Chapter 159: Assembling and Buying Vehicles, Qingping Merchant Caravan!

Talking about investment in shops in the morning, immediately signing merchant caravan investment contracts at noon.

Cooperation in the wasteland was far more direct than Cheng Ye had imagined. Without lengthy negotiations or complex clauses, the two went straight to the notary office.

In this simple prefab house with only three tables and six chairs, they picked up the investment template handed over by the staff and signed their names directly.

Since it didn't involve any public listing or special regulations.

The investment agreement was simple to the point of being crude, its core function only serving as proof for withdrawing contribution points from the bank.

However, the agreement clearly stated in black and white that Lee Matteo would invest 20,000 contribution points in one lump sum, enjoying 40% of the caravan's future profits.

20% of profits would serve as caravan operating funds, used for vehicle maintenance, team member wages, emergency supplies, etc.

The remaining 40% would belong to Cheng Ye.

To outsiders, it seemed Cheng Ye had exchanged just an "idea" for profits equivalent to 20,000 contribution points, a sure win with no loss but both knew this calculation couldn't be done that way.

The merchant caravan was a project requiring long-term management. Team members needed to be selected and trained by Cheng Ye one by one, routes needed constant planning and adjustment by him.

Lee Matteo's investment didn't mean he could lie back and earn profits worry-free in the future.

Once troubles arose, both would have to face them together.

Including the initial team scouting, Lee Matteo's help as a third-term inspector would be indispensable.

"We need to give the merchant caravan a name, right?" After signing the agreement, Lee Matteo held the application form, looking at Cheng Ye.

Cheng Ye barely thought before blurting out, "Let's call it 'Integrity Merchant Caravan.'"

"That simple?" Lee Matteo was stunned, repeating it twice, "This name is too ordinary. It sounds no different from those small caravans that only rent one vehicle for short trips, not impressive at all."

"What we want isn't impressiveness, but being down-to-earth," Cheng Ye explained with a smile, "The caravan is just starting up, we need to deal with satellite city residents and other caravans. A too fancy name would seem distant instead. The two words 'integrity' sound reliable at first hearing, making people feel comfortable cooperating with us."

As he spoke, he handed in the filled application form.

However, unexpectedly, this name had already been registered by someone else.

"See, I told you!" Lee Matteo immediately chimed in, somewhat proudly, "Names like integrity, unity, pioneer, you can find dozens of them in every sanctuary city, they've long been overused. When our caravan becomes famous in the future, when people mention Integrity Merchant Caravan, they won't even know which one they're talking about. How embarrassing."

"How about Wild Horse Merchant Caravan! Taking the 'wild' from your name and the 'horse' from mine, both catchy and impressive, sounds like we're not to be messed with!"

"That works too," Cheng Ye nodded, changing the name to Wild Horse Merchant Caravan and handing it in again.

The staff member tapped a few times on the terminal and looked up, "Sorry, this name has also been registered."

"Who registered it? Make them give up the name to me!" Lee Matteo was shocked.

"It was registered by Inspector Li Ming," the staff member immediately replied.

"Uh," Lee Matteo's momentum instantly deflated. He sat back in his chair dejectedly, saying quietly, "That's a fourth-term inspector from you Eastern folks, also a money-making genius at our inspection station. His income has been in the top five among inspectors in recent years, with over ten merchant caravans under him, quite the wild connections."

After finishing, he muttered to himself, "Why would he give his caravan this name?"

Cheng Ye couldn't help but laugh. After pondering for a while, he suddenly had an idea, "How about Qingping Merchant Caravan?"

Since popular names were all taken, they might as well go the niche, high-end route.

Sometimes, uncommon names were actually more eye-catching and could distinguish them from small caravans from the start. Wasn't this another form of being "down-to-earth"?

"The one from 'the wind rises from the tip of qingping grass'?"

"You know this too?"

