Chapter 15: Mobilization Order
The sun was hanging low at the edge of the horizon. It was too late to go back to the shelter. Chu Guang would rather stay on Baker Street for one night than rush to make it to the shelter in the dark. He had had several unpleasant experiences at night and was well aware of how dangerous it could be.
Chu Guang wrapped the iron-barreled rifle he bought in a plastic bag and tied it to the sharpened water pipe behind him. No one could tell that it was a gun just by looking at it. Although Baker Street didn’t restrict survivors from carrying weapons, Chu Guang didn’t want the mayor's men to discover that he was trading privately with the caravan outside.
Fifty grams of Blue Umbrella Mushrooms were only worth one point in town. Those blood-sucking leeches were horribly greedy to pay such a low price for such valuable treasures!
Passing through the gates of Baker Street, Chu Guang saw that the recycling station was crowded with people. They wore ragged clothes with sallow complexions, carrying bags on their backs with plastic buckets and other containers in their hands. Their daily routine was very simple. They would sell trash they picked up and exchange the chips for necessities.
"Newly arrived soap! Produced by the Boulder Town Chemical Plant, you can wash away horrible smells with only 3 chips. Hurry up and buy one for your wife. Only thirty left, come and get them before it’s too late.”
"Edible oil shipped from Brown Farm for only ten chips per liter. A bit pricey, but the value outweighs the cost.”
"Let me see what else we got. Oh right, coarse salt! This thumb-sized piece only costs five chips. Where did we find it? Why do you need to know that? Come and get it, it will make your food delicious.”
"There are also tobacco leaves. Whether you smoke it yourself or use it to make smoked bacon, it’s… Forget it. Come and take a look for yourself, I’m going to take a break." Old Charlie yelled lazily out the door, his attitude unlike a businessman’s at all.
Well, it didn’t really seem like a business anyway. It was more like a master doing charity. Within a five miles radius, there was almost nowhere else to trade other than Baker Street. Those living there had no other choice. Five miles wasn’t an insignificant distance either. Although Clearwater City was located in the Southern Great Plain, it had already become a reinforced concrete cemetery that was more dangerous than the forest.”
Old Charlie wiped his sweat and handed over the money to the shop clerk while he sat to the side, squinting his eyes to rest. A thin young man in a gray coat waved a wooden sign in his hand and walked to the crowd.
"Mobilization order! Town Mayor's mobilization order! Before the end of the month, each household needs to contribute one hundred kilograms of firewood and two quarter meters of fur. Please spread the word!"
There was a commotion in the crowd. There were complaints, but no one dared to protest. It was the same every year, after all. Baker Street didn’t charge taxes, but that didn’t mean that living there was free.
On top of the soft exploitation of trading rights, the town’s mayor would always collect a batch of materials in one way or another. The mobilization order was one way he did it, and it was issued in August and September every year. If they refused to comply, the punishment would be swift.
All unmarried men and women over sixteen in the settlement, regardless of whether they lived alone or not, would be considered a single household. After marriage, the couple would be considered one household. If supplies weren’t delivered, the person in charge of the register would strike off the name of the household, confiscate their shack on Baker Street, and expel them from the settlement. In this world where life was cheaper than paper, losing shelter meant guaranteed death, especially in the cold winter.
Although Baker Street wasn’t rich, it was much better than the nearby Brown Farm. At least the survivors living there still had a pitiful bit of freedom.
Seems that the mayor is planning to make a fortune before the last caravans arrive this year.
Chu Guang thought to himself, but didn’t take the so-called mobilization order seriously. He would be gone by winter. There was no need to rush, and when the time came he would leave.
Passing the recycling station, Chu Guang walked straight to his shack, but before reaching the door he saw Yu Xiaoyu and a man standing out front. They were arguing about something. The older teenager looked to be about seventeen and wasn’t very tall. Chu Guang didn't know him well, but he knew that he was the third son of the Wang Family, Wang Defu. Chu Guang’s shack was located at the corner of the settlement, diagonally across from the Yu and Wang families.
