"What is the status of the Mechanical Army? What are their primary responsibilities?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Operating well. Currently, 1,000 personnel are stationed at various bases, and 2,000 are serving as transporters and exploration troops, responsible for escorting military supplies and reconnoitering dangerous areas," Shou Tie replied loudly. "For example, the recently opened Sulfur Forest, spanning 100,000 square meters, is filled with sulfur springs and lava pools, and permeated with toxic gas. The Mechanical Army is deployed there."
"Excellent!" Jiang Ye was satisfied. Despite Shou Tie being a robot, his speech was quite fluent. "Do you have any requests or difficulties?"
"We are currently short on personnel, and many mechanical soldiers are severely worn out, but there isn't enough time to return them to the factory for repairs," Shou Tie stated. "We hope for a way to alleviate the overwork of the mechanical soldiers and prevent non-combat attrition."
"They're just robots. If they attrition, they attrition. Repairing them at the factory costs thousands, it's cheaper to build new ones," Su Yue Ming interjected.
Shou Tie nodded. "Yes!"
"Hold on, that's not entirely correct!" Jiang Ye shook his head. "Mechanical soldiers are also soldiers and should not be sacrificed meaninglessly. They should be returned to the factory for repair when necessary."
"Are you generating any income from your current territorial expansion?" Jiang Ye asked.
"No," Shou Tie shook his head.
"Why not? The rules I previously set stated that troops who opened up new territories would receive payment. Have those rules changed?" Jiang Ye was a bit annoyed and turned to his secretary.
"They still exist, but only living soldiers receive income," Su Yue Ming explained. "Mechanical soldiers are just robots, so they are not paid."
"Pay them, at the same standard as living soldiers, treat them equally," Jiang Ye decreed. "What are the consumption needs of the mechanical soldiers? If you give them money, what would they buy?"
Shou Tie was silent for a moment. "We might use it for vacations, or buy new weapons for ourselves. If there are suitable robots of the opposite sex in the future, we might spend money on marriage. The consumption capacity of mechanical soldiers is not high. Perhaps most of the money will be saved or donated."
"In that case, let's give them eighty percent of the standard," Jiang Ye decided. "You can spend this money as you wish, whether donating it or saving it. However, it cannot be spent on illegal or criminal activities."
"Thank you, Commander!" Shou Tie saluted again.
"With money, you can afford to replace and maintain your own parts, and humans will respect you more," Jiang Ye waved his hand, signaling Shou Tie to withdraw.
Shou Tie turned and left, closing the office door.
"Good." Jiang Ye nodded with satisfaction. "In a couple of days, I'll inspect the mechanical troops and see their condition. Please make arrangements."
"Noted," Su Yue Ming replied.
Dealing with various miscellaneous matters, Jiang Ye worked until midnight.
He had finally cleared the backlog of affairs.
He also planned to inspect various military bases, factories, and research institutes in the near future. Su Yue Ming was responsible for arranging the itinerary.
Tired, he took a car home.
At this hour, he would normally have collapsed and slept in his office.
But now, he was no longer alone. He had a beautiful wife and a young child. He had to go home.
He arrived home at one in the morning.
Unexpectedly, the villa lights were still on.
Jiang Ye pushed the door open and was stunned.
Mahjong tiles were stacked on the table.
Cen Ye Meng, Isabel, Tian Rao, and Feng Zhi Shuang were playing mahjong.
Ju Lan Lan and Xu Yan were sprawled on the sofa, each holding a small toy airplane, performing an aerial combat for Jiang Sen Lin.
"Whoosh—I'm going to catch up to you!" Ju Lan Lan held up her airplane.
"Evasive maneuvers! You didn't catch me!" Xu Yan turned her plane. "I'm firing machine guns at you, pew pew pew pew pew!"
"I'm dodging! Counterattack! Pew pew pew pew pew!" Ju Lan Lan puffed out her cheeks.
Spittle flew from both of them.
Jiang Sen Lin lay on the sofa, tilting his head back, watching intently, completely engrossed.
Jiang Ye was speechless. "Ladies and gentlemen! It's already one in the morning!"
"We'll leave after this round," Isabel said without looking up.
Cen Ye Meng looked a bit embarrassed and glanced at him with a blush. "Jiang Sen Lin isn't sleeping, so I don't dare to sleep either. Let's play a bit longer."
"Meng Meng has a lucky streak and keeps winning. Luckily, we're not gambling, or she'd have lost her underwear," Tian Rao remarked.
Jiang Ye smiled helplessly.
It was good that his wife could get along so well with her friends.
He sat on the sofa, picked up a small airplane, and started playing with Jiang Sen Lin.
They played until half past one.
The girls left one by one.
Cen Ye Meng was also sleepy and took Jiang Sen Lin upstairs to sleep.
Only Feng Zhi Shuang stayed behind.
She took out a large stack of paper documents from her handbag. "You should look over these. Will you do it now, or should I come back in the morning for breakfast?"
"Are you tired? I'm not."
"Then let's go through them one by one," Feng Zhi Shuang spread the documents on the mahjong table.
Jiang Ye carefully reviewed them.
Most of them were information on the companies that had set up shop.
It was evident that with Jiang Ye Star's population growing to six million, the commercial landscape had changed significantly.
Many larger companies wanted a piece of the pie and had set up operations, ranging from catering to the military industry, from schools to the internet, with all sorts of businesses flourishing!
At the same time, many new local companies had also been established.
However, these were mostly down-to-earth businesses.
For example, fishing companies, dock cargo handling, street food vendors, turkey farms, dairy farms, small amusement parks, and so on.
Jiang Ye was gratified. The more prosperous the commerce, the more commission he would receive.
One noteworthy point was the emergence of clothing businesses from other planets.
However, their entry was interesting, with distribution handled by Tian Rao's company.
In other words, Tian Rao's company still dominated the clothing market on Jiang Ye Star.
"With the increased population, we need to make some developmental adjustments," Feng Zhi Shuang stated. "The previous development model is no longer viable; we need to transition."
"Do you have a plan?"
"It's still in the planning stages. I wanted to hear your opinions and requirements," Feng Zhi Shuang said.
"I've actually been thinking about this. I've been pondering the development of Jiang Ye Star whenever I had free time. I have a few ideas, though I'm not sure how mature they are."
"Tell me about them."
"Firstly, the war in the M78 Nebula is still unstable. Who knows when the Mir people or some other aliens might attack. It's always good to be prepared. We need to make wartime preparations. Every city, or large population centers, must have wartime infrastructure, such as air-raid shelters, evacuation routes, and military facilities," Jiang Ye said.
"We also need supporting industries, such as agriculture, to ensure citizens have food during wartime," Feng Zhi Shuang rubbed her fingers together. "And supporting industries for daily necessities."
"Exactly! These are essential! We must ensure that each region has its own independent capabilities, rather than being unable to survive without transportation," Jiang Ye nodded vigorously.