Zombie Apocalypse: Creation

Chapter 294: Chapter 294: Visit to Qijing

When Xiaoyun's car stopped, the two-story-tall building was in front of him.

It was extremely barebone, as it was just a concrete box with barely any decoration, with a square hole on the wall meant for window panels.

As Xiaoyun got out of the car and walked toward the entrance, the security guard quickly stopped him before he could get inside.

"Sorry, you need ID to enter here."

"Will this work?"

Xiaoyun took out his wallet to hand in the ID that Yuqi had given him a long time ago, but the security guard rejected it after reading the name.

"Your name doesn't match any of the employees on the list. I'm afraid I can't let you in."

"I understand——"

"Oh, Commander Xiaoyun, what brought you here?"

As Xiaoyun turned around to check where the voice was coming from, he saw that it was the new village leader right behind him.

"I was just traveling by and thought I might as well come here and see how it's going. Look like everything is running pretty good."

"Thank you, sir. But that credit should go towards the civil servants working here tirelessly."

"You're too humble. Without you, the transition wouldn't have been as smooth."

Hearing Xiaoyun's line, something suddenly popped up in the village leader's head.

"Commander Xiaoyun, can I have a request?"

"What is it? Also, you don't have to call me commander. You can just call me by my name."

The village leader hesitated for a second but decided to say it in the end.

"Can I step down from being the mayor of Qijing?"

Xiaoyun's smile quickly disappeared as he couldn't understand why the village leader requested to leave.

"Why? If you are worried about your past actions, didn't I already pardon them?"

"It's not that, Mr.Xiaoyun. It just doesn't feel right to get a salary when I sit in the office doing nothing all day.

I wasn't joking when I said those civil servants are doing all the work. The only thing I had done was stamp every document they sent up to approve it...

And now that the town has stabilized, I don't think I'm needed anymore. The department head could just be the mayor and make better decisions than I do."

After hearing the village leader's explanation, Xiaoyun patted him on the back.

"If you really want to quit... You can retire from your position. But I need to interview that head department myself."

"Thank you, sir... Penglin, move to the side. This is Mr.Xiaoyun, the leader of Luoping."

"Yes, sir."

The security guard quickly moved to the side and let the two inside, along with Kate and Tianci.

---

As Xiaoyun walked inside, several office blocks were laid out, similar to the administration building in Luoping.

The village leader began giving a tour and explaining every single office block and what they were assigned to do.

From population census to ID certification to salary management, it was almost a replica of the one in Luoping, except on a much smaller scale.

"It always feels so weird to see a government office looking more like an office of a business corporation." Kate pointed out as they walked upstairs to the second floor.

"Well, it saves space and allows for more cooperation between the workers."

The village leader patiently explained to Kate as he could tell the two following Xiaoyun weren't just bodyguards.

"Lu Ming! Can you come over here for a second?"

A young man who looked like they are just fresh out of college quickly got up and walked over to the mayor's office as the Xiaoyun and the village leader got inside the office room.

"Good morning, Mr.Mayor. And good morning, Mayor Xiaoyun!"

The young man quickly added the last part as he noticed Xiaoyun was sitting on the right side of the room.

"Ahem, Lu Ming, I wanted to ask you a question. Would you like to take my position and be the mayor?" the village leader asked.

"Me? N-No, I wouldn't ask for that."

Seeing Lu Ming's nervous face, the two knew Lu Ming had thought of the opposite.

"Oh really? Then I guess I have to tell Mr.Xiaoyun that my position is going to Hu An instead——"

"I-I want to be the mayor." Lu Ming looked down in embarrassment as he finally admitted the truth.

"That's the Lu Ming, I know. So Mr.Xiaoyun, what do you think of him?"

The two both turned their head to Xiaoyun as they waited for his answer.

"Lu Ming, how old are you?" Xiaoyun suddenly asked.

"I'm twenty-one."

"What major and what did you do back in Luoping?"

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"I'm a political science major, and I was an accountant who conducted censuses at the booth for a year."

