sjar Chapter 554 What the People Want
Chapter 554 What the People Want
Because he had a lot of things to do, it was already past 5 a.m. when Li Chenglong drove everyone back to the Dawn Tower. However, since it was winter, it was still very dark.
Yunlan said in the car, "Yunhao was born in March 2025, and he will be 4 years old next March. I'm thinking of sending him to kindergarten next fall. What do you think?"
Li Xue and Han Xiaoling both agreed with this. Li Xue said, "Before the apocalypse, many children were sent to preschool at the age of three. Our Yunhao is smarter than other children and is now a Level 2 Awakener. I believe he will adapt better."
Li Chenglong thought for a moment and replied, "I agree with that, but don't put too much pressure on the child. We should fully cultivate his interest in learning, so that he doesn't become a prodigy like Zhong Yong, nor do we force him to grow too fast. We should do our best to ensure that both his mind and body get sufficient exercise and growth."
Yunlan smiled and nodded: "Okay, I'll take my child to preschool in a few days to get used to it, so he can adapt to kindergarten life better. As for the location, I've already chosen it. I've chosen Shuguang City No. 1 Kindergarten. The principal has 20 years of experience, and the teachers there are all very good."
Li Chenglong agreed, stating that the First Kindergarten is relatively close to the Dawn Tower, and the children there are all from government agencies, providing services to personnel working at the Dawn Tower and surrounding departments.
The four men entered the lobby on the first floor of the Dawn Tower and saw some staff members on duty, providing 24-hour service to the people of Dawn City. He was impressed to see that the staff were quite diligent and not secretly sleeping or slacking off.
Without disturbing the staff, they swiped their elevator cards and went upstairs. As soon as the four of them entered, they found the living room lights were on. Li Yunhao, Li Yunxi, and Su Qian stood in the living room and said in unison, "Welcome home, Mom and Dad (elder brother and sister-in-law), welcome home, Aunts (Sister Li Xue and Sister Han Xiaoling)."
Li Chenglong laughed and picked up Yunxi, who had already learned to walk, with his left arm, and Yunhao, who had grown quite tall, with his right arm, saying, "How did you two little ones know that your dad, mom, and aunts were coming back?"
Li Yunhao said with some pride, "It was when Sister Suxi went to deliver something to the ladies in the Information Management Department that she overheard their conversation and found out that Dad and Mom were coming back. I happened to wake up to pee, so I suggested that Sister Suxi, Sister Yunxi, and I wait for you here together."
Li Chenglong carefully examined the two little ones and noticed that they were both growing up healthily, so he nodded in satisfaction. Moreover, Yun Hao was about to become a Level 3 Awakener, while Yun Xi was only a little over a year old and was still at Level 1.
The two little ones were quickly snatched away by Yunlan and her two companions. Li Chenglong checked the time and said, "You two have fun, I'll go cook for you."
Han Xiaoling said, "Brother, let me help you. You cooked for us every day on Roland Star, so I should help you now that we're home." Li Chenglong replied, "Okay, you chop the vegetables, and I'll cook them. Let's make everyone a nutritious and delicious breakfast."
Breakfast was simple and quickly prepared. Everyone ate and chatted, creating a pleasant atmosphere. Li Chenglong said to Yunlan, "Zhao Liying called earlier and said everything is arranged over there. Xiaoling, go and take a breakfast to Section Chief Zhao later. Also, Li Xue, the welcome party for the two princesses will be held tomorrow, so let's call it a day. Inform Chu Kexin and Liu Qingqing this morning."
Then, while feeding Yunxi, he said, "Wife, we'll rest for an hour, and then take a car to Dawn City for a tour to see if there have been any changes since I left."
Yunlan nodded: "Okay, that's exactly what I was thinking too. We need to keep a low profile during our patrol and travel in an ordinary car so that we won't attract too much attention."
After finishing breakfast, Li Chenglong played with the two little ones while listening to a report from Wang Jie, deputy head of the Special Mission Support Section of the Information Management Department, about various matters that had happened during his long absence from Dawn City.
