Chapter 150: Weighing and Exchanging for Points
"Don't worry, I'll have someone bring a tractor to haul it."
The crocodile they had killed earlier was smaller, weighing only a little over a thousand pounds.
At that time, there were at least twenty or thirty people in the group, so pulling back one crocodile was relatively easy.
This time, when they heard from those returning to the refugee camp that an ordinary person had killed a crocodile, Li Wencan assumed it would take at least a dozen people to do so.
Therefore, Li Wencan brought only about a dozen people to help.
But to their surprise, there were only three of them.
Still, Li Wencan decided to give it a try.
Perhaps after all these days of training, their strength had increased.
However, they couldn't move it now, and this crocodile was more than two meters longer than the ones they had killed before.
So, they had no choice but to use a tractor.
However, using a tractor would consume scarce diesel fuel, which would likely require Meng Ci and his team to pay for the fuel.
Meng Ci, panting heavily, quickly agreed when he heard they could use a tractor to haul it.
As for the fuel cost, Meng Ci said he would pay whatever was needed.
He didn't want to exert himself any further.
Li Wencan signaled for two soldiers to go back and get someone to bring a tractor.
Meng Ci and his companions sat on the ground waiting.
After the intense battle, the three of them were drenched from head to toe, looking quite disheveled.
However, each of them was handsome, and even in their disheveled state, they still looked impressive.
Liang Xiu took the arrows, pulled out a damp handkerchief from his pocket, and carefully wiped the blood off each arrowhead before neatly arranging them.
Seeing Liang Xiu carry a handkerchief with him, Meng Ci inwardly marveled at how refined a man who usually wears suits can be.
About thirty minutes later, the rumbling sound of the tractor came from up the mountain.
Soon, the tractor arrived in front of them.
After the tractor turned around, the soldiers efficiently tied the ropes securing the crocodile to the back of the tractor.
Rumbling.
The tractor, pulling the nearly ten-meter-long crocodile, started moving up the mountain.
Meng Ci and his companions, carrying their compound bows and backpacks, followed the tractor at a distance.
As for the three deflated assault boats, Li Wencan placed them on the tractor, saying they could be taken back to see if they could be repaired. If fixed, they would be sent to Meng Ci and his team.
Meng Ci declined.
Not only would it be extremely hot and dry in the future, making the boats unnecessary, but Meng Ci's space also contained five new assault boats and seven or eight inflatable rafts. He no longer needed them.
Li Wencan suggested that since they didn't need the boats, they could be confiscated, reducing the fuel cost.
Meng Ci agreed.
On the way, the enthusiastic Li Wencan praised their bravery and mentioned that the refugee camp would start charging rent in early October.
However, they could now exchange items or work to earn points.
For example, one pound of grain could be exchanged for ten points, and other items like glass, solar panels, and even red bricks could also be exchanged for points.
Since Meng Ci and his team lived in their own villa and didn't need points, others who wanted to live in the newly built houses in the refugee camp would need points.
After walking for about twenty minutes, they reached the fork in the road.
Meng Ci remembered that going straight up led to the villa area on one side and the refugee camp on the other.
Turning left at this fork would lead to where they had rented the vehicles, so they would likely turn right this time.
Sure enough, the tractor rumbled to the right.
While the crocodile was being pulled, Li Wencan and his team helped adjust it.
After another twenty minutes, they saw the tractor stop in an open area.
In front of them was a warehouse-like structure built with red bricks.
Li Wencan explained, "This is the warehouse we built."
Before the apocalypse, the government had sent people to excavate and build three warehouses here.
The first warehouse contained machines for making instant noodles, canned goods, and other essentials.
The two warehouses at the back were stocked with food that the government had managed to gather from various places before the apocalypse.
In the early stages of the heavy rain, the government rescued a batch of military and civilians in low-lying areas, temporarily settling them in the villa district. They then worked together with soldiers to process the food.
However, since this disaster was global and the country's population was large, food supplies were relatively scarce.
Therefore, the instant noodles officially processed were made from a mix of wheat flour and other flours like soybean and buckwheat.
The reason for choosing to produce instant noodles was because they were convenient for residents to eat, whether dry or soaked in water.
Moreover, as long as the packaging was well-sealed, the shelf life would be relatively long.
These three warehouses may look ordinary from the outside, but inside, there were elite soldiers equipped with various weapons stationed everywhere.
And around these warehouses, people were also arranged.
Today, bringing the crocodile directly here was not only for easy weighing but also for easier processing later on.
Inside the warehouse, a floor scale was placed. When the tractor driver saw Meng Ci and his group arrive, he slowly drove the tractor onto the scale and then stopped.
Someone directed the operation, and once the entire body of the crocodile was on the scale, they instructed the tractor to stop. A few people then untied the ropes around the crocodile and began weighing it.
It weighed 3,625 pounds.
Li Wencan asked Meng Ci to check the scale, in case there were any issues that needed to be addressed promptly.
Meng Ci had no objections; after all, even if there were, he didn't have a scale in his space to weigh it himself.
Three pounds of meat could be exchanged for one pound of coarse grain, so this crocodile could be exchanged for over a thousand pounds of grain.
Just in time, the official system had started to accumulate points.
One pound of grain could be exchanged for ten points.
If unsure what to exchange for, one could first convert it into points. As long as they continued to live in the base, the points could be used to exchange for items at any time.
Meng Ci thought about it and decided to convert it into points. Exchanging for too many items at once wouldn't be practical and might draw unwanted attention.
Thus, Li Wencan led Meng Ci and his group up the mountain to Villa No. 51.
This place had been renovated into an office, with a sign at the entrance reading "Xishan Wild Points Exchange Point."
In the hall, a row of tables was set up, each with a computer and a camera beside it.
"How do you distribute the points?" Li Wencan called over a staff member behind one of the tables, explained their purpose, and inquired about Meng Ci's group.
Meng Ci said, "Let's divide it equally among the three of us."
Each person would receive over a thousand pounds of grain, which could be exchanged for more than ten thousand points.
The three of them took turns sitting in front of the computers to register and input information, including passwords, fingerprints, and iris scans.
Afterward, they received a card printed with the words "Xishan Wild Base."