When bowls of rice porridge, steaming with cabbage and minced meat, were placed on the table, everyone swallowed hard.
The hunger in their eyes was so intense that, if it weren't for the intimidating control of the slave chips, they might have pounced on the food like wild animals.
Jiang Chen watched the expressions on the refugees' faces with satisfaction. These people were his slaves, but he preferred to think of them as employees, provided they were obedient. Right now, he was pleased that, until he gave the signal, no one had rushed to devour the porridge.
Gulp...
Jiang Chen glanced at Sun Jiao, standing beside him. This glutton had also swallowed, her voice barely above a whisper as she muttered,
"Didn't you just eat? How are you hungry again...?"
"None of your business..." Sun Jiao bared her teeth at him with a mischievous grin, turning her face slightly red and avoiding his gaze.
She wasn't exactly hungry—it was more like an instinctive reaction to the sight of food...
But that was a matter to set aside for now.
"Ahem, why are you all just standing there? Eat." Jiang Chen waved his hand kindly, signaling the famished refugees to start eating.
His voice was like a melody to their ears.
At the sound of "Eat," nearly every slave's mind filled with gratitude. It was as if a deep sense of thankfulness surged inside them.
These refugees were simple folk, easily controlled, and their main need was just enough food to keep hunger at bay. Even without the threat of the chips, after experiencing Jiang Chen's generosity, no fool would try anything foolish. And no one was foolish enough to find others of like mind for scheming.
Of course, the chips played a significant role as well.
"Don't rush. Eat slowly. If anyone isn't full in 20 minutes, you can queue up for more. But if anyone dares to overeat and throw up, they'll be forced to eat it all back!" Jiang Chen stood next to the large pot, watching as the slaves carefully took their spoons and served themselves.
"You're disgusting..." Sun Jiao whispered teasingly in his ear.
"Well, we can't let these people who've never seen rice waste food, can we?" Jiang Chen shrugged, whispering back.
"… This meal used up 2 pounds of rice, 2 strips of dried meat, and 3 heads of cabbage. You've already traded quite a bit from the cellar for supplies, and what's left..."
Most of the canned food had already been traded away, and the remaining fresh food—rice and vegetables—was originally meant to last the three of them for a month. But now, with an extra thirty mouths to feed, the stash in the cellar was clearly insufficient. After all, Jiang Chen had bought the supplies from a supermarket, and the quantity wasn't huge.
"Enough, enough. These things aren't even worth much to me. I'll just go back and get more later," Jiang Chen said with a wry smile, already considering whether to rent a warehouse on the outskirts and source wholesale food in bulk, avoiding the hassle of scraping every time.
But, come to think of it, this wild and unruly Miss Sun Jiao had started to resemble a savvy housekeeper more and more. The way she looked at him with a hint of reproach for his "wasteful behavior" made Jiang Chen feel a strange warmth in his chest.
This girl… Is she evolving into a more civilized person? She's getting more and more tempting...
Jiang Chen touched his slightly warm nose and averted his gaze from the side of her face, feeling the heat rise.
The villa wasn't as quiet as before. With more people around, he had to be careful about where he showed affection.
Looking at the empty bowls, not a grain of rice left, and the hesitant yet grateful eyes of the refugees, Jiang Chen cleared his throat again, signaling that those who had finished should look at him.
"Full yet?"
No one answered.
"If you want to eat again tomorrow, then you better answer every question I ask." Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes.
"Yes!" Only then did the slaves speak, their voices cautious.
Jiang Chen nodded in satisfaction.
"Good, hearing your answers, I know you're not a bunch of animals that can't even talk. What I say might sound harsh, but right now, you mean nothing to me! I've kept you from starving, provided you with what others would never dare to offer, but now you have to prove your worth! Prove that you deserve the three meals a day I give you!"
"That's right. I'll give you three meals a day, but don't get too excited—lazy people will have nothing! I'm too lazy to be your master, because that would mean I'd be obligated to take care of you. Instead, think of me as your boss, and I'll think of you as my employees. But beware—being fired won't come cheap. Heh, I'm sure you understand."
No one disagreed.
Gratitude was the only thing in their minds for the food and the lack of abuse they had suffered at Jiang Chen's hands. As for titles, it didn't matter what they called him. If he asked them to call him "Dad," they probably would.
Dignity? That's something only those who can fill their bellies think about.
But as a civilized person, Jiang Chen still gave them a certain level of respect—mainly for his own sake. The cute girls weren't much of a problem, but with most of the slaves being men, hearing them call him "Master" every day would give him the creeps.
More importantly, he didn't want the constant "Master" to erode his own sense of self.
