Chapter 49 Chapter 49 The Fourth Wish
There is no principle of checks and balances here. The chief has the power to appoint officials from various departments, and all ministers are directly responsible to the chief. Wu Jian's uncle had a very high reputation and the power to have the final say.
The Minister of Finance was a woman in her forties, almost one of the oldest people in this world, but she looked quite young, with black hair, a straight back, and her head held high as she walked into the chief's office.
When the Minister of Finance entered the room, System 05 closed the door behind her. The Minister had heard rumors about this young man yesterday. She saw System 05 standing next to Chen Mu and opening a document.
Chen Mu said, "This is my new assistant, Bai Daqiu."
The Minister of Finance sat down calmly. It was obvious that she did not take System 05 seriously. System 05 glanced over and saw her data.
【Li Qing】
[STDE-C-2 concentration in the body: 46%]
Antibody level: 36%
Threshold: 98
It's a very dangerous situation. At Li Qing's age, she has received multiple injections of antiviral drugs. Now her threshold has reached 98. It can almost be said that current drugs have no effect on her anymore.
"Minister Li, let me get straight to the point. Please explain last year's funding for the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Biology, as well as the fiscal revenue."
In front of Chen Mu was last year's financial report. Last year's financial expenditure had exceeded the budget by a large amount, and the base's finances were in jeopardy.
Before the Finance Minister came in, System 05 and Chen Mu briefly discussed her. She was directly appointed by the previous leader and had worked diligently in this position for fifteen years. She had a high reputation. More importantly, she insisted on reasonable planning of expenditures and repeatedly rejected the Biology Department's funding requests. However, last year, various incidents occurred frequently at the base, and the Finance Department had to increase expenditures, resulting in a large increase in the fiscal deficit last year.
This report contained some whitewashing, evasion, ambiguity, and even falsification of data, primarily intended to deceive the leader. Even so, the logic of the numbers couldn't be altered, and the falsification couldn't be excessive. A lot could be learned from this report. System 05, after a brief glance, had a general understanding of the base's situation last year, at least a deeper understanding than Wu Jian's.
The Minister of Finance was chosen because of the bad relationship between her and the Biology Department. Li Qing is loyal to the base and to his duties, although not to Wu Jian.
"Last year, a large amount of infrastructure needed updating and renovation. Due to material shortages and inflation, the Finance Department requested a 50% salary increase," Li Qing said calmly. "The Biology Department is developing new drugs, and they strongly requested a budget increase."
Chen Mu: "It costs 500,000 yuan to build a pipeline. I remember when the pipeline was first built, it was only 200,000 yuan per pipeline."
Li Qing: "We should consider the issues of currency devaluation and rising commodity prices."
Chen Mu: "What's the problem if we spent so much money but didn't fix the pipeline?"
Li Qing: "Chief, I think this should be asked to the Minister of Government Affairs. I don't know much about these situations."
Chen Mu smiled. "So, you should be familiar with the funding situation for the Biology Department. For the past ten years, the annual funding for the Biology Department has only fluctuated by 5%. But last year, the funding increased by 30 million. Can you explain this? Also, last year's revenue was 7% less than before. I'd like to know more details."
Li Qing looked up at him and found that the leader today seemed a little different from before. She paused and said, "Leader, you signed and approved all of this."
Chen Mu turned and exchanged glances with System 05, then sighed softly. "Minister Li, my uncle placed you in this position out of trust... and I feel the same way. My uncle once said that finances are the most important issue for the base, and asked me to discuss things with you more often. I've really had too little communication with you over the past few years, so let's take advantage of this opportunity today to have a good chat."
Li Qing's eyebrows twitched as he met Chen Mu's deep gaze.
Chen Mu and Li Qing spent three hours in the office talking. Li Qing was incredibly knowledgeable about every aspect of the Finance Department. To her surprise, the chief also knew every bit of last year's data, even if it was fake data on the report. System 05 sat in on the conversation, occasionally getting them a glass of water and taking notes the rest of the time. He seemed like a perfectly ordinary assistant.
After the conversation, Li Qing felt slightly dizzy when she stood up, and her body swayed slightly. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she found that the young assistant was standing beside her and helped her up.
Before leaving, Chen Mu said to her earnestly, "Minister Li, to change the current situation, what I need most is your help."
After closing the door, Chen Mu let out a long breath. System 05 came over and bent down to sort out the content of the previous conversation. After communicating with the Minister of Finance, the plan in his mind became clearer.
Chen Mu frowned, thinking for a moment, and asked, "Why is it useless to give them money?"
