Chapter 191: Playing Dirty, Are We?
After Yi Mo Qun Qing posted her thread, the response was incredibly enthusiastic.
Most of the participants in the discussion were 'cloud players,' and there were also some who were already Yi Mo Qun Qing's fans, who came specifically for her and registered new accounts.
This thread was essentially a Q&A session, testing logical thinking and knowledge reserves.
This immediately ignited everyone's competitive spirit. Cloud players, in order to leave a deep impression on the internal test selection personnel, eagerly offered their insights, while Yi Mo Qun Qing's fans were desperate to prove that they hadn't watched her videos in vain.
“I think it should be fair, right?”
A fan typed.
“Hmm, the pricing standard is based on real labor value, which is acceptable.”
Another person said.
“Although I don't like that greasy administrator, his words still make sense. The Star Alliance is willing to set the exchange rate based on work remuneration rather than strength, which makes me feel that there is still hope for the surviving humans.”
“Yes, it feels like the spark of freedom and equality has been preserved. Congratulations!”
Initially, most people agreed with the administrator's suggestion, especially his statement about "equality."
They believed that Cangyuan had gotten a bargain this time, and that the developers were secretly helping them cheat to reduce the difficulty of the internal test.
Lu Yuan, who was working in Emerald Outpost, watched the discussion on the screen with an unfathomable smile.
As expected, compared to politics, history, military equipment, and various high-tech fields, players familiar with economics were rarer.
This was understandable, as few games were designed around economics, especially commercial activities.
The economics that people usually encountered were mostly various investment and financial management, including stocks, and they generally lacked an understanding of the overall operating rules of the national economy.
Moreover, compared to science and engineering disciplines, economists also had a "unique hobby."
That was, they liked to artificially create a large number of obscure professional terms and acronyms, complicating simple matters and artificially raising the cognitive threshold.
This further increased the difficulty of understanding and learning.
It's not that we aren't diligent; it's that some people don't want us to learn.
Even Lu Yuan himself wouldn't dare to say that he had crossed the "introductory" stage, which was why he invited Yi Mo Qun Qing, a financial broadcaster who wasn't quick to react and hadn't played many games, to join the internal test team.
【Dishang You Keng】: “But the question is, are the real labor values on both sides really equal?
He followed up to guide the discussion.
“Of course! This brother, if we work the same hour, are we inherently inferior to others?”
Although the cloud players hadn't yet obtained internal test qualifications, they had fully integrated their identities into Cangyuan employees and even Li Star natives.
Of course, it was also inevitable to project their real-world perspectives.
Why is it that for the same job of screwing in a screw, in some countries, you can buy a mobile phone by working for a week, while in others, you have to work for a month, or even a year?
I refuse to accept this!
But some people disagreed.
“No, can we not elevate this to the level of personal dignity and just discuss the matter at hand?”
“What kind of talk is that? Everything must have a bottom line and principles. Dignity, once you abandon it yourself, you can never get it back!”
“Dignity can't be eaten as food, and principles can also be flexible!”
“Coward!”
“Reckless fool!”
【Yi Mo Qun Qing】: “Hey, hey, hey~ Let's not argue~”
Finally, the main character appeared.
“Sister Qing, you should also say a few words.”
【Yi Mo Qun Qing】: “Hmm. The initial exchange rate they are currently offering is 1:1. First, I want to clarify that this is just a number and has no meaning in isolation. It doesn't necessarily mean fairness.”
【Yi Mo Qun Qing】: “The key is to look at production efficiency! Let's imagine a scenario: suppose workers in Cangyuan and the Star Alliance both work 8 hours a day, and their daily wage is 120 cangyuan coins. However, due to higher production efficiency, each Star Alliance worker can produce 10 screws a day, while Cangyuan workers can only produce 1. What will happen next?”
【Nu He Guoli Cheng】: “As long as both sides establish trade, Star Alliance screws will appear in our market at extremely low prices. If we purchase a large quantity, our local screw manufacturing industry will struggle to survive. But if we insist on not purchasing, it will be detrimental to quickly improving our strength, which goes against the original intention of establishing trade.”
【Yi Mo Qun Qing】: “Ah Cheng is absolutely right! The other party will fully control Cangyuan's economy through low-price dumping, earning a large amount of cangyuan coins. Then, the Star Alliance will use these cangyuan coins for investment. Simply put, they will build factories and acquire assets on our land, ultimately gaining huge influence over Cangyuan in strategic decision-making.”
【Victory Male God】: “What does that mean?”
【Shenceng Jubian】: “It means that in the future, if you want to go to war with anyone, you'll have to consider the Star Alliance's opinion. Otherwise, if they cut off the supply of a certain strategic resource, your real strength will be greatly reduced.”
