Seeing their insistence, Yun Xiaoxiao didn't feel it appropriate to say more.
After all, there were no mutations in plants or animals yet, so if they wanted to stay, they could.
It was also convenient for them to stay and help her with some tasks.
So, she shared her thoughts.
"You mean, you want to mine these coal deposits?" Jin Xiaoqing's Father frowned.
As a ranger, he was naturally unwilling to see anyone damage the forest.
"Yes, Uncle. The weather will turn cold soon, and winter is just around the corner. Many places are without electricity, and wood is scarce. If we have coal, many people can have a reliable source for cooking and heating."
Listening to Yun Xiaoxiao's words, Jin Xiaoqing's Father nodded.
He wasn't particularly stubborn; he had noticed something unusual from the recent strange weather.
"You make sense, but who will do the mining? It requires professionals and specialized tools."
"Don't worry about that. People will come in a while, and we'll need your help to prepare meals. I'll provide the rice and vegetables."
"Cooking is no problem," Jin Xiaoqing's parents agreed.
After exchanging greetings, Yun Xiaoxiao and Ling Jing, accompanied by Jin Xiaoqing and her brother, returned to the timber mill.
Their car was still parked in one of the factory buildings.
They got into the car, said their goodbyes to Jin Xiaoqing and her brother, and left.
Only after they left did Jin Xiaoqing and her family start gathering supplies from the various factory buildings.
To their surprise, they found three live chickens and a bag of fifty pounds of rice in the same building where Yun Xiaoxiao and Ling Jing had parked their car!
Jin Shengjie's eyes lit up immediately. "Sister, look! These chickens are still alive!"
"Yes," she replied.
She slowly turned her gaze to the now empty road and gently pursed her lips.
"We are indeed very lucky."
---
Upon returning to the base, Yun Xiaoxiao and Ling Jing encountered Xiao Feng and Nie Yizhou.
"Hey, kid, did anything happen to you?" Nie Yizhou's brows furrowed with concern.
Yun Xiaoxiao shook her head. "No, we just got delayed by the rain. By the way, is everything okay at the base?"
"No issues. We were just marveling at how great the drainage system here is. Despite the continuous heavy rain, there's not a single puddle on the roads."
Yun Xiaoxiao glanced around and noticed that the roads in the base were indeed dry, without any water stains.
That was indeed impressive.
Yun Xiaoxiao thought about going back to take a shower and change clothes before gathering everyone to see if there were any survivors with mining experience.
As she and Ling Jing drove up the mountain, Lei Ming and his group happened to pass by.
"Hey, it's that little girl! They're back!"
Pingtouge exclaimed in surprise.
A few days ago, they had followed Yun Xiaoxiao's instructions and continued their journey.
Eventually, they saw a massive city wall.
When they reached the city gate, it was wide open, but there were no guards in sight.
They drove in.
Unknown to them, they could enter so easily because Yun Xiaoxiao had already met them beforehand, marking them, so the system, Xiao Di, did not create any obstacles for them.
Inside, they met a man named Lu Chen.
They handed the note given to them by the little girl to Lu Chen.
To their surprise, Lu Chen actually arranged for someone to take them to choose a place to live.
Everything in the base amazed them.
They realized that even the legendary Rongsheng Base might not have such good conditions.
They were delighted and naturally willing to stay.
Later, they felt even more fortunate.
Because as soon as they settled in, it rained heavily for two to three days.
If they had continued their journey on the road, they couldn't imagine how miserable it would have been.
"What little girl? That's the base leader of Yun City Base."
Seeing that Lei Ming and his group seemed unaware of Yun Xiaoxiao's identity, a middle-aged man carrying a hoe reminded them.
He looked very proud, as if being the base leader made him particularly proud.
"The base leader?!"
Hearing this, Lei Ming and his group were shocked.
"How old is she? Is it really that exaggerated?"
"Let me think, what was I doing at five? Oh, right, playing with mud. The gap is incredible!"
None of them had expected that a random little girl they met on the street was actually the leader of a city!
And she had been so kind as to invite them.
This feeling was quite peculiar, indescribable in words.
---
Yun Xiaoxiao quickly washed up, changed clothes, and then loaded a large batch of autumn and winter clothes and shoes into a big truck.
With the weather turning colder, it was time for the clothing stores on the street to stock up on new items.
Then, she drove to the newly built factory area.
Due to the rain, the construction progress was delayed, and the site looked a bit messy.
However, one factory building was completed first, although it still lacked a door, which wasn't a big deal.
Taking advantage of the quiet moment when everyone had gone to lunch, Yun Xiaoxiao took out dry wood from her space.
She also brought out saws and other tools for cutting wood, as well as a dozen large iron barrels and various other items.
After finishing this, she went to the square.
Since Nie Yizhou had notified everyone, they gradually gathered at the square after lunch.
Yun Xiaoxiao called everyone together for two main reasons.
One was to ask if anyone present had previously worked in mining.
To her delight, there were a few.
One of them was even a former coal mine owner.
And this owner wasn't just someone who exploited employees without knowing anything; he was an expert in coal mining!
If his main base hadn't been in another city, Yun Xiaoxiao would have really wanted to go directly to his base to stock up.
However, he said that to mine, they needed specialized equipment.
Without such equipment, even if they knew there was a mine, it would be useless.
Collecting such equipment was very difficult, unless they went directly to his mine to get it.
But that would require traveling to another province, which was impractical.
Yun Xiaoxiao's eyes sparkled; it wasn't entirely impractical.
That could be discussed later.
She first addressed the second matter.
Given the urgency, with the sudden drop in temperature, making warm items was even more critical.
So she decided to turn the wood into charcoal.
Charcoal burned longer and more efficiently than wood.
Before the apocalypse, she had researched and downloaded methods for making charcoal from the internet.
She also learned how to make indoor heating devices.
She planned to transform a residential area on the first street.
With air conditioning and warm air ducts, even if the world froze over, they wouldn't have to worry.
