Wasteland Development Diary

Two and a half days later, Kestrel sent a message.

"We've agreed on terms with two farm machines. Their combined salary is 2 Light Seeds per month."

Text constantly appeared on the remote control screen.

"There aren't many changes in Recursive City. After returning, I first updated my identity and registration certificate. After synchronizing the time, I confirmed that I had been in hibernation for 22 years. Due to long-term disconnection, my rescue team license has been revoked, but my Recursive City citizenship is still valid."

"I looked for some farm machines in the exchange market, but most of them only accept employment from large cities with good reputations and don't consider cooperating with individuals or unfamiliar groups."

"The reason is that the farm machines' cooperation with many groups has not been pleasant. Employers often delay or deduct wages, breach contracts, refuse to supply farming materials, demand excessive and dangerous work, and even order the farm machines to participate in combat."

"They only trust large cities that cooperate with Recursive City or reputable groups with many years of farming industry experience."

Zhou Yi felt a bit overwhelmed.

In this wasteland era covered by the Dead Sea, the irresponsible clients have been passing down the tradition.

He swiped the screen and continued reading.

"Finally, after many negotiations, I found the Iron Horse and Bronze Bull brothers. I had worked with them before, and they are willing to come."

"However, they are among the few farm machines that have clashed with employers multiple times, resulting in numerous complaints and negative reviews."

"They will use combat to defend their rights and do not accept compromise or oppression."

Zhou Yi felt that this wasn't a problem.

It's okay to be a bit assertive, as long as their professional skills are excellent.

Kestrel also added an explanation.

"Their abilities in reclaiming farms and planting crops are highly recognized. The only issue is that they may be difficult to get along with, and once hired, they require a minimum of one year contract. Do you find that acceptable?"

Zhou Yi said it was no problem at all, just come.

"Then I will sign a labor contract agreement with them as a guarantor. We expect to arrive before 24:00 tomorrow."

A digital clock appeared in the upper right corner of the screen.

The current time is 14:00 in the afternoon, which means there are still 30 hours.

Zhou Yi remembered something else and said to the remote control, "Paying with Light Seeds is not a problem, but Light Seeds will quickly evaporate after the Light Nanos die, making it difficult for them to collect individually. Do you have special collection tools?"

"Yes."

Kestrel explained.

"Most mecha-electric lifeforms are equipped with 'Light Nano Boxes' for long-term storage of stable Light Seeds, and I have two as well. In Recursive City, the common currency is Light Seeds. Iron Horse and Bronze Bull definitely have them too."

Zhou Yi was relieved.

The Light Nano Box is essentially the wallet of a mecha-electric lifeform.

The technological prowess of the cities built by mecha-electric lifeforms is undoubtedly superior to that of the new human cities.

...

The company was newly established, and the two human employees still worked during the night and rested during the day.

During the day, they rested in the dormitories, and at night, they became active.

A Jin brought back a large number of branches and dry grass from the oasis. He stuffed these materials into the box-type rooms and spread stones in the container courtyard to create a stone slab floor, effectively reducing the surrounding sand and dust.

He applied for two box-type rooms to be used as warehouses, one for storing branches and dry grass, and the other for storing dried manure—including animal manure found outside and the employees' manure.

A Jin took this very seriously: "Chairman, dried manure is a valuable resource here. If you want to grow mushrooms and other things, manure can make them grow better and bigger. In Mao Valley Town, manure can be exchanged for mushrooms."

"Dried manure itself doesn't have much of a smell, and it can also be used for firewood when there's a shortage of wood."

"Also, some of the jerboa and lizard manure can actually be used as medicine to treat stomachaches and stop bleeding."

"If the manure is left outside, it will be eaten by insects, so we can't waste it."

Using manure as natural organic fertilizer is indeed important.

So Zhou Yi let him do as he pleased.

The other employee, Gong Zheng, compiled statistics and paper records of the company's current supplies.

He cut the stored meat into pieces, hung them up with ropes to dry, and rendered the fat into oil, which was stored in a box-type room. Then he reported these situations to Zhou Yi in detail, acting as the company's storekeeper.

With Zhou Yi's permission, Gong Zheng, guarded by Samurai Crabs, traded dried meat and Zhou Yi's unwanted old clothes with the townspeople.

Through the trade, he exchanged for a large amount of dried mushrooms, spores, salt produced from saline-alkali land, and other reserves, piquing the locals' curiosity and greatly reducing their defenses and fear.

Through barter, Gong Zheng filled the warehouses with branches, wood, dry grass, and manure, some of which had to be placed in the open space in the courtyard.

Because the materials were more abundant than ever before, A Jin also focused on improving the company's building decorations.

He made a kind of branch ladder to make it easier to go up and down the floors, and also laid soft carpets made of dry grass, so that people would no longer make a thumping sound when walking indoors, and further reduced indoor heat loss.

In addition, A Jin made lamp posts with rhombus stones, stones, and wood, surrounding the company in a circle. The office building now looks brightly lit at night, maintaining high visibility both indoors and outdoors.

These changes made Zhou Yi, as the chairman, very satisfied.

...

The next morning at 9:15, the Kestrel returned.

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A quadcopter drone appeared above Zhou Yi's head.

"Mission completed."

"Behind me are the Iron Horse and Bronze Bull brothers."

Zhou Yi's gaze returned from the sky to the ground.

Under the bright sunlight, two red and black heavy-duty tractors slowly drove in one after the other.

"Are you the employer?"

The vehicle that spoke was about 5 meters long and 3 meters high. It had huge rubber tires, a very high chassis, and the cab had been transformed into a completely enclosed silver metal shell, with a silver container towed behind it.

Its red shell had the words "Dongfang Hong" (East is Red) on it.

The only problem was that this farm vehicle was equipped with a machine gun on its hood.

Is this really a farm machine?

Zhou Yi was a little confused, but he still responded, "Yes, I am the chairman of Wasteland Development Company. Welcome to you both."

"I am Iron Horse of the Dongfang Hong family, and this is my brother Bronze Bull. We both have over 30 years of farming experience. As long as you don't interfere and affect our normal procedures, we can cultivate good crops."

The lead vehicle introduced itself.

It emphasized, "However, you must pay our salaries, not a single one less."

Zhou Yi said with a smile, "Of course, rest assured about that."

He turned his gaze to the other farm machine.

Bronze Bull was a circle larger than Iron Horse, and the container it towed was also larger.

Unlike his brother, Bronze Bull was equipped with two large-caliber machine cannons on its roof, and 4 suspected rocket launchers were mounted on its left and right sides. It didn't say a word, looking more oppressive than its brother.

When Zhou Yi looked over, Bronze Bull's huge body suddenly turned slightly, as if it was about to turn around and leave.

This made him stunned: "What's wrong?"

"My brother is afraid of dealing with people, introverted, and not good at talking," Iron Horse said. "He is not used to talking to strangers, and he communicates with me through internal channels."

Zhou Yi's head hurt a little.

This socially awkward farm machine, but equipped with so much firepower.

I don't know if its personality is stable.

Zhou Yi still asked his doubts: "You are farm machines, why are you equipped with this kind of firepower?"

Iron Horse said nonchalantly: "Equipping necessary self-defense weapons is of course to allow the employer to properly fulfill our cooperation agreement and talk to us peacefully. These days, who goes to work without carrying weapons?"

Zhou Yi was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "That makes sense, indeed."