Er Mao opened the cage. As soon as Liu Dajun came out, his head spun, and he waddled back into the mud.
Before long, over a dozen dung beetles the size of a palm appeared, following him towards a certain spot.
That spot was piled with cow and sheep droppings.
Liu Dajun led the way, rolling a dung ball and burrowing into the ground, with the other dung beetles following suit.
Although Liu Dajun was small in size, his soul was human, carrying considerable weight.
The other dung beetles had simple minds, mostly surviving by instinct.
They seemed to consider Liu Dajun their leader, diligently rolling small dung balls again and again.
Er Mao said with a chuckle, "He's a little leader now, isn't he!"
"Yeah, he must be very happy, still having little followers even as a dung beetle, that's amazing!"
An Nuan quickly recorded a video to show Mr. Fu later; he would surely like it.
The basic construction of the port was also completed. With everyone's help, the port's essential facilities had been built, and the road leading from the port into the city had been cleared.
External survivors moved out of the ruined and precarious buildings into relatively safer areas.
They voluntarily took responsibility for the safety of transportation.
To coexist peacefully with them and prevent any trouble, Fu Yunting decided to allocate 5% of the provisions each time as a reward for their hard work.
Even though it was only 5%, the base was enormous.
Every 5% was enough for a hundred people to live frugally for a month.
Furthermore, with the new roads developed by Yun Man and Gui Tian, Xiao Yu's subordinates also served as guards.
The road leading out of the port could extend to four cities.
After unloading supplies, they would transport back items An Nuan needed from other cities.
Money, antiques, gold, silver, and jewelry—treasures from before the apocalypse, now considered waste after it.
Everyone was naturally willing!
The first voyage back had filled the ship's hold almost to bursting.
There were also rare earth minerals, precious ores, and local specialty crops.
Jiang Yu, in cooperation with Jiang Nan and Tu Ling, established Sector Four.
Sector Four was located very close to Yun Feng Tower, complete with all necessities and boasting the most advanced agricultural technology.
An Nuan applied to the alliance and recruited many pre-apocalypse agricultural Ph.D.s, master's students, and undergraduates, along with a group of farmers.
Food is paramount to the people, and grain production was a top priority.
As the apocalypse progressed, resources would become increasingly scarce.
Her hoarded food would eventually run out, and Fu Yunting's money would also be spent.
What would they do then? Just sit back and consume their assets?
Although that time might be far off, An Nuan didn't want to compromise herself.
Having lived through it once, why should she live a hard life?
They needed to start by establishing grain production and vegetable farms.
Later, they could consider animal husbandry.
With food and then meat, it would be perfect!
Today, the second ship docked.
Fu Yunting entered the ship's hold. Before he could call out for Er Gouzi, it darted out on its own, flying around excitedly.
"So much gold! Everywhere is shining gold! Oh my god, we're rich now!"
"I can finally hold my head high! I'm going to be number one beside the Director!"
"Master, you're amazing! I was right about you!"
Fu Yunting held down the large ball of light.
It was darting around, hurting his eyes.
Fu Yunting said, "Don't get too excited. Calculate the price first. I won't sell you a single cent less!"
"I'm a very honest merchant. Come on, let's calculate the money."
Fu Yunting meant what he said. He called Zhai Yan and Mi Shuangshuang, and they itemized and priced everything.
How much was a painting worth, what could it be exchanged for, and how much of it.
The price list was clearly written.
Five hours later, An Nuan came to call Fu Yunting back for dinner and saw Er Gouzi floating feebly in the air.
It looked like it might dissipate at any moment.
An Nuan poked its face, "What's wrong? You look so dejected!"
Er Gouzi's eyes welled up with tears: [Your man is too harsh, he won't let me have any profit.]
[Humans working on projects get commissions. He worked so hard and tirelessly, he should at least get some reward!]
[Wuwu, it hurts so much, my heart is bleeding! I can't face the Director!]
"Stop crying. Take this bag. It's a reward for your hard work this past year."
Er Gouzi extended its two small paws, opened the cloth bag, and saw.
It glowed all over, its spirit revived, its eyes big and round.
The energetic Er Gouzi was back!
[Boss lady, you are truly beautiful and kind, unparalleled in the world! I admire you like a surging river, no, add the Yellow River to that!]
"Alright, go find Shui Fu and have her put this in her spatial storage first. Then go to the various warehouses and put the items away. I'll find you later. I'll put the rest in my place."
An Nuan didn't want to run around to each place later; transporting them would take time.
It was better to make Er Gouzi work alone than to trouble everyone.
However, the items exchanged were too numerous, and the sheer quantity couldn't fit in the seven warehouses and the canteen.
There wasn't enough cold storage for the meat products either. The best way was to put them in An Nuan's spatial storage.
Fu Yunting walked over, holding a set of gold coins, and handed them to An Nuan.
"Commemorative gold coins issued in '68. Get a set to decorate the new house."
"They look nice. Yun Man is making seafood hot pot and inviting us to eat. Shall we go?"
"Yun Man can cook now? Is it edible?"
"Probably."
An Nuan leaned half of her body on Fu Yunting.
Fu Yunting smiled and asked, "By the way, what did you give Er Gouzi just now? It got so emotional."
"Just a bag of top-grade pearls, the size of soybeans, top-grade ones!"
"Such a big bag? That's too cheap for Er Gouzi."
Although Er Gouzi was Fu Yunting's system, in his heart, he always felt Er Gouzi was a shrewd businessman.
Anyone who tried to get money from him wasn't a good person!
An Nuan chuckled, "Yun Man was watching a movie with Shi Er Qiao just now and cried buckets. Pearls fell all over the place. I picked up a few, and there were many more scattered on the beach, which the children picked up to use as marbles!"
"Now that you say that, I feel much more balanced."
No loss!
Fu Yunting put his arm around An Nuan's shoulders and they disembarked. As they walked out of the ship's hold, it was dusk.
The golden sunlight scattered on the beach and then refracted into the sky.
The orange sky gradually merged with shades of purple-blue.
An Nuan saw the stars overhead, big and bright, and her mood was exceptionally good.
"Tomorrow will be another good day!"
"Yes, such nice weather is perfect for farming, sleeping, and picnicking."
"It's also suitable for proposals and weddings."
Fu Yunting stopped in his tracks, his eyes also reflecting a faint golden light.
An Nuan pinched his arm.
"What are you looking at? Am I wrong?"
"Right, very right!"
Fu Yunting was a bit flustered.
Was this a hint? It must be.
Fu Yunting patted his trouser pocket and said awkwardly, "Oh no, I don't have the ring on me!"