Voltaire said: Extravagance is superfluous, but it is necessary.

Montesquieu said: The rich do not squander, the poor will starve to death.

Koye said: Luxury is like fire, it may be beneficial or harmful; It destroys the homes of the rich, but maintains our factories; It engulfs the heritage of the spendthrift, but gives the workers something to eat; It dissipates the property of the few, but brings the majority to food and clothing; If extravagance were banned, not only would the rich have nothing to do, but many more would starve.

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Although the national economic data for the fourth quarter of 1645 will not be sorted out until after the Spring Festival, the top management has eagerly estimated a very optimistic GDP figure, which should not be less than 240 million US dollars, of which the output value of the tertiary industry will exceed half for the first time.

In 1645, the per capita GDP of Huamei reached $240 per million, which was even slightly lower than the previous year, mainly due to the mathematical calculation problems caused by the increase in the population base.

If we want to use a historical snapshot to compare the current situation of domestic consumption in China and the United States, it is probably the closest to the society of France in the late seventeenth century: the economic production of people's livelihood dominated by the luxury and high consumption of high-income people.

Of the approximately 200,000 households in the United States, about 20,000 belong to the middle-income bracket, with an average annual household expenditure of more than $500. About 10,000 families belong to the high-income bracket, with an average annual household expenditure of more than $2,000; About 1,000 more families are in the top income bracket, with an average annual household expenditure of more than $15,000.

These middle- and high-income groups, which account for about 16% of the total number of households in the country, have a combined annual household expenditure of more than 45 million US dollars, contributing tens of millions of personal income tax and consumption tax, and are the absolute main force of domestic demand in China and the United States.

It can be said that the consumption behavior of the middle- and high-income wealthy classes in China is an important part of the entire economy and trade in China. It is also the breadwinner of a large number of European or Asian farmers, craftsmen, and low-class merchant groups.

Because industrialization cannot encompass all social production, especially many handicraft industries that pay attention to cultural heritage, Huamei is naturally "backward" in this regard, including France, the world's traditional handicraft power.

The turmoil in overseas markets is still continuing, and there are even signs of deepening, but under the guidance of the policy of making every effort to expand domestic demand and expand basic investment, the Huamei cabinet has once again held on to the past year, handed over a seemingly glamorous answer, and will continue to increase its weight in the new year.

The second phase of the White Horse Canal is about to begin, and it is ready to be built directly to Snow City, the capital of Yunzhou, opening the prelude to the hinterland of North America.

Several state-level strategic backbone highways have been started one after another. The design index can pass heavy steam transport trailers, ending the current situation of relying on waterways for most transportation between several local administrative states, and can also greatly stimulate land transportation logistics.

The construction of a new urban area has begun, and several large construction companies will rush to the city after the Spring Festival, with the goal of accommodating at least 100,000 people in the next decade.

The capital of Jiangzhou has been moved from Jiangcheng to Zhoukemin, and the suburbs on both sides of the James River are undergoing a vigorous logging and wetland drainage campaign. The Indians were forcibly relocated to inland reservations, where dense primeval forests would be turned into an overwhelm of lumber, charcoal, and tar, which were then sold at low prices to factories throughout the country; The land has long been booked. It is about to be opened up into a vast farm to grow cotton, a white gold that is in increasing demand.

The underground water supply and drainage projects and old neighborhoods in the urban areas of Mancheng, Qingcheng, Liancheng, Porter and Jiangcheng are about to be comprehensively renovated, and the local governments of several wealthy large cities are allowed to use bank loans to carry out further construction of the city.

The planned "National Southern Railway" was brought forward by three full fiscal years, and the section from Huatian Town in Binzhou to Gangneung City began bidding for preliminary works. The section from Jiangling City to Zhou Kemin City, the capital of Jiangzhou, has also entered the route survey stage.

The proposed colonization plan for Fangzhou (south of Jiangzhou and north of the Florida Peninsula) has officially begun, and several survey teams from the Ministry of Land and Resources have already gone to the nominal southern territory to select a site for the first Fangzhou city.

