Chapter 547: Nanko Daily Life (3)

Jiang Anguo understood very clearly that a planned economy would eventually have to transition to a market economy, and this issuance of the Nanko Yuan was precisely to pave the way for that future market economy.

Only when people had money and could buy what they needed could their lives truly improve.

At the same time, this money needed to circulate.

But there was one problem that gave him a headache.

In the end, all this money seemed to flow back into his own pocket; using everyone's daily 2 points, he could purchase 400 jin of food.

This was used to buy large quantities of supplies, distributed throughout the entire Nanko-occupied area.

Including the issued 'Nanko Yuan', in the end, not only was the money his own, but the supplies were also his own.

Something seemed off, something Jiang Anguo himself couldn't quite put into words.

Yet the first president of Nanko was clearly Chen Jiageng.

Zhang Ping sat in the car, watching the scenery flash by outside the window.

The car jolted along, not moving very fast. Fortunately, Hexi Town was only ten kilometers from Lashu, and in less than half an hour, they arrived at the outskirts of Lashu City.

The moment Zhang Ping pushed open the car door and stepped out, he was completely stunned.

He still remembered when he first arrived in Lashu, he had deliberately driven around the city a few times. Back then, although Lashu was a transportation hub, the houses were low and dilapidated, the streets narrow and muddy, and everywhere bore the desolate scene of post-war ruin.

But now, the entire Lashu had changed. Everywhere was a scene of bustling construction.

On the outskirts of the city, many tall factory buildings had been erected, their walls of red brick neat and orderly, with faint white smoke rising from the chimneys. The rumbling sound of machinery could be heard from afar.

"Teacher Zhang, what place is that?" Chen Da was also stunned, pointing at those factory buildings and asking in a low voice.

Zhang Ping stopped a passing worker and asked with a smile, "Comrade, may I ask what these factory buildings are all for?"

The worker stopped, smiled, and replied, "These are all newly built Nanko factories. There's a steel mill, a tractor factory, a lumber mill, and a textile mill. From now on, our Nanko can make its own steel and tractors!" His tone was full of pride.

The two of them listened and couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

Zhang Ping was deeply impressed. In fact, many things were new to him as well. Especially tractors—he had only seen these steel beasts after coming to Hexi Town.

Jiang Anguo knew that to develop, industrial support was necessary. These factories were the hope for Nanko's future.

If you asked where the most ore in all of Myanmar was, it would definitely be the Shanbang Plateau. And on the Shanbang Plateau, among the few important cities, Lashu was one, and another was the Dongzhi Basin.

Both of these important cities were in Jiang Anguo's hands.

Along the way, they saw roads being repaired everywhere. Workers with iron shovels and hoes were busy leveling the ground and laying gravel. In many places, construction vehicles were also at work, rumbling noisily.

Zhang Ping couldn't help but recall a phrase the Lashu work cadres often said in the villages: To get rich, build roads first.

Lashu was located at a high altitude with many mountains and complex terrain. To develop the economy, building roads was indeed the top priority. Only with convenient transportation could supplies circulate and the economy slowly improve.

The car soon drove into the Lashu city area. A worker called out to the two of them, "Fellow villagers, up ahead is the Nanko State-run Store. If you want to buy things, get off here!"

Zhang Ping and Chen Da quickly thanked him, pushed open the door, and got out. Standing at the entrance of the Nanko State-run Store, the two were stunned once again.

The store was a two-story building of grey brick. A conspicuous wooden sign hung at the entrance, inscribed with the six large characters "Nanko State-owned Store". The entrance was crowded with people.

There were soldiers in uniform, women with children, and disaster victims from the resettlement villages just like them. Everyone was chatting and laughing, smiles on their faces, looking like they had plenty of money.

Clearly, with the money being distributed today, everyone's faces wore an expression of "I'm not short of cash."

"My god, so many people!" Chen Da couldn't help muttering under his breath, tightening his grip on the money in his hand, feeling a bit at a loss.

Zhang Ping took a deep breath and pulled his arm: "Don't be afraid. Let's follow the crowd inside. First, find the flour, then buy the paper and pens. Take it slow."

The two followed the crowd, slowly squeezing into the store. As soon as they entered, they were shocked by the sight inside.

The shelves were filled with all kinds of goods, neatly arranged. There were clearly marked sections for grains and oils, daily necessities, stationery, and fabrics—everything one could need.

The two of them had never seen such fine things before. Not only had they never seen them, they had never even heard of them. They felt like they had wasted most of their lives.

"Comrade, may I ask where the flour is?" Zhang Ping stopped a shop assistant and asked, his tone a little nervous.

It was only because Zhang Ping was a teacher. After Chen Da came in, he didn't even dare to speak.

The shop assistant smiled and pointed to the left: "Sir, the flour is in the grains and oils section, right over there. There are bagged ones and bulk ones. You can choose for yourself."

"Thank you, thank you, comrade!" Zhang Ping quickly thanked him, pulled Chen Da, and headed straight for the grains and oils section, his pace quickening.

On the shelves of the grains and oils section were flour, rice, cooking oil, and various grains, their fragrant aroma wafting through the air.

Chen Da walked up to the flour shelf, picked up a bag of flour, looked it over repeatedly, and touched it, his eyes full of joy: "Teacher Zhang, look, this is flour, and it's pure white!"

"Boss, how much is this bag of flour?" Chen Da asked the shop assistant, his voice trembling slightly.

The shop assistant smiled and replied, "Uncle, I'm not the boss, just a service worker. A 5-jin bag of flour is 0.45 Nanko Yuan. Bulk is 0.1 Nanko Yuan per jin. How much would you like?"

Chen Da couldn't tell for a moment whether this price was cheap or expensive, mainly because he didn't understand the price levels.

But Zhang Ping quickly calculated in his mind, "Uncle, if you can finish it, buy a bag. The price is cheap."

"Alright, Teacher Zhang, I'll listen to you."

A smile then spread across Chen Da's face: "Okay, then give me one bag!"

After learning from Zhang Ping that the 10 'Nanko Yuan' in his hand could buy a lot of things, Chen Da realized that the prices of the goods in this store weren't expensive at all.

So Chen Da's courage grew. He bought five jin of flour and hadn't even spent 0.5 yuan.

He and his wife each had 10 'Nanko Yuan', which was 20 yuan in total. With the money in his own hand, Chen Da could still buy some other things for his wife.

The shop assistant deftly packed up the flour for Chen Da and handed it to him: "Uncle, here you go. That's 0.38 Nanko Yuan total."

Chen Da carefully took out a 0.5 Nanko Yuan note, handed it to the shop assistant, took the flour, and hugged it tightly in his arms as if holding a rare treasure: "Great! Now I can steam some white-flour buns for my wife!"

Zhang Ping watched his joyful expression and also smiled, saying to him, "Uncle Chen, wait here for a moment. I'll go to the stationery section to buy some paper and pens. I'll be right back."

"Alright, alright, you go ahead. I'll wait for you here." Chen Da hugged the flour, found a corner to stand in, his eyes fixed on the flour in his arms, afraid someone might take it.

Actually, Chen Da was overly worried. Public security in Lashu was much better than in other parts of Nanko.

After all, this was the first city Jiang Anguo had nominally taken control of.