Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

After the establishment of New Kazdel, they began to reject all the messy currencies used for transactions in the past, and only accepted two currencies: Lungmen currency or their own new currency denominated in Originium. The latter had been endorsed by several banks in Victoria, and the Lungmen governor was also willing to accept a small amount of this currency, known as "Originium currency."

In contrast, the currency of the Kingdom of Kazdel, established in the southwest, is in a somewhat awkward position; Theresis also longs to issue paper money.

However, he had no credit to back this up, so he was still using physical coins, which meant that for the merchant, transactions required carrying heavy currency instead of being completed with a check.

This was the first time Theresis had encountered such a financial war tactic, and he was almost powerless to do anything about it. Although the merchants would bring some physical currency for transactions, they mostly asked the nobles of Kazdel to pay with Originium or Lungmen Dollars, because this would save a lot of weight in the transactions, and every kilogram of weight was profit.

This is not just about nobles hoarding grain in preparation for the inevitable civil war that is to come; even their wine glasses, fine wines, furniture, and beautiful clothes need to be bought with money. Meanwhile, the taxes collected from their slaves and farmers are in kind, and now they can only be asked to pay money as taxes or sell the goods.

Then use Originium Coins to buy food and other necessities, even weapons, ores and metals. Simple dumping of goods would not cause such a huge amount of damage. The most terrifying scene is when currency war and economic war go hand in hand.

What's even more frightening is that their actions are tantamount to increasing the liquidity of Originium Coins. A currency that can circulate is a good currency, which means that it has sufficient credit. Every noble in every kingdom who sells or buys any commodity is adding a credit guarantee for Old Xia.

The more they do this, the more "reasonable inflation" Lao Xia can achieve, and the more willing countries like Lungmen and Victoria are to accept this new currency transaction.

What's more troublesome is that the more they do this, the less willing they are to trade their goods using the originally heavy and numerous Kazdel currencies, which in turn encourages Kazdel nobles to use Originium or LMD for transactions.

Objectively speaking, this effectively promoted the circulation of goods, with caravans becoming more frequent and carrying larger quantities of goods. However, on the other hand…

The village was ablaze, and the tax collectors and the lord's cavalry had rounded up everyone and brought them to the center of the village. "Look, this is what happens when you resist taxes!" they roared, pointing at the bloodied corpses on the ground.

The lords wanted to buy cheap weapons from Titan Industries to arm their troops, and they themselves liked the colorful scraps of paper because they could exchange them for better things. However, these lowly commoners refused to hand over these valuable items.

The numb farmers looked miserable. They didn't know anything about economics. All they knew was why the taxes, which they could barely afford in previous years, were now so high that they couldn't even afford to empty their granaries.

The green wheat in the Satti Oasis is plentiful and of high quality, and the sweet potato starch is incredibly cheap. Merchants are in it to make money. They don't come across the desert and brave the storms to be saints. To ensure they can sell these things to Letania and still make a profit, they have to drive down the prices.

"Search them! They must have secret granaries, hidden under their beds, in their cellars, with wheat, potatoes, and even cured meat." The seasoned tax official knew they had secrets just by glancing at their faces.

"Uh..." The villagers stirred slightly, but ultimately remained silent and numb in the face of the cavalry's blades. Only the village elders kept moving their lips, their mouths uttering the faintest, most humble, monotonous plea: "My lord, my lord, please, have mercy, have mercy—"

The so-called secret granary was for dealing with natural disasters. After all, when a natural disaster strikes, the entire village has to be relocated. Production cannot be carried out on the road, and they can only eat the stored food. If this food is taken away, they will be doomed if a natural disaster occurs.

They wouldn't even survive the next winter, let alone encounter a natural disaster.

However, the tax collector didn't care about any of that; he only wanted LMD or Originium. Of course, anything that could be sold for money would also do.

