postscript
Nobody in this world likes working! Nobody!
Lena's ambition came quickly and went quickly. It was thought that Daryl would give up first, but Lena gave up even faster than Daryl.
She was planning to retire the hour after she took office.
It took Daryl and More a week to win over everyone in the Church of Saviour, at least on the surface.
The process doesn't matter; as long as the final result is what they need, that's enough.
After hiding for a week, Lina finally showed up, and her appearance immediately caused a bloodbath.
She restructured the organization's personnel, making everything more stable.
"...In short, you'll be seeing people off tomorrow." Negan's large room now belonged to Lina, and she wasn't going to mistreat herself. With a solid wood desk and a soft, comfortable office chair, and her legs casually propped up on the desk, Lina felt an aura of dominance emanating from her entire body. She was practically a reincarnation of a mafia boss!
Besides the smug Lina, there were also people from various communities in the room. It was a deal that Lina had personally negotiated, and as for the details...
“Currently, all communities need expansion. Hilltop Village and Salvation Hall can be smelted, and the iron chains and shackles are almost ready. You can take them away today.” Lina swung her foot triumphantly. “The reward is a month’s worth of supplies. Isn’t that a good deal?”
“With so many laborers brought back, we’ll have more mouths to feed,” Andrea said, representing Alexander in the negotiations. “Half a month, no more. Otherwise, we’d rather spend more time than take those scum.”
Lina's smugness vanished instantly. After holding it in for a while, she looked at Andrea with resentment, "This is what Rick and I agreed on!"
“We can provide a month’s worth of rations for our own people, including you. As for those outside, we’ll only give them half a month’s worth at most.” Andrea remained unmoved, truly a woman as cold and ruthless as steel.
"The hilltop village thinks so too." Glenn smiled shyly. It was good that Andrea was holding them off; he wasn't afraid of Lina anymore!
“Yes, that’s what the Kingdom of God meant too,” Morgan said, suppressing a laugh. He and Dwayne had moved to the Kingdom of God because he had his young apprentice, Henry, there. Carol and Sophia had also moved there. Carol and Ezekiel were showing slightly different signs, but the main reason was that the atmosphere there was better. Carol always wanted Sophia to be with more children and enjoy a happy childhood.
Lena put her leg down unhappily and glared angrily at the group of guys. In fact, it seems that the three communities are all in the hands of their own people. If she can manage the Church of Salvation well, then it will be one of the four major powers. This is why Rick agreed to let her come and even assigned people to her.
Things are only safe when they are in the hands of your own people.
Lena pouted. "Support my work! There are so many mouths to feed!" There are tons of workers, tons of Salvation Army soldiers, and the Salvation Church can't even farm. They're counting on these three communities to provide supplies for three months!
“No, but we can lend you supplies for half a month. You can return them to us later, or something else of value,” Andrea said with a smile.
“…half is still available,” Lina tentatively asked.
“Watch out, or I’ll make you pay double,” Andrea threatened.
"This is too cruel, too cruel!" Lina wailed. "I'm having such a hard time. I can't eat or sleep properly every day. Every time I close my eyes and open them, all I see are those insatiable mouths. And yet you treat me like this. It's so cruel!"
Glenn hesitated, "How about..."
Andrea immediately glared at him. "The supplies in your warehouse, if allocated properly, can last them for a month. Add the supplies we provide for the replacements and the supplies we lent you, and it's enough to last for more than four months." Back then, not everything from the Church of Saviour was moved. After all, there were so many people here; Rick only let everyone take a portion of it.
"..." I hate people who cheat on things in their heads; they can't calculate anything at all. Lina stopped pretending to cry and wailed. "Okay, okay, that's settled then."
Glenn's lips twitched. He should have let Jesus come. No wonder Maggie kept telling him to shut up and just let Andrea talk.
“The next wave of deals is in a month,” Lina said, getting up as she went out to promote them.
“I’d rather you start the deal a month from now,” Andrea said, a rare look of displeasure on her face. “I really don’t want this group of people; they’re all just trouble.”
"They're resources after all, don't look down on them." Lina picked up her two knives, slung them over her shoulder, and then pushed open the door. The workers at the bottom were still working enthusiastically. Of course, the Salvation Army members were no longer in a supervisory role; they were working too, even assisting the workers.
"Alright, those who registered to leave that day, line up at the gate. You'll be hitching a ride on the supply truck later. The rations and supplies are all on the truck; just take them and leave," Lina said loudly, tapping on the railing.
