Making Money
The New Year is just around the corner. Busy people don't even realize how much time is passing, and time just slips away unnoticed.
The biggest change in the city over this period of time is that it has become cleaner. You can no longer see the garbage that used to be everywhere, and even piles of excrement that used to be everywhere are now rare.
It's important to know that in this country, urinating and defecating anywhere has become almost the norm. Women will choose a relatively secluded place to relieve themselves. Of course, some older women don't care about other people's opinions and can relieve themselves anywhere.
How could a garbage dump, filled with excrement and decay, teeming with countless bacteria, not stink?
But now these problems are gone. There's no more public defecation or garbage heaps everywhere, which is a novel experience for the locals themselves.
After the spaces previously occupied by garbage were fully released, the city suddenly had a lot more open space, making the city much cleaner.
Since those foreigners started recycling garbage, garbage, which people used to ignore, has become something that is not easy to find, to the point that some people cut down trees from outside the city to use as garbage.
There's an interesting little anecdote about this process: I don't know who first discovered that dried feces were recognized as recyclable waste that could be burned, and then feces became a scarce commodity.
When ordinary people need to defecate, they find a fixed place, dry the feces, and then send it for recycling.
They even improved the shape of the feces, spreading it into a circle by hand to make it easier to carry.
Some people deliberately eat wild grass from the roadside to strengthen the fiber structure of their feces in order to produce "formed" and less easily broken stools.
In short, there is less and less garbage, to the point that people fight over it.
The second and most significant change is that the newly built Thermal Power Plant on the outskirts of the city has been put into operation, emitting large amounts of white smoke every day. Although people have not yet enjoyed the changes in their lives brought about by the Thermal Power Plant's electricity generation, that day is not far off.
The changes in a city can actually boost the morale of everyone living there. People start to pay more attention to their appearance, and everything becomes more prosperous.
Lin Qi, the man who made these things, things that many people thought were impossible, actually happen, is boarding a cruise ship returning to the Federal.
He's been here for three months now, and it's time to go back. There's still a lot waiting for him back in the Federal government, such as... the preseason finals of the Sabine City Professional Football Club.
The club invested in by Lin Qi has returned to the lowest level of the men's professional Rugby league system, and the preseason games the club is participating in this time are warm-up games before the official games.
The preseason tournament coincides with the opening of the transfer window, which gives teams the opportunity to adjust their situation before the start of the new season and to try out new approaches.
Because there is a two-month offseason followed by the official season, it would be too rushed to identify team problems and adjust or change tactics during this period.
The preseason games won't be very exciting because everyone is making changes, integrating new players, new coaches, and new tactics. Only the Sabine City team is like they're on performance-enhancing drugs.
They were trying to find problems, and they just wanted to win. But no one expected that the Sabine City Club, which had just been promoted from the amateur league to the lowest level, would actually make it to the preseason finals.
As the club's chairman, Kane (the club manager) sent a message to Lin Qi, hoping he could return a few days earlier, as his presence would give the Young Men more motivation.
Lin Qi, who has invested a lot of money in the club, would naturally not refuse this request. Although he seems to be very rich now, building a top championship team is still a very challenging task—meaning that he doesn't have enough money yet.
Moreover, sports are gaining increasing attention within the Federal government. It is said that some fans from Sabine City will even travel with the team to the finals. Sports are becoming a kind of spiritual pillar for people in the city and the surrounding areas.
Besides that, there are many other things, such as the New Year and the meeting with Mr. He Bosi. He has raised almost all the money, and all that's left is to sign the contract and complete the transaction.
This sum of money is too large to be trusted to be traded anywhere else, so it can only be kept in the Federal.
The swaying cruise ship slowly departed from the shore amidst the heavy sound of its horn. Lin Qi breathed a sigh of relief; his work during this period had been very successful, even exceeding expectations.
There was originally no direct shipping route from Nagaril to the Federal, nor was there even a route that ended in Nagaril; Nagaril was merely a supply point in the East Ocean.
However, with a series of actions by the Federal, Shipping Company have launched multiple cruise ships and Cargo Ship that can depart anytime and anywhere, which has greatly shortened the travel time, reducing it from more than a week to about three days.
