Chapter 403: Good Days and Bad Days

After a sudden rain, the sun dried the mud on the road again, and when the large carts rumbled past, dust flew up.

In the humid and hot wind, the dust rose listlessly and then fell.

The exposed skin could feel bursts of unpleasant slipperiness and stickiness, and the crotch was stuck in a lump, feeling uncomfortable no matter what.

Walking a few steps outdoors made one sincerely miss iced happy water and air conditioning.

Regrettably, both were luxuries in the wilderness.

There were very few times one could enjoy them.

With the gradual departure of summer, after experiencing one endless rainstorm after another, the rainy season, which was so long that one could grow mushrooms in the torment, finally ended.

The wilderness welcomed stability and prosperity once again.

Ignoring the relatively less frequent rainstorms and the relatively less violent sunshine, it was already a good season of clear autumn skies and crisp air.

The settlement residents and junkers, who had been stifled for several months, shouldered all their belongings and poured out, as if it were the busy farming season. For a time, the once deserted and barren wilderness was actually faintly busy.

What was different from previous years was that there was a lot more conspicuous red this time.

More and more overloaded small tricycles, painted in colorful colors, appeared on the roads, traveling between various settlements or temporary construction sites and mines.

The drivers, wearing equally eye-catching uniforms, drank alcohol, smoked, and shouldered guns, responsible for delivering goods to every godforsaken place.

On the small tricycles and uniforms, a black LOGO was often sprayed, as well as the company name that had recently become famous in the wilderness————Messenger Logistics.

"Uncle, Old, Old... who is this Old Diao? The name is quite complicated..."

The bearded man who stepped on the brake jumped out of the car, spat a mouthful of phlegm into the muddy water, and stammered at the cargo list for a long time, unable to recognize the characters.

Then, he naturally received a roar.

"Fuck your mother, if you can't read, don't read, Old Chang! Old Chang!"

The man who ordered the goods lifted the curtain of the dilapidated RV amidst the laughter, snatched the list, signed his name, and patted it back into the deliveryman's hand: "Where's the stuff?"

"Hey, what are you roaring for."

The deliveryman shook his head, turned back to rummage through the carriage for a long time, found a metal box with a unified style and specification, and handed it over.

It even had a combination lock on it.

Obviously not the first time dealing with each other, Old Chang had long been accustomed to the rules of Messenger Logistics, so he didn't talk nonsense, and soon, after Old Chang came out of the house, the empty box was thrown back.

The box belonged to Messenger Logistics.

As for what was in the box... anyway, no one asked and no one said.

The rules were just like that; when shipping, it was confirmed, and as long as it didn't violate the boss's rules, the delivery person didn't need to care about anything. In the wilderness,

if the standards were set too strictly, there would be no business.

After confirming one order was settled, the deliveryman rode the small tricycle to deliver other ordinary goods.

Most of them were products from Messenger Logistics' order book, unified packaging and unified batch procurement of medicine, emergency food, clothing, toilet paper, spirits, small portions of vegetables or meat that needed refrigeration, or digital products that couldn't be produced or managed in the wilderness, occasionally with a few books, a few strange discs... or seaweed and egg drop soup without vegetables or flowers and forgetting to add soup.

When it was the turn of the last one, the deliveryman roared angrily, asking which prodigal son bought such a big toilet, and also, I don't include installation!

After a trip of goods was delivered, the deliveryman smoked a cigarette, packed the things the settlement wanted to ship, signed the contract, took another order form that was half-written, nodded, and agreed with the head of the settlement on the time for the next delivery.

The next time he came over, if there were no special circumstances or urgent items, it would be three days later.

It was reasonable and no one cared.

★co

Unlike the peers in the city who were scolded to death for not delivering the next day, in the wilderness, time was the least important thing for logistics.

Having a life to deliver goods was the point.

"Isn't it unsafe to have so many things every time?" The idler smoking at the entrance of the settlement poked his head curiously: "What if you encounter car bandits?"

The deliveryman turned his head, looked at him, then looked at a few people not far away who seemed curious, grinned, and smiled half-heartedly: "What else can I do, run."

He said: "The company's rules, if you encounter robbers, just dump the cargo box and run the first time, don't care about any goods, whoever grabs it, it belongs to them."

"So generous?" People around laughed, as if they didn't believe his nonsense.

