The Xu Neng in front of him was unlike any man Xia Xiaobao had ever met before. He had also seen some tough men when he was in the army.
For example, Commander Pei, whom all his comrades admired at the time, was a legendary figure.
His physique is somewhat similar to Xu Neng's, but his aura is overwhelmingly domineering, giving people a sense of authority without anger, while Xu Neng is not.
Xu Neng's aura also subtly exudes the elegance of an intellectual, and strangely enough, this blends seamlessly with his appearance without any sense of incongruity.
He was like a strong and elegant black panther; when he wasn't attacking, people only dared to admire him from afar and dared not approach him.
He said he would be the next leader, and Xia Xiaobao swallowed hard, knowing that this was no exaggeration...
Xu Neng glanced at Xia Guoqing, who was tied to a chair beside him: "What do you want? It can't just be him, can it?"
"Of course, I think perhaps we can form an alliance instead of violently annexing each other, which would only result in mutual destruction."
By forming an alliance, the possibility of them seizing the land again could be completely avoided. Xia Xiaobao's "plan" was indeed quite clever.
Xu Neng's initial idea was to rescue the trapped people through a transaction, but Xia Xiaobao's suggestion opened up a new avenue for thought.
After forming an alliance, not only can these hundred-plus people come out, but the resources held by the steel mill can also be exchanged instead of being seized...
With Hu Tianhao dead, Xu Neng no longer wanted to rely on cannibalism to maintain his food supply. He was eager to find an ingredient to replace the "vegetable people" in the cold storage.
Xu Neng had already checked that state-owned livestock farms would have no fewer than a thousand livestock, while large cattle farms like theirs, spanning several mountains, should have no fewer than two thousand.
Now, perhaps a new avenue has been opened up, and Xu Neng is very interested in the proposal of an alliance:
"An alliance is fine, but what I want to know is, what do we have to offer in exchange, and what do you want?"
"We need doctors and enough medicine, and also enough warm clothing and travel gear."
"That's no problem. Our base has a very good stockpile of medicines. With your number of people, providing appropriate support shouldn't be a problem. We currently have a chief physician from a top-tier hospital, Dr. Chen, and another doctor, Dr. Wang, who specializes in surgery. It's not difficult for us to take care of both places."
Xia Xiaobao breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. Just as he had expected, a large organization like theirs had sufficient medical reserves. So what did they want?
"And you? What do you want?" Xia Xiaobao asked impatiently.
How many livestock do you have?
Xia Xiaobao hesitated for a moment. He had answered frankly just now, and since it was an exchange of resources, he didn't need to hide anything anymore.
“We have more than 2,000 cattle and more than 800 sheep, and we also have eight calves, but the number is not large.”
"Calves? How will they get food in this freezing weather?" Xu Neng's eyes lit up when he heard this. If there were any living livestock, it meant that they could reproduce.
"When the natural disaster struck, they moved the calves indoors. They didn't freeze to death and survived on some hay stored on the farm. It's just unknown how long that hay will last."
Yes, if people don't have enough food, how can we feed the cattle? Fortunately, the calves don't eat too much, so it's barely enough.
Xu Neng thought of Wang Feifei's vegetable planting system. The temperature in the cave at the base was not low. As long as the lighting problem was solved, there might be a way to produce a continuous supply of grass and various fruits and vegetables!
Xia Xiaobao looked at Xu Neng, who seemed to be thinking about something, but no emotion could be seen from him.
In fact, Xu Neng suddenly had a breakthrough; he found a way to achieve the base's "internal circulation."
Xu Neng suddenly looked up at Xia Xiaobao, seemingly deciding to cooperate:
"We can exchange cattle and sheep with you using medicine and doctors. We can draft a detailed exchange agreement later. As for the doctors, we can dispatch them when you need them."
In addition, we would like four live cows, two males and two females. Is this acceptable to you?
Xia Xiaobao lowered his head and pondered: With the number of people in the steel mill and the farm, the number of cattle and sheep was more than enough, and it wouldn't be a big problem to use them to exchange for medicine and doctors.
With the current stockpile of hay, it might be difficult to keep all eight calves alive once they grow a little bigger. If we allocate four calves to them, they could be kept alive for a longer period.
"There shouldn't be any problem, but I'd like to ask how you plan to raise the live cattle? This is also a headache for us, as the hay will eventually run out."
"I have an idea for this, but first I need to try to find the equipment. If it works, then I will ask you for calves."
Xu deliberately didn't reveal the details. He planned to go to the city first to see if he could find enough of those plant grow lights.
If this path proves feasible, it won't be too late to reveal it to them. Once the steel mill has raised the calves to adulthood, they can reproduce together and have more food.
Xia Xiaobao blinked. He felt that Xu Neng must have come up with some solution that might help the steel mill solve its problems.
"Alright! Let's form an alliance then, and from now on, we'll be partners."
"Okay," Xu Neng readily agreed.
...
After the negotiations concluded, Xia Guoqing was released. Meanwhile, Xia Xiaobao led Xu Neng to the boiler area. Looking at the locked gate, he said to Xu Neng:
“Your leader is dead. I’m worried that if we release them, they will fight back and cause unnecessary casualties. So, you should explain things to them first before releasing them.”
Xu Neng nodded in acknowledgment, while Xia Xiaobao led his teammates away.
Then, Xu Neng opened the door and went inside...
"Commander Xu? Are you here to rescue us?"
"Ah, Commander Xu is here. Has everyone at the steel mill been wiped out?"
"Commander Xu is truly amazing! We're finally saved."
They tried to escape through the window, but there were many people from the steel mill below, holding guns, so they couldn't get out.
Xu Neng walked among them, his authoritative voice echoing in every corner:
“I can save you from here, but Hu Tianhao is dead. I know exactly how each of you ended up in the ‘Ice Society.’ Now you have a choice: this opportunity is back in your hands.”
Xu Neng's gaze searched for Xu Huan, and after locating him, he continued, "We have reached a cooperation agreement with the steel mill and formed an alliance with them. From now on, the 'Frost Society's' invasion model will be completely rewritten."
"Now I'm giving you a chance, giving you the freedom to choose. Those who are willing to follow me and support me as their leader, come with me; those who are not, you are free!"
After those words were spoken, the room fell completely silent...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