"I have quite a few old-era books at home. I'll take you to see them sometime," he said, pointing toward the inner city, his face showing a gentle smile Cheng Ye had never seen before.

"Preparing them for your child?"

"Yeah," Lee Matteo nodded, his tone full of expectation, "I plan to cultivate him to become a researcher, so he won't have to take over this inspector mess from me in the future. Either fighting wits with infection sources at the station, or dealing with scheming people outside, too tiring. Besides, if he goes into research, it would also free up an inspector allocation quota for the station. Win-win situation."

Really?

Cheng Ye smiled but didn't completely believe what Lee Matteo said.

Researchers in Happiness City weren't exactly a smooth path either. Research institutes also had various complex internal rules, a place that only talked about output, not contributions.

Unless Lee Matteo's child had special research talent, going there would just be jumping from one cage to another but an inspector who understood research and technology, that would mean something completely different.

Especially since Qin Feng had mentioned that the inspection station was going to establish its own research institute.

While thinking, the application form was handed out, and this name finally hadn't been taken by anyone, passing smoothly.

Cheng Ye took the application form, looking at the four printed characters "Qingping Merchant Caravan," suddenly feeling a sense of security in his heart.

From a vague idea, to finalizing plans and signing agreements, to now having a name.

Qingping Merchant Caravan had become his first entrepreneurial project to land in the wasteland.

"Qingping," Lee Matteo looked at the name, softly repeating it several times, the smile in his eyes growing thicker, "What a great name! It might not be noticeable at first, but once the wind blows, it can spread throughout the entire buffer zone and all satellite cities. This caravan of ours might really become something big in the future!"

"Not might, definitely!"

Cheng Ye's tone was firm as he patted Lee Matteo's shoulder, "Years from now, you'll definitely be glad you made the decision to invest today."

"Really?" Lee Matteo raised an eyebrow, not completely accepting the statement, but carefully folded his copy of the application form and put it in his backpack. He even showily ran his fingers through his wind-tousled hair, his tone carrying some light teasing, "Looks like I don't need to worry about those contract points anymore. Inspector Lee has found a new way to contribute to Happiness City!"

"Inspector Song and Inspector Gu must be secretly delighted, losing such a strong competitor," Cheng Ye joked back.

"Hey, I love hearing that! Lucky for them!" Lee Matteo laughed heartily.

Coming out of the notary office, the sunshine was just right, warming them both as it fell on their bodies.

Lee Matteo pulled out his defense communicator, made a phone call, and after confirming the other party was at work, the two walked shoulder to shoulder toward the Industrial Department.

Vehicle chassis needed to be pre-ordered and would take two to three days to be delivered from the industrial zone, so they had to place the order in advance.

The Industrial Department was located on the west side of the buffer zone's central district.

It was an independent compound with walls painted silver-gray. There was even a guard booth at the entrance, with militia members wearing uniforms marked with "Industrial Department" insignia, no less impressive than the inspection station guards.

As a department directly under Happiness City's "Technology Faction," the Industrial Department ranked in the top three in terms of status.

Especially under the current satellite city construction background, the Industrial Department's power had expanded repeatedly, ranking second only to the inspection station.

However, just like how the inspection station's power was concentrated in the hands of inspectors, the Industrial Department's authority was concentrated among a few technical backbones and "leaders" sent from the research institute above.

Ordinary staff were more like observers at the inspection station, without much external coordination authority.

As soon as the two reached the compound entrance, they saw a middle-aged man in blue work clothes hurrying out to greet them.

Hey, why did he look somewhat familiar?

Cheng Ye's steps slowed slightly, suddenly freezing.

Old Sun!

Huh?

When their eyes met, Old Sun was also stunned, leaving only Lee Matteo looking excited.

When they approached in some confusion, before Lee Matteo could speak, Old Sun opened his mouth in amazement, "Mr. Cheng?"

"Old Sun, you work at the Industrial Department?"

"Hmm, you two know each other?" Lee Matteo was stunned, seeing Cheng Ye and Old Sun greeting each other.

