Chapter 1338: Territory Three Employee 004

According to the design plan and material standards Dayan provided, the construction cost of the two basements came to 410,000 points.

Xia Qing typed out an explanation to Zhang Shi for why it was so expensive: to prevent detection, the basement building materials couldn't use metal; high-strength new-material frameworks had to support the basement structure, along with professional interior wall panels. These materials could block damage from Grade-6-or-below rodents, and also resist moisture, dampness, and noise, withstand Grade-5-or-below earthquakes, and on top of that came ventilation, dehumidification, insulation, electrical, and sewage systems—410,000 points was already the lowest quote.

Dayan really had quoted at cost. In disaster years supplies were scarce, new materials were hard to produce, so costs were high and so were selling prices. Last year, when Xia Qing built two underground food storage rooms, the interior wall panels alone had cost 100,000.

Inside the Hidden Valley, Zhang Shi read the message.

Yesterday Xia Qing hadn't taken away the two Yishi stones she'd brought out, and had instead proposed that she treat the evolution wolf's teeth, so Zhang Shi assumed that was the condition for her and Yiyi to move into Territory Three.

The usually taciturn Xia Qing suddenly sending such a long message meant…

Zhang Shi carefully typed a reply: I'm moving into Territory Three with Yiyi, and should pay rent, utilities, food, and protection fees; tonight I'll hand the two Yishi stones over to you.

Zhang Shi didn't mention using the two Yishi stones as basement construction fees because of the issue of ownership. Everything within Territory Three belonged to the lord, and of course a newly built basement also belonged to the lord. If she put up the construction fee, Xia Qing might misunderstand it as her wanting ownership of the building.

After sending the food bowl, Xia Qing typed an explanation:

Sister Shi, you've misunderstood. Since you're coming to my territory to work, of course I should provide room and board. What I meant was: because the housing you're living in is so expensive to build, and I'm also providing you with premium ingredients, your wages will be a bit lower—will 30 points a day be alright?

Before letting Zhang Shi move in, Xia Qing had to make the relationship between them clear. Xia Qing was the lord; Zhang Shi was a long-term hired worker coming to Territory Three to work, so Xia Qing would pay her wages.

This figure wasn't something Xia Qing set at random. The daily wage for a chief physician outside the Safe Zone was 50 points, with room, board, and security provided by the hospital.

Bringing talent of this caliber to work in a territory with a higher danger coefficient should warrant an even higher wage.

It wasn't that Xia Qing couldn't afford to pay more—she was simply being matter-of-fact. Since the room and board she provided exceeded the standard of the Safe Zone outer-city hospital, she should pay less in wages.

Yiyi's status in Territory Three? That would of course be—employee's family member.

Seeing the four lines appear on her phone, Zhang Shi froze for a long moment, the corners of her mouth curling up as if to laugh, but two streams of tears ran down her face: You don't need that much, 5 points a day is plenty, thank you, Lord.

Little Yiyi, sitting in the corner, stared blankly at Zhang Shi for several seconds, then her lips began to tremble rapidly and slightly, her pupils gradually dilating, her eyelids blinking rapidly. A few seconds later, the fingers gripping the hairpin began to curl, her knuckles turning white from the excessive force, her shoulders drawing inward, her back stiffening into an arch, her breathing growing short and ragged, the sound of her breath gradually growing louder.

Hearing Yiyi's breathing go awry, Zhang Shi looked up and saw she was showing stress-response symptoms, realized her own sudden loss of emotional control had triggered it, and immediately fetched a weighted blanket to wrap her completely, helping her achieve the effect of "closing her eyes."

Seeing that she wasn't struggling violently, Zhang Shi took a cold towel from the refrigerator and swapped out the hairpin in her hand, to keep her from hurting herself. At the same time, the low-temperature stimulation from the towel also helped her regain emotional and physical control as quickly as possible.

"Beep."

Xia Qing sent another message: Sister Shi's job carries high risk and heavy tasks; 30 points a day is fair compensation, it's settled then, see you tonight.

After reading the message, Zhang Shi's gaze returned to the little girl curled into a small ball, trembling beneath the weighted blanket.

Inside Territory Three, Xia Qing put down her phone and announced the big news to her companions:

"Comrades! Our territory's Employee 004 is moving into Area 3 of Mountain 49 tonight, and will arrive at her post with family before the Calamity Snow. Once she's here, you all better behave yourselves—don't scare her off, or Lao Si won't let you get away with it."

After Xia Qing's announcement, Ram Boss and Employee 001 Little Feimao showed no reaction, silently continuing to eat.

Wolf Lao Er, with food crumbs at the corner of his mouth, looked up at Xia Qing with a happy smile; Temporary Worker 002 Daigua, holding a small food bowl and gripping a small fork, stared blankly at Xia Qing, waiting for her to continue.

Temporary Worker 003 Ergua? Hiding behind Employee 002, expression unseen.

Xia Qing explained to Wolf Lao Er and Daigua, "Employee 004 is the human Zhang Shi. She's Lao Si's attending dentist for the tooth replacement, and from now on she'll be living in our territory with her child. She's a technical worker, so her wage is higher than Daigua's—30 points a day."

Daigua did unskilled odd jobs around Territory Three, earning 25 points a day. Ergua was an apprentice with no wage.

After introducing the new employee, Xia Qing got to the main points:

"Lao Er, when Sister Shi arrives and the equipment does too, get a full dental checkup too—see if you need treatment. Boss, your bite's fine, but you can't bully Sister Shi, or when you're old, you'll only have Broken-Waist and Daigua to do your tooth replacements. Daigua, study the techniques seriously under Sister Shi; once you've learned, I'll transfer you to a technical post and pay you 5 extra points a day."

Daigua's blank face immediately lit up.

Xia Qing looked at Little Feimao, who was seriously gnawing on a nut and being very obedient and well-behaved. "Little Feimao, you're a technical worker too, but right now you're working off a debt. Once you've paid off what you owe, I'll start paying you a wage."

Little Feimao had been caught by hunters when young and nearly died; Xia Qing had rescued and saved it, and it owed Xia Qing points in medical fees.

Although it was a technical worker, it wasn't paid by the day but by the job—at first it was 5 points per planting, later it grew to 25 points. To this day it still owed Xia Qing points; getting paid a wage was still a long way off.

Quite possibly, it would never earn a wage in its lifetime.

The merciful Lord of Territory Three then instructed Temporary Worker 002, "Once Boss, Lao Er, and Ergua are done eating, Daigua, wash the food bowls. I'm going to go work first."

Xia Qing had been out on a mission today and hadn't made it back in time for noon, so the animals of Territory Three had their lunch delayed by over four hours.

After preparing food for her companions, Xia Qing immediately put on a protective mask, opened the rack-building's garage door, attached a bucket to the micro-tiller, started the machine, and went off to clear the land.

According to the weather forecast, the Calamity Snow would fall in another ten days. When it came, temperatures would plummet and the ground would freeze over rapidly, so Xia Qing had to finish building one kitchen, one bathroom, and two basements within a week, so Employee 004 could move in and start work.

Xia Qing was in such a hurry partly because the temperature drop was imminent, and partly because Lao Si hoped it could grow new teeth by next spring when the flowers bloomed, and regain its fighting strength.

Spring was the season for animals to breed, and also the season when territorial disputes were fiercest. If Lao Si's fighting strength didn't recover, the southern wolf pack might not win wave after wave of territorial battles.