In the end, the cavalry searched the entire village, leaving them not a single grain of wheat or a lamb. All that remained was a group of desperate people kneeling in the ashes of their home, unable to rise for a long time. The cold wind blew across the fields, and autumn was truly coming to an end.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Preparing for Each Other

Chapter 25

Longmen, the new urban area, thanks to the large-scale renovation by the Xia Group, has heating in every household, and shops have installed leaf-cooled air conditioners and tower heaters, making it feel especially warm as autumn draws to a close.

Of course, this warmth is not only physical, but also includes the spiritual warmth brought about by the presence of the group's employees who have money and are willing to spend.

In other parts of Longmen, while shop and mall sales began to decline and only the tourism and hotel industries showed signs of recovery, the new city area was able to maintain a fairly good sales volume. Moreover, the prices of shops, which were highly profitable in the face of gradually decreasing procurement costs, quickly soared.

Those companies that completed the urban redevelopment for Lao Xia almost free of charge have earned more than ten times the profit from real estate transactions and rentals. Now that the investment situation in Longmen is beginning to deteriorate, such a high-quality project is naturally attracting as much money as possible.

As a result, the new urban area now looks more and more like Lungmen's second commercial center and an upscale community. Most of the infected and ordinary people who originally lived here have become wealthy. Economic strength often determines social status, and now the treatment of infected people in Lungmen has improved a lot on the surface. At least businesses no longer refuse them entry.

Because everyone is currently experiencing unsold goods, some types of goods, after factoring in shipping and processing costs, are less profitable than being dumped in a landfill. Only Xia's Group, with its astonishing unit costs, is still maintaining meager profits from agricultural products.

In this late autumn, infected individuals who have money from land expropriation and don't particularly like saving are the real fathers of all capitalists and businessmen.

As for Oripathy, that's not a problem at all. In the face of Lungmen Dollars, let alone infected people, even the vagrants outside the city are their ancestors.

A seasoned businessman would never turn away a customer who is in dire need of help, but an inexperienced salesperson is a different story. These kinds of conflicts have occurred countless times in recent days.

Without exception, each case ended with a new batch of unemployed people moving into the lower part of Longmen with their suitcases.

[For example, Australia is like that inexperienced salesperson. The US is stirring up trouble to raise its own image, but if a salesperson like you is causing trouble for a big buyer, isn't that just asking for trouble?]

"The job market doesn't seem very good this year," two girls, probably high school students, were chatting on the street. "My dad sighs every day, and I don't know what will happen to my brother..."

"Yes, actually, I've felt this way since last year. It feels like it's getting harder and harder to find a job." The red-haired girl with pigtails nodded, also feeling that life was a bit tough.

"Wait a minute, isn't your family part of the corporation? How could the daughter of a corporation employee possibly go looking for a job!"

"That's not hereditary, and besides, my family doesn't work for the company..."

"Huh? Then why are you in our class?" The high school girl was a little confused. Wasn't the middle school run by the group only admitting the children of its employees and not recruiting students from the general public?

“Because I’m an employee of the group…” Angelina took out her work ID. “I took a leave of absence to study at school because I was competing for the position of logistics warehouse supervisor.”

Despite his outstanding work performance, his lack of formal education prevented him from getting promoted, so he had to take a leave of absence without pay to pursue further studies at the group's school.

"Besides, isn't your family also part of a corporation? Why are you worried about finding a job?"

"Because you just said it's not hereditary!" The girl sighed. The company's salary was enough to support four people.

But it's definitely not enough to support two families. If the older brother gets married, his father can't afford to meet his needs, and it's unrealistic to support seven or eight people in one place.

On the contrary, the marriage market is quite good for girls, because being a group employee means many hidden benefits, some of which can be enjoyed, such as getting a slight discount when buying things at the group's supermarket.

Even without these benefits, they are still highly sought after because their dowries are generous and they can help out in some way if their families are experiencing financial difficulties.

Haven't you considered applying for a job at the group company?

"Going to Kazdel? But... look over there!" The girl pointed across the street. They were walking and talking when they arrived at the company headquarters building. "Wow, so many people!"

There were not only a lot of people, but there were also rows of tents along the roadside. Nobody knew that these people had been queuing up for days in advance.

