Crowds of people flowed everywhere, like blood through veins.
Seeing Li Chang’an watching, captivated,
Zhao Xi respectfully explained, "My Lord, Cangxuan City’s popularity is booming. The permanent population has grown from 30,000 when you first took over last year to 100,000 now!"
"Right now, Cangxuan City is among the top five cities in all of Linjiang for population and economic growth!"
At this, Zhao Xi’s tone grew excited and thrilled. She couldn’t help but dream aloud, "And this is before the factories are even fully operational. Once they officially begin production, I believe Cangxuan City’s economic and population growth will skyrocket. In the future, it might even become a city on par with Linjiang Prefecture City!"
Hearing this, Li Chang’an chuckled. "Too small. Your thinking is too small. In the future, Cangxuan City’s urban planning should be benchmarked against Shanghai and Kyoto, with a population exceeding ten million!"
Zhao Xi froze for a moment, but she quickly came to her senses. "Lord City Lord, are you serious?"
She had heard Li Chang’an bring up this kind of topic before.
But at the time, she hadn’t really taken his words to heart.
After all, Kyoto and Shanghai were so far removed from her reality that she couldn’t even begin to imagine it.
Now, hearing Li Chang’an say it again, Zhao Xi finally let the words sink in.
It was fine when she hadn’t let them sink in.
But once she did, imagining a future where Cangxuan City stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Kyoto and Shanghai, Zhao Xi felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. It was as if she were in a dream, where everything she heard, saw, and thought was an illusion.
Seeing her apparent disbelief, Li Chang’an said earnestly, "You always have to plan for the long term. Rivaling Kyoto and Shanghai is just the first step. We still have a long way to go!"
A good boss has to be skilled at painting a grand vision for their employees.
Although Li Chang’an didn’t think this was just an empty promise, the core principle was more or less the same.
His words jolted Zhao Xi from her stupor. A faint flush appeared on her face as she said, "Lord City Lord, I understand. From now on, I will be sure to think on a much grander scale!"
If anyone else had said such things to her, Zhao Xi wouldn’t have let it show on her face, but she would have been scornful on the inside.
’After all, what kind of cities were Kyoto and Shanghai? They were some of the top Reincarnator metropolises in the entire world. Their permanent populations numbered in the tens of millions! A godforsaken backwater like Cangxuan City, or even the whole of Linjiang, couldn’t hope to reach a third of the scale of Kyoto and Shanghai even if it developed for another thousand years. But these words came from Li Chang’an.
As his personal secretary, Zhao Xi was probably the person, besides Li Chang’an himself, who best understood his current situation. And that was why, after her initial shock, Zhao Xi found that she actually believed him!
Never mind the two top-tier military weapon production lines that Li Chang’an had built at lightning speed. Just look at Li Chang’an himself. Among all the Reincarnators she knew—and didn’t know—he seemed to be one of those unreasonable types who were basically playing with cheat codes.’
...
After the two of them casually strolled around Cangxuan City for a while,
Zhao Xi led Li Chang’an to the factory district.
Li Chang’an had built two enormous factories. Of these, Factory Number One was the workshop responsible for producing and assembling the Super Electromagnetic Cannons.
Factory Number Two was the workshop for producing and assembling the Energy Particle Beam Cannons.
Shrouded in the night, the two factories stood silent and still.
From a distance, they looked magnificent.
This was the first sail hoisted by the Night City Military Group.
As long as he could complete the initial capital accumulation, Li Chang’an was confident he could make the entire Rebirth World tremble at his existence.
At this hour, the workers had already gone home for the day.
However, the outermost perimeter of the factories was patrolled 24/7 by a force of mercenary security guards, strictly forbidding anyone from approaching without permission.
Even when Li Chang’an and Zhao Xi wanted to enter and inspect the factories,
the mercenary squad rigorously checked their identification to prevent impersonators.
Once they confirmed their identities were in order, the mercenaries saluted Li Chang’an before slowly dispersing to continue their patrols.
Li Chang’an was very satisfied with the security here.
Although it was unclear whether Gu Ruilong would try any dirty tricks, it was better to be safe than sorry. Tighter security would ultimately raise their safety level.
After entering the factory and seeing no one else around, Zhao Xi lowered her voice and reported, "Boss, the factory equipment has all been assembled and calibrated. The raw materials that were shipped over have also arrived. When do we start production?"
Previously, Li Chang’an had purchased the raw materials for producing the Super Electromagnetic Cannons and Energy Particle Beam Cannons from Qi Long.
He had spent a considerable amount of Rebirth Points on it.
Three days ago, Qi Long’s shipments had begun to arrive one after another.
However, to avoid drawing attention, Li Chang’an hadn’t allowed the factories to start production the moment the raw materials arrived. After all, doing so would be tantamount to openly telling all his enemies that he had already acquired raw materials through other channels.
All the Reincarnator Families with a stake in the matter would likely not let it go, and the risks he would have to face would be too great!
Therefore, Li Chang’an had instructed Zhao Xi to wait for the right moment after his reincarnation ended.
Now, the triennial regional tournament was about to begin.
Everyone, including Gu Ruilong and the Gu Family, had to prepare for the upcoming assessment, so other matters would likely be put on the back burner.
For Li Chang’an, this was the perfect opportunity.
Gazing at the factories under the night sky, Li Chang’an pondered for a moment before making his decision. He said directly, "Have the workers sleep during the day and work at night. Remember to keep the noise down and maintain strict secrecy from the outside world!"
Hearing Li Chang’an’s instructions,
Zhao Xi, understanding the gravity of the situation, nodded quickly. "Yes, Boss. I’ll arrange for the workers to start immediately!"
...