Doomsday rat

Page 199

If you want to talk about the location, Hong Tao feels that many people in the refugee area can only be regarded as guests. They have only lived for a few years, and at most they are familiar with the area of ​​one or two kilometers around their residence.

As for my familiarity with this city, I can't say that I know it 100%. Anyway, I can know what is in the southeast, northwest and north with my eyes closed.I dare not say that the small roads must be leveled for slightly larger roads.If you can make it to the north of the Shilihe Bridge, you really can't be too modest, you must wear the title of Hutong Chuanzi.

But the landlord should not be proud, he must have a follower who should be prepared.First of all, you can't put people together. In comparison, the faces of thin monkeys and water snakes are more gentle, and it is better to hide in the crowd by changing into clean clothes.

Especially the thin monkey, he also has the name Iszawi.That's right, this guy turned his back on the dark and turned to the bright. He not only helped Populus euphratica hold a grand banquet at Sailimu Lake, but also killed more than a dozen adjudicators who were supposed to be stationed there. Judge joins the team.

Water Snake's real name is Zhai Ran, Mongolian, tall and thin, 49 years old and looks about the same as 59 years old, more than half of his hair is white.He used to sell fresh fish and shrimp in the market, and he also contracted fish ponds to raise fish, and the water quality is excellent.

What these two have in common is that they are good at talking, they can talk nonsense when they see people, and they are good at interacting with strangers.Hong Tao intends to let them stay outside the small group as a reserve team, and it is best to find a more normal job.

When we returned to the shanty town, the rain had completely stopped, and the washed sky looked extraordinarily clear, and the densely packed Milky Way could be seen clearly without any auxiliary equipment.All the crimes that happened here were also washed away by the heavy rain. There were no traces of fighting at the scene, except that there were seven or eight more bicycles.

Hong Tao asked Lu Wei'an, these cars are not too precious in the refugee area, and there are no registration procedures and special signs, so it is no problem to keep them for use.But that tricycle is the standard equipment for traveling around the world, and many people are familiar with it, so it is best not to keep it.

"Fat sheep, it's yours. If you don't sleep for a while, you can change it to a cargo truck. It can be used for repairing the house." But Hong Tao doesn't think so, it doesn't matter if you are familiar with it, we have professionals and special tools, and it will be ready in a few hours The car can be dismantled into parts.Keep what is useful, throw away what is too eye-catching.

Compared with the thin monkey, the fat sheep is more like a good old man. His white skin is helpless even in the scorching sun of northern Xinjiang, and his chubby face is harmless to humans and animals no matter how you look at it.

His real name is Yang Ming, and he used to run an auto repair shop. His skills were good, but his life was not good. He stood in line several times from Wushi to Yining, but he didn't stand right once.

"Brother Mouse, look at these wheels..." Before the wet clothes had time to change, Fat Sheep walked in with two wheels.

"What do you mean?" Hong Tao took a look. It was just an ordinary tricycle spoke wheel, but after more than ten years of wind, sun and rain, most of the rubber had aged, and products such as wheel inner tubes could not resume production at present.

In order to continue to use the vehicle, people cut the discarded tires into pieces and fix them on the wheel hub in various ways, which can also play a part of shock absorption and increase friction.I just rode it to Lu Wei'an's house by myself. Apart from being a bit painful, it was indeed faster and easier than walking.

"It breaks so quickly, and the rubber will be crushed after a long time. I have modified a few bicycles in Licheng. I just need to add a circle of softer wood inside, and nail a layer of rubber on the outside, so it can be used more. long time."

"I thought the rubber here would not be too abundant, and it would be a pity to waste it for nothing. Why don't you set up a car repair booth to help people change the wheels, and it's a serious business."

Not only does Fat Sheep look harmless to humans and animals, but he also speaks slowly. If Hong Tao hadn't seen him holding a wooden sign and an ice pick to fight zombies to the death, and when he was provoked by other gangs on the construction site, he would copy the guy as soon as he ordered, 100 % can't believe this guy is a gold digger with his head on his belt for a living.

