Apocalypse Chapter 6: Resignation 

Chapter 6: Resignation 

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

A phone call from Duan Jie reminded Jiang Rong of something: he had to resign early.

The day before his birthday, he took three days of annual leave, wanting to rest at home. Little did he expect to wake up and find himself reborn. These days, he was busy running around and almost forgot about his job. Although his job paid well and was the envy of many, in the current situation, it would only further drain his limited energy. Thinking this, he decided to go to the studio tomorrow and quit his job.

The studio where Jiang Rong worked was located in the tallest office building in downtown C City. The people coming and going here were all workplace elites, and the work pressure was naturally not small. As a new designer, Jiang Rong had gained some fame in the past two years. There were many people eyeing his position, so he wasn’t worried that there would be no one to take over after he left.

After learning that Jiang Rong was resigning, the boss politely tried to retain him for a few words before signing the paperwork with a wave of his hand. According to the labor contract, he needed to give one month’s notice before resigning, but Jiang Rong had accumulated more than twenty days of annual leave over the years, which happened to cover the remaining time.

After coming out of the meeting room, Jiang Rong went straight to his workstation to pack up. There wasn’t much to tidy up at his desk; he was always meticulous in his work, and everything was already organized on his computer, ready to be handed over to other colleagues. He had very few personal belongings of his own, mostly odds and ends. The two largest items were a thermos and an Eyries cactus. Cartoon stickers adorned the thermos and the pot of the Eyries cactus. Both items were chosen by his son, and if conditions permitted, he wanted to take them with him.

Although there weren’t many things, Jiang Rong still found a cardboard box to put the few items in. Looking at the sparse items in the box, he comforted himself: life requires a sense of ceremony, so of course, he had to carry a cardboard box when resigning.

Just as he was about to leave, Duan Jie walked up to Jiang Rong’s workstation with red eyes. Her voice was hoarse, and her nose was red. “Jiang Rong, why are you leaving just like that? Did something happen?”

Jiang Rong glanced at Duan Jie. Looking at her tearful appearance, he felt no emotion in his heart, and even wanted to sneer. Regardless of Duan Jie’s current intentions, he didn’t want to waste any more words with her. So he calmly said, “It’s nothing, I just want a change of environment. Goodbye.”

With that, Jiang Rong picked up the box and left. Duan Jie opened her mouth as if to say something, but seeing Jiang Rong quickly leaving, she lowered her eyelids to hide her disappointment. However, when she lifted her eyelids again, she had already targeted the next person who would help her without asking for anything in return.

Back in his car, Jiang Rong placed the cardboard box on the passenger seat. Because the box was too spacious, the thermos fell and pressed against the fist-sized Eyries cactus. His son had chosen this Eyries cactus, which looked like a small mountain peak. It was only slightly taller than his thumb, with soft little hairs growing on its cylindrical body, looking fragile.

Jiang Rong straightened the thermos and then placed the Eyries cactus in a safer position. After a little tidying up, he started the car and headed towards the logistics park in D City.

Over the next month, Jiang Rong shuttled between C City and D City every day. Rain or shine, his car would be parked in the logistics park every day.

After a month, the balance in his bank account decreased rapidly. Over twenty million yuan had been spent, leaving only about half after the main structure of the house was completed. With design fees and bulletproof glass, the construction cost of this house was close to fifteen million. Now that the main structure was almost finished, the construction team had begun to tidy up and prepare to leave.

Fifteen million spent on the house felt like nothing. The subsequent interior decoration would also require more money. But Jiang Rong firmly believed that the money was well spent.

Moreover, the money spent on stockpiling goods had already shown its effects.

The shelves in the warehouse were filled with pallets, each holding a cardboard box tightly bound. These boxes were 1.1 meters in length, width, and height, capable of holding one cubic meter of goods. One cubic meter might not seem like much, but if filled with water, it could hold a ton.

When purchasing supplies, Jiang Rong prioritized vacuum-packed goods. Each bag of rice he bought weighed 10 kilograms, and after vacuum packaging, the loose rice became as solid as bricks, with one cardboard box able to hold over a thousand kilograms of grain.

These boxes contained various canned goods with long shelf lives, dozens of dehydrated vegetables, rice, flour, oil, various grains, beans, salted or dried poultry and fish…

Such boxes filled every shelf, giving Jiang Rong a great sense of security. This was his first batch of supplies, carefully chosen to last a long time and keep them fed. As long as these goods could be transported to the basement, he and his son would never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of their lives.

Of course, one person’s brainpower was limited, and this was his first time stockpiling goods, so there were inevitably some oversights. But it didn’t matter. It was only mid-April now, and he still had more than a month to slowly add to his stockpile list.

To welcome the arrival of these goods in the basement, Jiang Rong had a lot of things to do. For example, now, he was standing at the southern exit of D City’s highway, waiting for the driver and installers to transport the shelves.

Because the goods he stockpiled were too many, ordinary shelves on the market couldn’t bear the weight. Last month, Jiang Rong had ordered a batch of alloy shelves from a professional shelving company. Due to the high requirements, the production cycle was long, and the goods were only ready a few days ago.

