Chapter 330: The Pioneer Plan
Qin Mang softly coughed. “To make the accounting easier, in the Alliance, a trillion star coins is considered one ‘dun’.”
“A dun?”
“Correct. The Alliance has over a trillion people, so the total capital of it is astronomical. I’ll use the Adjudicator Union as an example. The wages and benefits paid to its members each year cost thousands of dun, even as much as ten thousand, so while Quantum Holdings reaching dun levels of revenue makes it a first-rate company, it still can’t compare to the true giants.”
Xia Fei nodded. Regardless, the fact that Quantum Holdings made a profit of one trillion was something to celebrate. This was only the beginning, and as its business with the military increased, Quantum Holdings would undoubtedly have a bright future.
“Charlie, we don’t have any production problems after taking such a large order, right?”
Charlie smiled. “Ever since the corporation became an A-list supplier of the military, we can’t even meet with the number of corporations that want to work with us each day. Whether it’s raw materials or machine tools, they’re all provided to us for free, and we only need to pay once the order is done. This has taken a lot of pressure off our funds.
“The Earth Federation’s Wu Long also helped, working with the top one thousand universities to start up a middle management training program. In those schools, college students can begin learning relevant knowledge to the profession, and every year, they will intern at the factory for three months. Once they graduate, they can immediately be a.s.signed to wherever they’re needed.
“As for workers, we don’t need to worry about that. At present, Earth has a population of seven billion, and men and women of working age surpa.s.s two billion. These people can all serve as an enormous pool of labor that we can use. After all, Quantum Holdings is famous, and the number of people who want to enter it is uncountable.”
Porter followed up. “We’re currently pus.h.i.+ng for automated production within the company, using many machines to replace human labor. After all, a person’s mental energy is limited, and working nonstop for eight hours is essentially the limit, but machines are different. As long as they’re undamaged, they can continue operating, and they’ll never make mistakes.”
“If things go smoothly, within a year, we can increase the production of energy s.h.i.+eld boosters to at least ten thousand a day.”
Xia Fei nodded. If Quantum Holdings could reach a daily production of ten thousand, then it would be able to generate an annual profit of at least 3.65 trillion. Moreover, the energy-s.h.i.+eld boosters were not just restricted to the standard version. There were also the enhanced and the deluxe versions which had higher profit margins! The most conservative estimate was an annual profit of four trillion!
The beautiful future had everyone excited. Xia Fei gave them all a simple explanation of the company’s five year development plan, which was to use the foundation given to them by the compet.i.tive products like the energy-s.h.i.+eld boosters to develop other equipment, such as the coordinated energy distribution devices which was necessary for the energy s.h.i.+eld arrays. The plan was to expand vigorously in all directions.
“The corporation matters end here. I now want to declare an even more long-term plan—an enormous undertaking which may involve several dozens or even several hundred duns,” Xia Fei sternly said. After learning about the unit of ‘dun’ from Qin Mang, Xia Fei had swiftly put it to use.
“A new plan!”
“Several hundred duns!”
Everyone was flabbergasted, and even Qin Mang could not help but be surprised.
“Within the next few years, there’s a high chance that I’ll become the owner of a large territory in the fringe of the Alliance territory. Conservatively speaking, it’ll consist of several dozen star systems, with at least five habitable planets.”
An uproar commenced! Several dozen star systems! Five inhabitable planets!
This region was unimaginably vast. Besides shock, they were also curious just how Xia Fei had managed to claim such a large region.
After pausing a moment, Xia Fei continued. “I will call this plan Pioneer. There are three phases in this Pioneer plan: The first phase is to recruit a large number of migrants willing to venture into the stars beyond Earth and set up new homes in a distant place. The population of Earth is far from enough, though, so I’m considering recruiting migrants who are seeking more living s.p.a.ces from other places. As long as they have specialized skills and are willing to endure some harsh environments, they would be able to obtain vast s.p.a.ce to develop.
“As for the second phase, Pioneer requires two battle-capable fleets to safeguard its execution. These fleets must possess astounding fighting power. My plan calls for at least twenty battles.h.i.+ps to serve as the main force, and they should be a.s.sisted by logistics and scout s.h.i.+ps. At least five hundred thousand people will be needed to operate these s.h.i.+ps.
“In the third phase, while Quantum Holdings will keep Earth as its main production base, the company’s operations will be moved to the capital ring. After all, the most elite corporations and organizations are all gathered around the capital ring. If we truly wish to become a mega corporation that can guide the development of the Alliance, we must develop closer connections with the other top corporations. With regard to the work on Earth, they’ll be directed from the headquarters.
“Does anyone have any objections?” Xia Fei asked.
All were silent. None of them had been mentally prepared for this plan of unprecedented scale. An immense colonization plan, top-cla.s.s fleets, hundreds of trillions in capital; all of this had shaken their nerves, and not even Qin Mang imagined that Xia Fei would have such an ambitious plan.
