Lunchtime had ended, and everyone quickly rose from the sofas to start cleaning up. One might wonder, could you really expect people like Pamela and Lex to do menial work for the Professor, just like ordinary college students?
Even if they wanted to, did they have the capacity? In Lex's manor in Gotham, there was an entire professional cleaning team responsible for maintenance. Asking this young master to personally clean up was somewhat unreasonable.
But Lex was not undeservedly known as the smartest man in the world. His method of cleaning up the few offices was to lie on the windowsill and yell, "Superman!!!!"
Superman did indeed come. Standing inside the room, he breathed out, and all the dust was blown away. However, there was obviously a lot more stuff to move, and furniture to arrange. Superman was only one person and couldn't handle so much work by himself.
Fortunately, none of the items that needed to be moved were heavy; they were just the Professor's personal belongings, so everyone was packing their own things. Superman and Lex stayed in Shiller's office because they were the closest to Shiller.
Shiller was busy categorizing and placing books he had moved from his old office onto the bookshelf. Just as he placed the second book, he heard Clark sighing to Lex.
"...Many agricultural products just can't be sold. The fees charged by secondary processors are too high, and if you add transportation costs on top of that, it's a loss-making business. But if we can't monetize this season's harvest, we won't have the money to buy seeds and update our farm machinery," he said with a sigh.
"So why did the secondary processors raise their prices?" Lex asked, playing dumb.
"Of course it's because the sales of various agricultural products are down. Many people can't sell their processed goods, so secondary processing is just a waste of money. Many farm owners have stopped doing this foolish thing. In order to make more money, factory owners have no choice but to increase the processing fees."
"What kind of things does your farm need to process?"
"A lot of things, grains for brewing, milk for dairy products, fruits and vegetables for canned goods..."
"You can't sell these without processing them?"
"Not entirely. Apart from the wheat specially grown for brewing, the other things can also be sold. But because the storage time is too short and the market in town is too small, they often spoil before they can even be transported to the big cities. They have to be made into various products in order to sell."
"In the end, it's still a transportation cost issue. If you had a plane, you wouldn't have to worry about it," Lex said with an implied meaning.
Clark nodded and replied, "Yeah, with the soaring prices in Metropolis, many people simply can't get fresh grains and vegetables. Yet my family's grains and vegetables can't be sold because of the distance. If we had a plane that would be great... huh?"
Clark turned to look at Lex. Lex spread his hands, and Clark, with no other choice, pointed to himself and exclaimed, "You mean, have me do the transportation?!"
"I'm not saying it. You said it yourself," Lex shrugged and responded. "You're much faster than a plane, and you're also safe. You could even use your biofield to ensure that the grains and vegetables aren't damaged."
"But I... I have a job," Clark protested. "You know how violent the protests have been in Metropolis recently. The mayor has been using a violent strategy, constantly using the police to suppress the public. I need to expose these issues..."
"Why are the people protesting?"
"It's because of the skyrocketing prices. They're barely able to afford food, not to mention the pile of heavy taxes they have to pay. Of course, they're going to protest... Oh, you mean, if I transport enough grains, I could improve the situation for the people, and they wouldn't protest anymore."
"That's what it sounds like, but it's still difficult to implement," Lex said. "First off, in a big city where supplies are scarce, if someone sells essentials at low or normal prices, there will definitely be hoarding."
"If it were individuals, it might not be too bad since they can't store much in their homes. But many unscrupulous merchants don't care about that. As long as they have a warehouse, they'll hoard as much as they can. They don't care if other people can't get food."
Clark had considered this possibility too, and now he said, frustrated and angry, "But just transporting the grains is already taking all my time. I can't possibly monitor who's buying how much."
"Even if I stood in front of the stalls to watch, they could send different people to buy, and I couldn't tell them apart. I can't possibly listen to everyone's thoughts, right?"
"So you need a well-developed, mature supervision system to ensure that everyone buys a proper amount, not too much and not too little, meeting their own needs without infringing on others'."
"Am I also supposed to write a program first? But I don't have the time for that, nor the ability..." Clark paused, turned to Lex, and then said, "You're not suggesting you'll do it, are you?"
"This is perfect cooperation, isn't it? You figure out how to transport the surplus food from your family farm or rather the entire Kansas State to Metropolis, which not only solves the problems of the farmers but also meets the needs of the Metropolis citizenry. It satisfies your hero complex as well as my needs to make money and gain fame."
