The lively demolition ceremony continued.
The community harbored many talented people. Some hugged worn accordions while singing, others performed acrobatics with somersaults. The sounds of gongs, drums, and laughter mixed together, creating an increasingly festive atmosphere.
However, the three district elders were no longer sitting on stage, but had returned together to Tianyuan Mall.
Elder Song was the oldest. After being blown by cold wind for over an hour, his face had turned somewhat pale. The other two elders, worried he might catch cold, had accompanied him back.
"Getting old, my body can't take it anymore." Sitting on the broken sofa in the reception area, Elder Song held an enamel cup and took a sip of hot water, his facial expression finally becoming more animated.
He shook his head with a bitter smile, "In the past, I could crouch in snow for a day and night on duty without feeling cold. Now just this bit of wind, and the chill penetrates straight to my bones."
Cheng Ye sat across from him, looking at the white hair at the old man's temples, feeling somewhat moved.
Elder Song's generation had endured through the even more brutal old era, their bodies already bearing deep-rooted injuries and ailments.
How much longer they could live depended entirely on personal willpower.
He smiled and changed the subject, his gaze sweeping over the completely renovated shopping center, "Elder Song, the shopping center renovation is finished?""It was completed a few days ago." Mentioning this, Elder Song's eyes brightened. He set down the enamel cup, his tone carrying several degrees of pride, "Perfect timing, I should also report to you about the community work during this period."
"Please don't say that. In the future, I'm still counting on you to continue leading the team for me." Cheng Ye chuckled.
Elder Song immediately caught the implication, a trace of amusement flashing in his eyes. However, he didn't immediately respond but stood up to lead Cheng Ye on a tour around the shopping center.
On the first floor of the shopping center, the original warped wooden flooring that had been damaged by moisture was completely replaced with smooth, light gray tiles. Walking on them no longer produced creaking sounds.
Several weathered and damaged load-bearing columns outside had been painted with a vibrant green coat, making the entire space feel alive.
"The most troublesome issue before was the electrical system."
Elder Song led Cheng Ye to the main distribution box in a corner of the first floor, pointing to the brand-new metal box, "Previously, the wiring inside this box was as chaotic as a spider web, constantly tripping the breakers. Now it's been replaced with a complete control unit. The entire shopping center's electrical system has been replanned and organized, separated into lighting and equipment circuits, so we no longer worry about overloading."
Cheng Ye leaned over to look. The box now had blinking indicator lights inside, with a clearly labeled circuit diagram posted alongside, indeed much more organized than before.
"The water system was also updated." Elder Song led him toward the stairwell, "Previously, there were only two water access points on the first and fifth floors. Everyone had to queue for ages to get water. Now every floor has newly installed water pipes, plus simple filtration devices."
Blue water pipes were exposed on the outside. For old-era buildings like this, concealed wiring was impossible.
However, they were installed quite neatly and didn't look unsightly.
Besides this, even the toilets that used to have long queues during peak hours were improved. Each floor's stalls increased from ten to twenty, with simple privacy panels erected. The walls were painted snow white and even had several "Maintain Hygiene" slogans posted, much cleaner and tidier than before.
But the most noticeable change was those densely packed elevated sleeping spaces that had resembled Kowloon Walled City.
Previously, these spaces used rusty iron frames stacked layer upon layer, the highest nearly touching the ceiling. Only narrow gaps wide enough for one person remained between spaces, chaotic and oppressive.
Now, all the decaying iron frames had been replaced with gleaming silver steel tubes. The tattered bedding and mattresses were uniformly replaced with dark blue new bedding.
Moreover, the height of sleeping spaces was strictly limited to only two-thirds of the original, redesigned as upper, middle, and lower bunks similar to train sleepers, both saving space and preventing claustrophobia.
"The shopping center originally had 4,200 registered permanent residents."
Elder Song stood in the middle of the sleeping area, his tone carrying some relief, "Even if some people were away working and didn't return often, cramming 3,500 people was still too tight. Fortunately, during the recent period, the Civil Affairs Department coordinated with the vegetable market area, letting the community purchase it at low cost. We've now relocated 2,000 people there."
"Oh, the former fruit and vegetable market?"
"Right. After the previous infection wave, it still had existing ventilation and drainage facilities. We did simple renovations, and it's quite comfortable to live in."
He paused, then added, "We prioritized families with children and individuals who had contributed to the community. Now both sides sleep comfortably, and many people don't want to move away."