The Department of Immigration has announced that it will bring in 100,000 foreign workers in the next three years to fill this booming North American construction site. The Cabinet will break with the traditional management model of immigrants and workers in the past. Guoxing Group and Oriental Union Union Group were granted licenses to set up a "labor service center" in Europe and the Far East respectively to open up the operation of private capital. It is specially designed to recruit foreign workers for large domestic employment enterprises.

All of this is packaged in a passionate, economically powerful paradise that gives the illusion that the country will continue to thrive for at least half a century, even if it is cut off from all contact with the outside world.

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……

Manchester City, the third day of the first lunar month.

It was an unexpectedly sunny day, with the warm winter sun shining on the streets of Manchester City and the temperature miraculously rising above 10 degrees.

There had been no snow for days, and apart from the debris of fireworks and firecrackers, the wide streets and alleys were no longer polluted by dirty snow slag and no slush from horse-drawn carriages galloping past.

In the West District of Long Island, Manchester, more people are out to play and hang out today than usual, and the staff of the municipal service company in charge of urban sanitation are working hard with the extra bonus of working during the Spring Festival holiday.

As one of the earliest developed core urban areas in Manchester, Long Island West has developed from an industrial and agricultural area to a bustling commercial and residential area.

The once smoky and noisy factories were relocated to the industrial area of the outer islands and beyond, Robert, a decade ago, and the woodlands, fields and wetlands left over from the history of the colonization have been transformed into pristine parks or shaded squares.

Unlike the overly grandiose and elegant South of Manchester, the most appropriate adjectives for Long Island's West End should be "bright" and "sophisticated".

There aren't many extravagant and extravagant mega-buildings with more than seven floors, but there are a lot of small high-rise buildings that combine East and West or are modern.

There are no lakeside mansions or forest estates in the north of Manchester City, which can easily cost hundreds of dollars a square meter, but there are large residential communities that are neat and exquisite, fresh and delicate, and there is no shortage of high-end elegant mansions.

As the current temporary capital of the country, the city government has invested a lot in urban construction, and the detailed transformation of each block has never stopped. As more and more middle-income families move in, Long Island's West Side is becoming more affluent, with many high-end commercial projects that were once only available in Manchester South's Side also settling in Long Island's West Side. And let the citizens get used to it.

The warm sunshine has emboldened the young unmarried girls in the west end of Long Island, and the beautiful frozen spring outfits have appeared on the streets in advance. The various flowery dresses are particularly dazzling in the bright sun, and attract the eyes of young men to follow and linger.

The flow of people, cars and horses intersect and shuttle at the intersection of the streets, the shops and shopping malls on both sides of the commercial street are full of people, gossip and laughter rise and fall, and the city and people seem to be integrated in the flow.

However, if you look closely, you will still find that there are subtle differences in the seemingly integrated urban streetscape.

The decoration of large and small commercial stores is so beautiful and bright at first glance, but it is faintly divided into two different places of consumption.

Both sides of the shopping street. There are a few that obviously occupy a large area, but the decoration is unexpectedly simple; The door is wide open and the windows are clear, but it is difficult to see the name of the store, and there is only a special nameplate inlaid in the inconspicuous corner.

These are high-end stores with the names of various specialty stores, and their business scope covers almost everything. Any kind of goods or services in it are crowned with the gimmick of a high-end brand.

In the food brand store, all kinds of meats, vegetables, fruits, spices, and drinks are beautifully packaged, and they maintain a demanding freshness. Prices are at least twice as high as those found in farmers' hypermarkets. Even in winter, customers can easily buy vegetables from all seasons.

In a textile brand store, the price of a small handkerchief may be enough for the male owner of an ordinary family to buy a good linen shirt, not to mention a spring long-sleeved short lace dress can be equivalent to the head-to-toe cost of all members of an ordinary family.

Flower specialty store. There is no shortage of bright, out-of-season flowers, no one knows how much it will cost to grow these flowers in a greenhouse for a night at most in the cold winter, only the price of a hearty dinner for an almost average family is prohibitive.

In all similar specialty stores, the owners and clerks don't care about the pedestrians who hurry by in front of the store most of the time. There are no advertising signs, and there is no shouting and selling.

They all have a fixed and special group of consumers, and those who are dressed as servants in horse-drawn carriages always walk into the store at a fixed time of the day. Then pick up the goods by name. Or simply listen to the product introduction, and you can buy a whole row of shelves of silk scarves of various colors.

