Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 161 Assembling and Buying a Car, the Qingping Caravan! (with pictures)
They were discussing investing in shops in the morning, and by noon they had already signed a caravan investment contract.

The collaboration in the wasteland was far more direct than Cheng Ye had imagined. There were no lengthy negotiations or complicated terms; the two went straight to the notary office.

In this simple bungalow with only three tables and six chairs, I picked up the investment template handed to me by the staff and signed it.

Because it doesn't involve any listing and there's no special regulation.

The investment agreement was so simple it was almost crude; its core function was simply to serve as proof for withdrawing contribution points from the bank.

However, the agreement clearly states in black and white that Li Matai will invest 20,000 contribution points in one go and enjoy 40% of the caravan's future profits.

20% of the profits are used as operating funds for the caravan, including vehicle maintenance, crew salaries, and emergency supplies.

The remaining 40% belongs to Cheng Ye.

To outsiders, it seems that Cheng Ye earned a return equivalent to 20,000 contribution points with just one "idea," a sure-fire way to make a profit.

But both of them knew that this couldn't be accounted for in this way.

Caravans are a project that requires long-term management. Cheng Ye needs to select and train the team members one by one, and he needs to constantly plan and adjust the routes.

This investment by Li Matai does not mean that he can earn passive income without worry in the future.

If trouble arises, the two of them must face it together.

Even the initial site visits and scouting were aided by Li Matai, a prosecutor in the third phase.

"We need to give the caravan a name, right?" After signing the agreement, Li Matai looked at Cheng Ye with the application form in hand.

Without much thought, Cheng Ye blurted out, "Let's call it 'Honest Caravan'."

"So simple?" Li Matai was stunned for a moment, and read it over twice. "This name is too ordinary. It sounds no different from those small caravans that only rent one car and run short distances. It's not impressive at all."

"What we want is not prestige, but a down-to-earth approach," Cheng Ye explained with a smile. "The caravan is just starting out, and we need to deal with the residents of satellite cities and other caravans. A fancy name would only make us seem distant. The word 'integrity' sounds reliable and makes people feel comfortable cooperating with us."

As he spoke, he handed over the completed application form.

Surprisingly, the name had already been registered by someone else.

“See, I told you so!” Li Matai immediately chimed in, a hint of smugness in his voice. “Names like Integrity, Unity, and Vanguard are so common, you can find more than a dozen in every protected city. They’re practically everywhere now. If our caravan becomes famous, people won’t even know which one they’re referring to when they mention the Integrity Caravan. That would be so embarrassing.”

"How about we call it the Wild Horse Caravan? We'll take the 'wild' from your name and the 'horse' from mine. It's loud, impressive, and sounds like a force to be reckoned with!"

"That works too." Cheng Ye nodded, changed the name to Wild Horse Caravan, and handed it in again.

The staff member tapped a few times on the terminal, then looked up and said, "Sorry, this name has already been registered."

"Whoever registered this, tell them to give up their spot to me!" Li Ma was shocked.

“It was registered by Inspector Dawn,” the staff member replied immediately.

"Uh..." Li Matai's imposing manner instantly deflated. He sat back down in his chair dejectedly and whispered, "Your fourth-term inspector from the East is also a money-making genius at our checkpoint. His income has been among the top five of inspectors in recent years. He has more than ten caravans under his command and is very ruthless."

After saying that, he muttered to himself, "Why did he name the caravan that?"

Cheng Ye couldn't help but laugh. After thinking for a while, he suddenly had an idea: "Why don't we call it the Qingping Caravan?"

Since the mainstream names have already been taken, let's go for a niche, high-end approach.

Sometimes, an unusual name can make you stand out and distinguish you from small caravans from the start. Isn't that another way of being "down-to-earth"?
"The one where the wind rises from the tip of a blade of grass?"

"You still know this?"

“I have quite a few old books at home. I’ll take you to see them sometime.” He said, pointing in the direction of the inner city, a gentle smile on his face that Cheng Ye had never seen before.

