Since becoming a child prodigy who was constantly thinking, Yu Zhijing found himself to have matured. The playful antics of his former companions now seemed childish in his eyes. Yu Zhijing also believed himself to be a prodigy, far surpassing ordinary children, and even most adults might not possess his sharp mind.
Consequently, a sense of superiority naturally arose within Yu Zhijing. Having read many books and gained extensive knowledge, he found it difficult to impress others. This superiority manifested as a subtle arrogance, which made others uncomfortable.
Shen Feng paid no mind to Yu Zhijing's arrogance. What was wrong with a child being a little proud?
However, now, Ban Xian had begun to criticize Yu Zhijing, directly stating that Yu Zhijing's insights were superficial and not particularly remarkable.
Before Shen Feng could even ask why, Yu Zhijing took the initiative. He walked forward and inquired, "Since you believe my views lack depth, sir, then please enlighten me. Are there deeper crises in Yuzhou? Do you have more solutions?"
Dan Zhengming smiled and gestured towards his office, saying, "Please come in. I am merely an ordinary fortune teller and cannot offer many insights, but I do have some rudimentary thoughts."
Shen Feng immediately entered, and Feng Shicheng also prepared to watch the spectacle. He thought to himself, "This kid's arrogance is truly detestable. Let's see if Ban Xian can teach him a lesson."
Yu Zhijing entered Dan Zhengming's office and began observing. He could discern a person's personality traits from the furnishings in the room, whether they were flamboyant or reserved.
"The decor here is very simple, suggesting this old man is not a flamboyant fellow. But why is he targeting me?" Yu Zhijing suddenly wondered. He had just arrived and hadn't even started working, yet he was immediately met with a challenge. It seemed abnormal.
Yu Zhijing couldn't understand why he was being targeted and felt a sense of confusion. Shen Feng and Feng Shicheng followed them into the office purely to watch the show. Shen Feng wanted to see how Ban Xian would treat Yu Zhijing, while Feng Shicheng anticipated Yu Zhijing's embarrassment. "Aren't you a child prodigy? Let Ban Xian test the quality of your prodigy status."
"Didn't you say the problems I identified and the solutions I proposed were superficial? Now, please enlighten me, sir. What are the deeper conflicts in Yuzhou?" Yu Zhijing asked, growing impatient.
Dan Zhengming calmly poured a cup of tea for Yu Zhijing and then for Shen Feng and Feng Shicheng, saying, "After drinking tea, we can converse."
Yu Zhijing, without hesitation, picked up his cup and drank it. He was eager to understand why his previous assessment was considered superficial.
At this point, Dan Zhengming continued, "Young friend, you mentioned that in a few years, the development within and outside Yuzhou city will be unbalanced, with significant growth in the outer areas. I do not doubt this at all. But why would the strength of the outer areas threaten the position of the City Lord? Have you considered this?"
"Of course, it's due to the depravity of human nature. Who doesn't desire power? Currently, the mercenaries lack the strength to have a voice. But in a few years, the mercenaries outside the city will grow stronger, and the younger generation will join the mercenary groups. Meanwhile, the population within the city is insufficient, and its development of strength cannot keep pace with the outer areas!" Yu Zhijing stated as a matter of course.
"The people within the city are governed by the City Lord, but are the people outside the city not governed by the City Lord?" Ban Xian continued to ask.
"The degree of governance is insufficient. The mercenaries outside the city possess strength. Although it's not comparable to the army, it is still considerable strength! This strength is managed by the mercenary guild, and they can be mobilized for combat. However, in normal times, they cannot be managed. You can't even collect taxes, can you?" Yu Zhijing explained, his patience wearing thin.
"In my opinion, these are secondary issues. If the outside cannot be governed, then find a way to govern it. How to govern? Look at the deeper conflict! That is fairness!" Dan Zhengming said slowly.
"Fairness?" Yu Zhijing frowned upon hearing these words, seemingly lost in thought.
"Exactly, fairness!" Dan Zhengming replied affirmatively. "You see the outer areas becoming a hidden danger in the coming years because you believe everyone outside wants to seize power. But why do they do so? Why do they resent the inner city? There is only one reason: unfairness!"
Then, Dan Zhengming looked at Shen Feng and said, "City Lord, you yourself will likely perceive this. I am merely stating it in advance. In Yuzhou city, both inside and out, unfairness is prevalent. It is unfairness that leads to mutual resentment in society. If everyone received the same treatment, even if the strength outside the city were greater, it would not threaten the inner city. This is the will of the people; he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world!"
"Then... where are the unfairnesses within and outside the city?" Shen Feng asked hesitantly.
"There are many. Education, healthcare, welfare, employment, security, even food aspects are unfair," Dan Zhengming said slowly.
"I see. I don't think there's anything we can do about that. The peaceful years years ago couldn't solve these problems, and now it's the apocalypse. I certainly can't solve them. I think we should proceed with Yu Zhijing's superficial approach," Shen Feng said with a shrug, sounding resigned.
If it were other issues, Shen Feng might have considered trying. But upon learning that the problem of unfairness was related to education and healthcare, Shen Feng completely abandoned any unrealistic ideas. After all, countless people had tried to achieve fairness in education and healthcare years ago, and none had succeeded. He certainly wouldn't be able to.
"Let's leave these serious problems for future generations to solve. We must believe in the wisdom of future generations," Shen Feng advised.
