Volume 4: National Craftsmanship Chapter 132 Ye Fan's Records
"This is the money Shen Jin asked me to give you, a total of 50,000 yuan, which can be used to buy supplies in Home No. 1. By the way, the bone armor in the armor shop is quite suitable for ordinary people to wear. Although it is not as good as your fine steel-cast iron armor, it can still defend against ordinary first-level evolved zombies!"
Shang Qian brought a small bag of money to Ye Fan, which contained 500 "Home Coins" with a face value of 100, which could buy 5,000 sets of bone armor.
After issuing coins with denominations of 1, 5 and 10 yuan, a bunch of local tycoons emerged in Home No. 1. The supplies they sold could be easily exchanged for assets worth more than 1,000 yuan. If only 10 yuan coins were used, then 100 coins would be needed, which was very inconvenient. So after a few days, Shang Qian urgently launched Home Coins with denominations of 20, 50 and 100 yuan to strengthen the circulation of currency and supplies. These were originally planned to be released in the next stage, but... they knew too little about the survivors who were hoarding money per capita. Once the supplies started to circulate, they realized that everyone had a lot of good things in their hands. This was also because Shang Qian and her financial team underestimated the abundance of supplies. It seems that it was right to cancel the relief porridge!
First, it can increase the labor force and revitalize various industries; second, it can enable everyone to be self-reliant and not just eat and wait for death. What is needed in the end times are people who can get things done, not idlers!
Li Moxiao: I feel offended...
Ye Fan was holding a bag of money, feeling a little confused. It was like going to a place and people there just threw a few pieces of metal at you and told you that you could use them to buy anything you wanted. It was very strange.
Shang Qian left after she finished speaking, without staying to explain to them. Anyway, they had to wait here for a while and see for themselves to know. Moreover, after they have seen it, they will have a deeper impression of the currency of Home No. 1 and recognize the value of Home Coin. Then they will pass this knowledge to the people in City S, and naturally complete the first step in the spread of Home Coin: recognition.
Let others know that the purchasing power of this currency is guaranteed.
"Boss, are they making this money... themselves? Take one and let us see~!"
"How novel! They created their own money. Do they know how to issue and maintain currency? They came up with this thing on a whim. Without sufficient exchange guarantees, this currency will be run out in a few days!"
"Or they will print a large amount of currency, and end up with the same thing as the Zimbabwean dollar, which becomes a pile of waste paper!"
At this time, Ye Fan took out an exquisite 100-yuan homeland coin. The front was printed with a simple sketch of Shen Jin's head and the face value of 100 yuan. The back had several simple carvings and an exquisite small pickaxe. The surrounding patterns looked like small diamonds. The metallic texture felt great to the touch, and the convexity and concavity were just right. It was even more exquisite than the government coins before the end of the world!
"Huh? It looks like this. Is this made by a machine? Nice design!"
"Take another one and have a look... They are exactly the same! There is no difference in appearance. Wow, this is quite powerful. At least it is extremely difficult to imitate!"
"I think we shouldn't focus on the appearance of this coin, but mainly see if it can really be used to buy things as she said. What can 50,000 yuan buy? Can it only buy 5 bags of rice? Or... a set of armor?"
The extraordinary people in City S discussed it one after another. Most of them did not understand the emergence of currency. Ye Fan held a coin and said, "Let's go buy something. I don't think Chief Shen Jin is the kind of person who gets carried away. He must be confident in this new currency before letting us use it. If I'm not mistaken... this money should be a goodwill to us. After all, the transaction between us has been completed, which is equivalent to giving it for free!"
“That’s right!”
The group of people carried a bag of money and headed for the inner city commercial district. They had seen it on the way here. It was well built and looked quite real. There were not many people from City S this time. In addition to the pilot, there were only 15 people in total. As soon as they entered the commercial district, they found several places under construction. Some workers in blue work clothes were using ladders to install wires and cameras at the door of a store with the word "grocery store" written on it. "Brother Bao, how is it inside? Do you have any images?"
"Okay, okay, we can see those 15 stupid extraordinary people outside clearly. Come down and fix these two in the house!"
Several workers were installing cameras in an orderly manner. Ye Fan pulled the worker who had just come down from the ladder and asked, "What are these cameras used for?"
The master glanced at him and said, "How can a superhuman be so ignorant? The cameras are of course used for recording. Our store sells so many things every day. Wouldn't it be safer if we had cameras? If someone were to steal something, we could just check the video and find out. Besides...we will have cameras covering every place in our No. 1 home. The boss said this is called... this is called..."
