Chapter 33: Officially Entering the Base
Their information was logged in shortly afterward.
The staff member took their ID cards and handed them to Bai Tang.
The staff told them, "Everyone needs to pay ten kilograms of grain to enter our base. If you don't have grain, you can use other supplies instead."
Bai Tang and Gu Yanxu were not surprised at all by the requirement to hand over grain, after all, the base had to feed so many people, so it was normal to collect a certain amount of grain.
In her previous life, Bai Tang had to pay 15 catties of grain to the Beijing base. If Bai Tang hadn't desperately managed to grab just enough grain to pay, she might not have been able to enter the Beijing base and would have frozen to death outside.
Bai Tang went from the passenger seat to the interior of the RV, then took out three bags of rice that had been prepared in advance from the cabinet and handed them to the staff.
One bag of rice weighs twenty jin, so three bags would weigh exactly sixty jin, enough to pay for all six of them.
The staff member at the base took the rice and handed it to the person next to him. Then he gave Bai Tang six stamped slips of paper.
At this moment, Bai Tang took out another pack of cigarettes from the side and quietly handed it to the staff member, inquiring about the situation at the base.
The staff member quickly put away his cigarette. He saw Bai Tang and her group drive three cars into the base, and he also noticed the canned food that Bai Tang was holding in her arms.
I thought to myself: This person must be capable; otherwise, who would have enough food to feed their cat these days?
It's better to curry favor with them, at least to leave a good impression.
The staff member who had taken the cigarette smiled and said to Bai Tang, "Go straight in from the entrance of our base and then turn right to find the parking lot. You can park there; there are people watching over it, so there won't be any problems."
Also, is this your first time at the base? You could consider renting a place first; that would be more cost-effective.
As they were talking, the staff member handed Bai Tang another booklet, saying solicitously:
"This contains a general overview of our base. Because we printed too few brochures, we've run out of stock today, so the higher-ups said they'd prioritize distributing them to you important people who drive."
Bai Tang took the booklet and waved to indicate that she understood.
The staff removed the barriers blocking the way and let Bai Tang and the others into the base.
Gu Yanxu drove into the base, then went straight and turned right, and sure enough, he saw a large parking lot.
The parking lot is not completely open-air; it is estimated that the manor was built as a tourist attraction before the apocalypse.
There were people watching at the entrance to the parking lot. After Bai Tang and the others drove over and parked their car,
When someone came to their car, Bai Tang thought they were there to cause trouble, but the person said, "Please show us the note you stamped at the door. We need to verify the information."
Bai Tang took out the note again and handed it to the person. The person checked that it was genuine and then returned the note to Bai Tang.
He told Bai Tang and the others, "You can park here as long as you want, but you'll need to swipe the ID cards distributed by the base to enter and exit from now on."
Lin Fan and his companions also got off the bus carrying bags and asked the staff member, "What is an ID card, and where do we apply for one?"
Gu Yanxu handed the man another pack of cigarettes. Although they might not smoke, others would, so this was a valuable commodity besides food.
Although Gu Yanxu was at the Shengshi base in his previous life, he was always traveling outside, trying to find ways to get to the Beijing base. Therefore, he didn't know much about the general situation of the Shengshi base and had to ask the people in the base.
The man took the cigarette and said, "This card needs to be processed at the base's service hall."
Bai Tang opened the booklet that the staff member at the entrance had given her. It contained a rough map of the base, which, although simple and rough, was still better than having to ask for directions every time they walked around.
They carried large hiking backpacks, while Bai Tang carried a smaller backpack and held a can of food in her arms as they walked towards the base's service hall.
Bai Tang understands everything, but she is a complete directional disaster and can only follow Gu Yanxu when she goes out.
Gu Yanxu knew where the service hall was, so he led them there.
The service hall is quite close to the parking lot; they arrived in less than ten minutes.
The staff inside were rather perfunctory when they saw someone arrive, but they still went through the motions and said, "To apply for an ID card, you need your own ID card. If you don't have an ID card, please provide your ID card number."
Each person will receive one ID card. This card will be used for all entry and exit from the base, as well as for purchasing items; it's essentially a unified card.
Bai Tang handed over the ID cards of the six of them, and the staff took the ID cards to process their identity cards.
At this moment, Bai Tang looked around the entire service hall. Its predecessor should have been the visitor service center of this tourist attraction, and the place was quite spacious.
