This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 282: The Path Ahead

Chapter 282: Chapter 282: The Path Ahead

"What is Spring Festival?"

"I don’t know... It’s my first time hearing about it."

"Maybe it’s to celebrate the War Tide."

"Possibly."

In the village of the Frost Spear Clan,

inside the chieftain’s house,

men sat around the chieftain, conversing about the upcoming celebration, discussing whether they should follow the example of the Blue Jackets and adorn the village with red stickers and banners.

It was said that doing so could bring prosperity and good luck.

Although they didn’t understand the principle behind it, since it was the Blue Jackets’ experience, there was probably some truth to it.

After all, they were all so intelligent.

Chieftain Frost Spear didn’t speak, but he was seriously considering the suggestions of his clan members.

Celebrations were a top priority within the tribe, a lively festival often marked the beginning of population growth; his eldest son, FrostFurnace, had found a good match during the New Year’s festival, and his second son, FrostStone, had just come of age and was also at the marrying age.

Half a year ago, to avoid the wars in the north, they had moved here and lost too many of their able-bodied people; now was the time for healing and restoration.

However...

Celebrations would cost a good deal of money.

Unlike the Iron Axe Tribe that ran a textile factory, their neighbors had the advantage of arriving earlier and just happening to hit the good times when trade routes recovered, earning quite a profit from the textile business, and every household in their village built brick houses.

In contrast, most homes on his side were made of a mix of brick and wood.

Chieftain Frost Spear also wanted to lead his people to prosperity, but wishing was useless; action was necessary.

After musing for a moment, he spoke up.

"Let’s discuss the festival matters later, there’s something more important awaiting our decision now."

The people gathered in front of the chieftain fell silent, awaiting his speech.

Chieftain Frost Spear paused before continuing.

"A few days ago, the Manager summoned me to discuss something; he plans to allocate to us the roughly 1000 acres of wasteland to the north of the brick factory."

"I plan to start a farm."

This was also the intention of the esteemed Manager.

Hunting alone could no longer fully sustain the residents’ need for meat, especially eggs and milk, which were hard to come by through hunting.

Residents of the shelter had an astonishing level of fixation on food.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this determination that they managed to claim that large swath of wasteland on Lihu. North Shore before the onset of the spring ploughing.

Upon hearing the chieftain’s words, many showed surprised expressions.

A thousand acres!

That equated to land about a kilometer long and six to seven hundred meters wide!

Although it was uncultivated wasteland, the land sat near Rhombus Lake and had an abundant water supply. Moreover, it benefited from the protection of Changjiu Farm and the refuge, obviating fears of large Variants and Looters.

To them, such an unexpected windfall seemed almost like a dream.

"Praise the honorable Manager!"

"Does he truly intend to allocate us that land?"

"Are there any other conditions? I won’t agree if it involves selling my family!"

This surprise was so sudden that everyone found it hard to believe.

Chieftain Frost Spear understood their astonishment.

He had felt the same initially.

"There are no conditions; the land is leased to us, we can avoid paying rent for two years, and after that, as long as we can ensure that the farm averages 100 cattle out of the pen every month, we can waive that year’s rent for the land. If the monthly average reaches 200, he has also promised to allocate us an even larger farm."

In the Manager’s words, this was called "agricultural subsidies."

However, as part of the trade-off, they could not sell their agricultural produce to outside merchants; they could only keep 20% of the products for village collective consumption or retail to nearby local markets, and the remaining 80% had to be sold to Changjiu Farm at warehouse-set purchase prices after verification.

As for what breed of cattle to raise, there were no restrictions—after all, who knew what they could buy?

But Frost Spear had heard from his daughter, Frost River, that down south in Brocade River Province, there were many cattle farm owners, not just double-headed cows for pulling carts but also fast-slaughter meat cattle and high milk-producing dairy cattle.

With the Outpost Base apparently aiming to establish a Merchant Guild, he planned to hire a Commercial Team to try their luck there.

