Less than two minutes after the decree was issued, before Chu Guang had even walked away from the bulletin board, he was surrounded by excited players.
"Lord Administrator, how do we write the application?"
"Boss Shuguang, are there any restrictions on the business type? Can it be any industry?"
"I want to build a greenhouse to grow vegetables!"
"I suggest making a generator!"
"I want to open a public toilet!"
"I want to sell shit!"
"Fuck! What is wrong with you?!"
"..."
There were always players who said what Chu Guang was thinking, saving him the trouble of roasting them himself.
To maintain order, Chu Guang raised a hand, gesturing for the players to quiet down. Then he cleared his throat and continued sternly.
"Anyone wishing to apply for industrial land must submit a written application. Verbal applications will not be accepted!
"The paper required for written applications can be purchased at the outpost's warehouse for one copper coin. For any questions, please contact my assistant. In half an hour, it will brief you on the details of writing the application and the rules governing industrial land use.
"Now disperse and get back to whatever you're supposed to be doing!"
The paper needed for the applications could indeed be bought in the outpost's warehouse, scavenged mainly from apartment buildings and ruined office blocks.
Although it sounded rather incredible, the paper in this world lasted far longer than one would expect.
Paper certificates, a small amount of banknotes, collectible paintings, or books, in particular—as long as they hadn't been exposed outdoors to wind, sun, and rain, or gotten damp and moldy—might not be in pristine condition, but surviving the weathering of time was no great problem.
Perhaps some antioxidant material had been added, or perhaps it wasn't paper made from wood in the traditional sense at all?
Chu Guang couldn't explain the reason either, just as he couldn't explain the technical principles of controlled nuclear fusion.
Technology twenty years ahead was high tech; technology a century ahead was practically indistinguishable from pure magic. It degraded when people needed it to degrade, and remained preserved when people needed it preserved.
In short, the shelter still occasionally recovered usable waste paper. While they weren't luxurious enough to wipe their butts with it, a small amount of office consumption was acceptable.
However, upon seeing the deluge of applications handed in, Chu Guang couldn't help but feel a twinge of doubt about his pricing.
One copper coin per sheet of paper.
It was definitely too cheap...
In front of the sanatorium, a dense crowd had gathered.
Even though there were only forty-odd production occupation players, gathered together they still made quite a crowd.
"Respected Lord Administrator, I believe our outpost still lacks a lively, lived-in vibe! And what embodies that? Barbecue, of course! So I want to apply for a twenty-square-meter plot of industrial land to open an Old Street BBQ—"
"Catering goes to the north gate market. Next."
"Papermaking! Lord Administrator, I want to open a toilet paper factory! It doesn't need to be huge, around a thousand square meters is enough! Using moss fibers is way too uncomfortable—last time I accidentally grabbed a wad of—"
"Next."
"Boss! Look at me! I want to open a tavern! About two hundred square meters will do! An isekai game without a tavern always feels like it's missing something!"
Mmm...
That at least fell into the realm of normal human thought.
Chu Guang took his application, gave it a single glance, and rejected it.
"I suggest changing the business project to brewing, adjusting the area to under a hundred square meters, and applying again."
"B-but I want to open a tavern like the Cat's Tail Tavern..."
"Next."
There were always people who didn't understand the concept of industry, nor the difference between industry and commerce.
Though it was partly his fault for not explaining it clearly, Chu Guang felt this went without saying.
Was it really that hard to understand what the Lord Administrator needed?
It wasn't hard at all!
Regardless, any bizarre ventures that failed to meet the needs of the wasteland's people or violated public order and decency would be struck down directly by Xiao Qi.
Digging latrines to bury feces, setting up barbecue stands, opening restaurants, taverns, KTV lounges... it wasn't that these were strictly forbidden, but there was a time and place for everything, and it depended on whether people actually needed them.
For instance, the outpost currently lacked bricks, so opening a brick kiln was completely fine.
Opening a tavern, though...
Did they have surplus grain to brew alcohol?
If they were really craving a drink, they might as well take off their VR helmets and go drink in reality!
However, if someone wanted to set up a distillery to synthesize ethanol, Chu Guang would support it with both hands. As one of the most widely used industrial raw materials, there were plenty of uses for it.
The warehouse had purchase orders for 70% and 95%+ ethanol for industrial and medical purposes. Current inventory demands were 20 L and 10 L respectively, and the orders paid decent rates—even if one jin of grain yielded only one liang of alcohol, there was still a modest profit to be made.
Already, some hardcore players had made yeast starter using knotweed and other wild grasses, and were trying to brew alcohol with ram horn potatoes by mimicking the method of distilling vodka from potatoes.
Someone had tried green wheat before, but failed; it contained small amounts of oxalic acid that proved difficult to remove and seemed to adversely affect the yeast.
If someone wanted to apply for industrial land to research brewing technology, Chu Guang would certainly consider cautiously approving a couple of plots to see the results.
As for a tavern...
Forget it!
Just as the player who wanted to open a tavern trudged away dejectedly with his application in hand, Tengteng, with her arm held high, finally squeezed past the onlookers in the front row and wriggled out of the crowd.
"Me, me, me, me!"
Clutching her application in hand, her face flushed red, she panted nervously.
