#428 - Chapter 428 Coal Shelter Requests
Completing the drone's return flight finally relieved Qin Jin of one of the major concerns weighing on his mind.
Regaining this aerial advantage undoubtedly restored a significant degree of security to the entire base.
Especially since he possessed something that others didn't.
This feeling was doubly satisfying.
Li Xu and the others would handle the drone upgrades, so Qin Jin didn't personally oversee them any further.
He had barely returned to his office when someone came knocking again.
This was rather unusual.
This time, it was Liu Wenhao from the combat unit who came to see him.
"Wenhao, what's up? Didn't you just get back from Shanshi?"
"Here, take one."
Qin Jin took out two cans of cola from the refrigerator, handed one to Liu Wenhao, and started drinking his own.
Now that the weather was getting warmer, it was easy to break a sweat just walking outside the office or home, which was really uncomfortable.
Liu Wenhao didn't stand on ceremony, grabbing the cola and gulping it down in one go, emptying the can in an instant.
"嗝—! Awesome—!"
Liu Wenhao couldn't help but exclaim after letting out a satisfying burp.
In this sweltering heat, nothing beats the refreshing enjoyment of an ice-cold sugary drink!
Feeling the sugar being absorbed into his stomach and his body temperature dropping, Liu Wenhao began to explain the reason for his visit to his boss.
"It's like this, boss. I just returned from the Shanshi coal shelter with the coal, and I have something to report to you and get your opinion on."
"Li Hongwen from the coal shelter has offered to double the amount of coal they hand over in the future! The exchange rate remains the same; they want more food! And they want us to provide weapons and supplies within permissible limits to help them!"
Having just finished his own sugary drink, Qin Jin became curious.
He naturally knew who Li Hongwen was.
He was the leader of the Shanshi coal shelter, managing the coal mining operations there and delivering the required amount of coal to the Green Source Base on time.
That group could be considered one of the key partners of the Green Source Base.
Unlike the oil base, Qin Jin didn't plan to send people to garrison the coal shelter and establish a defense zone back then.
The main reason was that Green Source's strength wasn't strong enough at the time, and he didn't want to split up so many personnel.
He only stationed Wang Bin and Zhang Tiankai permanently at the oil base because of the irreplaceable importance of fuel oil.
"Reason."
He uttered the word softly.
Captain Liu knew what his boss wanted to know. Prepared in advance, he continued to explain:
"We entered their shelter and talked to him directly. The reason he wants to expand is to enlarge the entire coal shelter—!"
Speaking, Liu Wenhao seemed a bit emotional, glancing at Qin Jin before continuing.
"He wants to save more survivors!"
"The number of people there has grown from a dozen at the beginning to more than twenty some time ago, and recently, it has ballooned to fifty or sixty people!"
"I asked him, and he said it himself, he wants to save more people!"
"I don't know whether to call him stupid or a good person, haha."
The last two words from Captain Liu didn't sound like mockery.
But more like a wry smile.
Seeming to contain many complex meanings.
Qin Jin didn't respond immediately after hearing this, but quietly pondered the pros and cons.
The coal shelter's request wasn't unacceptable.
The entire Green Source Base's electricity demand was terrifyingly high now. Production, living, storage, development, defense, transportation, and so on were all consuming a lot of electricity.
Especially with the recent hot weather, many air conditioners in the base were running at full power.
Not to mention the branch bases, almost every unit in the main base was working.
Relying solely on the solar power generation from the base's limited area was definitely a drop in the bucket.
The base's power generation had always been dominated by thermal power generation.
Fuel oil was mostly used for transportation and reserves, and due to combustion efficiency issues, only coal was used for power generation.
Therefore, not to mention Li Hongwen's request to increase the coal supply, even if he didn't mention it, Qin Jin would have taken the initiative to ask them to increase it sooner or later!
He just didn't expect the other party to ask first.
"Agreed!"
"Accept their request to double the coal transaction volume, but we need to make slight adjustments to the ratio. It's impossible to go back to the original ratio."
As soon as Qin Jin spoke, he acted like an old capitalist.
Since the other party was making the request, he had to take advantage of it!
Who would complain about having too much food?
Qin Jin directly approved this matter and immediately set a new transaction ratio for Liu Wenhao.
This would not only obtain more coal resources but also reduce the amount of food paid, which was definitely a win-win situation.
"Okay, boss! I know what to do. I will definitely keep an eye on Shanshi and won't let you down!"
Captain Liu patted his chest and laughed loudly.
Having obtained the boss's permission, fulfilled the request of Li Hongwen, a familiar trading partner, and created greater value for the base, it was a win-win situation from his perspective.
The two then discussed the situation in Shanshi, allowing Qin Jin to learn more detailed information about the area.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Captain Liu took the initiative to leave.
Alone in the office, Qin Jin took another bottle of ice-cold Sprite from the refrigerator and drank it all.
At the same time, he was recalling and thinking about the situation of the Shanshi coal shelter he had learned from Liu Wenhao.
This Li Hongwen was indeed a talent.
Relying on Green Source's demand for coal, he seized the opportunity to create a shelter backed by Green Source.
Perhaps it wasn't eye-catching compared to Green Source.
But for others, the coal shelter was also a force to be reckoned with!
The containers that were surrounded there were said to be fifteen meters high!
In addition, with the knives, spears, hand crossbows, and bows and arrows that Green Source traded to them, Li Hongwen and his people were not to be trifled with by ordinary survivors!
Qin Jin had no intention of spreading his forces to establish bases everywhere, and naturally didn't want the people he cooperated with to change frequently, so he agreed to trade some non-essential weapons and resources to them to strengthen themselves.
"Director Li, it's better for everyone if you don't mess around. I hope you don't disappoint me and force me to replace you."
Feeling the cool sweet water flow through his esophagus and reach his stomach, a trace of profoundness flashed in Qin Jin's eyes.
Shanshi.
Coal mine.
Thanks to the cooperation with the Green Source Base, this place had become a proper shelter!
The walls built from containers and various debris some time ago were even higher.
At this moment.
Several people could be seen patrolling inside the erected shed, holding crossbows.
In the nearby mine, a group of people were sweating profusely, working hard to mine coal so that they could exchange it for new food and supplies when the Green Source people came next time.
What they were mining wasn't coal.
They were mining a livelihood!
Some people were even reciting a little ditty like a folk song while mining:
"Mine well, and you'll never be short of food."
"Mine skillfully, and you'll sleep soundly at night."
......
(End of this chapter)