"Is this for the children?"

“Yes.” Li Matai nodded, his tone full of expectation. “I plan to train him to be a researcher so that he won’t have to deal with my mess as an inspector anymore. He’s either fighting against the source of infection at the station or going out and scheming against people. It’s too tiring. Besides, if he goes to do research, it will free up an inspector’s position at the station. It’s a win-win situation.”

is it?

Cheng Ye smiled, but he didn't completely believe what Li Matai said.

The path for researchers in Happiness City is not smooth either. The institute has a lot of complicated rules and regulations, and it is a place that only talks about output and not contribution.

Unless Li Matai's children have exceptional research talent, going there would only be like jumping from one cage to another.

But for an inspector who understands research and technology, the significance is completely different.

In particular, Qin Feng said that the checkpoint would also establish its own research institute.

Just as I was thinking this, the application form was handed out. Finally, no one had come up with this name, so it was approved smoothly.

Cheng Ye took the application form and looked at the four words "Qingping Caravan" printed on it. A sense of security suddenly welled up in his heart.

From a vague idea to finalizing the plan, signing the agreement, and finally having a name.

The Qingping Caravan became his first entrepreneurial project in the wasteland.

"Qingping." Li Matai looked at the name, murmured it a few times, and his smile grew wider. "What a good name! It may seem insignificant at first, but with just a gust of wind, it can spread throughout the entire buffer zone and all the satellite cities. Our caravan might really become a big force in the future!"

"It's not just a possibility, it's a certainty!"

Cheng Ye spoke firmly, raising his hand to pat Li Matai on the shoulder, "Years later, you will definitely be glad you made the investment decision today."

"Really?" Li Matai raised an eyebrow, not quite finishing the sentence, but carefully folded his application form and put it into his backpack. He then casually scratched his wind-blown hair, his tone light and teasing, "Looks like I don't need to worry about my bag being dry. Prosecutor Li has found a new way to contribute to Happiness City!"

"Then Prosecutor Song and Prosecutor Gu must be secretly delighted, they've lost such a formidable opponent as you," Cheng Ye joked with a smile.

"Hey, I love what you said! They got off easy!" Li Matai laughed heartily.

As they emerged from the notary office, the sunlight was perfect, bathing them in a warm glow.

Li Matai took out his defense phone, made a call, and after confirming that the other party was at the office, the two walked side by side toward the Industrial Development Bureau.

The chassis needs to be ordered in advance; it will take two or three days to be delivered from the industrial area.

The Industry Bureau is located on the west side of the central urban area of ​​the buffer zone.

It was an independent courtyard with silver-gray walls and a guard post at the entrance. The militiamen on guard wore uniforms with the "Industrial Department" logo and were just as formidable as the guards at the checkpoint.

As a department directly under the "tech-savvy" leadership of Happy City, the Industry Department ranks among the top three in terms of status.

Especially in the current context of satellite city construction, the Public Works Department's power has been expanded again and again, ranking second only to the checkpoints.

However, just as the power of the checkpoints lies solely in the hands of the inspectors, the power of the Industrial Development Agency is concentrated in the hands of a few technical backbones and the "big shots" who come from the research institutes above.

Ordinary staff members are more like observers at the checkpoint, with little authority to make external dispatches.

As soon as the two reached the gate of the courtyard, a middle-aged man in blue overalls quickly came out to greet them.

Hey, why does this look so familiar?

Cheng Ye paused slightly, then suddenly froze.

Old Sun!

what?
When their eyes met, Old Sun was stunned, while Li Matai remained elated.

As they approached, somewhat bewildered, before Li Matai could speak, Old Sun exclaimed in disbelief, "Mr. Cheng?"

"Old Sun, you work at the Industrial Development Bureau?"

"Huh, you know each other?" Li Matai was stunned when he saw Cheng Ye and Lao Sun greeting each other.

"I know him! Prosecutor Li, Mr. Cheng and I live in the same building. He's on the fifth floor, and I'm on the first floor. He is—" Old Sun was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly realized that he had never asked Cheng Ye what he was doing, and Huang Sheng and the other two hadn't explained it clearly in their public statements either.

