Chapter 305 - 298 Report_1

"Fellow citizens, we are engaged in a great national endeavor: rebuilding our nation and reaffirming the commitment to all our people..."

On January 20, John addressed the nation.

Voters had high expectations for this surprising boss-elect. He was young, vibrant, connected with the grassroots, and had lofty ideals. Everyone was looking forward to the sweeping changes the new boss would bring.

John did not disappoint these expectations. During the part of his speech about domestic affairs, and after concluding his standard, not overly long spiel, he dropped a bombshell:

"...In the first quarter, the federal government will prepare to distribute a cumulative total of no less than 800 billion US Dollars in relief and support funds over 12 months to unemployed persons, manufacturing workers, small businesses, and sole proprietors.

At the same time, we will implement stricter and more effective measures for border management, adding one million new jobs in manufacturing within a year, making ’made in US’ appear more frequently on shelves..."

As John spoke, the audience at the venue and those watching the broadcast erupted into cheers.

This 800 billion was real money being handed out. John’s team had already been leaking insider information before the speech, suggesting that financial assistance for the unemployed would double, with the highest monthly cash relief reaching 2400 US Dollars.

No one was dissatisfied; the lower classes got the money, the elites saw purchasing power they could harvest, factories saw rich orders, and the Federal Reserve eyed the stamp duties.

As for the downsides? Don’t mention them if they’re not profitable.

The speech continued, with the space sector covered in the last segment.

This time, John used some technical terms that were a bit difficult for ordinary people to follow, but his final statement was very clear:

"...As we have always strived for, it’s time for our warriors to recall that ancient wisdom. We choose Mars, just as we chose the Moon before. Beginning now and over the next decade, we will send humans to Mars and attempt to establish a long-term colony."

The public’s two main concerns had been addressed, but for the global elite, their focus was entirely different.

For instance, what did "we will re-examine our relationships with allies" and "our investments abroad have not yielded returns, and we live among ruins" mean? The European Space Agency was already a lackey to NACA in the Artemis project, so what more did they want?

And "we helped others in the world towards freedom and prosperity, but lost our own wealth and reputation" – what kind of nonsense was that? How could one even have the gall to say such a thing?

Although John didn’t explicitly state his intentions, the world intuitively felt that something was slightly amiss.

Why did it seem different from before?

...

"Ye Changsi... Ah, Professor Ye, hello, hello, you’re half a month later than we expected."

At the B-level Base, the young HR representative received Ye Changsi, addressing him by his position as visiting professor at a domestic university.

Ye Changsi pointed to the back of his head: "I had a minor injury a while back and needed some time to recover. Young comrade, might I meet with the president or any other senior executives?"

"Oh... Let me check. Of course, you can. Both Mr. Xie and Mr. Guo are here; I’ll notify them immediately."

A few minutes later, Ye Changsi met with Xie Liaofu, seeing in the other’s eyes a look one rarely encounters.

Xie Liaofu hesitated for a moment and then extended his hand proactively:

"Sergey Korolev."

A flash of surprise crossed Ye Changsi’s eyes, and then he clasped his hand.

"Guo Rongcheng, I never thought we would work together. It’s a remarkable twist of fate."

Xie Liaofu: "...Changsi, it took you 20 days to get here, longer than it took me."

Ye Changsi explained the reason with a wry smile, which brought a wave of sentiment from the other man, who once again firmly grasped his hand.

"Compared to us, your expertise is much broader. The boss was pondering how to place you, and I think Qingshan Base would suit you the best, where you can oversee all of the company’s businesses at once."

Ye Changsi: "I will follow the organization’s arrangement."

...

Qiongzhou, New Yuan Aerospace Launch Site.

Months had passed since the last launch, and New Yuan No. 3 rocket was ready for its fourth mission. The payload was the radiating cabins that would connect the March station’s axial and centrifuge segments—three cabins, 43 meters long and 5 meters in diameter.

The diameter of New Yuan No. 3 was 11 meters, with three 5-meter diameter segments spaced 50 centimeters from each other and mounting brackets included, it barely exceeded the rocket’s diameter, so a 13-meter diameter fairing was used, which wasn’t excessively large.

Each radiating cabin weighed 30 tons, which was certainly not just the mass of an empty passage; it also included solar panels, fuel and supplies storage, as well as distributed redundant systems, among other things.

The Forward Space Station, with a minimum mass of over 1500 tons composed of 33 parts, had an extremely high safety redundancy. Its design included various safety precautions and backup systems to ensure its security was at a terrifying level.

For New Yuan No. 3, launching these three segments was a breeze. The fairing might be large, but the weight was less than half of its 270-ton payload to low Earth orbit, and for this reason, the fuel load for this mission was reduced by 20%.

The reason for not using New Yuan-2 for the launch was that the radiating cabins were too long. Although the XS-62 itself was over 30 meters, the extra few meters affected the rocket’s center of gravity to a dangerous degree, requiring a change in launch procedures, which would increase fuel consumption and introduce more uncertainty.

No. 3 was different—big and heavy; such a weight had no significant impact.

The launch of the nearly 6000-ton rocket attracted a large audience; after all, it bore the title of the world’s largest rocket.

The flames from the 19 kerosene engines were bright and spectacular, and because of the reduced payload, New Yuan No. 3 took to the skies lightly, propelled ever upward by a cluster of mini-suns.

Lin Ju shifted his gaze from the rocket to John’s speech on the screen in front of him, where he had just gotten to the part about the 800 billion dollars in relief. His expression darkened immediately.

Without a doubt, the Federal Reserve’s printing presses were behind that 800 billion, setting off a chain reaction where other countries would soon have to devalue their own currencies in response to the imminent depreciation of the US Dollar, leading to inflation and price hikes. This opening of the floodgates with 800 billion dollars was aimed at the whole world.

As he was intently watching the rest of the speech, the system panel in his mind trembled slightly:

[Personnel: A+ (Legendary Edition) Scientist*1: Guo Rongcheng)

Leading Bases: B-level*1, C-level*1, non-system

Attribute Bonus: Total research capability boost: 15%, management studies boost: 10%, base personnel faith boost: 25%, legendary ability: Integration (capable of efficiently coordinating larger-scale projects saving funds and time across various fields)

Professional Focus: Fluid mechanics all-around, electromagnetics all-around, nuclear physics specialty, spacecraft design (strong)

Learning Ability: Super strong

Additional Condition: Must offer industry-average remuneration of 500% and high personal freedom]