This was change.
Change that could bring even more happiness than the pedestrian street outside.
Several middle-aged people lying in bed due to colds from catching winter chill saw Cheng Ye approaching and quickly sat up straight, showing somewhat embarrassed but utterly sincere smiles.
"Elder Song, you've done excellently."
Cheng Ye praised sincerely, "Allocation is a major issue. Being able to get so many community residents to willingly comply, ensuring everyone can live well, that's not simple."
Hearing this, Elder Song finally smiled, turning to look at Cheng Ye, "Inspector Cheng, whatever you need this old man to do, just say it directly."
"Not just me, no one in the community would refuse you."
As his words fell, the other two district elders behind them quickly nodded in agreement.
"Excellent!"
The group returned to the reception area. Second Dragon, leading several former militia backbone members, had somehow arrived and were standing at the entrance.
"Sir, my brother said to have me wait for you first. He'll come as soon as he finishes handling the demolition ceremony cleanup." Second Dragon stepped forward respectfully.
Cheng Ye nodded with a smile, first chatting about casual matters.
About changes brought by the Void Mist, the migrant camps outside the buffer zone, and mentioning how astonishing the fish stocks in Baishui River were.
Soon enough, Big Dragon indeed led several people in quickly.
The reception area was suddenly crowded with over twenty people. Big Dragon introduced them one by one: community cadres managing civil affairs, militia backbone responsible for security, and worker representatives from the previous shopping center renovation, all people in Tianyuan Community who could handle responsibilities.
Clearly, they understood what Cheng Ye was about to discuss.
As for Wang Kang, he didn't join the excitement but took people to handle the fish in the back.
Once everyone was seated, Cheng Ye cleared his throat and got straight to the point, "Everyone should have heard about satellite city construction, right?"
"Yes!" Big Dragon nodded first, his tone excited, "The broadcast center has been building momentum these past few days. I heard the first batch will open 12 satellite cities for simultaneous construction, with subsequent satellite cities starting one after another within a week."
"Right, Big Dragon is correct."
Cheng Ye nodded, pulling a folded area map from his pocket. He spread it on the table, his fingertip drawing a large circle on the map, "Satellite city construction is now Happiness City's core development plan for the next phase. In the future, we'll extend outward around the entire Chuan City ruins, building a ring of satellite cities to form a large surrounding defense perimeter."
Actually, this defense perimeter concept wasn't explicitly mentioned by higher-ups. He deduced it himself based on the satellite cities' layout logic.
After all, the core significance of satellite cities was "multi-point coordinated defense." In the future, they would inevitably be divided into first-level, second-level, and third-level defense rings.
The outermost satellite cities would automatically form isolation zones, blocking infected entities and mutated creatures from the wilderness.
Going inward, each level of satellite cities would filter dangers layer by layer. By the time threats reached Happiness City, remaining dangers would be minimal.
For this reason, the three inspection stations would gradually reduce in scale without affecting core operations.
"And I will likely choose one of these locations next to lead a team in satellite city construction."
Cheng Ye got straight to the point, his fingertip pointing directly at the small dot marked "Dapo Town" on the map, his tone candid.
He might need to weigh his words carefully with higher-ups, but with these people who would work with him and possibly risk their lives, he needed to be sufficiently sincere.
No one wanted to leave the safe buffer zone for no reason to face potentially fatal dangers in the wilderness.
Especially since many present were retired veterans from the old pioneering corps, who understood better than anyone what building cities in the wilderness meant. If he was evasive, they'd be the first to detect inconsistencies.
To get people to follow you on adventures, you needed both sincerity and substantial benefit exchanges.
Before everyone could digest this news, Cheng Ye continued, "I chose Dapo Town not randomly. First, the geographical environment here can make money. Baishui River's fish stocks are astonishing. Just fishing alone could accumulate precious development funds without relying entirely on allocations from above. Second, Dapo Town can coordinate with our Tianyuan Community's pedestrian street, forming a closed loop of 'fishery supply + commercial circulation,' doubling profits."
"Why do I say this?"
Cheng Ye flipped the map to the back, where he had previously drawn three major frameworks in neat handwriting.
He pointed to the first box on the left.
[Handicraft Industry]
"First, let's talk about handicraft industry. In my view, having so many women and children in our community sitting idle daily, only surviving on community subsidies or depending on men working outside, this is a very unreasonable community structure. They're not lacking labor capacity, just haven't found suitable work. They can't keep being supported or doing scattered odd jobs that waste time and earn little."
