Chapter 1363
Chapter 1363 - 1349: Blooming on Multiple Fronts
1,752 words
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9 min read
"Captain, this time, you really can’t slack off, you have to make a personal appearance..."
Originally, Lu Ping’an was living his simple life, enjoying the latest ranting jokes coming from the Red Star Republic, when trouble came knocking at his door.
"Accountant Wang, don’t panic, take it slow if something’s up."
Having been cornered by the new head of the financial department, Lu Ping’an’s plans to shirk work came to an end.
"Head of Group Lu, have you forgotten that our Rebirth Business Group is... a business group!"
"We’re a Chamber of Commerce... er, of course, we’re absolutely not any political or military assembly, nor are we some invisible military warlords."
Reminded and slightly embarrassed, Lu Ping’an quickly realized why this "junior" had approached him.
Initially, the group captain’s secretary was Catherine, a representative of the Saphire people and, in effect, the chief of the team’s finances.
But over the "decade," Catherine chose to set out on her Knight’s journey alone, and naturally, someone on the ship took her place... this Wang Qisi with a Second-tier Scholar profession had in practice been managing the group’s accounts for years.
Such personnel changes were actually quite numerous; professionals always pursued their own development. The core members around Lu Ping’an from back in the day, given the chance to strive for the legendary Rule-level, naturally gave up some things... Some middle-tier members were the new generation, while others were the "old hands" who realized their limited ability and had no prospects for further Advancement.
Wang Qisi was somewhat in between; theoretically, he belonged to the same cohort as Mei Yuge, "junior" members of Lu Ping’an’s group. But after reaching the third-tier, even with the support of the courtyard, he felt he had little chance to rise further.
Such characters were plenty within the team; not everyone could make progress just by consuming resources... or, to put it in an even more helpless way, many ended up as Professional Warriors on the battlefield, only to discover they didn’t enjoy the bloodstained killing grounds and chose to step back voluntarily.
These "logistics" and "civil servants" had gradually become the backbone of that ship and the business group over the ten years. Once Lu Ping’an took over, they were somewhat uneasy, not knowing if the "old boss" would have any new policies or if a significant staff overhaul was intended.
But after Lu Ping’an reviewed some records and interacted with them, he tacitly approved the personnel arrangements made by Head of Group Guan before him.
In a sense, the environment within the Rebirth Chamber of Commerce was a rare sight, where most of the core and high-level members had little desire for authority... Of course, the reality was they had more appealing pursuits and didn’t need to cling to their power and their little plots of land.
But now, the logistics administrator in charge of the finances had actively sought out the captain, and Lu Ping’an naturally took it seriously.
"...Most business groups make good use of every opportunity for inter-plane travel. Between two worlds, you could get rich even while lying down, let alone with our extensive smuggling courtyards..."
Over ten years, the Rebirth Chamber of Commerce had accumulated a lot of reputation, powerful individuals, and networks, yet it notably lacked wealth... After all, the strategy of the stay-at-home staff was either charity or rescue, merely opening new trade routes was a money pit.
"What are your thoughts?"
Taking the finances list from him, Lu Ping’an glanced over it... uh, didn’t understand it.
He indeed had been a boss, but like many major company bosses and like himself in the old days, he only looked at the summary table at the end, the one among a pile of lists and documents, the few clear pages that detailed all expenses, income, main business growth/decline.
Pulling out overly detailed and specialized finance lists, it’s likely that aside from the finance folks, nobody else would understand.
Seeing Lu Ping’an’s calm demeanor, Accountant Wang nodded in his mind, thinking it’s no wonder he’s a High-Tier Scholar, even understanding this specialized knowledge—clearing up these tables wasn’t a quick task for anyone.
"You should see that our funds are still ample (we earned too much before)..."
Lu’s Eastern Country’s coins and credit-coins were still being managed efficiently, and during the ten years on Mercury 42, having money didn’t always mean you could get the goods, often resources themselves were the hard currency.
Even with high expenditure, they were still in the safe zone.
"...Our biggest problem lies in the fact that our Chamber of Commerce’s industries on Mercury 42 are seriously unprofitable..."
That was the crucial point; running trade but not making money was akin to busywork. Now the greatest wealth of the business group was favors and networks, the trade routes established over many years... but during high-risk periods of war, the extra expenditures and risks were too high, turning every journey into an adventure, not something that could be considered a stable growth factor.
