Differentiated competition was the best way to eliminate one's own disadvantages.
Especially when competing with those old-timer inspectors from the inspection station, finding the right track to exert effort was even more necessary.
During the paper examination, he had been able to rush into the top third with solid theory and unique insight, relying precisely on avoiding popular locations and not clashing head-on with others.
Now that it had reached the third round of practical examination, Cheng Ye still didn't plan to engage in close combat with other inspectors.
First, he couldn't win. Even someone like Lee Matteo, a high-term inspector who hadn't been on field duty for many years, could write up his qualifications to fill over a dozen pages, and his achievements could be boasted about endlessly.
As for facing those first and second-term inspectors with weak competitiveness, they were just cannon fodder in the contracted examination anyway. Winning against them wouldn't help the overall situation.
Second, there was no need. If you could win easily, why use the hard way?
"..."
Wang Kang's gaze swept back and forth across the posters, unable to return to his senses for a long time.
He had never been to Dapo Town and had no concept of that place, but looking at these drawings, an outline slowly formed in his mind.Dapo Town was indeed a remote small town from the old era, probably repeatedly flooded by rising river waters many times.
With only skeletal frames remaining, the ruined buildings slowly walked toward complete extinction in the wind's singing.
Everywhere was a taste of loneliness, wrapped in large patches of green vines, clearly having had no visitors for a very long time.
Even the country road leading toward the edge of civilization, the remaining concrete was as brittle as foam, able to be crushed underfoot with one step.
Cruel, yet real.
Completely conforming to everyone's stereotypical impression of dilapidated small villages and towns in the wasteland.
But what was different was that this small town had a big river beside it, and there was still a dam standing.
Inside the dam, densely packed schools of fish were drawn, flowing along the winding river channel, finally diverging and converging into a sturdy-looking hydroelectric station.
"Dapo Town..."
Wang Kang murmured in a low voice. With this preliminary impression, looking at the effect diagrams below, he suddenly had an indescribable feeling in his heart.
The originally dilapidated town, the surrounding wasteland cleared out a full kilometer, creating a large circle.
On the inner side of the large circle, the blueprint showed a complete encircling wall, looking to be about three and a half meters high. Every five hundred meters there was a sentry tower, wrapping Dapo Town tightly and securely, giving an immediate sense of security.
Even the side adjacent to the water had a wall built, blocking dangers that might come from the river channel outside.
Inside the town, those ruins had completely disappeared. The entire area was divided into three blocks, one large and two small.
The two small blocks were currently empty, with the planning diagram only simply marking public facility names.
But the large block showed what frequently appeared in Happiness City's evening broadcasts as "standardized residential units," which were simple houses assembled from prefabricated panels. Dimensions could be adjusted according to the builder's ideas, could be long or short, wide or narrow, and even had various water and electrical circuit interfaces reserved.
If Happiness City's winter wasn't so cold, this would really be the best choice, able to settle people the fastest.
But at present, not one of the twelve satellite cities used this, preferring to have refugees live in tents, which was why the evening broadcasts needed to promote it frantically to get people to accept it.
"Brother Cheng, if we use these residential units, won't it be..." Wang Kang's eyes were full of worry.
The residential units shown in the diagrams looked neat and beautiful, blue roofs, white walls.
After raising them up somewhat, they looked even more comfortable than the buffer zone, but the hidden dangers behind them really made people unable to take them lightly.
If winter came, these units would be ice cellars, perhaps not even as comfortable as digging a pit and sleeping in a tent.
"This is precisely the focus of my plan."
Cheng Ye wasn't surprised by Wang Kang's concerns. He reached back under the counter and pulled again.
Hey, another roll of posters.
A poster wall assembled from six vehicles, how could forty-five construction blueprints be enough?
Besides the overall planning, he had even drawn all the internal structure diagrams together.
Compared to the rough depiction of the entire town on the first large poster roll, these internal structure diagrams were much simpler and drawn more precisely.
Wang Kang quickly took them, and with no place to post them, he squatted on the ground spreading them out one by one.
Because he had planned to settle families from the start, Cheng Ye had arranged three types in the residential unit design:
Large dormitories, family rooms, and independent single rooms.
On the blueprints now spread out, the internal structures and standards were marked clearly.
Large dormitories, all residents who chose Dapo Town could live in long-term without any fees.
Family rooms were divided into large and small types. Small ones could accommodate four to six people, large ones could fit six to ten people.
