Chapter 258: Mulch
The man with the pipe stared at Zhenlan for a long moment. "Survival and dinner," he repeated, like he was making sure that he had heard it right.
"That is what I said," Zhenlan replied with a nod of his head. He knew exactly what was going to come next. It didn’t matter if they were in the middle of an apocalypse or in the middle of a boardroom.
Negotiation was always dependent on who blinked first. And Zhenlan had never once blinked first.
"What does that mean?" the man with the pipe continued, his head cocked to the side.
Letting out a long sigh, Zhenlan studied the man in front of him. Given everything, he was willing to put money on the fact that this man and his pipe would be going with him. "It means that people who can do the work we need will be fed, protected, and given a place to sleep outside the base."
He didn’t bother to say what would happen to those who didn’t do the work. They should know that by now.
There was the sound of several people shifting behind the man, and Zhenlan watched the reaction move through the crowd.
Only three things mattered in this world.
Food mattered.
Protection mattered.
And a place to sleep mattered.
Individually, none of those things were enough to make desperate people trust him, but they were enough to make them listen. And that was half of the battle.
The man’s grip tightened around the pipe. "And what work do you need? Be specific. I don’t like surprises."
"I already told you," Zhenlan said, keeping his voice even. "Builders, electricians, plumbers, welders, mechanics, roofers, people who understand solar panels, batteries, water storage, doors, walls... what part was unclear? We are building a safe house for those who can do the work."
Someone near the back gave a rough laugh. "By that list, it sounds like you need half the base."
"No," Chenghai said before Zhenlan could answer. "We need people who can actually do those things. And lets face it... those who know what they are doing can do more than one of those things."
That killed the laugh faster than a threat would have.
Lingyun smiled, bright and pleased, as if Chenghai had handed him the perfect opening. "If you think about it, we really are doing you a favor by being so picky. If you say you can do something and then can’t, you will not have much time to regret it."
The man with the pipe narrowed his eyes. "And just what is that supposed to mean?"
"Mulch," Lingyun replied, his lips pronouncing the single word like it held all the secrets of the universe. And in a way... it did.
Someone behind him frowned. "As in whoever can’t do the inside work will be doing the gardening?"
"Nothing so nice," Lingyun said cheerfully. "I mean mulch as in... you become mulch. Our boss does not keep people who cannot carry their own weight. She is a firm believer in everyone pulling their own weight."
The crowd around them went very still, their uneasy murmurings becoming louder and louder.
Zhenlan turned his head to look at Lingyun. "That was unnecessarily dramatic," he scolded. "You didn’t need to say it like that."
Lingyun tilted his head. "Was I wrong in some way, shape, or form? If I was..." Zhenlan paused but didn’t say anything. After all, both men knew that Lingyun wasn’t wrong.
Chenghai let out a quiet breath that might have been amusement before drawing everyone’s attention back to the issue at hand. "Do not lie about your skills. Do not steal. Do not touch things that do not belong to you. Do your work, eat your food, and live. That is the only offer we are making."
The man with the pipe looked between the three of them. "You people are insane."
"Yes," Lingyun said nodding his head with a somewhat crazy smile on his face.
"No," Zhenlan replied at the same time, giving Lingyun a glare that said ’I want to buy you a muzzle and leash’. Lingyun winked at him in response.
Chenghai considered it before he slowly nodded his head. "It really depends on the person."
That did not seem to reassure anyone, which was probably a good thing.
Zhenlan had not come here to reassure them with half truths. He needed workers, not grateful refugees clinging to him because he had promised them safety with a smile.
Safety did not exist anymore. Not in the way people wanted it to exist. Instead, there were only places that killed you slower, people who made the dying harder for anyone who came too close, and rules that kept the useful alive long enough to matter.
For example, Rouxi’s house had rules, and Zhenlan was beginning to appreciate that more than he ever thought possible.
The older man on the crate leaned forward slightly. "And if we can do the work?"
"Then you come with us," Zhenlan answered. "You work. You are fed. You follow the rules. You sleep somewhere safer than this."
"I think you are the crazy one," muttered Lingyun under his breath as he glared at the man. "How many times do we have to say the same thing for you to understand."
The man with the pipe snorted. "If you want something from us... you will answer my questions even if you have to repeat yourself until you are blue in the face. After all... you are here becasue you want something. If you didn’t, you never would have stepped foot in this base. That puts the ball firmly in our court. Now doesn’t it?"
He turned away from Lingyun, who was doing his best to be a human lighter, and turned to Zhenlan. "Safer than a military base?"
Chenghai looked around the outer section, then back at him. "From what I can see? Yes."
The man’s mouth tightened because even he could not pretend this place looked safe.
Zhenlan turned his attention to the people behind him. "Who here can build?"
No one answered.
Of course no one answered. Why would they?
Lingyun sighed. "That was disappointing."
The man with the pipe gave him a cold look. "People who answer questions like that get taken and don’t come back."
"Then they can stay here and take their chances," Zhenlan replied with a shrug. It was like trying to pull teeth to get an answer from this man, but that wasn’t a bad thing. It told him more than anything else that he would fit in well with their household.
The man looked back at him, but Zhenlan did not soften his expression. "I am not begging. If no one here knows how to build, repair, wire, weld, or plumb, then we are wasting each other’s time. We will ask somewhere else."
That made several people shift.
Good.
Desperation could make people reckless, but pride could make them stupid. Zhenlan had no use for either unless they came attached to skill.
A woman near the back finally spoke. "My husband was a contractor."
"Was?" Chenghai asked.
Her face closed. "Work assignment."
No one asked if he came back, just by her using the past tense was the only answer they needed.
"Can you build?" Zhenlan asked.
The woman looked offended. "I worked beside him for fifteen years."
"That is not what I asked."