A worker wearing glasses nearby said, "Deterrence!"
"Yes, yes, yes! Deterrent effect! As long as there are cameras, most people will not dare to commit crimes, because if they are caught, they will be punished by the extraordinary people!"
This is the main reason why cameras were installed in many places before the end of the world. They are not to record crimes, but to prevent crimes. Just like the siren when the police are on duty, it is not to tell the criminals that the police are coming! Let them run away quickly, but to stop them from committing the next crime. Shooting a criminal is far less valuable than saving an innocent person...
But Ye Fan was a little confused at this time: "Are you from the store? Or... Chief Shen Jin's people? What can you get by doing these things?"
The master thought for a moment and said, "We belong to the No. 1 Homeland Power Bureau. We are the boss's men. We get paid if we work hard. Otherwise, we will starve to death. I won't tell you anymore. I'm going to install cameras inside. If I install more, I'll get a performance bonus!"
Several masters continued to work, leaving Ye Fan and the others standing there. Everyone looked at each other. One of the team members swallowed and said, "Don't you think... Home No. 1 is a little too normal? Even normal is a little abnormal!"
"Indeed... this kind of scene was very common before the end of the world, but... now they can actually achieve the same structure as before, the power bureau has been established, and there are full coverage of surveillance cameras. Is this a base with electricity? I envy you~!"
Ye Fan said: "It seems that... the monetary policy here has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Everyone is willing to exchange labor for money, which proves that the money has settled in Home No. 1. However, Commander Shen Jin has built a wind power station for our base before he came. We don't have to worry about electricity in the future. It will be the same as here..."
"Come on, now that we're here, let's go check out the grocery store. This store seems to be the largest!"
15 people entered the grocery store that was open, including the snack section, meat section, fresh vegetable section, electronics section, and home appliance section...
It was like a big shopping mall, with exquisite counters and smiling waiters. Ye Fan and his friends were stunned...
"Captain, here is meat! Frozen fresh meat! 10 yuan a pound, so cheap! We can buy 5,000 pounds of pork with this money !!!" said a fat man who loves meat but has never been able to eat it.
"Eat, eat, eat! Why can't I eat enough? It's not like we don't have food. But... there's also Coke here! Happy water! This is killing me. It's 3 yuan a bottle. Brother Fan, please give me two bottles. I haven't had this stuff in a long time!"
"Wow! Look, they're assembling computers here. Buy a computer and get free games like Civilization 6, Mantong Chengxing, and Heroes of Might and Magic. That's amazing! There's also a 3060 graphics card! Before the end of the world, the mine owners were all crazy about them. I didn't expect there are still so many here. Could there be a damn mine owner among the survivors?"
"A-choo!" Shen Jin sneezed. "Eh? Something's wrong. How can I sneeze when I have such a strong physique? It must be... some young wife is missing me again. Yes, that must be it!"
Over here, Ye Fan and his friends were shouting and yelling like country bumpkins who had never seen the world, causing the people in Home No. 1 to roll their eyes, "Haha! You can tell they're from outside the area!"
Fortunately, the grocery store clerks did not laugh. After all, they were professionally trained and could only provide service with a smile. Being a clerk here was considered official logistics staff and they received very high benefits. Most of them were young women who did not dare to fight zombies but could still demonstrate their value.
The division of labor in human society has always been changeable. It is not only those who go out to fight who can live a good life. Women who are in charge of household affairs are still respected.
The small society rebuilt by Shen Jin and Shang Qian has allowed these women, who originally could only survive to get decent jobs, and also brought smiles and sunshine to the base. In the end times, it is very important to maintain a positive and healthy attitude. After a day of fighting outside, you can come back and be served by a bunch of smiling young ladies, and you will feel relaxed~!
Ye Fan and the others were impressed by the luxury here, but they didn't spend any money. The things in the grocery store were numerous and good, very attractive, but Ye Fan always remembered Shang Qian's words that the equipment store might have what he needed.
A few people went to the equipment store and saw that a new large store next to it had been built, and it was built very... quickly!
Several extraordinary people kept throwing 1 cubic meter blocks at the side, and they built the external structure. Among them, an ordinary person who looked like an architect was directing the extraordinary people how to use the materials to build. Soon, the outer shell of an Internet cafe with a unique shape and a bit of loft style was completed, and a sign was hung: "No. 1 Internet Cafe"
“Good fellow!”
“What a great guy!”