"I'm not in it for any hero complex," Clark said. "I just want to help more people get food... Wait, if I can transport food from Kansas, does that mean I could also transport food from Mexico?"
Lex clicked his fingers in a surprised manner and said, "A stroke of genius!"
"And if I can do this, then Green Lantern and the others could too, and maybe Arthur could use water routes. We could work together to transport the surplus food from Mexico to America, solving the poverty issues there while ensuring the basic sustenance of people here."
Lex started clapping, shaking his head in admiration as he said, "Truly worthy of a Kryptonian, always coming up with solutions that the human race couldn't think of."
Clark frowned slightly and asked, "Why can't you speak directly about whatever it is, why lead me to say it?"
Lex was about to contradict him when Clark added, "Is our relationship still something you need to put so much effort into? Just say it directly. I won't really think I'm smarter than you."
A fastball left Lex speechless, and Clark continued to ask, "We could indeed transport the food, but are you really able to ensure that everyone gets their rightful share?"
"Of course, the more chaotic the society, the easier it is for those with ability to establish a new order. As long as this order works temporarily, it will build confidence amongst the people, and naturally, it will continue. As long as the order is scientific, getting through the current depression shouldn't be an issue."
"I'm not much of a sociologist." Clark scratched his head and said, "But I guess I can tell whether the system you're talking about is reasonable or not. Why don't you tell me about it?"
"The simplest way is to ensure that everyone gets enough food to not starve to death. The food you guys transport should be just enough to guarantee that, unless you can grow crops over the entire territory of Mexico. Otherwise, the efficiency of your farmland to feed over ten million people is already quite good."
Clark nodded to show he understood. He also knew Lex was stating a fact as their land was indeed very large and fertile, but at least 80% of it was not being used, and it wasn't used only for food crops; fodder was a big part as well.
Now with this crisis, it was considered a blessing of Mexico's agricultural conditions if it could support tens of millions of people with basic sustenance.
"So far, the most rational, scientific, and simple way to determine how much food a person needs to live is by their body weight," Lex said. "Adults eat more, children eat less, mainly because the energy they need to maintain their bodily functions is different. We can start from there."
"Perhaps I could establish a Luther Group Health Standards System, where residents of Metropolis just need to get verified in the health system, and the System could estimate how much food they need each day."
"Then they could use the Internet or machines deployed throughout the city to receive vouchers corresponding to the amount of food they need, and then they can go to the nearest warehouse with these vouchers to collect their food..."
Clark was nodding incessantly, while Shiller could hardly bear to listen any further. He coughed twice, hinting very tactfully, "Actually, Clark, this is a method that has been tried before. It has various..."
"But technology has advanced, hasn't it?" Lex immediately replied. "I can ensure that the health checkup for each person is completely accurate, and the food distributed to them will definitely be enough to sustain their survival needs."
"I'm also confident about the anti-fraud aspect. Each person's voucher will have a unique mark, and there will be no possibility of forgery or exchange afterward."
"Psychologically speaking, it doesn't really matter how much food these vouchers can be exchanged for. What's important is that they know the government has enough food to keep the entire city from starving. This will give them a sense of security, at least contributing to their psychological health."
"Even if the food they get could circulate within the family or even among neighbors and acquaintances on a small scale, that wouldn't be too bad. They make their choices and bear the consequences. This limited freedom can also provide them with a sense of security, contributing to the stability of the system."
Shiller sighed. What health evaluation system, what food vouchers, weren't these just ration coupons?!
Clark might not see it, but could Shiller fail to recognize it? Lex was even ready to skip the Mexican Revolution, overturning the established order and taking a giant stride to introduce a rationing system in the most prosperous cities on the East Coast of the United States, boldly stepping into socialism.
What's more outrageous, he's tugging at the wool of individual heroism. You superheroes are capable, right? Then, surely transporting food across central and eastern states or even across state lines isn't too big of an issue for you, right? As long as the transport costs are magically waived, both the buyer and seller would be absolutely satisfied.
And there was Clark, just nodding away. He didn't consider how many flights a day he would have to make to transport enough food if demand opened up. Hal was unlucky too; not having a clue, he was saddled with such a heavy task out of the blue.
As for how Shiller saw it, it was a case of 'to each his own'—apart from "The Director of the KGB thinks you're a bit too extreme," what else could he say?