Chapter 53: Newcomers at the Scrap Station

By the time the discussion ended, the face of Qin Han, the Base Logistics Minister, had turned black; ten thousand Contribution Value—the heart was truly black.

But Boss Liu said she still had over a dozen sets of water purifiers...

Currently, the tens of thousands of people in the entire base rely on the two water purifiers they brought to drink water every day.

Originally, they wanted to dig the few wells discovered in the urban area deeper, hoping to obtain some cleaner water, but they had no machines for drilling deep wells at all; if they used manual labor, not to mention the high risk, after the tap water was connected, the residents secretly dug machine wells themselves, and an adult's body couldn't even fit down.

The Black Rain keeps falling, the pollution has already seeped into the ground, and in the end, digging wells is also a precarious approach.

"Then how many can you give me?"

As soon as the word "give" came out, Liu Mu retracted her smile on the spot, "Brother Qin, what are you saying? Are things like water purifiers something that can be given just because you ask?"

In other words, a price must be paid. Qin Han wanted to snatch back the Contribution Value voucher Liu Mu had just signed, but he had to grit his teeth and smile, "Then Boss Liu, what do you think is needed for an exchange?"

"As for this..." Liu Mu arched her eyebrows and began to talk about other things, "Do you think the base can find some workers to help me finish the defenses as soon as possible? Sigh, these Mutated Animals are increasing day by day now, and sometimes I don't even dare to go out to deliver goods."

"Fine, I will arrange it now, and I can send people to you tomorrow," Qin Han considered himself an old hand at dealing with people; the Survivors in the base who relied on him for food and drink shouldn't be talking to him like this.

"That would be great, I'll be waiting at home tomorrow. By the way, my Brother Tan knows the location, so just have him bring the people, tools, and materials over. I'll treat everyone to lunch. I'll head back first to prepare, just waiting for you all."

Tan Ziyan was still staring at people stacking the Rain Gear, while Luo Sanlin was standing to the side, but he didn't want to offend either party and didn't manage to get a single word in.

After Qin Han left, Luo Sanlin shook his head in disapproval, "That is not a person to be trifled with; aren't you afraid he'll drag out your project later?"

Liu Mu really wasn't afraid of this, "That depends on whether he is in a hurry for the water purifiers. Brother Sanlin, we are leaving now, please give my regards to your uncle and aunt. Next time I come, I'll bring you..."

"Liu Mu? Boss Liu, is it really you, Sister Xiaomu!"

Before Liu Mu could finish speaking, she saw a disheveled girl approaching; the girl was not very tall, wearing a T-shirt that could barely show its original color, only a pair of five-point sports shorts on her lower body, her legs covered in bumps of various sizes, and she didn't even have shoes on her feet.

After looking for a long while, Liu Mu simply didn't recognize who the other person was.

"It's me, sister, it's me, it's me," the girl pulled aside the hair on her face that was as dirty as a hemp rope, revealing a pitch-black face, "Xu Xiaoxia, sister, I finally found you! I heard at noon that a Boss Liu from a Scrap Station came to the base, and I was wondering who had the same surname as you; it really is you!"

As she spoke, the girl reached out to hug her, but Liu Mu dodged by using Luo Sanlin, and she asked, puzzled, "Don't you have an Air Raid Shelter over at the paper mill? How did you end up like this?"

Being dodged, Xu Xiaoxia's eyes flickered; she knew she was being shunned, so she awkwardly retracted her arms, feeling an unbearable bitterness in her heart, "We were hiding in the Air Raid Shelter, but then some things happened, there was no food, and my dad's medicine also... the two of us came to the base."

Originally, they wanted to seek refuge at the Shengli Waste Station, but Xu Qiang's body couldn't withstand the journey, so Xu Xiaoxia could only stay trapped in the base with her seriously ill father, living on that little bit of supplies every day.

Liu Mu was curious, "Where is your stepmother?"

