Ice Apocalypse (Season 2)

Chapter 238: Supervision

Sure enough, after Xie Huanhuan and Liu Ziyang introduced themselves, the villagers of Xudong Village became much more amiable.
Even amidst the apocalypse, the ingrained respect for authority remained within them.The newly appointed village head, Xudong Tang, stepped forward from the crowd and carefully inspected Xie Huanhuan's credentials. Seeing their uniformed attire and remarkable demeanor, he believed their words.Xudong Tang's expression changed instantly. From a stern look, he now wore a smile of welcome. "So, it's the leaders who have come! Welcome, welcome!"The villagers immediately put down their weapons. They looked at Xie Huanhuan and Liu Ziyang curiously, harboring many questions in their hearts. After all, with the decline in network communications, they couldn't access information from the outside world. They didn't understand what the world had become. They were unaware of whether the authorities were still functioning, where they were, and how they planned to manage the snow disaster. Everyone was in the dark.However, this didn't hinder Xudong Tang's flattery and efforts to please Xie and Liu.Xudong Tang invited the two into the village and immediately arranged for people to prepare food to entertain them. "Hurry, prepare wine and dishes. Today, the leaders from above are coming to inspect. We must entertain them well!"Xudong Tang instructed the villagers to take out some of the stored food from their homes.Someone questioned, "Boss Liu, we still don't know why they're here. Why are we being so enthusiastic towards them?"But Xudong Tang, with deep meaning, said to them, "As long as they represent the authorities, that's enough.""In this year of great calamity and chaos, it's our time as peasants to rise. As long as we can establish a relationship with the authorities, maybe our Xu family will have the opportunity to rise to the top!""Moreover, it's just some food, isn't it? We can afford it."After Xudong Tang's explanation, the villagers also realized, and each went back to their homes to bring out good things from their warehouses to entertain Xie and Liu.Xie Huanhuan and Liu Ziyang also witnessed for the first time such a lively village.Seeing their well-organized life, seemingly unaffected by the snow disaster, they couldn't help but marvel.Accompanied by Xudong Tang and a group of Xu family elders, the two roamed around the village, observing everything.Xie Huanhuan asked, "Uncle, your village seems to have not been affected much by the snow disaster. How did you manage that?"Xudong Tang immediately straightened his chest, intending to show off in front of the leaders. "Firstly, it's because the people of our Xudong Village are self-reliant and have a strong spirit of hard work. They were not defeated by the snow disaster!""Secondly, my role as the village head also played a part.""Frankly speaking, I often advise them to stock up on food to prepare for emergencies. So when the snow disaster struck, our villagers didn't worry about food.""Not to boast, but in the whole Xudong Village, not a single person starved to death!"Xie Huanhuan and Liu Ziyang exchanged a glance, revealing a hint of meaning in their eyes.Meanwhile, the elders of Xudong Village, listening to Xudong Tang's exaggerated words, were speechless. How long have you been the village head? In the past, it was directed by Third Master Xu Dongsheng. Moreover, the entire town of Xu's family mainly relies on agriculture and fishing, and has had the habit of storing reserves for many years. How come it's all attributed to you now?Xie Huanhuan casually asked, "Oh, so you have a lot of food in Xudong Village?"Upon hearing this, Xudong Tang smiled proudly and said, "This leader, you probably don't understand the agricultural market in Tianhai City.""To be honest, thirty percent of the vegetables in Tianhai City are supplied by our Xu family town!"As Xudong Tang spoke, he suddenly felt that his words were inappropriate. Rushing to emphasize the importance of Xudong Village in front of the superiors, he exposed the matter of food storage in the village. What if the higher-ups demand that they contribute a portion of the food to support other areas? Xudong Tang quickly tried to remedy it. "But this month-long heavy snow has caused many grains and vegetables to spoil. We're only maintaining a basic level of subsistence now."Xie Huanhuan smiled faintly, "In the whole Xu family town, there must be at least thousands of households, right? Being able to maintain subsistence is already impressive."Xudong Tang hurriedly smiled, "In fact, the situation in our Xudong Village is the best in the entire Xu family town.""Look at these ice houses we built? I had people create them, perfectly solving the housing problem!""Other villages aren't as clever. Many houses were buried by heavy snow, and many people died!"Pointing at the ice houses in the village, Xudong Tang proudly attributed all the credit to himself.The other villagers were speechless, but they couldn't refute him because of his status as the village head.Xie Huanhuan and Liu Ziyang were indeed surprised at Xudong Tang's audacity.They thought to themselves: This old man is unexpectedly talented!Liu Ziyang looked at the ice and snow castle in the village and exclaimed, "These ice houses are all manually built? It's incredible! You really have skilled craftsmen in your village!"Xudong Tang, with a straight face, said, "We are all peasants in our village. Naturally, we need some skills to earn extra money to support our families!"Xie Huanhuan and Liu Ziyang nodded without much suspicion.However, Xudong Tang's attempt to take all the credit actually obscured the existence of Xu Chunlei.After a tour of the village, Xie Huanhuan and Liu Ziyang didn't find anything else of value. Lunch was ready in the village, and Xudong Tang warmly invited them to join.Xie Huanhuan and Liu Ziyang naturally had no reason to refuse. They had been eating compressed food while on their mission and hadn't tasted warm food for a long time.So, the two were invited to Xudong Tang's home, accompanied by a group of Xu family elders.The thermal insulation performance inside the ice house was quite good, and it was very wind-resistant. After more people gathered, it didn't feel as cold.There was a well-set stove inside the ice house, and they cooked directly over the fire, making a hotpot for the meal.Even so, being able to eat steaming food in this era was still a luxury.To entertain Xie Huanhuan and Liu Ziyang, the villagers offered up the good things from their homes. Some cured meat, preserved chicken, and locally eaten frozen fish were all thrown into the pot, becoming a sumptuous meal!"Please, leaders, don't be polite. Eat more, eat more!"Xudong Tang and the elders of Xu family warmly encouraged Xie and Liu to eat.Seeing the steaming pot of delicious food, Xie Huanhuan thought to herself: What a prosperous village.