Xiaoyun nodded slightly as he proceeded to ask his next question.

"What do you think Qijing needs right now?"

Without any hesitation, Lu Ming instantly replied.

"More people and construction material. There's not enough housing for everyone here, and we're only partially dealing with this by having people live outside of the town next to their farmland.

But if massive zombie waves travel towards here, then everyone would need to cramp inside Qijing for the time being, which barely could fit half of the total population."

Xiaoyun nodded in agreement again as he thought back to all the farmland he saw while traveling from Qingyuan to Qijing.

"But the most important thing we need is... time."

"Time?"

Xiaoyun's face looked a little surprised by Lu Ming's suggestion.

"Yes, time. Almost ninety percent of the farmland is located outside Qijing's wall, so I requested Li Miao's brigade to constantly patrol the entire surrounding area to ensure that no farmers are attacked when they are outside.

But I'm still worried that we won't have enough time if zombies from different cities start wandering towards us before we can harvest it. That's why I'm worried about the timing."

Xiaoyun nodded in agreement again.

"You're right. Qijing is a flat farmland... But the city of Foshan will be cleared of zombies before they wander all the way here."

Hearing Xiaoyun's reassurance, Lu Ming looked much more relaxed, as if his biggest problem had disappeared.

"Just one last time, you sure you want to step down?"

Xiaoyun looked over to the village leader for one last confirmation.

"Yes, sir. I'm too old for this job anyway."

"Actually, sorry to ask this, but can I ask how old are you?"

"Next month is my fifty birthday."

"Huh?" Xiaoyun let out a confused sound as his face fell into shock.

The village leader looked most like his early forties, while the old village leader that Xiaoyun knew looked more like his sixties.

"Lu Ming, it's time for your generation to shine. Don't be so nervous, okay?"

The village leader patted Lu Ming on the shoulder, then quickly left before Xiaoyun or Lu Ming could say anything else.

"Ahem, well, Lu Ming, congrats on becoming the mayor. Yuqi will send your formal mayor document next week."

"Thank you, sir!"

After Xiaoyun left the office, Lu Ming suddenly slapped himself on the face.

"Ouch... I'm really not dreaming. I really did just become the mayor." Lu Ming thought to himself as he sat down in the mayor's seat.

"Mr.Xiaoyun looks so much younger in person... Why did I think he would look like a middle-aged man instead?"

Lu Ming quickly shook his head as he returned to work on his document.

But this time, he was the one signing it instead of the village leader.

---

After leaving the mayor's office, Xiaoyun decided to tour around the town to see how the locals had been living.

Every person Xiaoyun saw was busy working on something, from selling clothes to selling food.

"Are they just letting people sell stuff on the street?" Kate asked curiously as they arrived at the marketplace.

"Well, most of the construction material is being used for housing, so the commercial zone is probably delayed until that's finished.

Besides, having a street stall economy is a sign that people are still willing to buy and sell. Lu Ming did the right thing by letting them continue for now." Xiaoyun explained as they walked past several stalls selling food.

"You hungry?" Xiaoyun asked as he noticed Tianci eyeing one of the food stalls.

"I-I'm just a little curious what that tastes like..." Tianci nervously replied as she pointed at the Tanghulu.

"Where the hell did they get Mountain Hawthorn to make these?" Xiaoyun thought to himself as he looked at the Tanghulu.

"I'll be right back!" Kate waved, immediately leaving the two and running to the stall by herself.

"Well, let's buy one as well."

Tianci happily nodded as they both walked up to the booth behind Kate.

"How much does this cost, ma'am?" Kate asked.

"Three food stamps. Or ten Qijing stamps."

"That expensive? Ain't no way a snack can cost this much. "

"Take it or leave it. I'm the only one who sells Tanghulu in this town."

The vendor crossed her arms as she showed no sign of backing down at all.

"Fine... Just give me the Tanghulu."

Kate reluctantly took out her wallet and handed over the food stamps as the vendor handed her the Tanghulu