At this moment, Zhu Jun was having a headache over this matter. He had gathered some of the higher management of the sanctuary to discuss the solution.
"Everyone, let's talk about how we should deal with this. Right now, our sanctuary is very dependent on products such as nutrition paste and synthetic meat provided by Zhao Feng."
"But if this continues, our reserves may not be able to take it, so we have to find a new replacement to complete the deal with Zhao Feng."
"Do we have anything else we can use to exchange?"
Upon hearing Zhu Jun's words, the many high-ranking officials present fell into deep thought.
They all knew why the supplies in the government sanctuary were dropping so quickly.
However, everyone was clear about these problems, but no one would say it out loud.
Once this layer of window paper was broken, no one could retreat unscathed.
"Director Zhu, I remember that we stored a lot of seeds in the sanctuary before the apocalypse. Why don't we use some of them to trade with Zhao Feng?"
"There are no seed stations in the development zone. If they want to restore agricultural production, these seeds are a necessity."
"As the only supplier of seeds, we can definitely increase the price of the seeds and rip them off!"
An official made this suggestion. Some people supported it, while others opposed it.
"No, we have to resume production in the future. How can we give out the seeds?"
"It's not like we have to give out all the seeds. If we give some, we can just cultivate some of them ourselves."
"Yeah, let's use the seeds and our soilless agricultural products as new exchange materials. This item should be quite scarce on their side."
After a round of discussion, Zhu Jun immediately made a decision.
"Alright, then we'll use these new products as bargaining chips. Immediately send someone to talk to Zhao Feng and change the type of trading!"
Very quickly, Zhao Feng received a request from the government.
"What? They want to trade seeds and agricultural products with us?"
Manager Cui nodded and said.
"Yes, and because of the high production cost of these things, the exchange ratio set by the government is also very disparate. One seed can be exchanged for 100 nutrition pastes."
"As for the price of soilless cultivation, it will be even higher."
Zhao Feng didn't expect the government to have so many good things. He had never heard of soil-less cultivation technology in the government sanctuary.
It seemed like the technology that was previously produced had been digested by the higher-ups of the sanctuary.
This bunch of bastards!
He occupied the best resources, but he let the ordinary people in the sanctuary live in misery!
It seemed that the apocalypse had indeed made them forget their original duties!
Zhao Feng quickly made his decision.
"No, reject their request. We don't lack food here, and the exchange rate they are offering is too high. We can't accept it."
There was one more thing that Zhao Feng did not say. If he could use these items to exchange for nutrition paste in large quantities, how could he force the sanctuary to give him what he really wanted when they had no choice?
The underground city still had a lot of space to accommodate more people!
There were still many factories that were still idling, waiting for enough manpower to start up!
From the start, Zhao Feng planned to use trade to exhaust the supplies of the government sanctuary.
Then, he would force them to exchange their population for resources.
"Go and reply to the people in the government sanctuary. Just reject them directly and leave them hanging for a few days to make them anxious."
"When the time comes, you can tell them that if they want to exchange the nutrition paste, they either have to use the things we wanted before, or they have to use people to exchange!"
When he heard the last sentence, Manager Cui thought he had heard wrong.
He didn't know that Zhao Feng planned to ask for people from the beginning, so he asked in shock.
"Director Zhao, did I hear wrong? You're saying that you want them to use people to exchange for the nutrition paste?"
Zhao Feng nodded his head lightly.
"You didn't hear wrong. My goal has always been population. You should know how many people the underground city can accommodate!"
"We can't even fill the underground city with our 1000 members. Most of the underground city's areas are empty!"
"And we have enough supplies to support tens of thousands of people for decades!"
"Those who can come to the underground city through the exchange are lucky. If you are a member of the government sanctuary, ask yourself, do you want to live in the crowded and stinky sanctuary or live in the underground city?"
Although he was against the idea of exchanging people for resources, Zhao Feng's words convinced Manager Cui.
Indeed, after a period of understanding the government sanctuary, Manager Cui was very clear about what it was like.
Even if he was asked to be the director of a government sanctuary, he would not go!
"I got it. I'll send someone to contact the government sanctuary. I'll inform you immediately if there's any news."
Half a day later, in the director's office of the government sanctuary.
With a loud bang, Zhu Jun slammed his hand on the table and cursed.
"This is preposterous. What kind of person do the natives of the development zone think I, Zhu Jun, am? They want to use a mere nutrition paste to exchange for the people of the sanctuary?"
"In your dreams! Tell them that they can either do as we say or forget about the trade!"
"Using nutrition paste to exchange for people? It's impossible!"
Very quickly, Manager Cui told Zhao Feng about Zhu Jun's reply.
"Director Zhao, after hearing my request, the government is very agitated and has rejected our request."
"Why don't we change the terms? Otherwise, the trade won't be able to continue!"
Zhao Feng had already expected this. Although Zhu Jun had slowly become corrupted with the higher management of the sanctuary, he still had a bottom line.
Also, if the news of selling people got out, it would not be good for his reputation as the leader of the sanctuary, and it might cause some internal problems.
Unless he had no other choice, Zhu Jun would not accept such a choice.
"Since they don't agree, then forget it. From now on, stop all trade with the government sanctuary."
"They will take the initiative to negotiate with us, trust me."
Manager Cui was a little confused about Zhao Feng's confidence, but he still nodded and agreed.
The honeymoon period between Zhao Feng and the government sanctuary had finally ended. Both sides entered a stalemate. It all depended on who lost their cool first. That way, they would be at a disadvantage in future cooperation.
However, this stalemate did not mean that Zhao Feng would do nothing. He had bribed so many informants in the sanctuary just for this moment!