Chapter 283 The Road to the Future

   "What is Spring Festival?"

   "I don't know... I heard it for the first time too."

   "Perhaps to celebrate the victory over the wave."

"possible."

   Village of the Frostspear clan.

   in the patriarch's house.

  The men sat cross-legged in front of the patriarch, and you talked about the upcoming celebration, discussing whether to learn from those blue jackets, and put red stickers and notes in the village.

   It is said that doing so brings prosperity and good luck.

  Although I don’t know the principle, since it is the experience of the blue jackets, 80% of them still have some basis.

   They are all so smart after all.

   The patriarch Frostspear did not speak, but he was seriously considering the suggestions of the clansmen.

Celebration is the top priority in the tribe. A lively celebration is often the beginning of prosperity. His eldest son, Shuanglu, found a good match at the New Year's Day celebration. It's time to get married.

   Half a year ago, they migrated here to avoid the war in the north. They lost too many young and middle-aged people. Now is the time to cultivate and recuperate.

but……

  It costs a lot of money to hold a celebration.

  Different from the Iron Axe Tribe, which runs a textile factory, his neighbors arrived early, just in time for the restoration of the trade routes. They made a lot of money from the textile business, and every household in the village built brick houses.

   On the other hand, on the other hand, most of the houses are made of bricks and woods.

  Frostspear also wanted to bring his clansmen to become rich, but it was useless to think about it, and he had to take action.

   After pondering for a moment, he said.

   "The celebration will be discussed later, and now there is a more important matter waiting for us to make a decision."

   The people surrounding the patriarch fell silent, waiting for him to speak.

  Frostspear paused and continued.

   "A few days ago, the manager summoned me to discuss. He intends to give us the wasteland of about 1,000 mu north of the brick factory."

   "I'm going to open a ranch."

   This is also the meaning of the manager.

  Hunting is no longer enough to fully maintain the residents' demand for meat, especially eggs and milk, which are difficult to obtain by hunting.

   The residents of those shelters have an amazing obsession with food.

   Maybe it is because of this persistence that they were able to nibble down the large piece of wasteland on the north bank of Linghu Lake in such a short period of time before the spring ploughing.

   Hearing the words of the patriarch, many people had surprised expressions on their faces.

   One thousand acres of land!

   is equivalent to one kilometer long and six or seven hundred meters wide land!

  Although it is uncultivated wasteland, this land is close to Linghu Lake and has sufficient water sources. And not only that, but also protected by long-term farms and sanctuaries, without worrying about large aliens and predators.

   This pie-in-the-sky good thing sounds like a dream to them.

   "Praise the Manager!"

   "Is he really going to give us that land?"

   "Are there any other conditions? If it is about the seller, I won't agree!"

   This surprise was so sudden that no one could believe it.

  Frostspear understood their surprise.

   Because he was the same in the beginning.

"There are no conditions. If the land is leased to us, the rent will be exempted for two years. After two years, as long as we can guarantee that the pasture can produce 100 cattle per month on average, the land rent for the year will be exempted. If the monthly production can reach 200 cattle, he will also pay. Promise us to allocate larger pastures."

   In the manager's parlance, this is called "agricultural subsidy".

However, in exchange, the agricultural products they produce cannot be sold to outside traders, and at most 20% of the products can be left for collective consumption in the village or retailed to nearby local markets, and the remaining 80% are all based on the purchase price set by the warehouse. After the long-term farm is approved, it will be purchased uniformly.

   As for what breed of cattle to raise, there is no limit. After all, no one can say what you can buy.

   But Shuangmao heard her daughter Shuanghe say that in the southern province of Jinchuan, there are many cattle farmers, not only the two-headed cattle that pull goods, but also the fast-moving beef cattle and the dairy cows with high milk production.

   Just recently, the outpost seems to be planning to set up a trade union, and he plans to hire a caravan to try his luck there.

  In addition to cattle, other livestock such as pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese also have similar subsidy policies.

   The older elder said after a while.

   "But we can't afford cows..."

   "The generous administrator is willing to lend us half a million silver coins for the purchase of livestock and fodder."

   "500,000?!"

   The elder was startled and looked at the patriarch in disbelief, "Master Manager... Really willing to lend us so much?!"

   Even if you sell them, you won’t be able to raise 500,000!

   Everyone was whispering, with expressions of disbelief on their faces.

  Frost Spear nodded earnestly and said.

"I believe that the manager is not making fun of me, he is a very strict person. I inquired from my daughter who works at the trading station. You can buy a cow from the traders for about 4,000 silver coins. If you bring some here Specialties go directly to the south to buy, I heard that it can be cheaper, and five rifles can be exchanged from the farmers there."

  Five rifles, even if you buy them at the retail price, are only 1000 silver coins. I heard that you can get a 10% discount for large-scale purchases from the factory.

   looked around at everyone, Frostspear seriously stated his plan.

