Jiang Ye pushed the door open.
The vast office with four floor-to-ceiling windows was bathed in sunlight, and the floor gleamed. Xu Yan, dressed in a black suit, and Feng Zhi Shuang, in a yellow bathrobe, sat together. A holographic projection hummed softly on the coffee table, displaying a mountain of data.
“The steamed buns I saved for you,” Feng Zhi Shuang pointed to a corner of the coffee table. “Half crab meat buns, half pork and chives buns, all with a tiny bit of lobster meat mixed in, handmade.”
Jiang Ye didn’t stand on ceremony, sitting down and eating.
“I heard you got rich?” Xu Yan probed.
“One trillion,” Jiang Ye said. “If this money is spent wisely, the entire planet can move forward several years. I called you for a meeting to discuss this.”
“If we’re moving forward, how can we be stationary?” Feng Zhi Shuang poured a cup of tea and pushed it over.
“Understand the spirit!” Jiang Ye popped another crab meat bun into his mouth. “Do you have a plan?”
“You state your requirements first,” Feng Zhi Shuang said.
“First, let’s solve the employment issue. Too many people are jobless, and it’s unsustainable in the long run,” Jiang Ye stated. “This shouldn’t be difficult. With this trillion, we can at worst build a few industrial cities and have everyone go to the workshops to produce things.”
“Let’s be restrained with factories. Too many factories pollute the environment and yield low profits. Build only high-profit factories; discard the low-level ones,” Feng Zhi Shuang reached out and tapped the coffee table screen. “To increase employment, we can introduce foreign enterprises on a large scale. We’ll fund them and take some shares. There’s some risk, but it’s manageable.”
“Factories are for wartime use,” Jiang Ye drank his tea.
“What do you mean?” Feng Zhi Shuang and Xu Yan were both taken aback.
“Once the war escalates, many supplies cannot be purchased remotely from trading posts. This planet needs to have basic self-sufficiency,” Jiang Ye said. “We need factories for all sorts of basic necessities, food processing plants, and weapon factories that handle everything from metal mining and smelting to production. These factories might not even make a profit or could even lose money. I can subsidize them, but they need to be built during peacetime.”
“The Mir people are retreating steadily,” Feng Zhi Shuang tilted his head.
“They’ve retreated steadily several times, and each time they come back unexpectedly. To put it incorrectly, my trust in the Galactic Empire’s military has significantly decreased,” Jiang Ye said. “Motivational trust is fine, but capability trust is the issue. I believe the military is still willing to protect every planet and fight to the death for humanity. But do they have the capability to win? I have many question marks in my mind.”
“Alright, we’ll do as you say and establish a self-sufficient factory system,” Feng Zhi Shuang tapped the screen repeatedly.
Xu Yan also came over to help; she understood some of the crucial construction parameters.
“Regarding the foreign companies you mentioned, that’s possible. But we must also consider security,” Jiang Ye said. “Focus on their corporate culture and historical performance. When they arrive, can we control them at critical moments? Will these companies pose a threat to the entire planet’s commercial environment and safety?”
“These will naturally be considered, but it will take some time,” Feng Zhi Shuang said. “I have over ten people working on this daily, and we already have a list of foreign companies that can be introduced. Moreover, there are specialized commercial think tanks in the interstellar community that evaluate major corporations, which are excellent references. You can rest assured on this front.”
“You two, make a rough estimate. For these six million people, how much investment is needed to keep the unemployment rate below 1%?” Jiang Ye asked.
Feng Zhi Shuang and Xu Yan got busy.
Jiang Ye quietly ate his breakfast.
As soon as he finished and put down his chopsticks, the answer came.
“300 billion.”
“That’s higher than I expected,” Jiang Ye frowned. “Even if all these six million people are unemployed, it averages to 50,000 yuan per person. In reality, to create one job, I have to invest hundreds of thousands?”
“You’re still thinking in ancient terms,” Feng Zhi Shuang chuckled. “Now, one person manages a multitude of machines, so the cost is high. Should these people go back to primitive production work? Having them handwrite materials day and night, assemble parts on assembly lines, or till land with hoes?”
“And these investments are planned for the development over a period of time,” Xu Yan said. “For example, once a factory is built, we need to reserve one or two months of production costs to avoid it stopping immediately after construction, or needing money right after starting. In short, it’s a complete package.”
“Alright, then let’s use these 300 billion first,” Jiang Ye said. “Next, I need people. Find a way to bring in alien immigrants.”
“How many?” Feng Zhi Shuang was taken aback.
“At least gather ten million, and bring in four million more,” Jiang Ye said. “Six million can be absorbed, and adding four million should be fine.”
“It’s quite difficult to bring in alien immigrants during this period; the market is tight,” Feng Zhi Shuang said. “The army has recaptured a large amount of lost territory, and many planets need reconstruction, requiring people everywhere. If we want to attract immigrants, we have to compete with those rebuilding planets on benefits.”
“Then let’s compete. We still have 700 billion left, can’t we outcompete them?” Jiang Ye said. “Benefits are nothing more than work and living conditions. Work involves the degree of hardship and income, which can be solved by spending money. Besides investing in factories and foreign enterprises, we should also introduce policies to encourage local entrepreneurship. Qualified entrepreneurs can receive direct financial support. The specific amounts need your team to calculate; you are the professionals in this area.”
“We have contingency plans,” Feng Zhi Shuang said confidently.
“For living conditions, directly provide housing,” Jiang Ye looked at Xu Yan. “You have another big order.”
“Residential buildings are easy to build, leave it to me,” Xu Yan couldn’t help but smile. “Of course, the money needs to be sufficient.”
“When have you ever lacked money from me?” Jiang Ye smiled.
“What specifications and specific requirements should the residential buildings for alien immigrants have? We can’t give everyone a mansion, can we?” Xu Yan asked.
“This task is yours,” Jiang Ye said. “Design them according to the average residential building specifications of each city, and create new immigrant communities in various cities. This should make new immigrants feel they are not inferior upon arrival. At the same time, it should also make the existing residents feel that those who arrived later are not privileged, and those who arrived earlier are not disadvantaged. Balance the location, decoration, and size.”
“In that case, I’ll first design new immigrant communities with a capacity for 2 million people, distributed across various cities,” Xu Yan said. “As more immigrants arrive, I’ll design the rest. Once this is initiated, it will be simpler.”
“Good, you’re always reliable,” Jiang Ye said. “Now I need you to calculate how much budget this will require.”
“I can’t calculate it immediately; give me a day,” Xu Yan said.
“Then at this time tomorrow, I’ll be waiting for your reply.”