Besides cattle, there were similar subsidy policies for other livestock such as pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese.

An elder, slightly older in years, pondered for a while before speaking.

"But we can’t afford to buy cattle..."

"The generous Manager is willing to lend us 500,000 Silver Coins to purchase livestock and feed."

"500,000?!"

The elder was shocked and looked at the chieftain with disbelief, "Is the Manager really willing to lend us so much?!"

Even selling them all wouldn’t amass 500,000!

People were whispering among themselves, their faces also showing disbelief.

Frost Spear nodded seriously and said,

"I believe the Manager is not joking with me; he is a very serious man. I’ve inquired from my daughter, who works at the trade station, that you can buy a cow from the merchants for about 4000 Silver Coins. If you bring some local specialties and go directly to the south to buy, I heard it’s even cheaper; you can exchange a cow for five rifles."

Five rifles, even at retail price, would only cost 1000 Silver Coins, and I’ve heard that you could get a ten percent discount when buying in bulk from the factory.

Frost Spear looked around at everyone and seriously laid out his plan,

"We can all contribute labor to build up this ranch first. I will try to contact the farms in the south to see if we can exchange weapons for one or two hundred cows to bring back. If conditions permit, we can also raise some sheep and pigs."

"With cattle and sheep, our lives will be much better next year!"

Upon hearing the clan leader’s words, excitement and longing appeared on everyone’s faces.

They already had a stable place to live and could exchange labor for food from the local lord. But if possible, they also wished to become prosperous like the neighboring village and live in houses made entirely of bricks.

However, as optimistic as everyone was they also expressed concern.

"500,000 Silver Coins is too much... If we can’t pay it back, I’m afraid the Manager will take it out on us."

"Yes... Even if the Manager doesn’t punish us, he might drive us out of here."

A young man working hard for a month could only earn three to four hundred Silver Coins; without eating or drinking, he could barely save up five thousand in a year.

Tens of thousands of Silver Coins.

That was already an astronomical amount to them.

Surely, even for the Manager, several hundred thousand Silver Coins must be a considerable sum.

Seeing the concern on his people’s faces, Frost Spear smiled and said,

"I have worried about what you are concerned about too, and the Manager specially instructed me to tell you not to put too much psychological burden on yourselves and to just do your best. If we truly can’t pay it back, Changjiu Farm will take over the ranch and the debt, and he won’t blame us."

Of course.

No one wanted it to come to that.

Frost Spear was very clear that if he really reached the point of filing for bankruptcy, even though the benevolent Manager might not blame him, he would surely be thoroughly disappointed in his and his people’s incompetence.

This money was not a small amount.

If there were similar opportunities in the future, there would definitely be no chance for them.

Frost Spear had already made up his mind to manage this matter well.

Hearing the Manager’s promise not to pursue their responsibility, the senior elder finally relaxed his brow.

He said nothing more, just sincerely sighed,

"...Thank the Manager for his benevolence."

For an old man on the brink of death, money didn’t matter anymore; watching his children grow up in peace was the greatest blessing.

Looking at those vibrant, hopeful faces, the old man couldn’t bear to let them go back to a wandering life.

That life was too hard.

The young people weren’t interested in what the elders were discussing, and the village’s affairs rarely consulted them.

Instead, with their strong curiosity, they were most interested in celebrations, work, new things, and matters between men and women.

In the next wooden hut,

Frost Night and Frost Snow were eagerly listening to their sister, who had returned from Changjiu Farm, talking excitedly about the things that happened at work.

The work at the trading station was busy; six days a week from seven in the morning to seven at night with only an hour for lunch break.

It cost 2 Silver Coins to take the shuttle bus to the Outpost Base, so to save money, she usually stayed in the employee dormitory at the trading station, only coming back by bus on Saturday night.

