The television news programs began to be extended, with news that was originally only about half an hour each night suddenly stretching to three hours.
Billions of viewers on Jiang Yexing, Birongxing, and Liuwangxing sat in front of their televisions, eagerly awaiting the soap opera after the news. However, the news kept droning on.
Many people noticed that the content of the news was all about diplomatic matters such as "Foreign Minister of Planet X visits," "Planet Y initiates diplomatic relations with our planet," and "Planet Z intends to form a strategic partnership."
The public was initially angry because they couldn't get to the soap opera, and then proud of the diplomatic news. The top few trending searches on the internet were all diplomatic terms.
Many netizens were discussing online how this sudden diplomatic fervor came about, and why so many diplomatic documents from distant and powerful planets were arriving like fallen leaves in a strong wind. However, they guessed that the high-level officials must have made some move that seemed to have achieved great results.
The only ones who were annoyed were the advertisers, whose prime-time television commercials, bought at a high price, were all wasted. Major companies went to the television stations to protest. Tang Hanliu simply shrugged and calmly presented the order signed by the planet leader. Upon seeing the planet leader's seal in bright red on the document, the company representatives lost their temper. They dejectedly asked for a partial refund of their advertising fees, or if that wasn't possible, at least a meal, or at least a cup of tea from the television station.
The diplomatic department issued recruitment announcements. With so many planets establishing diplomatic relations at once, they didn't even have enough people to send out as ambassadors.
The salary and benefits were very attractive, and the recruitment requirements were also very strict. In addition to requirements for degrees, character, and work experience, it was also clearly stated that talent who understood alien dialects and internet slang was needed.
Although the pronunciation of Mandarin was the same, and the written language was also basically the same, the dialects and accents of each planet were very heavy, to the point where communication was sometimes difficult. There were also the internet slang of each planet and the trending memes that had formed in recent years, which had become local cultures that were difficult for outsiders to penetrate. It was necessary to have people who understood the context to integrate.
Jiang Ye and Cen Yemeng were so busy that they had no rest time.
Jiang Ye felt like a tour guide, with alien tourists from all over the world coming to visit, and he had to receive them from morning till night. Some of the diplomatic greetings used for welcoming were like tour guide speeches, which he had to recite twenty times a day, going over and over like a spinning wheel, his face stiff from smiling.
Due to overwork and frequent travel between multiple planets, Jiang Ye also made a blunder.
While receiving the alien leader visiting Birongxing, he accidentally recited the planet introduction for Jiang Yexing.
The most embarrassing part was realizing his mistake halfway through. The alien leader opposite him had a subtle expression, clearly having realized that the lines were incorrect and had sensed what was happening. However, out of diplomatic courtesy, he did not speak and could only nod continuously.
Later, in private, Jiang Ye apologized to the planet leader of Xuanwuxing, saying that he had recited the wrong planet introduction.
The planet leader of Xuanwuxing smiled and said, "It's normal. I've encountered similar situations several times during my visits over the years. When I was young, I had a similar incident. When someone came to visit Xuanwuxing, I said, 'Welcome to Zi Houxing,' and it was broadcast live globally. It was more embarrassing than yours. What was even more embarrassing was that I hadn't taken over Zi Houxing at that time. I was constantly planning how to take over Zi Houxing, and I misspoke. That evening, Zi Houxing sent me a diplomatic warning, telling me to be careful of my identity and not to alert them prematurely."
The commander of Zhuquexing was even more straightforward. He patted Jiang Ye on the shoulder and laughed, "It's all minor stuff! With so many planets under our control, who the hell remembers which is which!"
After a long period of sleeplessness, everyone began to have problems.
Jiang Ye's mistake in the introduction was considered minor, as the news was not live broadcast and could be edited out. No one knew.
The others all made headlines.
Shao Wan was accompanying an alien dignitary at a dinner. The alien dignitary was enthusiastically discussing the great cause of the two planets joining hands to create the future. Suddenly, Shao Wan fell asleep with his face in the plate, causing the alien dignitary great embarrassment. When Shao Wan woke up, he kept apologizing and promised to visit the other planet soon with a grand gift.
Isabelle complained about being too busy, with twenty meetings a day from early morning to late at night, which even messed up her menstrual cycle, and her hair fell out all over her pillow. Her hair loss became so severe that during a diplomatic dinner, while eating noodles, a long strand of hair fell into the noodles. Isabelle, completely unaware, picked it up with her chopsticks and ate it. A reporter happened to capture the moment, and the headline that day became "Isabelle's Dinner Noodles Contain Hair."
Cen Yemeng, still groggy from sleep, got up in a hurry and forgot to wear shoes, meeting the alien leader barefoot. The alien leader was taken aback, thinking it was some kind of etiquette, similar to Zhou Gong's hospitality. He quickly took off his own shoes on the spot and completed the meeting with Cen Yemeng barefoot.
The media reported this incident extensively, and the photos went viral online, making netizens burst into laughter. Later, some alien ambassadors, for unknown reasons, inquired indirectly why Cen Yemeng could take off his shoes to welcome leaders of some planets but wore shoes to welcome the leader of their planet. Cen Yemeng was filled with shame and indignation, requesting a change of red carpet material, which should not be too soft and should be slightly prickly.
Hundreds of alien leaders had traveled a long distance, so they couldn't just leave after a chat and a meal.
A large number of interstellar agreements and contracts were also signed, totaling 12 boxes after statistics.
The vast majority were symbolic, such as cooperation between the two planets in environmental protection, humanitarian aid, and deepening cultural exchanges.
There was also a considerable proportion of substantive documents, with commerce being the most prevalent. Strong businessmen, consortia, and capital hoped to enter new fishing grounds, while weaker businessmen, consortia, and capital hoped to cling to a powerful ally or obtain a life-saving elixir from their alien friends.
Educational documents were second, with schools from various planets hoping for academic exchanges. Even if there were no substantial academic breakthroughs, it was good to be able to dine together.
Military documents were the fewest, with only a few items. These included placing orders with the military factories under Jiang Ye's command, joint military patrols, and intelligence sharing.
Jiang Ye felt like his brain and body were about to explode. He had met too many new people during this period, and many of them looked quite alike. It was a luxury to not mix them up or forget them.
This feeling was like facing a pile of ants, having to name each ant, set up their relationships, guess their personalities and psychology, and then remember them all... As the ants gathered and dispersed, they all became mixed up.