He didn’t know what happened. Why would the youngest of the Wang Family come to his shack?
"Step aside." Wang Defu looked impatient and stretched out his hand to push Yu Xiaoyu away. The little girl staggered back, but she still kept her arms open, like an eagle guarding its chicks, and didn’t give in.
"No, this isn’t your home!"
"It's not your home, either."
"But he asked me to take care of it!"
"What’s the point of taking care of a dead man's house?"
"He is not dead." Yu Xiaoyu glared at him.
"Stop lying to yourself, that foreigner hasn't been back in four or five days." Wang Defu continued impatiently, "Your family just wants a share of the pie, right? I don’t plan to take all of it. How about this, the beam of the shed and this door belong to me, and you can have the rest."
A dead man’s house would be left empty and would usually be divided up among the neighbors. No one could be sure that anyone gone for a few days was dead, but usually, everyone agreed they were likely caught by slave traders or marauders, or even taken by mutants to feed their young. No one could survive a few nights outside, it was difficult even for experienced hunters.
Yu Xiaoyu bit her lower lip, and her eyes glared at the young man like a little goldfish, but still, she refused to move.
Wang Defu didn't want to wait any longer. The men from the Yu Family would come soon, and then he wouldn’t get anything. He was about to push her away by force, when a hand was placed on his shoulder.
"Who said I was dead?"
Startled, Wang Defu suddenly jumped to the side, looking at Chu Guang with the vigilant gaze of a wild beast.
Yu Xiaoyu quickly slipped behind Chu Guang and whispered to him, "He came yesterday and wants to tear down your house."
"Thanks." Chu Guang looked at Wang Defu with a faint smile. "Are you going to leave on your own, or do you need me to send you away?"
Wang Defu knew that he was wrong, so he couldn't argue with him. He glanced at the blood-stained steel pipe on Chu Guang's back, and finally quietly left. He wasn’t afraid of the Yu Family, or this outsider, but no one wanted to get on the wrong side of someone who could scavenge outside the settlement. Especially not that guy who was alone and seemed to have no weaknesses at all.
Watching the departing Wang Defu, Chu Guang suddenly felt a little sad. Although some people were alive, they were no different from the hyenas and vultures outside the walls of the settlement. He once saw a mutant hyena bite off the neck of an injured companion and eat its meat. He didn't think too much about it back then and treated it as something natural that happened in accordance with the law of nature. Now that it was happening to him, he felt a little empathetic. He had only left for a few days, but those people were ready to make their move.
Yu Xiaoyu, who was hiding behind Chu Guang, didn’t leave. She felt if she waited a little longer, she might be able to eat that candy he had given her before. She never tasted anything so sweet and she nearly chewed the plastic wrapper around it when she was done.
Noticing the big eyes looking at him, Chu Guang fell into a daze for a moment. After recovering, he realized what was happening. He smiled and took out the lollipop he put away and stuffed it into the little girl's hand. "I’ve really troubled you…”
"No trouble at all!" Xiaoyu happily tore through the plastic wrapper, and stuffed the lollipop in her mouth before mumbling softly, "Anyway, I have nothing else to do. When you head out, I can look after your house."
The men of the Yu Family returned from the direction of the recycling station, carrying their spoils. The bulging sacks they carried told him that they had bought a lot.
When she saw her big brother, second brother, and father, Xiaoyu sneaked back into the house. Earning candy to eat was just a sideline task. Watching the outsider was the main task her elder had given her. Xiaoyu never forgot the advice of her elders.
No matter how fast she moved, she couldn’t avoid the gaze of a hunter. The elder of the Yu Family was an old man with a strong physique and wrinkles on his face. He glanced at Chu Guang without saying a word as he entered their home, his eldest son carrying the two bags of green wheat.
