After Apocalypse, I Got Rich With Superpower-Chapter 84 - 82 Entering Winter

Chapter 84: Chapter 82: Entering Winter

Chapter 84: Chapter 82: Entering Winter

Winter income wasn’t much, after the autumn harvest everything had mostly been sold off, including the lotus roots, which had also been sold with some kept for home consumption. Wenwen and the others finished work at the shop and came back by two in the afternoon.

It was Li Pan’s suggestion; there was no point in staying put all day with no customers or business, it was just dull.

They had two shops, one for selling various agricultural products and odd jobs, while the other, led by Qin Jianzhong, sold roast chicken, cured meats, and boxed lunches, closing shop and returning home once they sold out at noon.

For the food business, leftovers were not desired; they prepared a set amount, everything was sold, and that was that. They didn’t overreach; leftovers were hard to deal with, and excess food would be a waste if the family couldn’t eat it all.

The children still had to study when they got back in the afternoon, so they didn’t have much work to do.

Li Pan and Xue Dong insisted the children study. The fees for online courses were all paid by her; whenever the kids mentioned paying, she wouldn’t allow it.

Gu Yun enjoyed cooking and learned by following his dad. He aimed to master both white and red styles of cooking and could now steam buns by himself. He was planning to learn other white style specialties, like half-leavened dough, unleavened dough, scalded dough, and other Chinese pastries—all of which Gu Ye was skilled at.

Since the child was suited for learning this, strict requirements were necessary.

This was to teach the children a skill for making a living; it was not something to be taken lightly. Yang Zhengfei was also learning alongside them.

Xie Ling and Sun Wenwen were learning bookkeeping. Xie Ling was smart and particularly sensitive to numbers, rattling off calculations that were both fast and accurate. As she and Wenwen studied bookkeeping together, they planned to sit for the accountant’s exams in the future.

Zhang Qi and Zhang Yu, on the other hand, were supposed to practice fighting techniques with their uncles and brothers in their free time to gain combat experience.

Zhang Yu also needed to learn farm management and to read people, which suited her well as she possessed a “Spiritual Power” superpower, giving her a special talent in influencing people’s hearts.

“I’m back, time for dinner, and we’ve got a hot pot of tomato beef brisket stew.”

“Wow! My favorite.”

Zhang Qi excitedly pounced over, trying to snag some food but was slapped on the hand by Li Pan.

“Go wash your hands, young master, they’re filthy.”

“Brother’s filthy.”

Zhang Yu made a face, clearly disgusted.

“Fine, I’ll wash.”

Zhang Qi cheerfully went to wash his hands.

The men also came back one after another, washed their hands, changed their clothes, and sat down ready for dinner.

Today Gu Ye had also made big bone stew with pickled cabbage and blood sausage, homemade from their pig, with the pickled cabbage made from Chinese cabbage.

There was also braised smoked fish with stewed lotus roots, along with several vegetarian dishes and side dish boxes.

Everybody really liked the big bone stew with pickled cabbage. The bones were meaty, containing fat and sliced pork belly; the blood sausage was cut into pieces—its filling was sticky rice. In the cold winter, one sip of the sour, savory soup, along with meat and pickled cabbage, was both appetizing and satisfying. The warmth and comfort from a single gulp of the hot soup were unparalleled.

Li Pan sipped the big bone broth with er-mi rice, breaking into a light sweat, utterly gratified and content.

“Brother Gu, your cooking is delicious. It would be a smash hit in the shop.”

“My temperament isn’t suited for the shop. I’m afraid I’d mess it up. I prefer manual labor.”

Gu Ye was honest and a bit simple, truly genuine and diligent—a man who worked hard without complaining, not cut out for management.

Despite being young, Sun Wenwen was sassy and sharp-witted. Having been through tough times, she was street-smart, capable of telling people what they wanted to hear, and bamboozling them with joy—she was even more capable than Zhang Qi.

The orphanage director tried to repay her kindness as best as he could by choosing capable and promising children for her, those who were grateful, understood the value of hard work, and had straightforward personalities.

“Alright, I didn’t mean anything by it, don’t be afraid, your daughter has picked up your ways.”

