Afterward, Hu Ze's Avatar requested a copy of the engineering plan drafted by the Ministry of Works and transmitted it to Li Chen. Li Chen ran the calculations again with his Spirit-Particle-Converted Brain and concluded that it would cost at least eighty-five quadrillion Talisman Coins.
Unlike construction projects in the mortal world, the bulk of the expenditure here lay in raw materials and the technical costs of processing and construction.
Project management, procurement, and transporting those raw materials came next. Expenses such as the laborers' food, drink, sanitation, and management had been squeezed down to almost nothing.
Design fees and hiring compensation for renowned artisans were likewise pitifully low. In Great Qian's territory, these skilled craftsmen had no human rights to speak of; being allowed to work was already considered an immense favor. Array Dao Grandmasters capable of designing and building a Sky City, and Artifact Dao Grandmasters who refined all manner of Magical Treasures, received only the treatment of ordinary mid-level officials, equivalent to assistant directors serving under the Ministry of Works' officials.
Below the minister and vice ministers, the Ministry of Works' official appointments extended down to assistant director. What rank was an assistant director? Merely around Subordinate Fifth Rank.
As for the disciples of those Array Dao Grandmasters and Artifact Dao Grandmasters who had yet to achieve success and fame, they were practically no different from stewards or clerks, with no official rank at all!
"This is what it truly means to squander Heaven's gifts!"
"Figures of this caliber have exceptional accomplishments in construction. Converting their standing into that of Grand Artisans or higher would be more than justified. Some could even be invested as Grandmaster Artisans, because the best among them can oversee the design and construction of a Sky City!"
Li Chen had once overseen