After a long period of continuous digging, Chief Kuang and his team have finally unearthed all the warehouses that were previously recorded. They are now holding a meeting to discuss the next steps.
Since they last conceived the plan to build a secure base, they haven't easily exchanged any more supplies.
The refugees who had entered the city earlier also began to help build the city walls, and in exchange for food based on their daily workload.
As the city walls were improved day by day, the refugees who had been waiting outside the city began to get anxious.
Now, aside from searching for some scraps of grass to barely fill their stomachs, they spend the rest of their time crowding under the city wall, discussing things in small groups.
"Are they not going to give us a way out? They've searched everywhere we can find outside, but they won't let us in. Now they're constantly thickening and raising the city walls, leaving us outside. There's only one way out for us: death!" Fang Cheng angrily pointed at the city walls and shouted to the people surrounding him.
"But the people inside are saying that it's overcrowded and can't accommodate all of us. They're advising us to leave as soon as possible and try to find somewhere else. If we're really too tired to walk anymore, maybe heading south would be better," someone timidly offered their opinion.
Fang Cheng looked at him with a hint of disappointment, "You actually believe what you say? If that's true, then why did they build a wall around it? I heard there are supplies stored inside, and these people want to take them all for themselves."
“That won’t do,” some people said anxiously upon hearing about the stockpiled supplies. “Those belong to everyone. We can’t let a few people take them all. We have to talk to them about this.”
"Yes, why should they get to have it all? They just got here a little earlier than us. We can't treat people like this."
In just a few words, everyone's emotions were stirred, and soon more and more people gathered around.
Tempted by the availability of supplies, these refugees began to unite and started shouting at the city walls.
Some people even started damaging the wall with tools, and those guarding the wall saw this and quickly stopped them.
But those who had already been emotionally charged couldn't hear his words and began to intensify their destruction.
When Political Commissar Wang arrived with his men, the area at the foot of the city wall had already been dug up and riddled with holes.
He shouted through a megaphone, "Stop! You're destroying other people's hard work!"
"You people are hoarding everyone's supplies inside, and you've even built a wall to keep us out. You don't care if we live or die; we just want to get in," Fang Cheng led the protest from below.
“There really can’t be any more people here. You can continue heading south, where the water supply is still plentiful. Why do you have to trap yourselves here?”
Wang Letian couldn't understand these people. Since this place was no longer enough, they should have looked for other ways to survive. The fact that so many people were staying here every day was not solving the problem at all.
But nobody bought his argument. "You're sitting inside, enjoying the supplies we left behind, and now you're making these sarcastic remarks to us. Don't you think that's going a bit too far?"
"We don't ask for much. Just give us a batch of supplies so we can get through this difficult time first, and then we can find another way to make a living."
Seeing that the people below kept talking about reserve supplies, Wang Letian got a little angry and decided to speak frankly.
"There is such a batch of reserve supplies, which we have worked hard to find recently. However, these are only temporary reserves in the local area. The quantity is not large and is only enough to accommodate the previous batch of refugees. There is simply no way to distribute them to so many people."
"See? They've admitted it too." Fang Cheng seemed to have found the answer and started shouting loudly to the people around him, "We want distribution too! We want to live too!"
As soon as he finished speaking, people started shouting along with him, and gradually more and more voices joined in, until they began to shout in unison in a rhythmic manner.
This was not the first time Wang Letian had dealt with an unrest. He ignored them and simply stood quietly on the city wall watching them.
Fang Cheng and his group were very rhythmic at first, and their voices were all loud. But as time went on, the people on the city wall stopped paying attention to them, and some of them began to quiet down.
Although Fang Cheng still wanted to keep the momentum going, many people had regained their senses by this time. The noise gradually faded away, and everyone stared quietly at the city wall, wanting an explanation.
Seeing that the commotion below had subsided, Wang Letian picked up the megaphone and said, "It's not that we don't want to take care of you, but we really don't have the energy. Besides, with so many people coming in, the security situation will become chaotic. Why should you stay here? What's more important for you right now is to find a suitable place to live and build a home that is completely your own."
"It's easy for you to talk when you're not in the same boat. We've almost cleared away all the grass along the way, so where would we find the strength and energy to build our own homes?" Fang Cheng said, his tone becoming increasingly aggressive as he thought about how difficult it was to even find food.
The adjutant who came out with Political Commissar Wang was not so docile. "Since you've all gathered in one place, you've probably already exhausted all the food options nearby. At this point, no one can take responsibility for your future. You'll have to rely on yourselves. If you continue to cause trouble like this, we don't mind using force to drive you out."
"Come on, if you've got the guts, fire a shot from here. Anyway, no one can survive in this world anymore." Wang Cheng patted his chest and shouted at the wall.
"Since you've made this request, we don't mind granting it." After hearing this, Lieutenant Chen immediately drew his pistol and aimed it at him.
When Wang Cheng saw the dark muzzle of the gun, he immediately cowered and took a step back. But then he seemed to remember something, and took another step forward, patting his chest. "Come on, aim here."
Lieutenant Chen and his men had seen plenty of people like him. They pulled the safety and fired a shot at the ground in front of him.
The gunshot startled everyone around Fang Cheng, and they immediately moved away from him.
Fang Cheng was so frightened that he sat down on the ground, not even realizing what was happening.
"Instead of wasting your time arguing with us, you might as well organize your own people and find a place to live. Our stance is clear: we can't accommodate so many people." To maintain stability, Wang Letian had no choice but to refuse their requests. Even if all the reserves were dug up, it would be a drop in the ocean for so many refugees.
When there is no other choice, the only option is to stabilize the lives of some people first, otherwise, if things get chaotic, it will be even more difficult to control.
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