Is it
"Let's get to know each other again, Cheng Ye, the trainee inspector at the checkpoint."

"what?"

Cheng Ye reached out his hand, and Lao Sun, still dizzy, raised his hand as well, and the two shook hands.

Only Li Matai, after realizing what had happened, stood to the side with a maternal smile, seemingly imagining the story between the two.

"Alright, alright, stop standing there." Li Ma clapped his hands, breaking the awkward silence. "Since we're all acquaintances, things will be much easier! Old Sun, let's go inside and talk. I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on the things."

"Alright, Prosecutor Li, Prosecutor Cheng, please come in!"

Old Sun then seemed to wake from a dream, quickly stepped aside, made a "please" gesture, and led the two into the courtyard.

The Industrial Development Bureau looks ordinary from the outside, but once you step inside, you'll find a completely different world.

The courtyard was very quiet, with rare green plants planted on both sides of the road, and snowflakes still hanging on them.

Looking around, there are four three-story buildings, scattered in a staggered manner.

As Old Sun walked, he pointed to the buildings and explained, “Building No. 1 is the office of the institute’s senior staff, Building No. 2 is the office of the technical backbone, Building No. 3 is where we handle business dealings between departments, such as coordinating procurement needs with the checkpoint and allocating parts to the material station. All of these processes are done here. Building No. 4 is for handling miscellaneous business.”

The core of the Industrial Development Agency is still located in the industrial zone.

It's normal for this place to be deserted before the migratory birds return to the industrial area each year.

The three arrived at Building No. 4, and Lao Sun led them into a separate reception room.

The reception room was simply and elegantly furnished, with a wooden coffee table and several sofas, and photos of the past achievements of the Industrial Development Agency hanging on the walls.

Old Sun turned and went out, and soon returned with three steaming cups of tea.

It wasn't the usual cloud and mist tea, but ordinary green tea, which was enough to show respect and importance to the two people.

Cheng Ye took the teacup, took a sip, and suddenly became curious about how Lao Sun and Li Matai knew each other. But then he thought back to the first time he met Lao Sun, Lao Sun was overjoyed that he could still get paid without going to work. Could it be a case of mutual appreciation between two scoundrels?
Li Matai seemed to see through the doubt in Cheng Ye's eyes and took the initiative to explain, "Old Sun's son is a clerk at the station, in the logistics department of the Central Station. He's that tall, thin young man with black-rimmed glasses, do you remember him?"

"Oh, it's him?" Cheng Ye immediately realized.

The staff at the station aren't rootless duckweed; it's perfectly normal for them to have connections within the buffer zone.

Cheng Ye had been so focused on the inspection that he had never inquired about it or thought about it in this regard.

Looking back now, isn't this how networks of relationships are formed?
"In addition, Lao Sun and I have been friends for many years. I buy a lot of things through his channels, and I have also introduced him to many large-scale procurement orders in the station. As for the price, Lao Sun is very generous."

"Prosecutor Li, what are you saying? If it weren't for you, I would have been laid off long ago!"

"Haha, good to know. Enough with the nonsense, hurry up and show me the discounted price." Li Matai chuckled. He didn't seem to put any pressure on Cheng Ye, but he was extremely aggressive towards outsiders.

Old Sun didn't dare to be negligent and quickly took out his tablet, swiping it to introduce it to the two of them.

"Since you plan to use second-generation batteries, we will skip over all the frames that are compatible with third-generation batteries."

"Here, these are the price details for the second-generation frame. Please take a look."

Li Matai did not reach out to take it, but turned slightly to the side and looked at Cheng Ye.

Old Sun was slightly taken aback when he saw this, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

However, he reacted very quickly, immediately turning the tablet towards Cheng Ye and saying with a smile, "Prosecutor Cheng, please take a look."

"Let me see."

Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow slightly and reached out to take the tablet.

