Chapter 50: Credit (Part 2)

Statistics on the first issuance and redemption of work-point coupons were quickly compiled. A total of 815.3 coupons were issued, with 334 redeemed, for a same-day redemption rate of 40%. It was understandable that people receiving them for the first time were eager to exchange them for tangible goods. In the following days, the remaining coupons began to be redeemed, but at a much slower rate than anticipated. This came as a great relief to Wu Nanhai, who had used about 60 kg more rice and grains than usual on the first day.

Nevertheless, the credit of the work-point coupons was essentially established. Although some people remained skeptical, the paper slips could indeed be used to buy extra food from the food cart every day. Next, Wu Nanhai began selling locally produced rice wine—five points for a 250g bottle. To prevent drunkenness from interfering with work, it was supplied once a week, with a limit of one bottle per person. However, sales were not ideal, which puzzled him. This batch of rice wine had been a gift from Zhang Youfu when he was handling the prisoners’ affairs. He had even specifically asked the prisoners, who all confirmed it was a relatively high-quality rice wine in the county.

If it was high-quality, why were the sales so low? After dealing with the production team for so many days, he could now communicate with the local laborers in a mix of Lingao dialect and Mandarin. The answer from most was: “Too expensive, can’t afford it.”

When Wu De heard the laborers’ reaction, he laughed. “This is a good thing.”

“What’s so good about it?” Wu Nanhai had been hoping to use the rice wine to withdraw some work-point coupons and reduce grain consumption.

“It shows they recognize the value of the work-point coupons!” Wu De said. “They see it as money now, which is why they think this way. If this were the Gold Yuan coupon of 1949, would anyone care about the price? They’d just be happy to buy something.”

Wu Nanhai had a sudden realization and couldn’t help but laugh. He hadn’t considered that at all.

“You didn’t put yourself in their shoes, and many others here haven’t either. They think these people should naturally trust the value of the work-point coupons.” A wry smile appeared on Wu De’s lips. “It’s all about what you think they should do, what I think they should do. Right? We’ve all forgotten that these are living people, each with their own little calculations. Why should they trust you so easily?”

“That’s true.”

“So, we have to be careful,” Wu De said. “Credit isn’t built in a day or two.” Just as he was speaking, Lin Xing’s voice was heard reporting from outside.

“Come in.”

The new production team leader was wearing a brand-new coarse cloth uniform, styled after the training clothes of the transmigrators. Though the craftsmanship was a bit poor, it looked reasonably well-fitted.

“What is it?”

“Sir, sir…” Lin Xing’s Mandarin was already quite good, though with a slight Guangxi accent he’d picked up from Xiong Buyou. “I have a favor to ask of you, my lord.”

“Speak.”

Lin Xing knelt and kowtowed before explaining that many people in the production team were tenant farmers. They had been away from home for a month, and the autumn harvest was approaching. Many were worried that if they didn’t go back to harvest the grain, their families would lack the manpower, be unable to bring in the crops, fail to pay the rent, and risk being evicted by their landlords, which would mean starvation for their entire families.

“Everyone has chosen me to come and beg for your mercy, my lord, to let everyone go back, finish this season’s farm work, and then return,” Lin Xing said, kowtowing again.

Going home? This wasn’t unexpected for Wu De. Single men were a minority; most people in the production team had no land but had families they couldn’t abandon. Their request was perfectly reasonable.

However, if he let them go, would they come back? Wu De wasn’t entirely sure. Based on his understanding of the laborers’ morale, most felt that working here was similar to working for a landlord. After the implementation of the work-point coupon system, their enthusiasm for labor had increased. But how many were willing to work for them on a long-term, permanent basis?

He hesitated for a moment and asked Lin Xing to leave first.

“This might be difficult to handle,” Wu Nanhai also felt it was a tricky situation. “Should we ask the Executive Committee?”

That evening, the Executive Committee held a special enlarged meeting to discuss whether to let the laborers go home for the busy farming season. Many professional groups were opposed, especially the various groups under the Industrial Committee, which were currently in the midst of a construction and installation boom. Losing this labor force would significantly slow down their progress. The new cement kiln being built at the brickyard was also short on labor, and letting go of a hundred experienced workers at once would create a gap that was hard to fill.

Wu De was also ambivalent. Letting them go would obviously be detrimental to current production and construction. Not letting them go, however, would mean losing the goodwill he had worked so hard to build, as Lin Xing’s plea indicated a strong sentiment within the production team.

He couldn’t make a decision, so he explained all his thoughts and concerns. Finally, he stated his preference: it was best to let them go back once. Even if they lost many people, their benevolence and credibility would be recognized by the locals.

“Benevolence and credibility?” Someone sneered. “We, a group of spacetime invaders, are talking about this?” The speaker was Comrade Xiao Bailang from the mechanics team, a fair-faced, delicate-looking man with a somewhat androgynous air. His face was flushed, and he spoke aggressively.