It was freezing outside, but not cold inside. The heating must have been on for a while. Some people were even using the heat in the service hall. The base staff kicked out those who weren't there to do their business.
Those people could only stand at the door hoping to get some warmth from the heating.
It seems the base already has heating, but it probably can't be used all day, or maybe they don't have enough contribution points to buy heating, which is why they want to come to the service hall to use the heating.
Soon after, the staff at the service hall gave Bai Tang and his companion their ID cards and newly issued identity cards.
The card system includes swiping it to enter and exit the base, swiping it to enter and exit the parking lot, swiping it to purchase items within the base, and also storing contribution points in the card.
Just as they were about to leave, Gu Yanxu said, "Wait a minute, let's exchange some supplies for some contribution points here first."
They went to the exchange window and told the staff inside that they wanted to exchange for contribution points.
The staff at the window said, "You can check what you want to redeem with the points listed next to it."
Lin Fan and his companions took off their backpacks and took out the following items: six whole packs of cigarettes, a whole bag of twenty kilograms of rice, six whole bags of five-kilogram salt, and six whole bags of five-kilogram sugar.
The staff had seen people come to exchange supplies for contribution points, but they had never seen anyone bring out so much salt, sugar, and cigarettes all at once.
These items can be exchanged for a lot of contribution points, since many people up there like to smoke, and salt and sugar are especially valuable, from which she can also extract a considerable profit.
The staff member cheerfully had someone bring those items into the window, and then she credited their cards with contribution points as required by the base.
A pack of cigarettes costs 50 contribution points, a whole carton costs 200 contribution points, a pound of rice costs 50 contribution points, a pound of salt costs 50 contribution points, and a pound of sugar costs 50 contribution points.
The supplies that Bai Tang and the others brought out can be exchanged for a total of 5,800 contribution points, which is about 966 contribution points per person on average.
Bai Tang instructed the staff to deposit 500 contribution points into each of their cards, and the rest into her own card.
The staff couldn't help but look up at Bai Tang, thinking: This young girl looks so young, how can she manage five grown men all at once?
Bai Tang didn't care what she thought. She left five hundred yuan for each of Bai Jiyang and the others to use as credit cards to buy things at the base, and kept the rest with her for safety.
Lin Fan and the other two had no objections; their thoughts were all: We'll do whatever our sister-in-law says!
Gu Yanxu replied: "It's normal for my wife to manage my money. I belong to my wife, let alone my own money."
Bai Jiyang thought to himself: I will definitely follow my sister. My money is my sister's money. There's nothing wrong with that.
So in the end, Bai Tang had 3300 contribution points in her card, which is a lot of contribution points (money).
They took their cards and prepared to go out to find a place to rent for a few days before exploring the base.
They arrived at the base and then spent half the day working; it was almost dark by then.
As soon as I stepped out of the service hall, a group of people surrounded me, asking, "Do you need directions? I know this place very well. I don't need much, just a bag of instant noodles or a bag of biscuits will do."
A large crowd had gathered outside, all vying for business. Bai Tang even saw some children desperately trying to sell themselves.
They were all dressed very warmly, but it was clear that the clothes didn't fit properly; they were barely enough to keep them warm.
Bai Tang looked at the people vying for business and recommending her, then pointed to a thin little boy squeezed at the very back and said, "We can find him. You guys go pick up the others."
Upon hearing this, the others dispersed, lamenting that they hadn't been chosen. But in an instant, they went off to promote themselves to others.
When the skinny little boy heard that he had been chosen, he was first stunned, then nervously rubbed his hands and said, "Hello, sisters, my name is Li Ping. Don't let my thinness fool you, I know the base very well. I can take you wherever you want to go, all you need is a bag of instant noodles."
Looking at the thin boy, Bai Tang couldn't help but think of the youngest son of Sister Zhou, who had kindly saved her once in the extreme cold of the Beijing base in her previous life. He had starved to death in the extreme heat, and he was just as thin and well-behaved. That's why Bai Tang chose him to lead the way.
Li Ping thought he had asked for too much, so he quickly said, "Half a bag, half a bag is fine too."
Bai Tang snapped out of her reverie, looked at the awkward boy in front of her, and said to him, "Just lead the way for us, and we'll pay you for food. Instant noodles are not as nutritious as whole grains. You're too thin. Eat something more substantial so that others will choose you."