Lungmen is the only organization in Lungmen that is still maintaining normal revenue and needs to expand its business, especially after reaching a series of agricultural cooperation monopoly agreements with Kazimierz. This requires a large number of educated employees to be in charge, so they are the only organization in Lungmen that is still recruiting on a large scale.

Although the group is very strict, and various forms of bribery, extortion, and internal favoritism are tightly controlled by the system known as the "big boss," there is not much room for promotion.

However, in this cold winter of unemployment, having a job with enough pay to eat and even some extra money is already heavenly. Who would be so picky?

The enthusiastic registration also reflects the severity of the employment situation. These people had been queuing up for at least a week, which has even seriously affected the normal administrative work process of the group.

"This is terrifying. It seems that old Wei's idiot 'beep—' really isn't up to par. He might as well have given me the Dragon Gate—"

Swire immediately recognized this as a sign of an economic downturn. He believed that the shelter system should be improved immediately to reduce the number of homeless people in order to maintain the condition of Lungmen's streets and at least keep the still-profitable tourism industry afloat.

Then, decisive measures were taken to limit power and production, prevent factories from engaging in internal competition, establish minimum living allowances and welfare programs, provide job training, and find new profit centers.

Even without profit margins, the primary goal is to use the massive tax revenue from Longmen for work relief, infrastructure development, public facility maintenance, and ensuring employment and social stability.

Old Wei didn't take any of these measures. Was he unaware of them? No, he understood them very well. Precisely because he understood them very well, he dared not do them.

At this time, what was a border prince planning to do by gathering and organizing refugees? Was it to provide work relief? That would certainly be a reasonable excuse, but it would still require the approval of the Great Yan emperor, Thaksin!

Moreover, it's impossible for Lao Wei to be completely without selfish motives. He showed such deference that even the Emperor of Da Yan would have to cover up this mess for him out of basic clan etiquette and kinship. Compared to his imperial power and good reputation, the price of covering up the mess for Longmen was too small.

As for how many people will die in the Great Yan Dynasty and how many people will die in the Dragon Gate before this crisis, nobody cares. Or rather, the people who care are either under house arrest by Lao Wei or have been dismissed.

Well, being dismissed is better than being fired. That would be too embarrassing for an old and sickly man like him, and it could easily lead to a falling out with the Xia Group. Resignation is a good way to cover up the truth.

And it makes perfect sense; they've been engaged for three years, and it's about time they went back to get married and inherit the family business.

When the topic of marriage came up, Swire was about to explode. "You fucking come up with a solution right now!"

Old Sick Tiger is no longer willing to delay and demands that they get married before the end of the year. Of course, there are many reasons for this. One of the main reasons is that Old Xia is about to become the uncrowned king of Kazdel, and he has many beautiful girls around him. If they don't consummate their marriage, Old Sick Tiger won't be able to stand it!

"What can I do? Besides, isn't it your family that's pressuring me?"

"I know!" "Besides, I'm not losing out!" Of course, Lao Xia wasn't so morally depraved as to renege on his debt. Putting aside the fact that Little Tiger seemed like a decent person, it was simply not something he would do to take such a big advantage from someone's family and then renege on the debt.

Moreover, even if we take a step back and consider that uniting with enlightened nobles and the bourgeoisie was part of the plan itself, it would not be a good thing to turn oneself into an enemy of the world.

Moreover, it is best to have Old Xia act as the medium to unite these people, because his family members will automatically become Star Alliance citizens, which means that his family members cannot hold positions in this regime for a long time. Yelena, as an "adopted daughter", can barely make excuses.

However, if it is a marriage, then even if no formalities are completed, it will be considered a "common-law marriage," and that cannot be faked.

Moreover, as the head of the family, he didn't have much need for the Terrans. According to the Expeditionary Law, he could have already declared the Satti Oasis and the Ursus Snowfield as his Expeditionary Territories. He preferred to return to the world he was familiar with. Only those who have seen the stars know how narrow this land beneath their feet is.

"Is this a matter of who's at a disadvantage? Are you really getting married?!"

"Then let's get married!"

