Chapter 92: Credit (Part 1)

The moment Wu Nanhai received the call, he had the stoves relit. Hainan's autumn temperatures rarely dipped below twenty-five or twenty-six degrees, and the days often climbed close to thirty. To prevent spoilage in this climate, the Cafeteria Office only prepared enough food for daily rations with a modest surplus. There was some night-shift food available, but nowhere near enough for this sudden demand. He urgently recalled the off-duty staff. While the cooking got underway, he had Hu Yicheng tally how much food they would need.

A full pot of rice was prepared and sent immediately to the camp, where thirty servings vanished in an instant. The moment people realized this strange paper could actually purchase rice, no one bothered with porridge anymore—they all surged forward to buy rice instead. Hu Yicheng watched in disbelief as they wolfed down plain white rice without vegetables or condiments of any kind. He remembered childhood stories of hard times, tales where protagonists who "ate rice with soy sauce" had already seemed pitifully poor. These people had no soy sauce. They did not even have a grain of salt.

Another fellow squeezed his way forward, thrusting a large wooden bowl ahead of him while clutching a work-point voucher in his other hand. His words came out garbled, but the meaning was obvious: one bowl of rice. Hu Yicheng shook his head in wonder and ladled out another serving. This was the man's fourth bowl, by his count. Quite the powerhouse.

Xiong Buyou edged nervously toward Wu De and whispered, "Old Wu, isn't this too much eating? Won't they burst?"

Wu De shook his head. "Don't worry—farmers can eat. Back home, the old-timers often put away a jin per meal. When there's no oil in your food, your appetite grows to compensate."

Once the rice consumption finally began to slow, more people started buying salted fish, apparently wanting to treat themselves after filling their bellies. Unfortunately, Wu Nanhai's cafeteria had run dry.

"No more salted fish—sold out!" Hu Yicheng shouted. "Come back tomorrow. Today's supply is gone."

Disappointment spread visibly through the crowd, and the earlier commotion gradually died away.

"Out of fish already?" Wu De hurried over to ask.

"Completely out. We'll need to resupply from Bopu tomorrow." The Agriculture Committee maintained a seafood-processing plant there.

"Nothing at all?"

Hu Yicheng spread his hands helplessly. "I even borrowed the Military Group's night-shift food for you. I'll prepare more tomorrow—that salted fish isn't popular in our cafeteria anyway."

"The fish was killed once when it was caught," Xiong Buyou observed solemnly, "and then killed a second time by your cooking."

Watching the crowd begin to disperse, Wu De turned to Lin Xing. "Tell everyone not to leave. Calculate how much they want—we'll fetch the goods immediately."

Hu Yicheng rushed to object. "This won't work. It's almost dark—how can we possibly go to Bopu now?"

"I'll go personally." Wu De saw this as the perfect opportunity to establish credit. For both the work-point vouchers and these "pirates" to earn the locals' genuine trust, they had to keep their word—especially on the small matters, where proper attitude counted most.

"Too dangerous," Xiong Buyou tried to dissuade him. "In half an hour it'll be dark, and there are no streetlights on the road. It's not safe."

"No problem. We'll take a vehicle." Wu De called Civil Affairs Commissioner Xiao Zishan directly, explained the situation, and requested transport to Bopu. According to Military Group security regulations, from half an hour before sunset until dawn, no person or vehicle was permitted on the roads.

"Fetch salted fish?" Xiao Zishan asked incredulously. "Just for a bucket of salted fish?"

"Yes. It's very important."

"Are you joking? Just have a passing vehicle bring it tomorrow. Sending a special vehicle when it's almost dark—even in broad daylight this wouldn't be appropriate. Isn't this wasteful?"

"This isn't waste!" Wu De laid out his reasoning in detail, explaining the positive response this gesture would generate.

"I take your point, but surely one night's delay won't collapse our credit. Stores run out of stock all the time—we don't need to go this far."

"Whether it's necessary, I know very well." Wu De's irritation was rising. These bureaucrats simply did not understand how difficult it was to win people's hearts. Salted fish tomorrow would be fine—but the effect would pale compared to tonight. Trust took enormous effort to build, and opportunities like this should never be squandered.

"Alright, then." Hearing his insistence, Xiao Zishan finally relented and assigned a Beijing 212 jeep. He added one stipulation: since they were making the trip anyway, they should bring back more supplies. "Don't waste the journey."

The jeep rolled toward Bopu beneath the evening sunset. Wu De drove personally, with Wu Nanhai riding beside him—he wanted to inspect the seafood plant's production while they were there.

