"That's right, when you're young, you don't have a husband to share hardships with, but now that you have money, it's hard to find one," Tian Rao nodded vigorously. "Even if you find someone you're very satisfied with, you still don't know if it's true love or if they're after your money."
"Rich people don't have true love, how pitiful," Xu Yan sighed.
The girls started chattering, their topic completely straying.
Jiang Ye had long gotten used to it; when these people got together to chat, the topic would inevitably drift miles away.
He didn't continue listening, just quietly checked his phone in a corner.
Huan Yunhe had sent a message.
"It all happened so suddenly. Director Dai mentioned he needed someone to help sell a planet. I volunteered at first, but he said no, so I recommended you," Huan Yunhe explained. "You don't need to panic; he probably just needs you for some small favors."
"I'm going to see Director Dai soon. Is there anything I need to pay attention to?" Jiang Ye asked. "Does he have any favorite gifts I can bring to make him happy?"
"Director Dai is very easygoing and can chat with all sorts of people, so you don't need to be overly reserved," Huan Yunhe messaged. "As for gifts... let me think, that's actually quite difficult."
Jiang Ye understood perfectly.
Someone of such high status, someone who had become immensely wealthy hundreds of years ago.
He had surely experienced everything the world had to offer, and likely things the world didn't even have.
He lacked nothing, so what kind of gift would he want?
But it felt wrong to visit empty-handed.
"I've thought of something, it's difficult to obtain, but you can try looking for it," Huan Yunhe said.
"Please tell me."
"Have you heard of the Heike crab?"
"A type of crab?"
"That's right. Last month, Director Dai was at home reading ancient books and came across a record of the Heike crab. He mentioned it at the time, saying he wanted to know what it tasted like, but sadly, it's probably extinct."
"Extinct... then how can I find it?" Jiang Ye was bewildered. "I can't just fake it, can I?"
"I'll tell you, and you'll understand. The Heike crab is a semi-artificial species. In 1185 AD, during the naval battle of Dan-no-ura, the Taira fleet was annihilated, with only 43 female survivors. These women drifted to the nearby coast, married fishermen, and their descendants were also fishermen."
"There's a local folk legend that the fallen samurai turned into crabs in the sea, called Heike crabs. Local fishermen who caught Heike crabs found patterns resembling samurai faces on their shells, so they wouldn't eat them and would release them back into the sea."
Hearing this, Jiang Ye understood. "Occasionally, there are deformed crabs with patterns resembling human faces on their shells. Originally, these deformed crabs were rare, but fishermen never killed them. Over time, they bred more and more, and the patterns on their shells became more and more like samurai faces, right?"
"Exactly, just like dairy cows. Initially, they produced very little milk, but due to human selection, they produced more and more. It's a superposition of human and natural selection," Huan Yunhe said. "You can find some crabs with human-like faces on their shells, put them in a time capsule to accelerate their breeding. It might cost a bit more, but you should be able to get them by next week."
"Understood, I'll get started right away." Jiang Ye thought for a moment, then asked, "Besides the Heike crab, what else can I give?"
"You can give some peculiar creatures, both ornamental and edible," Huan Yunhe said. "The Director likes these kinds of things. His residence houses many strange animals, and he has a garden where he frequently changes the unusual plants."
"On Jiang Ye Star, there's a strawberry melon, an artificially cultivated product. It's a strawberry as large as a watermelon. Can that be a gift?" Jiang Ye asked.
"That's great. As long as this strawberry melon has no side effects, and ideally, it's delicious."
As soon as his communication with Huan Yunhe ended, Jiang Ye began sending messages to his subordinates.
First, he instructed the defense forces of Zhijun City to get some crabs, throw them to Zhijun for deconstruction and reconstruction, and rapidly evolve them to produce shells with human faces.
In addition, they needed to accelerate research and development of edible and ornamental creatures, preferably small and easy to carry, that could be preserved during travel and wouldn't die easily.
...
The next day was Che Zhen's wedding.
Jiang Ye's cold had cleared up. He had taken some fast-acting recovery medication overnight and was back to full energy.
The luxurious cruise ship became a grand wedding venue, with flowers adorning every wall. Over twenty flower companies from all over Jiang Ye Star supplied the blooms, bringing almost half of a flower market. The windows were covered with "double happiness" characters, all cut by the ship's guests. Several orchestras played in different locations.
The wedding ceremony was incredibly long, with every distinguished guest giving a congratulatory speech.
Jiang Ye and Cen Yemeng each took the stage for two minutes, then presented a large red envelope.
Others didn't know what was inside the red envelope, so only Che Zhen and his wife would find out when they opened it in their cabin that night. Inside were shares in over ten companies from the refugee stars, providing the Che Zhen couple with massive annual dividends. At the same time, these companies were so far away that they prevented Che Zhen from having too much power.
Shao Wan was tied up with official duties and couldn't attend, but he recorded a congratulatory message that was played on the big screen.
The prestige was fully established; both the current and former leaders of this planet had offered their blessings.
The toasting session was also extremely lengthy. After all, there was a whole ship of people, hundreds of tables that required a table-by-table procession. Che Zhen had to drink low-alcohol fruit wine, as bland as water, and then constantly go to the restroom, restroom, restroom... from noon until midnight.
In the evening, there was a grand fireworks display. Two more fireworks ships were specially brought in and docked near the giant ship to launch them with great fanfare. The fireworks almost burned the night sky, with brilliant light and shadow effects comparable to an air raid scene, lasting for four hours. The cost was hundreds of millions, a clear display of extravagant waste.
Jiang Ye paid for all of this. He was surprisingly impressed that a mere few hundred million could create such a beautiful spectacle.
Cen Yemeng, in particular, was very excited. She looked up for the entire four hours, her neck almost breaking from exhaustion.
Seeing how much she enjoyed it, Jiang Ye felt that such fireworks displays could be held more often in the future. The money was well spent, as it not only fostered goodwill but also pleased his wife.
Someone on the ship filmed the fireworks display and posted it on a short video website, causing a global sensation in the following days. A series of videos garnered tens of millions of likes and dominated trending searches. Netizens were greatly impressed by the grand scale of a rich person's wedding!
After the revelry, Jiang Ye left the luxurious cruise ship by plane the morning after the wedding.
Many guests on the cruise ship would accompany the newlyweds on their world tour, sailing the vast ocean for two months, hoping to see beautiful cities or lush forests on the horizon. Jiang Ye also wanted to travel on a large ship and tour his territory, but he didn't have the time; many tasks awaited his attention.
Soon, a week passed.
It was time to meet the Old Dragon.