But all craftsmen have a stubborn problem. Once they have the opportunity to rely on their crafts for a living, they don't want to work hard as coolies.No, Fat Sheep felt that his skills could be useful here, and he began to grow grass in his heart.

"I think, then don't leave with us tomorrow, go to the construction site to get your identity, find opportunities to go around the neighborhood, and get familiar with the market first."

To be honest, if there is a suitable means of survival, who would like to go to the construction site to dig mud with a shovel in the sun?Now that Fat Sheep has a business that sounds reasonable, Hong Tao has no objection. It would be great if everyone can have this kind of ability.

Speechless, or sleepless all night, seven people occupied two empty huts tens of meters apart, and the remaining one went to find a hidden place nearby to serve as a sentinel. Few of them could really fall asleep.

Although he didn't say anything, he must be beating drums in his heart. He didn't know whether he could live a better life than in Xinjiang Province in this strange place surrounded by strange people and rules.If not, where should we go next?

"How's the situation outside?" Hong Tao was still eating breakfast the next day, when Lu Wei'an and Xiao Ma came, each with dark circles under their eyes.

"There are some people around. When we passed by, the security team was carrying the corpse out. This thing is good, it's quite solid, and three of them will be enough." Xiao Ma threw two steamed buns, saying that he had already eaten breakfast, and the taste was not bad. .

"I didn't expect to be able to eat mixed noodles in my lifetime... How much is it?" Hong Tao took it, broke off a small piece, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it a few times, and handed it to Tiger.

The steamed buns are quite big, and the noodles are not bad, and they are still hot.But the color is not white, light yellow mixed with gray, and besides flour and cornmeal, I don't know what other ingredients are added.The taste is definitely not as good as the old world steamed buns.

"Ten cents each, and pancakes, thirty cents each, and many people ate them between them." Xiao Ma made a circle the size of a washbasin with his hand, and clicked his mouth, it seemed that he didn't eat it.

"I want to buy it, Brother Ma won't let it..." Lu Wei'an hurriedly explained that it wasn't that he was stingy, but Xiao Ma didn't let him buy it.

"It's good. Let's go when we're full and go to work... Come on, two yuan per person. We're new here and working hard. It's good to eat a steamed bun. When you see something cute, bear it first and don't show it." Getting rich will bring trouble. Boss Lu, you should take the money to go through the formalities of buying a house first. If there is more, it will be counted as errand expenses, and if there is less, you can ask me for it."

Hong Tao didn't take this issue at all. He took out half a paper roll from his pocket, distributed four fifty-cent steel coins to each of them, and took out three bright red hundred-yuan bills, handed them to Lu Wei'an, and patted him on the shoulder. With a grin, he took the lead and walked out.

In fact, it is easy to find the recruitment site without Lu Wei'an leading the way. Most of the people who came out of this shanty town and the opposite refugee area walked in one direction, and they knew what they were going to do just by looking at the mud spots and marks on their clothes.

The recruitment site is about 3 kilometers away from the shanty town, and it is set up on an overpass.Seeing the collapsed bridge deck on the south side, Hong Tao couldn't help but think of that bloody night eight years ago.

At that time, the survivors were compressed by the tide of zombies from the fourth ring to the third ring, and from the third ring to the second ring. This Zuo'anmen overpass was also part of the main battlefield, and the battle was extremely fierce.

The survivors were faced with a situation where there was no way to retreat, and the ammunition was close to depletion, while the zombies were still out of sight. The bridge deck on the south side was blown up by death squads driving cars loaded with explosives.

Fortunately, it was dawn soon, and the planes could be used to bombard the living corpses, preventing most of the zombies from continuing to attack north. Otherwise, today this place may not be a human base, but a city of zombies.

Now the big crater left after the explosion has been covered with various plants, but the bullet marks that can be seen everywhere on the bridge body can still tell people the extent of the battle that took place here.

It's a pity that people who come here don't seem to care much about these things. Those who have temporary ID cards go under the bridge to pick up tools and continue walking north, while the rest line up to move to the temporary tent in front.

The construction site is just a few hundred meters away, but apart from the roar of machinery, the whole picture is invisible. There is the original moat there, and the working surface should have been several meters deep into the ground.