With a gentle swipe of the finger across the screen, the tablet displays a dense array of information about various vehicle frames.

Even the most basic frame comes in four different versions:
Short-range, long-range, combat, reconnaissance.

The first two methods make certain changes to the frame structure, sacrificing overall strength but increasing storage space, making them suitable for relatively safe routes with good road conditions.

The latter two differ in materials. The combat version focuses more on rigidity, using high-strength, impact-resistant alloy materials for the chassis, while the reconnaissance version focuses more on flexibility, using lighter materials, but the strength difference is not significant.

而在价格上，四种车架的比例刚好是1∶1.5∶2.5∶3，对应后互相差0.5。

Reconnaissance is the most expensive, while short-distance travel is the cheapest.

Clicking into the short-distance frame section, various frame types slowly refreshed, making Cheng Ye's eyes itch with envy.

The first thing that catches the eye is the brick transport vehicle.

Because they don't need to accommodate the large-sized casing of the third-generation batteries, the front of the first and second generation brick transport vehicles is designed to be exceptionally recessed.

Gone is the bulky feel of the third-generation Dajinbei; instead, it resembles the legendary Wuling Hongguang.

There are three versions below: 3.8 meters, 4.5 meters, and 5.2 meters.

Considering that the caravan mainly ran short-distance transport between satellite cities, Cheng Ye skipped the first two and set his sights on the longest one, 5.2 meters.

He clicked on the parameter details, and the car's length, width and height were 5250×1870×1960mm, and the wheelbase was 3450mm.

It is estimated that it can transport 11 cubic meters of supplies.

In addition, the frame has a reserved mounting position for a first-generation battery.

Although the battery life of the first generation is not as good as that of the second generation, and it can't handle rough roads, it is enough for short-distance caravans, and the budget can be reduced even further.

"Three 5.2-meter square bricks."

"Okay, these are all the basic 800-point options!" Old Sun immediately took out a pen and order form to write down Cheng Ye's requirements with great satisfaction.

He used the Industry Department's cost price to place this order, so he didn't earn much commission.

However, the Industrial Development Bureau offers order volume incentives to purchasing staff; as long as they meet the targets, they are guaranteed a year-end bonus.

More importantly, having large orders in hand gives you more confidence when speaking to other purchasing staff, and you don't have to constantly belittle others for not having good performance.

"By the way, do you want to add some modification parts?" Old Sun asked while writing the order. "For example, reinforcing the cargo box side panels and installing side protection nets are common in the transportation business."

"Just add a fixed groove at the top," Cheng Ye said softly.

Transport vehicles are mainly for loading; you can't expect them to be of much use in combat.

The sliding grooves on the roof can be used to secure large items that cannot be loaded onto the vehicle. They can be directly fixed to the roof, which is more stable than brackets welded later, and will not damage the vehicle frame structure.

"Okay, these are all free projects." Old Sun wrote it down.

Besides transportation, the next issue to be addressed is the protection of the caravan.

Cheng Ye originally planned to choose a nimble small car to patrol and provide early warning around the transport convoy, but after going through the list of second-generation chassis, he couldn't find a suitable one.

The main reason is that vehicles that are compatible with first and second generation batteries simply cannot achieve a small size and long range.

The car is agile, but the battery compartment has limited capacity, and it can only travel a little over 100 kilometers on a full charge.

To achieve a longer driving range, you need to install a large-capacity battery, but a large battery will expand the vehicle body, reducing its maneuverability.

Only third-generation batteries can achieve small size and high capacity, allowing small cars to have a range of three to four hundred kilometers, but the price is too high, so we have to find another way.

“Looks like we need to add two more, to make it five.” He looked at Li Matai.

"Five vehicles it is, safety is the most important thing." Li Matai waved his hand dismissively, but didn't forget to make a request, "Since they're for escort purposes, they have to be impressive! The kind that people wouldn't dare to mess with at first glance. If the budget is too high, I'll pay for it."

