Global Catastrophe: I Became the World Tree-Chapter 184 - 152 New Trading Plan_1

After listening to Bai Yinghui’s account, a trace of joy couldn’t help but appear on everyone’s faces in the room.

"So, this city merger plan seems to be good news for them."

However, their smiles had barely emerged when they saw Bai Yinghui knock on the table and say, "I think everyone, don’t be too happy too soon."

"There’s no such thing as a free lunch, and by the same logic, the government isn’t going to allocate resources to us for nothing. The plan from above has come down, and our Yang City needs to expand to accommodate a population of 10 million."

After Bai Yinghui finished speaking, the expressions on many people’s faces changed.

"Increase to a population of 10 million? Are you kidding me? That would mean an influx of nearly 5 million people. Can you imagine how serious the social problems this will bring? Not to mention anything else, just housing alone won’t be resolved in a short amount of time," Cao Guangzhi immediately said.

He was the Secretary-General, which was essentially like being the chief steward. These matters would probably fall on his shoulders later on.

Bai Yinghui spoke seriously, "This is an order from the national government, and no matter what, we must carry it out."

As he said this, he changed the subject with a light cough, continuing, "Of course, as for how to arrange for these new residents, that will rely on your municipal departments to cooperate. If there’s anything you need help with, feel free to speak up and communicate with us in the military department."

Yes, the military is only responsible for the safety of its residents.

As for managing these people once they arrive, how to solve problems related to people’s livelihoods, that wasn’t for him to consider.

So after he finished speaking, he looked towards Liu Zaoxin at his side. The next steps for these matters were up to him.

At this moment, the gaze of various department heads in the audience inevitably turned towards Liu Zaoxin, the Mayor.

Since the meeting started, Liu Zaoxin had been silent, sitting there quietly. Some had found this strange before, but now everyone understood.

He had clearly been aware of this matter in advance. If it were them, they probably wouldn’t be in the mood to talk either.

It was time for Liu Zaoxin to speak. He pinched the bridge of his nose, organizing his thoughts before saying, "Actually, when I received the notice, I was already considering this issue."

"To accommodate an additional 5 million people on our current foundation is almost impossible, so our city will have to expand further outwards."

His words immediately made everyone’s expressions in the room turn solemn.

If it were peacetime, expanding outwards wouldn’t be a big deal; at most, they would just designate a new urban area.

But now it’s different. The threat of mutated beings outside makes it necessary for ordinary people to be sheltered by defensive walls.

Yet, the defensive walls have already been planned, and now you can say that pulling one hair affects the whole body.

Still, nobody voiced opposition, because everyone was clear that this was necessary.

Liu Zaoxin signaled to the guards beside him to turn on the projector, then he brought up the map of Yang City.

He took a laser pointer and drew a circle on the southeastern part of Yang City.

"My plan is to enclose this large piece of agricultural land within our city walls. I’ve calculated that we will only need to extend the length of the defensive wall by about 10 kilometers, which shouldn’t delay the construction progress too much," Liu Zaoxin said.

Looking at the area he had circled, many people’s brows furrowed slightly, not because the area was too large, but because it was too small.

Cao Guangzhi was the first to speak up, "Mayor, isn’t this area a bit too small? Even if we were to build high-rise residences on this entire piece of agricultural land, I feel that at most it could only accommodate 500,000 people. What about the rest?"

Liu Zaoxin sighed, "We can’t judge the current situation with our past experience. It’s true that in the past we demanded good living conditions, but under the current circumstances, just having a safe place to live is already quite good."

"Therefore, this area will directly cram in a population of 1 million. The houses here will be built to a standard of 50 square meters for a family of four. If anyone is dissatisfied, let them pay out of their own pocket to buy a house elsewhere."

The people in the conference room couldn’t help but nod in agreement, indeed, they were about to face an unprecedented change. The future was becoming increasingly dangerous, and having a safe place to live did indeed seem quite good.

But even so, there were still problems.

"Mayor, what about the remaining 4 million people? Where will they be resettled?" Cao Guangzhi continued to inquire.

"The old urban area!" Liu Zaoxin pointed at the map with his laser pointer and said, "Here, here, and here. The houses in these three districts are quite old and mostly low-rise residential buildings. If we demolish them and build high-rise housing instead, we can accommodate more people."

"Demolition?" Cao Guangzhi frowned, "That’s a huge project, and how will the compensation be calculated?"

"Two options: first, purchase their houses at market price."

"Second, after the new houses are built, they will be allocated to them 1:1 according to the size of their old houses, and these former residents will have priority to choose," Liu Zaoxin explained.

"That’s it?" Cao Guangzhi was somewhat astonished.

"Yes, that’s it," Liu Zaoxin emphasized, "Tell them if they’re not satisfied, they can enlist in the military. The treatment of military personnel will continue to improve, and they’ll also be able to get another set of housing."