Sandwiched between these top specialty stores are a number of high-end shops that are lavishly or elaborately decorated and attract crowds of men and women dressed in high-end clothes. Although the prices of the goods in the store are a little more expensive than the bulk items in the regular shopping mall, the number of customers is significantly higher than that of the top specialty stores.

On the commercial street, there are more ordinary shops with discount advertisements on the doors, walls, and windows. The shelves are either cheap, or high-quality and inexpensive, or all kinds of goods that are cleared out of season, they are often overcrowded during the festival, and the sound of checkout and exchange is not lively.

In the bustling commercial streets, in fact, there is a clear distinction between consumption, and in fact, it is the flow of people who go their own way.

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……

In front of a large modern clothing store, a delicate horse-drawn carriage slowly stops, and with the help of a maid, an unmarried girl in her early twenties appears outside the store with very bold makeup.

A purple long-sleeved winter dress embroidered with rich black lace on the cuffs and skirt, the skirt was only knee-length, and a pair of beautiful long legs were wrapped in a layer of black elastic plush tights that didn't look like a thick thickness.

On a rare warm winter day, he stubbornly leaned on a small lace fabric umbrella on his shoulder to block the direct sunlight; The girl's pretty face disappeared from time to time under the vague grid on the edge of the umbrella, and she had to rely on a silk scarf hanging from her top hat to hide it.

At this moment, a luxurious carriage stopped on the side of the street, and another girl of the same age stepped down, but in a different dress.

The delicate and decreet dark carved long dress can make the most old-fashioned old man unable to blame; Behind the long hair of the shawl was a large silk flower cluster, and there was a subtle smile on the delicate face of the Sino-European mixture.

"Dear Miss Qi, Happy New Year! I've been waiting for you for a whole minute! ”

Seeing that her best friend arrived on time, Alice covered her face with a small umbrella. to prevent pedestrians from seeing their true faces.

"I thought you were going to be in Union City for the holidays this year, but you were going on holiday and weren't you going to spend a few more days in Manchester City? However, the title song of the album last time was so explicit that I couldn't believe it was you who sang it! ”

"Hehe, so, if I still use my previous image here, I won't dare to go out. Hee-hee, no one can recognize me now! ”

Alice smiled and grabbed Qi Zuping's arm, and the two walked into the clothing store side by side. The maids of the two families stood quietly by the carriage.

Qi Zuping, who recovered from the blow of love, is now a teaching assistant at the primary school affiliated to the Capital National Middle School, and also has an identity as a civil servant of the Municipal Government's Bureau of Culture and Education. But in the past year, Qi Zuping has been trying to apply to teach in a primary school in the Pearl Island of the Far East, but her family has been opposed to it.

Qi Jianjun and his wife were more vigilant about their daughter's idea of going to the Far East, and they always felt that the other party was still thinking about their brother Lu Yuzhou, who was far away in the Eastern Brigade.

Alice, who studied under the gorgeous singer Jenny, is two years younger than Qi Zuping and graduated from the Ivy League last year. became a full-time artist. Alice met Qi Zuping, the daughter of Senate Speaker Qi Jianjun, at a school party, and because Qi Zuping liked her songs very much, the two soon came together and became best friends. Frequent correspondence.

Alice and her father Scott were on a holiday trip during the Spring Festival this year, passing by Manchester City to go on vacation to the warmer Bermuda Overseas Consulate, so they happened to contact Qi Zuping to go shopping together.

The moment they stepped into the door, the two welcoming waitresses bowed slightly. also took the flower umbrella in Alice's hand.

Under the guidance of the salesperson, Alice tried on a high-end fur shawl imported from the Netherlands and seemed to be satisfied. But the three-digit price tag makes the only daughter of this army major general a little reluctant.

"You made thousands of dollars on last year's album, right? Or did your father not like you dressed like that? ”

It was the first time for Qi Zuping to see her best friend mind the price of a piece of clothing so much, and she couldn't help but be a little curious.

"No, I'm just ......" A little reluctantly returning the shawl to the salesman, Alice pulled her best friend to the side of the hanger and lowered her voice, "Miss Qi, I plan to start a charitable foundation, I hope you can help me." ”

"Charitable foundations? What name? Qi Zuping was a little surprised.

