Unfair Leader

Not only did Uncle Wei have a high opinion of this Bozi, but even Uncle Rong praised him, which made Tom look forward to this lifesaver even more.

However, Bozi didn't return until after lunch. Instead, Uncle Wei grabbed two young boys and his grandson, Tianzai, and asked them to carry food to several patients. Tom, having nothing else to do, naturally went along to help.

In addition to the box where Tom was located, there was a larger box nearby, with a cloth covering the entrance to block out the light. It seemed that the people inside needed a quiet place to recuperate.

According to Uncle Wei, these dozen or so patients were all in their fifties or sixties, with weak digestive systems. They had eaten some raw water and suffered from diarrhea. Originally, these were minor ailments, but they had all developed complications, so Uncle Wei had to arrange for them to rest in a quieter box.

Uncle Seven was relatively tolerant towards these old patients, probably because he realized that he was getting older too and might face similar situations in the future. However, Zeng Shisan and the others had strong opinions about wasting food resources on these patients. They always suggested throwing them out and burning them. However, under Uncle Seven's suppression, Zeng Shisan and the others could only express their dissatisfaction verbally.

In the current situation, the patients were indeed a burden to everyone. However, if they were cruel enough to abandon the weak, this kind of team would easily continue to push the boundaries, ultimately leading to their demise.

Uncle Wei didn't think so much. As a medical practitioner, he was unwilling to give up on any patient, including Tom, despite Uncle Seven's threats to him yesterday.

There was one uncle in the sickroom who left a deep impression on Tom.

Normally, people in this area who were middle-aged came from poor backgrounds, and their level of education was low. When facing great difficulties, they often either became disheartened or wore a desolate look on their faces. However, there was one person among them who, even though he was extremely weak, still lay on the cloth cushion, using his fingers to gesture and muttering to himself, giving Tom the impression of an old scholar.

When Uncle Wei tucked the old man back into bed and scolded him, telling him to lie down and rest properly until he recovered, the old man was very unwilling. He mumbled about things like "right angle of 70 degrees" and "intersecting parallel lines of 3 millimeters".

After scolding him a few times, Uncle Wei took Tom out, complaining to him as they left, "This guy only knows how to draw templates all day long. When he asks for good things, he can make a machine tool out of it. Maybe he got confused from the fever before... Sigh..."

Good things? Tom glanced back as they walked. He always felt that this old man was a bit special.

After delivering lunch to the patients, Uncle Wei took Tom back to his "private" sickroom to urge him to lie down and rest.

However, as soon as they entered, they saw three men inside, led by Zeng Shisan. They saw him standing on Tom's bed, wiping it with his dirty feet. He was wearing the uniform that Tom had previously worn in the shelter.

"Wow, it seems like you've recovered quite well."

Tom was familiar with this posture; it was clearly looking for trouble. He politely replied, "Hello..."

Immediately, a henchman beside him stepped forward, leaned over to Tom, and shouted in Cantonese, "You should call him Brother Thirteen, got it?"

Trying to intimidate him, Tom remained expressionless.

"Those old ghosts will be burned eventually. We don't keep waste here. Bozi told me you're quite good at fighting. Since you're so good, you can lend a hand when we go out to look for supplies later."

Uncle Wei couldn't stand it anymore. "Thirteen, he has broken ribs and shouldn't exert himself. If you make him go out..."

"Shut up!" The henchman shouted at Uncle Wei, "Brother Thirteen is speaking. When is it your turn to interrupt?"

"Oh, how dare you speak to Uncle Wei like that? Go away, go away. Uncle Wei is like a bodhisattva here. Aren't you afraid that one day you'll get sick, get bitten, or break your leg, and he won't treat you? I'm so scared, so scared!"

"Thirteen, I don't care what you plan to do. I made it clear to Seven earlier that I wouldn't interfere with the camp's management, but I'm in charge of the patients. Tom's injuries haven't healed, and taking him out will only slow you down. Unless you want to provoke him and ruin your plans!"

"Oh, Wei, look at what you're saying. I just see him idle, so I invited him to take a walk with us. Since you say he's not healed yet, then he's not. Ha ha!" Zeng Shisan laughed and took out a ruby, throwing it in front of Tom.

Tom noticed that this gem wasn't one of the ones he had with him, so it must have been newly found.

"It's all thanks to your advice. We didn't know the biggest treasure was right here. Why didn't you come earlier? That way, we wouldn't have wasted so many gems. Ha ha!" Zeng Shisan said a few more words and then walked up to Tom. His smiling face immediately turned into a stern one. "Don't think that just because you've learned a few tricks from Li Qiang, you can flatter the boss and act arrogantly. Kid, you'd better behave yourself, or when Li Qiang comes, hmm! I'll take care of him myself!"

With that, Zeng Shisan left with his two henchmen.

It seemed that Li Qiang had a high status with Uncle Seven before, and Zeng Shisan was probably a competitor of Li Qiang. Now that Li Qiang was gone, Uncle Seven trusted Zeng Shisan more. When Tom mentioned knowing Li Qiang yesterday, Uncle Seven softened immediately, and afterwards, he even came to inquire about Li Qiang's situation under the cover of night.

Li Qiang held a considerable position in Uncle Seven's heart.

