The First Order

As the truck drove forward, everything in the stronghold seemed new and interesting to Ren Xiaosu’s group, although some things still felt odd to them.

In fact, Ren Xiaosu sometimes thought that the wilderness was getting more dangerous these days. Although Stronghold 109 was not as affected as Stronghold 113 by the terrible earthquake, what if something happened here as well someday?

But the residents of the stronghold had never considered the fact that a disaster might happen and they would be left to fend for themselves. It seemed that all these problems had nothing to do with them and were only for the consortium to worry about.

If something really happened, these stronghold residents would not survive in the wilderness.

As the truck advanced, Yan Liuyuan kept looking out. However, some pedestrians in the stronghold had a kind of curious and sympathetic look in their eyes when they saw his dirty appearance.

It was either a look of loathing or sympathy as they silently assumed this child was a poor thing.

When Yan Liuyuan came into contact with these stares, the excitement in his eyes slowly faded away. Then he retreated into the back of the truck.

He and Ren Xiaosu had never needed anyone’s pity before since they didn’t feel like they led a miserable life.

“Bro, why don’t we go back to the town?” Yan Liuyuan was rapidly starting to get uncomfortable here.

“Oh, come off it,” Ren Xiaosu said. Pausing, he added, “If we really can’t get used to living in the stronghold, I’ll find a way to go with you to live outside the stronghold.”

“OK.” Yan Liuyuan nodded happily.

Ren Xiaosu turned around and looked at Jiang Wu and her students. “What plans do y’all have for the future?”

Ren Xiaosu’s group did not have to worry about his group’s livelihoods for the time being. After all, he had a lot of gold in his possession, and Old Wang also brought along a lot of medicinal supplies as hard currency. They probably wouldn’t starve to death in the stronghold in the short term. Moreover, they even took over a shop from the Qing Consortium, which had also settled their living arrangements.

The question put Jiang Wu in a dilemma, because there was no place for them to go.

Tang Zhou smiled and said, “You don’t have to worry about this. We’ll arrange for you guys to be admitted to school once you’ve received this stronghold’s ID cards. Teacher Jiang Wu can still be a teacher, and the students can continue attending school. If you live in the school’s dorm, you can even qualify for subsidies. You guys don’t have to worry about anything regarding your livelihoods.”

“Are y’all that kind?” Ren Xiaosu said in surprise.

“This isn’t about being kind.” Tang Zhou said, “Since we went through a near-death experience, we’re comrades. Our Qing Consortium isn’t so petty that we would not help with such small favors.”

“But isn’t this stronghold controlled by the Li Consortium? Does your word carry any weight in here?” Wang Fugui asked.

“The Li Consortium wouldn’t sacrifice their ties with us over such a trivial matter.” Tang Zhou said with a smile, “The matters between the corporations are sometimes very complicated and sometimes very simple. When there’s no conflict of interest, everyone will remain on friendly terms with each other.”

Ren Xiaosu immediately understood that it was just a triviality for an organization to send several people to school. They weren’t even worried about it.

“Um… ahem, how much are the subsidies the school gives out to their students worth?” Ren Xiaosu asked.

“900 yuan per month?” Tang Zhou wasn’t too sure. “Every stronghold is different. As long as the funds cover a student’s monthly expenses, it’s sufficient.”

“Yan Liuyuan and I will attend school as well then!” Ren Xiaosu said righteously, “It’s not about the money. We’re just thirsty for knowledge!”

Dumbfounded, Tang Zhou stared at Ren Xiaosu.

“No, wait.” Ren Xiaosu suddenly said, “It’s not just the two of us. Including Wang Fugui, Wang Dalong, Big Sister Xiaoyu and Chen Wudi, all six of us are looking forward to attending school!”

Tang Zhou looked at Wang Fugui in bewilderment. ‘Isn’t this man almost 50? You’re saying he also wants to attend school? Can you really be any more shameless than that?!’

Wang Fugui was even bewildered by what Ren Xiaosu had said, let alone Tang Zhou.

“I think we can forget about the others.” Tang Zhou said in a hollow voice, “We can make arrangements for you and Yan Liuyuan to attend school.”

Yan Liuyuan nearly cried. “But I don’t want to attend school either!”

“Do you think you have a say in this matter?” Ren Xiaosu glared at him. But at this moment, he saw a familiar figure outside the truck in his peripheral vision. When he turned to get a better look, he discovered the figure had vanished.

Was it an illusion or did he really see something? Ren Xiaosu was a little puzzled.

The familiarity struck him like a flash of lightning, coming and going just as fast.

“But don’t be too happy yet.” Tang Zhou said to Ren Xiaosu, “Since our Qing Consortium and you don’t owe each other anything else, this is an addition to our deal. So if you want us to help you with your enrollment to school, you’ll have to give us something in exchange.”

With a smack, Ren Xiaosu slapped two small vials into Tang Zhou’s hands as though he already knew. “I know Fatty Luo wants this, so take these to him.”

Tang Zhou was speechless. ‘You think you can address him as Fatty Luo?!’

There were only two people in this world who could address Luo Lan as “Fatty Luo” and get away with it. One of them was Qing Zhen; the other was Zhang Jinglin.

But Tang Zhou suddenly felt Ren Xiaosu might turn out to be the third such person.

As the truck slowly rolled to a stop, Luo Lan’s voice came from outside. “Disembark.”

When Ren Xiaosu jumped out of the truck, Luo Lan told him, “The shop on the left is what I’ve promised you. As this place is a prime location, you won’t be making a loss if you start a business here.”

Looking around, Ren Xiaosu was surprised to find the street was full of shops and had a high volume of foot traffic.

While Ren Xiaosu was looking around, the passersby were looking curiously at him. However, everyone recognized the ginkgo leaf logo on the truck and knew he was one of Qing Consortium’s people.

“What do you think?” Ren Xiaosu looked to Wang Fugui for his opinion. It was not like Ren Xiaosu knew if this location was good.

“It’s not bad.” Wang Fugui nodded to indicate to Ren Xiaosu to accept the offer. He knew Luo Lan wasn’t lying to them. There really was a lot of foot traffic as well as shops on this stretch of road. When it came to doing business, getting people in the door would mean making money!

“There’s also a yard and several rooms in the back that’s enough for you all to live in. The original business operation here was very similar to what you did, so I guess you got lucky.” Luo Lan said nonchalantly, “From now on, I, Luo Lan, don’t owe you anything.” As soon as he finished, he got into the vehicle with a very smug look on his face and left, leaving the six of them behind.

After that, Tang Zhou said to Ren Xiaosu and the others, “Don’t worry, I’ll send someone to deliver you your stronghold ID cards and school admission applications this evening.”

Yan Liuyuan had already rushed into the shop in excitement. It was clear this shop used to be a traditional Chinese medicine clinic. Before Ren Xiaosu’s group arrived, it was being run normally. After the Qing Consortium’s people pulled out from running this shop, they did not take anything away. The place was already fully furnished with tables, chairs, benches, and a good supply of traditional Chinese medicine.

Luo Lan had given this shop to them because he knew Ren Xiaosu had been the only doctor in town. So he thought Ren Xiaosu might want to reopen his clinic here.

But Ren Xiaosu felt sad. As if he knew shit about medicine.