"We know each other! Inspector Lee, Mr. Cheng and I are residents in the same building. He's on the fifth floor, I'm on the first floor. He's..." Old Sun was halfway through when he suddenly realized he'd never asked what Cheng Ye did for work, and Huang Sheng and the other two hadn't made it clear in their external communications either.

Could it be...

"Let me reintroduce myself. Cheng Ye, trainee inspector at the inspection station."

"Ah?"

Cheng Ye extended his hand, Old Sun dazedly raised his hand, and the two shook hands.

Only Lee Matteo, after reacting, stood beside them with an uncle-like smile, seemingly imagining the story between the two.

"Alright, alright, stop being stunned," Lee Matteo clapped his hands, breaking the awkwardness, "Since you're all acquaintances, this makes things even easier! Old Sun, let's go inside and talk. You'll need to put extra care into this matter."

"Good, Inspector Lee, Inspector Cheng, please come in!"

Old Sun finally came to his senses, quickly stepping aside and making a "please" gesture, leading the two into the compound.

The Industrial Department looked ordinary from the outside, but once inside, it was a different world.

The compound was very quiet, with rare greenery planted along both sides of the roads, even with snowflakes hanging on them.

Looking around, there were four three-story buildings distributed in an orderly fashion.

As Old Sun walked, he pointed at the building complex and introduced, "Building One is the office for the research institute leaders, Building Two is for technical backbones, Building Three is where we handle business exchanges with various departments, like coordinating procurement needs with the inspection station and allocating parts to material stations, all processed there. Building Four handles miscellaneous business."

The core body of the Industrial Department was still in the industrial zone over there.

Before the annual return of migratory workers in the industrial zone, it was normal for this place to be quiet.

The three came to Building Four, where Old Sun led them into a separate meeting room.

The meeting room was decorated simply and elegantly, with a wooden coffee table paired with several sofas, and photos of the Industrial Department's past achievements hanging on the walls.

Old Sun went out and soon returned carrying three cups of steaming hot tea.

It wasn't the previous cloud mist tea, but ordinary green tea, yet it was enough to show respect and regard for the two.

Cheng Ye took the teacup and took a light sip, suddenly curious about how Old Sun and Lee Matteo knew each other but on second thought, when he first met Old Sun, Old Sun had been excited about not having to work while still receiving salary. Could it be mutual appreciation between slackers?

Lee Matteo seemed to see through the confusion in Cheng Ye's eyes and proactively explained, "Old Sun's son is a clerk at the station, working in Central Station logistics, that tall, thin young man with black-framed glasses. Do you remember him?"

"Oh, that's him?" Cheng Ye immediately realized.

Staff at the station weren't rootless drifters either. Having connections within the buffer zone was perfectly normal.

It was just that Cheng Ye had previously focused entirely on inspections, never inquiring about or thinking in this direction.

Now thinking about it, wasn't this exactly how relationship networks formed?

"Besides, Old Sun and I have been friends for many years. I buy many things through his channels, and I've introduced quite a few orders for the station's bulk purchases to him. In terms of pricing, Old Sun gives fair deals."

"Inspector Lee, you're too kind. If it weren't for you, this purchasing agent would have been laid off long ago!"

"Haha, good that you know. Enough small talk, hurry up and bring out those discount prices," Lee Matteo chuckled. He didn't feel pressured in front of Cheng Ye, but was quite aggressive when facing outsiders.

Old Sun didn't dare delay, quickly pulling out a tablet and explaining to the two, "Since you plan to use second-generation batteries, we'll skip all these chassis that are compatible with third-generation batteries."

"Here, these are the price details for second-generation chassis, please take a look."

However, Lee Matteo didn't reach out to take it, instead slightly turning sideways and looking at Cheng Ye.

Seeing this, Old Sun was slightly stunned, a flash of surprise immediately appearing in his eyes but he reacted quickly, immediately turning the tablet toward Cheng Ye with a smile, "Inspector Cheng, please take a look."