"Anyway, that's what the training said, there are quite a few situations where you encounter car bandits, those who die have compensation, twenty months of salary, those who live don't have their money deducted, and can continue to deliver goods."

The deliveryman lit another cigarette, started the car slowly, and left.

In the crowd, a few people looked at each other and were about to say something, but the crowd scattered all at once.

A dark and withered man walked over, looked at the person who asked the question with a blank expression, and without warning, slapped him across the face.

Along with the few next to him, one slap each, followed by a punch to the chest.

No one dared to fight back, not even daring to dodge.

"Uncle Li..."

"You've grown some guts, Rat Hui."

The withered man sighed, "Even daring to have designs on the Coast's goods? If you want to find death so much, why don't I help you, drive you out of the settlement, and you go yourself, how about that? When you make a name for yourself in the future, maybe I'll have to look at your face."

"I, Uncle, I didn't mean that." The idler who was slapped dodged his eyes: "I really didn't have that idea, just asked..."

"You'd better not."

The person in charge of the settlement said indifferently: "Otherwise, it won't be the Coast, I'll

hang you on the power tower first, so that when the Coast's clearing team comes to the door, I won't be harmed by you again!"

Everyone was silent as cicadas in winter.

"Alright, scatter."

Uncle Li waved his hand, glanced at the few restless young people for the last time, and turned to leave.

After returning to his RV, he opened a beer, drank more than half of it, and said without looking back: "Xiao Liu, keep an eye on them; if they sneak out, tell me."

"Good words are hard to persuade a ghost that wants to die."

The young man watching porn in the car shook his head: "Rat Hui is that kind of trash, doesn't know what's good for him. You saved his life, and he still thinks you're blocking his path to wealth.

Driving such people out early is good for everyone."

Uncle Li didn't speak, continuing to drink beer.

After fast-forwarding, the young man couldn't help but ask: "The logistics that the Coast is doing, it's attracting wind because it's a big tree, I don't think it will last long.

Several bosses have already let out the wind, you say should we..."

Uncle Li looked over with a blank expression, interrupted his words, and asked back: "You said they were bosses, do I look like a boss to you?"

"Doesn't look like it."

Xiao Liu shook his head regretfully, "Looks like a poor bastard."

"Isn't that right?"

Uncle Li sneered: "Why should a poor bastard worry about the boss's business?

If the bosses want to do things, let the bosses do it; after the bosses finish, no matter who dies or who wins, don't they still have to find us poor bastards to do the work?

Fuck, if I could beat the Coast, I would have been a boss myself long ago, do I still need to sell my life for their little bit of money?"

Xiao Liu was silent for a long time, looked over suspiciously, and after a long time, shook his head:

"Doesn't look like you at all, Uncle; when you brought me out with a weapon back then, you never flinched."

"I'm getting old, I'm afraid."

Uncle Li raised the beer bottle, tilted his head, but found it was already empty; after being silent for a long time, he didn't take another one, just smacked his lips and poured the last drop onto the tip of his tongue.

The beer ordered in bulk by the Coast couldn't be called rich and fragrant, at most it was just a meal accompaniment drink with a little alcohol and flavor.

The taste was bland.

But such beer, after being iced, was only something the leader of the settlement could enjoy at any time in the wilderness of the past.

Now, at the very back of his car, there was a whole row stacked up.

Refrigerators of unknown hands were cooling with a huff and puff, the makeshift air conditioner assembled was blowing cold air with a hiss, and the pre-made dishes in the scrapped microwave turned a few times, and with a ding, already emitted an enticing fragrance.

"Eat."

Uncle Li threw the flattened can into the box and picked up his chopsticks.

The packaging bag was torn open, and the green peppers, shredded meat, and oil inside were poured onto the plate, paired with sticky rice, and stuffed into his mouth in one go.

In the intervals of shoveling rice, he would occasionally raise his head and look at the

wilderness surrounding the settlement.

The grass was green, the sky was blue, and the sun was shining.

The tarpaulins bought from the Coast side had been set up step by step; when the temperature dropped a bit more, he could try to grow some garlic and rapeseed.

He could leave some space, get someone to build a chicken coop, and if he couldn't sell them, he could keep them to eat himself.

Such days were actually quite good.

He suddenly thought.

These days, it was visible, they couldn't get any better.

Under the same sky, in the same wilderness, the joys and sorrows of people were hard to communicate. Some people were imagining the future, while others felt there was no future.

