As soon as they had finished eating, their eyes met Professor Pei and his team.
Huang Jinghe immediately stood and called out, "Grandpa Pei."
Professor Pei glanced at him. Following that, the others stood and greeted the professors. Since they would be living in the base long-term, it was important to make a good impression.
"Professor Pei," they said.
Professor Pei nodded, acknowledging them. Then he turned and led his team to get dinner, saying not a single word the whole time.
Grandma Ling, watching the white-haired professor, asked curiously, "That old man is a professor? That is really impressive."
"Yes," Ling Jiang replied. At his age, still contributing at work, it was indeed admirable. She did not know much about him personally, so she did not comment further. "Let's go down. We can rest in our rooms later. Not sure what the rooms are like here. What if nothing is ready?"
Lan Jin said matter-of-factly, "These capsule dorms are high quality. The rented house cannot be worse. Why rent if it was bad? Might as well stay in the dorms."
After walking for a long time with Brother Zhang, they finally reached a location that felt far from both the base and the dorms. Lan Jin was speechless. When they entered the three-bedroom, two-living-room house, the complete furniture truly shocked them.
Brother Zhang explained, "Rented houses in the base come fully furnished. The furniture belongs to the base. You cannot take it if you leave. If it is damaged, it must be compensated at full price."
The cost of the furniture was high, but there was no need for Brother Zhang to list every item. After all, the same furniture could be bought in the stores. Grandma Ling, who had just visited the mall, was genuinely surprised.
Fortunately, the rooms had everything. Even the beds were made, ready for moving in. Everyone was very satisfied with the rented house.
However, Lao Gao was puzzled. "Brother Zhang, where is this? Feels far from the base and far from our old dorm. We never came here. If you had not brought us, we would not even know this part of the base exists."
"This area is also part of the base. Where you stayed before was only a corner. There are also three-bedroom, two-living-room houses there, but the monitoring report came out. That area cannot be lived in anymore. Not only will you move here, from tonight everyone must work overtime to move instruments and equipment here," Brother Zhang said.
"In short, after I leave, I will be busy with other tasks. So we arranged you here first."
"After moving here, what about the main gate? Do we open a new one?" Lao Gao asked.
Brother Zhang replied, "There was already another gate here, but it was unused. Since the old one is abandoned, this gate will be opened."
In other words, the side of the base whose protective shield could not be fixed would be abandoned.
Brother Zhang continued, "These days will be busy. Since your formal move-in is done, you can pay rent later. Take these days to rest. If abnormal weather occurs, everyone will be busy. And the cafeteria will move here tonight. You have not been to the new cafeteria. If you cannot find it, just ask. Don't go wandering and waste time."
"All right, got it. From my experience, follow the crowd and you will find it. No need to ask," Lao Gao said seriously.
After giving all instructions, Brother Zhang left.
Once the door was closed, everyone relaxed and began exploring the new house.
The layout and decoration were similar to pre-apocalypse times: master bedroom, secondary bedroom, guest bedroom.
The master bedroom had a bathroom, large bed, dressing table, large wardrobe, and small balcony.
The secondary bedroom had a large bed, desk, and wardrobe.
The guest bedroom was similar: large bed, mini desk, small wardrobe.
The living room had a three-seat sofa, two single chairs, a decorative wall opposite, and a large balcony with a washing machine.
The dining room had a table and six chairs. The kitchen had a stove, pots and pans, dishes, and cabinets. Everything appeared new, though the cabinets were empty.
Lan Jin originally planned for Ling Jiang and Grandma Ling to take the master bedroom. Older people waking at night made having a bathroom convenient. But Grandma Ling refused, "You sleep here with Qiao Qiao. We will take the secondary bedroom."
Ling Jiang agreed, "I do not wake at night. You sleep in the master bedroom."
After a minor argument, Lan Jin took Qiao Qiao into the master bedroom.
Ling Jiang and Grandma Ling took the secondary bedroom. Lao Gao and Huang Jinghe took the guest bedroom.
However, the guest bed was slightly small. A 1.5*1.8 meter bed was tight for two grown men. If it was just a few days, it was manageable. Long-term, it would not work.
Lan Jin said, "The master bed is large. I can take the smaller one with Qiao Qiao."
Lao Gao said, "No need. Even a 1.8-meter bed feels small for us. Bunk beds would be better."
Lan Jin twitched her mouth. There were no bunk beds in her space. Then she remembered her space had beds. "We can squeeze it. I can add a bed. I have a few small beds in my space."
Hearing this, Lao Gao and Huang Jinghe looked at her, thought for a moment, and realized it could work.
Lao Gao said, "The wardrobe has sliding doors. No extra space is needed for opening. Push the bed to the wall and add a bed of similar size. That will work."
Even the secondary bedroom was large enough. The base was built by the military, not like civilian apartments with shared areas. Measuring, they could add a one-meter bed, leaving plenty of space for the two men.