Natural disaster strikes: I hoard supplies in the apocalypse and win

Untitled Part 72 What Do You Really Want?

Su Su stepped forward to support him, concerned, "Uncle Jiang, why are you coughing so badly?"

Jiang Liben kept pushing her away, "Caught a cold a few days ago... cough cough... stay away from me, I might pass the virus to you."

"Then you shouldn't be shoveling snow anymore. Your health is the most important. Where do you live? I'll take you back."

As she spoke, Su Su tried to pull Uncle Jiang away, but he refused to leave.

"I can't leave. If I leave, I'll lose this job."

Without the job, he wouldn't have food to eat. He didn't have any points left. The only reason he got into the base was because he was transferred from a shelter.

He lived in a dormitory arranged by the base, with 20 people in one room. All other living expenses had to be managed by himself; the base didn't provide anything else.

At first, he went out with the base's vehicle to find supplies, but every time he brought supplies back, they were stolen by others in the dormitory.

Once, during a fight for supplies, he got his leg injured, and it still hadn't healed.

Unable to go out to find supplies, he had to find a job within the base to support himself.

Only by staying alive could he find Su Su. Only by seeing Su Su safe and sound could he be at ease.

This way, when he died, he wouldn't feel guilty about her mother's trust.

There were many people in the base, and resources were scarce. To survive, even jobs that didn't pay points but provided one meal a day were highly sought after.

Take this snow-shoveling job, for example. It paid 30 points a month and included lunch, which was highly coveted by many.

He got this job because they were among the first batch of people transferred from the shelter after the base was established.

On the first day it snowed, he happened to see a recruitment notice for snow shoveling and signed up.

Su Su felt a pang of sadness. Uncle Jiang, who was once a spirited professional manager, had been reduced to such a humble and worn-out state by the apocalypse.

Moreover, she noticed that Uncle Jiang seemed to have an injured foot.

She felt a surge of pity and said, "You're sick now, and your foot is injured. You can't stay here any longer."

"I..." Jiang Liben was about to speak when a man with a big face walked over and interrupted him.

"Jiang Liben, since you're not feeling well, go back and rest. I'll report your situation, and you don't need to come tomorrow."

"I'm fine, I can still... cough cough..." Jiang Liben hurriedly tried to explain that he wasn't sick, but couldn't stop coughing.

"With that, you still dare to say you're not sick?" The big-faced man sneered.

"If you can't do the job, then leave and stop taking up someone else's spot."

Seeing Uncle Jiang's face turn even paler and his whole demeanor become more dejected, Su Su frowned and stepped forward, glaring coldly at the man. "Oh? Then I'd like to ask, whose spot is he taking?"

"Naturally, the spot of someone who is physically capable of working," the big-faced man said matter-of-factly.

Yesterday, a woman had come to him, asking for help finding a job, and had flirted with him suggestively.

So, as long as he got rid of Jiang Liben today, he was sure that woman would come to him willingly.

"So, by physically capable, do you mean someone like him? Or someone like her?"

Su Su pointed to an elderly man in his sixties or seventies in the distance, and then to a frail woman who was shivering and looked like she was about to faint.

"Tell me, how do these two compare to my Uncle Jiang?"

The two people Su Su pointed to were a relative the big-faced man had placed there and a woman who had spent a night with him to get the job.

It was obvious to everyone that these two were just there to slack off, but because of the big-faced man, no one dared to say anything.

Now, being called out so bluntly by Su Su, the big-faced man's face turned red and blue with anger.

He was furious and said, "Hmph, if I say they are better, then they are better. It's not your place to interfere."

"Is that so?"

Su Su looked at him with a faint smile and directly threatened, "What if I write a report to the higher-ups, accusing you of embezzlement? Do you think you can keep your job?"

"You..." The big-faced man was so angry he wanted to hit her, but suddenly thought of something and stopped.

There were patrols around. If this woman started shouting and attracted the patrols, he would be in big trouble.

Moreover, he had used all his resources to get this job.

If he lost this job, he would have nothing left.

He absolutely couldn't lose this job!

"What do you really want?" he asked, lowering his voice and glaring at Su Su.

Su Su smiled, "I don't want anything. I just want to make it clear that if my Uncle Jiang leaves, it's because we don't want to do the job anymore."

"And for the days my Uncle Jiang has worked here, you need to pay him the points he earned."

Hearing her demand, the big-faced man breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as he could keep his job, it didn't matter how Jiang Liben left.

Even if Jiang Liben wanted to stay, he would have to agree reluctantly.

He had no choice; this woman had him by the throat.

"Fine, I'll report his resignation today. You can come to collect the points tomorrow," the big-faced man compromised.

"Okay." Su Su responded coldly and pulled the hesitant Uncle Jiang away.

After walking some distance, Uncle Jiang sighed and said earnestly, "Su girl, it's too hard to find a job in this world."

He was afraid his words would make Su Su feel guilty, so he added, "Losing this job is no big deal. You go back first, and I'll see if there's any other place that needs people."

Su Su held onto his sleeve, "Don't look for another job. I'll take you back now."

"No, I live in a dormitory assigned to people transferred from the shelter. It's all men there, and it's too dangerous for you to go."

"So, your leg injury was caused by those people?" Su Su squinted her eyes and asked.

"No..." Jiang Liben wanted to deny it, but under Su Su's penetrating gaze, he couldn't say anything.

"You won't go back to that dormitory anymore. I'll find you another place to stay," Su Su said firmly, leaving no room for refusal.

Jiang Liben's eyes reddened with emotion. He knew Su Su was worried about him.

This was the first time since the apocalypse began that he felt the warmth of human kindness.

Before finding her, he was constantly afraid something had happened to her. Now that he had found her, he feared she might have become as cold and ruthless as everyone else.