"Don't mention her," Xu Xiaoxia, who had been gritting her teeth and pretending to be strong, felt her eyes redden, she retracted her hands and clasped them together, her toes unconsciously kicking the ground, "When we were in the Air Raid Shelter, my dad scolded her a few times, and she ran off with someone, and, and she took away the supplies I had prepared in advance, even my dad's medicine is gone... Sister Xiaomu, I originally wanted to bring the supplies to find you, but now, I know that doing this isn't right, please, save us!"

Xu Xiaoxia bowed as she spoke, and when she lowered her head, tears finally fell, "I really have no other way, if only the weather were a bit better, and my dad's health were a bit better, I could earn more Contribution Value to support him, I, I really..."

"Don't be like this, stand straight and talk slowly," Liu Mu still had some appreciation for Xu Xiaoxia's character; if nothing else, at least she was truly filial to her father.

Since the end of the world arrived, there have been no shortage of people abandoning their wives and children or leaving their parents behind; Xu Xiaoxia is not a girl without foresight, so looking at it now, something must have happened.

And indeed, some things did happen. The first few days of the disaster were fine, but later, the food and water in the Air Raid Shelter became less and less, while the temperature became higher day by day, and when people are anxious, conflicts easily arise. Soon, everyone pointed their fingers at Xu Xiaoxia's father, saying he had embezzled quite a bit in his position, and saying that since he had the key to the emergency supplies, he must have swallowed them privately...

Their family was targeted, and Xu Xiaoxia said they had also run out temporarily and had no supplies at all; if they had the ability, they should go find them outside the Air Raid Shelter themselves. As a result, a commotion broke out, those people beat her father, and her stepmother stood directly on the side of those people, saying that this way she could at least persuade those people not to kill him.

As a result, not long after the temperature dropped outside, that woman ran off with a young man from the factory and drove away her car; their supplies and medicine were all in the car, and they really ended up with nothing. They were naturally seen by the remaining people when they drove off, and in order to escape, they even hit and injured a few people, so the finger of blame naturally fell back onto Xu Xiaoxia and her father.

"They wanted my dad's life, so I fought them with my life," Xu Xiaoxia sat in the corner with Liu Mu squatting in front of her and Luo Sanlin standing nearby, she wiped her tears, "The Rescue Team came, and those people wanted to lock me and my dad in the Air Raid Shelter to starve to death, so I screamed and yelled; you know I'm not afraid of making a scene. It was Brother Sanlin who heard the noise and insisted on coming back to check again that we were saved."

Luo Sanlin nodded from the side, "Those people are also in the base."

He hadn't planned to mention Xu Xiaoxia to Liu Mu, just thinking that Liu Mu was running around outside, had to take care of the Xu sisters, and had to raise such a big dog; the burden was already heavy enough. If this pair of father and daughter latched onto her, he was afraid they wouldn't be able to go on in the future.

"You shouldn't have saved them, they killed people!" When Xu Xiaoxia mentioned this, there was hatred in her eyes, "There was an elderly grandfather who was seriously injured, and they... they smothered him to death. I didn't dare to say anything before, fearing their retaliation, but now in the base, those people are still not behaving, and they are even thinking about snatching things from Grandpa Zhu's family!"

Upon hearing this, Luo Sanlin's expression turned somewhat ugly; how could they not know that the people rescued were of all kinds, but as long as they hadn't committed any crimes after arriving at the base, there was nothing they could do to them.

"Grandpa Zhu? Is it the family with the old lady who brought a little granddaughter, the one named Nannan?" Liu Mu remembered that when she was inquiring about the dock incident earlier, the female boss who deliberately concealed things was called 'Zhu'.

Xu Xiaoxia stopped her tears, and the look in her eyes on her dirty face brightened, "Yes, everyone says they exchanged for quite a bit of Compressed Biscuits, and many people are trying every way to get them from them, but they won't give them up, so some people are planning to hide Nannan tonight to force them to hand them over."

That's right, the one who gave the old couple dry rations was indeed Liu Mu; she guessed right!

"Did you hear that?" Liu Mu looked back at Luo Sanlin, who sighed, "I don't have a mission tonight, so I will help keep an eye on it. The base is a mix of good and bad people, and there are indeed safety hazards."

