Hearing Xin Wan’s proposal, Ren Yuanyang was slightly taken aback. Then he asked, "Why the sudden idea to establish a currency system?"
"Our base currently has different ranks and statuses—leader, minister, captain, team leader, even captives—but there isn’t much of a distinction between everyone. If we can reflect these differences in pay, it would be much more obvious. Others would also have clear goals to strive for," Xin Wan explained.
Ren Yuanyang nodded. Right now, Peach Blossom Base was essentially a communal pot system. Everyone got the same share whether they worked a lot or a little, with only occasional rewards.
It might not be a problem now, but in the long run, some people were bound to start slacking off.
Seeing Ren Yuanyang fall into thought, Xin Wan continued, "If we have our own currency system, people will have to earn money to buy what they want. This will motivate them to work harder!"
"That makes sense, but does our base have the resources to build such a currency system?" Ren Yuanyang asked with a frown.
"Actually, we don’t need to build a perfectly complete currency system. We don’t have any professional economists at the base, either. We just need to create a payment app!" Xin Wan replied. "I’ve already asked Aiti. He can do it!"
Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly. "In that case, wouldn’t we have to give everyone a phone?"
"The captives definitely can’t have phones. I haven’t thought of a good solution for that yet!" Xin Wan’s brow furrowed slightly.
"Hmm, have Aiti build the app first. We’ll test it among the members who have phones and then gradually roll it out. As for the captives, we can just keep a ledger for now," Ren Yuanyang instructed in a deep voice.
"Yes, Leader!" Xin Wan immediately and happily went to arrange for Aiti to develop Peach Blossom Base’s own software.
「Meanwhile, the fully loaded freighters and supply ships, escorted by Qin Haonan, had arrived safely at Dawn Base.」
Long Zhan naturally came out to greet them in person. "Good work."
Qin Haonan waved his hand. "No need for formalities, Captain Long. If there’s nothing else, we’ll be heading back. If you have any problems with the cargo, you can contact Minister Xin directly, or our leader!"
"Alright. Have a safe trip back!" Long Zhan didn’t try to make him stay.
Qin Haonan nodded and added a reminder, "We’re harvesting the fruit at a good pace now. You guys should hurry up on your end!"
"Don’t worry, we’ll process the fruit on that freighter as quickly as possible," Long Zhan replied.
Qin Haonan hopped onto a speedboat, waved at Long Zhan, and left.
After seeing Qin Haonan off, Long Zhan eagerly rushed aboard the freighter.
He wanted to see for himself what kind of fruit could be directly pressed into various fuels for ships and aircraft.
Looking at the fruits, which resembled green apricots, Long Zhan found it incredible. He immediately ordered, "Hurry up and bring the pressing equipment over! I want to press some fuel myself!"
"Sir!"
While waiting for the pressing equipment, Long Zhan started a video call with Wang Jun and the others.
"Look at this! These little things can actually be pressed into fuel we can use directly. It’s just incredible!" Long Zhan said emotionally, pointing at the hold full of Diesel Tree fruit.
"They don’t look any different from ordinary Diesel Tree fruit." Ji Yizhi had specifically looked up related oil-producing crops in their internal server’s database, so he recognized this type of fruit.
"I’ve already sent someone to get the pressing tools. We’ll be able to press out some fuel in a moment and witness the magic of Peach Blossom Base for ourselves!" Long Zhan said with a smile.
Wang Jun nodded slightly. "You should still have some empty supply ships over there, right?"
Long Zhan replied, "Yes. I’ll transfer the fuel pressed from the fruit on the freighter to the supply ships. Once we have enough for five full ships, I’ll send them your way!"
Sending just one or two would require an escort frigate, which would be too much of a waste. It was better to gather a larger number and send them all at once.
"Alright," Wang Jun replied.
Just then, the tools and equipment for pressing were delivered.
Long Zhan got to work himself, pouring a batch of fruit into the device. Liquid soon began to flow out.
Judging by the liquid’s appearance and smell, it was indeed fuel!
Long Zhan took a bottle, handed it to a nearby soldier, and ordered, "Take this to the lab for basic analysis!"
"Sir!" The soldier took the sample and immediately returned to the lab.
Long Zhan wasn’t doing this because he distrusted Peach Blossom Base; it was just standard procedure.
The lab’s analysis was quick. The results were a perfect match for the fuel on the supply ships, and its quality was even higher than the fuel they typically used.
"I’m completely sold. Peach Blossom Base is the real deal!" Long Zhan roared with laughter.
Ji Yizhi couldn’t help but remind him, "Don’t forget to save some samples for us!"
"What’s the rush? There are still nine more ships to come!" Long Zhan replied with a laugh.
"I was just afraid you’d forget!" Ji Yizhi said, somewhat exasperated.
"So what if I forgot? There will be plenty of other chances!" Long Zhan said dismissively.
"Alright, just send the fruit samples over with the next shipment," Wang Jun said with a smile. "It’s not just Old Ji who’s curious; the people in the lab are even more eager to see them."
"Alright, alright. I was just teasing Old Ji. Don’t take me seriously!" Long Zhan replied with a laugh.
Wang Jun shook his head in resignation, glanced at the time, and said, "The online class is about to start. Everyone get ready."
"Got it!" Long Zhan nodded in response.
Ji Yizhi couldn’t resist reminding him one more time, "Try to use our own soldiers for the processing work. Using outsiders could easily lead to leaks. It’s best to keep this confidential for now."

Comments

Loading...