"In terms of legal statutes, we are equal, but in reality, there is a division of labor," Bai Xiaobai explained. "Humans are not much better. We pay massive amounts of money to high-dimensional alien civilizations within the Galactic Empire every year, which is equivalent to much of our labor contributing to high-dimensional aliens."
"Of course, high-dimensional aliens are also divided into different dimensions, progressing layer by layer, constantly submitting upwards – four-dimensional, five-dimensional, six-dimensional, like a pyramid. The wealth submitted then flows back down as technology, military support, information, and supplies. This process is like the water cycle, constantly evaporating to form clouds, and then clouds releasing rain. In this cyclical process, a prosperous society grows like a plant," Bai Xiaobai said. "We are perhaps halfway up this water cycle, while the Papas are at the foot of the mountain. The higher one's position, the less effort it takes to evaporate water vapor into the sky."
"I understand this division of labor within the empire, but we humans are still relatively free," Jiang Ye said. "The Papas are completely controlled."
"The higher the civilization level, the freer they are, because we can complete resource extraction and submission ourselves, so we can manage ourselves," Xu Aoqing interjected. "There are certainly interstellar civilizations with even lower levels than the Papas, and they will be even more controlled than the Papas."
"Yes, some Papas grow mushrooms to eat at home. Mushrooms are lower-level organisms, but edible mushrooms have no civilization level and are not included within the Galactic Empire's scope. Some mushrooms then raise insects, feeding on the insects' secretions to supplement their nutrition. Individual large insects then raise alien small insects as food," Bai Xiaobai agreed. "This should be viewed dialectically. Before the Galactic Empire arrived, the Papas were primitive tribes, killing each other, with very short average lifespans, dying in their early twenties. After the Galactic Empire incorporated the Papa star into its territory, the Papas gained effective management, could migrate to more planets, and their population grew, with their average lifespan tripling."
Jiang Ye still felt something was not quite right, but he couldn't pinpoint it.
He decided to move away from this tangential topic and continue with business.
"We already know the first profit point of the Papa industry: letting the Papas do some simple work to earn money," Jiang Ye said. "The second profit point, you just said it was their own bodies?"
"Correct," Bai Xiaobai nodded. "Our company produces Papa meat cans. We sell 3 billion cans annually, and we expect to increase production to 30 billion cans per year in the next decade."
Jiang Ye was dumbfounded.
"Papa meat cans?" Jiang Ye asked.
"That's right," Bai Xiaobai nodded.
"You just said you wanted the Papas to work, and now you want to slaughter them for meat?" Jiang Ye was horrified. "You truly are a living Yama!"
"Of course, we don't kill live Papas. We use dead Papas to make meat cans," Bai Xiaobai explained. "Whether they die from illness or old age, the bodies of the Papas are not cremated or buried. Instead, they are transported by our company's containers to the factory, made into cans, and sold to other alien races."
Jiang Ye thought of the old yellow ox.
The old yellow ox toiled in the fields its whole life, and when it died of old age, it became stewed beef or braised beef.
"Do the Papas know that after they die, they will become meat cans to be eaten by aliens?" Jiang Ye asked.
"They know," Bai Xiaobai nodded. "They don't have much of a funeral culture. When the Galactic Empire first discovered the Papa star, they used the bodies of dead Papas for compost."
Jiang Ye was shocked again.
Compost?
"Yes, compost. Each tribe had a compost pit. The bodies of the Papas would be soaked in water, then sprinkled with wood chips and medicinal herbs, and placed in the pit to slowly turn into fertilizer. Then they would dig the fertilizer to the fields to grow Papa crops," Bai Xiaobai said. "The Papas would even sell the compost from their tribes to trade for food with other tribes."
Jiang Ye was speechless.
The thought processes of these alien creatures were indeed quite unique.
"In fact, our company signs agreements with the Papas. Before they die, they go to our company to be weighed, and we purchase their bodies after death at a certain price per kilogram. This money will be transferred to the account of the Papa's designated heir, usually a spouse or children," Bai Xiaobai added. "Over ninety-nine percent of Papas choose to sell their bodies to our company."
"Alright," Jiang Ye nodded. "I can authorize you to introduce the Papa industry on Meteorite Star. However, your company must provide me with a detailed industrial plan, and I will inspect it at every step. If the situation is not right, I have the power to halt the Papa industry."
"Naturally!" Bai Xiaobai instantly became happy and extended her small hand. "Chief Jiang, happy cooperation!"
Jiang Ye shook her hand.
...
A month had passed since the Ink Clam incident.
The troops on Meteorite Star had made slow progress, currently controlling only 23 small cities and 60 railway stations, accounting for only 5% of Meteorite Star's area.
Furthermore, this control was only nominal. All cities and railway stations were under constant attack by beast tides, day and night.
The variety of beast tides was increasing, with over ten new types of creatures encountered for the first time. Fortunately, these new types of beast tides had no special abilities, only charging forward like zombies. The ground forces could temporarily hold their ground with their powerful firepower.
Bai Xiaobai's Interstellar Food Company had already set up in the capital city, with over 30,000 employees and more than 4,000 shipping containers of equipment, a considerable display of force.
Those shipping containers were piled up in the capital city's plaza, layer upon layer, like building a palace. A large number of robots and human employees shuttled back and forth between the containers, directing cranes to unload, driving mobile platforms to transport machinery, with the roaring sounds continuing day and night.
Soon, Bai Xiaobai's company employees were put to work.
They first processed the carcasses of beasts on the outskirts of the capital city.
The processing method was simple and crude. Excavators scooped up tons of minced meat, loaded it into containers, and transported it back to the factory for closed-door production. The resulting cans were stacked in the factory warehouse, and ships would arrive weekly to transport them away.
During the can production process, Bai Xiaobai's factory secretly discharged a large amount of wastewater. The wastewater flowed directly into a nearby river. Several soldiers on leave went for a swim in the river, only to experience a burning pain in their lower bodies. Upon coming ashore, they saw that their skin was covered in red blisters, and their hair had fallen out. Several soldiers, filled with shame and anger, went to the military headquarters to report the matter. The military headquarters investigated and discovered the factory's secret discharge.
Jiang Ye received the news and was furious. He called Bai Xiaobai to question her.
Bai Xiaobai was first stunned, then also furious, and called her subordinates at the factory to question them.
The subordinates confessed that to save the cost of operating the wastewater treatment equipment, the factory had privately discharged pollutants.
Bai Xiaobai dismissed a large number of her subordinates, fired them all, blacklisted them throughout the industry, and ordered the factory to achieve environmentally friendly production.
Jiang Ye then said nothing more.
He did not know whether this incident was the personal act of the factory manager or a subtle test secretly deployed by Bai Xiaobai.
He also did not know if Bai Xiaobai was truly angry with her subordinates or if she was cutting off a limb to save the rest of her body, sacrificing pawns to protect the king.
Jiang Ye felt that beneath Bai Xiaobai's innocent and lively exterior, her intentions might not be so simple. After all, she was an elder who had lived for many years and managed an immensely large interstellar company; who would believe she lacked any shrewdness?
However, for now, he could only cooperate with her amicably, maintaining an unspoken balance.
Firstly, the company was needed to deal with the mountains of corpses on Meteorite Star. Secondly, she was also Li Nannan's close friend. Thirdly, the Papa industry still needed to be managed in the future.
A gentle warning to her, urging her to be more cautious, was sufficient.