When is there ever no safety hazard? In peaceful times, there were also bad people who abused children, bullied neighbors, and harvested kidneys; no matter how good the social environment is, it cannot protect everyone.

Xu Xiaoxia realized it at this moment; others might not know Liu Mu, but Luo Sanlin must know her, yet every time she asked him, she was brushed off; could it be... that Liu Mu had given instructions?

"That's great, Officer Luo is no longer a saint," Liu Mu's eyebrows rose almost to her hairline, looking at Luo Sanlin with some relief, "Then what do you plan to do?"

This question was naturally for Xu Xiaoxia, "That woman who ran away didn't come to the base? Even if she has supplies, it shouldn't be easy for her outside right now, right?"

"Who knows? It would be best if that woman died outside!" Xu Xiaoxia clenched her fists, very much wanting to continue begging Liu Mu to take her away, but she was afraid that the other party would find her troublesome and end up offending her instead, "I can do things, Sister Xiaomu, if you need a contact person in this base, I can help you."

It wasn't that Liu Mu hadn't thought about placing one of her own people in this base; before, she wanted to leave Li Gang, but now the Scrap Station needs to build defenses, and she needs professional people to keep an eye on it. Later she considered Liu Fugui, but as the fat man Liu said, it was more valuable for him and He Qizheng to follow her out to exchange for supplies.

"How about this," Liu Mu thought for a moment, "You often help me inquire about what the base needs, and then provide the information to me in a timely manner. For every completed transaction, I will give you a commission of five to ten percent of the profit. New currency hasn't been issued yet, so you can choose between supplies or the base's Contribution Value."

Although it was different from what she expected, seeing the large batch of Rain Gear Liu Mu brought today, Xu Xiaoxia felt that this was not just empty talk, and she agreed immediately, "Okay, Sister Mu, don't worry, I will definitely do it well."

In just these few short seconds, she had already decided that not only would she inquire about news, but she would also try her best to help Liu Mu close deals. With supplies, she and her father could eat their fill, and with Contribution Value, she could exchange for the medicine her father needed from the base; she, Xu Xiaoxia, didn't need others' charity, she could stand up on her own two hands and efforts!

Liu Mu patted Xu Xiaoxia on the shoulder and stood up, "I didn't bring much food today, you come with me to get some water first, my eldest sister will come to exchange for food on Wednesday."

"Okay, I understand." Xu Xiaoxia was quick-witted and felt that Liu Mu wanted her to collect useful information in these two days.

After Liu Mu left, Luo Sanlin didn't leave, "Do you need a storage locker in the base?"

Still disheveled, but with a completely different mental outlook, Xu Xiaoxia rolled her eyes at him, "I can handle it myself, hmph, Officer Luo, you'd better take care of your own work first!"

Xu Xiaoxia walked away with her head held high, and Luo Sanlin smiled; he knew Liu Mu wouldn't take her away. This girl was too utilitarian, having tried every way to get to know the big shots in the base for the few days she had been here; he felt tired just watching her.

She came alone, but when she returned, there were two cars and three people.

Liu Mu had originally worried about whether the Xu Xiaofeng siblings would be unaccustomed, but when they arrived home, Niu Boyi started throwing a tantrum first.

Not only did people come during the day and move all the things in the house away, but two cars actually came back after dark; it thought they were bad people. Upon learning that besides the 'gatekeeper' Li Gang, Liu Fugui and He Qizheng would also be staying at the Scrap Station from now on, it became even more unhappy.

"Woof woof woof woof, Big Sister said our food isn't enough to eat, with more people, there won't be any good food!"

Well, now even the dog knows that food is scarce in the end of the world, "Don't make a fuss, you didn't act fierce to the people delivering the goods today, did you?"

It was still raining in the sky, and after Liu Mu let the few people enter the small building, Niu Boyi occupied the living room and refused to leave, its dog head constantly rubbing against her arm.

"Aren't these the people you wanted? Number One, Number Two, and Number Three gatekeepers, I have serious business to discuss, you go back to your own kennel."