【Victory Male God】: “That’s too disgusting, isn’t it?”
【Shenceng Jubian】: “It is disgusting.”
【Yi Mo Qun Qing】: “The truly disgusting part is yet to come.”
【Victory Male God】: “Huh?”
【Yi Mo Qun Qing】: “Our goods, affected by an excessively high exchange rate, will lose their market in the Star Alliance due to high pricing. This will lead to a huge trade deficit, ultimately forcing the cangyuan coin to depreciate rapidly.”
【Yi Mo Qun Qing】: “In other words, after the Star Alliance dumps high-end goods here for a few months and gradually takes control of high-precision manufacturing, once the exchange rate drops, they can settle at ultra-low prices, frantically acquire goods, further consolidate the supply chain, and enhance their own strength. Back and forth, they profit twice.”
【Victory Male God】: “Holy crap! These guys planned this from the beginning, didn't they?”
【Yi Mo Qun Qing】: “I think so. Referencing the official exchange rate of the US dollar to the RMB in 1980, which once dropped to 1.5, then doubled 5 years later, rising to 4.8 in 1990, and 8.35 in 1995, you can ponder this carefully.”
Those who were arguing earlier were now silent.
Who would have thought that the initial pursuit of equality would lead to such an unfair outcome.
Without the accumulation of technology and industry, without advanced productivity, your labor is simply less valuable than others, thankless work.
Pretty words are just for listening; anyone who believes them is a fool.
The truth is cruel; to truly implement "all men are created equal," one must first possess the corresponding strength.
【Caoyuan a Caoyuan】: “This is ridiculous! We can't fall for the same trick twice! Is there any countermeasure?”
【Jin Yi Ye Xing】: “Then let's set a lower initial exchange rate.”
【Yi Mo Qun Qing】: “But a low exchange rate also has problems. If we want to import weapons, equipment, or high-end goods like zero element from the Star Alliance, our purchasing power will be insufficient.”
【Old Man Emitting Black Smoke】: “Then let's play dirty! Artificially manipulate market prices, or unilaterally impose an embargo, don't sell anything to the Star Alliance, and don't allow them to invest!”
【Yi Mo Qun Qing】: “If you use these tactics, others will quickly stop playing with you, and it will damage national credit. As an emerging power, if you want to use these tricks, you might as well not even consider trade in the first place and just stick to self-sufficiency. Besides, unless you create a military myth, with bases all over the universe and invincible fleets flaunting their power everywhere, capable of militarily crushing all other forces, these methods simply won't work.”
【Dishang You Keng】: “I think the key is to first determine where the Star Alliance is truly competitive. Their production costs for everything aren't necessarily lower than Cangyuan's, right?”
【Yi Mo Qun Qing】: “You got it right, this is the key of keys! We are currently surveying the market here, and we expect to have results in a few days.”
【Nu He Guoli Cheng】: “There’s also another way: unleash overwhelming force!”
【Caoyuan a Caoyuan】: “Overwhelming force—I don't quite understand. Are you talking about doing business or fighting?”
Many times, everyone almost forgot that Guo Li Cheng came from a finance background.
Her style in the game really didn't match her real-life identity as a white-collar worker!
【Yi Mo Qun Qing】: “Haha~ Ah Cheng means that as long as our economic development speed is fast enough, none of these are problems! Development is the absolute principle. In the face of absolute power, all conspiracies are for naught.”
【Bei Hai Xian Yu】: “Let me add a couple of points. Cangyuan currently needs to deal with the Punitive Fleet, and we also need to clear the dungeon on Emerald Star as quickly as possible. Weapons and ammunition are urgently needed imports, so a higher initial exchange rate might not necessarily be a bad thing.”
By the end of the discussion, everyone had reached a consensus.
High currency value, then high currency value, who's afraid of whom!
As long as they diligently develop technology and industry, the conspiracies of those behind-the-scenes capital magnates in the Star Alliance can be completely broken, and even transformed into their own advantages.
If the other party wants to use a high initial exchange rate for dumping, then go along with them and quickly buy more military supplies.
When they want to devalue the cangyuan coin and turn it into Waste paper—sorry, it won't be that easy!
Military victories, expansion of spheres of influence, and economic take-off will all raise investors' evaluations of Cangyuan's future prospects.
This will prompt them to buy large quantities of cangyuan coins, causing the exchange rate to rise, thereby offsetting the adverse effects of the trade deficit and ultimately stabilizing the exchange rate.
At that time, while enjoying the extravagant shopping spree brought by the high currency value, and selling high-tech, high-value-added goods that are less affected by the exchange rate—that's the real thrill!