It was thanks to what they had saved up back then that they were able to open this storefront in the fifth year of the wasteland.

Now, the ten members of the Zhang family had put in nearly all of their money to get through this crisis.

And hiring a worker with short-term development ability was one of the key links in their desperate gamble.

“It can’t be that fast. A senior electrician is a treasure in any territory. Why would one look at our little Liang Lane?”

“Besides, Zero Manufacturing is hiring too. Didn’t they say that no matter what pay we offer, they will raise theirs by twenty percent...”

Old Master Zhang Da, his hair turned white with worry, went on totting up the accounts without even lifting his head.

Although the Summer Harvest had not yet arrived, with each passing day the debt weighing on the books grew heavier.

The shop had planned it very well. From the very first day of the harvest, they would begin paying back the debt, which would just plug the gap.

But now they could not hire anyone...

“Why don’t we just find any electrician, burn our own land down, and then push the blame onto him? That way, even if we take a heavy loss, we would still have the capital to turn things around...”

Leaning close to her father, Zhang Da, the pretty-faced Zhang Min rolled her eyes about, and a scheme suddenly sprang up in her mind.

In fact, compared with coming away with no harvest, the penalty for breach of contract promised to the territory was what truly terrified everyone.

To prevent people from contracting land and then selling the harvested grain outside the territory, harming the territory’s interests...

The contracted land had originally required a deposit set at the high price of 1,800 jin per mu, and that money had to be paid in full at the very beginning.

But when harvest time came, if they could not hand 1,800 jin of grain per mu back to the territory’s Grain Resources Office and get their deposit back, they would have to bear a very expensive breach penalty.

Going by this period’s penalty, it was about five times the deposit, which meant that once an acre of land was in breach, they would have to compensate a full 9,000 jin of grain.

The Zhang Clan absolutely could not afford that!

“Nonsense! Do you think the territory’s guards are blind? If you shift the blame this obviously, how could they not suspect us? When they investigate, it will cost us our heads!”

Zhang Min’s boldness startled Zhang Da so badly that his whole body shook and he nearly stood up.

But faced with her old father’s timid look, Zhang Min only grew bolder with malice, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt there was room to maneuver.

“Father, think about it. Everyone outside knows now that Zero Manufacturing is cooperating with Qiankun Grain Store, using energy stone tools to seize our market and making it so we cannot find a single outside laborer.”

“If we fight to the death and bring in a batch of electricians to develop something, that would be perfectly believable, wouldn’t it?”

“Besides, this time we won’t go looking for those senior electricians. We’ll look for the entry-level kind, or half-baked intermediate ones, and boldly give them development authority.”

“As for workshops, we can fund the construction of eight or ten of them, one for each person. As for the tools they build, whatever they want, we can even take out a loan from the bank in the city to cover it. They can use it however they like and develop whatever they like!”

“All we need to do is quietly add a little something while they test these new tools, for example, slightly altering the circuits inside...”

“When the fire comes, the land will be gone, we won’t have to pay the breach penalty, and we might even get some of our deposit back!”

As she spoke, Zhang Min became unconsciously excited.

Until a reasonable solution could be found, the only way to hold on to the present situation was to resort to a risky move.

Only that way could they preserve their funds for a comeback later.

“Can you guarantee you won’t leave any traces when you tamper with things?”

Seeing the itch to act on his daughter Zhang Min’s face, Zhang Da could not help shivering all over, and his own mind began to stir as well.

They say the older people get, the more they fear death.

Having lived peacefully in the Tian Yuan Territory for seven years and owning a sizable shop, he was increasingly afraid of losing his current comfortable life and facing an uncertain future outside the territory.

And to preserve this family business, it was just as Zhang Min said.

At the moment, it seemed that only “taking a gamble” remained as a viable path.

“Dad, don’t worry. Although Bowen only knows some basic circuit knowledge, we aren’t hiring a master, so he definitely can’t come up with any ingenious circuit designs.”

“At that time, I only need to use a little trick to get Bowen to go in and make some changes and increase the power. Starting a big fire will be a piece of cake.”

Touching her well-kept, supple face, and looking at her curvaceous figure in the full-length mirror, Zhang Min smiled confidently.

When it came to choosing between life and health, if she were on Earth she might have thought about it further.

But in the wasteland, she knew very well what a miserable fate awaited her beautiful body if she lost the protection of “money” and went to other territories.

“Let’s give it a try!”

Stepping outside, Zhang Da looked at the crowd still bustling outside Qiankun Grain Store, gritted his teeth, and suddenly slammed his head against a doorpost.

A scream that could be heard for several streets rang out.

Within half a day, everyone knew that the old man who owned Zizai Liang Lane had accidentally knocked his head while walking and suffered a serious concussion.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of Zizai Liang Lane, the earlier posting for a senior electronics worker was taken down by the new manager, Zhang Min. After she went to the city to report, she replaced it with a new, smaller posting.

The requirements were very simple: anyone who was an electrician could come for an interview.

The number of applicants grew from one to a full fifteen!

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