"When the total amount of supplies remains unchanged, giving money will only lead to rising prices." System 05 looked down at him. This was one of the topics that Chen Mu and the Minister of Finance had just discussed. Inflation was particularly severe last year, with the price of staple foods rising by an average of 25%, which placed a serious burden on the people in the base.
Chen Mu had never been exposed to this kind of knowledge before, nor did he have any management experience. In the world of cultivation, he was devoted to cultivation and revenge, and he mostly kept to himself. In fact, a large sect usually has more than 30,000 people, but he had never entered any sect and had no understanding of how organizations operated.
Most of the conversation with the Minister of Finance today was temporarily taught to him by System 05. There were still many concepts that he couldn't understand, but Chen Mu had a good memory and was good at disguising himself with his aura, and he managed to scare the Minister of Finance.
"There are too many people just sitting there doing nothing. We need to change some systems and recruit a new group of people," System 05 said. "We have a lot to do. You need a think tank, and I alone can't do it. The middle-level power within an organization is very important. If it's just you, no matter how tough you are, you won't be able to accomplish anything."
Chen Mu nodded slowly.
System 05 pointed to the notes and said, "Last year, the center's finances were reduced, and various underground forces plundered a large amount of wealth. They emerged because the center lacked power, and even the worst order is better than no order. However, they won't pay a single cent of the money they receive in taxes to the center, nor will they invest it in construction or organization."
Chen Mu asked: "Should we deal with them first?"
System 05: "No, we surrender."
Before this, each level was centrally managed by the center, which was very inefficient and government orders could not be conveyed. In fact, it would be appropriate for each level to have its own manager, but those managers must be the leader's people.
Chen Mu: "They are living a good life now, why would they be willing to put shackles on themselves?"
System 05 smiled slightly. "So we need to give them a little trouble first... Let the Minister of Administration come. As for the Biology Department, we'll deal with it last."
Base 59 has recently seen some major events, but upon closer inspection, they all seem to have begun with smaller things. The leader has established a new department, the Internal Council. He's holding an assessment, open to residents on every floor. Those who pass will advance to the fifth floor and join the Internal Council. Previously, many positions in the Administrative Department were based on internal recommendations, and were even hereditary.
Although the position of leader is also hereditary.
This of course aroused opposition from many members of the Government Affairs Department, who protested and made trouble. So Chen Mu took the opportunity to revoke the positions of some people and reached an agreement with others that members of the Internal Council were not allowed to enter the fifth floor. Then, Chen Mu ordered the Government Affairs Department to start dealing with underground forces at all levels.
Under the Ministry of Government Affairs, there were many smaller departments responsible for different areas. Chen Mu inspected each one and then directly replaced the current Minister of Government Affairs. This led to a period of chaos. The new Minister of Government Affairs resigned due to immense pressure not long after taking office. Chen Mu accepted his resignation and replaced him with another Minister.
The new minister, Zhang Su, was quite capable and had a strong personality. Although he was reluctant to obey orders, he was determined to deal with the underground forces. Chen Mu wanted to get rid of the donkey after it had done its work, while Zhang Su wanted to make a profit, so the two of them had a good understanding.
Chen Mu requested a review of last year's fiscal expenditures. During the investigation, several financial personnel died, and various data mysteriously disappeared, leading to the matter being dropped. However, at this year's meeting, Chen Mu used this as an excuse to reject the budget increases requested by the Government Affairs and Biology Departments. He also cut some unnecessary expenses and increased funding for the Internal Affairs Department. After a series of lengthy negotiations, the spending plan was finally finalized.
In addition, he also demanded the establishment of schools and factories, unified management, financial transparency, etc. Each of these things encountered huge resistance, but they were all progressing slowly.
Some things can be done slowly, some things must be done immediately, some things can be compromised, and some things must be persisted in. Always be clear about your goals and know what is most important. The means can be flexible and changeable, but the principles must be clear.
System 05 taught him a lot. Chen Mu learned and used it, becoming more and more proficient, and gradually he knew what to do best.
Chen Mu felt that these skills were likely not learned from the system compression package. System 05 explained that while it could provide assistance to the host, the host could also be its teacher. He had once encountered a host who had built his own interstellar power from scratch. This host possessed natural leadership abilities, and System 05 could only provide limited assistance. Instead, the host would explain his ideas and choices to System 05, and those ideas often amazed System 05.
System 05 has experienced many worlds and met many people. Chen Mu once again gained a deeper understanding of this matter.
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