"What happened?" Shen Yanming asked.
Qi Xili looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention, explained in a low voice, "Our guard team's houses are still relatively intact. We can move in after a little rest. As you know, the outside world is deserted now and simply cannot accommodate so many survivors."
Our family quarters and dormitories have been targeted by those former officials. They've been pestering Commander Wen every day, and he can't refuse. However, to protect the interests of the guards, Commander Wen has set a deadline. If they haven't returned to report by the deadline, their houses will be forcibly occupied.
Shen Yanming raised an eyebrow: "How many days until the deadline?"
"It'll be about a week." Actually, it's the end of September, but that person simply can't wait until then.
Shen Yanming nodded and said nothing more.
Qi Xili led his men to settle people in. After the non-guards returned, they had to build houses themselves with the guards and laborers before they could be assigned accommodations. The temporary accommodations were large tents for four people each.
After Qi Xili had the people take over, he led Shen Yanming and the others back to the central area, which was the original location of the guard team.
"We didn't originally intend to do it this way, but the farmland was destroyed, the buildings were overturned, and the survivors, after returning, were unwilling to leave the guard team, so they set up camp on the outskirts of our area."
We have a large population here, and with the addition of family members, we need to build quite a few more houses. So we divided the area into zones A, B, C, and D.
Our original living and training area was in Zone A. The newly built family quarters are in Zone B. The original government officials live in Zone C. The survivors who came to seek refuge live in Zone D.
Upon hearing this, Shen Yanming was surprised: "Could those political officials agree to this?"
"They disagree. What can we do? We're in charge now. They can only settle for second best and target the guards who haven't returned yet."
"So, I'm the pushover!" Shen Yanming asked, pointing to his own nose.
Qi Xili suppressed a laugh: "There's nothing we can do. They made great contributions to the city's development before, and we can't just discard them after they've served their purpose."
"Fine, fine, I don't know what they're thinking, it doesn't matter where they stay."
Qi Xili rolled his eyes, thinking to himself, "Once you see it with your own eyes, you'll know where the difference lies."
As they walked and talked, they left area D and came to area C. This area consisted of a row of small bungalows, all built with bricks and cement blocks from outside, and looked extremely rudimentary.
After leaving area C, we went to area B. The buildings in area B were more orderly than those in area C, but the occupancy rate was not high.
"How many of our people have returned?"
"Less than 50%"
"Are the rest still alive?"
Qi Xili smiled bitterly: "Only seventy percent remains."
Shen Yanming fell silent. A tsunami had claimed the lives of thirty percent of the city's security force. And these were all highly trained personnel. What about ordinary people? How much loss would they have suffered?
"How will meals be paid for from now on?"
"This year's harvest failed. Until next year's harvest, the guard will provide communal meals. Alternatively, they will provide ingredients for the survivors to cook for themselves."
"Free?"
"How could that be! Whether they are guards or survivors, they all have to work to earn food."
"What about my wife and me? Are we no longer needed to do our jobs?"
Qi Xili smiled and looked at Shen Yanming meaningfully: "What's your rush? With a skill in hand, why are you afraid of not having a job?"
Shen Yanming understood and said nothing more.
The group walked for a long time before finally reaching Area A. This area was roughly as the original site of the guard unit, except that it was considerably dilapidated.
Qi Xili led his men to make a more detailed record, and then let everyone go home.
Meng Wu, Yu Shui, and Tang Shunlin returned to their original dormitory. Although Li Zhaozhao had no place to stay, Xu Yajing had a small room, so the two of them, along with Li Wanwan, went back to rest first.
Zhang Heping and Ji Kangyong weren't part of the guard team, so they should have been assigned to tents in Zone D. However, after learning about their backgrounds, Qi Xili decided to report them and give them a chance to see if they could pass the assessment and join the guard team. After all, the base needed skilled personnel.
As for where to stay, let's make do with Lao Shen's place for now.
Li Sikai and the others were going back to the capital, but they still needed to contact them about when and how to get back. After discussing it, they decided to stay at Old Shen's house as well. Shen Yanming raised an eyebrow but didn't refuse. Anyway, they had their own space; at worst, they could all sleep there at night.
Qi Xili followed the group back, but before they even reached Building No. 3, they heard a girl yelling at the security guard: "Why won't you let us stay? If there were anyone in that house, they would have come back long ago. The fact that they haven't come back for so long means they're not here anymore?"
Even if the smart bracelet shows he's still alive, the fact that he hasn't returned means he's settled elsewhere. You'd rather leave the house unused than let us live there. Isn't that a huge waste of resources?
“My father devoted himself to Haishi for more than ten years and was once the top leader or second-in-command. Now that you have been promoted, we can’t say anything. But not even providing a house is too much! Based on the contributions my father made, shouldn’t he be qualified to live here?”
The guard was speechless after the girl's words, but he was biased and sternly refused, saying, "No, this is a regulation from higher authorities. We guards have also made great contributions to the safety of Haishi. In this respect, no one is more noble than anyone else. Before the end of September, no one can move into the vacant house except the original owner."
"Why are you so inflexible? The house is still empty, so what's wrong with letting us stay for a while? If it's really not possible, let me move in first, and I'll move out if the original owner comes back."
The guards remained unmoved, thinking to themselves, "If you move in, you'll definitely be a troublemaker."
Qi Xili watched the whole thing unfold, and only after it was over did he signal with his eyes: "The person who wants to stay at your house."
Shen Yanming felt a chill run down his spine, thinking how awful it was to be entangled with such a woman. At that moment, he only felt sympathy for the dutiful guard, never imagining that his own experience might be even worse.
Qi Xili patted Shen Yanming on the shoulder and stepped forward to say to the guard, "This is the owner of the room on the third floor."
The young soldier recognized Qi Xili, so he had no doubts about his words. However, he still verified the identity information on the smart bracelet.
After confirming that everything was correct, the young soldier smiled and said, "Comrade Chen, welcome back."
Shen Yanming smiled and returned the greeting: "Thank you, you've worked hard!"
"It's no trouble at all, it's my duty! Do you have any more keys? If so, you can go up by yourself."
Shen Yanming nodded: "The key isn't lost, it's on me."
He proactively explained, "These people will be living with my wife and me for a while."
The young soldier didn't ask any further questions, only smiling and saying, "As long as you've registered, there's no problem."
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