sighed softly, and said, “Heaven, it’s too cold.”
“Is it always like this here?” Yue Zheng asked, looking out the window at a person begging with a small bowl.
Mother Xu nodded, “Don’t give them anything.”
She checked the window locks before explaining, “This area is relatively chaotic. Even when I used to come here with colleagues, we wouldn’t dare to be alone. The cars of squads that belong here, those with squad emblems, they won’t stop. And if they recognize someone or are familiar with them, they won’t stop either. But they won’t recognize our car.”
She sighed again, “Someone gathered all the disabled and labor-unfit people in this area and drove them here. During the day, they are sent out to beg. These people used to be scattered throughout the safe zone, but the base’s management finally stepped in and sent them all back to the D District.”
“Do they actually get anything by begging here?” Yue Zheng was puzzled. With so many beggars on the streets, even if there were kind-hearted people, there probably wouldn’t be enough to go around.
Mother Xu sneered, “Initially, they begged for food, but later they turned to robbery. If they can rob, they rob; if they can’t, they steal. If they encounter someone with abilities or martial skills and get beaten, they scatter and run.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“So, apart from those who live here, very few outsiders come here, unless they belong to a famous squad… By the way, our car doesn’t have a label yet, does it? We should remember to put one on later. Generally, as long as a car displays the squad emblem in broad daylight, they won’t dare to cause trouble.”
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Yue Zheng got out of the car and locked it before following Mother Xu to the second floor of a building and knocking on one of the doors.
Yue Zheng could hear the chaos inside. People were talking, chatting, and arguing, and it seemed like the voices from adjacent rooms were all around him. He quickly controlled his hearing, so as not to be overwhelmed by the noise.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
The door opened, revealing a woman in her thirties standing inside. When she saw it was Mother Xu, she hesitated for a moment, then smiled and let them in, saying, “Sister He is here… and you all have your clothes on! There’s a man!”
Yue Zheng hesitated at the door, wondering if he should wait a bit before entering.
Inside, several women’s voices jokingly said, “Who would be undressed on such a cold day? Come in, come in!”
“A man? Where is he? Is he handsome? How old is he?”
“Ah, a handsome guy! Girls, come out quickly! Sister He has brought us a pretty boy!”
The room was already chaotic, and now it became even more uproarious as everyone rushed out to see the handsome guy.
Yue Zheng stood at the door and suddenly felt the urge to go back downstairs immediately.
Mother Xu stood at the doorway with her hands on her hips, shouting loudly, “Don’t even think about it! He’s my son-in-law, and none of you should have any ideas!”
The room suddenly fell silent. Then, a young girl in her twenties collapsed on a large communal bed inside, crying and sobbing, “Ah! Are we ever going to get married in this day and age? All the good men have turned to other men! When will I ever get married…”
Next to her, an older woman slapped the young girl’s butt and said, “Stop dreaming. Who dares to marry someone from our squad? They get scared away as soon as they see us!”
Yue Zheng’s gaze swept over a woman in her forties who was dressed the most elegantly. He understood now—this was the legendary “Widow’s Legion.”
The Widow’s Legion was made up entirely of women, and when counted, there were more than thirty of them crammed into two rooms.
Mother Xu chased away all the women who were trying to cozy up to her son-in-law or take advantage of him, plus she shielded him from all the sneaky women trying to get close to him.
Yue Zheng felt genuinely grateful for her actions. After all, even if he knew these women were just joking, having so many women gathered together still felt somewhat intimidating.
After negotiating the terms and payment for processing cotton and rat skins, and making it clear that they could start working right away, the leader of the Widow’s Legion, the elegantly dressed woman in her forties, playfully said to Mother Xu, “Why didn’t you bring your son along? Afraid we’d steal him?”
Mother Xu rolled her eyes and replied, “I have to leave someone at home to watch over things. He’ll be here sooner or later.”
“All right, your son is quite capable, traveling all the way from Y City to here. It’s not easy at all,” the woman said with a sigh, thinking about her own son who had died in front of her.
“Let’s all try to live well; we’re all in the same boat. If we can live one more day, that’s a win,” Mother Xu patted her on the shoulder and sighed as well. She bid farewell to everyone and went downstairs.
“Tomorrow morning, Xu Song and I will deliver the goods to their processing location. If you want to come along for a visit, feel free to join us,” Mother Xu said as they got back into the car.
Yue Zheng was relieved. Fortunately, the processing factory for the Widow’s Legion was not in the D District, they had rented a warehouse in the C District. After all, the pressure in the C District was considerable for women who couldn’t guarantee a stable income like them, even though the houses in the D District were free.
Even though they had rented a factory in the C District, they shared it with another small team. However, they had brought their own equipment.
“It’s alright; tomorrow, I and the kids will produce more cotton. This cold weather is strange; it’s better to work hard and produce more. If you want to chat, we can do that after we get through this busy period. ” Mother Xu said.
Yue Zheng nodded, understanding Mother Xu’s intention. He started the car and turned it around to head back.
As they passed through a small alley, Yue Zheng noticed that most of the windows had either red or green pieces of cloth hanging on them. He felt curious but didn’t have a chance to ask Mother Xu about it.
He accidentally overheard faint moaning sounds coming from the rooms, and his words got stuck in his throat. No matter when it was, there were always people conducting business using the most basic and primitive methods—both sellers and customers.
Back at home, when they opened the front door, they found a row of snowmen constructed along the wall, made by the two children and Xiao Shu. Fortunately, the kids weren’t outside playing anymore; otherwise, their little hands might have frozen.
After parking the car, the two of them went back into the house and saw that Xu Song was already awake, sitting on the sofa, working on cotton puffs with the two kids.
“Welcome back. Is everything settled?” Xu Song asked.
Surrounded by a group of women for a while, Yue Zheng was particularly grateful to see Xu Song. He didn’t reply to Xu Song’s question but went over to him instead. Yue Zheng leaned in close to Xu Song’s face and gently kissed him.
Xu Song’s expression, which had been somewhat normal, suddenly twisted, and he kicked Yue Zheng with anger before lowering his head. He glanced at the mother who had just entered, his expression guilty.
“Your mother came to the rescue, so everything is in order,” Yue Zheng didn’t respond to Xu Song’s action, instead replying to his question. He sat down next to him, holding his hand.
“We’ve been promoted to rank D,” Yue Zheng continued.
“Rank D?!”
“Yes, with that truckload of rat meat, how long do you think it’ll last? It’s enough to move us up a level, don’t you think?” Mother Xu joined in, sitting down on the sofa and helping with the cotton puffs.
The three of them worked until noon, just before lunchtime. Mother Xu prepared the meal, and Xu Song suddenly remembered that they hadn’t yet modified the fuel tank for the small pickup truck and the large container. He quickly got up and went outside to work on it.
Yue Zheng followed him, assisting with the tools.
The snow in the sky continued to fall without stopping. At this moment, it seemed to be smaller than the morning, but it fell continuously, covering everything in a fine layer of white.
Yue Zheng handed him the tools and watched him breathe out white vapor, focused on his task. He couldn’t help but smile gently.
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Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️🌳🦮🦗🦔🐝