Is this what you call having no material desires?
And unexpectedly, Li Matai always had a considerable need for prestige. Cheng Ye was amused by him and quickly swiped his fingers on the tablet, finally stopping on an engineering drawing: "What do you think of this?"

The screen displays 'Armed Pickup Truck Second Generation Chassis'.

The vehicle body is 50 centimeters longer than a regular pickup truck, the cargo compartment has a reserved space for armor plate installation, and a front bumper can be added.

The cargo box also has six detachable gun mounts inside, four on the left and right and two in the front and back, which can hold light machine guns, just enough to meet the escort needs.

Aesthetics are not a consideration at all; the main selling point is "big, clumsy, and rough." If you can win, you fight; if you can't, you crash into things.

Most importantly, it is equipped with a second-generation battery, and its range on a full charge is up to 270 kilometers, which is more than enough for short trips between satellite cities.

"This thing's great!" Li Matai came over for a look and his eyes lit up immediately. "This is it! Two armed pickup trucks, with armor plates and gun mounts. I'll pay more if you don't have enough money!"

"And weapons, get them all loaded. Don't worry about the guns, someone owes me a favor, I'll have him prepare some good stuff for us."

"No need to add more, the budget is sufficient."

Cheng Ye calculated that the basic frame of the armed pickup truck costs 1200 points, and with the addition of armor plates, gun mounts and other modification parts, one truck would cost 1400 points, which is 600 points more expensive than a regular frame.

More importantly, in order to ensure instantaneous burst power during combat, two motors are needed to drive it, which increases the cost again. The total cost of an armed pickup truck reaches 3300 points.

Old Sun listened intently, his eyes lighting up, his pen practically flying as he quickly jotted down all the requirements.

Seeing that Cheng Ye's teacup was empty, he immediately picked up the kettle on the table and carefully refilled it, his smile exceptionally solicitous.

A big client.

Just five car frames alone are worth 5200 points. How can an average person afford that?
Cheng Ye calculated the total expenditure in his mind: three transport vehicles and two pickup trucks would cost at least 13500 points.

That's really expensive!
But upon comparison, a 100kWh version of the third-generation Jinbei costs 15,000 yuan, and the price of these five vehicles is not even enough for one, so it suddenly seems much more cost-effective.

When it came time to choose a car for himself, Cheng Ye suddenly felt a little guilty.

Perhaps because they grew up saving every penny, even when they have money, they feel guilty about spending it on themselves.

In addition, I used the team's funds to purchase vehicles for myself.
"Spend when you need to; only when you enjoy spending money will you have the motivation to make money."

Li Ma patted him on the shoulder, "Besides, you haven't even asked your Big Brother B for funding yet."

"Too."

Cheng Ye couldn't help but smile, and quickly chose his ride from among the many chassis design drawings.

The design is nothing special; it's just a typical off-road SUV.

The difference lies in the vehicle's extremely high ground clearance. Even with the addition of a first-generation battery, it can still travel on many muddy and rough roads without scraping the chassis.

Secondly, its wheelbase is compact, nearly 20 centimeters shorter than that of ordinary SUVs. This sacrifices rear passenger space but gains excellent maneuverability, making it much easier to navigate narrow mountain roads or abandoned buildings.

These two points perfectly align with his future needs when he goes to work at a contracted point.

We must maximize passability and efficiency; as for comfort features, we should cut corners wherever possible.

"We have to make money!"

Having finalized the requirements for the six frames, Cheng Ye breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed his temples.

Poverty is truly a terrible feeling.

The thought of going to the junkyard at the checkpoint later to pick out usable motors and electronic controls from a pile of scrap metal made me feel that making money was urgent.

But then he thought, in a few days, he would be able to own a car that was completely his own.

It wasn't rented or borrowed; I acquired it through careful planning and saving.

This feeling is even more exciting than when I bought a house before.

After all, a car can take him to many places in the wilderness and let him see more of the world!
　P.S.: Two chapters, 1.2 words delivered! It's almost the end of the month, please give me some guaranteed votes so I can climb up the rankings!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)