#72 - Chapter 72 Difficulties in Issuing Currency

"Boss, have you ever considered that the signal tower needs electricity...?" Shen Wengang hinted from the side.

He said this with a bit of uncertainty, but he thought it necessary to remind him.

"Of course, what would be the point of installing it if there's no electricity!" Dongfang Chen said with a smile.

"Chairman! The goods have arrived!" Dongfang Chen shouted towards Zhang Yuan Kui.

The people of the Mercenary Guild didn't know Dongfang Chen's identity, and he didn't want everyone to know. Because the more people who know, the lower his safety factor will be.

After Zhang Yuan Kui took over the Mercenary Guild, the people below all called him Chairman, so Dongfang Chen also followed suit.

"Okay, you go back and rest. We'll take care of the rest." Zhang Yuan Kui appeared very indifferent.

The more indifferent he appeared, the more people would think that Dongfang Chen was just a small fry.

"Okay, Chairman." Dongfang Chen said with a bow, and then left.

The signal tower was very large and heavy, and was divided into several components. During installation, the base needed to be fixed first, and then each module was pieced together in order.

However, the installation process was not complicated. The truck used for transportation was integrated with lifting equipment, specially designed for installing signal towers. So, only two or three people were needed to assist in checking the hole positions, and the rest was just tightening screws.

The bottom of the signal tower had a cabinet, which was completely sealed as a separate module. There was a combination lock on the cabinet door, which couldn't be opened without power.

At the pre-installation position of the signal tower, four metal bases, distributed in a square of two meters, had appeared at some point, similar to sockets. However, the sockets were very thick and very deep. There was also a larger hole in the middle, which seemed to be connected to the base of the signal tower.

The installation speed was very fast. The people first used the crane to put the base of the signal tower into the metal base on the ground and tightened the ground fixing screws. Then, they aligned the next module according to the position and tightened the screws. The signal tower had straight ladders on all four sides, so four people were responsible for one corner each, checking the hole positions, placing the modules, tightening the screws, climbing up, the next module... It was done in one go. In two hours, the installation was completed.

The installed signal tower was not powered on, because the power generation room had not yet been built.

Dongfang Chen first had the Bee Ant robots build the base, so as not to affect the installation of the signal tower. Then, these Bee Ant robots began to extend underground, looking for a suitable location to build a geothermal power generation room.

The location of the geothermal power generation room was very deep, which was also a preliminary work for transferring the Merlin Settlement underground in the future.

Among the people, only Zhang Yuan Kui knew the inside story, so when everyone questioned the construction of a useless signal tower, he just smiled it off and ignored it.

At the same time, in Mayor Gong's office.

"Boss Niu, the reason I invited you here today is to discuss with you the issue of issuing internal currency in our settlement." Mayor Gong said straight to the point.

"Oh? Mayor Gong, please speak," Niu Xingwang said.

"It's like this. We've done internal discussions these past few days, and the final result is that there are certain difficulties in issuing currency, and it may not be implemented in the short term," Mayor Gong said.

"Have you encountered any problems?" Niu Xingwang asked with a frown.

"Yes. There are quite a few problems," Mayor Gong replied.

Niu Xingwang's first reaction was that Mayor Gong was going to try to extort him again. But on second thought, that shouldn't be the case. After all, Mayor Gong doesn't care about the small amount of money he has right now.

"Mayor Gong, please tell me," Niu Xingwang continued to ask.

"First of all, our settlement doesn't have the conditions to print banknotes. You also know that the manufacturing process of banknotes is very complicated, and we don't have the relevant talent and equipment. In addition, after we withdrew from Binjiang City, we basically didn't bring out large printing equipment, and we don't have ink. So, it's not realistic to print enough currency for circulation," Mayor Gong said.

Niu Xingwang didn't speak. Actually, he didn't care whether there were banknotes or not. After all, the Chamber of Commerce and the Guild only looked at crystal cores, so in essence, crystal cores were the real currency. It's just that if the Chamber of Commerce could exchange currency, it would be more likely to stimulate people's enthusiasm for hunting zombies to earn crystal cores. Because in addition to circulating in the Chamber of Commerce, currency can also circulate throughout the settlement, and people can obtain a wider variety of materials.

"Moreover, it's not realistic to continue using the previous currency. First, it's difficult for most people to find cash. Second, the non-renewability of banknotes will lead to less and less cash circulating in the market. Third, the collection and distribution of banknotes is also relatively difficult. Everyone has different levels of wealth at the beginning. The rich don't agree with equal distribution, and the poor don't agree with distribution based on asset evaluation," Mayor Gong continued.

Niu Xingwang nodded, indeed that was the case.

"Another method is to use metal currency, but there are similar problems. There are certain problems in the smelting, transportation, counting, and loss of currency."

"The last point, which is also the most serious problem, is settlement. Currently, our settlement lacks electricity, computers, networks, and settlement systems. This leads to fatal flaws in the circulation of currency."