"All of our families will help to build this pasture first. I will find a way to contact the farms in the south and see if I can use weapons to exchange for one or two hundred cattle from them. If conditions permit, we can do it again. Raise sheep and pigs."

   "With cattle and sheep, we will have a much better life next year!"

   Hearing the words of the patriarch, expressions of excitement and yearning appeared on the faces of everyone.

   They had secured stable housing and were able to trade their labor for food from the local lords. But if they could, of course they wanted to be as wealthy as the village next door, and live in a house built entirely of bricks.

   However, while everyone was optimistic, some also expressed concern.

   "Five hundred thousand silver coins is too much... If it's not enough, I'm worried that the manager will take anger on us."

   "Yeah...even if the manager doesn't punish us, I'm afraid they will expel us from here."

   A young and middle-aged man earns three or four hundred silver coins if he works hard for a month, and only about five thousand for a year if he does not eat or drink.

   Tens of thousands of silver coins.

   is already an astronomical sum for them.

   Presumably for the manager, a few hundred thousand silver coins must be a lot of money.

   Seeing the worry on the faces of the clansmen, Frostspear smiled and said.

"I have also worried about the things you are worried about. The manager specially instructed me, so that we don't have to put too much psychological burden on ourselves, just let go and do our best. It's not enough, Changchang Farm will take care of the pasture and farmland. The debt took over and he wouldn't blame us."

certainly.

  No one wants to really get that far.

   Frostspear knew very well that if he really got to the point of filing for bankruptcy, even if the benevolent administrator wouldn't blame himself, he would definitely be completely disappointed by the incompetence of him and his people.

   These are not small sums of money.

   If there are similar opportunities again, they will definitely not have their share.

  Frost Spear has already made up his mind in his heart and must do this well.

   Hearing that the manager promised not to hold them accountable, the older man finally stretched his brows.

   He didn't say anything, just sighed sincerely.

   "...Thank you for your kindness."

   For an old man who is dying, it doesn't matter whether he has money or not, watching his children grow up safely is the greatest blessing.

   Looking at the vibrant and hopeful faces, the old man really couldn't bear to let them live a wandering life again.

   Those days are too hard.

  The young people are not interested in the things discussed by the elders, and most of the issues in the village are rarely discussed with them.

   In contrast, they are very curious and are most interested in festivals, work, new things, and topics between men and women.

   In the wooden house next door.

  Shuangye and Shuangxue are pulling their sister back from Changchang Farm and listening to her with great interest as she talks about what happened at work.

  The work of the trading post is very busy, six days a week, from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, with only one hour lunch break in between.

   It costs 2 silver coins to take the shuttle bus back to the outpost. In order to save money, she usually lives in the staff dormitory of the trading station, and will only return by bus on Saturday night.

   Every time she came back, she and her two younger sisters had endless things to say, especially when she was looked at by those two pairs of shining eyes, she instantly felt that the fatigue in her whole body was cured.

   Listening to my sister talking about the interesting things and interesting people I met at the trading post, Shuang Ye, who was dragging his chin with both hands, suddenly said.

   "When is my sister going to take my brother-in-law home?"

  Shuanghe smiled and touched her little head.

   "You have to have it."

   Shuangxue, who was sitting beside him, asked curiously.

   "Won't there be a lot of people there?"

  Shuanghe made a helpless expression.

   "Those are traders and mercenaries... It's impossible to find them."

  Shuangxue nodded as if she understood.

   "Ow, that's fine."

  Travelers.

   That's not a good family.

   Although there are not many traders they have come into contact with, they still have a little impression of this profession, although it is not a good impression.

   Walking on the uninhabited wasteland, few are gentle and pure. Xingshang was worried about being robbed by the poor and crazy refugees, and usually would not do business with them. The refugees were also afraid of Xingshang and his guards, and rarely approached the past.

   These people may have some money in their pockets, but few envy them. Not only are these people rude, they rarely shower, but they simply don't stay in one place for long.

   Not to mention mercenaries.

   Maybe there are good people.

   But there are not many good people.

   In Shuanghe's view, a person who can be her husband must at least have a stable job nearby.

   Of course, it would be even better if it were a handsome refugee resident.

  It's a pity that those people's words are too difficult to understand.

  Shuangye sighed softly and muttered softly.

   "That's nice...I want to go to work too."

   Big brother Shuangluo and second brother Shuangshi work in the Hunter Guild, earning more than 300 silver coins a month, and occasionally bring some of the prey the guild has assigned back to the village.

   Their brave sister Shuanghe went to work at the trading station. Although the basic salary is not high, she manages two meals a day, and I heard that there is a commission for the goods sold.

  Shuangye also wants to go to work, but she is not old enough.

