Gene from the 13th Department of Bright City

"May I ask how much your monthly income is?"

A female reporter smiled, and the camera focused on a family of four living in a shack. The father had an honest face and rubbed his calloused hands cautiously in front of the camera. The dirt had soaked into the skin. In the middle, he smiled shyly, wearing an old taupe coat, a pair of baggy trousers, and a yellowish white waistcoat underneath.

The wife, who was accompanied by her 12-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter, looked well-dressed, but it was difficult to hide the ravages that time had left on this young woman. She was wearing a somewhat old white dress. Her body looked out of place with her. Both her son and daughter were wearing clothes cut from coarse cloth. The two children looked a little dazed, as if they had seen something they had never seen before.

"A little over 500!"

The husband said with some embarrassment, and there were many people from similar families around him, and many people started talking at random. Although the scene was a bit chaotic, reporters from many media were still interviewing them seriously.

"Sir, do you know Le Xiao?"

Immediately my wife started talking happily.

"Of course we know each other. Sister Su's children used to run around here a lot when they were young!"

Narrow and congested streets, large shacks, intricate and winding paths, and many people climbing on the roofs. These houses are supported by simple steel frames, and some wooden boards or fabrics are filled on the steel frames. It’s been decades and almost nothing has changed here.

Time seems to be frozen in this slum. Even now, fights are a daily scene here. Most people start working around after graduating from elementary school.

You can only find some scattered jobs in the area, and the most common work is delivering things. The economic growth in the area has been almost zero in recent years. Most people who make some money in the area will choose to leave, leaving only those who will never return. People who cannot afford to leave, or people who can only come back after failing in other areas.

The councilors of the district power office have carried out many economic revitalization plans, but without exception they have failed. The monthly tax revenue basically subsidizes the water and electricity bills, and there is not much left. It is too difficult to build anything. And no one wants to start an industry here.

There are many shops on the street, and most of them sell liquid food. Although most of the liquid food is made by different manufacturers, they are mostly the same. A can costs 8 cents. A family of three needs at least 3 cans of liquid food every day, which costs 2.4 yuan. The food expenses, plus water and electricity expenses, are basically the minimum living cost of about 200 yuan a month.

"Your Excellency, the two section chiefs, the Executive Section has promoted many grassroots proposals in recent years, but all ended in failure. The slums are like another world completely isolated from the city. The two of them have also vigorously promoted them in the past. Regarding some motions, I would like to ask the two section chiefs that there are actually some changes in the slums between now and the past. Can you explain to us in detail the specific changes?"

King Xue smiled gently, and after making eye contact with Li Ang, Li Ang spoke first.

"If we want to talk about the changes in slums, they are actually very big. What everyone sees is only a part of the poverty in slums. The root cause of this part is the rapid construction and development of cities. Most people are moving construction and development towards the middle. The extension and expansion of the upper class is an inevitable trend of development. We do not need to delve into this today. After all, the root causes of poverty are the same in every era. I think Mr. Hu Youran should know this better than me."

As Li Ang spoke, Pan Hua immediately looked at Hu Youran and nodded.

"The weaker the economic benefits, the poorer the place. Over the past century, the most prosperous era for the lower class was when the city entered rapid development. When quarrying was carried out in the gully area, it was also the time when the flow of people was the largest. At that time, because of The explosive growth of the population base, coupled with the inevitability of supply and demand for materials, so although the economic benefits are weak, there is enough to improve the economic benefits. However, as urban development stabilizes, the city no longer needs so much stone, and supply and demand begin to expand. After the epidemic slowed down, the huge economic efficiency that was originally built on the population base developed a fault. This fault tore apart the original economic chain of cyclical output. As the economic efficiency of the past huge volume depleted, there was not enough Support point, so the economy at the bottom began to decline, and there is still no rebound trend until now, because the economic benefits are too weak in the slums, so no one is willing to invest in any industry in the slums, even if the labor is cheap. "

Duke smiled slightly, and King Xue nodded slightly.

"To give a simple example, if I open a factory in the middle level, a worker needs 10 yuan, and the items I produce can be sold for 100 yuan, and this 100 yuan includes production and processing, logistics and warehousing, water and electricity, and taxes. Waiting for something, but I can actually earn 20 yuan, and if a factory is built on the ground floor, a worker may only need 5 yuan. The goods I extend will still sell for 100 yuan, but out of this 100 yuan, I have to If the goods are delivered to places with stronger consumption power, logistics and warehousing may cost 30 yuan, plus taxes, my final income may be less than 5 yuan, and the economic benefits will shrink by a full 4 times, plus regional tax subsidies and other Regarding the favorable policies of enterprises, etc., it is obvious from a comparison that no matter how cheap the labor force is and how low the cost of living is in the slums, the economic benefits caused by the general environment are weak, so this has already discouraged businessmen who want to invest. Coupled with other maintenance costs, there will definitely be problems with public security in poor places. Even in order to prevent crimes from happening, factories can only install more monitoring equipment and equip more security personnel. These things Added together, the economic benefits of slums will be even weaker."

