Xu Qian almost got lost in the chorus of "sister" shouts, but she quickly snapped back to reality.
Xu Qian pondered for a moment and said, "Counting two people is the same as counting one, but..."
"You can choose to count one person or two. If you count two children, you'll receive double the reward. If you only count one child, you'll only get one portion. Understand?"
The children looked disheartened. What should they do?
If they all counted two people, and she was the only one counting one, wouldn't that be embarrassing?
This was exactly the competitive spirit Xu Qian wanted to instill. The children were still young, and it was normal for them to want to compete.
She wanted to train their eyes and their reactions. In the end, when they had to fight zombies, their reaction speed would be incredibly fast. This was the reason for their training.
Xu Qian had no habit of accommodating others, she said:
"Continue counting the sister from this morning, and the aunt in the red dress next to her. Understand?"
The children dared not resist. Although Sister Xu seemed approachable, she wasn't really!
The icy aura emanating from her kept them at bay.
"Yes!"
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Start counting."
Xu Qian stood by with her arms crossed, also counting the two women killing zombies. There was a stark contrast between them; one killed very quickly, while the other killed... very slowly.
Clearly, one was a novice, and the other was an experienced hand.
Counting was relatively simple, but if they focused too much on counting the experienced one, they would overlook the novice. This truly tested the children's reaction abilities.
Xie Yanyun cautiously sidled up to Xu Qian and whispered, "Xiao Qian, can I go kill zombies too?"
Xu Qian glanced at her and said, "You count zombies too, starting now."
Xie Yanyun was stunned and immediately turned back to count zombies. Her memory was decent, and she could multitask.
"Xiao Qian, I really want to train with them. I'm so bored in the warehouse anyway."
Xu Qian's tone was indifferent, "Mm, I'll find you a couple of management books later."
Xie Yanyun's face stiffened, "Ah? I'd rather be idle."
"No, your task this afternoon is to read."
Xie Yanyun looked utterly defeated. She disliked reading the most! She had been as diligent in school as she was now neglectful.
An hour later, the women began to feel fatigued, but this time they didn't complain. They continued to fight forward until they were exhausted, not stopping, fighting with all their might.
Xu Qian narrowed her eyes, and only when their physical strength reached its limit did she step forward and re-close the glass door.
This time, the women didn't collapse on the ground. Instead, they let out a long sigh. After a short rest, they squatted down to dig out the crystal cores.
Xu Qian had a premonition that these thirty-odd women would undoubtedly become the pillars of the base in the future.
They were diligent and persistent, without a hint of complaint.
There was no trick to killing zombies; the more you killed, the better!
Xu Qian turned back and asked, "Children, have you finished counting?"
The children reported their numbers one by one, with significant discrepancies.
Xu Qian asked, "Sister Yanyun, how many did you count?"
Xie Yanyun replied casually, "180 and 80."
A faint glint flashed in Xu Qian's dark eyes, and she said,
"You all lost to Aunt Yanyun this time. Aunt Yanyun's answer is the most accurate."
The children's eyes widened in surprise. They had counted very carefully! Why was Aunt Yanyun's answer the most accurate?
They grabbed Xie Yanyun's pants and started asking for guidance.
"Aunt Yanyun, how did you count? Can you teach me?"
"Aunt Yanyun, Aunt Yanyun."
"Teach me, please."
It was the first time Xie Yanyun had so many children asking her for advice.
Although her academic performance was good, due to her family background, she had never been a very confident person since childhood.
Xie Yanyun lowered her head and mumbled, "Okay, I'll teach you. You sit down obediently, and I'll explain."
As soon as the children heard this, they scrambled to sit on the ground, their eyes eagerly awaiting Xie Yanyun's lecture.
Xie Yanyun began to impart her secrets, teaching very basic things, but the children listened with rapt attention.
The women kept looking over, some not daring to believe that Sister Yanyun was so capable.
In their eyes, although Xie Yanyun was kind and strong, she didn't seem particularly intelligent. They hadn't expected her to have this side to her.