“Though this plan has many areas that have yet to be touched upon, we have to start moving ahead of time and begin planning for the future,” Xia Fei added.
Wu Long dumbly nodded. “I agree.”
Charlie followed in showing his support for the Pioneer plan. All this time, Xia Fei had been their undisputed leader, and reality had proven that Xia Fei was a good fit for this role. Though he was younger than most of them, just as he said, age was only proof of how long someone had lived, nothing more.
“Since everyone agreed to this, I’ll give everyone their a.s.signment. Big Brother Wu Long, you’re currently the President of the Earth Federation, so you’ll have to push along the colonization plan. For now, keep this matter under wraps, but the Ministry of Civil Affairs should immediately begin carrying out surveys and drafting a list of potential migrants. We should choose suitable candidates, and once the plan is executed, we can quickly start the work of persuading them. Remember: This matter needs to be kept secret.”
Wu Long hurriedly nodded. “Relax. I’ll take care of the matter myself.”
“Charlie, once the plan starts, we may have to mobilize a large amount of capital in a very short time. I need you to get in touch with the big banks and expand Quantum Holdings’ credit lines. If we need the money, I need them to transfer it into the company’s accounts as quickly as possible.
“However, the Alliance’s number one financial corporation, Planet Financial, must be excluded. I don’t want to develop any connections with Planet Financial or any of their subsidiaries.
“Uncle Porter, Sarah, Boateng, I will place the important responsibility of the fleets’ formation on your shoulders…”
…
With a casual and understated tone, Xia Fei laid out his shocking new plan. Each person was given their a.s.signment. This was simply the preparation stage. Once Pioneer entered the execution stage, the work would only grow more intense.
All of them were nervous and excited. This was the first time Quantum Holdings had ever engaged in a plan of this scale. Not even the explosive expansion of production could compare. None of them was sure if this plan could actually be realized, but when they saw how a.s.sured and confident Xia Fei was, all of them felt slightly less nervous. They had developed a habit of depending on Xia Fei. The saying went that when the heavens fell, someone tall would hold them up, but for Quantum Holdings, this person had always been Xia Fei.
As they excitedly chattered, Xia Fei quietly took Porter to the side and whispered, “Is Windchime doing well?”
Porter awkwardly nodded. He did not know what methods Xia Fei had employed, but there was no disputing the fact that his beloved was by his side.
“She’s doing well, but she’s somewhat worried that she hasn’t been able to get in touch with the friends she made in the Black Abyss.”
Xia Fei nodded. Yawei had definitely done as they had agreed and quietly removed that so-called rebel army. Windchime now had no other worries on her mind. Moreover, she originally cared about Porter, but various minor matters had kept them from getting together. With time, the woman would undoubtedly willingly become a good wife for Porter.
“Uncle, you have to pamper women. Windchime just came from the Death Tri-region to Earth. She has no friends on this planet, so it’s only natural for her to feel unhappy. It’ll all depend on how you treat her during this period.”
Porter sullenly asked, “There’s one thing I don’t get. Back when I sought her about wanting to be with her, she refused. What did you do to convince her?”
Xia Fei chuckled. “The past isn’t the present. The Death Tr-region has become a chaotic warzone now. Naturally, she has to start planning for the future.”
Porter took this as the truth, unaware that Xia Fei had actually exploited Windchime’s righteous nature to force her into coming. The means were not important to Xia Fei as long as the end was good, even if it earned him a bad name.
What did it matter if the whole world hated him? Xia Fei was no G.o.d, and he had no reason to save all of humanity. Provided that he could protect those people he found worthy, he was content. The rest of them could rot in h.e.l.l for all he cared.
…
Old man Qin Mang quietly stepped into the courtyard for a walk, and Xia Fei asked for leave from the others to follow.
“This is a big undertaking,” Qin Mang said, smiling as he walked.
Xia Fei replied, “A human’s life is one of constant hustle and bustle. Since the heavens gave me this opportunity to mess around, it would be a great pity to waste it.”
“Smooth-talker,” Qin Mang heckled, “but I’m quite optimistic about this fearless endeavor of yours. I actually heard from Yawei that you wanted to purchase a big piece of territory in Terminus. Initially, I thought that you had seen some business opportunity there and decided to profit from it, but after hearing what you said, I now see that you want to form your own faction. In other words, you’re not willing to follow my plan of becoming a core part of the Adjudicator Union and then finding a chance to join The Brotherhood.”
Xia Fei silently nodded. He would have to lay his cards on the table at some point, and since Qin Mang had already seen through everything, Xia Fei might as well confess.
Xia Fei was never someone who liked paying attention to the look on other people’s faces, and in this world, there was only one path that allowed him this luxury: Make other people pay attention to the look on his face! Though Xia Fei was still far from reaching that level, there was no harm in making this his goal.
“I heard that Yuchi Dao gave you an admission ticket to The Brotherhood New Year Trade Carnival this year?” Qin Mang paused before asking.