Big Camphor Tree Base, noon.
Accompanied by the clanging of iron pots and spoons, the entire Big Camphor Tree Base was permeated with a thick fragrance of dishes.
At this time, Zhou had already been drinking joyfully, his ears red with warmth, especially after that plate of deep-fried peanuts cooked in peanut oil.
Li Yu said today there was no limit on the amount to drink, and this delighted Zhou to no end. It had been so long since the apocalypse began, and he had never drunk so unreservedly before.
Now somewhat tipsy, he hugged Old Yi, saying, "Old Yi, who would have thought we’re from the same hometown. When fellow townsmen meet, we must drink a toast. Come on."
Old Yi originally wanted to decline, but seeing Zhou had already downed his drink, it was difficult to refuse. Zhou had an exceptionally good tolerance for alcohol, having already consumed a catty before persuading him to drink along. Goodness, no one expected Old Yi to be such a heavy drinker.
He shook his slightly dizzy head, hazily watching Old Bi playing a drinking game with someone else, and shook his head, but a smile crossed his lips. Since the apocalypse, he had never dreamed of witnessing such a scene.
It seemed that even this was quite nice.
Alcohol was a scarce commodity in the apocalyptic world, and before the dishes were even served, many people had already been knocked down by it.
After separating from everyone, Li Yu came to the top of the wall, where standing on the wall, he could see all the people in the Outer City, bustling about.
Third Uncle slowly walked up to his side, smiling and saying, "Our base has grown much bigger now, and its management has become a lot more complex. Your burden has gotten heavier too."
Li Yu looked towards Third Uncle and said, "Aren’t I still backed by all of you? With you around, I am not worried."
The pork part of the feast, as always, was delicious, but some hadn’t even had a chance to eat their lunch before they were already drunk.
In such a cheerful atmosphere, everyone happily chatted about interesting things while feasting and drinking.
Around two o’clock, some people, caught in the spur of the moment, even started playing games, making for a joyful and harmonious scene.
In this post-apocalyptic world, to be able to enjoy such an atmosphere, such fun, allowed everyone to temporarily forget the existence of zombies, forget the hardships of survival, and momentarily forget the things they had gone through.
The banquet continued until evening, and many people, after sobering up, started drinking again only to pass out once more.
There were roughly twenty drunk people, and some carried these drunken individuals back to their rooms.
Li Yu also brought out the projector from the base, a device that had cost him hundreds of thousands before the apocalypse and worked excellently.
Projected directly onto the wall of the fence, the giant screen left everyone in awe.
People enjoyed themselves until midnight before they each went their separate ways.
Those from the Inner City returned to the Inner City, and those living in the Outer City retreated to their assigned rooms for rest.
Li Yu drank just a little beer; he did not want to drink tonight, just watched everyone have fun on top of the wall.
The feast allowed everyone to vent the pressure that had been building up for so long, releasing it fervently.
And as the main person responsible for the base, it was best to stay as clear-headed as possible in such circumstances.
The next day, those who had played the entire previous day woke up.
Seeing Shang Xue’er and others up early cleaning up on the ground, Li Yu went over and asked, "Up so early?"
Shang Xue’er and some under He Chao’s command greeted Li Yu when they saw him approaching.
Shang Xue’er looked at Li Yu and said, "Good morning, Director Li. It was too late yesterday, and Second Uncle told everyone to go back to rest early and not clean up at night, so we came early in the morning."
Li Yu nodded and then left the area.
Since he also went to bed rather late yesterday—or to be precise, he had spent the whole night in the duty room on the wall, taking just an hour of rest during the night shift.
He felt somewhat worn out now, dragging his sleep-deprived body slowly back to his room in the Inner City Villa.
After a quick wash, he fell into deep sleep.
As everybody had pretty much had enough rest, Li Yu began assigning tasks to everyone.
First, he found his father, asking him to devise a construction plan, establish a timeline, and compile a list of needed raw materials.
For instance, cement, which does not last long in storage—only a few months—meaning they would have to produce their own cement.
And the most important raw materials for producing cement included two things: limestone and clay.
They opted for cast-in-place construction for building the walls.
Cast-in-place construction requires reinforcement bars, sand, concrete, cement, and gravel.
These were all raw materials they needed to collect.
Cast-in-place has many advantages: it’s fast and very sturdy but has one flaw—it is expensive and uses a lot of raw materials. However, in this post-apocalyptic world, the cheapest things are raw materials, which can be obtained at no cost.
Therefore, without question, they chose to use cast-in-place for constructing the walls.
During these days, Li Yu also took inventory of each person in the base, listing everyone’s professional skills.
Among those under He Chao’s command, there were several who had come from cement factories and lime factories, capable of making cement.
Among He Bing’s classmates, two studied civil engineering, so they could also help out.
Among everyone, they discovered two electricians specializing in repair, one mechanical engineer—who was none other than Zhou, one drainage engineer, two dentists—who were He Bing’s female classmates. There was even a Pharmacist...