Chapter 877: Negotiations and New Beginnings at the Ninth Planting Center

When it comes to rank, the Director of the Construction Bureau sits far above the head of a single planting center. So when Director Cao makes the effort to explain things to Xia Qing directly, it’s his way of saying, “I’ve made my decision. The Base Director can’t change it. You can save your energy trying to appeal higher up—I’m just giving you a way out, don’t make things more difficult for yourself.”

If you hold a position, you have to see things through—whether or not you enjoy the politics. Xia Qing disliked dealing with this kind of thing, but she still had to do it.

Not liking it didn’t mean she couldn’t handle it.

Back when she was a team leader in the Safe Zone, Xia Qing had sparred plenty of times with the folks from the Construction Bureau. She’d been low-level staff then, but even now she didn’t flinch in front of those in power. After all, she’d negotiated with Azure Dragon Squad’s captain more than once, which taught her how these “big shots” liked to operate.

Explain things? Bring it on! Let’s see who can out-talk the other.

Expressionless, Xia Qing strode into the inner office, cracked open the window for fresh air, and dialed Director Cao. “Hello, Director Cao, this is Xia Qing from the Ninth Planting Center.”

Cao Ming’s voice was all warmth. “Xia, I heard you’ve been hit by another round of returning rains? I’ve been meaning to check in, but I didn’t want to interrupt your work…”

Xia Qing kept her tone calm and steady. “Thank you for your concern, Director. We were indeed hit by strong winds, hail and another round of returning rain. On top of that, I’m still scrambling to repair greenhouses and resettle our staff…”

While Xia Qing laid out her troubles, Cao Ming sat in his air-conditioned office. He tapped a cigarette with his finger and watched the silver-gray ash fall into a jade ashtray before cutting in with a sigh. “Yeah, these days everyone’s scraping by just to survive. At least you’ve got crops to put food on the table. Over here, I’m making do with yellow clay for meals…”

By the book, a planting center should be protected with a solid wall and iron wire mesh to safeguard its fields and assets.

But just last month, Hui Three Safe Zone and Section Two of the North were hit by a Devastation Explosion. Later that month, Section One and Two of the North got slammed by wind and hail. With the base’s construction materials already stretched thin, Director Cao hoped Xia Qing could understand the situation and hold off on building the Ninth Planting Center’s wall until next March—after all, Section One was already secured with iron wire mesh.

Building in a protected Safe Zone with towering reinforced concrete walls, and yet they’re in a bigger rush than I am? Xia Qing let out a cold laugh. The Construction Bureau stalling Ninth Planting Center’s materials was definitely Ding Xingye’s doing behind the scenes.

But with Director Cao speaking up himself, there was zero chance of getting supplies moved over in the next two months. Planning to stall until next year? Not a chance!

After patiently hearing out Director Cao’s complaints, Xia Qing expressed her full understanding of the Construction Bureau’s troubles. She promised to support reconstruction in Hui Three’s disaster zones, yet stressed how tough things were for her people as well.

After more than half an hour of exhausting back-and-forth, Xia Qing agreed to postpone the delivery of wall-building materials by two months. In return, Director Cao agreed to send some extra equipment to “support” Xia Qing’s work.

It was a small favor for the Construction Bureau, but it would make a real difference to the working and living conditions for staff at the Ninth Planting Center.

After hanging up, Xia Qing let out a long breath, then headed out to the front office to tell Yan Yue, “Tomorrow morning the Construction Bureau is sending over two freezers, two fridges, six air conditioners and sixty solar panels. One air conditioner is for this office, the rest you all can arrange as needed.”

Yan Yue asked carefully, “Director, could we install the office air conditioner in the classroom instead? The kids are more vulnerable than us; we can tough it out.”

Staff and family at the Ninth Planting Center now numbered 369, with 26 children under the age of twelve.

After getting Xia Qing’s approval, Yue Haiying had Yan Yue, using the name of the Ninth Center, apply to the Hui Three Education Bureau to set up a school within the Ninth Planting Center.

All the teaching staff and classroom equipment would be arranged by the center itself. They only needed the Hui Three Education Bureau to recognize the teachers’ qualifications, confirm the school met the requirements, and issue an official permit, formally accrediting the school.

Disaster response, food, health care, and education—these were the nation’s top priorities right now. The Education Bureau quickly sent people to inspect the school, then reported back to the Huicheng Education Bureau, which approved the opening of a basic education school at the Ninth Planting Center. They officially named it Section One Basic Education School.

The school was confirmed as a public institution, with student textbooks and teacher salaries funded by Hui Three’s Finance Bureau.

Enrollment wasn’t limited to just the Ninth Planting Center. Kids from all territories within Section One of the North who met the requirements could attend.

So, ten-year-old Tan Qi and eleven other children from other territories who met the standards also enrolled, bringing the student body to thirty-eight. It was only then that Xia Qing realized—besides Tan Qi, there were actually ten other kids under twelve in the territory.

Depending on literacy levels, students were divided into beginner, intermediate and advanced classes, studying language, math, law, disaster prevention and response, evolutionary biology, fitness, and other required subjects.

Besides Zhao Ze’s mother, all the school principals and teachers were chosen from the Ninth Planting Center’s staff.

Even though most of the teachers and staff at Section One were dealing with physical challenges of their own, their teaching abilities were never a problem.

Every time Yan Yue passed by the school building before and after work, she’d stop to listen to the kids reading and laughing.

Yan Yue didn’t have any children herself, but still made the suggestion. He Hui, whose son attended the school, was even more supportive. “She’s right. The two of us can just fan ourselves and drink some water if it gets hot—we don’t need an air conditioner.”

Xia Qing shot down their suggestion immediately. “This office is the nerve center of our planting center, and you two are core staff. Of the six air conditioners I requested, one has to stay right here.”

The Ninth Planting Center’s office handles heavy and vital work responsibilities.

Outside, it liaises with all relevant Hui Three departments. Internally, it reports regularly to Xia Qing on all projects and helps her manage daily affairs. Within the center, it coordinates department operations to keep everything running smoothly.

Beyond that, the office manages paperwork, meetings and the administration side of things.

By the book, the office should have a director and three clerks. But Yue Haiying stuck to the idea of quality over quantity, hiring with real caution.

So until He Hui joined, all those tasks fell on Yan Yue alone. If Yan Yue got sick, things at the Ninth Planting Center would fall into chaos.

As the acting head of the Ninth Center, Xia Qing put her core staff’s working conditions first. Kids matter—they’re the nation’s future and hope—but to Xia Qing, Yan Yue mattered even more right now.

Feeling how much Xia Qing valued her, Yan Yue was overcome with emotion, eyes burning with tears. She straightened her back and replied, loud and clear, “Yes, ma’am!”