Homo Sapiens

Kailuo Company’s plan to invest in a fertilizer production base in Luzon wasn’t a bluff; the project was real.

Currently, Homo Sapiens Company had already taken control of the Fernando Clan, the Lopez Clan, the Duterte Clan, and the Tusun Clan, making it the uncrowned king of Luzon.

A small number of mid- to low-level members of the remaining three major families had also been infiltrated.

As a result, Homo Sapiens Company acted with increasing impunity within Luzon.

For instance, the provinces controlled by the Fernando Clan, which served as the earliest base of operations, had now completed the initial phase of their mega-corporatization.

「Southern Luzon Island.」

The outskirts of Lima South City.

More and more farmers were forced to join agricultural cooperatives or go bankrupt and become urban workers, while their land was rapidly consolidated into the hands of Haitian Agriculture.

In the urban district of Lima South City, a vast number of construction workers were toiling away like a colony of tireless ants.

The massive infrastructure projects in southern Luzon Island had turned the area into a sprawling construction site. The large numbers of bankrupt farmers, small artisans, and small business owners did not fall into poverty as a result. On the contrary, they felt their lives had actually improved quite a bit.

Bower, who had been a fisherman in a small fishing village, wiped the sweat from his brow before using his shovel to toss dirt from the trench to either side.

He felt lucky. Although he had sold his family’s small fishpond, compared to the old days of toiling for little pay, he now earned a salary of around 4,000 Pesos (equivalent to 660 Huayuan) a month.

If that were all, his life wouldn’t have improved by much.

But as an employee of a Homo Sapiens-affiliated company, he enjoyed numerous hidden benefits, such as performance points, employee dormitories, employee cafeterias, internal discounts, education for his children, and medical insurance—perks that ordinary small businesses could never afford to provide.

At least Bower didn’t have to worry about his two children’s education. And with his wife working as a sorter at a supermarket, their dual-employee family was among the better-off ones in the area.

"Bower, it’s time for lunch break."

Hearing his co-worker call out from nearby, Bower quickly climbed up, shovel in hand.

"Whew! It’s too hot," the co-worker complained, wringing out his sweat-soaked towel.

Bower licked his dry lips. "What’s for lunch?"

"How about the East Star Restaurant?" the co-worker suggested.

"East Star? We’re in the South City District. Do we really have to go that far?" Bower asked, scratching his head.

But his co-worker looked furious. "Those idiots at Barkun Restaurant... I just want to punch them every time I see them. Who do they think they are, lords of the manor? I’ve already filed a negative review and complaint with the Supervisory Department. Next month, they’ll learn not to mess with me."

"Are you crazy?" Bower said worriedly.

The co-worker sneered. "Bower, you need to learn from your big bro. This is a right the head office gave us. All employees are equal. Those idiots think they can act all high and mighty and bully us just because they work at the employee cafeteria. I’m going to complain about them, and that’s final."

Of course, Bower knew this was one of the rights the head office granted to all employees.

Throughout Lima South City, there were a total of eight designated employee cafeterias, all managed by Fengrao House.

Employees were free to choose which cafeteria to eat at, and the service quality and food at each were the responsibility of that cafeteria’s manager.

While employees couldn’t order the cafeterias around, it didn’t mean the cafeterias could do as they pleased. Employees could choose to eat elsewhere and could also file complaints against ones with poor service.

All complaint investigations were handled not by the subsidiary itself, but by the head office’s Supervisory Department.

If a cafeteria received a large number of complaints or performed very poorly in terms of profitability, the Supervisory Department would inevitably launch an investigation.

For any cafeteria found to have problems, the employees involved would either be sent to prison, exiled to the mines or farms as regular workers, or fired on the spot.

But Bower didn’t believe the Supervisory Department would bother with such a small matter, especially since the manager of that cafeteria was from the Fernando Clan. That’s why he’d told his co-worker not to stir up trouble.

Too bad he didn’t know his co-worker was a Soldier hidden among the company’s rank-and-file, also drawing a salary from the Internal Affairs Department.

This Soldier’s mission was very simple: to supervise the subsidiary’s mid- and low-level staff and to guide the grassroots employees.

Complaining about the cafeteria with poor service was one of this Soldier’s guidance missions. The goal was to make the grassroots employees understand that company rules were inviolable, that the Supervisory Department was just and impartial, and that the boss was the one who truly cared about them.

Bower was still skeptical, but he decided to go to the East Star Restaurant with his good friend anyway.

Another six or seven construction workers went with them.

They arrived at the bus stop.

Before long, a Jinlong bus appeared in the distance.

Bower and the others used their employee cards to get on the bus for half price. There were quite a few passengers on board. The group found some empty seats, and the air conditioning inside was running full blast.

"It’s so cool in here. This bus is much better than the old ones. It doesn’t even spew black smoke," Bower commented.

The other passengers felt the same way.

The old buses in Lima South City were not just dilapidated; their aging diesel engines would belch black smoke the moment they started, and the buses were so drafty they might as well have had no walls, let alone air conditioning.

Hearing Bower’s comment, the bus driver gave a wry smile. "You think I didn’t want to turn on the AC? The old buses didn’t even have any. These new ones are much better. They’re comfortable to drive."

"Old Muke, this bus wasn’t cheap, was it?"

"Tell your company to keep them well-maintained! Otherwise, they’ll be spewing black smoke again in a few years."

The old driver shook his head. "These run on natural gas, not diesel. They don’t spew black smoke."

"Natural gas? Don’t tell me they’ve found natural gas around here?" a passenger asked, confused.

The old driver steered lightly. "Who knows?"

In reality, numerous methane fermentation plants had already been built in the cities of southern Luzon Island, enough to supply the local residents’ gas needs. In fact, they were even starting to see excess production capacity.

Although the excess methane could be stored by expanding the number of storage tanks.

But this wasn’t a long-term solution. Besides the 11 methane fermentation plants already completed, there were 8 more under construction in other cities and another 14 in the planning stages.

These plants would be commissioned one after another, and by then, Luzon’s methane production would reach between 8 to 10 billion cubic meters per month.

Even with the consumption from the fertilizer production base, it wouldn’t be enough to use up that much methane.

Therefore, after discussing it with the other managers, Fang Xincheng decided to introduce natural gas vehicles. The partners for this venture were the Jinlong Bus Company and the Shaanxi Automobile Company.

Jinlong Automobile primarily supplied buses, ambulances, fire trucks, and tour buses, while the Shaanxi Automobile Company supplied large trucks, light trucks, refrigerated transport vehicles, and garbage trucks.

All these vehicles were required to be converted to run on natural gas, but the gas cylinders didn’t need to be provided by them; Homo Sapiens Company would install its own.

After all, their own company’s gas cylinder storage tanks were excellent, and the methane they produced was extremely cheap, which drastically reduced the fuel portion of transportation costs.

Although bus fares had decreased, the bus company was still profitable—in fact, its profits had increased by about 63% compared to before.

The secret behind this was the sharp drop in fuel costs. The improved infrastructure also slightly reduced energy consumption, and with the general increase in residents’ incomes, the number of people taking the bus had grown.

What is competitiveness?

This is competitiveness.

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