"What I want to arrange for them is stable work with manageable difficulty, high repetition, but very considerable returns."
As his words fell, Cheng Ye's fingertip slid down the framework to a simple storefront illustration with several bold characters written beside it.
[Big Wave Fishery Processing Plant]
"This is Dapo Town's first industrial layout."
He pointed to the illustration and explained, "Fish caught from Baishui River won't be directly transported to the pedestrian street or other places for processing. That would waste too much time and increase transportation costs. We'll build a processing plant for batch fish processing: uniformly cleaning internal organs, then cutting and sectioning according to demand, packaging according to three specifications: 'fresh consumption,' 'preserved pickling,' and 'dried fish production.'"
"Inspector Cheng." The district elder to Elder Song's left spoke up.
He managed community work assignments, naturally understanding better than others what Cheng Ye was discussing.
"I have a question to ask."
"Elder Zhou, please speak freely, no need for courtesy." Cheng Ye turned to look at him, his tone remaining gentle.
"This fishery processing plant you mentioned, will it be built in Dapo Town or within the buffer zone?" Elder Zhou's gaze flickered slightly, his tone carrying some caution.
This was what everyone cared about but hadn't dared ask directly. After all, Dapo Town was on the wilderness edge. Having family women and children work there would be too risky.
"Of course it'll be built within the buffer zone." Cheng Ye couldn't help smiling, his tone definitive, "How could we possibly build the factory outside? Having women and children risk wilderness dangers doesn't conform to our operating principles."
As his words finished, the previously tense atmosphere in the room visibly relaxed.
Men going out to take risks was fine, but no one wanted their families exposed to threats from infection sources and mutated creatures.
If the factory was within the buffer zone, this work would completely eliminate "life-threatening concerns," leaving only substantial returns.
Cheng Ye observed this, then continued asking, "I just heard Elder Song say the community has taken over the vegetable market area?"
"Yes." Elder Zhou nodded, explaining, "We contracted the entire fruit and vegetable market from the Civil Affairs Department. The price was indeed cheap, but there's an additional condition: we must handle all basic maintenance work for B-7 District, like street sweeping, garbage collection, pipeline repairs. Most tasks aren't heavy, perfect for women and children."
"The income isn't high, right?"
"Correct." Elder Zhou's face showed some embarrassment, "A total of 200 people working in shifts, each person's monthly wage is 10 Happiness Coins."
Monthly wage, 10?
Earning just 5 packs of nutritional paste per month?
No wonder Elder Zhou was embarrassed to say it. This wasn't really a salary, at most symbolic compensation to reduce some community and family pressure.
However, he didn't criticize this arrangement, instead nodding, "The vegetable market location is indeed good. Large area, spacious, with old-era ventilation and drainage facilities remaining."
"But the processing plant definitely can't be placed in the vegetable market. Too many people and eyes, plus processing waste water and fish scales would be difficult to handle. I plan to set up the processing plant in the southern suburbs, contracting an empty plot. Whether expanding factory buildings or adding production lines later, adjustments will be convenient. As for the vegetable market, we can set up several fish stalls there specifically for retail sales of fresh fish products, making it convenient for residents to buy."
As he spoke, Cheng Ye raised his hand, making a "2" gesture, "For this processing plant, I initially need at least this number."
"Twenty people?" Elder Zhou instinctively guessed.
In his view, small workshops in the buffer zone were mostly ten to twenty person operations. Two hundred people would be too exaggerated.
"Wrong, two hundred people!" Cheng Ye shook his head, his tone serious, "You might not have a concept of how astonishing Baishui River's fish storage capacity is. Just by organizing fishing teams properly, catching thirty to fifty thousand fish daily is no problem. Calculating each person processing 200 fish per day, 200 people is just barely enough for turnover. If we expand fishing operations later, we'll need to hire more people."
Calculating each person processing 200, would still need 200 people minimum.
Elder Zhou calculated in his heart, then asked carefully, "Inspector Cheng, the community has over 800 women, elderly, and children capable of steady work. Even subtracting the 200 handling B7 District basic maintenance, picking 200 from the remaining 600-plus is completely feasible. It's just... how exactly is this processing plant income calculated?"