“What kind of talk is that? Should we be despicable and shameless instead?”

“Save it,” the other person retorted immediately. “Why are we here? Don’t tell me you’re all here for the cause of communism or to bring democracy and freedom to the Chinese people. Let’s be honest, isn’t everyone here to get rich and play with lolis?” He glanced at the attendees. “I’m sick of this nonsensical talk of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust. Just conquer Lingao, capture the people in the county to work, and if that’s not enough, take over the villages one by one. We’ll soon be mass-producing explosives. Why are we cowering here talking about credit with a bunch of natives? It’s ridiculous.”

“You can’t accomplish things through slavery…”

“What’s wrong with slavery? Didn’t the Manchu Qing dynasty rule China for three hundred years by cruelly enslaving the Han people? If the Tungusic savages, who smeared themselves with lard and wore pigskins, could do it, can’t we modern people from the 21st century do it too?”

“I strongly oppose this!” Cheng Dong stood up and objected fiercely. “Although sometimes the ends can justify the means, there should still be a basic moral bottom line. Doing this will lose the hearts of the people!”

“The hearts of the people?” Xiao Bailang scoffed. “Unfortunately, according to the laws of historical development, popular support is not necessarily a match for military force. If popular support has ever defeated military force, it’s because the force wasn’t strong enough! In ancient times, common people could rebel. Do you see common people rebelling in the modern world? At most, they have mass ‘strolls’ or ‘mass incidents’. Our technology and industrial capacity compared to the people of this era is like the Zentradi versus Earth. Do the Zentradi need to care about the hearts of the Earthlings?”

This highly inflammatory speech resonated with many. Seeing people start to whisper among themselves, Xiao Bailang became even more agitated. “I propose that not only should we not let them go, but we should also immediately begin ‘Operation Hunt’!” He waved his arm forcefully. “Large-scale roundups of laborers, organize them into groups for forced labor. Set quotas, no food for those who don’t finish, and behead anyone who dares to resist…” He spoke with increasing fervor, spittle flying.

“I object!” Wu De heard his words becoming more and more extreme, afraid that if he continued, the results of his hard work over the past two months would be destroyed. “We need the loyalty of the local natives. Without their support, are we going to rule with just our five hundred people?”

“What’s there to be afraid of?” Xiao Bailang said dismissively. “There are as many collaborators as you want. The Green Standard Army, the Peace Army, the Collaborationist Chinese Army… give them a bite to eat, and you can recruit as many people as you want to fight for you…”

Cheng Dong, the pacifist, could bear it no longer. “So you’re saying we should all aspire to the moral level of Tungusic savages or Japanese devils?”

“What do you think we are?” Xiao Bailang snorted. “What right do we have to be here? On what grounds do we occupy this land? Is Lingao the ‘inalienable territory’ of the transmigrators since ancient times? We are spacetime invaders, so please stop trying to whitewash ourselves!”

The meeting was about to spiral out of control. So far, no one had openly supported Xiao Bailang, but his words were clearly very provocative. Wen Desi sensed the danger. This naked,利益-first expression, completely disregarding common moral principles, had a strong appeal to the masses. Deep down, he wasn’t actually opposed to Xiao Bailang’s speech; in essence, he was right, but some things couldn’t be said so bluntly—it was very dangerous.

As he was thinking about how to stop the situation from escalating, Zhan Wuya stood up and called out, “Little Xiao, stop it! A person has to have some bottom line. You can’t just do whatever is most beneficial.”

“Bottom line? Why is everyone here? For poverty alleviation?…”

“Bullshit!” Zhan Wuya flew into a rage. “If I hadn’t rushed over to cut the power the other day, you’d only have one hand left today! According to you, what business is it of mine how many hands you have?!”

Xiao Bailang deflated. Wen Desi secretly felt a sense of relief. If the debate had continued like this, it was hard to say what the outcome would have been. Although he knew Xiao Bailang’s extremist proposal would not pass, the rift left by the debate would be difficult to mend. Fortunately, Zhan Wuya stood up—he knew nothing about this little accident—but he couldn’t worry about that now. Seizing the opportunity, he quickly stood up:

“Everyone, stop arguing. Please focus the discussion on the topic at hand. What can we do to maximize our interests while ensuring a long-term stable living environment?”

This statement set the tone for the rest of the discussion. Several others then expressed their opinions, some agreeing, some disagreeing. Overall, it seemed to be about a fifty-fifty split, with everyone giving their reasons from various perspectives. Finally, the Executive Committee decided to vote. The result was a slight majority in favor of letting the laborers go.

When Wu De walked out of the conference room, he felt a cold sweat on his back. He had hoped to let them go, but he wasn’t sure if the consequences would be as he imagined. After all, there was a 400-year historical gap between him and these 17th-century natives.