Chapter 615 The most glorious labor 2

"Name" When Hong Tao lined up at the entrance of the tent, there were two middle-aged women in military uniforms sitting behind the table, both of them were expressionless, one lowered his head to ask for records, and the other made a temporary ID card by hand.

"Zhou Dafu..." Hong Tao reported his Nth alias.

"Address!" The woman didn't respond at all, and didn't raise her head.

"...No. [-], sixth row, new sixth district." This question really stumped Hong Tao, but luckily Lu Wei'an was always by his side.

"How old are you?" The woman finally raised her head and stopped writing after seeing Hong Tao's face.

"...50!" Hong Tao knew the recruitment conditions here, and those over 55 years old were not accepted, so he quickly raised the corners of his mouth.Juma has said that she looks younger when she smiles like this.

"Such a big man should be..." The woman who was in charge of making the cards next to her also looked up. She was more sensible and felt that no matter how old Hong Tao was, he should have a strong body.As for the fact that half of his face is covered with horrible scars, and he doesn't look like a good person, it's not about picking a son-in-law, it's just about being able to work.

E00099818, this is Hong Tao's temporary ID number.In addition to name, gender, age, height, and address, there are also simple descriptions of physical characteristics.The woman summed him up in one sentence: small eyes, long face, large scar on the left side of his face, ugly and vicious!

"Her mother is big!" This made Hong Tao very upset. How could he say that he was ugly or vicious based on subjective judgments? It's not serious!So he also had an aversion to this ID card.

E must be a classification, they divided people into several categories, and they are obviously ranked on the fifth floor, or underground!Well, even if it is for easy management, what does the eight digits behind mean?Does anyone still expect to have a million-level population someday!This is no longer ambition, but infatuation.

"Come, come, line up, call whoever you want to go in..." The refugees who got their temporary ID cards were greeted by several men in military uniforms to the door of the tent behind them, and a doctor in a white coat and a mask called them one by one. .

"Zhou Dafu...go in and take off his clothes and put them in the basket." When it was Hong Tao's turn, he suddenly felt bad!There was obviously a medical examination in the tent, and he had to take off his clothes, so the tattoo on his back couldn't be hidden.

But it seemed too late to say no to going in at this time. In addition to the staff in military uniforms, there were also soldiers with live ammunition nearby. They should not let a refugee who did not participate in the medical examination for no reason leave.

I have lived in northern Xinjiang for so many years, and I have forgotten many normal things.At this point, the East Asian Alliance is obviously doing better than the Redeemer, knowing that it is trying to avoid large-scale disease outbreaks.Although the method is very elementary, but with the current conditions, it is good to have this kind of thought and preparation.

"Have you had a fever and diarrhea recently?" Feeling anxious, Hong Tao still kept his short-sleeved top on.As a result, the middle-aged doctor who was in charge of the examination didn't say anything. He just asked him to lift his shirt and listen to his heart and lungs, and then look at his lower body and skin from the outside.

After getting out of the tent after getting dressed, we still have to line up. When we gather dozens of people, someone with a full hat will come and lead the team to the construction site.Only then did Hong Tao see the complete construction site. Seven or eight excavators were blowing black smoke below the river, wielding big shovels and digging desperately.

However, because the river was too deep, the excavated soil could not be sent directly to the embankment with buckets, so it had to be placed in place and carried to the north bank by manpower.Roughly calculating, there should be more than a thousand people scattered in this river channel about one kilometer long.Looking at the east side again, it seems that there has not been excavation there, and it seems that the amount of work is not small.

"Brother Shu, the two of us are a team, I took all the tools!" Just as Hong Tao was in a daze, someone stabbed him in the back, and the tiger came up with a shovel in one hand and a dirty cloth bag in the other.

"Skinny Monkey, Water Snake, and Fat Sheep, have they got their ID cards?" Hong Tao glanced around, but couldn't find the three partners.

"Didn't you tell them not to stay with us? I saw that there are hundreds of people behind. Don't worry, the three of them are safe and sound, and they are not very old, so there will be no problems." Tiger thought about it, He didn't worry about the situation of his companions at all.

