Chapter 132: Scum of Humanity
Cheng Yun wanted to get up from the bed, and Cheng Lei quickly stepped forward to help him.
"Mr. Cheng, just lie down," Prairie said.
"No, this is basic courtesy." He got up with his daughter's help. "Let's go, we'll talk in my study."
In the study, Cheng Yun sat behind his desk and rested for ten seconds.
"Cheng Lei has made your intentions very clear to me. As a gesture of cooperation, I can help you obtain this city.
"But before that, I want to know, what will happen to the citizens of Oasis City after you obtain it?"
"They can freely choose their way of life," Ye Xing stepped forward and said.
"The Executive Officer will promulgate new labor laws, and will also invest funds and technology to help you establish new factories and service industries. Citizens can choose to apply for jobs, or they can choose to continue their previous work. However, slave trading and slave ownership must be abolished."
"Hmm—" Cheng Yun pondered deeply, then nodded.
"After your factories are built, they will undoubtedly be of great help to the city, but the original factories, because their production efficiency is far inferior to yours, should either be merged or go bankrupt; so the citizens' choices may not be very free—but it doesn't matter, after all, Apollo never considered these things. What about after that? What is the general development plan for the future?"
"After that, Cangyuan will expand into space, just as it did a thousand years ago, when it first stepped out of Earth's cradle."
Ye Xing took a deep breath, shed all his usual showmanship as a professional streamer, and introduced with a steady tone.
"When will it stop? When will your Executive Officer be satisfied with the scale of corporate expansion?"
"It won't stop."
Ye Xing smiled slightly.
"You misunderstand, old sir, letting enterprises expand and profit is not the goal of the Executive Officer at all; it is merely a means to achieve a goal.
"Cangyuan will not stop, even if every human colony is reclaimed, even if our fleet rediscovers and reclaims Earth, even if all human enemies turn to ash in raging flames, even if humanity once again becomes the dominant species in the universe, with culture, art, and technology surpassing the glorious golden age.
"Even on that day, we will not stop."
What grand words!
Cheng Yun, like his daughter, had a twinkle in his eyes. Although he didn't say anything verbally, he deeply approved in his heart.
"Very good then, please allow me, with respect, to offer my humble contribution!"
"Thank you very much." Prairie walked up to Cheng Yun. "But before we officially begin our cooperation, we also have some questions that we must ask you clearly."
"Of course, please proceed."
"Before the Celestials came here, what was your initial motive for opposing the city lord? Please forgive my directness and bluntness, but Cangyuan must fully understand the values of its future allies."
"This—"
Cheng Lei knew that as a member of the city's vested interests, such a question was actually very difficult for her father to answer, and she wanted to step forward to help him out.
Why did he actively become the biggest troublemaker in the city? Why did he oppose the legitimate and rightful ruler?
How could he convince them that he wasn't trying to replace him?
"It's alright."
Cheng Yun raised his hand, signaling his daughter to just listen.
He raised his head, his expression solemn, and met Prairie's gaze for a long time.
"Do you know why there is such a backward practice as slave trading in this Desert?"
He asked in return.
Prairie and Ye Xing exchanged glances, finding the answer to this question overly obvious.
"Is it because Apollo buys them at high prices?"
Cheng Yun sighed deeply.
"No, Apollo only appeared a year ago, but Oasis City's tradition of slave trading is almost as old as the city itself. Before, nobles generally bought female slaves to serve as maids or servants, in short, people who served daily life and didn't require much professional skill.
"And the productivity level of Oasis City, as you can see, has not degenerated to slavery.
"The work performed by those female slaves could actually be done by hiring people from the city, like my household servants; but even so,
the city lord and the nobles were still keen on slave trading. Do you know why?"
"Because it's cheap?" Ye Xing guessed.
"No, it's not cheap at all." Cheng Yun said in a deep voice, "The price nobles pay for slaves often exceeds the total income of an ordinary worker's entire life."
"Then I don't understand."
Ye Xing honestly admitted.
By the way, wasn't this just something the scriptwriters wrote casually?
"Hmm—"
Cheng Yun nodded heavily.
"It's right that you don't understand, or rather, a normal person shouldn't understand. Not understanding means both of you are kind and good children."
Ye Xing and Prairie were both stunned.
They had been despised, feared, and thanked by NPCs in this game, but this was the first time they had been called "good children."
"Please enlighten us, Mr. Cheng."
Prairie humbly asked for guidance.
"Because slave trading, for the Cole family who have ruled Oasis City for three centuries, is merely a means to an end."
Cheng Yun explained with suppressed anger.
"Whenever the city needs slaves, the Cole family will verbally issue temporary plunder permits to the Raiders. The authorized bandits will then take action, attacking almost all villages and towns along the way over the next few weeks to several months, stealing their food, water, fuel, and young girls.
"What are the subsequent effects of such attacks? Where do those young men go who cannot marry and start families because a large number of their female peers have been taken, or who cannot even survive due to a lack of food and provisions?
"The answer is obvious.
"Most of them are forced to leave their homes and flock to the Oasis City labor market, begging for a job at extremely low wages, just to survive.
"When they arrive in the city, the nobles and factory owners can then, without any worries, enact new laws, severely suppress wages across the city, or increase taxes. The old workers, who had been demanding raises and accumulating much discontent, will also immediately become quiet and obedient, because they now have to worry about unemployment.
"As for the new workers flooding into the city, they naturally have no right to choose their working environment or tasks, and their pay is only a meager amount.
"I have seen countless young men work 14 hours a day, tirelessly for 10, 20 years, or even longer, just to redeem the freedom of their beloved from their youth, until their backs can no longer straighten, their hair turns gray, and they are left with a body full of injuries and illnesses! Or they die in the factory due to work-related injuries.
"There are also some people who completely lose hope in life after their village is plundered. They won't come to Oasis City, but will instead actively become new Raiders. Haha—the violence in the Great Desert cycles and thrives under such a mechanism! Cole doesn't need to worry about it at all!"
Cheng Yun gave a bitter laugh.
The word "thriving," used in this harsh Desert environment, struck him as utterly ironic.
"So do you understand now? The city lord and the noble elite promote slave trading not because it generates high profits.
"He clearly knows there are more and better options, he clearly knows this method of maintaining rule harms almost everyone! The reason he makes this choice is simply because it's easy, effortless, and effective—
"This allows the nobles to have an endless supply of cheap workers, and can indirectly control the population of the Desert through killing and restricting marriage, ensuring that the food that only Oasis City can produce will never be in short supply!
"Cole never needs to think about how to develop or how to make citizens live better lives! As long as he doesn't try hard, no one will ever think he's incompetent! He can even make a fortune from his arms deals with the Raiders! Damn it!"
Thud!
As he spoke with rising emotion, Cheng Yun suddenly stood up and, with strength utterly unlike a late-stage cancer patient, slammed his fist heavily on the table.
"Cole is the cancer of this Desert! I just can't stand him! He must die!!!"
He roared, his body swaying to the side from the weakness after overexertion.