Overall, Dawn City is developing in a positive direction. Both the summer and autumn harvests have yielded bumper harvests, various projects benefiting the people are progressing steadily, and the army has completed its construction as planned. As for the total population, it has basically stabilized at its current level. Within the 12000 square kilometers of the Dawn City Autonomous Region, a total of 60 people live, which is still far from the 80-person limit set by Li Chenglong.
After listening to the report, Yunlan finished showering and changing her clothes before coming out. Seeing that she was ready, Li Chenglong handed the two little ones over to Li Xue and Han Xiaoling, and then went out with Yunlan.
Before leaving, the two disguised themselves slightly and took the cadre-only elevator on the far right of the Dawn Tower to the underground parking garage. There was a special area in the underground parking garage for Li Chenglong and Yun Lan's vehicles, a total of five or six, but none of them were high-end cars. The most expensive one was an Audi A6L that cost over 50 yuan before the apocalypse.
The two got into a Volkswagen worth over 20 yuan. Yunlan said, "If I or you drive in the front, we'll be recognized immediately. Let's get a driver." Li Chenglong agreed, "I'll call Wenren Yu or Hai Lianyi and have either of them come and drive us around."
Less than two minutes later, Wenren Yu, who had now been promoted to a level 9 dual-element ability user, quickly ran over. She got into the driver's seat and said, "City Lord, Sister Yun, why didn't you let our office know you were coming back? As members of the City Lord's office, we didn't even know. You guys are really not being fair."
Li Chenglong laughed and said, "I only got back in the early hours of the morning and have been busy until now, so I haven't had time to inform you yet. Okay, why don't you drive us around a bit? Don't just go to the bright and glamorous places in Shuguang City; we must go to the nooks and crannies as well, and we should go to many of them. No matter how glamorous the surface is, it's useless if there's no substance; you can't accomplish anything without substance. Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth, and we must always remember to come from the masses and go back to the masses."
Although Li Chenglong's plan was good, he and Yunlan hadn't been on their patrol for long. Just as they arrived at a park, they were stopped by elderly people dancing there. The crowd surrounded their vehicle, clapping excitedly, and some even shouted Li Chenglong's name. Although it was already mid-November, many people were still exercising there early in the morning.
Yunlan was somewhat surprised: "How were we recognized? We don't drive this car often." As soon as Li Chenglong and Yunlan were recognized, a large number of people rushed over from other places, surrounding the vehicle completely.
To prevent a traffic accident, Li Chenglong quickly said, "Let's get out of the car. Since we've already been recognized, there's no point in hiding it. This road has a lot of traffic, so let's avoid any accidents."
Amidst enthusiastic applause, Li Chenglong and Yun Lan emerged from the car and, surrounded by the crowd, arrived at the park's square. Some reporters who had learned of the news through Crystal's civilian network were already rushing towards the scene, hoping to capture the first glimpse of the story.
Li Chenglong gestured for everyone to be quiet with both hands, then said, "My compatriots, friends, and comrades in Dawn City, I, Li Chenglong, have returned. I have truly missed you all so much after being away for so long. Seeing the smiles on your faces, and knowing that you are warmly dressed and well-fed, makes me incredibly happy. Your happiness is my happiness, and your happiness is my happiness. Long live the people! Long live Dawn City!"
The crowd erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers that lasted for a long time. After chatting with everyone for two and a half hours, Li Chenglong and Yun Lan finally left the park, citing work commitments.
During their conversation, Li Chenglong and Yun Lan gained a deep understanding of the current living conditions of the people of Dawn City, and listened to many reasonable opinions and suggestions, which they found very rewarding. Li Chenglong wrote all of this down in his notebook, planning to study and discuss it further later, striving to solve the problems they were currently facing.
Now that their return had been made public, Li Chenglong and Yun Lan decided not to hide it anymore and went straight to the point. As for how they were discovered, according to Wenren Yu, there was a level 12 ability user in the park who sensed some unusual energy fluctuations and recognized them immediately.
Because the Dawn Autonomous Region is very large, and many places such as schools and factories require a considerable amount of time to reach, they only covered 30% of the area in a day.