That's right, the recruitment conditions of the East Asian Alliance are more relaxed than expected. As long as you are not too old and have no obvious diseases, you can basically get a temporary ID card.Even those who are slightly disabled but do not affect physical labor, it is a feeling of hunger.

The work is quite simple. Two people voluntarily form a group, use a shovel to pack the soil loosened by the excavator into a cloth bag, and two people hold the four corners and send it to the river bank through the slope, and fall down at the designated place.If each person completes two square meters of soil a day, he is considered qualified and can receive full lunch and wages.

At the top of the slope, someone took a pen and paper to record the workload of each group, and the excess was not only paid in proportion to the salary, but also an excess reward was added.Hong Tao didn't look at the specific figures, and he didn't intend to exceed the quota.

It doesn't matter if you can't meet the quota, as long as you can meet half of the quota, you will still have half lunch and half salary.If you can't even dry a square of soil in a day, you can't do this job.In fact, the previous identity verification and physical examination are to screen out those who are too weak, and those who can pass the test can get half of the treatment at the last time.

For this job and the corresponding treatment provided, Hong Tao thinks it is quite good.Young and middle-aged refugees can fully support themselves by working alone, and refugees who are not too strong can also have a full meal every day, so as not to starve to death.

This is the standard food-for-work. The East Asian Alliance tries to attract more people to the control area in this way. Only when the population base is large can they meet their ever-increasing industrial and military development needs, and at the same time increase the number of reproduction.

From this point of view, the East Asian Alliance is indeed more active in management than the Redeemer. It did not rely on force to suppress it in order to save trouble, but it still thought of some methods and worked hard to do so.Of course, if there were no vampires such as Youlong Labor Service Company to exploit and deduct, the living standards of the refugees could be further improved.

But this kind of social problem, the East Asian Union should not come up with a better way to completely eliminate it for the time being. As long as the refugees are not forced to survive and the population is still growing, they will just turn a blind eye and pretend not to see it.

"Scalper, I want to go back and find something to weave a few back baskets, this thing is too laborious to use."

Hong Tao only lifted it twice before he had another idea. He felt that the method of lifting the soil was too backward, which was tiring on the waist and arms. It would be better to use the basket back instead, and give full play to the strength of the thighs and waist. It is more efficient to memorize together.

The whole morning was spent slowly digging and lifting the soil. During this time, there were no bullies who dare not speak up to bully the newcomers, and no lackeys who pretended to be powerful tried to cut down on the amount of transportation.

In fact, under the supervision of soldiers with guns, no one dares to stab. As long as the amount of soil lifted each time is almost in line with the requirements, the staff responsible for counting will not be too serious.

At exactly twelve o'clock, a large group of tricycles covered with thick quilts slowly drove out of the city, and a loud siren sounded on the construction site.The person in charge of counting work points in each section shouted with a loudspeaker, beckoning the workers to go to where he was sitting to get lunch, each with three mixed noodle steamed buns and a bowl of soup.

"It's kelp and fish!" The steamed buns looked similar to what Xiao Ma had eaten in the morning, and the taste was similar.The soup smelled fishy, ​​and there were some dregs and green leaves in it.Hong Tao tasted it, and the scum seemed to be some kind of fish, but it was so rotten that the shape could not be seen at all.

"Brother Mouse, this place is indeed different from ours. I took a closer look and found that the supervisor counted fairly enough, and the soldiers didn't skip meals." At this moment, Eszawi came over from somewhere with a bowl in his hand. , although his small body is not very good at work, but his eyes are flexible enough, and he has a little experience after observing it all morning.

"The food is also good. If you know how easy it is to live here, you should have come here sooner!" Another person who was full of praise was Lazy Dog. His name was Wei Jinsheng, he was 46 years old, and he used to work at the grain station.

The work is very easy, and I use my spare time to raise a few dogs and go hunting in the mountains when I have nothing to do, and I have developed a good ability to survive in the wild.But this kid is very lazy, he can lie down and never sit, he is unwilling to work if he has a stutter, and he likes to gamble.