Each time she returned, she and her two sisters had endless things to talk about, especially when looked at by those two sparkling eyes; she felt as if all her fatigue was healed.

While listening to her sister’s amusing stories and interesting encounters at the trading station, Frost Night, with her hands propping her cheeks, suddenly said,

"When are you planning to bring a brother-in-law home, sister?"

Frost River stroked her little head with a smile,

"I need to have one first."

Sitting on the side, Frost Snow curiously asked,

"Aren’t there a lot of people there?"

Frost River made a helpless expression,

"Those are all merchants and mercenaries... It’s not like I can choose one of them."

Frost Snow nodded as if understanding but not quite,

"Ah, then forget it."

Merchants, huh.

They weren’t exactly from reputable families.

They hadn’t had much contact with merchants, but they had some impressions of the profession, none particularly good.

Walking through the desolate Wasteland, few were gentle and upright. Merchants, worried about being robbed by desperate wanderers, often wouldn’t trade with them, and the wanderers, wary of the merchants and their guards, rarely approached them voluntarily.

While these people might have some money in their pockets, few envied them. These people were not only rude, seldom bathed, and never stayed put for long.

And mercenaries didn’t even need to be mentioned.

There might be good people out there.

But they are few and far between.

In Frost River’s eyes, to be her husband, a man must at least have a stable job nearby.

Of course, it would be even better if he were a handsome and suave resident of the refuge.

It’s just a pity that those people are really hard to understand.

Frost Night sighed softly and muttered to herself,

"I wish I could go to work, too."

Her older brother FrostFurnace and her second brother FrostStone worked at the Hunter Guild, earning over three hundred silver coins a month, sometimes bringing home some game shared by the guild.

Her brave sister Frost River had taken a job at the trade post; although the base salary wasn’t high, it came with two meals a day, and there were commissions on goods sold.

Frost Night also wanted to work, but she wasn’t old enough yet.

Even though according to the tribe’s custom, at 14 one is considered an adult, the refuge had arbitrarily raised their age of adulthood by two years and required all boys and girls under 16 to receive at least six hours of education in language and arithmetic each day.

Frost Night didn’t quite understand why there was such a strange rule. Anyway, as her father had said, last year she was an adult, but this year she was a child again.

"By the way, Outpost Base seems to have recently set up a new Merchant Guild, and they are hiring now." Seeing the look of envy on her sisters’ faces, Frost River had an idea and suddenly remembered this.

Immediately, Frost Snow asked with curiosity,

"Are there any requirements?"

Frost River pressed her lips together in thought.

"Field agents need to work for six months a year, requiring extensive wilderness survival experience; those who are married will be given priority. As for office staff, mainly clerks and tellers, about twenty people are needed, with basic literacy and arithmetic skills. Bonus points for being young, attractive, presentable, patient, gentle, and generous..."

"Young and with attractive features, presentable, and patient... and also gentle and generous," the youngest sister Frost Night mumbled to herself, suddenly lighting up and turning towards her second sister, looking her up and down.

Frost Snow’s cheeks blushed slightly under her sister’s gaze.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"I also think Snow is the most suitable!"

Understanding the little sister’s intention, Frost River hugged Frost Snow’s shoulder, encouraging her with a smile.

"Why not try it? How will you know if you don’t try? And I heard that the Merchant Guild is directly overseen by the Manager himself, on the same level as the Hunter Guild!"

"Excellent performance is sure to be rewarded!"

If it weren’t for the fact that she had been working at the trade post for a while and didn’t want to change jobs frequently, she would have wanted to try it herself!

Frost Snow’s cheeks felt hot.

She thought back to that embarrassing incident at the last New Year’s Eve party.

Spurred on by people’s encouragement, she, too, had impulsively stepped forward and mustered the courage to invite the Manager to dance.

The respectable Manager was indeed a very kind person, accessible, and even his rejections were so gentle.

Even so, she had still felt dejected for a good while afterward...

