Although they already knew that the meat reserves in the base warehouse were rapidly depleting, meat wasn’t considered as essential as grain, so it was not given a high priority when classifying resource levels.

It was precisely for this reason that many people in the base used various reasonable and legal methods to consume large amounts of meat from the warehouse daily. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Only now, when the meat had fallen to a critical level, did the higher-ups start to pay attention and only recently began to discuss reevaluating the importance of meat.

This proposal had actually been passed today, but had not yet been publicly announced. If he could acquire a large amount of meat for the base at this time, it would certainly be an important feat.

Unlike officials who had climbed their way up from the lower ranks, Official Liam, who had been air-dropped into his position, hadn’t been as rapacious as his predecessors after taking office, aware that he was there just to add a gilded flare to his career for a while.

As a shrewd man, he was well aware that his tenure was just a formality, and it was best to leave with achievements. As long as he did not leave behind any major scandals during his term, even if he did nothing remarkable, he would be promptly promoted once his tenure ended.

For this reason, he did not require his subordinates, the frontline purchasing managers, to offer up tributes, and they were well aware that Official Liam’s waiver was not without condition, though that condition was quite simple for them.

All they had to do was to dutifully complete their duties before Official Liam’s transfer. Even if they made minor mistakes, he would turn a blind eye for the sake of his record. However, if they caused serious trouble, Official Liam wouldn’t hesitate to make an example of them by punishing them publicly.

In fact, the veterans who had been securely positioned on the procurement front lines for years also understood the saying "Silence is golden."

Unlike his predecessor who required "tributes," Official Liam preferred stability without loss of wealth for them, so when their interests were almost aligned, the department still operated efficiently and steadily, even with Official Liam acting as a hands-off manager.

Official Liam had thought he would leave calmly and be promoted, but he hadn’t expected Evelyn Harris to suddenly report that the Hunting Group had obtained a large amount of meat and wanted to trade.

When he first heard the news, Official Liam was somewhat incredulous, knowing that even before the floods, due to frequent natural disasters, there were basically no cities raising livestock on a large scale.

If no one was raising livestock on a large scale, the source of the large amount of meat reported by Evelyn Harris seemed unreliable. However, Official Liam considered that his own definition of "a large amount" might differ from Evelyn Harris’s.

A few hundred pounds of meat might seem like a lot to Evelyn Harris, who had difficulty procuring meat, but it didn’t seem significant to himself.

Well...

Perhaps to him, it was also quite a bit. Though he hadn’t made any similar transactions since taking office, if Dong Tianyu did indeed bring only a few hundred pounds of meat, he could certainly buy it directly and distribute it within the department without storing it.

Although this move was somewhat irregular, it could unite people’s hearts. Besides, he didn’t need to do it himself; he could have someone else take the lead.

Hmm..., Evelyn Harris in front of him seemed to be a good candidate for this.

Although he had anticipated the entire course of events in his mind, he still needed to see it with his own eyes, for even if Dong Tianyu had brought only one or two hundred pounds of meat, being able to procure it at this time would mark him as capable.

Official Liam, who had been ready to leave, thought for a moment and ultimately gritted his teeth, taking a box of tea leaves from the safe and carefully picking out some with tweezers.

He had intended to put them into a teapot so they could be brewed multiple times, but to overwhelm Dong Tianyu in terms of prestige, Official Liam reluctantly decided to put the tea leaves in a glass cup and asked Evelyn Harris to bring over three cups of water.

Upon entering the room and seeing Dong Tianyu’s surprised expression when he looked at the tea leaves in the cup, Official Liam’s face showed a satisfied smile.

Dong Tianyu picked up the cup, blew on it, and took a small sip before setting the teacup down and shaking his head with a look of regret on his face.

Official Liam, sitting opposite, was a bit displeased by Dong Tianyu’s actions. After all, he did not have much of this quality of tea, and using three cups’ worth at once pained him deeply.

He wouldn’t have used this quality of tea if it weren’t for the need to impress Dong Tianyu, so when Dong Tianyu shook his head, Official Liam asked with a hint of anger, "What’s wrong, it doesn’t suit your taste?"

Although Official Liam’s expression returned to normal quickly, Dong Tianyu still caught a fleeting emotion on his face.

While Dong Tianyu had a rough idea of the other’s thoughts, he still pretended to be ignorant and began, "Although this tea is made from freshly sprouted leaves, the tea plants seem young, and the roaster’s technique seems a bit rough."

Official Liam, who had been somewhat angry, was taken aback when Dong Tianyu provided such a detailed analysis all of a sudden.

What he didn’t know was that Dong Tianyu’s analysis was not derived from the tea tasting but was based on guesswork.