Shen Feng did not want his reckless actions to cause unrest in Yuzhou. It was better to maintain the current situation. As for what the future held, only future generations would know.
"Do you believe in future generations' ability to invent new terms?" Feng Shicheng also chimed in. "People without jobs cannot be called unemployed; they should be called 'waiting for employment' or 'flexible employment.' When someone wants to withdraw money from the bank, they need to be stopped, and it's called 'malicious withdrawal.' If one buys an unfinished building and starts defaulting on payments, they should be seen as bullying the weak banking sector, not supporting national construction. If one doesn't marry or have children, it's a sign of low ideological awareness, right?"
"Shh, you've said it. How will these people invent new terms in the future? Hurry and shut up!" Shen Feng quickly urged Feng Shicheng to lower his voice.
Dan Zhengming heard the sarcastic remarks between Shen Feng and Feng Shicheng and couldn't help but shake his head helplessly. He said earnestly, "You two young men, stop talking nonsense. I know it's difficult to achieve fairness in everything, but City Lord, you need to project an image of fairness!"
Shen Feng nodded quickly and said seriously, "Please guide me, Ban Xian."
Seeing that there were only four of them in the room, Dan Zhengming no longer held back and said directly, "I know a little about the situation outside the city, as it's similar in Wanzhou. The children outside the city run around the streets all day, not attending school, not working, and unable to find jobs. In time, they will become a new batch of hooligans. When hooligans appear and disrupt social order, how do we solve it? Education! At the very least, these children must learn to read. Otherwise, Yuzhou has no future. The same applies to the inner city; schools need to be established."
Shen Feng nodded and said, "Alright, I will discuss it with my subordinates."
"Then there's healthcare. The inner city enjoys sufficient medical resources, but the outer areas do not. You might find a few barefoot doctors in the private sector, but most of the time, you'll only find quacks. Medical resources must be tilted towards the outer areas, at least to enable them to see a doctor," Dan Zhengming continued.
"Oh." Shen Feng nodded, but at this moment, he felt something was amiss. Establishing schools was already very costly, and now they were to allocate medical resources to the outer areas. This was another significant expense.
Dan Zhengming went on to say, "Furthermore, there's the issue of welfare. The welfare gap between the inner and outer cities cannot be too large. As long as fairness is achieved, the mercenaries and their families outside the city will also be your supporters."
Shen Feng spread his hands and said, "No money!"
Shen Feng knew that the suggestions made by Ban Xian were very appropriate, and they were changes that many people wished to see. However, without money, nothing could be discussed.
"How can Yuzhou be out of money?" Dan Zhengming asked, frowning.
Shen Feng leaned back in his chair and replied, "Firstly, land reclamation requires wages, doesn't it? Then there's road construction, and next, the city walls need to be repaired. Mercenaries who accept tasks also need to be paid. With all these expenses, Yuzhou really doesn't have much money left. Building schools would be good enough!"
Shen Feng was not shirking his responsibilities; he was genuinely lacking funds. Yuzhou's currency was currently grain coupons, tied to grain. Fortunately, Chang Jianyi was an ability user who could accelerate plant growth, ensuring Yuzhou wouldn't starve. However, this meant that Yuzhou's money supply was limited, and grain coupons could not be issued arbitrarily.
Yuzhou was continuously building hydropower stations, which were very capital-intensive. Therefore, Shen Feng could not ignore the lack of funds and continue to pursue fairness.
"Then build schools. In any case, even if fairness cannot be fully achieved, you must project an attitude of fairness. This way, you will surely gain support," Dan Zhengming said earnestly.
Upon receiving this guidance, Shen Feng could only nod in agreement. He knew that creating a fair world would earn him support, but the actual implementation was not as simple as talking about it; it required a significant investment of effort and capital.
Meanwhile, Yu Zhijing silently drank his tea, unable to participate in the conversation. The arrogance he had felt earlier had vanished without a trace. He had thought himself a genius, always thinking of things others couldn't, but now he finally realized that his understanding of the world was not deep enough.
"Yu Zhijing, don't overthink it. The problems you identified were timely, and your suggestions are also good. I will repair the outer city walls. As for the issues Ban Xian mentioned, they have existed in China for thousands of years. Although the conflicts are profound, they are difficult to resolve!" Shen Feng said, seeing Yu Zhijing's silence and assuming he was discouraged, attempting to comfort him.
Shen Feng also understood that the deeper conflicts Ban Xian spoke of were very difficult to resolve. Therefore, Yu Zhijing's proposed solutions were actually more practical, even if superficial, they were highly feasible.
Yu Zhijing said dejectedly, "City Lord, I will study harder in the future and strive to acquire more knowledge."
On his first day of employment, Yu Zhijing was educated by Dan Zhengming, realizing that the knowledge he prided himself on was insignificant in the eyes of others.
Dan Zhengming said slowly, "Young friend, you are indeed very intelligent. At such a young age, you can see many things differently. However, you have a fatal weakness: a lack of life experience. The knowledge you have acquired is from books. For things you have never experienced, you cannot have a deep understanding. This is your weakness. Therefore, what you should do is not to study, but to experience. In time, you will surely become an extraordinary person!"
"To experience? I may not have such an opportunity. I only have ten years left to live!" Yu Zhijing said helplessly, lowering his head.