"Ah! The Manager will take responsibility!" Frost Night, who only caught half the conversation, looked at Frost Snow in her sister’s arms with sparkling eyes and encouraged, "Sister, go for it, you can do it!"

Frost Snow could no longer maintain her composure and, with flushed cheeks, pounced on her sister to tickle her.

"You little devil... what nonsense are you talking about!"

Frost Night giggled uncontrollably.

Their commotion continued until the evening when their oldest and second oldest brothers came back, carrying a wild boar. Only then did the three sisters join their older sister-in-law to help process the game.

That evening, after much thought, Frost Snow finally gathered her courage and filled out an application form at the recruitment point on North Street before eight o’clock.

Perhaps because she wrote well, and compared to other nomads and refugees, didn’t seem quite so barbaric, her name appeared on the employment list the next day.

The first batch of publicized names included ten people, all office staff, and she was assigned to the front desk.

The daily wage was 13 silver coins, slightly higher than the Hunter Guild, and the working hours were the same as the bank’s, from eight o’clock in the morning till six o’clock at night.

The address of the Merchant Guild was located at Outpost Base, near the North Gate, a three-story building that was already built but had no sign hung up yet.

With emotions of excitement and trepidation, Frost Snow went to the Merchant Guild for induction training, as directed by the recruitment point staff.

However...

When she arrived, she didn’t see the Manager.

Aside from her nine colleagues from Bet Street, Changjiu Farm, or the neighboring village, there was only an old man who seemed to have trouble walking.

Old Charlie, with his hands clasped behind his back, surveyed all the eager and excited faces, thought for a moment, and cleared his throat.

Once everyone quieted down, he said in a calm voice,

"Starting today, you are employees of the Merchant Guild."

"The job is simple: open sales channels for our factories and expand unseen territories within our reach."

"I know you may not fully grasp what I’m saying, but don’t worry, I’ll soon explain the specifics to you."

"Now what I need you to remember is to always keep smiling at work, stay optimistic in the face of difficulties, earnestly complete each task, and make sure every stamp you affix is worthy of your conscience."

"Your performance will be documented on your VM worn on your arm; those who work diligently and are trustworthy will quickly be promoted. But those who take bribes, bend rules for friends, or try to be clever will soon be seen in the correctional camps."

"This is a mission personally entrusted by the Manager, and I hope you understand the weight of these words."

...

The Merchant Guild played a very important role in Chu Guang’s layout for the B-Round Test, perhaps even a little more important than the Hunter Guild.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have put Old Charlie in charge of it.

The new mayor of Bet Street was voted in by the town’s residents themselves, selected from the candidates nominated by the street office. Those who could be nominated all had management experience and there was a mature system in place there, so it wouldn’t have been a big problem to choose anyone.

During his term, Old Charlie had cultivated quite a few talents in management.

Perhaps guessing that one day he would be transferred, he had even arranged for a teacher to take over his literacy class.

At present, the industrial area of Outpost Base had evolved from the single industrial chain model of "centered around the No. 81 Steel Plant, driving development of multiple weapon workshops" to a new model of "multiple pillar industries driving comprehensive development of small and medium-sized factories," thanks to the continuous efforts of players and the indigenous people.

The industrial zone was still expanding northward.

With constant input of external resources and players’ high enthusiasm for production, the population of the "North Suburb" alone was no longer sufficient to consume all the products of the industrial zone.

Although external merchants could take away some, the commercial teams from the shelter also needed to raise a flag of their own and take a few steps out.

There were many survivor settlements in the Wasteland.

Many small settlements like Bet Street couldn’t even roll their own bullets, still using bow and arrow, steel rebar forks, iron pipe rifles— even smoothbore muskets loaded from the front.

And some slightly larger survivor settlements, due to inadequate inheritance of pre-war legacies, may be incredibly strong in certain areas but have regressed to before the Industrial Revolution or even to the primitive society in others.