Compared to Elder Song's emphasis on loyalty and sentiment, Elder Zhou was clearly more practical and shrewd but this was exactly what Cheng Ye wanted.
He didn't want to create an image of leveraging gratitude, but genuinely hoped to achieve equal, win-win cooperation with Tianyuan Community, ensuring everyone clearly understood what they could gain. Only this way could cooperation last.
"Initially it's piece-rate income. For every 20 fish processed, you get 1 coin. Once the fishery market opens up later and production lines are streamlined, we'll switch to daily wages, 10 Happiness Coins per person per day, guaranteed not less than this amount."
Ten coins daily?
Hiss.
The room instantly filled with gasps.
This income wasn't much compared to buffer zone men's income from dirty, exhausting work.
The comparison should be with B7 District basic maintenance work, which only paid 10 coins monthly, a 30-fold difference.
"Just stating numbers might not give everyone a clear picture." Seeing some disbelief still in everyone's eyes, Cheng Ye turned to Big Dragon, "Xiao Kang should have nearly finished processing the fish with his team. Go call a couple of the workers in, let them explain the difficulty and time for processing one fish, so everyone has a clear understanding."
"Right! I'll go immediately!" Big Dragon responded and left quickly.
In less than a minute, he led two young women from the shopping center's back courtyard. Both had fish scales and water droplets on their hands, fingertips red from cold, but wore smiles.
"Sir, this is my wife Bai Qiao, that's Second Dragon's wife Jiang Lanlan." Big Dragon pointed to the two women, his tone carrying some honest laughter. He wasn't avoiding suspicion at all, directly putting his own relatives forward.
In other places, this might involve favoritism suspicions, but Tianyuan Community's atmosphere was different. Having family members demonstrate first actually made everyone more convinced.
"Greetings, Inspector Cheng." Bai Qiao and Jiang Lanlan quickly greeted him. Though somewhat reserved, they were reasonably generous without cowering or dodging.
"Thank you for your trouble. I want to ask, is processing one fish troublesome?" Cheng Ye asked gently, trying to help them relax.
"It's okay, not too troublesome." Bai Qiao spoke first, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing her clothing, "We've processed fish outside before. It's just that we haven't done it much these years, so our hands are a bit rusty. But once we get familiar, it'll be fast."
"About how long does it take to process one fish?" Cheng Ye asked again, looking at Jiang Lanlan.
"This... we haven't specifically timed it." Jiang Lanlan thought for a moment, answering seriously, "If including scaling, gutting, removing organs, cutting into pieces and washing clean, one fish takes at most five minutes. When encountering large fish, it might be slower at six minutes. When fast with small fish, three minutes could finish."
This time was faster than Cheng Ye had anticipated.
The Four Great Fish were manageable, but black and white striped fish were truly difficult to kill. The fish skin surface was extremely slippery and would deflect knives.
Moreover, this wasn't simple fish killing but included subsequent sectioning and cleaning.
Though slower than professional "fish killers," for ordinary women, this speed was already quite impressive.
Elder Zhou listened and immediately calculated, unable to suppress his delight, "Calculating five minutes per fish, one hour could process 12 fish. Two hours would be 24 fish, earning 1 coin. If working 12 hours daily, wouldn't that earn 6 coins?"
This calculation was somewhat idealistic.
Long periods of repeating the same action would inevitably slow down later, and people would tire but conversely, once everyone became skilled, processing time per fish might drop to three minutes, further improving efficiency.
With these increases and decreases balancing out, daily income could still guarantee over 5 coins.
For women who could only survive on community subsidies, this was enough for them to support themselves and even contribute some household supplements but after the initial joy, Elder Zhou developed new concerns. He hesitated, then asked carefully, "Inspector Cheng, can this fish... actually be sold? Hiring so many workers costs over a thousand coins daily in wages, thirty to forty thousand coins monthly. If we end up losing money..."
As these words came out, everyone present fell silent, gazes uniformly turning to Cheng Ye.
Elder Zhou's concern was everyone's concern.
If they started well but had to stop due to losses, the women losing jobs again wouldn't be the problem, but damaging relations between Cheng Ye and the community would be serious.
"Rest assured, since I dare open a factory, how could I miscalculate returns and sales channels?"
Cheng Ye wasn't surprised by this question. He pointed to the second small box.
[Commerce]
Unlike everyone present, what he worried about most was actually the first link, the fishing operation.
