"Jiang Ye Star, Bi Rong Star, and the Exile Star are definitely different," Jiang Ye began. "But there are only differences, no favoritism. Your question is as malicious as asking whether one likes their father or mother more."
A burst of laughter erupted from the audience.
"We certainly hope all three planets develop well, that every citizen lives happily, and ideally, that the three planets compete in development, each surpassing the other, chasing each other's progress," Jiang Ye continued. "You've raised a very pertinent question: will some policies and funds be tilted towards a particular planet?"
"My answer is, of course, yes."
As soon as Jiang Ye finished speaking, the atmosphere in the entire venue changed.
The audience members looked tense.
In such a public setting, for Jiang Ye, as the head of the planets, to show favoritism towards any one planet would undoubtedly cause dissatisfaction among citizens of other planets, and even trigger social issues.
Although this program was hosted by the Exile Star, many people from other planets were also watching.
Isabelle's expression also turned a little tense, her smile stiffening slightly.
Cen Yemeng, however, was quite at ease. She knew her husband wouldn't have overlooked these situations and could roughly guess what he would say.
"However, this tilt in policies and funds is not a continuous inclination towards one specific planet, but rather determined by time and location," Jiang Ye said.
"For instance, if there's a budget to be used for interstellar transportation construction, and among the three planets, the Exile Star is located at the gateway of the Milky Way's edge, with hundreds of times more merchant ships passing through its nearby airspace than Jiang Ye Star and Bi Rong Star, then of course the funds should go to the Exile Star, allowing it to maximize its role as a transportation hub."
"Another example, if Bi Rong Star has the largest impoverished population and the slowest development speed among the three planets, then some poverty alleviation funds and preferential business policies should be prioritized for Bi Rong Star."
The audience members suddenly understood, and the tense atmosphere dissipated instantly.
"As leaders, we need to view things from a global perspective. Where can resources maximize benefits, or where can resources save more jobs? This is a process of continuous balancing over time," Jiang Ye said. "It's not just a few of us; we have a vast think tank and expert system to help us make decisions. This is a very complex process, but after complex work, we can ensure the general direction is correct."
"If you are considering where to live, choose a career, or pursue further education, my advice is to go and see for yourself," Jiang Ye said. "Travel to all three planets, interact with the locals, and personally experience the environment of different cities on each planet before making your decision."
"Remember, every planet is vast, with bustling districts and also slums, art galleries and prisons. You cannot simply decide your personal path based on the overall condition of a planet. You need to determine your own strengths and then consider societal needs. This is the advice I can offer you."
"Thank you, Mr. Jiang. You have resolved my confusion. I am very grateful!" the man on the other end of the phone said.
"You're welcome." Jiang Ye hung up the phone.
Applause erupted from the audience again.
Cen Yemeng answered the next audience call.
"Good evening, esteemed leaders. My question is about the recently erupted parasitic disease on the Exile Star," a clear female voice said.
"Please proceed," Cen Yemeng's expression changed.
Jiang Ye remained expressionless, but seeing his wife's face change, he couldn't help but inwardly grumble, why would this question make her so tense?
"I am a nurse at the First People's Hospital in Xianghui City, Exile Star. In the past month, the number of parasitic disease cases in Xianghui City has increased tenfold. We have an online medical forum, and many of my colleagues have reported a surge in parasitic diseases recently," the nurse paused. "I would like to know if you are aware of this situation? Do you know why parasitic diseases have suddenly increased?"
"I have not yet received relevant reports," Cen Yemeng said with a grave expression. "Could you please elaborate on the current specific situation?"
"Our hospital has received 310 patients with sleeping sickness in the past month, concentrated among children in the suburban slums. This disease is caused by trypanosomes and can be transmitted by tsetse fly bites. The trypanosomes steal oxygen and glucose from the blood, evade the immune system, and eventually burrow into the brain. Once the brain is gnawed by trypanosomes, the biological clock becomes inverted, and if not treated promptly, death occurs within months. In 1906, in a place called Uganda, the population dropped from 6.5 million to 2.5 million due to the spread of sleeping sickness. At that time, there was no treatment. Now there is, with ten consecutive days of intramuscular injections of pentamidine, melarsoprol, and steroids, but it still causes damage to the human body."
"We also received 178 patients with Onchocerca volvulus. This parasite can live for ten years and produce thousands of larvae. When the larvae move within the infected person's skin, the immune system attacks them fiercely but cannot kill them, only forming leopard-like spots on the skin, causing intense itching. On planets with poor medical conditions, patients scratch themselves to death."
"Most severely, once these larvae enter the outer surface of the patient's eyeball, they cause river blindness, robbing them of their sight, forcing them to live the rest of their lives with artificial eyes."
"There are 25 patients with Dracunculus medinensis. This worm is sixty centimeters long and emerges by biting a blister on the person's leg, taking several days to crawl out from head to tail. We had 17 patients with tapeworms, three of whom had tapeworms that had grown to 16 meters long."
"We had 112 patients with trematodes, small leaf-shaped parasites that live in the liver and blood."
After listing these, the nurse paused. "We don't know what's going on. Originally, we only had thirty to forty parasitic disease patients per month, but this month there's been an outbreak. We are worried that more people will contract parasitic diseases, and the key is that we don't know where these parasites are coming from. The slums seem to be the heavily affected area, with over half the patients coming from the slums. There are also more than ten undocumented immigrants who, with no identity, came to the hospital dying and begged us to admit them."
Cen Yemeng's expression was solemn. "Have you reported this matter?"
"We have reported it twice," the nurse said. "But there has been no significant action so far, only a batch of parasitic disease medication was sent to our hospital, and nothing else has been said."
"I will dispatch an investigation team there immediately. You can tell the investigation team everything," Cen Yemeng said, furrowing her brows. "This matter is indeed serious. If you reported it early on, but the report didn't reach my desk, it means something went wrong in the process. I will investigate this matter thoroughly. Please rest assured, I will announce the progress of this matter online within a week."
"This program is finally serving its purpose," Jiang Ye said with a meaningful smile. "It's getting interesting."
"I know about this matter. Wait a moment, I think I approved a report on parasitic diseases," Isabelle suddenly interjected. She took out her phone and tapped furiously. "Found it! Report on the rising parasitic disease cases in 12 cities. It states the cause."