"The last time I visited an orphanage in Manchester City, I felt very uncomfortable." Alice sighed, as if there were the orphans of immigrants from the East who had lost their parents on the journey, "I want to say that they should be lucky in misfortune." But we know that there are many more poor children suffering around the world, and I want to do my part for them. ”

"Orphan Charity Foundation? For children who have lost their families in the war? ”

Qi Zuping probably understood, but also felt that the other party's idea was a bit unrealistic. Tens of thousands of nautical miles apart, even if you have money, you can't do anything, right?

"My dad was very supportive, so I plan to donate my earnings from last year's album to set up a dedicated multinational charitable foundation! Not only the orphans in the Manchester City Welfare Home, but also the poor families and children in Europe and the Far East! Miss Qi, you work at the Mancheng City Cultural and Education Bureau, which should help me promote it in various schools, right? ”

Alice held Qi Zuping's hand very seriously, as if she had long made up her mind to do something big that she had never tried.

"Maybe I can ask through my dad...... Or rather, count me in. ”

Qi Zuping thought about it, and also dispelled the idea of buying clothes today, and decided to start this charitable foundation with Alice, maybe after the official operation of this foundation, he will have the opportunity to go out.

"That's great, I'm planning to promote it at the concert in two months! There will definitely be more people to support us! ”

The two hit it off, and they directly planned to go back and tell their parents, as for leaving the store empty-handed without buying anything this time, they didn't feel anything wrong at all.

As soon as the two of them walked out of the hanger area, they saw a well-dressed middle-aged Chinese man standing in front of them.

"Dear Miss Alice, Miss Qi, the contemptible person is the manager of the small shop. I just overheard a conversation between the two of you, and I am willing to donate $500 to Miss Alice's charitable foundation. ”

The store manager smiled more enthusiastically, as if he was particularly interested in this kind of social charity, but the next sentence revealed his original intention: "I can also promote it for Miss Alice and Miss Qi at the peer meeting, and I hope that Miss Alice can nominate the store a little in the future activities of the charitable foundation, I would be grateful." ”

Hey? Is that okay? That's a good idea, it's easier than any advertising endorsement!

Alice and Qi Zuping looked at each other for a few seconds, and their eyes lit up almost at the same time.

A small episode ends with Alice and Qi Zuping boarding the carriage, which seems insignificant on the third day of the first month of the bustling Chinese New Year.

At this moment, the fountain square on the commercial street, remembering a beautiful melody, began to play the new song "Yuan", which is known as the biggest style change since Alice's debut, the most daring, and the most popular among the current young people in Manchester City.

This is a musical artwork dedicated to the Chinese and American citizens again in order to support his wife's promising lover, Cheng Daxiong, who has not personally "written songs" for a long time.

A song "When I Meet You" sung on the streets and alleys of later generations was originally hidden by Cheng Daxiong Xue, and was ready to be given to Li Muxin, the youngest daughter of the latest female disciple and friend Li Xiang. However, under the persuasion of his wife Jenny, Cheng Daxiong temporarily changed his mind and gave this song to Alice as a college graduation gift, which is also the title song of Alice's latest album.

The lyrics have not changed a word, they are simple and explicit from beginning to end, gentle and enthusiastic. The snow lotus in the lyrics is not the alpine flower of later generations, but refers to the American yellow lotus native to the North American continent, which is now the gorgeous national flower. This lotus flower is abundantly distributed in the wild wetland swamps of Binzhou and Jiangzhou, and its rhizome lotus root has always been a food source for the indigenous people.

The melodious melody is full of warm and sweet love, which suddenly detonates the emotions of the young people around the square, and the flow of people in the commercial street has not been lightened by the disappearance of the two carriages of the rich and noble, but has become more and more crowded.

"The love song under the mountain is this crooked river, and my heart swims in that river. Acacia under the blue sky is this crooked road, and my dreams are all in my bag. ”

"Everything waiting is no longer waiting, my life has chosen you. When I meet you, I am my fate, and I watch you be my song. Dear dear dear I love you like a snowlotus in the mountains. (To be continued......)