Chapter 340

The rainy season.

Haizhou is rainy; every year as the temperature gradually rises, the rainfall gradually becomes abundant.

With the movement of ocean currents, a large amount of humid air blows in from the Endless Sea, turning into frequent torrential rains. And after a rain, the temperature rises once more...

Until the earth is baked to the point of cracking, only to turn into a quagmire in the pouring rain.

It cycles back and forth like this.

The more the sun bakes and the higher the temperature, the heavier the rain and the more humid the air.

There is no hope that the scorching sun can drive away the moisture, nor can one expect the rain to relieve the heat; under the dual pressure, it is only repeated suffering. The whole world will turn into a giant steamer.

Sometimes, the impurity content in the rain explodes, and under the acid erosion, any high-tech equipment outside the wilderness will be finished. Solar panels will age rapidly under the erosion of hurricanes and acid rain; instead, the stupid, big, and clumsy wind power generation can survive the ordeal—at worst, you just replace a few blades and bearings.

That's not all.

With the arrival of the rainy season, the entire Haizhou will usher in another period of turmoil.

It's not just the flooding and water accumulation inside the city; the floods and tsunamis outside the city also become increasingly frequent...

Every summer is a high-incidence period for disasters.

It's fine inside the city; all the large or small cities of the Federation are under the coverage of the Law of the Heavenly Governor, which can maximize the suppression of the spread and intensity of disasters. But in the wilderness outside the city, the effect of the Law of the Heavenly Governor will rapidly thin out.

For the settlements in the wilderness, every summer is an ordeal.

The frequent occurrence of natural disasters is secondary, as one can prepare early. Under the changing climate, the activity of many disaster beasts is also manageable; if you can't provoke them, you can at least hide from them—everyone already has experience in running away.

The most terrifying thing is that as the sea level rises, the intricate reef areas in many coastal regions of Haizhou will be submerged by seawater.

Large ships will be able to cross the obstacles of the past, freely entering and exiting coastal areas, and even, taking advantage of the floods, pushing into inland river channels...

—This means that the 'water ghosts' from the sea are coming ashore!

Just as people are divided into different ranks...

The wish for equality at birth is beautiful, but it is too far from reality. Not only are there top-tier, middle-tier, and bottom-tier horses, but these days, even doing evil and committing crimes has a hierarchy of contempt.

In the wilderness outside of order, the lawless people who prey on each other have an even greater disparity between them.

The small-time thugs who force sales, sell inferior goods, or simply cheat and extort in the markets are just like the childish competitions of kindergarten classes. By comparison, those who are a bit more ambitious are the road-blocking bandits who dare to carry a gun and set up checkpoints to collect money at mountain passes or on the main roads of the wilderness.

⊙￠O

Those who are even crazier are the bandit gangs who are settlement scavengers by day, and at night, the men, women, and children of the entire settlement wear masks and carry guns, roaming the wilderness in groups, daring to plunder even the cargo convoys of large cities.

But no matter how far they go, they are still within the Federation, harboring a little bit of awe and fear, not daring to go too far.

Unless they have caused a monstrous disaster or harbor great ambitions, boarding smuggling ships or small sampans to head out into the vast sea... jumping into that hell beneath the blue sea and sky among the Qiandao, where strife still rages!

The wars between the city-states have lasted for hundreds of years for various reasons.

The life-and-death struggles are countless.

Under the tyrannical winds and waves of the Endless Sea, who knows how many lawless fanatics have been spawned, almost openly doing shady work.

Among them are wanted criminals who caused trouble in the Federation or Empire and couldn't survive there, failed kings and usurpers exiled in disgrace from the struggles in the Central Plains, and soldiers or villains who retired from the many navies of the Qiandao... some are even guards from a city-state Federation who took off their uniforms to make some extra money.

Almost every rainy season, there are pirates of all sizes who take this opportunity to run to the coastal areas of the Federation to make a killing.

Even if they don't dare to show their faces or get close to the large cities of the Federation, the countless settlements in the vast wilderness are almost like fat sheep to them.

Even if you are poor to the point of being pathetic, don't you still have your lives?

When human life is worth less, people actually become more valuable; alive or dead, whole or in pieces, everything has its value.

Doing evil can be divided into ranks, but straw is straw wherever it is.

Most small settlements, apart from a few broken guns that are of no use, have no ability to protect themselves and can only be slaughtered.

Moreover, there are quite a few locals who will help lead the way...

And how many locals are mixed in among them?

If you want to survive, or want to be fleeced a little less, you have to endure many harsh treatments and seek the protection of one side.

Of course, the best way is to enter the city, but unfortunately, an ID card is a good thing, yet many people don't have one.

Every year, for the settlements outside the city, the scorching heat and rain—which are just a nuisance inside the city—are the approach of a catastrophe.

What's more, right now before Ji Jue, this small village of no more than a hundred people is undoubtedly a fat sheep, and a fat sheep carrying treasures or a large amount of property...

The young people still have unrealistic delusions and hopes, but as the leader of the settlement, how could the middle-aged man not know?

What was dug out of the ground is not a treasure at all.

It is an out-and-out death warrant!

Money and life—you can only have one. If you want both, you can only gamble.

Gamble that this overly young factory director still wants to accomplish something. Gamble that he will become that horse bone bought for a thousand gold.

In the brief silence, Ji Jue did not speak.

