Reborn Cave Queen of the End Times novel Chapter 59

Chapter 59 Bide My Time

“Work with us how?” Autumn shot back. “We’ve got no kids here, nobody who needs school. And I’m the least-educated one around, and even I finished high school.”

“I’m thinking long-term.” Leonel smiled. “My people are all under 30 years old. Even when the apocalypse ends, they’ll only be around 45. When that day comes, you don’t think they’ll want to settle down, start families, have kids?”

“So you want to stockpile education ahead of time,” Autumn said.

Leonel smiled. “They’ve put their lives in my hands. Of course, I owe it to them to look after their future Otherwise, why would they risk everything for me?”

Autumn gave him a thumbs-up.

Now that was vision. No wonder not just anyone could be the boss.

A boss who treated his people like actual human beings-that was exactly how you won their loyalty.

“I already ran the numbers. With the supplies I’ve got, a few more mouths is nothing,” Leonel said, pulling out a list to show her. “It’s the apocalypse, so obviously we can’t pay salaries like the old days. If people can eat their fill, stay warm, and live decently, that’s the biggest perk there is. Look. Say one person eats about three pounds of rice a day. Over 80 years, that’s 87,600 pounds. For 15 people, that’s 1,314,000 pounds, or 657 tons.”

“That’s a lucky-sounding number, too,” Autumn said. “You’ve got more grain than that stored with me alone, never mind everything on your own side.”

“Right.” Leonel nodded. “And I’m not taking just anyone. Only people loyal to the team.”

“So, what’s that got to do with me?” Autumn asked.

“We’re allies. If I’m bringing new people in, of course I run it by you first.” Leonel looked at her with a smile. “You’re my most important partner. Anyone you don’t like, I don’t take. After all, if I’m bringing people in either way. I might as well bring in the right ones.”

Autumn felt like an earthquake had gone off inside her.

At last, she understood why every one of Leonel’s hundred-plus people was so fiercely, unshakably loyal to him.

A boss who knew how to respect people was a rare thing.

Back in ancient times, a man like this would’ve been a true lord worth following.

Here, these are academic papers a few of those teachers published before all this. I had James look them over They’re the real deal. That private school did well to land a group like this. If the apocalypse hadn’t come out of nowhere, and if the school board hadn’t cut and run to save their own skins, these teachers never would’ve ended up fleeing with that pack and turning up here to survive.” Leonel continued,

“Look. I won’t deny they re playing the field and looking for a golden opportunity. But let’s be real-a wise bird chooses the right tree to roost in, and a smart worker knows a good boss when he sees one. Who’s to say is crew won’t pay dividends for us down the road?”

Autumn didn’t say a word. She just gave Leonel another thumbs-up.

“And once we take those teachers in, the group on the neighboring hill falls apart even faster. With Rex’s people dead, the townsfolk lose all their teeth. Keep things smooth with Zain and Silas, and these uninvited neighbors of ours are as good as settled. Then, we won’t have to worry about them coming after us, and we might finally sleep easy.

“Because once the extreme cold comes and the water turns to ice, no matter how many people we’ve got or how hard we run patrols, we won’t be able to stop them from testing us,” Leonel said. “We’re stocked deep, but if we can avoid needless casualties, we avoid them. It’s like the old rule of survival: build high walls, stock up on food…”

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