Inside there weren't just bunk beds, but also activity space reserved where items like storage cabinets, tables and chairs could be placed.
More critically, they had independent electrical and water circuits, able to get water and use electricity without leaving the room.
Independent single rooms looked even better. Although they could only house two people, the space was as large as a four-person room.
"Constructing an economic system that can cycle rapidly, the key is not how to distribute money to residents, but how to quickly recover the money that's been distributed. The faster the recovery, the fewer concerns when distributing. Conversely, the same is true."
As Cheng Ye spoke, he pointed at the blueprints with his finger.
"Then will family rooms and independent rooms charge very high fees?" Wang Kang was stunned for a moment.
Refugees were inherently conservative, especially those with dependents in tow. Their risk resistance awareness was very strong.
Wanting them to throw all their money into it just to have independent housing sounded a bit unreliable.
"People prioritize housing. Housing fees are relative, there's no absolute expensive or cheap."
Cheng Ye smiled. This economic system wasn't the result of his deep contemplation, but was truly designed by standing on the shoulders of giants.
"It's complex if you say it's complex, but you can simply understand it as, the living environment is like a membership card. The card itself isn't valuable and is easily obtained. What's valuable are some functions it comes with."
He squatted down, spreading open the posters one by one, simply treating Wang Kang as a refugee to explain to.
As a future partner, these matters had to be explained thoroughly. He needed Wang Kang to truly understand Dapo Town's special features.
Only when Wang Kang thoroughly absorbed it could he accurately convey the ideals when dealing with residents.
First was the large dormitory structure diagram. Inside were also bunk beds. To save space, beds were packed densely bed-to-bed, with one person's feet almost facing the next person's head, with no gap in between.
Each room held fifty people, equipped with two two-and-a-half-meter-long public tables, with almost no activity space left.
"As free welfare, large dormitories only provide basic beds and public electricity. Running water is charged per use and per quantity, but Dapo Town is by the river, costs are much lower than other satellite cities, and it's charged at cost. Beyond that, collective rules must be followed: unified lights out at night, shared restrooms and laundry areas. Want to use a charging port alone? Pay per use. Want to use independent storage space? Also charged by time and frequency."
"Charging..." Wang Kang instinctively opened his mouth. What would refugees have that needed charging?
But he didn't interrupt, instead continuing to follow Cheng Ye's words.
"Beyond these basic welfare benefits, if refugees want to buy supplies, prices are the same as other satellite cities. Like a new piece of clothing, if elsewhere it sells for 30 coins, here it also sells for 30 coins, not a cent cheaper."
Cheng Ye paused, then added, "If they feel unsafe and want to buy guns and bullets, it's also market price."
"Daily necessities are also the same price?" Wang Kang asked.
"Yes, there won't be any difference."
Cheng Ye nodded, his finger moving to the family room poster beside it, stopping on the benefits below.
"Besides being equipped with independent water and electricity and activity space, family rooms also enjoy an exclusive 'benefit package,' which is the membership card I mentioned. This membership card's function is also very simple."
"First, electricity and water fees for independent circuits are all waived, only basic housing property management fees are charged. This money is used to hire people to clean the family room area's sanitation, as well as repair water and electrical lines, etc. Whatever isn't used up will be saved as a maintenance fund to deal with accidental damage."
"Second, when buying daily necessities, everything is 10% off. That's right, everything is 10% off: toothpaste and toothbrushes, towels and basins, new clothes and new shoes, all sold at 10% off. But there are rules: reselling is strictly prohibited, each family has a purchase quota, and unlimited hoarding is not allowed."
"Third, labor compensation additionally gives 'family points.' Each person earns 1 point for working a full week. Points can offset next month's rent and property management fees. When Dapo Town's public facilities are built, they can also offset usage fees, and after the medical station is successfully constructed, treatment costs can also be offset with points."
Regarding stimulating consumption, there were really too many standard answers left from modern times. It just depended on which one he wanted to use now and which one was more suitable for Dapo Town.
Moreover, one point was very clear: stimulating families was much easier than stimulating individuals.
People saved money essentially to resist risks and ensure that quality of life wouldn't plummet crazily due to accidents.
But what if there was a safety net, ensuring quality of life had at least a lower limit?
What if the people around them were rapidly improving their quality of life while their own money was depreciating?
People moved toward higher ground, water flowed toward lower ground.