The foremen, Mor and Daryl, glanced at Lina, and Mor, in particular, chuckled. "That girl's heart is really black."
The workers were not among those leaving; this wave was only for those who did not want to stay at the Church of Salvation, and specifically, the restless ones.
A third of the Salvation Army left, and several dozen people filled three or four trucks.
Of the remaining people, not all of them were law-abiding, but at least they were much easier to manage.
This was Lina's deal. Not everyone was convinced that they would take over the Saviour's Hall. Daryl and Mor had practically beaten them all up. Then Lina asked who didn't want to stay, why they didn't want to stay, and some of the troublemakers Mor had singled out.
Lina said she would let them leave and provide them with basic supplies, as long as they didn't show up in the vicinity, no matter where they went.
Of course, there was no such thing as a free lunch. In reality, Lina sold them off as soon as she got her hands on them, which included those supplies.
The restoration and expansion of the three communities all require manpower, and these Salvation Army members are best suited for manual labor, commonly known as labor reformers.
Once the work is finished, each community will arrange where these people go; whether they live or die is none of her concern—it's a one-time buyout.
The next step is the planning of the second wave of transactions, which is why the three major communities were willing to conduct the first transaction. To conduct the second transaction, the first transaction must be completed first.
"Workers, assemble!" Lina leaned lazily on the railing, looking down. The feeling of being high up was quite nice, but when she thought about all the trouble she would have to deal with, she sneered, whatever!
“I know that many of you do not want to stay in the Church of Salvation. Now we are offering you a new employment opportunity to relocate to four other communities: Alexandria, Kingdom of God, Hilltop Village, and Seaside Inn. In particular, Seaside Inn is especially welcoming to single male workers. Any skilled worker can participate in this immigration program. All four communities are open to you and your family. Go there to find a job or settle down and live like their residents.”
This is actually a good thing, since most of the workers were forced to stay, and nobody likes to be stuck in this dilapidated factory every day, unable to see the blue sky and white clouds, and without their own room.
"Of course, they prefer people with skills, so your registration form needs to be more complete. They will come to select you later. Write down everything you can do. If anyone dares to make things up, tsk, if they get angry and destroy you, I won't be responsible."
The workers began to discuss it quietly, and most of them still wanted to leave.
Lina gave them a few minutes to discuss, then slammed her hand on the railing. "Alright, after you finish work today, go fill out the registration forms. They'll come to select people in a month. You can take your time to think about where you're going during this month, but before you leave, make sure you teach the people I've assigned you all the work you have. Do you understand?!"
The workers were already unwilling to teach the Salvation Army, and now that they heard the immigrants also relied on their own skills, they were even less willing. They thought it would be better to learn from each other and share their skills!
"The Salvation Army isn't involved in this immigration plan, but if you don't teach, I'll tear up your registration forms and you can forget about leaving the Salvation Church." Lina shrugged. "You can't expect me to stop cooking just because you're leaving, can you? Otherwise, don't blame me for not letting you go; you'll all have to stay and work!"
The workers became obedient. They were used to being enslaved, and once the leader said so, they didn't dare to resist for a while. Moreover, it seemed that it didn't actually harm their interests, so let's teach them.
Lina watched with delight as the Salvation Hall bustled about, mostly engaged in smelting and manufacturing. Among these people were quite a few skilled craftsmen, talents that Negan had gathered from who-knows-where.
Fortunately, Daryl did not break down the Church of Saviour building this time and let the walkers in, so the workers suffered almost no losses.
These are all her resources! And they're recyclable!
Of course, human trafficking can only be a short-term plan. After all, the remaining Salvation Army members are not wanted by the other communities even if they are given away for free, except for the seaside hotel that offers to buy lives.
Of course, Lina would never agree to this, so she didn't even plan to give any of the laborers to the seaside hotel this time. They had suffered too much, so their hatred was even stronger. Lina could understand, but since they were now her resources, she didn't want her own interests to be harmed. At most, she would try to make things up to the seaside hotel, such as giving them priority in selecting people or giving them more useful men.
As for long-term planning, that's a long-term task. First, she needs to keep Eugene around for a while.
The bullet manufacturing process can continue. We can appoint him as a quality inspector and train more reliable quality inspectors. That's how we create a unique industry for Salvation Hall!
Other communities would be lining up to beg her to trade! Just thinking about those wonderful days, especially Rick humbly begging her, and Maggie and Carol whining to her, Lena Lee's peak was right before her eyes!
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