Wasteland Calendar, September 27, Year One, Wednesday.
When the first rays of sunlight pierced the thin mist and spilled across the ground, Hope Village quietly awoke from its slumber.
Normally, after the sustained high-pressure work of recent days had put both their minds and bodies to the test, many people should have slept until noon during this long-awaited holiday.
Yet in reality, the clock had only just passed seven when the doors of the prefabricated houses began opening one after another.
Excited villagers emerged, stretching their arms wide and breathing in the fresh air.
Compared with a few days ago, Hope Village had undergone a complete transformation.
The market at the village entrance contributed management-fee income every day, along with the scheduled taxes from several factories.
Hope Village's public accounts were no longer in the red like they had been several months ago. Its wealth was growing by the day.
With money in hand, Chen Shen, who was responsible for the village's development plans, was not stingy. He had proactively ordered several major infrastructure projects.
By now,
the village's original gravel paths had all been replaced with clean, orderly concrete roads. Tall black cylindrical streetlamps had been installed along both sides, spaced twenty-five meters apart.
Two-story houses made of reinforced concrete were beginning to take shape, standing in neat rows. There were more than twenty of them.
Following the road deeper into the village led to a circular open space.
Oreo's statue stood at the center, surrounded by an iron railing as tall as a person. It looked rather solemn and dignified.
Looking farther ahead, one could see the Phase Two Construction Project of Hope Village, which was currently underway.
The buildings here mainly consisted of single-story courtyard houses. This would be the future residential district.
Modeled after the buildings