On the streets of the settlement, no one spoke, and face after face was solemn or gloomy, or curious, poking their heads and glancing at the 'most imposing' building in the very center.

A three-story building common in the city.

In front of the door, the armored vehicle had the Coast's LOGO printed on it, and 'security guards' with live ammunition were already standing around, glancing coldly at face after face.

In the hall, the warmth of the previous pleasantries was gone, and it was nearly on the verge of swords being drawn.

On one side of the dilapidated table, the visitors, dressed properly in suits and leather shoes, were light and airy, while on the other side of the table, those locals who had weathered the storms and had dark skin were already filled with righteous indignation, their faces red and ears red.

Many young people were already unable to contain their anger, only waiting for an order,

to swarm up and tear these money-grubbing outsiders into pieces!

"Is Mr. Ji trying to kill us all!"

Feng Yao's hands trembled, looking at the notice in his hand, his eyes covered in bloodshot veins: "Surely you don't have to leave us no way to live!

Do you have to force us to death to count?"

Accompanied by his words, the people beside him glanced back, gave a look, and suddenly the atmosphere became even more sorrowful and indignant, and the people gathered outside the hall also started to clamor.

Some people had already picked up their guns.

Defend the home! Defend the settlement! Better to die than be a slave!

At worst, we'll fight you to the death!

"This is different from what we agreed on, Mr. Feng."

The person in charge of collection was obviously accustomed to the folk customs of the wilderness, sighing helplessly: "A month ago we came to ask, you said the water ghosts hadn't left, it wasn't safe; half a month ago we came to ask, you said there were too many wounded and they hadn't recovered; now I've come for the third time to ask, how can this count as forcing you to death?

Even outside the city, one still has to speak of reason and rules, right?"

"Reason is reason, rules are rules, but this is too harsh!"

Feng Yao's voice was hoarse, nearly shedding tears: "Mr. Ji's price is so high, we also have to live, taking away so many people at once..."

"When you called for help back then, it wasn't like this."

The collector shook his head, took out his phone, and pushed it to the middle of the table: "Contracts aren't spoken of in the wilderness, but the recordings, videos, and electronic confirmation signatures from back then are all complete.

Mr. Feng, you want money, you don't want to hand over people, you want to default on your debt, and now you want a way to live; where in this world is there such a cheap thing."

Back in the rainy season, when water ghosts were rampant, the Coast had already launched security services for settlements in the Haizhou wilderness, with 24-hour firepower support.

If any settlement faced an attack and was unable to cope or was in a crisis, then a helping hand could be extended at any time.

Whether it was weapons, equipment, or firepower support.

Anytime, anywhere.

As for the price, it was also open and transparent. But they didn't take money, nor did they take precious metals.

The price of all supplies and firepower support was calculated by the construction period.

Among them, the price of one missile was ten years; whether it was ten adult laborers working for the Coast for one year, or one person signing a ten-year contract, it didn't matter.

And with the end of the rainy season, a 160-year construction period was placed in front of Feng Yao.

But after a moment of comfort, Feng Yao, like countless people who wanted to pay the bill after having a good time, felt that this price was not very reasonable.

If it really went according to this price, the whole settlement would have nothing to do, and would have to work for free for the Coast for half a year.

Besides, with so many people gone, it was hard to say if they would come back; should the previous 'business' still be done? Not to mention the business, the settlement might

not even be able to be kept!

Then what would he, the leader, eat? Drink?

Go to the Coast's assembly line to tighten screws too?

So, after dealing with several waves of collection with prevarication, Feng Yao opened his little brain, and had a little thought that shouldn't be there...

"You also know that I, Feng Yao, have always been a man of my word, one spit, one nail, absolutely will not default!" Feng Yao wiped two tears, and squeezed out a sincerity and helplessness that made people sigh amidst his sorrow: "It's just that the rainy season has just passed, the whole settlement really can't do without people, everyone is unable to open the pot, please raise your hand high, let me slow down... I... I..."

Speaking to the point of excitement, he couldn't help but shed tears.

A great man, when revealing his true feelings, actually burst into tears.

"Okay."

The collector on the other side of the table nodded, without hesitation.

"......"

Feng Yao froze in place.

Not just him, all the atmosphere group members behind him who were filled with righteous indignation and angry faces were also stunned, looking at each other.

This...

Is this right?

Is the plot supposed to be like this? ===== CHAPTER 404 =====