"Can I open a tailor's cottage? Forty-eight square meters is enough, or forty square meters if that won't work."
"Give me the application."
Chu Guang took the written application from Tengteng's hand, scanned it once, and kept it.
"Approved!
"Industrial land applications approved before noon will have their plots distributed together this evening. Please prepare the materials and tools needed for construction by then."
"Construction" was probably putting it too generously.
Building materials were still rather pricey at the outpost right now; erecting an actual building was likely out of reach.
Once this little player got the land, she would probably start by throwing together a small wooden stall, not fundamentally different from her previous working conditions.
That said, upgrading from a wage laborer to a self-employed business owner still made Tengteng overjoyed. She hopped into the air, pumping her little fist excitedly.
"Ooooh!! Nice!"
Watching Tengteng, who wasn't even as tall as him when she jumped, Chu Guang chuckled inwardly, though his face remained deadpan and composed.
Happy, aren't you?
Haha, it's too early to celebrate!
After opening a tailor shop, the clothes and protective gear she made could indeed be sold by herself, and whether sold to the warehouse or to players, the profits would entirely belong to her.
Correspondingly, however, those fine-quality pelts in the warehouse would no longer be free for the taking.
A whole deer hide currently sold at the warehouse for six to eight silver coins; it would rise slightly once winter set in, but not by too much, and was good for making two to three garments.
Completing an NPC warehouse order yielded around two to three silver coins of profit per garment. Chu Guang would actively regulate this number so players wouldn't earn excessive income from NPCs and disrupt game balance.
As for selling to players, it didn't matter.
Market dynamics would naturally balance out a fair price. Attractive clothes were never hard to sell, and a higher profit margin was reasonable. Still, players' purchasing power and overall market size had clear limits; how much she could sell came down to her own ability.
In short, she would be responsible for her own profits and losses!
No matter how you looked at it, he was the one who made out better by saving on wages.
Besides Tengteng's tailor shop, Brother Scrambled Eggs' butchery shop was also approved.
After some thought, the butchering industry fell under food processing, and food processing counted roughly as light industry. Placing it in the industrial zone wasn't entirely wrong.
In any case, the wise and mighty Lord Administrator hesitated briefly before finally nodding his noble head under the gaze of Brother Scrambled Eggs' expectant eyes.
At the very least, a butchery stall was somewhat more reliable than a barbecue stand.
However, once winter set in, game became scarce, and the peak season for the butchery trade was already over. Would choosing to strike out on his own right now really make more money than sitting on a butcher occupation to collect a basic allowance?
Hard to say.
At any rate, not having to pay out of his own pocket was a good thing, and Chu Guang couldn't be bothered to worry on the players' behalf.
In less than half an hour, Chu Guang went over all the applications, ruthlessly rejecting the unqualified ones and keeping only the viable proposals.
These included a 6x8m tailor shop, a 6x8m butchery shop, and a 20x10m steelmaking workshop, totaling 296 square meters.
What surprised Chu Guang somewhat was Brother Mosquito.
He had thought this guy would open a carpentry workshop, but to his surprise, the man had written [Goblin Tech] in the project column, and [Chemical Industry] under business scope.
"The application doesn't qualify. You can't just write 'Chemical Industry.' You need to specify the concrete production items—for example, what kind of chemical product you want to produce and its intended use must all be written down."
Mosquito scratched his head and managed to blurt out:
"Then can I change it to weapons? And produce the raw materials for them too!"
Chu Guang pondered for a moment and found no fault with that.
"That's acceptable, but you must provide at least one sample product to verify that it functions normally and... that someone is willing to use it. Then you can make it your primary production item. If you add new items later, you only need to register them with my assistant. I need to ensure every plot of industrial land I approve is utilized effectively. Do you understand what I mean?"
Mosquito nodded repeatedly.
"Understood! Heheh, I'll go rewrite it right now!"
Chu Guang hoped the fellow truly understood.
Chu Guang didn't object to him conducting wild experiments, but he hoped the guy wouldn't go too far and cause trouble for other players.
The warehouse order board had requests for gunpowder and smokeless powder, and the weapons shop also offered orders for homemade grenades and Molotov cocktails.
None of these required wild imagination, and all were easy ways to make money.
As for carpentry...
They weren't particularly short on it anymore.
Among the newly joined players, at least five knew carpentry, so filling the vacancy he left wouldn't be an issue.
"His workshop needs to be placed far away from the respawn point."
"Can't have him blowing me up."
Standing in front of the sanatorium, Chu Guang mused inwardly and made a mental note.
Right then, snow suddenly began to fall from the sky.
Before long, the snowfall grew heavier, and the temperature dropped sharply with it.
Although the shelter's bluecoats altered their material properties in cold weather to reduce thermal conductivity and retain warmth, they ultimately couldn't replace an overcoat or a padded jacket.
Feeling the chill against his neck, Chu Guang turned around, intending to head back to the shelter and put on his deerskin jacket.
Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out in the direction of the outpost's west gate.
An angler carrying a plastic bucket and a homemade fishing rod was sprinting through the intensifying snowfall, crying out in terror, having even lost a shoe along the way.
"Crabs!!"
"The crabs are eating people!"
Chapter 83