Chapter 86: I’m the Minister of Production?
After hearing the Governor’s orders, Osena felt a bit dazed.
Recently, she had just stabilized her work, establishing a government team to manage the two camps. Then she received a transfer order, bringing a team of about ten government officials to Revival City.
Immediately afterward, she received the Governor’s appointment.
She was to serve as the Acting Minister of the Alliance Government’s Production Department.
The experiences of these past few months had been too surreal.
A moment ago, she was a refugee who couldn’t get enough to eat or wear, and then somehow became the production manager of the Governor’s camp, responsible for the production work of two camps with a population of ten thousand, arranging various production plans and recruiting personnel.
And now, she had suddenly become a “high-ranking official” of the Alliance Government, responsible for the production plans and consumption arrangements for nearly a million people in Revival City!
Initially, she didn’t even know if she could manage ten thousand people, but she just gritted her teeth and did it.
Fortunately, after that exchange with the Governor, her mind seemed to have suddenly opened up for some reason. Although she was still somewhat inexperienced, she always managed to find solutions to the various problems that arose.
As she became more adept at her work, Osena gradually became more confident and began to fully immerse herself in her duties.
She found that she loved this job.
On the one hand, she no longer had to worry about food and clothing; on the other, seeing those who had experiences similar to hers come to the Governor’s camp and, with her help, live lives that, while not particularly good, at least had hope, filled her with joy.
She didn’t fully understand the Governor’s grand vision, but in her view, those who could work well, eat well, and live well were the foundation of that grand vision.
But now, the scale she needed to manage had grown from ten thousand to one million. With the increase in scale, there would inevitably be countless problems that needed solving.
She didn’t know if she could do it well.
It wasn’t about fearing the loss of the Governor’s trust. Osena wasn’t very ambitious in that regard. What she feared more was that her mistakes would impact the livelihoods of a million people.
Her time of being uprooted and struggling on the brink of life and death outside Revival City had made her acutely aware of how difficult life was for ordinary civilians in this wasteland.
Especially for those outside the city who had no savings to speak of, their ability to withstand risks was extremely low.
She was born into a well-off family, but having seen the light, the suffering she endured in the darkness was even more unforgettable.
“You have the heart, and that’s exactly why I entrust this task to you.”
Gu Hang encouraged her once again.
“Because you have the heart, I can entrust the livelihoods of nearly a million people in Revival City to you. If even you can’t do it well, how can I trust those who haven’t experienced such suffering?”
Osena took a deep breath and steeled her resolve: “I understand, I will do my best!”
Next, Gu Hang had a long conversation with Osena.
Gu Hang fully expressed his expectations to Osena.
Of course, he wouldn’t expect this young girl to handle everything from scratch by herself. Even if Osena did it, he wouldn’t be completely at ease.
Gu Hang explained many things in detail.
He told Osena that the first issue to address was hunger. The city’s granaries had been secured, and she needed to ensure that the poor outside the city didn’t riot due to starvation.
The situation was already dire. Those poor people had no savings; if food wasn’t distributed, starvation deaths were imminent.
Secondly, she needed to quickly restore production work in Revival City.
The small workshops in the outer city had been brought under control and could resume operations as a first step; the large factories within the city would later be confiscated from the nobles and council members, and they would also need to be promptly put back into production.
These were the most urgent tasks.
Beyond that, she needed to implement the work points system in Revival City as a basis for distribution; clarify the production capacities of various industries in Revival City, formulate production plans, and consider how to upgrade industries; expand the civil servant system to improve administrative efficiency…
This way, various issues could be tackled one by one.
…
After understanding Gu Hang’s intentions, Osena began her work.
However, to complete her tasks effectively, she first had to see how another person was doing their job.
That person was Lambert Hodgson, who was responsible for the “purge” under Gu Hang’s orders.
To open the granaries and distribute food, there had to be food to distribute; to resume production, there had to be shifts to work.
The past Alliance Government was a typical small government.
They didn’t place much importance on food security. They didn’t even have official strategic reserve granaries.
The city’s food reserves were only in the hands of grain merchants and some factory canteens. Only by confiscating these could the food be gathered.
Similarly, to solve the production resumption issue, the means of production, namely the various large factories, would also need to be confiscated.
At this moment, there was a fire in Lambert’s eyes.
Bradford was being stared at so intensely that he felt a chill. He said helplessly, “Stop looking at me like that. The Governor has ordered me to assist you. I’m here to atone for my sins.”
“Your sins are unforgivable,” Lambert said through gritted teeth.
“But that’s not for you to decide; it’s up to the Governor.”
Bradford initially responded defiantly but quickly realized he shouldn’t antagonize Lambert too much.
Although he had already deeply offended Lambert by causing his grandfather’s death, there was no need to further provoke him. Especially since Lambert, who had already aligned himself with the Governor, might strongly demand Bradford’s execution from the Governor, which would be catastrophic.
Though the hope was slim, Bradford’s best option was to try to mend the relationship as much as possible.
He said, “You’re angry, you want revenge, and that’s all understandable. I will pay for what I’ve done. In fact, I already am. Look, I obediently wrote out those long lists of names for you. If you follow those lists, you’ll have avenged your father and grandfather; Mondok was the main perpetrator and the most stubborn element. His family’s influence in the military is deep; you can wipe them out entirely…”
“I’m already doing that.”
“And old Norris, he has gathered at least five thousand people in his largest manufacturing plant, ready for defense. It looks like he’s turning the factory into a fortress, but in reality, he wants to surrender.”
“So what?”
“So, you don’t necessarily have to attack head-on. That would require you to request more troops from the Governor for support. You can, on behalf of the Governor, accept Norris’s terms of surrender. I can even act as an envoy to help you negotiate.”
“The Governor’s order is to eliminate all old nobility.”
“I know, of course, I know,” Bradford said with a bitter smile. “But as long as that old guy agrees and falls into your hands, you can do whatever you want with him, can’t you?”