The next day, Wen Le prepared the supplies in the warehouse and, after meeting with Wang Zhixin, he and Xiao Wen began to inventory them directly. After both sides confirmed the inventory, Xiao Wen left Tarim with Wen Le.
Afterwards, they went to several resource sites and, following their previous model of cooperation, signed contracts with the local survivors one by one and collected the existing resources, leaving the rest of the mining work to the local survivors.
Being able to exchange survival supplies for stable work is extremely desirable for any group of survivors. Since the apocalypse began, the inability to produce food has been the biggest hidden danger in all the surviving gathering places around the world. The inability to supplement food has made Xiao Wen and Wen Le welcomed and valued wherever they went.
On the way back, the two of them were in a cheerful mood. Looking at the various cooperation points marked on the map in their hands, Xiao Wen had a preliminary plan in his mind, but whether it could be implemented or not would require consideration from all aspects when they returned to base.
After entering the Tibetan area, with no zombies to stop them, their progress was much faster. They rushed back and finally arrived at the base before the first snowfall.
The construction of the base had basically come to a stop. According to the weather forecast, the next drop in temperature was less than three days away. Now, besides worrying about Xiao Wen and Wen Le being outside, everyone was making preparations to welcome the winter.
“We’re back! The boss is back!”
Suddenly, a cry echoed throughout the communication room.
The wireless communication team had now moved out of the meeting room in the courtyard and settled into another office, next to the newly built monitoring room.
The worker who had been watching the screen all along saw Xiao Wen and Wen Le’s car enter the wireless range.
“Are you sure?” The team leader of the communication team, who had not yet left work, rushed over in a flash.
“Confirmed!” The worker nodded in surprise. “We’ve already replaced all the connectors with the new generation, and only the bosses have the old ones that haven’t been collected and replaced.”
Looking at the only green dot among the red dots on the screen, the team leader nodded and stood up, rushing out of the door.
Xiao Wen and his team had been away for so long that the base leaders had come to ask several times, so the team leader went to the courtyard to report as soon as he confirmed.
“They finally came back!” Han Ya breathed a sigh of relief when he received the news.
Although they trusted the abilities of the two people outside, as the harsh winter approached, the people in the base couldn’t help but start to worry.
So when Xiao Wen and Wen Le saw the base gate from afar, they saw many people gathered in front of the gate.
Xiao Wen parked the car outside the gate and got out with Wen Le, walking towards the people in front of the gate. And someone else was responsible for driving the car to a designated location.
“You’re finally back,” Lin Yan said with a smile.
“What’s going on?” Wen Le was slightly surprised.
Yan Wei Guo, who knew the news and came out together, shook his head helplessly, “It’s going to get colder and snow in less than three days. If you don’t come back now, it’ll be difficult to come back.”
Wen Le shrugged and stuck out his tongue. The journey was too smooth, and they almost forgot to come back before the snow.
Han Ya laughed, “Looking at Wen Le like this, did you forget to come back because you were having too much fun out there?!”
Xiao Wen’s eyes flashed with a hint of unease, but he quickly concealed it. Except for Wen Le, who had been traveling with him, no one else noticed. They all thought that Wen Le was the only one who was crazy about playing.
“Alright, let’s go in. You guys seem to have had a smooth journey. Rest well when you get back, and we’ll talk about other matters later,” Yan Wei Guo patted Xiao Wen’s shoulder.
Back at the courtyard, Xiao Wen looked at Wen Le, who blinked and nodded with a smile. Although they had space to rest in, traveling was still tiring. However, both of them were in good spirits, so they ignored the fatigue.
“Let’s gather first. We didn’t tire ourselves out on this journey,” Xiao Wen said to everyone.
Seeing Wen Le also nodding along, everyone had no objections. Perhaps no one in the entire base was not curious about the gains from their trip this time. Of course, people couldn’t help but mock them in their hearts: Damn! Only you two can wander around in the zombie horde for a few months and still dare to say you’re not tired! You guys are not human!!
After everyone entered the meeting room and sat down, Wen Le still brought out some snacks and drinks from the space. Everyone grabbed some and treated it as a small gathering.
However, it had to be said that during Wen Le’s absence from the base, although there was no difference in the main meals with the supplies left by Wen Le before leaving, there were no more pre-apocalyptic snacks and small treats. At least for now, the base did not have the ability and energy to produce processed snacks and treats.
Han Ya briefly talked about the progress of the base during this period.
It was similar to the previous estimates before the two left. The entire base, including the outer wall of the Second Ring Road and the entire insulation roof, including the Second Ring Road, had been built. The part that exceeded their expectations was when the troops from the Tibetan military district came to take supplies, they also sent people to help with the construction.
The only thing that surprised the two of them was the frequent communication between the Tibetan military region and the base during this period of time, and their relationship gradually became closer. Both sides silently approached each other with affection. Many things no longer needed to be negotiated in black and white. The high-level officials of the military region and Han Ya and others had already developed a certain tacit understanding.
“You mean they plan to open a road directly to the base?” Xiao Wen raised an eyebrow and asked.
Han Ya nodded, “It’s not just a plan. It’s been almost a month since they last came here, so they should have started building the road by now.”
Xiao Wen thought for a moment, “Given their numbers, building a road shouldn’t be a difficult task. If they have the intention, we should also give some response. The supplies we’ve collected this time far exceed your imagination, and we can take out some of them for them.”
When Xiao Wen mentioned their collection this time, many people in the room brightened up and urged the two to speak quickly.
Xiao Wen and Wen Le did not beat around the bush and roughly explained their experience along the way.
Without caring about the scattered supplies collected by the two, Han Ya directly instructed someone to find professionals to study the ten or so contracts that Wen Le had presented. As for some aspects that the base did not have professionals to study, they could only wait for the next meeting with the military region and ask for some professionals to come over.