There were bursts of applause in the studio, and King Xue clapped his hands and said with a smile.

"Actually, over the years, people have not paid much attention to the changes at the bottom level. Twenty years ago, the network coverage rate at the bottom level was less than 30%, but now it has reached 95%. Although many people at the bottom level are still using old metal equipment. , and there is no convenient access equipment for light and shadow objects, but most of the daily utensils they use are made by some middle-level companies by recycling and reusing original materials. Mr. Youran also said the reason, so I won’t go into details! The changes at the bottom include the establishment of hospitals, including the launch of low-cost medical insurance, and in education, the teaching materials are strictly standardized and synchronized with the best schools at the upper level. These changes in life may not be very sensitive to everyone. I won’t list them all because no one has paid attention to the things at the bottom a long time ago, but our business department has always been doing effort."

Duke nodded immediately and took the words.

"Actually, I have seen comments on the Internet before. There are still some enthusiastic citizens who have taken pictures of the conditions at the bottom. They say that the bottom class is miserable because no one cares about it. The life of the people at the bottom is so miserable. In fact, everyone can change it. Thinking about it from another perspective, if the Xingke Branch really ignored the bottom class, today’s bottom class would have been destroyed long ago. In fact, this is a very interesting social psychological phenomenon. I call it conscience self-criticism. People are watching When others suffer misfortunes, the conscience part of their hearts will feel uncomfortable, but they are powerless. Especially when they are powerless, most people will feel that the current society has created it, and it is the powerful who create society. We, because of the helplessness and anger caused by a harsh conscience, will choose something that should be responsible for it to achieve self-comfort. But in reality, no one wants such a thing to happen, but because of the development of society, It is a complex and huge system built by individuals with independent thoughts, so the blame should not be placed on certain things, this is incorrect!"

After Duke finished speaking, Pan Hua immediately smiled and nodded, turning to Li Ang and King Xue.

"Two section chiefs, today is an important day for the Secretary of Section 13, Le Xiao, to return home. It is also a day when a small bill, a medium-sized bill and a giant bill will be carried out at the bottom. Some people speculate that this is the case where the Executive Section wants to solve the problem at the bottom. An important step in the poverty problem, is this interpretation correct?”

Li Ang nodded.

"Indeed, next our business department will use the mechanical ball leasing bill, the ground floor cinema construction bill, and the barrier area agricultural experimental base bill, including the waste treatment plant, to boost the underlying economy, including the previous one our business department The more than 100 million funds donated by various departments to carry out activities in each district will also be launched first in some poor areas at the bottom. These activities will be cooperated with the media and people from all walks of life. I only hope that they can be really effective in reaching the bottom. Per capita income has improved, and that’s what we can do now.”

There were bursts of applause in the studio. At this time, in some split screens, many people were still being interviewed. Most people felt that their lives were very tired, and each day was getting worse.

"hopeless!"

A young man on the street said, looking at the camera with somewhat moved eyes.

"I used to be able to find some work around here, but now I can't find anything, because this place died many years ago, and everyone wants to leave quickly, make money outside, and take care of their families. Take it."

"Then you're back now. You look very excited!"

The young man nodded.

"I thought this place would come alive, so I came back because there are still many people I know here, and I wanted to do something with my friends and relatives."

At this time, the street outside the Eastern Subway Station in District 118 was already busy. A large number of people were standing behind the human wall formed by Section 3 and Section 5. The street was about 10 meters away, and the flow of people had blocked the block. The water was blocked and there were people everywhere on the roof. Some people from Section 5 tried to dissuade them to no avail, so they could only climb to the roof to maintain order.

Ma Tao and the four regional section officers from Section 4, Section 7, Section 8, and Section 9 are waiting with several squad leaders under their command. According to the instructions, Le Xiao will arrive on time at 8 o'clock. It is already 6:51. , there is still more than 1 hour.

Everyone was eagerly looking forward to this live broadcast, which was like a city-wide event. At this time, at the entrance of the subway station, Mr. and Mrs. Angus walked out of the station under the escort of more than a dozen Department 1 personnel. The couple smiled and waved to the crowd who suddenly cheered.

Many people were shocked. Although the Angus couple did not often appear on TV, they were the richest people in Brilliant City. Even if they met once, many people could remember it. At this time, the crowd became restless. .

Behind Violet and Avano, there were many businessmen who had signed contracts with the Angus family, including Milis. The purpose of their coming today was to congratulate Le Xiao for launching a bill for the first time as secretary. It was for the establishment of an agricultural experimental base in the barrier zone.

At this time, a small building near the station was filled with a large number of MPs. They were all MPs from nearby districts on the ground floor. There were nearly 50 people. Le Xiao's arrival was a huge benefit to them.