The reason why Base 276 has no planting area is not because Zhao Qing is short-sighted, but because Base 276 does not have its own stable water supply channel. Before Ye Zhou arrived, they could only buy all the water in the base from other bases. If other bases cut off their water at the most critical moment, Base 276 would naturally collapse without any action.
In addition, there is the technology for improving the soil. In this place where everyone has graduated from prenatal education, only a few people can read. This cutting-edge technology is only in the hands of a small number of people. They will sell the good soil, but will never teach the technology to others.
There is no such thing as a human community.
Any community must build itself up with sufficient resources, and it can save a little, but it cannot save to the extent that people who could otherwise only eat half full will starve to death.
So when Zhao Qing heard that Ye Zhou was going to teach the soil improvement techniques to the people in the base, he hurried to visit him.
When Ye Zhou sold water to Zhao Qing, Zhao Qing did not show much respect - it was just a business relationship. If he couldn't buy it from Ye Zhou, he could still buy it from somewhere else. Although it was a bit troublesome, it was not impossible.
But improving the soil is not a technology that can be bought with money. If the base can produce food, there will be no need to rely on plunder to maintain the operation of the base, especially now that the surrounding small bases have robbed everything they can. If they want to rob again, they can only fight with the big bases.
We may not win, and even if we win, it will be a pyrrhic victory.
If the opposing base is determined to drag you down with it even if it means death, and pollutes the water source and soil before the base is breached, then you will lose all your money.
So when Zhao Qing faced Ye Zhou this time, he finally lowered his attitude. He was not soft-hearted when it came to praising people, and kept flattering Ye Zhou: "I have lived to this age and have dealt with so many people, but only you, Mr. Ye, are really this."
Zhao Qing gave a thumbs up.
His expression was serious, as if every word came from his heart: "This base is not a good base. Living by plundering cannot last long. I am the ruler here. Only when everyone is rich can I be rich. Otherwise, it will be like exhausting the resources. One day, there will be nothing left to plunder, and I will be pushed down."
"Mr. Ye, you must think I'm a bad person when you look at me." Zhao Qing sat opposite Ye Zhou and laughed at himself. "I don't dare to say that I'm a good person. Good people don't do these things. So many people die in the base every day. Women can't give birth to children, and few of them can raise them. This is a vicious cycle. How could I not know?"
“But only in this way can we survive, and some people in the base can survive.”
Zhao Qing sighed: "At least this place provides them with a place to barely survive. If they are driven out, those large bases will not accept people like them who have no property, resources, or technology, and they will only die under the sun."
Ye Zhou just listened. Zhao Qing looked at Ye Zhou's face and said seriously, "You are willing to pass on the technology of improving soil to the people here, which proves that you are a good person. No matter what you do, as long as one person lives because of you, you are also a god."
After listening to Zhao Qing's words and flattery for so long, Ye Zhou's expression did not change much. After confirming that Zhao Qing had no intention of continuing, he replied: "I have no opinion on how you manage the base, Boss Zhao. Whether you are good or bad has little to do with me."
"You probably know why I want to teach people the technology of improving soil." Ye Zhou said, "It depends on whether you are willing to accept this deal."
Zhao Qing smiled and said, "Accept it. Why not? You don't want my position. You just want to protect the child. I understand. I understand everything."
Ye Zhou and Zhao Qing looked at each other, and both of them knew what was going on.
"I will also send a few people over to learn." Zhao Qing, "About four."
These four people are Zhao Qing’s confidants, and Zhao Qing will probably take them out to trade in the future.
As long as people in the base have learned how to improve the soil, they will never leave in their lifetime.
However, people will only desire freedom when they are well fed and well clothed. For those who want to learn how to improve the soil in the base, freedom is still too much of a luxury. Being able to eat well, not being beaten or abused, and not having to worry about being buried in the sand the next day is already the ultimate state of happiness.
Ye Zhou had no objection. He nodded, and reached a deal with Zhao Qing.
"The reservoir will be repaired soon." Zhao Qing, "It will probably be done in the next two days."
"Do I pay with potatoes, just like at the supermarket?"
Ye Zhou: "Yes, we only buy potatoes now. Other food with stable value is also acceptable."
Zhao Qing thought about it. Although he had a stock of white flour and cornmeal, he was reluctant to exchange them. After all, Ye Zhou's supermarket only sold finished products, not even cooked food, and the only meat was jerky. So he said, "Just potatoes. I'll go out for a few days and bring back more potatoes."
"And the machine for printing vouchers." Zhao Qing, "You have to sell me two of them, and the materials too."
As long as the base can produce potatoes, it can produce banknotes. The reason why it didn't do so before was not because of technical reasons. After all, resources are limited and ordinary people don't even have the cost and technology to counterfeit. Instead, it was because the base itself did not produce. Without the necessities in hand, banknotes were just waste paper and their value could not be stable.