Chapter 616

"What a fart, you have raised your body without losing your mouth in the past few months. Look at them, many of them can't even get their full salary." He expressed extreme disgust at the lazy dog's easy talk of scalpers. I also worked as a small worker in infrastructure construction, and I have a deep understanding of the physical exertion of this job.

The people he was referring to were the new laborers nearby. Some of them looked sallow and emaciated, probably because of long-term malnutrition. It was really not easy for each of these people to carry two square meters of wet soil every day.

"Hey, what Lao Niu said is right. My partner is a newcomer. Even the clothes don't weigh more than 100 catties. I have to rest twice in the middle of lifting from below. It's not bad if I can get half of the salary. Here , and there is only one steamed bun for lunch.”

Scalper's statement was immediately supported by Fat Sheep. After listening to Hong Tao's arrangement, he deliberately stayed behind and didn't get the temporary ID card with everyone.

Looking in the direction of Fat Sheep's finger, a dirty man was sitting on the mound more than ten meters away.The figure is about the same as that of a teenager, with thin arms and legs, and the thin cheeks are sucked in. He looks at least 30 years older, and he is holding a broken can and gnawing on steamed buns.

"We may have killed the wrong person last night..." Hong Tao looked at the person and said something suddenly.

"..." As soon as the words came out, several people around looked at each other, not quite understanding what they meant.

"Give him this steamed bun!" Hong Tao didn't explain, and handed the steamed bun in his hand to Fat Sheep.It's not that I have to pity others if I don't have enough to eat, but that there is no shortage of oil and water in my stomach, and I really can't eat so much in one meal.

As for keeping it for dinner, there is no need to be so frugal now, especially after gaining a sum of ill-gotten wealth, eating and drinking will no longer be a problem for a long time.

Thinking of those people killed last night, Hong Tao felt a little regretful, he shouldn't have made a hasty decision.How should I put it, I am afraid that I have lived in a harsh environment for too long, and I am not used to the relatively relaxed environment. When I encounter a little trouble, I am used to killing to solve the problem.

Little do they know that the rules here are fundamentally different from those in Xinjiang. In many cases, it is no longer a situation of life and death, and it is possible to use more gentle means to solve it.

Although the practices of Youlong Labor Service Company are a bit wicked, what they do is not all bad.Take this person as an example, if no labor service company tricked him over, he would starve to death within a month or two.

The labor service company should not be robbed by every new refugee. The reason is that my group carried too many packages and spent a lot of money to find contacts to clear the customs. Even a fool can guess that there must be a lot of good things. That leads to greed.

That's right, the labor service company deducts part of the wages of the laborers every month, 100% of them are parasites lying on the refugees and drinking their blood.But think about it the other way around, if there weren't these vampires, many refugees might starve to death, so it's saving people again.

Generally speaking, the work process on the first day was fairly smooth, and everyone except Fat Sheep earned enough work points.Hong Tao didn't let anyone go over to help Fat Sheep, it was too eye-catching.In fact, that steamed bun has already attracted the serious attention of the nearby refugees, and their eyes are full of puzzlement.

But from the second day on, Hong Tao and his group could not earn full work points. They only worked until noon and left after lunch.Where to go in the afternoon, of course, to find building materials.

Lu Wei'an was quite reliable in his work. It only took one day to complete the procedures for buying a house.Although he has not yet obtained the real estate certificate, as long as he pays the purchase price of 3000 yuan within these two days, this small building belongs to him in principle.

Now that the house has been built, it is said that the next step should be decoration.But the new world is a little different from the old world. Most houses are not rough houses but frames, and decoration alone is not enough to meet living needs.So the first step is repairs, from the walls to the roof, and the doors and windows have to be installed.

At first, Hong Tao wanted to go to the market to buy building materials, doors and windows, but he followed Lu Wei'an to the market in the north, and came back without buying anything except his eyes.

Too expensive, that's why Hong Tao returned empty-handed.Now he finally understands why no one has bought the small building for so many years. If the price in the market is calculated, buying ready-made windows and doors will almost catch up with the cost of half a small building. Cheaper those profiteers.