This was the most dangerous link in the entire industrial chain. Though Baishui River had abundant fish, it also harbored mutated creatures and infection sources. Once casualties occurred or infected entities erupted, it would not only cause worker panic but also damage everyone's confidence in Dapo Town.
Comparatively, sales was the easiest problem to solve.
He didn't immediately explain his plans but looked at Elder Zhou, posing a question, "Elder Zhou, who do you think we should sell our fish to? Or rather, who currently has the strongest purchasing power?"
Elder Zhou answered almost without hesitation, "That must be the officials from various departments! They have official positions, stable salaries, money in hand, and are willing to spend on such things."
"Wrong." Cheng Ye gently shook his head, then looked at others, "Everyone can also share your thoughts."
The room fell into brief silence, everyone pondering these four words: "purchasing power."
The district elder to Elder Song's right thought for a while, then suddenly spoke, "Inspector Cheng, do you mean those new migrants outside?"
"Hmm?" Cheng Ye was surprised, "How does Elder He figure this?"
Elder He smiled, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out, carrying some reminiscent expression, "I used to lead the pioneering corps, was lucky enough to become a company commander. Big Dragon, Second Dragon, and these militia members in the community were all soldiers I led back then."
Elder He usually seemed quiet and reserved, but turned out to be the most deeply hidden one.
"During pioneering days, whether local settlements or shelter cities, the main consumer groups were actually us pioneering soldiers."
Elder He continued, his tone carrying some self-mockery, "Not because we had much money, but because we had stable military pay, and the work was exhausting with constant danger. So everyone didn't mind spending money. When tired, we wanted to eat something good. When thirsty, we wanted something smooth to drink. Even if we couldn't save money by month's end, we wanted current life to be comfortable."
As he spoke, Big Dragon, Second Dragon, and several militia members couldn't help smiling, faces showing embarrassed redness.
Life back then was indeed hard. Sleeping rough was normal, but every time they received military pay, they'd arrange to go to settlement farm restaurants for a feast. Even just ordering a plate of stir-fried antlion meat and a bowl of murky liquor felt satisfying.
Looking back now, the hardship was real, but that kind of carpe diem freedom was also truly unforgettable.
"Elder He is right."
Cheng Ye stopped being mysterious, his tone becoming serious, "After satellite city construction begins, Happiness City will prioritize subsidizing outside migrants in the short term. As long as they're willing to work in satellite cities, they can get stable wages, much higher than temporary work in the buffer zone. These people are currently the group with strongest purchasing power!"
"They just came from the wilderness with no savings, but have stable income and just escaped feast-or-famine life. They'll definitely be willing to spend money improving their lives. Buying a fresh fish is better than eating nutritional paste every meal. We sell fish to them, both earning back wage costs and letting them live more comfortably, equally mutual benefit."
Regarding sales, it definitely wasn't as simple as Cheng Ye described.
How to transport fish to various satellite cities? Fixed stalls or mobile sales? What pricing would migrants accept while ensuring profit?
These were all issues but clearly, this wasn't the time to discuss such details. Dapo Town construction needed to start first.
Seeing everyone's eyes growing brighter, clearly convinced, Cheng Ye's finger immediately turned to the third small box.
[Light Industry]
"Dapo Town has a hydroelectric station that can provide virtually unlimited electrical power. This is the foundation for industrial development. What I want to do is rely on early fishery income to develop light industry."
"Have you noticed one thing? Though Happiness City's basic industry has developed, regarding daily consumer goods, it's still almost blank. For example, the cheapest notebook in grocery stores costs 25 coins, but with proper industrial chains, costs could be compressed to 10 coins. Another example, after satellite city construction requires room decoration, if we build a light bulb factory, how many people would seek our services? As long as we can preemptively occupy markets, even niche markets, there'll be continuous funding afterward to develop towns and communities."
Regarding this final grand vision, Cheng Ye spoke extremely rapidly, giving others almost no reaction time.
This was meant to facilitate cooperation and strengthen everyone's determination, not a short-term achievable plan.
Honestly, he also wanted to make televisions in Happiness City instead of just radios, letting people watch programs to relax after work.
He wanted to form production crews, filming documentaries recording infection source characteristics and wilderness survival skills, helping more people survive in the wasteland.
He even wanted automobile manufacturing and smart device development. Happiness City's basic industry already had rudimentary forms. Once satellite cities could be established and consumer populations reached a certain scale, none of this would be fantasy but for community members who hadn't completely escaped the "subsistence line," these were too distant!