I wonder how Li Qiang is doing now. He used to be a paper tiger, with a strong physique but a timid personality. After falling from the aircraft, it's uncertain whether he can survive in such a threatening environment.

While Tom was pondering about Li Qiang, Uncle Wei thought Tom was frightened by Zeng Shisan and came over to comfort him. "Don't think too much. Just focus on healing your wounds first. Uncle Qi said no one else is allowed to bother you, not even Zeng Shisan would dare to openly pick a fight with you."

Tom nodded and walked back to his mattress. He sighed as he looked at the deliberately soiled mattress. He had no choice but to flip it over and lie on the other side.

If he weren't injured, Tom would definitely have stripped Zeng Shisan of his clothes and made him clean the mattress. And maybe... he would have washed the clothes of those patients as well. It was just a fight; Tom had never been afraid of anyone.

He rested until the afternoon, then got up to help out in the "kitchen" to prepare dinner.

Dinner consisted of rice with barbecued pork, or so they claimed. In reality, it was just burnt meat with a bit of sauce. Despite this, Tom's mouth watered. After all, it was hot food.

Zeng Shisan and his men continued to be arrogant at the dinner table, while Uncle Qi sat in his usual place, seemingly oblivious. This lowered Tom's opinion of this gang leader considerably.

After dinner, as the sky darkened, Bo Zai returned with a dozen or so people dragging a large quantity of supplies.

The uncles quickly went to help, and a few aunts enthusiastically brought them boiling water.

A tall, skinny young man in his twenties with a crew cut caught Tom's eye. Judging by everyone's attitude, this was Bo Zai.

Before approaching, he noticed a few of Zeng Shisan's men standing aside, looking at Bo Zai with some disdain. They probably thought that Bo Zai, who was always out and about, was foolish.

Tom walked over confidently and greeted him, "Hey, how's it going? You're... Bo Bro, right?"

Bo Zai glanced at him. "Hey, it's you. Bouncing back so quickly? Seems like not burning you was the right choice."

"Bo Bro, thank you for bringing me back. I'm really grateful," Tom remembered vaguely that Bo Zai had joked about burning him, but his tone was the same now, just banter.

Bo Zai waved his hand dismissively. "I was just collecting resources as usual. You're also a resource. Whether to burn you or not is up to Uncle Qi's decision. Oh, and just call me Bo, I... Hey! Hey, Blind Nine, what are you doing? Put that down!"

Just then, several of Zeng Shisan's men who had been standing aside arrogantly picked up two cigarettes each and left. Bo Zai immediately went over to stop them. "These are all to be distributed by Uncle Qi. What are you taking?"

"Bo, these are for Brother Thirteen. You can take them back to Uncle Qi for distribution. Ultimately, they'll still go to Brother Thirteen. We're just saving you the trouble of hauling them back and forth," one of them explained.

"No way!" Bo Zai pressed down on the raised cigarettes. "I don't care how Uncle Qi distributes them. Even if he gives them all to Zeng Shisan, it's still Uncle Qi's decision. When I bring things back, it's to give to Uncle Qi. You can't take them directly from me. Put them down immediately!"

Bo Zai shouted to put them down, and the ten or so henchmen who surrounded them immediately pointed and shouted angrily, "Put them down!"

"What? Are you relying on numbers? Are you trying to intimidate me? Am I afraid of you? What if I don't put them down? Are you going to do something about it?" Blind Nine naturally didn't back down; after all, he felt he represented Zeng Shisan.

"Put them down!"

"I won't!"

For a moment, the atmosphere was tense. While Bo Zai's men were indignant, they didn't actually make a move. Blind Nine, on the other hand, was arrogant, but with fewer numbers, he didn't dare to strike first. At that moment, Uncle Qi walked over and shouted, "Quiet! Shut up!" The whole scene quietened down.

"The rules are set by me. Everyone here must obey me! Blind Nine, take your men back and report to Zeng Shisan tomorrow! He'll have to explain to me!" Blind Nine hurriedly put down the cigarettes, nodded obediently, and then left with his men.

"All right, you guys get back to work. Bo Zai, well done. Keep up the good work," Uncle Qi said as he turned and left. He didn't show any intention of pursuing the conflict that had just occurred.

Seeing Uncle Qi walk away, Bo Zai's men were a little dissatisfied, but Bo Zai shook his head, urging them to get back to work and not to think too much about it.

Watching this commotion, Tom was even more disappointed in Uncle Qi as a leader. Without clear rewards and punishments, without strict rules, it was easy to provoke dissatisfaction among others, even sow the seeds of internal strife, in this post-apocalyptic world.

Obviously, Bo Zai, who adhered to the rules as a pragmatic person, was highly regarded by him. Yet Uncle Qi only made a superficial show of enforcing the rules, not even imposing punishment on

 violators. He simply let the other party go back to find their leader, which was enough to show how much Uncle Qi favored this Zeng Shisan.

"I must quickly seek my own means of protection," Tom thought to himself as he approached Bo Zai again. "Bo, are you still collecting resources tomorrow?"

"Of course. Tomorrow, we're going to the rooms on the fourth floor of the east wing. I've found a way to open those doors. Why?" Tom asked if he could go with him.