Chapter 374: Acknowledging Your Identity

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

April, 20X1 Africa, Sahara Desert, Inside Dome no.9.

It was exactly noon. Under a date palm tree full of mature fruit, Zhang Xingyang put his head on his arms, covered his face with a cloth cap and rested on a soft lawn.

But he didn’t go to sleep, he was thinking about something.

Three years. He had been here for three years. From 25 to 28 years old. His precious youth had been spent here.

“Desert Free City, a free and open place, embracing unlimited possibilities.”

Zhang Xingyang, who’d worked in a restaurant a few years ago, coincidentally heard this advertisement. Upon seeing the city under the giant transparent glass cover, he was struck by an impulse. Without knowing why his head had suddenly become hot and he’d signed up to come here.

At that time, he was already tired of the job in the restaurant. He was young and did not want to carry plates and do odd jobs in the kitchen forever, but he was not highly educated and had no skills. He could only do some lowly work.

Recruitment advertisements for the Desert Free City and the magnificent desert scenery made him want to come and try to make a successful life for himself.

Even if he had to stay in this desert forever, it was better than not seeing any hope. Right? After the initial curiosity and excitement had worn off, the present him was experiencing some regrets.

This place was too boring. There was not much entertainment.

At first, the network speed was still ok after connecting his mobile phone to the WiFi satellite network. But with time, there were too many people connecting to the network. The speed became laggy. He could only make calls and send text messages.

Of course, Hua Yao had sent people over and promised to build a 5G network by the end of this year. Then, one would be able to experience high-speed Internet access on mobile phones and re-embrace the modern world.

Entertainment was only one problem. There were people with many different talents on the work team. There were some who were good with the guitar, some who were good at dancing, some with unique skills in acrobatics. There were all kinds of talents, including Zhang Xingyang, who was good at cooking.

Those who knew how to enjoy life would never feel bored, but the sense of loneliness was indeed real, and it always came rushing to everyone’s heart from time to time.

People could bond like brothers and sisters, but the moon was brightest when viewed from one’s hometown. The longer he remained here, the more Zhang Xingyang missed his family and friends, and the more he missed his home. This was human nature.

Homesickness was only the second complaint. After all, there was a phone to make calls. If you were missing home too much, you could always call.

The most difficult thing to overcome was the inability to adapt to life here.

There wasn’t much to do. There were very few shops and supermarkets, and there was no festive atmosphere during the holidays. There was no jubilation during the Chinese New Year.

The main content of the day was work. Every corner must be planted with lawns and green trees.

Living in such an environment was like sitting through a dry and dull classroom lesson. One would find a greater and greater sense of unhappiness over time. Zhang Xingyang even thought of running away.

He heard a lot of complaints.

“It’s better to stay in the country, there is nothing here.”

“I regret coming here a little. Developing your life and career in the country comes with pressure, but there’s internet, express delivery, take-away, cinemas, but what about here? All these amenities have to be built from scratch.”

“The problem is that the salary is not high. It is only $5,000 a month. You can easily find plenty of jobs in the country that pay at least $5,000.”

“Do we really have to stay in this place for a lifetime? Desert Free City, ha, I’ve never really felt the freedom here, but loneliness did arrive early.”

“Can Xing Hai Technologies send some women over? We have more than 500,000 laborers in the base and less than one-tenth of them are women and most of them come with their husbands. The rest are die-hard singles. Xing Hai Technologies, can you help solve the problem of being a bachelor?”

Hearing this, Zhang Xingyang also had the urge to apply to leave or even escape. He was not only single but also a virgin.

In this desert, which had a climate like the inside of an oven for twelve months out of the year, many people felt so agitated that they found it difficult to sleep. There had even been some criminal incidents.

More than 100,000 workers had applied to leave. However, a clause in the contract stated that “leaving of posts is not allowed before the city is completed,” so their applications were rejected. Subsequently, their actions turned into escape operations.

Overall, the labor force of the No. 9 Domed Base had very low morale. There was a marked decline in work efficiency.

…

“People are social animals; they are also a type of emotional creature,” Alice explained. “They are not happy because their social ties, cultural ties, and emotional ties have been cut off. It’s as if they had been exiled to an island.”

“The working environment of the domed base is not too difficult. The robots have taken on the primary heavy labor. The workers only have to undertake some simple tasks,” argued Chen Jin.

