Chapter 14: Let’s Get Started!
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“Cough, cough! Everyone, quiet down! Welcome to Miao Miao Farm. From now on, you’re all part of the farm family. Work hard with us, and all three meals will be provided!”
The baby clapped happily. “Baba baba!” Meals! Meals!
The zombies stood there blankly, showing no reaction.
Tang Miao produced another tomato and slowly circled it along the fence. “Smells good?”
The zombies inside the fence growled in unison: Yes!
“Want to eat it?”
“Roar!” Yes!
“Then step out if you want some!”
The baby clapped and spun in circles. “Baba baba!” Step out! Step out!
Seeing this, Jiang Nanxing took the initiative to step forward and unlock the fence gate.
Tang Miao was not standing near the gate, yet a large group of zombies remained jammed inside the fence, clawing and snarling as they reached for the tomato in her hand.
Only the marked zombies noticed that the gate behind them had been opened. Within moments, they rushed to Tang Miao’s side.
As expected, only these eleven had any brains.
The dormitory supervisor wore her work uniform, one of her arms having been bitten off.
When she saw everyone standing in a disorderly mess, her temper flared at once. Growling all the while, she began restoring order, dragging the university students into a neat line.
The two security guards exchanged glances before taking up positions on either side of the students.
One was short and fat, with numerous holes bitten into the flesh of his belly.
The other was tall and thin, the flesh on his left leg bitten away until only bone remained.
After eating their fill and absorbing enough energy to evolve once, the eleven zombies’ bodies were already indistinguishable from those of ordinary people.
Wait. There was one exception.
A university-student zombie in a checked shirt and jeans stood with an awkward posture. What was going on?
Had he not eaten enough?
Zhang Xinrou flipped to the next page. “Jiang Nanxing has already communicated with him. This university student suffered from severe scoliosis while he was alive.”
All right. Tang Miao had nothing more to say.
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Tang Miao divided the eight university students into two groups, assigning Chubby and Lanky to lead one group each.
Chubby took one group to the spring in the fruit-growing area to dig a reservoir. Lanky took the other to the spring in the operations area to dig a well. The reason for dividing them this way was simple: Tang Miao was afraid Chubby might get stuck in the mouth of the well.
Before they set out, Tang Miao rummaged through her storage space and distributed a usable tool to each person.
The basic wage was four tomatoes per person. Exceeding the work target would earn the group ten cucumbers, while the group leader would receive an additional sweet potato.
Tang Miao dismantled part of the fencing around the zombie-taming area, reducing its footprint and setting aside a plot to serve as the dormitory supervisor’s office and food warehouse.
The dormitory supervisor’s basic wage was eight tomatoes. If she discovered a new zombie laborer inside the fence, she would receive three pounds of food, with the type left to her choice.
After arranging everything, Tang Miao planned to discuss with Zhang Xinrou how their own rest area should be set up.
Zhang Xinrou was frantically recording things in a little notebook. Every so often, she would frown and pause. “Tang Miao, why is the dormitory supervisor’s basic wage twice that of Lanky and the others?”
Tang Miao leaned closer to look at the notebook. “The auntie has to maintain order among the zombies in the fenced area, feed them at fixed times according to the menu I prepared, distribute the wages and bonuses for Lanky and Chubby’s groups, and search for new zombie laborers. She’s doing the work of several people.”
Zhang Xinrou nodded thoughtfully. That explanation made sense.
In the notebook, she recorded every working zombie and assigned each of them a number.
“Tang Miao, there are new work badges in your storage space, right? Take some out. I’ll issue one to each of them.”
“You collected work badges while gathering supplies?”
“Of course. You said from the very beginning that you wanted to open a farm. Any farm needs employees, and work badges are indispensable.”
Tang Miao raised a thumb. All the words in her heart condensed into one: Impressive.
Tang Miao went through all the supplies in her storage space and moved out everything that could be put to use. She equipped the dormitory supervisor with a desk, a cutting board, and a large iron pot nearly a meter in diameter.
She covered the floor of the rest area with wooden planks, installed a water dispenser, and set up a large bed, a desk, a computer, a paper shredder, a trash can, a night-light...
Before long, the rest area had everything but walls.
Zhang Xinrou stared in amazement. It had to be Tang Miao.
Unfortunately, the farm had neither electricity nor internet, so the computer was useless. For the time being, Zhang Xinrou could only write everything out by hand.
Jiang Nanxing and the baby took on the responsibility of supervision. Jiang Nanxing watched Lanky’s group dig the well, offering guidance from time to time.
The baby followed Chubby’s group and delightedly dug in the soil.
Tang Miao went to the crop-growing area, using her mental power to turn over the earth before planting the seeds in her hands.
She bought a batch of fish fry and three Silkie chicks, spending every last point she had.
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The three Silkie chicks had hatched only a week earlier. Their down still carried a faint yellow tint. The shop was remarkably considerate, even providing a coop, feed, and a water bottle.
The fish fry were temporarily stored in the shop. They would be released once the reservoir had been dug.
The first day of work went fairly smoothly. Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Night gradually descended, and stars appeared in the sky. Holding the baby in her arms, Tang Miao dozed in a wicker rocking chair.
Not far away, Zhang Xinrou wore a headlamp as she and Jiang Nanxing inspected the farm’s work progress. She had Jiang Nanxing relay the following message to the zombies:
Today was Sunday. The clock-in time was nine in the morning, and the end of the workday was six in the evening. Because tonight’s circumstances were unusual, everyone would work overtime until ten. Overtime pay would be calculated and issued together with tomorrow’s wages.
As for why it would be issued tomorrow, that was because the matter of overtime had yet to be discussed with Tang Miao. She would have to explain the overtime pay to Tang Miao later.
Besides, zombies did not know fatigue. Working a little longer would not hurt.
In the future, regular working hours would be adjusted to eight in the morning through nine-thirty at night, with time allotted for meals in between.
Jiang Nanxing listened to Zhang Xinrou deliver this stream of instructions. He hesitated for several seconds before relaying them to the zombies.
Before leaving, Zhang Xinrou reminded Jiang Nanxing to have Lanky and Chubby report to him and clock out at the end of the workday. Otherwise, that day’s wages would be docked in full.
She closed her notebook and turned around. In the distance, she saw a vehicle approaching from the direction of the farm.
A bad feeling rose in Zhang Xinrou’s heart. She quickly switched off her headlamp.
Could it be Song Mingchen and the others?
Whether it was them or not, continuing toward the farm would be dangerous. Should she go to the edge of the farm and shout a warning?
Zhang Xinrou wavered. Fortunately, in the darkness, the vehicle did not continue forward. Instead, it stopped outside a supermarket at the edge of the farm’s protected perimeter.
Only two people got out of the vehicle. One of them limped badly, apparently injured.
Oh no! The desk lamp near Tang Miao was still on. They would see it! The farm’s location would be exposed!
Before Zhang Xinrou could run to warn them, she realized that the two people seemed completely unable to see the farm’s existence. They simply went into the supermarket.
After hesitating for two seconds, Zhang Xinrou slowly turned toward the supermarket. She switched on her lamp for three seconds, then turned it off.
There was no reaction from the other side.
After repeating the test several times, Zhang Xinrou confirmed that the people outside could not see what was happening inside the farm.
Perhaps to avoid revealing their position, the two people did not turn on the supermarket lights.
Only when one of them passed in front of the vehicle’s headlights did Zhang Xinrou clearly make out his figure and the color of his clothing.
It was Lin Chaofeng!
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