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After Chen Luo and his group reunited, they began their journey back to the city. On the other hand, Dragon Brother’s group immediately entered the vegetable market to check if there were any leftovers. The high-value items had been taken away by Chen Luo, leaving behind some spoiled vegetables, fruits, and rotting meat. If they wanted them, Chen Luo didn’t mind.
In less than half an hour, Chen Luo returned to the villa area. His house had not been robbed. At this point, there were still plenty of supplies. While others were aware that Chen Luo had a considerable amount of supplies, they didn’t know how many people were left behind.
With supplies still abundant and the possibility of finding more in other places, there was no need for everyone to fight over them.
Chen Luo called two girls and arranged a separate room for Mrs. Xia in the neighboring villa. Xia Haoran looked at Chen Luo with anticipation, and Chen Luo smiled, saying, “Just wait a moment; I’ll arrange for someone to do it now.”
Chen Luo went into the villa and told Ma Yu, who was staying behind at home, “Yu, make some chicken soup and show off your cooking skills. You must do it seriously this time.”
Ma Yu asked, “Do you need any ingredients or seasonings, just let me know.” Then, she muttered, “Wait, don’t you think I wasn’t serious when I cooked before?”
Chen Luo awkwardly replied, “This time, please do it more seriously. It’s important; please hurry.”
Ma Yu said, “If you want the chicken soup to be good, it will take at least three hours.”
Chen Luo thought for a moment and said, “Make some home-cooked dishes, four meat and four vegetable dishes. We can’t just have chicken soup. Mrs. Xia might want to eat something else too. Let’s be thorough in winning her over—whatever she wants, I have it.”
After leaving the villa, people had already begun moving the supplies. This time, there were quite a lot of supplies, and several villas were not enough to store everything. The beef and lamb needed proper storage, with ice being added regularly by the Ice Ability users.
Xia Haoran was very excited. With so much stuff, having a chicken wasn’t just an empty boast.
Chen Luo called Shu Yun and said, “After moving the items, have someone bring out 300 pounds of beef and 300 pounds of lamb each, skewer them into kebabs, and we’ll have a barbecue tonight.”
Ability users tended to have hearty appetites, especially after being deprived for so long. With over seventy people, there was no need to worry about not finishing the food.
When this news spread, almost everyone was ecstatic. Having a barbecue at a time like this was incredibly luxurious.
Chen Luo beckoned Xia Haoran and went to Mrs. Xia’s room. When Mrs. Xia saw Chen Luo, she tried to sit up but couldn’t. She weakly smiled and said, “Thank you, young man, for taking us in.”
Mrs. Xia’s complexion was already quite poor. Chen Luo smiled and said, “Auntie, whatever you want to eat, just let me know. If you have any requests, please don’t hesitate to tell me.”
Mrs. Xia waved her hand and said, “I’m getting old, I don’t want to eat anything.”
She still didn’t know that Xia Haoran had sold himself for her sake. Chen Luo didn’t say much and asked Xia Haoran not to do anything but stay with his mother.
Three hours later, at 12:30, Ma Yu had prepared all the dishes and brought them to Mrs. Xia. On the dining table, there were eight dishes and a soup: pork with vermicelli, boiled large prawns, steamed bass, cabbage with beef, dry shredded pork with garlic sauce, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, yam with black fungus, and tender tofu. Plus, the chicken soup that Xia Haoran had requested.
It was a feast for the eyes, nose, and taste buds.
Xia Haoran was stunned, and Mrs. Xia wiped her eyes, thinking she was seeing things.
Chen Luo smiled and said, “Auntie, it’s time to eat.”
Xia Haoran gave Chen Luo a deeply grateful look. He never expected Chen Luo to provide such a feast.
Mrs. Xia couldn’t refuse and, under Xia Haoran’s care, enjoyed a delicious meal. Chen Luo didn’t anticipate that Mrs. Xia would pass away so quickly.
Before she passed away, Mrs. Xia trembled and slowly said, “Young man, I can tell you’re a good person. Take good care of my son.”
Mrs. Xia turned to Xia Haoran again and said, “A mother knows her child best. He was able to offer such precious things for you to show his filial piety, which means he values you greatly. Don’t disappoint people, be a good person.”
Xia Haoran gripped his mother’s hand tightly. Contrary to Chen Luo’s expectations, Xia Haoran didn’t show excessive grief over his mother’s death. He whispered, “It’s better this way, peacefully leaving without enduring more suffering. Continuing to live in this world is also a kind of torment, and I was prepared for it. Big brother, please watch over me in the future.”
Chen Luo nodded. He understood Xia Haoran’s character. Even if someone was extremely talented, they wouldn’t receive special treatment if they were unkind. Chen Luo asked, “Burial or cremation?”
After handling Mrs. Xia’s affairs, Chen Luo arranged for Xia Haoran to stay with Fang Yu, not giving him any special privileges. With Xia Haoran’s abilities and talent, his rise to prominence was only a matter of time. Granting him special treatment without any contributions would cause discontent among the others. They might think, “I joined earlier, contributed more, and yet he gets better treatment than me? Why?”
As everyone enjoyed their skewers with enthusiasm, Chen Luo pondered the need for organized management as the team continued to grow. Establishing clear rules early on was essential to prevent some individuals from slacking off.
It was necessary to establish a system of rewards and penalties and create a hierarchical structure to motivate everyone. Drawing from the knowledge of a hierarchy system he observed in a gathering place in his past life, Chen Luo quickly devised one.
The roles in the gathering place were divided into leaders, vice leaders, elders, elite members, regular members, and new members. Additionally, there were special positions reserved for reverence, which only Chen Luo had the authority to appoint; these positions were currently held by Su Dazhu and Mi Li.
Each level came with different benefits. Those who reached level three could be promoted to elite members, while everyone else remained regular members. New members would automatically become regular members after half a month or could be promoted earlier if they demonstrated exceptional contributions.
Points would be awarded based on daily performance, and these points could be used to exchange for supplies. For instance, one point could be exchanged for a bottle of cola. Extraordinary achievements, such as finding a high-level crystal for Chen Luo, could earn tens of thousands of points.
Ranking was solely determined by points, not by level. If someone made a significant contribution to the gathering place, like finding a king-level crystal for Chen Luo, they could even become a vice leader.
Elite members with leadership skills could become team leaders, leading a small group. Chen Luo gathered everyone and announced this new system.
“Given the current situation, Shu Yun will lead the female team, while Fang Yu and Chen Guang will act as temporary team leaders, each leading a male team.”