binnovel Chapter 62 Initially Taking Shape
Chapter 62 Initially Taking Shape
As soon as Li Chenglong and Yun Lan arrived at the canteen, they saw Yun Qian, Chen Xiaoke, Yang Liu, and a few others chatting. Curious, he went over and sat down, while Yun Lan went to get her food. Li Chenglong smiled and asked, "What were you all talking about? You seemed so excited." Yang Liu replied, "Yun Qian said that Shuguang City is much larger than the old university town, with a diameter of 15km. We don't have many cars or other convenient means of transportation, so it will be quite troublesome in the future." Li Chenglong agreed, but then added, "I collected a lot of electric bikes before, and a few days ago I had Wu Gang and Zheng Aiguo bring back some shared bicycles from their trip. We don't need electricity for now, so some people can get electric bikes, and the young and strong can ride bicycles."
Cao Yuechan and Han Xiaoling were fiddling with the ID cards they had just received. Yun Qian couldn't help but say, "This ID card is much more convenient than the ID cards we used before. It's full of technology and can be used for multiple purposes. This will greatly reduce the workload of our logistics department." Li Chenglong thought for a moment and said, "You mentioned before that the area is very large now, which is indeed a problem. My previous division of areas was too simplistic. I plan to change the original six areas into nine. Fortunately, it's only just begun, so it's easy to adjust."
Li Chenglong then took out the map of Dawn City that he had just made yesterday and said to everyone, "The central part is the core office area. Using the central part as the center, we divide it into eight outer areas. On the left, from top to bottom, are Military Zone 1, Residential Zone 1, Production Zone 1, and Education and Research Zone. On the right, from top to bottom, are Production Zone 2, Residential Zone 2, Entertainment Zone, and Military Zone 2." Yun Qian nodded, "This is more detailed, and the residential areas are close to the production areas, so they can better carry out various tasks. There is also a military zone on each side, which can better protect them."
A short while later, Yunlan returned with her food and sat down opposite Li Chenglong. Yunqian and the others had already finished eating, so they said goodbye and left. Yunlan looked at Li Chenglong: "Now that the relocation is complete and the crystal machinery has been set up, we can say that we've initially gotten on track." Li Chenglong nodded: "Tomorrow, I'd like to convene a large meeting in the main conference room of the central building with all levels of leaders and resident representatives. We'll reorganize our various departments and refine them further. This will be more conducive to our development. What do you think?" Yunlan agreed: "Yes, that's the way to go. Some departments are too overworked right now, while others are indeed a bit too idle."
The afternoon passed in a flurry of activity, and Li Chenglong and Yun Lan returned to their room in the evening. With the establishment of Dawn City, the distances between departments were now vast. For example, Shen Menghua's office in Production Zone One was nearly 5.5 km from the central building. Therefore, they could no longer live together as they had at the old Dawn Base. Although the central building was ten stories high, it wasn't a perfect rectangle; it was more like a trapezoid, decreasing in size as it went up. Even the smallest floor, the tenth, had 300 square meters, and the first floor had a total area of 700 square meters. Currently, they were staying in the city lord's office on the seventh floor. Li Chenglong had Alice renovate the city lord's office beforehand: 80 square meters for himself and Yun Lan, two 40-square-meter rooms for Han Xiaoling and Li Xue, 70 square meters for Qi Guoan and his wife, and the remaining 120 square meters for himself and Yun Lan.
Originally, Li Chenglong wanted to allocate an area for Yun Qian and Shen Menghua as well, but they said that living there would be too far for their commute, wasting a lot of time walking every day. Besides, their own dormitories weren't bad, so they lived in the office area. Chen Xiaoke and Cao Yuechan also moved in with Yun Qian and Shen Menghua respectively. Actually, Li Chenglong could control the internal structure of the central building through Alice, but each adjustment required crystals, and adjustments couldn't be made when someone was inside. However, this building was truly advanced, with six elevators, restrooms on every floor, and some floors even had shower facilities. And on Li Chenglong's seventh floor, because there were many rooms, each room had a separate wet and dry bathroom.
After washing up, Yunlan lay down on the large bed in the bedroom, while Li Chenglong was cooking in the kitchen. A little while later, Li Chenglong knocked on the door, inviting Yunlan to come out for dinner. Seeing that she was alone, Yunlan was a little confused: "My parents said they're staying at the military camp, but haven't Li Xue and Xiaoling come back?" Li Chenglong smiled and placed a plate of steamed pork on the table: "Li Xue said she and Xiaoling are going to Yang Liu's place to eat. Apparently, Yang Liu used points to exchange for a lot of hot pot ingredients and is planning to have hot pot tonight, so they went to join in the fun." Yunlan nodded, looked at the dishes on the table, and began to eat.