Sailing on the high seas is boring and tedious, but Lin Qi and the others discovered something interesting along the way: an engineering vessel was laying submarine cables along the continental shelf.
This is a very special technical task, and ordinary countries do not have this capability. Currently, only three countries in the world can do it: one is Gefra, one is the Bayer Federation, and the other is Yis, another neutral country.
Once the cable is sunk to the seabed from the tugboat, it's not simply a matter of leaving it alone. A work vessel needs to go down to mark its position and secure it. In some places, supports also need to be installed. This is why submarine cables need a continental shelf.
Without a continental shelf, cables suspended in the seawater are easily damaged by marine life. However, with a continental shelf as a support, and by implementing protective measures and proper placement, malfunctions will not occur frequently.
The passengers on the cruise ship waved and cheered as the cable tugboat seemed to be slacking off, celebrating this inexplicable little thing.
"How old-fashioned, "Lin Qi thought to himself, but he was in a good mood. The people's cheers were actually a sign of their pride and joy in having a powerful country to rely on.
Lin Qi did not reveal his return trip to anyone else, as he did not want to appear too special.
After the cruise ship arrived in the Federal, he took a train directly to Benlett, where the preseason finals were being held.
In the past two years, the popularity and public attention to sporting events have surpassed people's attention to the fashion industry, which is understandable. With the economic downturn, people are more concerned with how to save money rather than how to spend money on unnecessary things. Therefore, Benlit, a fashion city known as the "Pearl of the South," is losing its influence nationwide.
After a series of consultations, the mayor of Benlet and the United Sports Association must have spent a considerable amount of money to finally decide on Benlet, a place that actually has little to do with sports, as the venue for the preseason finals.
It's said that next year's Federal Super Bowl opening game will also be held here. Benlett's mayor is really going all out, but it's understandable, since the State Election is coming up soon, and anything that can slightly increase the chances of winning is worth doing.
As soon as I stepped out of Benlit's station, Kane came up to me, "Chairman..."
Coach Manson accompanied him. Manson has done a good job over the past year, and most importantly, he is very obedient.
He had previously discussed with Lin Qi the issue of whether to bring in reinforcements, to buy two or three star players to form the core of the team, because only star players can enhance the cohesion of a team, but his idea was rejected by Lin Qi.
A team struggling in the lower leagues will have to spend several times more money to buy star players, real star players.
Although Lin Qi doesn't understand sports, he understands business. If you want a top Actor to make a Category III film, besides giving him a salary that exceeds his actual worth, you'll probably have to offer other conditions.
Movies and sports may seem different, but some principles are the same.
So far, the club's tactics are still "fighting Desperate Playstyle," recklessly charging forward, risking their lives to pave a path to the future for these Young Men's professional ethics.
Look, they've made it to the finals, haven't they?
Lin Qi shook hands with the two people, then boarded the bus. Surprisingly, there was a young woman on the bus as well.
"Chairman Lin Qi, hello, I'm the new Captain of the women's team..." A blonde girl with a broad mind, a perfect figure, and quite pretty, but a bit... cheap.
Just like the previous Captain of the women's team, she hooked her little finger around Lin Qi Lin Qi's palm when she shook hands with him, trying to take a shortcut. However, Lin Qi did not give her any feedback, which disappointed her.
After everyone was seated, the bus slowly started moving. Only then did Lin Qi ask, "How has the club's income and expenditure been lately?"
The economy determines the development of a company and the future of a club. A balance between income and expenditure may seem like a given to many people, but in the sports field, very few companies can actually achieve this balance.
The bigger the club and the better its performance, the more additional funds it needs. Therefore, Lin Qi's first question was about the club's operating situation, which is very important for its future development.
Kane responded quickly, "The club's finances are fantastic. I can't find any other words to describe the current situation. In short, we have no trouble, and it has made you a lot of money, Chairman!"
"How much?" Lin Qi asked casually, a little curious.
Kane said with a pride that few could imagine, "370,000 a year. If we can win the preseason championship, that number could potentially exceed 400,000 before the start of next season!"