Gu Ye also chuckled and sheepishly scratched his head while Gu Yun, with her head tilted back, laughed gleefully. Their interaction amused everyone in the room.

“If you don’t like it, just work on the farm, no one’s forcing you; don’t worry. However, you need to teach the children well, so they can learn more skills and stand on their own feet in the future.”

Xue Dong had quite a good impression of Gu Ye, an honest man. Given the right position, he would do an exceptional job, though he wasn’t adept with words.

Everyone chatted and laughed as they finished off the food, leaving the basins clean and the bowls spotless. Yang Zhengfei and Gu Yun went to wash dishes and tidy up the kitchen.

“Take the beef bones out, I’ll stew them into a soup tonight. In the morning, we can have beef noodles with a bowl of beef bone soup, and take out two packs of the beef jerky that’s been made.”

Gu Ye instructed the children on the side.

“Understood, Master.”

Yang Zhengfei quickly responded.

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Having taken Gu Ye as his master to learn cooking, it was proper to address him as Master to show respect.

After the meal, Li Pan watered the potted plants and flowers arranged in the room and infused them with superpower. The presence of green radish, fortune trees, and potted roses decorated the room, giving it a lively atmosphere.

She went upstairs to continue painting and taking notes. After writing for an hour, she became a bit sleepy and dozed off on the chaise lounge.

Xue Dong ran upstairs to check on her. Seeing her sleeping soundly, he didn’t wake her. He covered her with a thin quilt. It wasn’t cold by the fireplace, so he added some wood to the fire to keep it from dying out.

Sitting there, he examined her notes, which were written very meticulously, including the feelings experienced while learning new skills. One couldn’t deny the value of these notes.

Not sure how long she had slept, the room had become a bit warm, and Li Pan woke up feeling hot and thirsty.

She got up, rubbed her eyes, and saw Xue Dong sitting there reading a book.

“Brother.”

“You’re awake, have some water.”

Li Pan gulped down a glass of lemon water, which quenched her thirst.

“Brother, are you looking for me to do some work?”

“Nothing urgent, I just wanted to ask if the abnormalities at No.7 Farm’s trees have all been purified?”

“Yes, the purification is complete. No.8 Farm is almost done too, just a little bit of flowers, vines, and such left. Should be thoroughly checked and purified by the end of this month.”

“Okay, I’ve noticed that the rats seem to be gone too, could that be related to the purification?”

“I’m not too sure, but I think the purification is beneficial for the farm. Next year, I plan to plant some other trees and wheat straw and such.”

“What trees do you want to plant?”

“I’m going to leave a patch of land for planting Spirit Plant trees, and for the rest, I’ll plant pine, cypress, and more breadfruit trees. We can also plant more fruit trees, and some other landscaping trees to stabilize the soil and water. It’s useful.”

“Sounds good. I’m thinking about trying ginseng farming under the forest canopy for the year after next. What do you think?”

“I’ve been considering that as well. We can try it on a small scale, just afraid of failing, as I’m not fully confident.”

“No problem, we can afford a failure. There’s no such thing as immediate success.”

“The farm’s operations are increasing. Do you think we should hire a professional to manage our finances?”

“Not at the moment. I plan to train Sun Wenwen and Xie Ling, and Lin Tianyi is also learning. Later on, we can hire children from the orphanage. Raising them from a young age, we build deep relationships, and they’re less likely to betray us. With finances, it’s tricky with adults; they can be calculating. Zhang Yu is a good prospect too, I plan to train her to be the farm manager.”

“Alright, I’ll follow your lead. Are you considering hiring more people for next year, maybe adults?”

“We’re still short-staffed, I’ll think about it. We need to find the right candidates.”

“Okay, let’s take it one step at a time.”

Xue Dong came over and nestled beside her on the couch, resting his head on her shoulder. “Do you think we should consider buying a house in the base as a foothold for our next step?”

“It’s worth considering, but I feel like it’s a bit early right now.”

“Indeed, let’s put that on hold for now.”

The year was drawing to a close and there hadn’t been any snow, only frost, which wasn’t too cold, bringing a bit of joy to everyone. However, it was uncertain whether the weather would be normal come spring. Hopefully, there won’t be any hail storms next year.