Speaking of them would seem impractical.
Better to plant the "light industry" seed first. Once Dapo Town truly developed, everything would fall into place naturally.
"Brother Cheng, all the fish are processed!" Wang Kang walked in from the shopping center's side entrance, wiping his hands, his tone carrying some regretful reluctance, "I wanted more practice, but everyone got four or five fish each and finished quickly. I just sharpened my knife!"
These words seemed like reporting fish processing progress, but Cheng Ye's mouth couldn't help curving into a smile.
Xiao Kang, oh Xiao Kang, your timing is really perfect.
Sure enough, this statement completely hit everyone's hearts.
The three district elders' expressions shifted slightly, hesitation in their eyes completely disappearing. Others also clenched their fists.
"Inspector Cheng, we'll follow you!" Someone shouted first, immediately followed by others, "Right! We'll follow you to Dapo Town!" "As long as we can earn money and settle down, we're not afraid of hardship or exhaustion!"
Rising and falling responses echoed in the reception area, making even the air feel scorching.
"Good! Having everyone's word puts my heart at ease!" Cheng Ye's smile broadened, but his tone shifted, "But let me be clear upfront. I must establish three ground rules. Following me means obeying my regulations."
As he spoke, he pulled another neatly folded paper from his pocket, clearly prepared in advance.
"This is based on the old pioneering corps rules, adapted for Dapo Town conditions with some added details. Elder He, please help me review this. Does it seem reasonable?"
Elder He quickly took it, unfolding the paper for careful examination. The rules weren't numerous, ten total, mostly similar to pioneering corps discipline.
Such as obeying commands, not privately hoarding supplies, mutual support during missions, etc but two points were clearly more generous. First was compensation. Not only would family members get priority placement in processing plant jobs, but substantial compensation would be paid after sacrifice, eliminating worries.
Second was merit rewards. Outstanding performance in construction, fishing, or defense would earn merit points. Accumulating enough could exchange for supplies or priority assignment to better jobs, early retirement.
The only difference from corps rules was the final clause.
Cheng Ye explicitly required all who followed him to Dapo Town must "absolutely obey."
Even seemingly unreasonable orders must be executed first, with questions asked afterward.
However, clarification was added below: 'All orders premised on not sacrificing lives or damaging collective interests, only to avoid short-term risks and ensure long-term development.'
After reading, Elder He indeed couldn't help nodding approvingly, "Inspector Cheng, these rules are solid! Especially the compensation and merit clauses are better than old corps treatment. Everyone will definitely willingly comply. Regarding absolute obedience, I think it's fine. Dapo Town is a new place with complex situations. If everyone has their own ideas, it's easier to cause chaos."
He paused, then looked at everyone present, "You were all brought up by me. You should understand the importance of obeying orders. Inspector Cheng won't send everyone to die. As long as we follow and work hard, we'll definitely have good days!"
"Yes! Elder He is right!" Big Dragon and Second Dragon responded first, other militia members also nodding.
"Then I'm reassured." Cheng Ye's heart settled. The most difficult step was finally completed.
Perhaps in others' eyes, his recruiting Tianyuan Community people relied on his position's natural advantages but only he knew how difficult this step was.
Getting a group accustomed to buffer zone stability to return to wilderness, and actually go out to work steadily, was completely different from taking them out while having to clean up their messes.
"Elder He, I'll trouble you with subsequent personnel selection. Prioritize those with family concerns, steady work habits, and ability to follow arrangements. We don't seek large numbers, only united hearts."
"Rest assured!" Elder He patted his chest in guarantee, "I'll immediately compile name lists. Within three days, I'll definitely gather 300 reliable personnel to begin recovery training. With me here, I guarantee everyone will follow regulations without troubling you!"
Elder Zhou also quickly added, "I'll arrange processing plant workers too. Tomorrow I'll clearly explain treatment and regulations to residents, interviewing and screening one by one. I guarantee those selected will all be nimble and capable of steady work, absolutely no dilution!"
Others present also spoke up, all busy accepting tasks. Only Elder Song remained silent throughout.
Finally, when matters were mostly settled and Cheng Ye rose to leave, he slowly said, "Inspector Cheng, this old fellow's body can no longer withstand wilderness hardships. I won't follow you to Dapo Town to cause trouble."
"But rest assured, I'll help you guard the pedestrian street side. I definitely will!"