Within half a month of returning to Jiang Ye Star, Jiang Ye practically lived in the Macroeconomic Building.
In the conference room of this grandest, oldest building in Binhai City, Jiang Ye initiated a deluge of meetings, one after another, running from morning till night, sometimes even extending to two or three in the morning.
In the brief intervals between meetings, his subordinates would often see Jiang Ye standing silently by the window, overlooking the city. He would rub his head, numb from high-speed thinking, while holding a super-sized, one-liter cup of dark, strong coffee or reddish-brown, strong tea, wisps of steam curling upwards.
These intensive meetings had but one theme: discussing the commercial revitalization and economic transformation of Jiang Ye Star and Bi Rong Star.
During the meetings, Jiang Ye's summonses were issued continuously, and waves of people rushed from all directions, hurrying into the Macroeconomic Building.
First came the economic experts and entrepreneur representatives of Jiang Ye Star, followed by the economic heads of various cities, and finally, even relevant individuals from other planets converged here. Some would leave after attending one or two meetings, while others stayed to participate in all of them. At its peak, the conference room accommodated over three hundred people; at its lowest, fewer than ten. These individuals held the future of billions of people on two planets in their hands.
The media also took notice of the unusual activity. Major newspapers and television stations dispatched reporters to stake out the intersections near the Macroeconomic Building, capturing glimpses of high-ranking officials. If lucky, they might even intercept one or two for an interview, but all interviewees would shake their heads and wave their hands, saying, "Cannot say." This unanimous reticence lent an aura of mystery to the Macroeconomic Building.
On the networks of Jiang Ye Star, citizens began to follow the news of the Macroeconomic Building daily.
Related news consistently occupied the top three spots on the trending list. Sometimes, a simple mention like "A certain economic expert appeared at the Macroeconomic Building" would garner millions of likes.
This almost pathological level of attention stemmed from the difficult situation on Jiang Ye Star.
Three months prior, when Jiang Ye's focus was on the war on the exile planet, an interstellar economic crisis suddenly erupted.
The causes of the economic crisis were complex, filling hundreds of pages if meticulously studied. However, the primary reason was the massive outflow of capital to regions outside the Milky Way.
The Galactic Empire declared large-scale expansion, designating a multitude of planets beyond the Milky Way as new territories.
These planets often consisted of nothing but wastelands, deserts, and lifeless seas. The Galactic Empire issued a call, urging citizens of the Galactic Empire to bravely pioneer new planets, investing money and effort to bring vast farmlands and bustling cities to these desolate worlds.
The thought of the boundless wilderness of new planets, the glint of gold mines, sent countless wealthy individuals and financial magnates into a frenzy. These people, holding vast sums of money, their eyes gleaming with wolf-like greed, suddenly withdrew enormous wealth from the old planets and poured it madly into new planets outside the Milky Way.
Almost overnight, the financial rivers of many old planets dried up, triggering a chain reaction that led to economic collapse.
Economic and financial crises of varying scales occurred in many regions of the Milky Way. Due to the sheer number, they could only be identified by region codes. The closest economic crisis region to Jiang Ye Star was designated as
After the economic crisis erupted, the foundations crumbled.
Within a mere week, Jiang Ye Star saw an increase of forty million unemployment reports.
Jiang Ye was deeply concerned, but the final offensive on the exile planet was underway at the time, so he only implemented some temporary measures and did not have the opportunity to address the issue thoroughly.
During this period, the situation continued to deteriorate.
The fire did not diminish; instead, it raged fiercer, showing no signs of stopping.
The unemployment rate in many newly built cities soared to a staggering forty-five percent, and per capita disposable income plummeted to one-sixth of its previous level. Small companies, especially those involved in extraterrestrial network services and interstellar economic operations, were completely submerged in a tide of bankruptcies. If Jiang Ye had not signed off on a large sum of money to provide basic living expenses for the unemployed, the figures would have been even more dismal.
The only thing that surged was the crime rate. Reports of theft and robbery skyrocketed. Some individuals even deliberately committed crimes, hoping to force the overwhelmed police department to expand its ranks. Others set fires to secure positions as firefighters, or dumped garbage on the streets to get jobs as cleaners. Such bizarre incidents were endless.
In some areas, "pickpocket streets" even emerged, where almost every passerby was a pickpocket. Unsuspecting outsiders passing through were like sheep entering a wolf pack.
Even the pickpockets themselves were sometimes pickpocketed. In Zijian City, a man ran to the police station in exasperation to report that his wallet had been stolen. When the officers reviewed the surveillance footage, they discovered that his wallet had, in fact, been lifted from someone else's pocket.
Underground pickpocket gangs began to appear, demarcating territories and dictating which pickpocket operated on which street. They even had to clock in and out in group chats.
After Shao Wan took office as the Planet Governor of Jiang Ye Star, he had intended to implement drastic reforms. However, with the surge in crime, his focus had to remain on the police force, keeping him from rest or food.
The people of Jiang Ye Star yearned for economic recovery with an intensity that made their eyes bleed. Any movement from the Macroeconomic Building naturally drew the attention of the entire populace.
Half a month later, as the public was about to lose patience, Jiang Ye, in an unprecedented move, appeared on the evening news. With a stubble, a serious expression, he personally delivered several news items.
These news items were very brief; Jiang Ye spoke for less than five minutes in total, but they caused a seismic reaction across Jiang Ye Star society. Judging by network traffic statistics, many people on Jiang Ye Star stayed awake all night.