Chapter 563: Chief Fatty
Chapter 563: Chief Fatty
Fatty glanced at An Ran, pointed at several large trees in the planting room, and said a few words to Luo Feifan.
Then he walked over to An Ran and Liu Zhi, giving An Ran a questioning look. “Who’s this?”
“She’s from outside. She said she wanted to buy some wood.”
Since Fatty had arrived, An Ran naturally didn’t want to keep entertaining these sudden visitors.
She quickly stood up and offered him her chair, then lowered her head and said to Liu Zhi, “This is our Chief, Fatty!”
Well, the Beggars’ Sect leader has officially been promoted to Chief!
Fatty tilted his head, glanced at An Ran, and, without saying a word, sat down with the air of authority. He began chatting with Liu Zhi while An Ran went over to Luo Feifan.
Watching him select trees, she whispered, “What are you picking all this wood for? Are you cold? Need a fire?”
Luo Feifan waved her closer and lowered his voice. “I heard Zhou Zheng and the other gatekeepers recently got a payout increase. They were already getting 3,000 ordinary crystal cores a month, and now it’s 4,000. They call it cold-weather protection, but aside from the extra cores, the ones who are supposed to be freezing still have to endure the cold.”
Truth be told, the people who introduced this benefit at the base hadn’t thought things through. In this freezing weather, where could they even spend those cores?
The base was now divided into teams, each managing its own affairs, but plenty of systems still fell outside that structure—like the military, medical facilities, and ordinary families like Liu Zhi’s. Zhou Zheng and his colleagues, who guarded the city walls, were at the very bottom of both the military and political hierarchy.
Wood and water-type ability users employed by the base were the first to produce goods for the higher-ups. Only after the upper levels took what they needed did the lower-level workers receive their share.
This created a serious problem: welfare benefits were increasing, but actual supplies were scarce—especially now with the shortage of electricity and gas.
Wu Simiao’s Grand Rich Hotel still had 24-hour power and heating, but everywhere else had been cut down to daytime power only. Once heating failed, it was never repaired.
Zhou Zheng and his fellow guards, despite their strong physiques, had already suffered casualties from frostbite. The base’s medical system was so poor that anyone frozen half to death was simply sent off to Hexi.
Bitter and resentful, the gatekeepers only needed a spark to rise in revolt. Luo Feifan intended to seize this chance by sending them firewood.
The city wall defenders might have been small-time figures, but small figures often proved unexpectedly useful.
And besides, leaving politics aside, Luo Feifan and Zhan Lian both knew most of those guarding the gates were soldiers. In the apocalypse, soldiers were known for their endurance and perseverance. They couldn’t just sit by and let them freeze to death.
This was no trivial matter, so An Ran didn’t brush it off.
Nodding, she told Luo Feifan, “Okay, go ahead and chop whatever you like.”
“If you ask me, why send wood? It’s shabby. They’ll still have to worry about the smoke.” Fatty, having casually sent Liu Zhi away, now stood by a large tree trunk behind An Ran. Looking at Luo Feifan, he said, “Let’s just send charcoal. It’s economical, clean, and a proper gift—it looks much classier.”