During the drive, Wu Nanhai made a request: he wanted some farmers transferred from the Labor Group to the Agriculture Committee, not as collective workers but as permanent Committee employees.

"Probably fine. I'll request approval from the Committee—if they agree, I'll assign you a few. They're all actively requesting to join."

"Can they actually farm?"

"Of course. Lingao commoners are basically all farmers, except for that Zhang Xingjiao."

"Actually, I'd prefer some children. I can train them myself." Wu Nanhai shifted his SKS awkwardly—the cramped jeep made the rifle difficult to position.

"No problem. And here's some inside information." Wu De adopted a mysterious air. "They're about to send people to Guangzhou."

Wu Nanhai started in surprise. "How do you know that? I'm a Committee member."

"Don't forget I'm from the Military Group." Wu De smirked. "Military Group people know everything these days—they're notifying Xi Yazhou to select security personnel. And apparently he's going too."

"Beiwei would be a better choice."

"Beiwei trains troops every day—he can't leave. And no one's more suitable for the military core." Wu De spotted the first watchtower ahead, where guards were signaling with lights. He flashed his headlights in response; their route had been communicated to every pillbox along the way.

"Xi Yazhou has business experience," Wu De continued. "We veterans never did commerce—that's his advantage. Plus he's quite enthusiastic."

"Then I'd better prepare a shopping list." Wu Nanhai quickly pulled out a notebook and began writing.

"Don't rush. Several key Committee members are still debating whether to proceed with the Guangzhou trip. But it seems unavoidable now."

"That's extreme. Unavoidable?"

"Not extreme at all. Let me share some more inside information." Wu De lowered his voice. "You know that Big White Mare?"

"Yes—some American agent, right?"

"She's been assigned to the Public Security Group now—teaching classes, conducting training. A few days ago, someone almost—" Wu De trailed off with a mysterious smile.

"Almost what?" Wu Nanhai tensed. "Killed her?"

"There are five hundred young men here, all poisoned by Japanese AV, living boring lives in this seventeenth-century wilderness. What do you think they'd try?"

Realization struck Wu Nanhai like a blow, followed immediately by disbelief.

"How is that possible!"

"It was possible—but that woman has skills. He didn't succeed." Wu De sighed. "Now she's become the Committee's hot potato."

"Are they arresting anyone?"

"Of course not." Wu De shook his head. "Not worth antagonizing people over a foreigner. Ran Yao knew who did it by the next day."

"That's not right," Wu Nanhai said with clear disapproval. "In any time or space, this is a literal crime. If the Committee enables this behavior, it sets a dangerous precedent."

"Pursue it? Remember what was decided at the general assembly? 'Everyone is equal, but transmigrators are more equal than others.'"

"Right. So we should protect transmigrators' interests—blatantly assaulting a comrade, a woman—" Wu Nanhai stopped abruptly as a thought struck him. Was Salina actually a transmigrator?

"You've realized." Wu De spoke meaningfully. "Seven people are accidental stowaways. They're not transmigrators."

"We could absorb them. Why not? They're from the twenty-first century, same as us. Since they're already here, they can only build with us."

"The problem is she's a foreigner. 'Those not of our kind will have different hearts'—many people think this way."

"But—" Wu Nanhai found this reasoning flimsy. "Even if we can't fully trust her, there's no need to... that..."

Wu De chuckled. "Indeed excessive. After this incident, the Committee finally decided to send people to Guangzhou as soon as possible."

Wu Nanhai felt goosebumps rise on his skin. "My god—to buy women?"

Wu De kept his eyes on the road and smiled mysteriously, which was essentially confirmation.

"I have zero interest in this timespace's women, myself. If I want a woman, I'll raise one from a loli."

"For me, having a woman to cook and do laundry would be satisfying enough." Wu De sighed. "This doing my own laundry, eating cafeteria food—when will it ever end?"

They chatted as they drove and reached Bopu quickly. They grabbed several buckets of salted fish, strapped them to the vehicle, and headed back. Night had fallen completely by then, and the road lay in pitch blackness. Driving with headlights was not too difficult; the lights of the pillboxes along the way served as guiding beacons, and they returned smoothly to camp.

The dispersed laborers were reassembled. A bucket of salted fish was opened, and Wu De announced robustly: open supply—buy as much as you want. The workers hesitated, and not many stepped forward. Some carefully wrapped their remaining vouchers in rags and hid them in their clothing. Ma Peng was one of these. He was thinking that when the chance came, he would bring his family here for a proper meal.

(End of Chapter)