  Although according to the practice of the tribe, 14 years old is considered an adult, but the shelter has forcibly raised the adulthood standard for them by two years, and requires all men and women under 16 to receive at least 6 hours of language and numeracy literacy education every day.

  Shuangye doesn't quite understand why there are such strange regulations. In short, according to her father's words, she was an adult last year, and this year she is a child again.

   "Speaking of which, the outpost seems to have established a new trade union recently, and it's recruiting people now." Seeing the envious expressions on his sisters' faces, Shuanghe's heart moved slightly, and he suddenly remembered this.

  Frost Snow immediately asked curiously.

"do you have any requests?"

  Shuanghe pursed his lips and thought seriously.

"Field workers have 6 months of attendance every year, and they require rich experience in field survival. Those who have already married will be given priority. Internal workers are mainly clerks and tellers, and they need about 20 people. The basic requirements are reading and writing skills and arithmetic. The bonus points are youth, good-looking facial features, good image, patience, gentleness and generosity..."

"Young, with good-looking facial features, good-looking and patient... and gentle and generous," the youngest Shuang Ye said in Nuonuo's mouth, suddenly his eyes lit up, and he looked at the second sister who was sitting beside him, up and down look.

  Shuangxue blushed slightly when her sister saw it.

   "What do you see me doing?"

   "I also think snow is the most suitable!"

   Immediately understood the meaning of the little sister, Shuanghe hugged Shuangxue's shoulder, and said with a smile.

   "Try it, how do you know if you don't try it? And I heard that the trade union is an organization directly responsible for the manager, and it is the same level as the hunter union!"

   "Excellent performance will definitely be reused!"

  If she has been working in the trade post for a while and doesn't want to change jobs frequently, she would want to try it!

  Shuangxue's cheeks were a little hot.

   She thought of the embarrassing incident at the last New Year's Day party.

  At that time, under the instigation of people, she also took the lead for a while, plucked up the courage to go forward, and invited the manager to dance together.

  Respected manager, he is really a very kind person, and he is approachable, even when he rejects people, he is so gentle.

  Even so, she was depressed for a while...

"Oh! The manager will take responsibility!" Shuang Ye, who was obedient and only listened to half a sentence, looked at the second sister Shuangxue in her elder sister's arms, and said encouragingly, "Sister go, come on! "

  Shuangxue didn't care about her image anymore, so she blushed and pounced on her sister's creaking nest.

   "You brat... what are you talking about!"

  Shuang Ye was made to giggle.

   It was noisy until the evening, when the eldest brother and the second brother came back with a wild boar, and the three talents and sister-in-law went over to help deal with the prey.

   In the evening, Shuangxue thought about it for a long time, but finally she mustered up the courage and went to the recruitment point in Beijie before 8 o'clock to fill out the registration form.

   Probably because her writing was good and her temperament was less barbaric than other nomads and refugees, her name appeared on the hiring list the next day.

   There were ten people on the first public list, all of whom were internal staff, and she was assigned to the front desk.

  The daily salary is 13 silver coins, which is slightly higher than that of the hunter union, and the working hours are the same as the bank, from 8:00 in the morning to 6:00 in the evening.

The address of the    Chamber of Commerce and Industry is located at the outpost, near the north gate.

   With excitement and anxiety, Shuangxue came to the trade union for induction training under the instructions of the staff at the recruitment site.

However……

   When she got here, she didn't see the manager.

   Aside from nine other colleagues from Bate Street, Long Term Farm, or the village next door, there was only one old man who didn't seem to walk very well.

   looked around at the energetic and excited faces. Old Charlie, who had his hands behind his back, pondered for a while and coughed softly.

   When everyone was quiet, he said in a calm voice.

   "From today onwards, you are the employees of the Trade Union."

   "What you have to do is very simple, and that is to open up sales for our factories and open up invisible territories where we can see."

   "I know you may not understand what I said, but don't worry, I will explain to you the specific things to do soon."

   "Now I need you to remember, always keep a smile at work, always be optimistic in the face of difficulties, complete everything seriously, and make sure that every chapter you cover is worthy of your conscience."

"Your performance will be recorded through the VM on your arm, and someone who works hard and is good and reliable will soon be promoted. But if you take bribes, practice favoritism or play tricks, we will also see him soon in the labor camp. ."

   "This is the task that the manager personally explained, I hope you can understand the weight of this sentence."

  …

The organization   The Merchants Guild played a very important role in Chu Guang's layout of the B round test, even a little more important than the Hunter Guild.

  Otherwise he wouldn't hand it over to Old Charlie.

  Bett Street's new mayor is chosen by the town's own vote from candidates nominated by the street office. Those who can be nominated are people with management experience, and a mature model has been formed there, and it is not a big problem to choose anyone.

   Old Charlie has cultivated many management talents during his tenure.