As most of the slaves finished their meals, Jiang Chen adjusted his demeanor and raised his voice again.
"Rome wasn't built in a day. You're the first pioneers in my cause! I'll bring order and prosperity to this chaotic place, and you must contribute to my vision. In return, I'll feed you and keep you from hunger. Enough talk for now. Starting tomorrow, everyone will have work to do. Clean up your bowls, and those of you I call, stay behind. The rest can leave. And remember this: the main building of the villa is off-limits. Anyone who tries to enter without permission will be dealt with harshly."
His final words carried a hint of coldness.
Checking the heart rate data from the slave chip's program, he nodded in satisfaction. Their heart rates fluctuated slightly, but overall, they were normal, indicating they had no untoward thoughts.
Once they were dismissed, everyone grabbed their bowls and, under Yao Yao's guidance, headed to the wash basin. Thankfully, the fully automated water system still provided clean water to the entire city, even in the aftermath of the apocalypse.
The ones whose names were called, however, walked nervously toward Jiang Chen, uncertain of what he might do to them.
"Zhou Jiexin."
"Yes," Zhou Jiexin bit her lip, lowered her head, and bowed to Jiang Chen. She had a very loving husband, and to be honest, she was worried Jiang Chen might have some sinister intentions toward her. If that were the case, she wouldn't be able to resist. And for her husband's sake, she'd have to endure the humiliation...
But this was all just her overthinking. Although she was quite attractive, Jiang Chen wasn't interested in women like her, nor was he into forceful acts.
Moreover, Miss Sun Jiao was standing right beside him, watching closely.
"You don't need to be so nervous. I'm not going to eat you," Jiang Chen said with a shrug, addressing the two men and two women in front of him. He then turned to the younger woman and the older woman, "Can you cook?"
"Uh, yes." It was an odd question, but Zhou Jiexin nodded obediently. As a qualified wife, cooking was something she knew well. However, since awakening from the shelter's cryogenic pod with her husband, it had been a long time since she had seen rice, let alone cooked it.
"Good. You'll be in charge of feeding the 30 people. The specific meal plan will be handed to you shortly," Jiang Chen said, not bothering to look at Zhou Jiexin's expression. He flipped to the next sheet of paper and continued, "Wang Qing."
"Here!" A girl with a few freckles on her face startled when Jiang Chen called her name. She looked a bit timid.
"It's not like I'm a grade school teacher taking roll call. Just say 'here,' if you're here," Jiang Chen said casually, smiling as he noticed the surprised looks from the others. He immediately got to the point, "You have an accounting background, right? You'll be in charge of managing the warehouse inventory. I'll give you a key to the cellar. I want every item that's taken out or put into the warehouse to be recorded. This task is crucial, and I won't tolerate any mistakes. Got it?"
"Got it!" Wang Qing replied, her voice a bit shaky but firm. Jiang Chen nodded in approval, satisfied with the tone.
The timid nature she displayed was exactly what he was looking for.
"Lu Huasheng." Jiang Chen almost couldn't suppress a laugh at the unusual name. Lu Hua-sheng? Like pickled peanuts?
"Here," said a middle-aged man with a steady demeanor. He nodded cautiously.
"I heard you were a designer with Huajian Real Estate Development?" Jiang Chen asked.
"That's from before the war," Lu Huasheng replied with a bitter smile.
"I don't care when it was. I need you to redesign this survivor base for me. Yes, you heard me right—I want to build a survivor base bigger than District Six… but take it slow. Start with the area around the villa. I need you to draft a blueprint that expands the base's radius to twice that of the villa. You'll need to figure out where the walls should go, how many materials we need, and the locations for survivors' housing… I'm sure you know more about this than I do. I want to see the results by 6 a.m. tomorrow."
"I'll need a holographic computer and a holographic storage card," Lu Huasheng said carefully. "For the drawing."
"Take what you need," Jiang Chen said without hesitation. He had plenty of cheap second-hand devices he'd bought from the electronics market in District Six, so it wasn't a problem.
"Alright, that's all for now. The three of you can leave."
The three of them let out a sigh of relief, exchanging sympathetic glances with the one who had been left behind. They grabbed their bowls and quickly left.
"Heh… So, boss, what about me?" The one left behind was a slender, tall middle-aged man wearing glasses. He didn't seem like someone who could do any physical labor. He scratched his head awkwardly and, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, quietly asked, "I… I haven't been given any instructions."
The other three had received their assignments, but this young boss hadn't given him any directions. This left the man feeling uneasy. He couldn't help but start wondering if he had done something to upset Jiang Chen.