"Daily wages, the pressure is too great," Old Boss Du said honestly.
"Don't worry, there's no pressure here. I believe as soon as this goes out, it will quickly attract a large number of quality laborers. You won't have trouble gathering people then. Trust me, it's the right way to go."
Everyone was once again astonished by Gu Qingcheng's assertion.
"Young Master Gu, how long do you plan to take to complete this dock?"
Old Boss Du asked nervously, feeling this would certainly be a number that would shock him.
Gu Qingcheng did not disappoint him, extending three fingers.
"Three years? That's too long!"
Old Boss Du felt that if it took three years, it would be too late.
"No, three months," Gu Qingcheng said, flicking her folding fan.
"Three months? Is that possible?" Now it was everyone else's turn to be surprised.
"That's why I said we need to attract a large number of skilled craftsmen, and the food must be guaranteed in quality and quantity – three meals a day with rice, fish, and meat."
Gu Qingcheng stated her standards.
Her Mountain Cat Farm had a substantial harvest of grain, as well as a large quantity of poultry and livestock. The output of the Mountain Cat Farm alone would be enough to support these people.
Moreover, in future settlements, this portion of the output could be directly converted into silver to offset costs, equivalent to her selling these supplies.
Gu Qingcheng considered this and felt she had found a way to use labor in lieu of payment.
It was impossible for her to store a large amount of produce from the Mountain Cat Farm in Phoenix Village, and selling it on the market would require a channel and various disguises, otherwise, it would easily be exposed.
However, if this method of labor-for-goods was successful, she planned to undertake major projects on other islands, replicating large projects like this dock hundreds of times. This way, she would not only receive income from these docks but also be able to resell the poultry, livestock, and grain products from the Mountain Cat Farm.
Killing two birds with one stone.
Just as the strong individuals on the island were being decisively subdued by Gu Qingcheng, suddenly, outside the Eight Directions Inn, someone shouted:
"Bad news! A lot of zombies are swimming towards us. Everyone, hide quickly!"
As soon as these words were spoken, all the diners were terrified.
Tea Leaf Island had become a peaceful little island precisely because zombies had never appeared here before.
Perhaps it was due to the vastness of the surrounding waters; even if zombies could swim, they couldn't easily reach here. Over time, many people had gathered here.
Unexpectedly, today the defenses were breached!
Gu Qingcheng, however, was not flustered. They had experience dealing with zombies.
"What do we do? Why are there zombies on our Tea Leaf Island too?"
Shopkeeper Su and Shopkeeper Feng seemed to have never seen such a scene and were a little panicked.
Old Boss Du, having traveled far and wide, had encountered zombies a few times, but this was the first time his own island was facing them.
Seeing everyone looking at him for help, Old Boss Du cleared his throat and said:
"Gather all your subordinates. This is not a matter for one person alone. If we run, no one will be spared, and we will lose our home. Everyone must unite and drive back the zombies."
Gu Qingcheng thought that Old Boss Du's words were quite sensible; at least he wasn't someone who would run at the first sign of trouble.
She said calmly:
"Everyone, don't panic. We've encountered zombie sieges before, but we defeated them all."
"Ah? How do we do that?"
Hearing that Gu Qingcheng had experience, everyone looked to her again.
Gu Qingcheng said: "Zombies are afraid of fire. We have a lot of fire arrows stored on the ship, just in case.
You just need to find some archers and form the first line of defense. Shoot them with fire arrows. Once they catch fire, they will turn to ash.
Without further ado, organize more people to go to the riverbank. Once you're on-site, just follow my commands."
"Alright."
Hearing Gu Qingcheng speak so calmly, everyone's hearts settled a little.
As they went downstairs, they heard the messenger still shouting.
Old Boss Du went up and asked him what was happening.
The man said he was a fisherman, fishing out on the water, when he saw a large wave of zombies from afar. At least a thousand of them were swimming towards Tea Leaf Island. He was terrified and rushed back to report.
Old Boss Du threw him a piece of silver and said, "Well done. How far are those zombies from the island?"
"When I rushed back, they were about two li away. They're not moving very fast."
Holding the silver, the fisherman felt it was at least ten taels. He was both happy and worried.
He was happy to receive such a generous reward for delivering a message, but worried that he might not live to spend it if the zombies arrived soon.
Seeing everyone's panic, Gu Qingcheng stood on a high place and shouted:
"Everyone, don't panic. We have a way to counter zombies, and Phoenix Pharmacy also has an antidote. For now, let's work together to prevent the zombies from landing on the island. If anyone is unfortunately scratched, clawed, or bitten by a zombie, go to Phoenix Pharmacy for medicine within one hour. But remember, do not exceed one hour, or there will be no hope."
This was the first time everyone had heard that there was an antidote for zombie bites, and their fear lessened considerably.
"Young Master, what should we do now?"
At this moment, someone shouted.
"Panicking and running is not a solution. Everyone organize yourselves, go to the riverbank to meet the zombies, bring whatever weapons you have, defeat the zombies, and protect Tea Leaf Island."
Gu Qingcheng's words were very inspiring.
Under Gu Qingcheng's composed command, everyone finally began to act.
At this time, Old Boss Du also arrived with over a hundred of his men, and each shopkeeper brought their merchants and employees. In total, about four to five hundred people arrived.
Suddenly, with more people, courage grew. Everyone was much better off than the initial state of being like headless flies.
Gu Qingcheng led everyone, following the fisherman to the riverbank where the zombies were about to land. She organized everyone to first gather firewood from various households and pile it up two feet away from the riverbank.
Then, she sent people to her merchant ships to move over a thousand fire arrows.
Mi Guo also arrived upon hearing the news.
He knew that there weren't that many fire arrows on the ship, but he knew this was his sister's divine power, which had provided so many fire arrows, and his confidence greatly increased.
With a plan in place, everyone waited by the dock in unity, holding their breath for the zombies to appear.
"Bad news, something's happened!"
At Old Boss Du's house, Old Zhu ran in panickedly.
"What is it? Uncle Zhu, what happened?"
Du Lanxing, upon hearing this, immediately panicked, thinking her parents had discovered her sister's secret.
Du Lanyue's face also turned pale.
"Over a thousand zombies are swimming over, Master told me to take you to the cellar to hide. Quickly!"
"Is that so? Then let's hide quickly!"
Du Lanxing was terrified when she heard this.
Her family had always been well protected by her parents. They had only heard of the horrors of zombies and had never seen them before.
"Everyone, don't be too scared. Master has already gone to the riverhead with everyone to fight the zombies together. Everything will be alright."
Old Zhu quickly comforted them.
Then, he went around the courtyard notifying family members and servants, telling them to hide in the cellar.
Under Old Zhu's arrangements, everyone orderly entered the cellar in the backyard.