Ye Zhou: "Okay, this isn't expensive, I'll add it to the total price later."
Zhao Qing finished what he wanted to say and stood up contentedly. He said to Ye Zhou, "The steaks you gave me before were good."
Ye Zhou's expression was calm: "I'll send you another box later."
Ye Zhou personally sent Zhao Qing downstairs, and then watched him walk towards the RV.
Although the supermarket is now doing business every day, Ye Zhou cannot make any money from the people in the slums. The people who consume in the supermarket now are basically workers on the construction site - even their wages are paid by Ye Zhou, and the built dormitories cannot be sold.
So far, his real profit has been earned from people in the inner city.
This group of people have money, and their abilities cannot be shown in places where they have not spent money before.
Now that they have somewhere to spend their money, the biggest thing they buy is alcohol.
Parties are held every day. Even though we live in such a poor and difficult place, we can still have a good time.
Apart from the lack of electronic products, daily entertainment is no worse than that of the feudal aristocracy before industrial development.
When they get bored of staying in the base, they will drive out for a "ride", wasting oil, food, and water.
No matter how fantastic Zhao Qing's words were, in Ye Zhou's opinion, the ecology here was still extremely distorted, and he did not agree with Zhao Qing's management style.
Zhao Qing only wanted to maintain his own rule, and completely neglected the development of the base and the people's livelihood.
He says there is no solution, but in fact he doesn't even think of a solution.
If it were Ye Zhou himself, he would have to strive for negotiation conditions to at least allow the base to obtain improved soil and water resources even if he had to beg everyone for help or risk everything to attack the large base.
A cowardly and power-hungry person, no matter what high-sounding words he uses to decorate himself, is essentially incompetent.
Ye Zhou finally understood why incompetent rulers in ancient times had a worse reputation than tyrants, because under a tyrant everyone was in danger, while under a compulsive ruler the people suffered misery.
Back in the house, Ye Zhou took off his coat and turned on the air conditioner.
He always felt that the temperature had risen again these days. A few days ago, if he didn't apply sunscreen, his skin would break out in about an hour, but these two days it only took more than twenty minutes.
The product that employees consume the most now is sunscreen, with at least one box used every day.
You have to apply a thick layer.
No one wants to wear sun protection clothes because it makes them hotter. People would rather apply sunscreen.
Ye Zhou sat for a long time before he recovered. When he was about to go to the bedroom to rest, the door of the house opened.
He looked up and saw the boy coming in from the door.
The boy, who was not very fair to begin with, had now turned into a piece of black charcoal. Fortunately, Ye Zhou did not shave his head because he was afraid that his scalp would be sunburned, otherwise he would have looked like a boiled egg.
"Is she back?" Ye Zhou asked, "Is that woman still in the tent?"
The boy who was about to say hello froze in place.
Ye Zhou waved at him again: "Come here, let's talk."
The boy then moved. He changed his shoes, walked to Ye Zhou, and sat next to him politely.
He no longer sat opposite Ye Zhou like he used to.
Ye Zhou was relaxed and didn't look serious. He said calmly, "Do you think no one will know if you hide her in the tent?"
The boy was silent for a few seconds and then said, "No, I know you will know."
Ye Zhou raised his eyebrows: "Then why do you still do this?"
The boy shook his head: "I didn't mean to hide it from you."
Ye Zhou looked at him and actually found the shadow of Zou Ming in his face. Compared with the boy, Zou Ming was the person he was familiar with. Ye Zhou was stunned for a moment and then asked: "Aren't you worried?"
Aren't you worried that I'll get angry? Aren't you worried that I'll kick you out?
Boy: "I don't know why, but you're so nice to me."
He looked puzzled, but his eyes were firm: "I am very important to you."
Ye Zhou smiled silently, and his whole person became gentler: "Yes, so you are starting to become spoiled."
The boy looked at him in confusion.
The boy who doesn't know many idioms doesn't know the meaning of being spoiled by one's favor.
Ye Zhou: "Since you know that you are very important to me, you should have told me before you did anything. If you don't tell me, how do you know whether I will support you or stop you?"
"If you had told me about Zhao Lei's matter in advance, it could have been handled more cleanly, and no one would have been implicated."
The boy lowered his head. He didn't look at Ye Zhou's expression or eyes. Ye Zhou could see that the boy felt guilty.
No matter how guilty he feels, if he were asked to do it again, he would still do it.
This is Zou Ming's character. Zou Ming will never regret his actions or choices.
Once he chooses a path, he will keep going even if it means getting hurt.
Ye Zhou couldn't do it, he was not that kind of person, but that didn't affect his liking and appreciation for Zou Ming's character and behavior.