As long as that bit of upward striving was stirred up, once the consumption cycle was established, Dapo Town could quickly enter a healthy rhythm.
"Then won't we lose money on that 10% discount?" Wang Kang hesitated for a long time and finally couldn't help asking.
Happiness City gave unified supply prices to each satellite city, wouldn't give discounts because someone had large demand, otherwise the first batch of twelve satellite cities would have taken all the advantages early on, and those coming after would have no way to attract refugees.
So Cheng Ye offering 10% off, the difference could only be supplemented from Dapo Town's construction funds.
"Lose money?"
Cheng Ye nodded slightly, "Whether short-term or long-term, as long as we have no way to build production lines for these items and bring costs down, we will definitely lose money."
"Then..." Wang Kang became a bit anxious.
"Don't rush, first follow my train of thought and continue. If someone loses, someone gains. We lost, who gained?"
"Uh..." Wang Kang was immediately stunned. After a long time, he uttered two words, "Residents?"
"Right, what's losing is Dapo Town's funds, what's getting rich are Dapo Town's residents."
Cheng Ye nodded.
Happiness City was already burning money to subsidize satellite cities, using years of accumulated resources to push construction forward.
If Dapo Town wanted to settle refugees and pursue development, how could it not burn money to benefit residents?
To have consumption, money had to be burned first to stimulate. Once stimulated, there would be the possibility of making money.
Without even consumption power, what was there to talk about development?
"When Dapo Town's residents become wealthy and have things in their hands, construction will naturally rise up."
"When everyone's days are better, they'll have a sense of belonging here. With a sense of belonging, is there still fear of having no future?"
As Wang Kang pondered, he suddenly somewhat understood where the brilliance of this model Cheng Ye designed lay.
Refugee families with nothing, with nothing at all, would run away on a whim if their heads got hot.
But what if they had a house in Dapo Town, had stable work, had tables, chairs, and storage cabinets bought with saved money at home, plus a pile of daily necessities, and points that could only be used in Dapo Town...
"With a future, they can't run away?" Wang Kang instinctively followed up.
"Can't run away at all."
Cheng Ye smiled. From Wang Kang's response, he had already seen the refugees' reaction.
"As long as they enter this system, they'll be slowly bound here, becoming a part of Dapo Town."
"Also, as long as other satellite cities don't copy this system from the start, they fundamentally won't be able to learn to play this residential stratification system well later on."
In specific execution, what the posters displayed was just the tip of the iceberg of the entire economic system.
When it really came to implementation, adjustments would inevitably have to be made according to residents' needs and thoughts at any time.
But just with these, Cheng Ye also had full confidence to pull those families hoping to come to Happiness City for a good life one by one to Dapo Town, letting them settle down and develop steadily.
Of course, if they really encountered elderly people who didn't respect themselves, wanted to be lazy and take advantage, squeezing welfare...
Would Inspector Cheng be soft-hearted?
He didn't even need to step forward himself. As long as he pulled out two typical examples to establish opposition, those families wanting to work diligently and create a future with their own hands would help him clear out these pests, maintaining a "clean" environment.
"The wasteland is still better. There aren't so many niceties about respecting and loving the elderly. There's only the most basic value exchange."
"Otherwise, for this system to work, relying solely on Happiness City's support would be far from enough."
Cheng Ye sighed inwardly. After finishing his explanation, he pointed at the independent single rooms and briefly explained.
Single room treatment was even better than family rooms. Besides the benefits family rooms had, they could enjoy two free skill training courses per month.
These courses charged fees for people in other living environments.
As long as they passed the assessment in training courses, they could be directly assigned stable work.
The salary structure also aligned with this system:
Setting housing subsidy gradients, workers who chose family rooms had their basic monthly salary increased by 5%, workers who chose single rooms increased by 10%, but subsidies were directly distributed in the form of "housing vouchers" (non-withdrawable, only usable for consumption), ensuring newly added income all flowed back into housing-related expenses.
For family room residents, "parent-child packages" and "family daily necessities packages," these types of bundled targeted consumption gift sets were also designed.
Gift packages were even cheaper than 10% off, but required family points earned through diligent work to exchange.
Unfortunately, there was no way to make moves regarding food and drink, otherwise this system could be further optimized.
But even so, as long as one entered this system, they would discover that choosing paid housing not only improved quality of life but could also reduce actual costs through benefit inclination, point offsets, and rights binding, even converting to long-term benefits.
