Li Jian and the five building managers stared at each other, confused and uncertain about what Zhang Yi was up to.
Planting?
Becoming farmers?
Was he joking?
Huang Tianfang grumbled, "Have you ever farmed before? In this cold weather, all the crops will freeze to death!"
Zhang Yi replied, "Hey, you can't say that! Remember in Siberia, they also promoted corn vigorously!"
"If you think corn won't work, I have other seeds here—potatoes, wheat. There's something for everyone."
Li Jian and the others were completely speechless.
"Zhang Yi, stop joking. What's the temperature outside? And on top of that, in this freezing weather, where are you going to plant?"
Zhang Yi, however, said seriously, "What does the cold weather matter? Didn't we survive it?"
"This snow disaster could last for a long time. You might have noticed, all the high-rise buildings are gone, preparing for a long-term retreat."
"This means the apocalypse will last quite a while. If we don't start planting crops, food will run out quickly. By then, won't everyone be doomed?"
"As for where to plant, that's easy to solve."
Zhang Yi pointed outside the window. "There's land out there, isn't there? As long as we shovel off the snow, there's land underneath!"
"To combat the low temperatures, we can plant underground. It's a tough process, but we have to try."
"Only then can we maintain a complete ecological chain, so everyone can survive the apocalypse!"
Among the five, Huang Tianfang and Li Jian's expressions showed some signs of agreement.
Huang Tianfang had been a farmer before, and if they could resolve the food problem through farming, he'd have a distinct advantage over the city folks in the neighborhood.
Li Jian, on the other hand, thought that with so many people in their unit, they'd have valuable labor force!
If they developed an agricultural model, his influence in the community would also increase.
Wang Qiang looked at Zhang Yi with doubt.
He wasn't going to farm, but as the leader of building 21, he could definitely make others do the work.
Li Jian suddenly asked, "If we're going to start farming, we'll need enough food. So, 300 servings of food might be too little."
Zhang Yi smiled slightly, replying, "But for the people I need, 300 servings are plenty!"
He spread his hands. "Alright, let me explain my second condition."
"That is, each building needs to send someone to clear farmland. I need to see your labor progress every day."
"After all, I'm out there working hard to find food, not to feed idle people!"
Zhang Yi looked at everyone, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, while the others were internally calculating.
"These are my two conditions. If you agree, I'll provide the resources for you."
"And if we're talking about 300 servings, the food quality will be guaranteed. In the future, I'll even provide cigarettes, alcohol, clothes, and medical supplies!"
At this point, someone couldn't sit still.
Wang Qiang suddenly stood up and loudly asked, "You can get cigarettes??"
His eyes were full of anticipation.
Huang Tianfang, too, was excited, his lips trembling. "Do you have cigarettes? Come on, give me one to try! I haven't smoked in half a month, I'm about to go crazy!"
These two were heavy smokers, and not smoking for over half a month felt worse than being killed to them.
The irritation they felt was partly due to withdrawal symptoms.
Zhang Yi smiled faintly, pulled a pack of Li Qun cigarettes out of his pocket, and threw each of them one.
The two stared greedily at the cigarettes in their hands, hurriedly stuffing them into their mouths.
"Do you have fire?"
"Here, hurry up and light it!"
Wang Qiang and Huang Tianfang, not even caring about their original purpose, rushed to a corner to light their cigarettes, their hands trembling.
Then they took a deep drag.
White smoke billowed from their noses, and both had blissful expressions on their faces.
They could go without food, but without cigarettes, they would truly go mad.
Zhang Yi's smile grew wider.
"Now that my conditions are laid out, will you agree?"
At this point, Chen Lingyu was nervously squeezing her legs together, focusing on the wet spot in her pants, trembling from the cold, but too scared to show it.
Zhang Yunan, who was muscular and not very bright, was completely confused by Zhang Yi's farming conditions and didn't know how to respond.
Only Li Jian, originally planning to argue and negotiate more terms, was cut off by Wang Qiang.
"As long as you can guarantee I have cigarettes to smoke, I can agree to all these conditions!"
"But, you have to give me at least two packs a day!"
Huang Tianfang also said, "Same condition for me."
Zhang Yi replied, "I can only give you one pack a day at most. I can't get any more."
Wang Qiang and Huang Tianfang quickly agreed.
"Alright, one pack a day is fine! But you have to deliver!"
Zhang Yi laughed and shrugged. "So, does this mean we've reached a consensus on today's negotiations?"
Wang Qiang and Huang Tianfang weren't very smart.
Moreover, cigarettes were highly addictive, and they were already starting to lose their willpower.
As long as they could get cigarettes, they didn't care about anything else.
They were satisfied with the benefits Zhang Yi provided and had no further objections.
But Li Jian said, "We still need to discuss this further!"
Chen Lingyu clutched her legs tightly and said with difficulty, "Yes, we need to plan carefully."
Zhang Yi waved his hand. "That's up to you. My conditions are here, and this is my greatest sincerity and bottom line."
"If you don't agree, then we'll have to settle this with knives and guns!"
He emphasized the words "knives and guns" with a bit more force.
It was a reminder to the people in front of him that fighting him would be like facing a battle with long swords and firearms.
Wang Qiang stretched out his hand towards Zhang Yi. "I have no issues, just give me a cigarette to smoke first!"
Zhang Yi sneered, "What's the joke? Didn't you all say you're united? Until you give me a clear answer, these conditions aren't official."
"So, if you want cigarettes, you'll have to wait until you make up your mind!"
Wang Qiang, puffing away at the cigarette, looked a bit dazed.
He impatiently said to Li Jian and the others, "What are you waiting for? We got what we wanted, right? Let's just do it his way!"
Li Jian said, "But this is too…"
Wang Qiang glared at him. "What 'too'? I said, let's do it! Don't waste time, I can't stand all your babbling."
Huang Tianfang exhaled a smoke ring, saying, "I think this is enough. Zhang Yi is giving us face, we should understand his difficulties."
Li Jian's face darkened, and in his mind, he cursed Wang Qiang and Huang Tianfang out.
These two "pig teammates" were actually causing internal strife in front of the other party!