"Uh……"

"Hey, are you kidding me? You suddenly say this to me, no romantic proposal, no sweet romance, and now I'm going to my grave with you. And then you calmly say to me, 'Let's die together then.'" The little tiger narrowed its eyes, exuding a powerful aura.

“What’s wrong with that? It can also calm people’s hearts…” When Xia reaches this position, his marriage is no longer a private matter. It not only represents the relationship between two interest groups that must now cooperate, but also affects the future of millions of people, and allies are also worried about it.

Since Lao Xia is an outsider, if he gets married, he will be considered half a Terran, and at least half of his status will be on the Terran side.

Although, according to him, the Covenant wouldn't do anything to the Terrans, and it could even be said that the outcome would be relatively good, the Doctor never trusted any promises or hearsay.

Therefore, even the PhD students were urging him to get married; he could practically hear people urging him to get married whenever he went out.

Ah, apart from Yelena who had a sour expression, this was reassuring for everyone, which is why in classical dynasties, whether a monarch had an heir was such an important matter.

Arranged marriages serve no real purpose, whether politically or economically. In times of serious political and economic conflict, the guarantees provided by marriage are extremely fragile.

However, it can have a profound psychological impact on both parties, as well as on everyone else besides the two individuals involved.

They have a plausible excuse to cooperate and unite, and they are able to avoid having to choose between loyalty and food.

Even some traitors can work for the two bosses with a clear conscience without worrying about being sued.

At the same time, it was also a statement that she wouldn't abandon her allies and go it alone halfway through, a point the little tiger hadn't considered at all, or perhaps she had but was unwilling to admit—

No girl wants her marriage to be based on a naked exchange of interests rather than on love.

"Otherwise what? How about you go and tell your husband to cancel the engagement?" Old Xia used a feigned retreat to advance, and the little tiger immediately fell silent. Her father usually doted on his daughter.

But at a time like this, it's probably not really necessary to tie him up with a rope and throw him onto Lao Xia's bed, making it a fait accompli.

And to be fair, Lao Xia isn't a bad person. At least he looks quite handsome. Even if she's not a sucker for good looks, his good appearance still adds to her appeal.

Faced with an irreversible situation, the little tiger was in despair, muttering like a broken record: "I shouldn't have... I shouldn't have gone on that blind date... If I hadn't gone on the blind date, I wouldn't have come up with that terrible idea... If I hadn't come up with that terrible idea, I wouldn't have gotten engaged... If I hadn't gotten engaged, I wouldn't have... I was so stupid, so stupid..."

[Xun Ge passed away in 1936, yeah, 50 years ago. The copyright protection period has expired, so there's no need to worry about being chased for copyright fees. jpg...]

Xia's wedding is indeed a major event for the entire Lungmen and Kazdel region. Even the snowfield farms in Ursus think so. They've already received several truckloads of gifts before the date has even been set, which is quite embarrassing, especially for the two parties involved.

"Congratulations, Char Siu Cat, you're really getting married." Old Chen's expression showed no sign of congratulations. Knowing the inside story, she just wanted to find a place to burst into laughter. She had watched how this Char Siu Cat sold herself off step by step.

"Hiss!" The little tiger gasped, all his shyness and embarrassment instantly turning into anger. "Yes, yes, I'm getting married. So, Mr. Chen, when are you going to hold a banquet and let everyone come and have a drink at our wedding?"

Old Chen's expression froze instantly. She realized she had done something stupid. A single guy running up to a bride and flaunting his single status—wasn't that just asking for humiliation?

"Yeah, when is Mr. Chan getting married? Does he have a boyfriend yet?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Inspector Chen is focused on his career, and besides, he's still young—"

"You're not young anymore, you're already in your twenties, and in a few years you'll be thirty. Maybe by then Swire Sir's kids will be in elementary school!"

The officers from the Guard Bureau joined in the commotion, their words like sharp knives piercing straight to the heart, especially the last sentence, which seemed to stab both the dragon and the tiger.

Meanwhile, on the other side, "Should we go and offer our congratulations, Your Highness the Regent?"