The jeep drove along the road in Cliff Village towards the five-story building that served as the commune's office.

As Jiang Baimian knew, this place was actually a scenic spot in the Old World, with very limited land suitable for cultivation. However, due to its excellent location, it became a gathering place for many wasteland wanderers after the destruction of the Old World and was named Cliff Village.

Initially, the villagers had to cross bridges every day to farm in the mountain fields and hunt in the surrounding areas. This was not only difficult but also quite dangerous, as the mountain roads were slippery, there were many ferocious beasts, and bandits would pass by from time to time. The village's ammunition was running out, with no way to replenish it.

Even so, they often lacked food and clothing.

Later, Cliff Village encountered "Pangu Biology," became an affiliated force, and received a large amount of aid, rapidly developing to the point where it could be self-sufficient.

Of course, this self-sufficiency was only relative to other settlements. Once separated from "Pangu Biology," Cliff Village would be nothing.

The simplest point was that the high-yield varieties they were currently growing needed "Pangu Biology" to continuously provide them, otherwise, the yield of the second and third generations of seeds would decline sharply, and they would no longer be able to meet the daily needs of the villagers.

In order to be able to eat their fill and to obtain protection, Cliff Village was extremely loyal to "Pangu Biology," and every employee of "Pangu Biology" could enjoy VIP treatment here.

As the jeep traveled through the village, the villagers who encountered it stopped to greet them, showing smiles to Shang Jianyao and others who were looking out of the window.

Before long, the "Old Task Force" arrived at the village office.

In front of this five-story building with an old-fashioned design, there was a small square where a dozen or twenty children were playing games such as picking up stones and hopscotch.

Seeing Jiang Baimian and others in gray camouflage get out of the car, several children ran over.

Unlike the adults, they were not restrained and asked all at once:

"Do you have candy?"

"Do you have chocolate?"

"Do you have anything delicious?"

After asking, they emphasized in unison:

"We can buy it with money!"

As they spoke, these children took out gold and silver coins, as well as crumpled banknotes, from their pockets.

Jiang Baimian glanced and found that they all belonged to a certain country in the Old World.

She shook her head and smiled:

"We wanted to buy something from you here."

The "Old Task Force" came to Cliff Village for two purposes: first, to investigate the whereabouts of the "Pangu Biology" project team, and second, to replenish supplies for entering the ice plains.

The children were immediately disappointed and returned to their companions in frustration.

Bai Chen withdrew her gaze from them and said with a slight sigh:

"This place is indeed wealthier than Shuiwei Town."

Under normal circumstances, the banknotes of the Old World were worthless, either used to wipe bottoms or given to children to play with, not worth making a fuss about. But those coins from the Old World were all made of solid metal. Although they were small, even mosquito meat was meat. Accumulated, they could also be exchanged for other supplies.

For many wasteland wanderers and ruin hunters, even a single coin was valuable.

In Cliff Village, children on the roadside could easily take out several coins, which showed how different this place was from other human settlements.

"They became affiliated with the company earlier, and all aspects have developed." Jiang Baimian also felt a little emotional.

How wonderful... It would be even better if the company had no problems... Long Yuehong was touched.

Bai Chen nodded:

"Can Shuiwei Town become like this in the future?"

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and said:

"It may not be as good as here, but it will definitely be stronger than before."

As she walked towards the commune office, she casually explained:

"The biggest reason why Cliff Village is doing so well is that they have geographical advantages.

"Most of the company's teams going to the ice plains will choose to get their final supplies here. These supplies are not taken for free, but traded fairly.

"You must be wondering, where does Cliff Village get so many supplies? Relying on them alone is definitely not enough. Every spring, summer, and autumn, the company will send multiple convoys to sell corresponding supplies to them, which forms a cycle."

Simply put, this place is equivalent to a supply warehouse for the company, and the people of Cliff Village are equivalent to employees guarding the warehouse, with corresponding benefits? Long Yuehong used his own experience to understand.

"I see..." Shang Jianyao showed an expression of "I completely understand."

Jiang Baimian glanced at Genava, who was wearing a robe and made it impossible to tell that he was a robot, and added:

"Since Cliff Village became rich in supplies, many merchants and ruin hunter teams going to and from the ice plains will also choose to trade and get supplies here."

