"The military band showcases the image of a strong military," Liu Jizi said. "I want the Spiral Star to be more gentle, so I've minimized the appearance of the military, especially since the Spiral Star doesn't have its own army yet."
"And children, young boys and girls, full of youthful energy, are liked by most people. They symbolize the vibrant spirit of the Spiral Star," Liu Jizi continued. "The most crucial point is that the children in that military band were basically all from Qishilin First Middle School."
"Qishilin First Middle School?" Jiang Ye was taken aback. "Is there a reason for that? Is this middle school very impressive?"
"It's an aristocratic school, only admitting children with exceptionally outstanding academic performance and those from privileged backgrounds," Liu Jizi explained. "The parents of the children you just saw are mostly alien merchants. The economic development of the Spiral Star in its early stages is inseparable from these wealthy alien merchants. By having the children of these merchants play music and welcome alien dignitaries, it makes them feel like they are at the forefront of the Spiral Star, giving them a sense of belonging. This way, their families are less likely to leave the Spiral Star and are more inclined to stay."
"Are these children part of the military system?"
"No."
"The diplomatic corps?"
"Not that either," Liu Jizi shook his head. "People from the diplomatic corps are responsible for training them, but they are an independent unit."
"What about their benefits?"
"They haven't been finalized yet, but we plan to reference the benefits of military bands," Liu Jizi said. "They'll receive a modest salary, but will be provided with local housing, free medical care, holiday benefits, and family benefits. In short, these children will be tied to the planet. As long as they continue to stay here and play welcome songs, their lives will be very comfortable. Once they leave, they'll have nothing."
"Then I can rest assured. I'll remind you of one thing: do not associate the military with foreign merchants, not even their families," Jiang Ye advised. "If foreign merchants, holding a lot of money and local industries, also have family members in high-ranking military positions, it's easy for them to form powerful clans and influential families. As these families grow in number and swell into monsters like feudal lords, they will cause you trouble."
"Don't worry, I understand that," Liu Jizi nodded. "The children in the band are only trained for simple tasks and to play music. When they come of age, they will leave the band to attend university and then go their separate ways."
"I was busy with war matters a few days ago. You've worked hard here on the Spiral Star. How has it been carrying the main burden?" Jiang Ye gently changed the topic.
"The Spiral Star is developing quite well at the moment. In the past six months, the population has increased by 550 million, and the growth rate of the planet's gross domestic product..." Liu Jizi recited data proficiently.
"I'm very familiar with the data; my office is a sea of data every day. But now that I'm personally here on the Spiral Star, I want to understand something different," Jiang Ye interrupted with a smile.
"Something different?" Liu Jizi looked bewildered.
"I want to know about the current living conditions of the Spiral Star's people," Jiang Ye said. "I want to hear the opinions of the locals on the planet's development."
"You want to conduct grassroots investigations? Then I'll arrange it immediately. Where do you plan to go?" Liu Jizi asked.
"In sociology, there's a survey method where you randomly select from the total population database. Once selected, the choice is never changed, and you specifically visit and interview the selected person," Jiang Ye explained.
"For example, if someone named Wang Wu is selected, living in a small village in a remote mountain area, where the roads are impassable and it takes two to three days of climbing mountains and crossing rivers to reach Wang Wu's home. And near Wang Wu's village, there's a small county town with roads, reachable in a few hours. A sociologist cannot go to the small county town to find someone of similar age and income to replace Wang Wu; they must traverse mountains and rivers to find Wang Wu, never changing the selection."
"So, you mean... randomly selecting from the entire Spiral Star population?" Liu Jizi asked in surprise.
"Yes."
"Should I find someone to create software for the selection process?" Liu Jizi inquired.
"No, print out all the residency data for everyone on the planet onto a single sheet, and place it in the warehouse. I will personally go to the warehouse and draw them by hand," Jiang Ye said. "How long will it take to complete?"
"Two days," Liu Jizi replied. "It will definitely be done in two days."
"Alright, then make it as soon as possible," Jiang Ye nodded.
Over the next two days, Jiang Ye's schedule was packed.
He basically went to inspect various places, visiting important locations.
He visited newly constructed military bases, observed the stationed officers and soldiers, and inquired about their food and training.
He visited several newly built large cities, observing the streetscapes, traffic congestion, water and electricity grid connectivity, hospital capacity, and mall foot traffic.
He toured elementary and middle schools, sat in on half a class, and encouraged students to study hard and contribute to the planet's development.
He visited newly established research institutes, examined equipment worth tens of millions or even billions, and inquired about the latest research findings.
Jiang Ye's frequent inspections on the Spiral Star kept the news media extremely busy for two consecutive days, with news releases coming out one after another, almost flooding major news platforms.
Of course, with the news, there were also photos of Jiang Ye.
The trending topics quickly emerged: "Jiang Ye has become younger!"
Jiang Ye could see a flood of hot posts and discussions on his phone.
"Jiang Ye had no news for a while. Did he go for age-reversal surgery?"
"To be honest, Jiang Ye was really handsome when he was young. Even I would have to show him respect."
"Great! No need to worry about Jiang Ye's health anymore!"
"I just saw a news post, and Cen Yemeng and Isabel from the Exile Star have also become much younger. Did they have the surgery together?"
"This kind of age-reversal surgery seems outrageously expensive. Ordinary people couldn't afford it even if they sold everything."
"But we have life-extension surgery! We have to thank Jiang Ye for that. Without Jiang Ye, how could we live one or two centuries longer?"
"Indeed. Wishing Jiang Ye eternal life."
...
Two days later.
Accompanied by Liu Jizi, Jiang Ye entered a vast warehouse.
Dozens of rows of metal shelves were lined up in the warehouse, stacked with citizen data.
"All the household registration data for the Spiral Star citizens is here. Over 743 million records, all for those who have settled on the Spiral Star. Those Spiral Star citizens residing on other planets are not included," Liu Jizi said. "How many do you plan to draw?"
"Let's draw seven," Jiang Ye said, walking among the shelves. "One out of every 100 million people, let's see who the lucky ones are."
"The probability is even lower than winning the lottery," Liu Jizi chuckled.
Jiang Ye began drawing. Each household registration record was only a thin page, sealed in fireproof plastic film.
He first took two from the shelves at his height.
Walking forward two rows of shelves, he stepped on the edge of a shelf and climbed to the highest point to pick two.
Finally, he went to the corner, bent down, and took three from the bottom of the shelves.
Jiang Ye opened them on the spot and took photos with his phone.
"Very good. Find these seven people and arrange a meeting time and place," Jiang Ye said. "Don't use substitutes; it must be these seven individuals themselves."
"Understood, you can rest assured!" Liu Jizi took the documents.