After dinner, the two of them used the two crystal computers in the city lord's office next door for some work before going back to rest. Lying in bed, Yunlan turned off the light, and then there was a rustling sound. Li Chenglong knew Yunlan was changing clothes, so he turned over, turning his face to the other side. A moment later, Yunlan pressed close to Li Chenglong from behind, saying fiercely, "Are you impotent? We've slept together for so long, and you haven't even thought about 'that' with me." Then she started touching herself until she felt something hot. Her pretty face flushed instantly, and she slapped Li Chenglong's arm: "Hmph, you pretend to be a gentleman, but your body tells a different story." Li Chenglong pretended to pull Yunlan into his arms: "I just don't want to be so casual, especially since we're still in the early stages. After these few days are over, how about we have a little ceremony?"
Yunlan rested her head on Li Chenglong's chest: "I thought you had forgotten long ago, but I don't really care." Li Chenglong said seriously: "What are you saying? I've never failed to keep my word. How about this, today is May 4th, so how about we do it in ten days?" Yunlan kissed Li Chenglong on the cheek: "Okay, I agree."
At 8:30 a.m. the next morning, the conference room on the second floor of the central building was already packed with representatives and attendees from all sides. This was the first Dawn City General Assembly, so except for those who couldn't attend due to special missions, representatives from all sectors were present. The conference room, which could seat 550 people, was almost full. After everyone had arrived, Yun Qian spoke into the microphone: "The First Dawn City General Assembly is now open!" The room erupted in enthusiastic applause that lasted for a long time. After the applause subsided, Yun Lan said: "The first item on the agenda is a work report from City Lord Li Chenglong." This was followed by another long and enthusiastic round of applause.
Li Chenglong, dressed in a formal suit, walked to the front of the stage: "Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, dear friends. Now, I will give a report on our work over this period. In Dawn City, with the development of the past two months, we now have a population of [number missing], including 767 people with supernatural abilities. The military numbers 2350. Currently, our Production Sites One and Two have been powered up and are gradually resuming operations. Various supplies are relatively abundant for the time being, and everything is developing in a positive direction..." Li Chenglong's speech was short, lasting only about twenty minutes. He explained the various areas of Dawn City in detail, described several types of crystal machinery, and also gave the audience a vision for future development.
Following this, Zheng Yong and Yun Qian delivered their work reports. Then, the attendees voted and submitted proposals to generate various resolutions. The conference lasted three days. It wasn't originally planned to last this long, but Li Chenglong said that since this was the first conference after the establishment of Dawn City, they should strive for perfection and resolve all the issues that needed to be addressed.
Three days later, at 4 PM, the first plenary session of Dawn City concluded amidst thunderous applause, producing numerous resolutions. The first resolution was: Dawn City would have one City Lord, Li Chenglong, and three Deputy City Lords: Yun Lan, Zheng Yong, and Ma Tiancheng. Several departments would be established under Dawn City: Logistics, Civil Affairs, Public Security, Propaganda, Organization, Medical, Construction, Education, Military, Justice, and Agriculture and Water Resources. Each department would have one minister and two deputy ministers.
The second resolution of the congress states: To strengthen leadership during this special period, a General Committee of Dawn City is established, composed of ministers from various departments, directly responsible to the city lord. The People's Representative Committee will continue, composed of representatives of ordinary residents, with one representative elected from every 400 residents. Wang Bing will remain as chairman of the People's Representative Committee. To facilitate combat operations, a Military Committee is established, chaired by Li Chenglong, with Zheng Yong and Yun Lan as vice chairmen. Members will be battalion commanders and one deputy battalion commander from each battalion.
The third resolution of the conference was to reorganize the army, expanding each battalion from 400 to 500 men to meet the needs of military development during the apocalypse. The logistics support battalions were abolished, and a General Logistics Department was established with 400 personnel. Yun Lan was appointed Minister of the General Logistics Department, with Liu Cheng and Qin Fangyu as deputy ministers. Yang Hu, at his personal request, was transferred to the Fourth Battalion to assist Zheng Yong.
The fourth resolution of the conference was to establish the Basic Law and various other laws for Dawn City. These laws would largely continue the laws of peacetime, but with some modifications for the post-apocalyptic era. A Dawn City Court and Procuratorate would be established, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice. This would allow the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Public Security to cooperate in combating criminals within Dawn City. Furthermore, given the current apocalyptic setting, Li Chenglong demanded a severe crackdown on these "pests."
