Chapter 120: The Junior Manager
Ritchie was very surprised.
“You now…how come?”
He wasn’t blind; he could tell that Osena’s position here was not low.
“Uh… you could say I’m a junior manager.” Osena could only put it that way.
Next to them, a clerk who was just about to go out and submit some paperwork accidentally let out a laugh.
“Junior” manager.
Young Miss, you are currently the chief officer of the Department of Production, personally appointed by the Governor. In the absence of any other civil administrative heads or roles, you are practically the highest-ranking civil administrator in all of Revival City.
And you call yourself a “junior” manager?
Hearing the laughter, Osena fiercely glared at the clerk.
The clerk just chuckled sheepishly at her, quickly slipping away.
She redirected her gaze and gave Ritchie an embarrassed smile, “My colleague here doesn’t know his manners…”
“There’s no need to explain further.”
Even if Ritchie wasn’t the most socially astute person, he’d been around in the wasteland long enough. It would be too naive if he couldn’t figure some things out.
His attitude turned slightly more reserved.
The two of them knew each other well.
When Osena was fleeing toward Revival City, she had actually traveled with Ritchie’s group. Throughout the journey, and even for some time after arriving in Revival City, Ritchie had helped her quite a bit.
Ritchie didn’t go out of his way to help her; he was just someone who valued fairness and loyalty. During the journey and even after settling in a small street in Revival City, this attitude was already a huge help to Osena, who was just a young girl trying to survive with her younger brother.
Of course, without any personal ties, the help he provided only went so far. Later, Osena took her brother and left Revival City.
Ritchie said, “Earlier, someone mentioned hearing you give a speech, saying you’d become an officer under the Governor, and I was happy for you. But I didn’t expect you were more than just an officer.”
“I remember hearing that you and your brother were taken to the Governor’s camp after just a bowl of porridge. I thought you two had been tricked—after all, who could believe in such good fortune? But I hadn’t realized how short-sighted I was. Now you seem to be doing well, and that’s what matters.”
Osena smiled, “I wouldn’t say very well—I haven’t had any sleep for almost two days. Besides, I called you here for business, Ritchie.”
“What kind of business?” Ritchie looked wary, as though worried about being dragged into something he couldn’t escape.
But Osena was already rummaging through a stack of papers on the table and pulled out a hand-drawn planning map.
“Take a look at this.”
“This is…” Ritchie glanced at it briefly. Although he didn’t understand many of the detailed parameters on the map, he recognized the layout. “This is our neighborhood? But…”
It was drastically different!
And to do all this—how much would it cost?
“Stop with the ‘buts.’” Osena said, “If my memory serves, you, Uncle Ritchie, aren’t one to be indecisive. Let me be straightforward. I didn’t call you here just for old times’ sake; you’ve seen how much work I have now. I need your help.”
“What could I help with…?” Ritchie instinctively wanted to refuse.
It was all so unknown; he didn’t want to step in without understanding anything.
However, Osena simply waved her hand.
She was no longer that gentle girl from the past. Or perhaps, her inner resilience hadn’t changed, but now she understood that achieving her goals sometimes meant showing that resilience outwardly.
She spoke firmly, “Uncle Ritchie, don’t refuse me. Your reputation and standing in the neighborhood can be of great help to me. I’m seriously short-staffed and need people with integrity and competence to assist me in speeding up my work.”
“This is not only for my benefit, nor merely to carry out the Governor’s orders; it’s for the welfare of the entire city. Even if you don’t consider anything else, think about our old neighborhood—would you rather return to the way things were, or live in the houses I’ve drawn on this map?”
Ritchie replied helplessly, “Of course I’d rather live in those houses…”
“Then come help me. I guarantee you’ll get a place to live. Just working for me and serving in the new government will earn you enough work points to afford a home. And your efforts will help many others move in too. I also promise you’ll become someone more respected.”
“It seems I don’t really have a choice.”
“No, you don’t.” Osena said with a smile, extending her hand to him. “But I promise you won’t regret it—not ever.”
“Fine.” Ritchie sighed, “So, what exactly do you need me to do?”
“Find more reliable people, organize them, and work more efficiently according to our plans. Make sure everyone understands and believes that what we’re doing now is to make our future lives better. For this, our commissars—the ones with the red caps—will support you. But they don’t know enough about Revival City, so I need locals like you to organize teams, distribute food, and oversee progress…”
She began discussing the specifics with Ritchie.
Ritchie listened intently.
…
In truth, Ritchie wasn’t the only one Osena had called.
In the process of clearing debris and rebuilding the city, she had run into many issues.
She had already tallied the factories and businesses within the city that needed to resume operations and the manpower required. She hoped that the workers and employees would get back to work as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the large number of unemployed residents or those whose jobs had been disrupted by the catastrophe would temporarily shift to construction work. This public works project would drive forward city infrastructure improvements.
But as she moved toward more refined management, Osena realized that her control wasn’t sufficient.
She didn’t have enough staff to monitor every construction team, every neighborhood, and oversee her plans. During the entire planning process, she was short-handed.
Right now, the problem wasn’t critical. During the disaster relief effort, the organized military was still assisting her. But it was clear this situation couldn’t continue indefinitely.
She needed to establish a proper administrative team.
Among the outer city’s poor, she sought out those with good reputations, respected by the people, and those with some professional skills. Osena worked hard to pull these individuals into her administrative structure.
But it still wasn’t enough.
Within the poor population of the outer city, people like her, with a relatively good educational background, were rare. There would be more in the inner city.
And for that, she had already approached Lambert.