Isn’t it just bricks, tiles, doors and windows? In such a big city with so many buildings, building materials can’t be said to be at your fingertips. It’s not difficult to dismantle some from the surrounding areas, so why are they so expensive?

In fact, it is not true that rare things are more expensive, but due to certain regulations of the alliance and the actual situation, there is a serious shortage of building materials. The first thing that bears the brunt is the division of the safe zone and the red zone.

According to the regulations of the alliance, the area under the control of the control area is guarded by alliance soldiers and managed by security teams and administrative agencies. It is called a green zone, commonly known as a safe zone, and vice versa is called a red zone.

Refugees living in the safe zone are obliged to abide by the rules and regulations formulated by the alliance, and then have the right to enjoy the services provided by the alliance.For example, the provision of tap water, electricity, coal, oil and food for a fee, as well as security patrols, legal protection, education and so on.

The refugees living in the red zone do not have to abide by the laws of the alliance, and of course they cannot enjoy services.Not only do they have to face the test of nature, they will also be harassed and threatened by other refugees, and at the same time, they will be arrested by alliance soldiers for illegally invading the alliance-controlled area.

According to Lu Wei'an's explanation, this regulation did not exist from the beginning. Although the safety zone was demarcated back then, it did not restrict the freedom of residence of refugees. There was no restriction on where they wanted to live except within the moat.

However, as the number of refugees increased, the fighting between them also intensified, and the number of casualties continued to increase. Seeing that the situation was not good, the alliance hurriedly promulgated this regulation.It is said that it also aroused the opposition of many refugees at that time, and tried to gather and fight for the right to only choose, but they finally had to succumb to the Union army.

In this way, the personal safety of the refugees has indeed been greatly guaranteed, but there are always good and bad sides in everything. While the safety is improved, the building materials that were originally available everywhere suddenly become in short supply.

Although the alliance has been expanding the scope of the safe zone as much as possible over the years, providing more livable houses and sources of building materials that can be demolished and diverted, it still cannot meet the growing needs of the refugees, and the price has gradually increased.

Where there is demand, there will be a market, especially when it comes to the necessities of human life, food, drink, housing, and transportation. Policy alone cannot stop it, so an industry has emerged in the refugee area, demolition, and its official name is the freight company!

They will obtain permits through various relationships, organize people reasonably and legally to fight in the ruins of nearby towns, search from house to house, and transport all available materials back for sale, including building materials.

It's just that in this way, there are several more links in the middle out of thin air, and the cost has also increased significantly.Bricks, tiles, doors and windows that were not worth a few dollars have been increased layer by layer.

If you want to ask why you can't go to the south and southeast of the city to find building materials nearby, Hong Tao knows the answer without Lu Wei'an explaining it.This direction was exactly the path that the zombie wave attacked back then. Starting from outside the Fifth Ring Road, almost every street was full of traces of survivors fighting with zombies, including a large number of zombie remains.

Even if the alliance does not prohibit the refugees, they are not willing to rummage among the zombies. If they contract some disease, everything will be over.Compared with life and death, living conditions are almost nothing.

But if this is the case, why does the alliance insist on setting up a settlement in the southeast direction? The scale is still so huge. Isn't this obviously contrary to the policies formulated by them? Is it afraid of infection or not?

To be precise, it is not that I am not afraid but that I have to.The original refugee settlement was indeed established in the northern part of the city, and it was also very successful.So far, the refugee settlement in the north of the city is still the largest grain-producing area and animal husbandry area in the capital.

But, as the scale of petrochemical and smelting bases near Jinmen grows larger, together with the gradual recovery of mechanical processing, shipbuilding, and aquatic industries, a processing and manufacturing base mainly in the southeast of the city has been born.

Chapter 617 Rare is Precious 2

This is not because the top executives of the alliance are confused and have not planned well, but because of the reality of the situation.The important transportation arteries between Beijing and Jinmen are basically concentrated in the southeast direction, especially the only railway has only been repaired to the vicinity of Minsi Bridge.

For the convenience of transportation, many small processing factories naturally came together, otherwise some heavy equipment and goods could not be transported by the dilapidated roads alone.