Using bioroids to farm, clones as slaves, catapults firing mini nuclear warheads, treating black boxes as miracles to be worshiped... there are too many such things.

The commodities produced by Shelter No. 404 may not be the most advanced, but they definitely offer the best value for money. And when trading outside, they could also indirectly export a bit of good conscience from the "North Suburb," taking advantage of humanity’s common yearning for a better life.

In the evening.

After returning from a patrol around the base from Changjiu Farm, Chu Guang happened to see Old Charlie, who had just finished conducting orientation training for the employees, as he passed by the Merchant Guild’s entrance.

"How are things?"

"Those between sixteen and twenty-five who have received literacy education, I’ve chosen whoever was available, probably will recruit thirty or forty." Saying this, Old Charlie sighed softly and complained in a low voice, "We started too late, all the talent has been picked off by other places."

Chu Guang said, "You’ve worked hard!"

Old Charlie shook his head.

"It’s not about being hard working, being able to do something meaningful at the last part of my life is an unexpected surprise for me, someone who has fallen to become a Waste Land Wanderer. Although I don’t have much hope, maybe you and we, as well as others, are different."

The old man paused for a while and continued with a teasing tone.

"Everyone is quite disappointed not to see you, I feel many came just for you, aren’t you going to show your face?"

Chu Guang replied helplessly.

"Don’t look at me as if I’m free; I’ve been busy since morning, only now at dusk do I have a little time."

Ordinary people just need to worry about their own work.

But as the manager of Shelter No. 404, he had to take care of the affairs of two worlds, constantly switching between planning and NPC identity, trying to address the different demands of two completely different groups as much as possible.

It was like being both mother and father at the same time.

Thanks to those twenty points of intelligence, the players he personally selected were somewhat reassuring, otherwise, Chu Guang doubted whether he could really manage this job.

He was so busy he didn’t even have time to gather materials.

"I understand."

Old Charlie nodded slightly, then said, "But forgive my directness, compared to those specific details of how to proceed step by step, you might need to consider the issue of the future path more."

This was said so obscurely that Chu Guang wasn’t sure if his understanding was the same as what was intended.

"Like what?"

"You led your people to overcome barbarism, and then defeated the unstoppable tide. In your eyes, this might just be a trivial matter, or something that happened naturally, but I can see the waves it has stirred in people’s hearts, the miracles you’ve created with them."

Old Charlie said quietly.

"From the marketplace of Changjiu Farm to the alleys of Bet Street, people are talking about your accomplishments, they greet others talking about how great Manager is, and feel incredibly lucky, proud, and privileged to live under your protection."

This heavy flattery was so sudden that even someone with a face thicker than the door of the shelter couldn’t help but cough lightly.

"Thanks for the compliment."

"You might think I’m just buttering you up, but I am quite serious about this."

Old Charlie paused, his expression becoming serious as he continued.

"Your residents are proud, but also troubled; they do not know how to refer to themselves... The people of Giant Stone City mock them as the rural yokels from the ’North Suburb,’ the rats running wild in the ruins. They know they are not that, but they cannot figure out what they actually are."

"Some live in Bet Street, some reside in Outpost Base, others in the industrial zone, or at the village at the west gate of Changjiu Farm... they have never been to a shelter, so they certainly cannot be considered residents of Shelter No. 404."

"When faced with a common crisis, people will naturally unite, but they always need a reason to continue to be united."

Chu Guang thoughtfully said.

"I think I understand what you mean."

The fact was, he had already been contemplating this matter for a long time.

The new version was not only a new edition for the players, but also for the survivors of the "North Suburb," a new page as well.

Old Charlie nodded.

"Whether you plan to be the emperor of an Empire or the president of an Alliance, it would still be best to think of a title or a role for yourself."

"People need a name to unite under, and a legitimate identity. No matter what it is, it’s better to have one than none."

"This celebration event is a good opportunity!"