Yu Hu, the second son of the Yu family, stopped in front of Chu Guang. Chu Guang recognized the man instantly. The people in the settlement would usually ignore him, but the boy who looked eighteen or nineteen years old was one of the few people who would take the initiative to speak to him. He was just a really outspoken person.
"I thought you were dead."
Chu Guang replied, "It seems your instincts are off."
Yu Hu was struck silly for a moment before a grin appeared on his face. He rubbed his head and thought that the outsider was pretty interesting. He felt that the way Chu Guang spoke was different from the rest as he was never direct.
Not minding in the slightest, he continued, "I should tell you, the mayor just issued a mobilization order and each household needs to hand in one hundred kilograms of firewood and two square meters of fur before the end of the month."
The Yu family had three adult males, which meant that they needed to provide three hundred kilograms of firewood and six square meters of fur. They were considered large taxpayers on Baker Street.
The former wasn’t hard to get, as there were trees everywhere in the city and large forests could be seen in the outer suburbs to the North. Even if there wasn’t a mobilization order from the mayor, they still had to cut some trees to prepare for winter. It was the latter that would be more difficult, six square meters of fur meant that they had to kill at least four, or even five mutant hyenas.
Chu Guang sighed in response, "I heard when I got back."
"That's good." Yu Hu never beat around the bush and was always direct when speaking. "We were just discussing this with the Li family. We’re going to try our luck in the forests to the North. Apparently, there are traces of migrating deer. If we can catch two of them, we can get not only the hide we need, but also the meat. Do you want to join us?"
"I think I’ll pass. I’ll find a way to get what I need." Chu Guang tactfully refused, but he kept what he said in mind.
The scavengers on Baker Street planned to go hunting in the north, and Linghu Wetland Park was also a little West of the settlement. He hoped they wouldn't run into them.
Naturally, Yu Hu didn't know what Chu Guang was thinking. He just thought he was embarrassed and continued trying to persuade him, "I can see that you’re a capable person, but no matter how good you are, there is a limit. The Wang Family only dares to bully you because you’re alone. How’s this… My sister can get married next year. Why don't you marry her so that you’ll be part of the family? If you’re in a rush, you can have the wedding ceremony tonight!"
Chu Guang almost choked and he coughed in fright, "Ahem… No need."
What the hell? How are we suddenly talking about these?!
The age at which one could get married was unacceptable to Chu Guang, who came from a civilized society. He was young, but it was still too early to get married.
"Sign, fine then." Yu Hu didn’t continue trying to persuade him. All he felt was pity.
The people who came out of the shelters were very smart. Like Charlie, who had been helping the town mayor since he was young. He was someone special in the eyes of the settlement. Old Man Charlie said that Chu Guang also came from a shelter, so there shouldn’t be anything wrong with him. If his sister could give birth to his son, the Yu Family might also be able to produce like Charlie in the future. He had made plans to convince his father, but it seemed as though he was overthinking.
Carrying his things back home, Yu Hu stopped his sister, "Xiaoyu, would you like to marry brother Chu Guang?"
Xiaoyu still had the lollipop in her mouth and she muttered a soft okay in response.
His house was just opposite and it wasn’t too far away. To her, marriage was nothing more than sleeping somewhere else. There was nothing wrong with marrying Chu Guang either. She even felt that she would be able to get several more pieces of candy if she did…
Yu Hu, who had planned to give up after Chu Guang’s response earlier, said happily, "Then as your brother, I will help you persuade him."
"Mhm." Xiaoyu answered casually. She continued to eat her sweet and she didn’t care about him in the slightest.
On the other hand, Yu Hu was thinking about how to change Chu Guang’s mind.
“Alright… I’ll discuss it with big brother and dad. Don’t just wait here! If you have time, go find mom and learn how to make pancakes. Hey, what’s that, what are you eating anyway? Give me a bite."
"No!" Seeing that her brother was going to grab her candy, Xiaoyu leaped to her feet and ran away.
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