Chapter 62 - 61: Finding a Job

Chapter 62: Chapter 61: Finding a Job

Naturally, the scarcer the food, the more expensive it was. Rare ingredients like fresh vegetables and meat were dozens of times more expensive than standard dishes.

Chen Momo strolled over to one of the stalls. It was pitch black behind the counter, and a piece of paper was pasted on the window at the front: "Stall for Rent. Rent: 5,000 base credits/month. Interested parties, please contact the cafeteria manager for details."

Chen Momo’s eyes lit up. She could rent this stall herself!

However, 5,000 base credits was certainly not a small amount. The cost of ingredients was already exorbitant, and the number of current residents was still unstable. It was hard to say whether or not she could turn a profit.

Besides, everyone had spent almost all their money on rent and daily necessities. The lease required a one-month deposit and six months’ rent upfront. Calculated out, the initial rent and deposit alone would cost 35,000 base credits. Most people’s base credit balances were essentially zero at the moment. Who could fork over that much all at once to risk starting a business?

Therefore, even though the rental notice was plastered right on the window, most people merely glanced at it before walking straight past.

Chen Momo quickly ran the numbers in her head. She still had plenty of ingredients in her spatial dimension. They were all hoarded at a very low cost before the apocalypse, and a large portion had been gathered for free during it. She already held a massive advantage in terms of cost alone.

Take braised pork, for example. A tiny bowl of braised pork was currently selling for 300 base credits. If she sold just ten bowls a day, her revenue would be 3,000 base credits; over a month, that would be 90,000 base credits.

Minus the rent, she would have 85,000 base credits left. That was way more than what she could earn working a regular job!

Even after deducting the costs of water, electricity, gas, and other utilities, assuming a net profit of 80,000 base credits a month, it would be more than enough to cover the daily expenses of her family of three. Moreover, it would allow them to live a comfortable middle-class life in the base. While they might not be able to eat the most expensive food every single day, it would at least guarantee them a solid lifestyle here!

She needed to seize this opportunity and secure it while everyone else was still in an unstable state, ensuring they could live well in the base!

Without delay, Chen Momo asked a cafeteria attendant, "Comrade, could you tell me where the cafeteria manager is?"

The attendant enthusiastically pointed to a small, brightly lit office in the corner of the cafeteria. "Comrade, that’s the manager’s office over there. You can just head straight in and look for him!"

Chen Momo thanked the attendant and made her way to the cafeteria office.

The cafeteria manager was a fifty-year-old man with graying hair named Liu Hui Chun. Before the apocalypse, he had worked as an accountant at Guan Shan Kou Men’s Vocational Technical College. After the disaster struck, he quickly leveraged his extensive work experience to secure the position of cafeteria manager.

Seeing Chen Momo enter, Liu Hui Chun hurriedly stood up and asked with a smile, "Comrade, is there anything I can help you with?"

Before the base began operations, Gu Rongjin had organized professional training for all base staff, placing a strong emphasis on work attitude. As a result, every staff member here treated the base’s residents exceptionally well.

"I saw that the cafeteria stall is up for rent," Chen Momo said. "I’d like to learn more about it."

Liu Hui Chun smiled and replied, "Here’s the situation: a few people have looked at this stall, but no one has finalized anything yet. Our principle is first-come, first-served based on payment. According to our cafeteria’s regulations, the stall cannot sell food categories already offered by the cafeteria. You must offer different products to avoid direct competition. The cafeteria’s operating hours are from six in the morning to eight at night.

"The rent for this stall is 5,000 base credits per month, with a required one-month deposit and six months’ rent upfront. However, considering everyone is a bit tight on cash right now, we can allow a one-month deposit and three months’ rent upfront for the first year."

"I’ll rent it," Chen Momo said without hesitation. "One-month deposit and three months’ rent."

"That will be 20,000 base credits," Liu Hui Chun pointed out.

Chen Momo nodded. "I happen to have exactly 20,000 base credits left. I’ll take it."

Liu Hui Chun nodded repeatedly. "Good, good!" With that, he pulled a slip of paper from his desk drawer, quickly scribbled a line on it, stamped it, and handed it to Chen Momo. "Please take this to the front desk at the Lifestyle Center to pay the rent."

"Can’t I just pay here?" Chen Momo asked. "It’s quite a trek to the front desk."

Liu Hui Chun smiled and shook his head. "I’m afraid not. It’s a base regulation; all rent-related payments must be made at the front desk. Plus, it’s a significant sum of money, so it must be centrally managed by them."

"Alright then," Chen Momo said.

Taking the slip from Liu Hui Chun, Chen Momo headed out, put her cold-weather gear and insulated mask back on, and left the cafeteria for the Lifestyle Center.

Halfway there, she happened to run into Yang Shunsheng, Huang Yuqing, and their child. The family of three were all clad in cold-weather gear and insulated masks. Huang Yuqing was holding their son, while Yang Shunsheng held her hand as they headed toward the cafeteria together.

They looked like a picture-perfect, happy family.

Yang Shunsheng also spotted Chen Momo. He froze for a moment before calling out her name through his insulated mask.

Chen Momo pretended not to hear him and briskly walked past.

In her past life, Yang Shunsheng had lived a happy life in the base with Huang Yuqing and their shared son just like this, all while abandoning Momo and her own son in a freezing cold room. Recalling her previous life felt like a knife twisting in her heart.

It was entirely because she had trusted and relied on Yang Shunsheng too much that she and her son had missed their chance to escape...

Now that she had a second chance at life, she would never rely on anyone else again. She would place all her hope in herself. She no longer believed in saviors; she would be her own savior!

Snapping back to the present, Chen Momo’s gaze grew even more resolute.

So far, Chen Momo felt that everything at the base was going quite well. The only downside was that she had to live under the same roof as Yang Shunsheng again.

As Yang Shunsheng watched Chen Momo walk away, a trace of guilt inevitably surfaced in his eyes. He felt that Chen Momo had changed, as if she had become a completely different person.

Back when they were married, Chen Momo had been so incredibly dependent on him. It was as if the Earth would stop spinning if she ever left him. In Yang Shunsheng’s eyes, the Chen Momo of the past was nothing more than a weak, indecisive housewife.

But the present Chen Momo was clearly different. The sheer fact that she had managed to survive the snowstorm with Chen Xiaobao and successfully flee to the shelter base was enough to greatly astonish him.

Seeing Yang Shunsheng’s eyes glued to Chen Momo, Huang Yuqing was instantly filled with rage. Clenching her fist, she punched him hard.

Through her insulated mask, Huang Yuqing began screaming and shouting. Her outburst caused several passersby to turn their heads, wondering what the couple was fighting about.

Snapping out of his daze, Yang Shunsheng felt embarrassed. He hastily offered a few words of explanation through his mask. Without waiting to see if Huang Yuqing had even understood his lip movements, he took their son from her arms and hurried toward the cafeteria on his own.