"We are still worrying about survival, but others have already opened Internet cafes!"
Several people were amazed and came to the armor shop. A male clerk with a shrewd look in his brows greeted them warmly, "Hello, gentlemen. What kind of equipment are you looking at? Are you buying it for yourself or for someone else? We have fine steel armor for extraordinary people, bone armor for pseudo-extraordinary people and ordinary people, and various other special-purpose armors, such as sponge armor that can enhance defense in rainy days, fire-resistant high-end lava wood armor, etc!"
There were armor racks placed all around, hung with all kinds of Craftsman Soul armors. Each material of the armor was introduced. The common bone armor introduced its defense, the level of zombie attacks it could withstand, its durability, and its special properties. For example, the high calcium property of bone armor allowed this armor to devour bones for defense enhancement and repair durability. The bone armor also had good toughness and could effectively buffer damage. "How much is this?"
"We sell them in sets, 10 yuan a set. Of course, if you need individual parts, we can sell them to you. The breastplate is a bit more expensive, but the other helmets, leggings, and boots are cheaper because the breastplate covers the entire upper body and uses more materials!"
Ye Fan picked up a piece of armor. His first impression was that it was light, much lighter than the [Steel-Cast Iron Armor] produced by No. 1 Homeland that he was wearing. Ordinary people could indeed move freely when wearing it. His second impression was that it was hard, harder than some bulletproof vests with steel plates. The protective power was definitely good. "Sir, this piece of armor you are holding has eaten bones, so it will be tougher!"
The clerk kept explaining the various properties of the armor to Ye Fan and the others. The service was like a wisp of spring breeze, which made people feel very comfortable. They felt embarrassed not to buy one...
"This is the bone armor Shang Qian mentioned. If our brothers had a set of this kind of armor, we wouldn't have suffered so many casualties!"
"Well...if you are not at level 2, you will die if you are caught by zombies. Brothers need a set of equipment like this. We need to buy more!"
"By the way, we have nearly 5,000 troops in total, and she gave us 50,000 yuan, so isn't that... just enough?"
At this time, everyone understood what Shang Qian said. This money was for them to buy protective equipment for ordinary soldiers. "Let's go and see. If nothing goes wrong, we will buy these equipment!"
There were still a few stores they hadn't visited. After wandering around a weapons store, a clothing store, a new energy vehicle store, and a recycling station, Ye Fan and his team stopped by a self-service redemption machine (trade box). At this time, a middle-aged man put 99 yuan in his hand at the scanning port of a [trade box], "Hua La La~!"
The coins fell down, and a sealed blue potion fell out of the delivery port. There was a small label on it with instructions for use. The middle-aged man took the potion and walked away happily. "Gene potion?"
Ye Fan and his friends walked closer and took a look. The [Trading Box] showed that they could spend 99 yuan to exchange for a bottle of [Gene Optimization Drug], which could double their overall physical fitness. "Overall enhancement doubled? Doesn't that mean we're 50-50 against the evolved zombies?"
"This medicine... only costs 99 yuan? It's so cheap!"
"Look, we're selling crystal cores, food, and oil here, and you can exchange them 24 hours a day without limit!"
"Oh! I understand! Homeland No. 1 is different from us. Their food is bought and sold with money. It's not like us where everyone gets a fixed amount every week. Isn't this...privatizing the role of the central grain reserve?"
Ye Fan said, "Good idea ! This is the correct way to use the reserve grain. There are various industries in Home No. 1. I just saw some people carrying hoes to the north. There is a field area over there. I guess they are going to sow seeds. The fresh vegetables sold in the grocery store are probably greenhouse crops. These things require a lot of manpower. Instead of distributing food to residents and then calling on everyone to plant in the spring, it is better to... give money to those who plant in the spring, and then let them buy various daily necessities by themselves. In this way... the economy of the entire base will be revitalized! What a good strategy!"
Ye Fan is also a serious college student soldier. His major is economics. Although he is not very good at operations, he can still analyze this kind of layout.
Compared with the base in S City, the difference is obvious!
Of course...Home No. 1 has the conditions to implement this policy, and there are many prerequisites, including an absolutely safe internal environment, suppression by supernatural forces, electricity supply, water supply, etc.
If any one of the conditions is missing, it cannot be implemented.
After visiting these official stores, Ye Fan and his friends came to a large building. Four big red characters were engraved on the marble at the door: College No. 1.
A middle-aged instructor in camouflage uniform came out. Ye Fan asked excitedly, "Are you... Instructor Wang?"
