CHAPTER 389: CHAPTER 184: BOOSTING THE ECONOMY

Digging pits, transporting soil, moving stones.

Yu Qian’s first workday ended amidst these simple, repetitive, yet immensely physically demanding tasks.

Returning to Base 011 again, it was already eight in the evening, and by that time, he barely recognized the place.

The majority of the wooden residential houses had been erected, and the entire camp was organized in an orderly fashion.

Unlike the initial "wasteland," within just one day, this newly established "city" had begun to show a vibrant state.

However, the "neatness and order" were not the things that truly shocked Yu Qian.

What truly left him dumbfounded, even making him unable to believe he had returned to Base 011, was the brightly lit scene.

Lights.

Electric lights.

Electric lights were everywhere.

The bright illumination lit up every corner, and as Yu Qian walked across the wide streets intentionally left between the wooden houses, his shadow stretched and contracted continuously.

He gazed in fascination at his own shadow, like a curious child.

----In fact, this slightly childish behavior was not limited to him alone.

All the workers who had just returned to the camp were watching those street lamps hung high up as if admiring some magnificent spectacle.

They had, of course, seen electric lights before.

In fact, even in the cities ruled by the Holy Blood Temple, electric lights were not terribly rare.

More or less, everyone had seen them and knew their principles.

However, no one had ever seen so many electric lights.

Neither in the Imperial City nor in Jinling City.

Only in Jinling New City was there.

Yu Qian’s heart surged with shock waves; he couldn’t understand why the Huaxia Army officials went to such great lengths. Was it because they didn’t care at all, or just to flaunt their power?

But, it seemed, was there much difference between the two?

He had nowhere to express his overflowing emotions, so Yu Qian, guided by the drones, went to the camp’s stove—or as the Huaxia Army called it, the "central kitchen"—to receive his meal for the day.

After handing over his ID card for the robot to verify, Yu Qian smoothly received a portion of dinner that had been rationed.

Some workers were sitting right at the dining table next to the central kitchen, eating their dinner there.

Yu Qian couldn’t bear to eat, so he packed the food into his bag to take it home.

Before he opened the wooden house’s door, he sensed something unusual.

There was light seeping through the door crack.

And after opening the door, he saw to his astonishment that even in his simple house, an electric light had been installed!

"This...."

Yu Qian was greatly surprised.

"Dad! You’re back?"

His son ran up excitedly, while his daughter had already fallen asleep.

To avoid the light being too bright, his son had even put up a makeshift curtain over the bed.

Yu Qian found the scene somewhat absurd.

On the wasteland, "light" had always been a luxury.

But now, could it actually be squandered so freely?

Perhaps Jinling New City, perhaps the Huaxia Army really wasn’t lacking in light?

He opened the package in his hand and then said:

"Let’s eat. I brought dinner back."

"I’ve already eaten!"

His son replied.

Yu Qian asked in bewilderment:

"Already eaten? Where did you eat it?"

"The central kitchen!"

A smile appeared on his son’s face.

"The central canteen opened for dinner at six, and the commander already took us to eat!"

"He told me that the food for my sister and me, equating to an adult’s portion, had already been deducted from your work points."

"He said I didn’t need to wait for you to eat, that they would issue food to you when you returned, so I didn’t wait!"

"That’s good, that’s good!"

Yu Qian had been worried about his children starving while he was away working, but it was evident that the Huaxia Army officials had already considered this part.

However... how exactly were these work points calculated?

He flipped through the small card he had just used and immediately noticed that the first column already had four "bowl and chopsticks" symbols printed and two were crossed out.

Simple and clear.

It represented how many work points he earned and how many he spent.

But today, he hadn’t only had one meal.

This meant one work point was equivalent to an entire day’s food for an adult? Equivalent to a gram of gold?

Did he earn 4 grams of gold for half a day’s work?

Though it wasn’t particularly high, it was considerable.

After all, the labor slaves slogging away in the workshops of the Mechanical God Sect could only earn about 5 grams of gold a day.....

Quite reasonable.

Yu Qian nodded contentedly and began to eat his dinner with ease.

He silently planned his next steps.

Undoubtedly, the daily work was enough to support his family.

But it was merely sustenance.

People must always look ahead; back in the Imperial City, his biggest concern was the next day’s food and the lurking monsters.

Now, with those worries gone, naturally, his sights set further.

How could he make himself, and his family, live better?

Jinling New City had just been established, and besides the wealthy who had hoarded a lot of gold, almost everyone was starting from the same line.

But soon, as life became more stable, gaps between people would widen.

Some would live better, move into better houses, use better tools, eat better things.