Chapter 256: Excellent With Children
Zhenlan pinched the bridge of his nose and, for one brief second, understood why Rouxi kept the idea of murder as a household management strategy on the table every time someone walked through their front door.
There was too much time being wasted on things that really didn’t matter.
Look at them right now... they had been standing here for at least an hour, even if it felt like days, and nothing was actually getting done.
Commander Li still wanted answers about the protest. Tan Wei and Sun Ming were watching the soldiers like they expected one of them to start foaming at the mouth. Lingyun looked like he was one bad sentence away from trying to solve morale with arson, and Chenghai had already broken up one ration-line fight by making a man kneel in the dirt.
All of that was important to someone, but it wasn’t important to him... and it wasn’t the reason they had come here.
Their base... the mansion... Rouxi’s house... whatever you wanted to call it needed repairs in order to be able to withstand what was coming next, and that meant they needed people who could fix it.
And they needed to keep them for the next time the house was destroyed...
And the time after that.
Tradesmen were worth their weight in gold when it came to the end of the world, and Zhenlan was determined to get the best that he could... and as many as he could.
"Captain Kang handles the outer section," the soldier said, looking between Commander Li and the far side of the base. "He should have the records for civilian work assignments."
Commander Li’s expression didn’t improve. "Where is he?"
The soldier looked toward the administrative building.
Tan Wei stared at him. "The officer assigned to the outer section is inside command while the outer section is angry enough to protest?"
The soldier didn’t answer which was enough of an answer.
Lingyun smiled. "I love this place. Every answer is worse than the last."
"We’re not loving it," Zhenlan replied. "We need to get a move on... or are you willing to spend the night away from your precious Rouxi?"
The smile completely disappeared from Lingyun’s face as he cocked his head to the side and studied the other man. "I take back every nice thing I have ever thought about you," he said, his body almost completely frozen in the spot. "Lead faster before I decide to lead for you. I don’t think you would enjoy that experience at all... Xu Zhenlan."
Chenghai looked between Zhenlan and Lingyun before he turned his attention toward the far fence where the outer section had been crammed against the edge of the base. "We don’t need Captain Kang. And we don’t need to spend the night here, either."
Commander Li turned to him. "He has the records."
"The records will only tell you who command already knows about," Chenghai answered, his tone impassive. "They won’t tell you who’s hiding what they know how to do. Not many people in today’s day and age will be eager to be exploited for no benefit."
Zhenlan nodded because that was the problem exactly.
They didn’t need people who had already been stamped, sorted, claimed, and sent wherever command wanted them. They needed people willing to leave. More importantly, they needed people who could be brought near Rouxi’s house without being killed for stepping over a line they should never cross.
Not that Zhenlan would blame Rouxi for killing someone who looked at her house and considered it theirs. Meilan already proved what a dumb idea that was.
Lingyun glanced toward the ration line. "Rouxi would probably find the right ones faster."
Commander Li looked at him. "How?"
"She’d insult everyone until the useful ones got annoyed enough to correct her."
Chenghai considered that. "That might work."
"It would also start a fight," Zhenlan said.
Lingyun’s smile widened. "Which also could be useful."
"No."
"You’re very restrictive. But either way... how about I light a fire under your ass to get you moving faster. Metaphorically speaking of course."
"I’ve had a long day, Lingyun," started Zhenlan. "You do not want to test what little patience I have left."
"We all have. Mine had less Rouxi in it, so I’m suffering more."
Zhenlan ignored him and turned back to Commander Li. "We go to the outer section. We make it clear we’re not recruiting for the base, and we leave before your protest, ration problem, command problem, or gate problem decides to become our problem. Because I promise you, we’ll fix it the Rouxi way, and I don’t think you want that."
Commander Li’s jaw worked once. "It’s already my problem."
"Yes," Zhenlan said. "That’s why we’re trying not to make it worse."
Tan Wei made a strangled sound that might have been a cough. Sun Ming looked away too quickly, which meant he’d either agreed or had decided laughing in Commander Li’s face was a poor survival choice. Zhenlan respected that. People with survival instincts were less exhausting.
Commander Li stared at Zhenlan for a moment, then turned toward the outer section. "Fine. We go."
They started moving, and the base noticed before they could even take three full steps. Good news traveled at a snail’s pace while bad news flew faster than the speed of light.
And this was probably going to be bad news for a lot of people.
Commander Li walking toward the outer section with soldiers behind him was already enough to draw attention. Adding Chenghai, Lingyun, and Zhenlan only made it worse. One looked like he could break a wall by walking through it, one had dried blood on his collar and smiled too much, and one was wearing clothes far too clean for this side of the base.
A woman near the ration line pulled a dented pot closer to her chest as they passed. A boy sitting beside a stack of empty water jugs stared at Lingyun until Lingyun smiled at him, and then the boy immediately found the ground fascinating.
"See?" Lingyun murmured. "I’m excellent with children. How many do you think Rouxi wants? I am more than willing to offer my services."