The conference resolved twelve items in total, making adjustments and redesigns to various aspects of Dawn City. This was highly beneficial to Dawn City's future development. The entire conference was broadcast live throughout Dawn City from dozens of broadcast vans, and all the resolutions were printed as booklets for free distribution. Five days after the conference, 5000 copies of the Dawn City Basic Law were printed, and another 10,000 copies of the Post-Apocalyptic Encyclopedia, edited by Yun Lan, Zheng Yong, and Yun Qian, were also distributed free of charge to those in need.
On the afternoon of May 9th, Li Chenglong treated everyone to lunch at the government canteen. More than twenty people attended, all heads of various departments in Shuguang City. Li Chenglong happily said, "Without everyone's united efforts, Shuguang City wouldn't be where it is today. New people are joining every day, and production has begun in both production areas. The farmland in northern Shuguang City has also recently started cultivation. It seems that Shuguang City is truly thriving." Zheng Yong was also somewhat excited: "To be honest, when we first arrived at Jinghai City Hospital, we were surrounded by an army of zombies. I never imagined that one day we would have our own base, and be able to gather with all of you brothers and sisters."
Ma Tiancheng, Qi Guoan, and several others also shared their thoughts, all expressing that their achievements today were truly hard-won. Li Chenglong concluded by saying, "However, everyone should not be complacent because of our current small achievements. We currently only have this small area; we still have to liberate Linhai City, Linjiang City to the south, and even our entire Donghai Province."
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Li Chenglong said, "Before you all go back, there's something else I need to tell you. Yunlan and I are getting married on the 14th. I promised her this, and as a man, I can't break my word. Besides, we truly love each other." This statement immediately shocked everyone present. Yunqian was the first to speak, "Congratulations to Brother Li and Yunlan!" Zheng Yong immediately smiled and said, "I really congratulate you! Our Civil Affairs Bureau has been open for so many days, and no one has come to register for marriage. You two will definitely be the first." Han Xiaoling and Cao Yuechan also came over and hugged Yunlan, offering their congratulations repeatedly. Wu Gang and Zheng Aiguo, however, were somewhat unhappy: "Captain, why didn't you tell us sooner? We could have made it a bit more grand."
The people at the scene were chattering amongst themselves when Li Chenglong interrupted them with a smile, saying, "I'm really sorry for not informing you beforehand. Actually, Yunlan and I originally planned to hold a low-key ceremony, trying not to disturb anyone. We'd just have a meal with the twenty or thirty of us. After things return to peace, I'll hold a grander ceremony for Yunlan later." Zheng Yong immediately said, "Captain Li, that's not right of you. We've been fighting together for the past few months, and we've long since become brothers and sisters who have shared life and death. Your affairs are our affairs. Besides, now that Dawn City is getting back on track, having another wedding with Miss Yunlan would be a double celebration, giving the residents some confidence in the face of the apocalypse."
Yun Qian also said, "I'll go back and make arrangements with the people in our logistics department. You'll all be watching." Yun Lan was deeply moved by everyone's words, and two tears welled up in her eyes. She wiped them away and said, "Thank you all so much." Qi Guoan and his wife didn't know about this beforehand. Qin Fangyu secretly went to Yun Lan's side and said, "Such a big thing, and you didn't even tell your dad and me. When are you going to tell us?" Yun Lan was a little embarrassed and said, "I've been busy these past few days and forgot." Qin Fangyu said irritably, "You child, you've always liked to surprise us since you were little."
Li Chenglong saluted the crowd: "Thank you all very much for your encouragement. Yunlan and I will continue to work hard for the development of Dawn City. We also ask for your help so that we can create our beautiful home together. However, in our daily lives, we hope that you will not act like a privileged class. We already have much better food and living conditions than ordinary people, so we hope that you will not distance yourselves from ordinary people. Corruption, pampering, and other such behaviors are absolutely unacceptable." The crowd nodded, understanding Li Chenglong's good intentions.
The current distribution of supplies still follows the principle of "more work, more pay; less work, less pay; no work, no pay." Dawn City doesn't support idlers. However, there are now many different jobs available in Dawn City. You can participate in the construction of new areas, engage in farming, or even sweep the streets and clean up garbage. The daily distribution of resources is more than enough. As long as you work, Li Chenglong is very generous. Of course, those under 16 years old, over 55 years old, or those with disabilities or serious illnesses can still receive various supplies as usual.
Moreover, those with superpowers receive more supplies daily. For example, Zhao Rui, a level-five strength-type superpower user, receives five kilograms of rice and flour daily, along with ample vegetables, and two kilograms of exotic beast meat and five kilograms of regular meat weekly. The group chatted with Li Chenglong for a while longer before returning to their respective departments to handle their remaining work.