47: So what if I'm a woman? I have to work for you.

So many people getting sick naturally affected the Shelter's construction. Looking at the fine snowflakes drifting in the sky, Tian Ming said to Aunt Lin, "This year's snow came a bit early; the weather is changing very quickly. Are they all catching colds?"

Aunt Lin said with a bitter expression, "The Logistics Department doesn't have enough warm items. Everyone's clothes are for summer and autumn, so there's no way to keep warm. Everyone can only huddle in their blankets."

A cold wind swept through, and Aunt Lin shivered. Tian Ming looked at Aunt Lin's face, which was blue from the cold, and asked with some confusion, "Is it really that cold?"

Tian Ming himself wasn't wearing much, and in his opinion, the temperature was still manageable.

"Boss, it's already below ten degrees today. I really have no choice. Can you create a winter coat for each of us? Otherwise, in two more days, everyone will freeze to death."

"Let's go, take me to see."

As Tian Ming spoke, he casually reassembled a high-grade winter coat. He handed the clothes to Aunt Lin, who quickly took them and put them on. Soon, her complexion eased.

The principle of warm clothing is to absorb human body heat, forming an air insulation layer to prevent body temperature loss. This principle is the same as down jackets, similar to a sponge.

So, manufacturing winter coats was relatively simple for Tian Ming. As long as he wove fibers into a down-like structure, that would be the highest-grade winter coat, 100 times better than any brand-name effect.

Aunt Lin felt much warmer in her high-grade winter coat. Upon arriving at the dormitory area, she heard coughing sounds coming from inside the rooms.

"Many people are not in good health right now; there are a lot of people coughing and with runny noses," Aunt Lin said.

Tian Ming said, "I will produce a batch of winter coats. You notify everyone and send a few people who don't have colds to the Logistics Department this afternoon to collect them. However, once their colds are gone, they will have to repay the cost of the winter coats with meal tickets or material vouchers."

Tian Ming naturally wouldn't give them away for free. Regardless of how these people interpreted it, whether as exploitation or stinginess, all the rules here emphasized a balance of effort and reward. Those who didn't put in effort, what right did they have to enjoy the same treatment as others?

Aunt Lin nodded slightly and said, "Boss, can I make a suggestion!"

"What suggestion?" Tian Ming asked.

"How about we implement heating in the dormitory area? We could divert the residual heat from the cafeteria using insulated pipes to provide heating to the dormitories."

Although Aunt Lin's suggestion made sense, Tian Ming shook his head. He wouldn't easily concede on such matters. The fuel and pipes for heating would definitely have to be manufactured by him. Some things, once he conceded, the people in the Shelter would take for granted.

Aunt Lin saw that Tian Ming didn't agree, and although she was displeased, she dared not show it: "Boss, if our living conditions improve, the construction of the Shelter will also be faster."

Tian Ming turned his head and said, "It's possible to set up a heating system, but you'll have to build it yourselves, especially the boilers; you'll have to figure those out yourselves. As for equipment and materials, just buy them with material vouchers."

"But where would we get so many material vouchers?" Aunt Lin asked.

"Go earn them! Build the city walls by moving stones, help in the kitchen, pedal bicycles to generate electricity for the energy point's power reserves, or clean the Shelter. There are plenty of things to do. Everything has a price. If you don't pay anything, why should you directly enjoy heating? Even if it's built, I'd build it for the talent building first, then for the dormitories of the men involved in building the protective wall. They haven't complained, so what are you women complaining about?"

Aunt Lin couldn't refute. The number of women in the Shelter was not large, only accounting for two-fifths, about two hundred people. The work these women could do was limited; they couldn't compete with men in heavy labor. Usually, they could only help at the Clinic or in the cafeteria.

A smell of something burning wafted through the air. Tian Ming frowned and quickly walked towards where the smell was coming from. Aunt Lin hurriedly followed behind him.

The burning smell emanated from a dormitory on the third floor, its door tightly shut. Someone must have been using an open flame to keep warm in the dormitory again. Aunt Lin was terrified; as the base's Dama, she was responsible.

Bang, bang, bang!

Aunt Lin forcefully knocked on the dormitory door. With a creak, a thin woman opened the door. Seeing Aunt Lin and Tian Ming standing behind her, she was instantly scared out of her wits.

Ignoring the trembling woman, he walked straight in. Inside, a stove was burning with charcoal, and a kettle was on top of it. Tian Ming frowned, feeling a bit angry.

Aunt Lin saw Tian Ming's face darken and immediately began to scold the two women: "

"No open flames are allowed in the dormitory! Are your brains made of pig's trotters? Are you treating the Boss's rules as if they're nothing?"

One of the women was so scared she immediately knelt on the ground, while the other woman, with a cold face, gnawed on a steamed bun in her hand and said, "If we're not allowed to use open flames, then we'll freeze to death. It's so cold, and we don't even have warm clothes. Anyway, we're all going to die, so what rules? In my eyes, they're all bullshit."

Tian Ming's face was grim. He picked up the walkie-talkie and said in a cold voice, "Gouzi, come to the women's dormitory."

Five minutes later, Gouzi came over with two people. The woman saw that Tian Ming was serious and immediately picked up an iron rod in her hand, holding it against her neck, and said, "Don't touch me, or I'll die right in front of you."

Tian Ming raised his hand, and the iron rod in the woman's hand instantly became sharp.

"Go ahead," Tian Ming said coldly. "In the Shelter, one more of you doesn't make a difference, and one less of you doesn't make a difference."

The woman hesitated. If she wanted to die, she would have died long ago. Threatening to die was just to get more warm supplies.

Seeing that the woman was slow to act, Tian Ming said to Gouzi, "Drag her to build the city wall and move stones. Isn't she cold? If she moves more, she naturally won't be cold. If she doesn't do it, she doesn't get to eat."

Gouzi waved his hand, and two men stepped forward, snatched the iron rod from the woman's hand, and threw it to the ground. The woman was defiant and angrily cursed, "Gou Tian Ming, are you even a man? Treating women like this, you'll suffer divine retribution. Why should we women do heavy labor? Building walls and protecting us is your men's duty. Why should I build walls?"

Gouzi also frowned. Recently, whether it was building the city walls or other tasks, men were basically the main force. And some women, whose appetites were not large to begin with, simply didn't work and hid in the dormitory building to receive basic supplies.

The woman was dragged away, cursing, but Tian Ming glanced at Aunt Lin. Aunt Lin instantly flinched and quickly said, "Boss, I..."

Tian Ming interrupted her, saying, "It seems you're all too idle. Notify everyone: all women who are holed up in the dormitories, go help the men build the city walls. Gouzi, notify the Logistics Department: women who don't go to help are not allowed to receive any cold-weather supplies."