"The commercial center of this area?" Bai Chen combined her experiences in Wild Grass City and Initial City with the knowledge provided by the Old World entertainment materials and nodded with some understanding.

Jiang Baimian hummed:

"But except for the company's employees, other people can't cross the bridge and enter the village. They can only trade in an abandoned small town on the opposite side.

"It's just the beginning of spring, and there aren't many people coming yet."

As they spoke, several members of the "Old Task Force" went up the steps and arrived at the entrance of the commune office.

The village chief already knew that a team from "Pangu Biology" was coming and was waiting there in person.

He was in his fifties, and although his hair was gray, he was very energetic, and his face was quite ruddy. Even his wrinkles did not seem so noticeable.

"Are you going to the ice plains?" The village chief's words had a clear accent.

He was a little surprised because the number of people in this team was too small.

Over the years, the "Pangu Biology" teams he had seen going to the ice plains were all large groups, with at least four or five vehicles.

"Yes." Jiang Baimian replied with a smile, "Going to the ice plains to do a mission."

"Why not go in the summer? What mission is so urgent?" The village chief knew very well how cold the ice plains were in spring.

He was just asking casually and did not expect Jiang Baimian and others to answer, as it would definitely involve confidentiality regulations.

Jiang Baimian pointed inside the commune office and said:

"Let's go in and talk."

At this moment, Shang Jianyao interrupted with a look of indignation:

"Don't you recognize her?"

The village chief led the "Old Task Force" two steps and, in a place with brighter lights, carefully looked at Jiang Baimian for a while:

"I remember, I remember. I've only seen one girl who is so pretty and so tall."

"That's right." Shang Jianyao showed a pleased expression.

Jiang Baimian forcibly suppressed the embarrassment that was surging up and put on a smile:

"It's not too strange to go to the ice plains in spring. I just heard that a research team from the company went over there last week."

The village chief entered the commune office hall and found a sofa area that was cordoned off:

"That's different. Those who do research need that weather. You don't look like you're doing research."

"Who said that? We've also done research!" Shang Jianyao said, indicating that he was looking down on them.

Jiang Baimian's heart skipped a beat, but she did not stop this guy from continuing.

Shang Jianyao added triumphantly:

"We participated in research projects as volunteers."

The village chief mumbled:

"What does being a volunteer count as? Many people in our village have been volunteers."

Jiang Baimian asked along the way:

"Many?"

"Quite a few." The village chief replied with a bit of emotion, "But this was all in the early years. For more supplies and better treatment, many people in the village agreed to be volunteers, thinking that even if they died, they could leave something for their families. Alas, there are very few now. Everyone can eat their fill and has their own livelihood."

"I see..." Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao said in unison.

The former then asked casually:

"Of the villagers who went to be volunteers, how many came back?"

"About half, I guess." The village chief was not too sure. "Some were fine, some came back with a body full of illnesses, some had a little more, some had a little less."

Jiang Baimian hummed and did not continue the topic.

After chatting for a while, the village chief pointed upstairs and said:

"It's getting late. How about you stay on the second floor? People from the company all stay in the commune office. Dinner will be brought to you later."

"Okay." Jiang Baimian had no objections.

Shang Jianyao asked curiously:

"Is it free?"

"Accommodation is free, but you have to pay for the food." The village chief laughed. "But the first meal is on us for the company's people."

"What do you mean the first meal? We're leaving tomorrow morning and coming back in the evening. Can we count that as the first meal again..." Before Shang Jianyao could finish, he was forcibly dragged into the stairs.

After entering the room, Long Yuehong looked around and said:

"These conditions are better than the hotel we stayed in in Red Stone Collection."

It was almost comparable to the Salvation Army's external hotel: clean, tidy, relatively spacious, and the beds and other furniture had no musty smell.

Bai Chen did not pay attention to this aspect of things and glanced at the door and said:

"The volunteers who can be released should not be involved in important secrets."

What she meant was that the living volunteers in the village might not know too much.

Jiang Baimian laughed:

"That's good. It won't arouse the company's vigilance, and many key information is hidden in ordinary details."