Thirty Days to Hoard: Reborn into the Frost

Chapter 55: Chapter 54: Getting an All-in-One Card

Based on her judgment, that area was the largest, so it should be the Life Center! Sure enough, when Chen Momo drove the car back to the area where the twelve academic buildings were connected, she looked closely and saw several eye-catching green characters standing beside the large building complex—”Base Life Center.”

Chen Momo turned around and said to Chen Xiaobao and Xu Xiaoka, ”You guys wait here. I’ll go in and pay the fees.” To prevent Chen Xiaobao from running around, she specifically instructed, ”Whatever you do, do not get out of the car. I’ll be back as soon as I finish paying.”

Xu Xiaoka said, ”Don’t worry, Sister Momo. I’ll keep an eye on Xiao Bao. We won’t go anywhere!”

Only then did Chen Momo step out of the car with peace of mind. She locked the doors, kept the keys on her, and walked into the base.

As soon as she stepped through the doors, a wave of heat hit her in the face! The interior of the base was much grander than she had imagined. It looked exactly like a warm, beautiful, giant castle! However, the interior of the castle was divided into different areas—an entertainment zone, a service zone, a residential zone, a reading zone, and so on. Among them, the residential zone was the largest, about the size of seven or eight residential communities combined.

Not far from the entrance was an information desk. Two attendants in base uniforms were busy working behind it, their heads bowed. The temperature inside the Life Center was very high. There was no need to wear winter clothes; just a shirt was enough to move around comfortably. At this moment, there weren’t many people in the base yet. Chen Momo could even hear her own footsteps as she walked. Occasionally, residents would pass by in groups of two or three, all looking hurried.

Unable to make sense of everything right away, Chen Momo walked over to ask the two receptionists, ”I need to pay for parking. Could you tell me where to go?”

One of the receptionists enthusiastically replied, ”Oh, comrade, do you see the service zone over there? Just go there to pay. After you pay, the staff will give you a card. We use an all-in-one card system here. Whether you’re paying for parking, water, electricity, or meals, as long as you’re spending within our base, you can use this card.”

”Oh, that’s quite convenient,” Chen Momo said.

”How about I take you over there?” the receptionist kindly offered.

Chen Momo smiled. ”No need, I can go by myself. Thank you, comrade!”

”You’re welcome,” the receptionist replied very politely. ”From now on, everyone in the base is family. If you need any help, just ask!”

Chen Momo thought to herself, ”This receptionist is quite polite. What great customer service!” At the very least, it brought a long-lost warmth to her heart, which had been lonely for so long since the apocalypse began.

After getting directions from the receptionist, Chen Momo headed to the payment area. A middle-aged man in his forties or fifties smiled from behind a glass window and asked through a microphone, ”Miss, how can I help you?”

This glass counter was similar to a bank teller’s window, but it was square. There were four receptionists seated on all four sides, and each of them was very enthusiastic. They all wore the uniform base workwear—green suits with red name tags pinned to their chests. Written on the tags in glittering gold characters were the words ”Han City Base Life Center.” The smiles of these service comrades were truly radiant—so radiant they were like sunlight capable of melting the ice and snow of winter, involuntarily warming the heart of anyone who experienced the base’s service.

Infected by the older comrade’s warm smile, Chen Momo smiled back and said, ”I need to pay for parking.”

The older comrade chuckled. ”Oh, you’re new here, aren’t you?”

Chen Momo nodded. ”Yes, I am.”

The man then slid a form out from under the window. ”Please fill out your relevant information!”

Chen Momo glanced at the form. It asked for detailed personal information—name, ID number, registered residence, family members, and so on. She quickly filled out her own personal details and then added her son’s information in the family member section. Thinking of how long Xu Xiaoka had been with her—they were already as close as sisters—she also added Xu Xiaoka’s details into the family member column.

After filling out the form, Chen Momo handed it back to the older comrade. ”There are three of us in total. I’ve filled them all in. Please take a look.”

Wearing reading glasses, the older comrade carefully reviewed the information and asked, ”Comrade, how much would you like to top up for your first all-in-one card deposit?”

”Top up?” Chen Momo thought. Since the three of them would need a lot, she replied, ”Two thousand.” Before the apocalypse, she hadn’t spent all her cash. She still had a tiny bit left—a little over two thousand.

Unexpectedly, the older comrade paused and burst into laughter. ”Miss, the base doesn’t accept RMB. Considering everyone’s different circumstances, for the first top-up, you can hand in grain, cooking oil, rice, flour, cotton-padded clothes, cotton shoes, and so on. In short, as long as it’s food that can fill stomachs or clothes that can fend off the cold, it can be used to top up. Here’s the specific price list. Take a look.”

With that, he pointed to a price list taped to the glass window. It was an exchange rate chart. Chen Momo saw the specific conversion prices written on it: flour, one catty equals one thousand base credits; soybeans, one catty equals two hundred base credits; peanut oil, one catty equals one hundred and twenty base credits; and rice, one catty equals one thousand five hundred base credits.

Sure enough, RMB had become waste paper, and all the major bases had started using their own base credits!

After reviewing the exchange rates, Chen Momo said to the older man behind the window, ”Please wait a moment.” She got up and walked to a secluded spot. Quickly, she took out twenty catties of rice from her dimension. Carrying it in her hands took quite a bit of effort. She didn’t dare take out too much; bringing out a huge amount would attract too much attention.

Chen Momo handed the twenty catties of rice to the older comrade. ”Here are twenty catties of rice. At one thousand five hundred base credits per catty, please top up thirty thousand base credits for me!”

The older comrade was faintly surprised. Being able to take out twenty catties of rice all at once in times like these was no small feat! He immediately weighed Chen Momo’s rice. It was exactly twenty catties—not an ounce more, not an ounce less.

The older comrade in charge of the top-up took out three cards, typed TAP TAP TAP on a computer-like machine in front of him, swiped the cards through a small groove a few times, and smiled as he asked, ”Comrade, how do you plan to allocate these thirty thousand base credits?”

Chen Momo knew that these three cards were for her, Chen Xiaobao, and Xu Xiaoka, as she had filled out on the form. She replied, ”Five hundred base credits for Chen Xiaobao, five thousand base credits for Xu Xiaoka, and put the rest on my card.” At present, she didn’t fully understand the base’s commodity prices and cost of living, so she set up the cards with this ratio for the time being. She could adjust it later once she had a better grasp of the situation!

The older man responded briskly, ”You got it!” He inserted the three cards into the groove one by one and tapped the keyboard a few more times. With a sharp BEEP, the staff member handed the three cards over to Chen Momo and smiled warmly. ”Your three base all-in-one cards are ready. Welcome to the Han City Base Life Center, family of three!”