There was a field near the highway exit, and in April, it was full of rapeseed flowers. Jiang Rong parked his car on the side of the road, leaning against it and facing the field, enjoying the unique beauty of spring. After watching for a while, he took out his phone and took several photos of the field.

He wanted to bring these photos back to show Jiang Xiaoheng. Xiaoheng had never left C City since he was born.

Thinking of this, Jiang Rong suddenly remembered that today was Saturday, and his son should be resting now. So he called Chu Qiang’s mother, and after the call connected, a screen appeared showing a kind-faced elderly lady with graying hair.

Jiang Rong stood up straight respectfully and said, “Aunt Zhou.” Chu Qiang’s mother’s surname was Zhou, and she had a gentle and amiable personality. Jiang Xiaoheng liked her a lot.

Aunt Zhou smiled gently, “Rong Rong, missing Xiaoheng? Xiaoheng is very well-behaved at our house, you don’t have to worry. Come on, Xiaoheng, your dad wants to talk to you.”

A soft response came from outside the screen, “Coming, coming, Grandpa, can we play later? Xiaoheng needs to talk to Dad.”

Aunt Zhou turned the phone screen, and Jiang Rong saw Jiang Xiaoheng quickly approaching. Jiang Xiaoheng was wearing a little yellow duck jacket, and as he ran towards the screen, he bounced up and down, making one’s heart tremble along with him.

Behind Xiaoheng was an elderly man with silver hair holding a toy airplane. The old man bent over slightly, reaching out a hand towards Xiaoheng, as if ready to pick him up and hold him in his arms at any moment. Both grandparents had their hearts set on Jiang Xiaoheng, and seeing him run so fast, they were afraid he might fall.

Jiang Rong awkwardly greeted them, “Uncle, Aunt, Xiaoheng has caused you trouble.”

The elderly couple smiled, “What trouble is this child talking about? Xiaoheng is very good! When he’s at our house, you just focus on your work.”

Before Jiang Rong could say anything more, Jiang Xiaoheng had already taken Aunt Zhou’s phone, and his chubby face appeared on the screen instantly. Jiang Xiaoheng’s eyes sparkled, “Dad~ You’re looking for me? Do you miss me?”

Jiang Rong’s gaze softened, “Yes, Dad misses you.”

Jiang Xiaoheng grinned, showing his little white teeth, “I miss you too, Dad! Dad, Dad, is our house finished yet?”

Ever since learning that Dad was building a house in their hometown, Jiang Xiaoheng had been full of anticipation. Every day when Jiang Rong came home, he would check his dad’s phone for pictures of the new house. The house was still dusty and unpainted, but Jiang Xiaoheng’s imagination knew no bounds. He had already secured a toy house for himself in their home.

Upon hearing his son’s question, Jiang Rong said gently, “The house isn’t completely finished yet, but it’s getting there. Son, Dad wants you to see something.”

With that, Jiang Rong switched the camera to capture the rapeseed flowers in the sunlight. The golden sea of flowers created a huge visual impact, and Jiang Rong was pleased to see the light in his son’s eyes. “It’s so beautiful—Dad, is this the rapeseed flowers Teacher talked about?”

Jiang Xiaoheng’s eyes widened, and he exclaimed, “Dad, Dad, look! There are little bees.” He called out to Aunt Zhou and Uncle Zhou in front of the camera, directing Jiang Rong to move the phone.

The childish words made the other end of the screen burst into laughter, and Jiang Rong’s heart softened. Seeing that it was almost time to meet with the drivers, he could only cut the conversation short, “Dad has to go build the house now. Xiaoheng, listen to Grandpa and Grandma.”

Jiang Xiaoheng patted his chest earnestly, “I will! Xiaoheng exercises with Grandpa and Grandma every day. I just helped Grandpa with some exercises. He says his back doesn’t ache and his legs aren’t sore anymore.”

Aunt Zhou smiled warmly, “Oh my, we just came back from the park. Xiaoheng made us walk for so long. Rong Rong, let me tell you, ever since Xiaoheng came to our house, both of us have been feeling much better!”

Jiang Rong smiled contentedly, “I’ve caused you trouble.”

Only healthy people could survive the Great Crisis, and although Uncle Chu and Aunt Chu were old, they were still in good health. Jiang Rong hoped they could get through the Great Crisis smoothly. Therefore, before sending Jiang Xiaoheng to the Chu family, he had already talked to his son, asking him to encourage the elderly couple to exercise more to boost their resistance. It seemed Jiang Xiaoheng had taken his words to heart.

No sooner had he hung up the phone than it rang again. Looking closely, it was the truck driver calling. Jiang Rong answered, and a rough male voice came from the receiver, “Mr. Jiang, we’ve arrived at the exit. Where are you?”

The gentleness on Jiang Rong’s face was replaced by seriousness. He walked from the side of the car to the roadside and raised his hand, “I’m here, next to the white SUV.”

 

 

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