"Okay, I'm not going to say anything to you." Ye Zhou, "You have your own way of living. If you want to tell me, that's fine. If you don't want to, I won't force you."
After Ye Zhou finished speaking, he was moved.
What a great parent he is.
"We're going to select people in the next few days." Ye Zhou said, "You should also make some preparations. The people selected this time will live in the staff dormitory and will also learn how to improve the soil. Do you want to learn?"
The boy nodded: "Learn."
Ye Zhou: "I'm going to sleep for a while. Wake me up at 4:30. We'll have hotpot tonight."
Hotpot is convenient, with both meat and vegetables. Although Ye Zhou can't eat spicy food, he can eat clear soup pot, which tastes good too.
Just as Ye Zhou stood up and prepared to go to the bedroom, the boy suddenly asked behind him: "Why are you so nice to me?"
Ye Zhou stopped where he was. He didn't think much and said naturally, "You will know later. I don't want to lie to you. Now I am the one sowing the seeds, and in the future you will be the one sowing the seeds. Now I am the fruit of your seeds."
boy:"……"
I don't understand at all.
But Ye Zhou felt that what he said was particularly Zen-like, so he returned to the bedroom quite contentedly, took a quick shower, and lay down on the bed to sleep.
The boy was left sitting alone in the living room, thinking blankly about what Ye Zhou had said.
·
He Yu was so happy that she was going crazy. She stood in the tin house. Several women who were on good terms with her were sitting on the bed. She paced back and forth with joy in her eyes and face, and her mouth corners even stretched to her ears.
"What's going on?" The women were very dissatisfied with He Yu's behavior of asking them to come more and then getting excited alone.
"You tell me."
"Don't play tricks on us."
He Yu cleared his throat and said, "I've received news that the supermarket will recruit more people, but not temporary workers."
The women all became interested and immediately urged He Yu to stop keeping the secret and continue.
He Yu: "I told you before that the supermarket might improve the soil. I just got the exact news. Not only will they improve the soil, but they will also recruit a group of people to learn it. All the people recruited will be able to live in the staff dormitory."
"You guys have seen the staff dormitory, right? It's made of bricks and cement, and it's much better than our tin house. I felt like I was going to be steamed to death when I stayed in the tin house during the day."
"So many people have died from the heat, who knows when it will be our turn." He Yu, "As long as we can live here and learn how to improve the soil, our lives will be better in the future."
The women finally understood what He Yu had just done. They looked at He Yu differently in an instant: "Really?! You can definitely get in! You've been a temporary worker in the supermarket for so long, there must be a place for you!"
"He Yu, help me too. This way, no matter how many potatoes I get in the future, I will give you half!"
"If I could go too, I'd buy you new clothes when I get paid."
They suppressed their voices. If conditions did not allow it, they would have wanted to scream out loud for fear of being heard by outsiders and causing the news to leak out.
He Yu clapped her hands to calm the women down. She whispered, "Knowing the news in advance means you have the upper hand. Be smart and don't look too stupid."
Although they were somewhat dissatisfied that He Yu could not help, the women were not stupid. If He Yu could know such news in advance, it would definitely be the same in the future. As long as they stuck to He Yu, the benefits would far outweigh the disadvantages.
He Yu was also happy to be praised, but not just for the sake of being praised.
She knew that she was weak, and she also knew that these women were weak, but the weaker they were, the more they had to stick together.
The longer they stay in the slums, the more they realize that any feelings are unreliable and only interests can bind people together.
Just as He Yu said, as soon as it got dark, noise was heard from the construction site.
He Yu rushed over with the women as soon as possible and took a good seat next to the makeshift wooden platform.
Cao Er stood on the stage, holding a loud speaker and yelling to the people below: "Hey, can you hear me?"
The people below immediately shouted: "Yes!"
Cao'er: "Everyone wait a moment, I'll talk to you when most of the people have arrived."
Except for He Yu and her sisters, no one else knew what Cao'er was going to say. More people speculated that Cao'er was going to say that the work on the construction site had been completed and the workers would not need to come to work starting tomorrow.
Many people were in low spirits, and some even shed tears.
Only He Yu and the others looked at Cao'er without blinking. Cao'er also noticed He Yu's gaze, and because they were an acquaintance, she smiled at He Yu.
He Yu waved at Cao'er even more enthusiastically.
Cao'er is the "backer" she found for herself, even though Cao'er doesn't know it at all.
But even if Cao'er knew, she wouldn't say anything. She saw a little bit of her mother's shadow in He Yu.
Smart, tough, even a little cunning, and despicable, but only to survive.
Nothing is too much to do in order to survive.
Especially since He Yu has not harmed anyone and has never harmed anyone.
