Chapter 798
Chapter 798 - 784: The Mudslide of an Era
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9 min read
The new era has arrived, and it’s been almost half a year now.
Every time he returns to the Ancient city, even Lu Ping’an would exclaim at how fast everything has changed...
"This is no longer the 1998 I remember...."
The influx of many foreign visitors has brought new technology, new ideas, and even new toys. Lu Ping’an’s experience is not an exception. The traffic police team he just left is already filled with strange things.
"The world is changing too fast, and the local laws and concepts haven’t kept up..."
Along the way, Lu Ping’an has seen the local shopkeepers shake their heads at the job-seeking "aliens" more than once, not to mention the countless related disputes they have to deal with.
Some want to take out debt to buy goods (food), while others want to find a job first. However, most of them can’t even speak the local language, let alone possess the local qualifications and skills licenses.
"Hello", "give me a job", "lend me some money" - these extremely simple Eastern Country "words" are the most frequently spoken by them, and also the most likely to cause disputes.
Frankly speaking, in the beginning, the local merchants and factories were very welcoming of these laborers, especially since they didn’t require social security or medical insurance, and their basic wages were directly halved.
However, soon, they started causing various problems and disputes... There were too many issues, but generally speaking, they had low working abilities and many issues.
This is actually not their fault. The local educational system in their country has produced "talents" that naturally fit the needs of the local society and companies, while the "labor force" from other countries has not even passed the language barrier, let alone the basic knowledge required by local enterprises and commercial units.
Manual labor? When there is a surplus of labor force, it is actually the easiest job position to overflow and cause many disputes due to intense competition.
Jobs that anyone can do have led these "outsiders" to fight each other, even forming gangs... This is similar to the Dock gang, Cao Yun Gang, etc. Their very existence means the emergence of more trouble.
When they truly form groups, in addition to collectively demanding higher pay and better treatment from the "local bosses", they often inadvertently become real thugs and gangs, getting involved in illegal transactions and crimes...
"Hey, how’s it going? Has everything been all right lately?"
When Lu Ping’an returns to the police station, familiar faces greet him with "you still remember to come" looks... The others have already rejoined the team, while he has been "going wild" all this time.
"Not good at all. The criminal crime rate has increased by 362%, and various disputes have increased at least tenfold. We work overtime every day... Welcome to the overtime hell."
Hearing this, Lu Ping’an couldn’t help but taste bitterness. He had estimated that the situation was bad, but he hadn’t expected it to be this terrible.
At present, the Ancient city is facing the awkward situation of an overflow of manual labor force and a shortage of high-value labor force. What’s worse is that if it can’t be resolved within a short period, those capable young people... no, intelligent creatures with hands and feet, will "fight for survival". At that time, the situation will deteriorate uncontrollably.
Moreover, the quality of the first batch of "immigrants" is not bad. Those who managed to get a boat ticket or "quota" are the result of selection. The only problem is that society cannot provide them with positions that suit their abilities... This is similar to the dilemma where numerous graduates with doctoral degrees are competing for jobs as plate carriers.
They are still observing and restraining themselves now, but if they once step out... they won’t be able to stop.
When talented people go astray, they can cause greater social destruction, and beasts that have tasted blood are unlikely to return to the cage obediently.
The Ancient city officials’ "illegal operation of demographic dividend" has already ushered in a wave of crisis.
"No wonder Wang Xier has been desperately building factories and recruiting people recently..."
After some contemplation, Lu Ping’an vaguely understood their difficulties.
In fact, their factories are still under construction, and the technology is still being localized... Even with the full effort of top experts, it will take time to completely localize a complex and mature Exotic Realm creation, as they have to overcome the challenges of materials, technology and theories, and mass industrial production.
Now, it seems that they are stuck on the last step of mass production technology. It is said that they would be done in a month at the earliest... They have been recruiting people since their arrival, and have been supporting them until now.