"If we had several trade fleets instead of just one ship, maybe things would be different, but we don’t have that..."
Lu understood that these matters were indeed his problem; Accountant Wang was just doing his duty, reminding Lu Ping’an in a timely manner.
"The shipyard isn’t bad, but the technology in the development zone has fallen behind the times. Even if there are still high profits, those belong to the Saphire people, not us...."
His words, Lu Ping’an must take seriously.
It wasn’t just his personal action, but a consideration for the long-term benefits of the entire team... When the matter was laid out before Lu Ping’an, heaven knows how many internal decisions they had already made.
"Indeed, although we have new territories, we lack the industries to build them up...."
On Earth, the most scarce resource might be land, while on Mercury 42, the most inexpensive long-term resource might just be land.
Lu Ping’an already held quite a number of cities and territories in his hands, yet he just let them run wild... As a "Plane Traveler," he lacked the motivation and resources to develop them.
But it was quite simple to develop them, just as Accountant Wang had said before, interdimensional trade is incredibly lucrative, and there’s no reason to lose money as long as you’re prepared.
The problem was, Lu Ping’an hadn’t previously given it enough attention... and opportunities don’t come around very often for those who miss them. Every "freighter" trip through the planes that wasn’t fully loaded was a severe waste of resources.
"Er, you’re not suggesting smuggling, are you?"
Lu Ping’an stroked his chin; indeed, that business was quite lucrative and cost nothing to run.
As long as his own grounds were operating normally, selling a few tickets each time was sure to bring in a hefty profit.
However, with Lu Ping’an’s probing words, it was a trap... If Accountant Wang indeed thought it was a good deal, Lu Ping’an would find someone else to watch over the financials a bit more closely.
"No, that’s too eager for quick success and likely to offend the officials. It’s not worth it."
Clearly, Accountant Wang had considered this issue... The price of smuggling ship tickets is often determined by the identity and urgency of the smuggled passengers.
Lu Ping’an could easily take anyone away from this plane, but those that were really willing to pay an exorbitant price instead of taking the official channels...
"Wanted criminals, smugglers, illegal merchants, and so on, every bit of their blood-stained money would include a share for us. There’s no wall that doesn’t leak. Using the grounds for our team’s benefit, the authorities might turn a blind eye, but if we engage in illegal smuggling, it would directly lead to social instability, which could cause endless trouble."
Accountant Wang was very sober-minded, which made Lu Ping’an nod in agreement, and then, after a moment of thought, he added,
"It might not be long before smuggling won’t be possible anymore..."
Lu Ping’an didn’t explain the reason, just stated the facts he knew, to have his subordinate prepare early.
Previously, he had been able to utilize other Deity’s Ships to ride his own half-plane because his "world" wasn’t complete and also because those Deity’s Ships were far from being full.
Due to the existence of the Explorer Mechanism, a single trip on a Deity’s Ship might have thousands, even tens of thousands of passengers. But even the weakest deity’s Divine Kingdom would not have a soul capacity less than ten thousand.
And as Lu Ping’an progressed, the courtyard was advancing "by leaps and bounds." It was becoming stronger and also getting closer and closer to a real "Divine Boat." Perhaps continuing to perfect it would only be a matter of time before it wouldn’t be able to enter another Divine Boat.
"But it’s still possible for these next few times, right?"
Lu Ping’an pondered for a moment, his own rate of Advancement meant that perhaps it wouldn’t be until the eighth-tier that the courtyard would be fully restored to the level of a Divine Boat... By then, he might not need to pay for a ship ticket at all.
"So, no problems for a year or two?"
"That’s good... We need to take this opportunity to develop more industries. This is Wanjing, a nexus of countless ethnic groups and technologies. We can buy almost anything from the Eastern Country here."
"For industry, I suggest starting with agricultural machinery. The technology on Earth is advanced in this area, and planets over there are in dire need of tractors, harvesters, and other farming machinery..."
"For the entertainment industry, the movie broadcasting industry, we can use our previous connections to get started. One city at a time, not only can we export culture, but also make money..."
"We also have the possibility to..."
Now that the conversation was underway, Lu Ping’an thoughtfully laid out one possibility after another.
Indeed, leveraging Earth’s advantageous resources to build up his own industries was an opportunity that absolutely should not be missed.
— End of Chapter 1363 —