Now that people were going to live in the small building, Niu Boyi had to go back to the underground garage, otherwise, people wouldn't even dare to get up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.

Niu Boyi was still acting stubborn, so Xu Xiaofeng first greeted the three people carrying luggage to go upstairs, "Don't be afraid, Niu Boyi has been raised by Liu Mu since he was a puppy, he won't bite his own people. My name is Xu Xiaofeng, you can just call me Xiao Feng from now on."

Zhang Xiaoyong, as a future man, also said without any shyness: "My name is Zhang Xiaoyong, I am a man who will follow the second sister to do great things in the future!"

These words made everyone laugh at the same time; Li Gang was more familiar with them, so he immediately pushed away Niu Boyi's thick leg, "Right, right, go upstairs first, we are all people of the Scrap Station from now on, don't be polite."

He himself didn't have a room before, but today he acted as half a Master, also wanting to show that he was more familiar with this place.

The group went upstairs, but Niu Boyi just lingered in the living room and wouldn't give up his spot; Liu Mu had no choice but to say that he could stay for one more night, but he would have to go back to his own den tomorrow.

The second and third floors of the small building were both rooms, totaling eight, but one on each floor was a utility room, so there were six rooms available for living.

Liu Mu and the Xu Xiaofeng siblings lived on the third floor, and the three men lived on the second floor for the time being.

The weather was hot, so not much bedding was needed; Li Gang insisted on sleeping on the floor, saying it was cooler. What he was thinking in his heart was that it could save some electricity; current energy was used up bit by bit, and the Generator might run out of fuel one day.

Actually, Liu Mu had prepared Solar Panels, but because disasters were constant, they were temporarily kept in the basement.

Liu Fugui and He Qizheng originally said they could sleep on the floor too, but there were already beds in the rooms, and since the Xu Xiaofeng siblings brought up mats and summer quilts, they didn't act coy anymore.

The air conditioner upstairs was already broken, and although the cracks on the wall didn't leak water, they hadn't been repaired either; Liu Mu simply didn't have the time or energy.

After arranging the accommodation, the three of them washed up simply and went to the second floor, where they saw a small table placed in the spacious area at the top of the stairs; on the table was a large winnowing basket of white flour steamed buns, each one plump and cracked open, making people drool just looking at them.

"Braised pork?" Liu Fugui was the first to see a large basin of braised pork next to the buns, which actually had round eggs mixed in; he wiped his drool and said embarrassedly, "It seems like I haven't seen meat in a lifetime, hahaha, excuse me."

"It's fine, sit down and eat," Liu Mu greeted them; the table wasn't big, but six people could still sit if they squeezed in, "We don't usually eat that well, but today is the first meal for the three of you joining our big family, so we still need a bit of a ceremony. Welcome everyone, from now on we are like family!"

That was what was said, but Liu Fugui and He Qizheng were still a bit embarrassed, resisting the urge to grab a bun, but the sounds in their stomachs didn't give them any face at all.

Seeing them like this, Li Gang was also too embarrassed to pick up his chopsticks, and even the Xu Xiaofeng siblings looked at Liu Mu.

Liu Mu used to be a loner earning money, and occasionally when she treated workers, she would order a table at Xu Xiaofeng's shop; there was no need for her to say much, they would just fill themselves up.

"Eat, I'm about to starve to death," Liu Mu picked up a bun and stuffed it into the three people's hands, then used a large spoon to serve them a big scoop of braised pork into their bowls, and started eating herself, so everyone else finally started using their chopsticks.

"Right, right, right, everyone eat, we are all family, I am in charge of cooking in the kitchen, everyone just tell me what you want to eat in the future!" Xu Xiaofeng wasn't a shy person either, after all, she was someone who had run a shop for several years, so she immediately poured drinks for the few of them, "Everyone have a drink tonight, and sleep soundly after drinking. Since you've come to our Shengli Waste Station, if nothing else, at least you can eat your fill and be safe."

Indeed, there was no need to say anything else; just these two points were something even the Base couldn't compare to.