Half an hour later, when most people had finally arrived, Cao'er held the loudspeaker and said, "Everyone, please be quiet. The dormitory has been completed. Starting tomorrow, you don't have to come to work."
There was a commotion from the audience, and someone shouted, "We don't want a salary, we just want a meal, or herbal tea!"
"We can do anything, don't chase us away!"
Some people were shouting, some were making a fuss, and some were crying.
The audience was in chaos, but Cao Er did not stop them immediately. Instead, she waited until they had said enough and vented enough before picking up the speaker again: "You don't have to work at the construction site, but aren't you curious about who will live in the dormitory after it's built?"
People stared with wide eyes, and even the greediest people didn't dare to think that they could live in the dormitory - those were cement brick houses that only the big shots in the inner city could live in!
But because of Cao'er's words, they had extravagant hopes that they would not have had otherwise.
Since Cao'er said so, then, what about maybe?
Cao'er continued, "We will select a group of people tonight. They will learn from us, but we cannot tell you what they will learn yet."
"It's best if they can read. Even if they can't read, they have to know how to count. They have to be smart. Choose fifty people in total."
"There is no salary during the study period, and only one meal a day is provided, but dormitories will be allocated, and other benefits will be discussed with the selected candidates later."
Cao'er: "Did you understand everything?"
The crowd immediately shouted, "Got it!"
Even if I didn’t understand, I didn’t dare to say that I didn’t understand, because that would make me seem stupid and not smart enough.
Cao'er: "You guys go over there, interview one by one, leave your name, and the acceptance list will be posted tomorrow morning."
"Those who can't read should ask those who can read."
After saying that, Cao'er pointed in a direction.
It is obviously a hard job to interview so many people in one night, but the immortal said that since Zou Ming is willing to do this job, we should not feel sorry for him. Even if the interview has to last all night, it is Zou Ming’s own agreement.
Everyone looked in the direction of Cao'er's nails and saw a makeshift tent with a red rope tied at the entrance, forcing people to line up in a long queue.
Without waiting for Cao'er to say anything, people rushed forward, all wanting to be the first to go in.
A huge conflict broke out in the crowd. People were knocked down continuously. Some people got up but did not see the situation ahead clearly and ran too fast, knocking down the people in front of them again.
They all ran with the momentum of short-distance running champions, and when Cao'er and the others arrived to maintain law and order, many people had already lined up in a long queue and the first person had already gone in.
Cao'er supported her waist with both hands: "..."
Wu Yan smiled and said, "If this happened in the Daliang Dynasty, we would be scarier than them."
"Maybe someone will kill to get the front seat."
There is nothing strange about killing for a living, let alone a job that can provide them with a long-term and stable life.
In the tent, Zou Ming, who was an interviewer for the first time, was actually a little nervous. He asked the person's name, wrote it down, and then wrote down the other person's gender and age. In order to prevent someone with the same name and age from appearing later, he also wrote down the person's approximate height and weight.
Although this method is troublesome, it is not easy to make mistakes.
At the beginning, Zou Ming was very slow in the interview. He would ask the person whether he could read, count, and whether he had any skills.
But later on, Zou Ming only asked the first two questions, and apart from observing the other person's height and weight, he wouldn't even raise his head.
Interviewing a person doesn’t even take five minutes.
But even so, at midnight, the tent was still crowded with people.
"Take a break." After the latest person left, Cao'er walked to the door of the tent and shouted to the people outside, "Take a break for twenty minutes!"
After saying that, he closed the door of the tent, took a bottle of water from the corner of the tent, and took out a piece of bread and a sausage for the boy.
"Eat something." Cao'er yawned. "I'll be busy later. Maybe I'll be busy until four or five in the morning."
After saying that, Cao'er went to look at the boy's record on the paper, "How many people have passed now?"
The boy didn't look through them or count them, but he knew by heart: "Sixteen."
Cao'er sighed: "Can you all read?"
The boy shook his head: "None of them can read. These sixteen can all count."
It was also the first time that the boy realized that the words that he could learn every day were something that most people would never be able to come into contact with in their entire lives.
Cao'er: "That's normal. I couldn't read when I was in my hometown. Who would learn that? My family is poor. It would make three generations poor to support a scholar, and we might not even be able to afford it."
This was the first time Cao'er mentioned her past in front of the boy.
The boy asked, "Which base were you in before?"
Cao Er realized that she had let the cat out of the bag, and quickly said, "It's very far, and it takes several weeks to drive there. Eat something first, and then let people in. By the way, do you want to play a few games to relax?"
Cao'er took out his cell phone from his pocket.
This phone is resistant to high temperatures, but there are not many games for it, all of which are single-player games like pushing boxes.
The boy did not ask any further questions. He took the phone as Cao'er said, but his lowered eyes were filled with thoughts that no one could guess.
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