Chapter 58: Recruiting New Members (Bonus Chapter)

The next morning, Fu Chen still woke up very early.

He was discussing a new proposal with Li Renshu.

"We need a medical fund to cover the rescue expenses in the event of casualties after each game.

"The price of each medical kit is 499. Although we can't yet determine the interval between the opening of the corridors or the exact number of participants each time, I feel it is essential to keep at least six medical kits on standby.

"This is mainly to deal with extreme emergencies.

"Any more than that wouldn't be necessary, because the kits contain various medicines, and different medicines within a single kit can be used by different players simultaneously.

"Alternatively, we could draw this money directly from the community's basic security fund.

"But certainly, only those who are injured should be able to apply for this money."

Li Renshu thought for a moment. "If that's the case, we'll still need someone to handle the auditing and management. We can't hold a vote every single time we need to use it.

"However, compared to everyone directly spending their own money to buy medical kits, this method will further increase our organizational operating costs."

Fu Chen pondered. "Is that so? Hmm... that makes sense. Let me think about it more."

Li Renshu continued, "Speaking of proposals, I actually have two ideas for optimization.

"The first is regarding the collection of the community basic security fund. I've thought about this for a long time and believe it is necessary to establish a threshold.

"When we discussed this previously, because we had only participated in one game, the data was unclear and time was tight—we only had less than an hour to discuss it—so the collection of this security fund was a bit too 'one-size-fits-all.'

"Everyone pays 5%, which looks fair on the surface, but for those who earn relatively little visa time from the games, the burden on their daily lives isn't significantly lightened.

"So I was wondering if we could set a threshold, where those below the threshold do not need to pay this 5% security fund.

"Personally, I think 20,000 would be an appropriate threshold.

"The second idea concerns the specific application of the community basic security fund.

"Since we previously collected at a flat 5%, there will actually be a significant surplus. If everything goes smoothly and no major emergencies occur, this community basic security fund will definitely keep growing.

"How to dispose of this extra money is also a question.

"Here is what I'm thinking: first, I believe it can become an interest-free loan pool.

"Suppose someone's visa time is truly about to run out; they could borrow some visa time from this pool as emergency relief, at least helping them hold out until the next game begins.

"Of course, this type of lending would be limited to once per person, and the amount would be capped at 20,000 minutes of visa time. For everyone, this provides an extra margin for error..."

While the two were chatting, other players were also coming downstairs to eat breakfast.

Su Xiucen also sat down with a tray. "Are you two talking about the basic subsistence issue?"

Li Renshu nodded. "Yes, Auntie Su, do you have any thoughts?"

Su Xiucen's complexion looked better; after a night of rest, her mindset seemed to have calmed down considerably.

"The subsistence issue? I actually do have some opinions.

"80 minutes of visa time every day is still a bit too much for me; I can't eat that much food.

"Could it be lowered? For example, 50 would be enough?

"Actually, I wanted to say it then, but seeing how heated the atmosphere was, I didn't have the courage to speak up."

Fu Chen and Li Renshu looked at Su Xiucen's breakfast and realized this was indeed a problem.

As the oldest person currently in the community, Su Xiucen's meals were very simple and she ate very little, usually just a staple food accompanied by simple vegetables.

Given that she purchased raw ingredients and cooked for herself, the cost of her three meals was indeed greatly reduced; even 40 minutes of visa time would be almost enough.

If Su Xiucen truly only used 40 minutes of visa time, the remaining 40 would return to the fund pool, which wouldn't be quite fair. Not to mention, Su Xiucen had already paid her 5%.

Fu Chen frowned, finding it difficult to decide. "But... this situation seems hard to handle.

"Auntie Su, you are quite frugal, but for most people in the community, 80 minutes a day is just a baseline number that they are already spending very tightly.

"You see, if we uniformly lower this daily minimum guarantee, others will definitely oppose it because their benefits would be reduced.

"But if we set different tiers—for example, some at 50 and some at 80—since this visa time still comes from the pool, it would still be unfair to those who only contribute 50.

"To make it fairer, we would have to further refine the rules, such as having the 50-minute tier pay a lower percentage..."

Clearly, the root of the problem lay in different lifestyles.

Su Xiucen leaned toward a frugal lifestyle, but aside from her, everyone else felt that 80 minutes of visa time was not enough.

Because Community 17 was predominantly composed of young people, they were not particularly frugal.

Wang Yongxin was a bit older, but because he was originally quite wealthy, his consumption habits were similar to those of the young people.

Although Cao Haichuan wasn't very particular about food, he had to buy cigarettes every few days.

According to the community's prices, 80 units a day was a very normal standard, and it wouldn't even buy much good food. The remaining bit of visa time would be spent on things like snacks or coffee.

In other words, only Su Xiucen had this idea of saving money; no one else did.

As such, no one would be willing to vote through a proposal specifically for her alone.

Li Renshu thought for a moment and declined politely. "Auntie Su, I don't think setting different tiers is a good idea; it might give people the feeling that we are categorizing community players into different classes.

"But please don't worry, I've thought of other ways to solve this.

"The reason we set the standard at 80 minutes of visa time per day was actually to provide everyone with some material incentive.

"This new world is cruel and precarious; that is all the more reason to ensure quality of life. Because food is also a form of spiritual incentive that can help us find some joy in this bleak world.

"Like the gathering after the last game, everyone was very happy, and it could stimulate fighting spirit and enhance community cohesion.

"Therefore, we should encourage everyone to spend a little more appropriately to improve their material consumption, rather than being purely frugal. Excessive saving can affect our mindset and atmosphere.

"Just like Officer Cao likes to smoke and Wang Yongxin likes to drink coffee; for them, cigarettes and coffee are things they would rather go hungry for than give up. As for others, more or less everyone has things they want but are reluctant to spend visa time on.

"I think you don't need to be so frugal, Auntie Su. Try to increase your consumption level a bit.

"Of course, I know you are actually worried about survival. Don't worry about that; I just spoke with Fu Chen, and we plan to optimize the community security fund scheme by establishing a threshold, interest-free loans, and a redistribution mechanism. You don't need to worry too much about the serious consequences of spending an extra 30 minutes of visa time per day.

"Let's not dwell too much on these trivial matters and focus our energy on the games instead."

Su Xiucen wanted to say something more, but ultimately nodded somewhat reluctantly. "Sigh, alright, I'll listen to you two."

Fu Chen suddenly thought of something and asked curiously, "By the way, Auntie Su, was it you who cast the opposing vote back then?"

Su Xiucen hurriedly waved her hands. "It definitely wasn't me. Although I felt in my heart that 80 a day was a bit much, since I agreed at the time, why would I vote against it in private?"

Fu Chen nodded. "Mm, I thought so too. It's nothing, Auntie Su, I was just asking."

He continued organizing the contents of their discussion in his notebook, thinking about what kind of proposal should be set.

Just then, a new broadcast appeared on the large screen.

【A vacancy has appeared among the players of this community. In 24 hours, a new player will be incorporated to fill the gap, becoming the new Player 10.】

【Before this, players may submit proposals to request specific factors for the new player, such as age, gender, occupation, etc.】

【If a new player is not required, you may also refuse through the submission of a proposal.】

【Requirements that reach or exceed 7 votes will be officially submitted to the community. The community will conduct screening within a certain range according to these requirements and incorporate a relatively suitable new player.】