"Let me see."

Cheng Ye slightly raised an eyebrow and reached out to take the tablet.

His finger gently slid on the screen, revealing densely packed information about various chassis.

Just the most common chassis were subdivided into four versions:

Short-range, long-range, combat, reconnaissance.

The first two had made certain changes to the chassis construction, sacrificing overall strength to increase storage space, suitable for relatively safe routes with good road conditions.

The latter two differed in materials. The combat version focused more on rigidity, using high-strength, impact-resistant alloy materials for the chassis. The reconnaissance version focused more on flexibility, using lighter materials, though without significant strength differences.

In terms of pricing, the ratio of the four chassis types was exactly 1:1.5:2.5:3, with each subsequent one costing 0.5 more.

Reconnaissance was most expensive, short-range was cheapest.

Clicking into short-range chassis, various chassis forms slowly refreshed, making Cheng Ye's eyes burn with desire.

The first to catch his eye was the brick transport vehicle.

Since they didn't need to accommodate the large-sized boxes of third-generation batteries, the cab design of first- and second-generation brick transport vehicles was particularly streamlined.

Without the bulky feeling of third-generation vehicles like big gold cups, they looked somewhat like the legendary Wuling Hongguang.

Below were three versions: 3.8 meters, 4.5 meters, and 5.2 meters.

Considering that the caravan would mainly run short-distance transport between satellite cities, Cheng Ye skipped the first two and settled on the longest 5.2-meter version.

He clicked on the parameter details: body length, width, and height 5250×1870×1960mm, wheelbase 3450mm.

According to estimates, it could carry 11 cubic meters of materials.

Additionally, the chassis had reserved installation positions for first-generation batteries.

Although first-generation batteries had shorter range than second-generation and couldn't handle rough roads, they were sufficient for the caravan's short-distance runs, and the budget could be compressed further.

"Three 5.2-meter brick vehicles."

"Good, these are all basic models at 800 points!" Old Sun immediately pulled out a pen and order form, happily recording Cheng Ye's requirements.

He was using the Industrial Department's cost price for this order, so he couldn't earn much commission but the Industrial Department had volume bonuses for purchasing agents. As long as he completed it, the year-end bonus was guaranteed.

More importantly, having big orders in hand made him speak with authority in front of other purchasing agents, no longer having to be constantly squeezed out for lack of performance.

"By the way, do you want to add some modification parts?" Old Sun asked while writing the order, "Like reinforced cargo bed railings, side protective nets, all commonly used for transport."

"Just add top-mounted fixing rails," Cheng Ye said quietly.

Transport vehicles were mainly for loading. If they encountered combat, he didn't expect them to be of much use.

The roof rails could be used to secure large items that couldn't fit inside, directly fixing them to the roof. They were more stable than brackets welded later and wouldn't damage the chassis structure.

"Good, these are all free items," Old Sun recorded.

Besides transport, the next thing to solve was the caravan's security problem.

Cheng Ye had originally planned to pick a flexible small car for patrolling and early warning around the transport convoy, but after searching through the entire list of second-generation chassis, he couldn't find a suitable one.

The main reason was that vehicles compatible with first- and second-generation batteries simply couldn't achieve small size plus long range.

Small cars were indeed flexible, but with limited battery compartment capacity, they could run at most a hundred-plus kilometers on full charge.

For long range, you needed large-capacity batteries, but large batteries would directly expand the vehicle body, eliminating flexibility.

Only third-generation batteries could achieve small size with high capacity, giving small cars three to four hundred kilometers of range, but they were too expensive, so he had to change approach.

"Looks like we need two more, making it five total," he looked at Lee Matteo.

"Five it is, safety comes first," Lee Matteo waved his hand nonchalantly, not forgetting to make demands, "Since they're for security, we need something impressive! The kind that people won't dare mess with at first glance. If the budget isn't enough, I'll pay the difference."