Due to the large-scale collection this time, Xiao Wen and Wen Le had no time and energy to organize them. They simply roughly stacked them according to their types when they were stored in the space.
After chatting for a while, everyone dispersed. Except for the team members on guard patrol and the necessary facility workers, all the people in the base, regardless of gender or age, gathered in the second ring.
Wen Le first took out all the production and processing equipment he had collected along the way, but even though training grounds like the martial arts field had been requisitioned, not all the equipment could be set up. There was still some equipment that couldn’t be accommodated and had to be stored in Wen Le’s space.
Looking at the dense array of machines, everyone finally realized that Wen Le and Xiao Wen had really exceeded the plan in their collection this time. The equipment that was currently displayed was only a portion of the small-scale processing equipment, and there were still other types of equipment such as large-scale processing equipment, mineral resources, cultural materials, daily necessities, and food. These items were sorted and classified by designated personnel, and Wen Le and Xiao Wen went back to rest while Han Ya and others joined the sorting.
It took a total of four days to sort and organize all the small equipment, including the small equipment that Wen Le had not taken out the first time. However, there were some machines without operating instructions, and Wen Le kept them to study slowly when there was time in the future.
During these four days, Wen Le and Xiao Wen almost always sorted the types of raw materials in the space. Fortunately, most of the raw materials were obtained through trading with survivors, and they had been specially marked when they were received in the space.
On the fifth day, Han Ya called a meeting of all the base management to determine the types of processing that would be put into production within the base starting in the winter.
All the equipment with clear operating procedures and purposes, as well as the corresponding sorted raw materials, were listed on paper and distributed to everyone before the meeting. While waiting for everyone to arrive, Wen Le read through the list from beginning to end. Fabric production and cotton processing were given special emphasis by Wen Le, while the others were not urgent and could be discussed together.
Xiao Wen turned his head and looked at the prominent symbols drawn by Wen Le, squinting his eyes slightly. After a moment of thought, he leaned over to Wen Le’s ear and whispered, “We acquired a large cotton processing factory. If the quantity of small-scale processing is too large, the energy and manpower required will be too much. It’s better to focus on large-scale processing.”
Wen Le was stunned for a moment. After thinking carefully, he remembered that he had indeed received such a large processing plant, which was almost the same size as the tobacco factory that had been acquired before. Later, he received too many and too miscellaneous things, so he forgot about it.
“I remember the equipment and process of that factory very clearly,” Wen Le said in a low voice.
Xiao Wen nodded.
After the meeting started, as expected, many people proposed that the first priority for winter supplies investment should be for production. Although the base has insulation ceilings and heating equipment installed in the inner city, the second ring road and along the roads to ensure the warmth of the base, no one will forget the Tibet Military District, which comes to show their existence from time to time. Now that both sides have expressed their willingness to merge, wouldn’t it be better to consider the bodyguards of the future base for both sides?
“Okay, fabric production, cotton processing, garment making, and fur processing will be put into production first. After the relevant personnel have finished the meeting, they will calculate the required personnel requirements and quantities, as well as the corresponding raw materials, and report to me,” Han Ya summarized.
“Just a moment,” Xiao Wen interrupted, “do everything else according to Han Ya’s requirements, except for cotton processing. We also collected a large cotton processing factory before, all of which are large machines. The output should be larger than small-scale processing, and the energy expended will be less. When we find out more, we can do large-scale processing directly.”
Han Ya nodded.
“I have a proposal. Let’s see if it’s feasible,” Lin Yan had been silent all the time, and now he spoke up.
“What proposal?” Han Ya asked.
“For cotton processing, we will continue to use small-scale equipment while sending the large-scale equipment directly to the military district. We will provide the raw materials, and they can produce the finished products themselves. We don’t need to put all of our manpower into producing warm supplies. We can combine other processing and production as well. It has been almost a year since the end of the world, and I believe that the survivors in the Central Plains base should be able to survive and not be easily overrun by zombies. We can slowly produce some storable supplies, accumulate them over time, and use them for trade when we can exchange goods with other bases.”
Lin Yan’s proposal opened a window for Xiao Wen and Han Ya to better and more quickly execute their next plan.
“I think it makes sense. We have already agreed to give some of the coal fuel we collected to the military district. With these things for heating, they can produce faster than us, especially since they have more people. And these are things they need for themselves,” said Han Ya.
Many people reconsidered their stance.
Han Ya glanced at Xiao Wen and paused before saying, “It seems like we should thoroughly confirm the merger with the military district. After all, we can’t give things away for free. We need to take a stance and show them we mean business.”
Xiao Wen nodded, “In that case, let’s first focus on what our base needs for production and what Lin Yan said about goods for future trade. We can discuss the rest with the military district if the merger is confirmed.”
The group’s attention shifted away from essential daily necessities that required large-scale production. These could be discussed with the military district since they have more people and can handle production more efficiently than their smaller group.
This way, food processing was put on the agenda. Currently, the food grown in the base is not enough to support three meals a day, so the raw materials came from Wen Le’s space.
Previously, Wen Le and Xiao Wen were not too focused on planting in the space since they had enough reserves to last a long time, even with the military district’s population of over ten thousand.
But since they can now process the food, they don’t mind speeding up the planting and investing in processing.
The Central Plains region would not have the resources for planting or food processing for several years, so their processed food would sell well for at least a decade.
With the weapon production in the factory and the military district’s troops guarding them, their base would be able to thrive in this chaotic and desperate era.
TL/Note: Today, I will also upload 5 chapters at once. (｡･･｡)
This chapter is brought to you by Momoko, thanks for the ko-fi! (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･
Thanks for the chapter!! 🥳🥳