He tapped silently on the raw stone beneath his hand, the crisp echo reverberating in the quiet garage.

It wasn't until a long time later that Ji Jue looked back at him.

He asked suddenly, "Do you want money or goods?"

In an instant, the middle-aged man felt as if he had been granted amnesty, almost springing up from his chair, wiping his sweat in ecstasy: "Either is fine, either is fine! It's just... it's just... can you... can you please..."

"Coastal Industry is indeed short-handed recently, and recruitment has been ongoing. If you are interested, you can naturally sign up."

Ji Jue told him: "It's just that we need people here to have experience and a foundation."

"We can learn!" the leader guaranteed decisively.

"So that means signing a long-term contract?"

Ji Jue nodded: "Six months of training, ten years of work, room and board included. No foundation required, but you must be honest and reliable, not lazy or slippery, and have clean hands. Can you do that?"

"Yes! Yes!"

The leader's eyes lit up: "I have... I have over a hundred people, all young and strong, all honest, reliable, and willing to endure hardship!"

As he spoke, he turned back and kicked the young people behind him twice: "A-Nao, A-Song, what are you still standing there for! Call him Boss!"

"H-Hello, Boss!"

"Hello, Boss!"

The young people, whether hesitant or decisive, lowered their heads in submission.

Ji Jue laughed: "Your settlement only has a hundred people, where did you get over a hundred?"

"They... they all have some relatives and friends, all honest people, honest people!" the leader fawningly apologized with a smile: "Everyone admires your character, Boss Ji, admires Coastal Industry, and everyone is willing to come and willing to work!"

"Whether you're honest or not isn't for you to decide."

Ji Jue glanced at him: "I don't care how you came, but after signing the contract, how I manage you is not for you to decide, understand?"

"Understand! Understand!!!"

The leader was overjoyed, nodding repeatedly, not even asking how much money or goods Ji Jue was willing to give; that wasn't the point, and it certainly wouldn't be little.

The key was that after these hundred-plus people signed a contract with the coast, they could logically stay in Xinquan, and at the same time, couldn't their relatives back home also get a foothold?

The space isn't big, but couldn't they squeeze in?

In the entire wilderness of Haizhou, among all the settlements, who is the biggest? Xinquan certainly doesn't count, but if you talk about which place has the most development prospects, besides Xinquan, which occupies the huge fat meat of the Quancheng ruins, where else could there be?

There is a knack to hugging a big thigh and being a dog; if you want to hug, hug the thickest thigh, and if you want to be a dog, be the dog of the richest person.

If you can be the dog of the coast, are you still afraid of suffering in the wilderness in the future?!

"Acquired at a discount, four million."

Ji Jue finally patted the raw stone and turned back to tell the finance department, "No need to sign the training loan agreement. For the factory's products, give them a four-million credit limit; whatever they want, let them pick it out themselves."

After finishing, he turned back to look at the middle-aged man who was still smiling.

This time, before he could finish speaking, the middle-aged man had already taken a slip of paper from his pocket that had already been fingerprinted and signed, offering it with both hands.

It was written clearly on the slip—grateful for the selfless aid and charity of Coastal Industry, this raw stone is donated to the coast free of charge to be used as rockery decoration.

★￠O

It had been prepared long ago.

Contracts in the wilderness are even more useless than toilet paper; since it's a tribute, then offer it clearly—why bother putting on a show?

Ji Jue lowered his eyes, staring at the slip of paper delivered right under his nose.

His eyebrows arched slightly.

He looked at this man with his honest and fawning face once again.

From beginning to end, he actually had a choice...

Several million or ten million—this sum of money can sometimes be a huge fortune, and sometimes it can be nothing at all.

If used for the settlement, it would be a drop in the bucket, but if used on himself... it would be enough for him to change his identity, start over as a new person, set up a decent business in the city, and from then on become a superior person who doesn't have to worry about food or clothing.

Was he truly concerned about the settlement and unwilling to betray everyone's expectations, or was it that he would rather be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix, wanting to take this opportunity to gamble and try to go a step further?

Ji Jue actually found it hard to distinguish.

But no matter what, he didn't care.

Glancing at the slip of paper, he laughed softly, took it, and asked suddenly: "What is your name?"

"I, I..."

The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment, his eager smile turning red with excitement: "My surname is Gou, my name is not worth mentioning, I'm the second-born; you can just call me Old Gou or Old Er."

"Then go register Old Gou; that shanty town area next to the factory has been getting more chaotic recently, and it still lacks an administrator—let's see what you're capable of."

Ji Jue waved his hand and left with the forklift and the raw stone.

In the silence, Lu Feng, who was picking his feet and smoking while watching the excitement, chuckled, patted him on the shoulder, and turned to leave as well. Only Yan Jian, who had brought the finance person, remained.

At this moment, Yan Gong still looked at Gou Er with a smile: "Then let's do the handover."

"Alright, alright."

After Gou Er wiped his hands on his body, he shook hands with him enthusiastically, and while shaking hands, quietly slipped a heavy little bag over, "Since I'm new here, please give me more guidance."

"We're all our own people, easy to talk to."

Yan Jian also smiled, although he didn't care and didn't push the bag back.

This little bit wasn't even as much as his daily dividend.

"Alright, no need to be overly polite."

He handed over a list: "I'll take you to get the money in a moment; whether it's a transfer or gold, it's all the same. The things are all here, take a look and pick."

Gou Er held his breath.