What Dapo Town relied on was precisely this closed loop of "housing fees → subsidized wages → targeted consumption → fund return" to rapidly stimulate consumption, recover funds, then feed back into the system, allowing the economic cycle to continuously turn.
"So complex, Brother Cheng, did you design all this by yourself?"
Wang Kang stared at the posters on the ground, his eyes both enlightened and shocked.
Such a complete cycle, he was struggling to understand it now. He really couldn't figure out how Cheng Ye had straightened it all out.
"Of course, did you think I was just resting all this time?"
Cheng Ye laughed once, but then added, "Very few people can understand the charm of economics, and few will ponder the complexity of social systems. In some people's eyes, as long as their fists are hard enough, they can turn everyone into machines, operating according to the method they envision, even if that method is both unreasonable and anti-human nature, they still insist on creating an idealized utopia."
"But from now on, you must remember, knowledge is your true weapon. Your thoughts, your ideals, are the foundation that can let you accomplish something. As for fists, they're used to protect you, allowing you to safely complete this process without being disrupted by the kind of fools I just mentioned."
Two very meaningful passages, Wang Kang didn't completely understand.
But that didn't prevent him from immediately pulling out the small notebook he carried with him, recording it word for word, even specially marking the time and current scene at the end.
"Oh right, besides engineering diagrams and living environments, there's even more significant stuff."
As Cheng Ye spoke, he pulled out the third roll of posters. This was the last roll he had just finished rushing yesterday.
Inside were all Dapo Town's future job positions, requirements, and compensation, somewhat like detail pages on modern recruitment software, listing all position-related information clearly.
However, because he wasn't clear how many resources the inspection station would allocate, the data was all estimated.
If everything went smoothly during recruitment, he wouldn't display this roll of posters.
But if in the practical examination, the first step of recruitment had extremely fierce competition, then the posters would be his trump card.
Just like initially choosing Dapo Town, completing that crucial first step would allow him to maintain advantage step by step in subsequent examinations.
Otherwise, one wrong step led to wrong steps throughout. Without the initiative, wanting to catch up would require luck.
From eight-thirty in the morning until eleven at noon, Wang Kang continuously pondered frantically.
Not just understanding the content on the posters, but more importantly placing himself into the entire system, looking for errors and problems within.
Fortunately, Cheng Ye was right beside him. Any questions could be immediately answered, and each explanation gave him a suddenly enlightened sense of clarity.
"If there were intuitive data display, Wang Kang's internal affairs attributes should be soaring right now, right?"
Cheng Ye leaned back in his reclining chair, pondering to himself.
Having been busy for over ten days before and after, in this final period, he instead became completely leisurely.
Thinking about it now, no wonder his predecessor had poor martial arts talent. The cultivation environment of the inner city fundamentally treated people like modern students to teach.
There was no elementary, middle, or high school here, only one school, but there was an educational system spanning a full nine years.
Within the educational system, aside from the first three years being like modern times, teaching basic language and mathematics,
The latter six years directly divided into directions: music, painting, mechanics, electricity, research... everything.
What did ten-year-old children understand? They were all pushed to learn.
But even if it was forced learning, it could cultivate the most basic thinking logic, moving toward civilization.
With this logic as foundation, plus the inner city being truly safe and secure, over time, becoming increasingly unfamiliar with martial arts combat and physical function degradation in various aspects was normal.
However, having said that, this modern education system also allowed Wang Kang now to understand these complex theories.
If it were Brother B instead, even if he talked until his lips broke, Liu Bi would only nod, ultimately still half-understanding, only able to learn superficially to execute, fundamentally unable to understand the underlying construction logic.
Ding.
The twelve o'clock alarm sounded on time. Wang Kang abruptly raised his head, his eyes still somewhat unfocused, clearly not having completely extracted himself from intensive thinking.
"No rush." Cheng Ye stood up and moved his neck, "For this model to really turn, it'll take at least ten days to half a month. There's plenty of time for you to slowly ponder."
He took six packages of nutritional paste from his backpack, heated them up, and the two simply solved lunch.
When opening the door, Big Dragon was already waiting at the entrance with several people.
"Is everything prepared?"
"All prepared, sir." Big Dragon nodded, his gaze inadvertently sweeping across the posters on the walls inside the room, his pupils slightly shaking.
"That's good." Cheng Ye stepped aside, "Go in and collect all the posters. Carefully roll them up and load them in the vehicles. Wait for my call before taking them out."
"Understood!"