   Maybe he guessed that one day he would be transferred, and he even arranged for a teacher to teach the literacy class in his place.

At present, the industrial area of ​​the outpost has evolved from a single industrial chain model of "centering on the No. 81 steel plant and driving a number of small weapon workshops to develop together", to a "multi A pillar industry to drive the all-round development of small and medium-sized factories”.

The    industrial zone continues to expand northward.

  With the continuous input of external resources and the enthusiasm of players for production, the population in the northern suburbs alone is not enough to digest all the products of the industrial area.

  Although foreign merchants can take part of them, they can’t always wait for others to come to the door. The caravans of the shelter also have to pull a flag and go out for two steps.

   There are many survivor settlements in the wasteland.

  A lot of small settlements like Bate Street can’t even rub out bullets, but use bows and arrows, steel forks, iron-barreled rifles—even front-loading muskets.

   And some larger settlements of survivors, because of insufficient inheritance of pre-war heritage, may be outrageously strong in some areas, but some areas have degenerated to pre-industrial revolution, even primitive society.

   Plowing fields with androids, cloning human populations as slaves, launching miniature nuclear warheads from trebuchets, offering black boxes as miracles... There are so many things like that.

   Vault 404 may not produce the most advanced goods, but it is definitely the best value for money. When you bring goods outside, you can also export a little bit of conscience from the northern suburbs, and take advantage of the common yearning of human beings for a better life.

at dusk.

   Chu Guang, who had returned to the base from Changchang Farm for a tour, happened to meet old Charlie who had just finished induction training for the employees when he passed by the entrance of the Trade Union.

"How's it going?"

"Between the age of sixteen and twenty-five, I have chosen all the people who have received literacy education. I estimate that I can recruit thirty or forty." After speaking, Old Charlie sighed softly and complained in a low voice. He said, "We were established too late, and the talents were picked up by other places."

  Chu Guang: "It's hard work!"

   Old Charlie shook his head.

"Not to mention hard work, being able to do something meaningful in the last moments of my life is also an unexpected surprise for me, a fallen wastelander. Although I don't have much hope, but ...maybe you are different from us, and everyone else."

   After a pause, the old man continued in a playful tone.

   "Everyone is very disappointed that they didn't see you. I feel that many people are here for you, do you really not show your face?"

  Chu Guang said helplessly.

   "Don't look at me as if I'm very busy. I've been busy since the morning, and it's only after dark that I have a little time."

   Ordinary people just worry about the work in their hands.

   But as the manager of Vault 404, he has to take care of the two worlds at the same time, and constantly switch between planning and NPC identities, taking into account the different demands of two completely different groups as much as possible.

   is equivalent to being a father and a mother at the same time.

   Thanks to those 20 points of intelligence, the players he personally selected would still give him peace of mind, otherwise Chu Guang doubted that he would not necessarily be able to do this job.

   He was so busy that he didn’t have time to collect material.

"understand."

  Old Charlie nodded lightly and continued, "But IMHO, you may need to think about the future path more than the details of how to go every step of the way."

The sentence    was so vague that Chu Guang was not sure if what he understood was the same as what he wanted to express.

"for example?"

"You led your people to victory over barbarism, and then over a wave that was considered invincible. It may be a trivial thing in your opinion, or a matter of course, but I can see the stormy waves that are rising in people's hearts, You did a miracle with them."

   Old Charlie said softly.

"From the market of Long-Term Farm, to the alleys of Bate Street, people are talking about your exploits, talking to everyone about how your lord is in charge, and feeling incredibly lucky, proud, and proud to live under your umbrella. ."

   This flattery was caught off guard, and even someone with a face thicker than the door of the shelter couldn't help but let out a light cough.

"Thank you for the compliment."

   "You may think I'm flattering, but I'm talking about it seriously."

  Old Charlie paused and continued with a serious look.

"Your residents are very proud, but also very distressed, they don't know what to call themselves... The people of Boulder City ridicule them as the hillbills of the northern suburbs, the rats running around in the ruins, they know they are not, but they don't want to What is it to come out on your own?"

"Some people live on Bate Street, some people live in outposts, some people live in industrial areas, or the village at the west gate of Changchang Farm... They've never been to Vault 404, of course. residents."

   "In the face of a common crisis, people will naturally unite, but they must have a name for continuing to unite."

  Chu Guang said thoughtfully.

   "I probably understand what you mean."

   In fact, he has been thinking about this for a long time.

  The new version is not only a new version for players, but also a new page for the survivors in the northern suburbs.

   Old Charlie nodded.

   "Whether you plan to be the emperor of the empire or the chief of the alliance, it's best to think of a name or title for yourself."

   "People need a name to be united with, and a rightful identity. Whatever it is, something is better than nothing."

   "This festival is a good opportunity!"

   (end of this chapter)