Doubao's suggestion was quite sensible: buy land, build factories, develop infrastructure. It sounded grand and highly feasible.

But these things weren't as simple as buying two pounds of cabbage at the market, where you could just pay and take it away.

Acquiring land required approvals, building factories needed qualifications, and infrastructure development meant dealing with various government departments.

Right now, all he had was money.

No social connections, no knowledgeable team, not even a proper company license registered.

He needed a starting point.

Sitting on the bench, he pondered for a while and decided to first survey the county's consumption scenes.

As the saying goes, prosperity breeds vice.

The true measure of a place's economic development and whether the people have disposable income is often not reflected in the dry GDP growth figures in government reports, but in the local entertainment and service industry.

Water flows to lower places, money flows to where there's fun.

Lu Ming took out his phone again and opened Meituan.

He typed "bath/foot massage" into the search bar, then skillfully clicked on the filter to select "highest price."

The loading circle on the screen spun for two seconds before a list of businesses popped up.

At the top was the "Royal Jinzun Bath Center" located in the New District.

Lu Ming clicked into the homepage and scrolled down to check the group purchase packages.

58, 88, the most expensive was 198.

This was the consumption ceiling in Yunmeng County's foot massage industry.

Lu Ming stared at this number for a long time.

He had a daily limit of sixty million.

If he spent it all on foot massages, he could get thirty thousand massages a day.

He scrolled down to the comments section.

"The technician's skills are good, but the watermelon in the fruit platter isn't very fresh."

"The environment is average, there's a smell of smoke in the hall, but I'll give a good review, I'm afraid the boss might go bankrupt."

"Highly recommend Technician No. 8, made me howl, will come again next time!"

Lu Ming closed Meituan and stood up.

What you learn from books is shallow; to truly understand, you must experience it yourself.

He decided to conduct an on-site investigation of this local entertainment industry benchmark to see what kind of service 198 yuan could buy.

He hailed a taxi by the roadside.

Yunmeng County wasn't big; it was only a ten-minute drive from the Old Town to the New District.

Along the way, Lu Ming looked out the window.

Most of the shops on both sides of the street were deserted, a few clothing stores blared deafening pop music, and the clerks sat at the entrance playing on their phones.

A quick look at "pawread.com" will leave you more fulfilled.

When he arrived, the meter showed seven yuan.

Lu Ming paid the fare and got out of the car.

The four-story facade of the Royal Jinzun Bath Center was covered with reflective gold glass, and the stone lions on either side were showing their age.

Pushing open the heavy glass door, the lobby was spacious, with several sets of sofas placed against the walls, their leather surfaces polished to a shine.

The girl at the front desk was engrossed in short videos, with the sound of a comedic skit playing from her phone.

Lu Ming walked over, "Hello?"

The girl looked up, initially startled, then quickly turned off her phone screen and put on a professional smile: "Hello, sir, massage or foot therapy?"

"Foot therapy."

"Just you? Do you have a preferred technician?"

"Just me, never been here before." Lu Ming glanced at the price list on the wall, "Give me the 198 one."

The girl tapped a few keys on the computer: "Alright, sir, shall we head to the second floor?"

Lu Ming followed the dark red carpeted stairs to the second floor.

A waiter in a white shirt greeted him and led him to a room at the end of the corridor.

The room was about twenty square meters, with two large electric sofa beds.

The walls were covered with European-style floral wallpaper, with some edges peeling.

The TV opposite was off, and Lu Ming's reflection was visible on the dark screen.

On the coffee table was the so-called free fruit platter: a few cherry tomatoes, two thin slices of watermelon, and a small handful of sunflower seeds.

"Sir, please change your clothes, the technician will be here soon." The waiter handed over a set of disposable cotton bathrobes and left.

Lu Ming changed and lay down on the sofa bed.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened, and a woman in a pink technician's uniform entered, carrying a wooden basin.

Lu Ming turned his head to look.

The woman was slightly plump, her hair permed into small curls, and the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes couldn't be concealed by foundation.

Judging by her appearance, she was definitely over forty-five.

The woman placed the wooden basin on the floor, skillfully laid out the towels, and smiled at Lu Ming: "Boss, the water might be a bit hot, please try it first."

Lu Ming sat up straight, looking at her: "Ma'am, can I get a different technician?"

The woman paused, not angry, just nodded as if used to it: "Sure, boss, please wait a moment, I'll get someone else for you."

She picked up the basin and left.

Lu Ming leaned back on the sofa.

Five minutes later, there was a second knock on the door.

This time, the woman who entered had her hair in a simple ponytail, wore minimal makeup, and looked fresher.

She placed the basin down, not rushing to lay out the towels, but instead looked at Lu Ming.

"Boss, I'm Technician No. 8, the most highly rated technician in our shop."

Lu Ming sized her up.

"How old are you?" Lu Ming asked.

"Twenty-five," she answered calmly.

"Ma'am, be honest, do you really look like someone born in 2001?"

The woman pursed her lips: "Not quite forty."

Lu Ming sighed.

She was probably around thirty-seven or thirty-eight.

"Alright, you'll do." Lu Ming dipped his feet into the basin.

Technician No. 8 pulled over a small stool and began massaging his calves.

Her technique was heavy, with plenty of force.

"Just got back from out of town?" she asked while massaging.

"How did you know?"

"Locals don't come for foot massages in broad daylight, let alone switch technicians three times." No. 8 smiled, "You folks who've seen the world outside, coming back, you must find this place outdated. But there's nothing we can do, the county is just like this."

Lu Ming followed the conversation: "Isn't there a single young technician in their twenties here?"

"Who in their twenties would stay here?" No. 8 shook her head, "They go to factories in the south, where they earn four to five thousand a month with room and board. Or they go to big city beauty salons and bath centers, where they can earn more doing the same work."

"Then why don't you go out?" Lu Ming asked.

"Can't go anymore." No. 8 switched to the other foot, "We have to take care of our elderly and children at home. For women our age, finding a three-thousand-yuan job in the county that allows us to also take care of our families is already pretty good."

She pressed hard on the Yongquan point on his foot.

Lu Ming inhaled sharply from the pain.

"Staying up late often, your kidney energy is insufficient, young man," No. 8 commented.

Lu Ming didn't respond to that, continuing to ask: "Is the employment environment in the county really that bad now? I remember there used to be a textile factory in the east and a machinery factory in the south, both doing well."

"They've long gone under." No. 8 pursed her lips.

"Now in the county, unless you pass the civil service exams and get into the system, it's hard for ordinary people to find a decent job. The streets are full of people selling houses, selling insurance, or delivering food."

Listening to her complaints, Lu Ming's mind was racing.

Yunmeng County now had a population of sixty thousand, with a gap of forty thousand.

Forty thousand people aren't like forty thousand ducks that you can just herd in and settle down.

People need to survive, which means having jobs, income, and supporting education and healthcare.

If he simply spent money, like handing out cash to passersby every day, he could indeed spend the money.

But that would only lead to inflation and chaos, and wouldn't keep people here.

Once the benefit period of handing out money ended, people would still leave.

To attract population, the only way is to create jobs.

Create a large number of high-paying jobs.

As he thought about it, Lu Ming felt sleepy and dozed off.

No. 8 woke him up: "Handsome, time's up, do you want to extend the session?"