Chapter 383: Temporary Ident.i.ty Cards
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The gate of the base was open, but there was a car pole blocking the way. At this moment, there was an RV parked in front of the car pole. The person in the driver’s seat poked their head out and was talking to the person standing beside the car. After chatting for a while, the man in the driver’s seat took out a piece of paper and a card. Du Yue saw it clearly because they were very close to each other. The card was the ID card of the third base. The person standing by the car took the ident.i.ty card and looked at it carefully. He then returned it to the driver and raised the pole to allow the RV to enter the base. Du Yue witnessed the whole process from the back of the RV, and her emotions were a little complicated.
After the RV pa.s.sed, He Xing continued to drive forward and stopped in front of the car pole. He Xing rolled down the car window. The staff outside came forward and asked, “Where are you from?”
He Xing did not answer him directly. Instead, he asked, “Does it matter where we came from?”
“If you’re from one of the ten official bases, you can use your ident.i.ty card to enter the base directly. After you enter, you can exchange your card for a new ident.i.ty card.”
Hearing this, Du Yue knew why the driver of the RV had taken out his ident.i.ty card from the third base and shown it to the staff member. Unfortunately, they left their ident.i.ty cards in the small courtyard. He Xing smiled at the staff member. “If we’re not from any official bases, do we need to go through any additional procedures?”
“Yes. If you don’t have an ID card, you’ll need to apply for a new one. You’ll need this card to eat, rent, and enter and exit the base.” What the staff member said was not the most important thing. The most important use of the ident.i.ty card was to facilitate the management of the base.
He Xing was not interested in breaking this unspoken rule. He politely asked how to apply for an ident.i.ty card. The staff member pointed to the right side of the door. “Just go there.”
…..
“Thank you!” After He Xing thanked him, he drove in the direction the staff pointed out. When they reached the wall, they could see a square window on the wall. There was a sign on the side of the window, and on it were the various requirements for applying for an ident.i.ty card. People who came to the fourth base for the first time could apply for a temporary ID card for free. This card could be used for three days.
If they wanted to stay in the base for a long time, they would have to apply for a permanent ident.i.ty card. The permanent ID card did not require payment of food. One had to use a temporary ID card and partic.i.p.ate in collective labor in the base. As long as one worked for three days, one could use the certification stamp given by the captain to exchange for a permanent ident.i.ty card. Every base had different rules. The rules in the fourth base were actually more lenient in some ways. At this time, not many people had extra food, but it was not difficult for them to work for three days.
After Du Yue and the other two applied for three temporary ID cards, they brought their ident.i.ty cards to the main entrance again. This time, the staff member happily raised the bar to let them in and even said, “You’d better hurry up. After entering the base, turn left and drive along the road until you reach the end. You’ll see a gray gate, which means you’ve arrived at the place. When you arrive, tell them that you’re here to partic.i.p.ate in labor. There’ll be someone in charge to arrange work for you.” Although this man spoke with an accent, it was not difficult to understand his meaning since he spoke slowly.”
He was just doing his job, Du Yue and the other two could see that he was a warm-hearted person. He Xing pa.s.sed him a piece of chocolate from the car window. “Sorry to trouble you, Brother.”
The man saw the small piece of chocolate and scratched his head in embarra.s.sment. “Thank you.” The man took the chocolate.
He Xing lowered the window and stepped on the accelerator to drive into the base. After entering the base, he drove for another few dozen meters and saw a fork in the road. He Xing followed the man’s directions and drove straight into the left road.
The road was very long, and they did not encounter any other cars or people along the way. After nearly half an hour, the car reached the end of the road. They saw the gray door.
“You guys wait in the car. I’ll go and ask.” He Xing got out of the car and walked toward the row of portable houses at the door. Five minutes later, He Xing returned to the car. “After we park the car, someone will bring us to work. More and more people have come to live here long-term, so the original houses in the base were not enough. The place we’re at is a newly developed area of the base. It’s currently under construction..