“This situation is the same as the yearning the Mericans of the 18th century felt towards Europe. Even though their material life is very rich, their mental energy is very low and the soul is very lonely,” Alice insisted.

Chen Jin frowned, but Alice continued her analysis.

“If we don’t think of ways to improve this situation, the workers in the domed base will have a hard time feeling a sense of belonging to the place they are developing. Instead, they will always think about returning. In the past six months, the average number of workers who have applied to return to Z and other countries in a month is more than 1,000 people. They still want to leave even if they have to pay 1 million for breach of contract. They explained that they couldn’t stand the loneliness and they couldn’t break away from the cultural shackles. Perhaps we have to release the workers for a visit to their family?”

Chen Jin frowned deeper. The problem was, a portion of the workers would definitely not return if they were released. They would disappear without a trace, and they would be faced with a lack of labor resources.

“We can’t release the workers for a home visit, but maybe family members could come and visit them,” Alice suggested.

Chen Jin shook his head.

“This was implemented long ago. Family members could even apply for reimbursement of plane or boat tickets, but there were still many workers who wanted to leave.”

Everything was difficult at the beginning. Being a pioneer was the hardest and most exhausting experience one could undergo. It was necessary to endure the helplessness and loneliness of being far away from home.

The ancients said that “the beginning of any business is tough.” The concept of creation was such that you could only feel its greatness when you engaged in similar work.

Modern people did not have to worry about food and clothing. There was a rich variety of entertainment for them too, but they were suddenly thrown into the works of desert transformation and had to endure all kinds of inconveniences in life and spiritual trials and tribulations. There were not many people who persisted.

Alice found a way to solve this difficult problem.

“Master, we need to instill a sense of identity and validation in the workers of every city. Let them acknowledge and identify with the profession they are engaged in and the land under their feet. More importantly, we have to let them know who they are.”

Chen Jin gestured for Alice to explain.

“There is no doubt that they are no longer Z citizens or Southeast Asians. They have abandoned their nationality. Ever since they set foot on this desert, they are the people of the Desert Free City belonging to the Earth Federation. They can say that they are citizens of the Free City, and they can say they are citizens of the Earth Federation.”

“Because the 1% tax collected from every free city tax is turned over to the Earth Federation, they can call themselves a citizen of the Earth Federation,” Chen Jin agreed.

“Moreover, each free city has a representative seat in the Federal Parliament, and the representative can actively participate in international affairs,” continued Alice. “There are 300 free cities, which means there are 300 votes. The free cities will be a force to be reckoned with. Because the citizens of the free cities have the power to speak and vote internationally, they are equal to the citizens of other countries. They are members of a big family, and there is no need to feel lost and lonely.”

Alice continued with her point.

“Once a worker has established his identity and acknowledges it, it means that he has set down roots. No matter what difficulties he encounters, he can overcome it with both hands and hard work because the land under his feet is his beautiful home.”

Chen Jin nodded. What Alice said was true. Once a person had an identity that he acknowledged, it was equivalent to setting down roots. He or she would no longer feel like they were confused or merely drifters.

It was like a job. Only when you had acknowledged and identified with the profession could you continue with it. The establishment of the Earth Federation, to a considerable extent, had solved the problem of the identity of the workers. They did not have to feel that they were refugees or only workers. Instead, they were federal citizens, the owners of this desert!

…

Under the date palm tree, Zhang Xingyang, who was thinking some anxious thoughts and was in an agitated emotional state, suddenly heard a voice over the radio.

“To all the workers who have been working diligently, I am here to tell you a piece of good news – the Earth Federation is established! From now on, you are the glorious citizens of the Earth Federation. You will proudly develop and open up this land that belongs to you as a citizen of the planet. Please forget your respective origins, race, and culture. In this free land, you are all equal and enjoy the same obligations and rights. You represent the civilization of the planet. Cheers! Let’s celebrate! A new era is coming and we are embracing the bright and wonderful future!”

Listening to this exciting broadcast, Zhang Xingyang opened his eyes and removed the cloth cap from his face. He sat up and slowly stood from the ground.

He looked around and saw hundreds of thousands of workers like him in the domed base. They had also stood up, their faces were somewhat vacant and their eyes sparkled.

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