And he called this having no material desires?

Moreover, Cheng Ye hadn't expected Lee Matteo to always have quite a demand for impressiveness. Amused, Cheng Ye quickly slid his finger on the tablet and finally stopped on an engineering diagram, "How about this one?"

The screen showed an 'Armed Pickup Second-Generation Chassis.'

The body was an additional fifty centimeters longer than ordinary pickups, with the cargo bed reserved for armor plate installation positions, and the front could have crash bars installed.

The cargo box interior had four left-right and two front-back positions, totaling six detachable gun mounts that could hold light machine guns, perfectly meeting security needs.

Aesthetics couldn't be considered at all, focusing on 'big, dumb, black, and crude.' Fight if you could win, ram if you couldn't.

Most importantly, it was compatible with second-generation batteries, with a full-charge range of 270 kilometers, completely sufficient for short trips between satellite cities.

"This thing works!" Lee Matteo leaned over to look, his eyes immediately lighting up, "That's it! Two armed pickups, add armor plates and gun mounts, I'll make up the money if it's not enough!"

"And weapons, max everything out. No wait, don't worry about guns, someone owes me a favor, I'll have him prepare some good stuff for us."

"No need to make up the difference, the budget's enough."

Cheng Ye calculated: the basic armed pickup chassis cost 1,200 points, plus armor plates, gun mounts and other modifications, one would cost 1,400 points, 600 points more expensive than ordinary chassis.

More critically, to ensure instantaneous burst power during combat, they needed two motors for drive, further increasing costs. Calculated together, one armed pickup's total cost reached 3,300 points.

Old Sun listened with bright eyes, his pen almost flying as he rapidly recorded all requirements.

Seeing Cheng Ye's teacup was empty, he immediately picked up the hot water kettle on the table, carefully refilling it, his face showing particularly attentive smiles.

A big customer indeed.

Just five chassis already totaled 5,200 points. What ordinary person had this kind of spending power?

Cheng Ye calculated the current total expenditure in his mind: three transport vehicles and two pickups would cost at least 13,500 points.

Really burning money!

But comparing it to buying a 100kWh version third-generation big gold cup for 15,000, the price of these five vehicles wasn't even enough for one, and suddenly it felt much more cost-effective.

When it came time to pick his own vehicle, Cheng Ye suddenly felt somewhat guilty.

Perhaps growing up being frugal, even when he had money, spending it on himself felt quite sinful.

Plus using the convoy's funds to purchase personal vehicles...

"Spend when you should spend. Only when you spend money happily do you have motivation to earn money."

Lee Matteo patted his shoulder, "Besides, you haven't asked your Big Brother B for financing yet."

"True enough."

Cheng Ye couldn't help but smile, quickly selecting his ride from among the various chassis blueprints.

The styling wasn't particularly special, just a common off-road SUV.

The difference was the vehicle's ground clearance was extremely exaggerated. Even with first-generation batteries installed, it could handle many muddy rough roads without scraping the undercarriage.

Second, the wheelbase was compact, nearly 20 centimeters shorter than ordinary SUVs, sacrificing rear seat space in exchange for extreme flexibility. When navigating narrow mountain roads or abandoned buildings, it would save a lot of trouble.

These two points perfectly matched his future needs for contract points.

He had to maximize passability and efficiency, while comfort features could be saved wherever possible.

"Must make money!"

After finalizing the requirements for six chassis, Cheng Ye let out a long breath and rubbed his temples.

The taste of poverty was truly unpleasant.

Thinking about having to go to the inspection station's scrap vehicle yard later to pick usable motors and electronic controls from a pile of scrap metal made earning money feel even more urgent but on second thought, in a few days he would own a vehicle that was completely his own.

Not rented, not borrowed, but something he had planned bit by bit and saved money to get.

This feeling was even more exciting than buying the house.

After all, a vehicle could carry him to many places in the wasteland to see more of the world!