Deep Space Wandering Fleet-Chapter 213 - Public Reaction

Chapter 213: Chapter 213 Public Reaction

Chapter 213: Chapter 213 Public Reaction

Upon hearing Wang Junpeng’s bizarre remarks, Xu Jie sarcastically retorted, “What do you mean our taxes are used for other people’s children? It’s just societal public resources, and you’re making it sound so weird… You could also have your own children and earn back the taxes you’ve paid, right? Having two could earn you societal resources and even contribute to the entire civilization… Having ten could get you more benefits and make you a hero to the entire civilization!”

At this point, Xu Jie suddenly remembered something, “…but that’s not right, we’re primarily in a planned economy now. How much tax did you even pay?”

Wang Junpeng defiantly replied, “Who says I haven’t paid a lot in taxes? I made so much money this year, enough to raise a kid, right?”

Follow current novℯls on ƒгeewёbnovel.com.

The two stared at each other with wide eyes, arguing endlessly without coming to any conclusion or having any compelling counterarguments.

In fact, neither of them was quite right. Population growth, for the present new civilization, was mostly a positive influence.

To put it concretely, if a unit “1” of societal public resources was invested in raising a baby, once he grew up and entered society, he could return 10 or even 20 times the public resources, making everyone’s life better. It was definitely a profitable deal!

Of course, this kind of deal was clearly calculable for the entire civilization but not so apparent for individuals. Even if the infancy and growth period lasted only 20 or 30 years, it still felt like a long time for an individual.

As for Wang Junpeng and Xu Jie, although they made a lot of money recycling phones… as wealthy individuals aboard the spaceship, neither of them wanted to have children.

Look at the people around who had kids—how miserable were they?

Old Fang next door had a little girl, and he had to get up in the middle of the night to wash diapers! Plus, the baby’s crying could faintly be heard at night, it was just… a nightmare, a real nightmare.

In this godforsaken place, it was impossible to find a nanny to help take care of a child; money couldn’t buy this, nor could you expect parents to help. Everything had to be done on your own.

The government was studying caregiver robots, which might offer some help, but the current production capacity could not manufacture them in large quantities, nor could it ensure one robot per household.

Way too exhausting!

“No way, I firmly refuse to have children,” Wang Junpeng thought, shaking his head involuntarily. He seemed to understand why the birthrate was so low.

“Have a kid, my ass, you don’t even have a girlfriend, and you’re talking about having children… With your twisted values, you want to be a dad? Could you even get a certificate for that?”

Xu Jie, for some reason, was particularly foul-mouthed today, truly deserving a scolding. However, having known him for so long, Wang Junpeng knew this good friend was just straightforward by nature.

“Who said I wanted to be a dad? I’m still a kid myself, why would I want to suffer? It just feels really irritating, this policy is just so bizarre… Okay, fine, for the sake of our civilization being stronger in fifty years, I… I reluctantly accept!”

Wang Junpeng shook his head and walked out the door.

A 30-year-old child… by theoretical standards of lifespan, that really is still a child.

“In fifty years, with a population growth rate of 5%… we could reach over 570,000 people. It does sound quite good—more manpower resources than now and the possibility to develop more industries.”

“However, it’s still less than 600,000 people, which is too few.”

He earned quite a bit of money but really had no desire to become a father, especially without any parental pressure. Most astronauts on the Earth Era Spaceship were young people without parental pressure—who wouldn’t want to play a few more years?

“Living together with a girl or getting married might be possible… finding a robot girl isn’t out of the question either…”

Who doesn’t have some physical desires?

The festive joy of the New Year permeated the air, and the plants on Central Square, intricately decorated, looked like Christmas trees. Various joyful music played from speakers, and a group of kids, looking about three years old, were performing.

“Hey, kids, sing along with me… Red fruits, red fruits, bright red; Green bubbles, green bubbles, bright green…”

Mr. Jin, the robot teacher, was leading the children in dance. After some time, all the people had become familiar with this beautifully designed, anthropomorphic robot and had developed a fond affection for it…

Interestingly, there had even been men who confessed their feelings for it, and not just one!

Of course, this was a teaching robot, not a companion robot, it didn’t provide services beyond education.

The crowd around them was large, constantly laughing and applauding.

These children, born in recent years naturally, weren’t numerous, but in an era where everyone was incredibly busy, it was government-developed robot teachers like Mr. Jin who were responsible for their unified education.

In Wang Junpeng’s eyes, these kids were all extremely clever and smart yet retained their innocence, each enjoying the unique joys of childhood.

This perception of the next generation felt wonderful…

Living a simple life inside the spaceship every day, the children had never experienced the Mother Star, but they considered this life to be natural, their smiling faces bright and joyful. They definitely didn’t own their own video game consoles; a small toy could entertain them for a long time.

They were mostly accompanied by their robot teacher and, so far, exhibited almost no personality flaws. Some were mischievous, some were quiet, some loved drawing, others loved reading, and some boys enjoyed teasing the girls, although only within the normal range of teasing… If it got too harsh, the teacher would punish them.

Of course, these children still had parents, and some of their education was accomplished at home.

“If there were no parents… I wonder if that would work.”

“Maybe in a few hundred years, being without parents will be the norm… Who knows? Social changes are always more intense than one imagines.”

Seeing all this, Wang Junpeng smiled slightly, his thoughts drifting to his father, the old gambler. Yes, an old gambler.

His mood began to sour.

Gamblers had no integrity, one second claiming “I’ll never gamble again,” and the next being found at the casino, “Just one last bet, maybe I can turn things around!”

In any case, there were always so many excuses, hope after hope, only leading to repeated disappointments.

Recalling life on Earth, the family debt was uncountable, constantly pursued by creditors, driving his mother to despair and leading her to abandon their home and flee, leaving father and son behind…

Now, Wang Junpeng didn’t resent his mother; running away was the right choice. Otherwise, would she have had to spend her life with a hopeless gambler?

Influenced by his father, Wang Junpeng had earned every cent for his living expenses since he was young, including his university tuition fees. He revered money, instinctively wanting to earn more for a greater sense of security.

Even his main reason for boarding the Earth Era Spaceship was just to pay off debts. Being a volunteer came with a substantial resettlement payment, allowing him to escape his incompetent father and that rough world…

Wang Junpeng didn’t regret that decision.

“The old gambler gave me life and a smart brain. I’ll pay off his last debt for him, but after that, whether he lives or dies, it has nothing to do with me… Sigh…”

He shook his head vigorously, not wanting to think about those past events on Earth anymore.

After all, it was a story from three thousand years ago. Whether the old gambler ended up in a coffin or dead in the wilderness, it had all been buried in the sands of history, the so-called truth forever lost.

His responsibilities were long fulfilled.

He clenched his fists, “It’s in the past now, the life I live now is solely my own.”