They are probably racing against time, trying to seize the market with "Exotic Realm cars" as soon as the new traffic law is implemented. That way, they can pay back their loans.
"Eh, so should I go to the Development Zone to report to my ’superiors’... Forget it. It seems I’m more needed here."
Walking along, Lu Ping’an discovered the delicate situation in his "hometown."
In the end, it was actually the city leaders’ "Leap Forward" and "cross-line" policies that led to the increasing problems. They played a set of rhetoric and broke through the original limit of "no more than 50,000 single-ethnicity settlers in a city," promoting a "one plus one model" that brought the paper data to 80,000.
𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
Why only on paper? Lu Ping’an learned from Wang Xier that the real figure was actually 120,000.
These were just Saphire people, the best quality batch of immigrants... but no matter how good the quality, they still need to eat.
Unable to exchange their original resources for local wealth, numerous internal struggles ensued, and in one day, Lu Ping’an had already eliminated two Saphire gangs.
They needed time to adapt to the local environment and basic conditions to unleash their talents. However, the overly inward reality and local officials’ "Leap Forward" deprived them of the opportunity for initial stable growth.
Lu Ping’an didn’t want to go to the "Development Zone," partly because it was like a massive refugee camp, with over 70,000 people squeezed into the small area. In the face of the over-expanded population, the original "agreement" became a joke.
Simply supplying the daily necessities for these people was already a headache for the ancient city, which was a "million populous" metropolis. Moreover, as the directly responsible party (scapegoats), it was the group of people in the development zone. Upon gaining independence, the ancient city officials also lacked the motivation and responsibility for direct jurisdiction.
Obviously, some people couldn’t sit idle and had to make a living on their own. Moreover, being an "automotive worker" wasn’t necessarily a good job, especially when many people had high social status in their original countries.
Now, before the "Automobile Factory" gets up and running, the Development Zone is spending money to support people and naturally can’t provide much remuneration and treatment.
Perhaps after the automobile factory is in production, things will improve a bit...
"Tsk, a bunch of gamblers, haven’t they ever considered the consequences of losing?"
The defeat of "Auto City" left a deep impression on Lu Ping’an as a terrifying disaster.
The automotive industry and its upstream and downstream can create a large number of jobs, but once it collapses, countless "industrial workers and their families" would lose everything overnight.
Too many people in the city rely on the automotive and affiliated industries for their livelihood, and once they fail, the entire city would collapse apart from the population.
Those who lost their "income" and "life" as laborers would seek their own paths, and the city would gradually turn into a "City of Sin."
Moreover, the situation in the ancient city was even more exaggerated as it hadn’t built up its automotive industry yet but had already attracted an excessive number of "industrial workers."
Now the entire city is gambling, betting on the success of this project, and if it fails, those floating populations "restricted" in the Development Zone would flood the entire city in search of livelihoods.
Under normal circumstances, entrepreneurship and development might succeed slowly, and their talents and resources could even be nutrients for the city’s growth.
But currently, diving into it all at once would only turn them into the "meat" of the "meat grinder."
"I hope they can succeed, and I hope the cars sell well..." Lu Ping’an felt goosebumps at the thought, knowing he would have no solution should it reach that point.
He sincerely hoped that the authorities and Saphire people would win their gamble, that their "cars" would sell well, and that the current chaotic period would pass quickly.
The number of outsiders flooding in had grown too fast and had already caused severe social chaos, and this was just a major part of the problem. There were also many "dislocated people" from other worlds, who had fewer constraints as they were not in their homeland.
Lu Ping’an had dealt with a fair amount of Saphire people, but there were even more that he couldn’t recognize.
"...Everyone, don’t hold back. Some of them are indeed pitiful, but our responsibility is to protect this city and its citizens with identification..."
The leaders of the police station and the Special Service Team made it clear in the official communication.
As "police," some actions were necessary.
This was also the reason why Lu Ping’an had to work overtime.
— End of Chapter 798 —