"The bullet factory is operational?" Li Nannan lowered her voice.
"It's been operational for a while, running smoothly," Jiang Ye nodded.
"Good, you've got some skills." Li Nannan looked at him appreciatively for a few seconds. "Since I'm here this time, I have some good news for you."
Jiang Ye's heart pounded as he looked at her.
"In three days, I'll pick you up to go to Junction Star. Pack enough clothes for a week. Li Nannan said. Bring a decent formal suit, nothing too flashy, preferably black to appear more composed. It must fit well; ill-fitting suits make one look like an insurance salesman."
"Junction Star? What kind of place is that?" Jiang Ye was completely bewildered. "What will we be doing there for a week?"
"You don't even know what Junction Star is? You're such a bumpkin!" Li Nannan frowned, looking at him with an expression of utter hopelessness.
"I'm an ancient person, I really don't know," Jiang Ye spread his hands helplessly.
"Junction Star is a transportation hub for a galaxy, consisting of a highly developed planet and its surrounding transport routes. Various government offices and inter-galactic corporations have their headquarters there," Li Nannan paused, noticing Jiang Ye's continued blank expression.
She changed her approach. "Junction Star is the capital of a galaxy. Do you understand now?"
"Yes, yes, you should have said that earlier!" Jiang Ye nodded repeatedly.
"We're going to Junction Star for a military conference related to the militarization of this planet," Li Nannan said. "The specific details are classified military information, so I can't tell you yet."
Jiang Ye's eyes lit up.
"So much money was spent just to secure military support, and now the opportunity has finally arrived?"
He suddenly felt as if he were firmly in control of his empire. The military was so advanced, capable of fighting interstellar wars; suppressing a bunch of colonial governors would be a piece of cake.
"So, besides wearing a suit, is there anything else I need to prepare?" Jiang Ye asked obsequiously, with a fawning smile. "Do I need to offer some pre-emptive gifts to the leaders? Or what kind of gifts would be appropriate?"
"That won't be necessary. Everyone attending is a high-ranking Air Force official, a bunch of very upright and important people. Trying to bribe them would be useless and would only leave a bad impression," Li Nannan said. "I've already handled all the necessary arrangements. You just need to show up."
"Oh, right, if you really want to prepare something, you can bring some money for shopping," Li Nannan remembered something. "Junction Star is very prosperous, and the place where you'll be attending the conference is a famous metropolis. They sell everything. You can bring back some nice things."
"Understood, understood!"
"I'm busy, no more idle chat. I'm leaving!" Li Nannan turned to leave.
"Goodbye, Commander!" Jiang Ye waved at her retreating back.
Three Air Force ships took off with a thunderous roar, their engines emitting a terrifyingly powerful hum. They kicked up a storm of dust and gravel before ascending into the sky, shooting off into the distance like cannonballs and disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Jiang Ye boarded the fishing boat and took the miners to the solitary stone mining area.
This time, he unloaded all the miners at once, letting them focus on excavation.
Jiang Ye piloted the fishing boat north to search for new mines.
He thought it would take some effort to find even one or two small mining areas.
However, to his surprise, after sailing for just over half an hour, he detected countless scattered scents.
Jiang Ye stood on the deck, inhaling deeply, discerning the smells in the air: geranium, bark, tobacco, peach blossom, iris, quinoa, avocado, tamarind...
Finally, he gave up. There were simply too many scents, too varied, impossible to count!
He docked the fishing boat and went ashore with a shovel and a pickaxe.
Following the scents along the shore and excavating several locations, he understood the situation:
This was a dense cluster of mines!
One mine next to another, one mine stacked on top of another, mines in front of mines, mines within mines, and even mines piled on top of mines!
At least seven or eight different types of ores were clustered together, layered upon each other, indistinguishable.
Jiang Ye tried digging a few times and unearthed a total of six types of ores, which he placed separately into the trading hold for scanning.
Four were worthless, and two were worth mining:
[Item: Hübnerite Cobalt]
[Item Description: Hübnerite cobalt, also known as frozen cobalt, is a cobaltite sulfide, generally found in high-temperature hydrothermal deposits and also in contact metamorphic rocks. It is a primary cobalt ore. Cobalt has high strength and high-temperature resistance properties, often used in the manufacturing of engine components.]
[Estimated Value: 220 Credits]
[Item: Arsenopyrite]
[Item Description: Arsenopyrite is short for arsenoferrite, a primary iron arsenic sulfide. When heated, it emits a garlic-like odor, and the resulting fumes are toxic. Certain complex arsenic compounds are used to treat diseases, for example, arsenic compound 606 is used to treat syphilis, and Salvarsan is used to prevent syphilis.]
[Estimated Value: 260 Credits]
Jiang Ye noted the location of this mine cluster and piloted the fishing boat back.
For the next two days, everything proceeded normally. Every morning, he took the men out to mine, and in the evening, they returned home to rest.
On the third day, Jiang Ye's account balance had reached 1,500,7000 credits, once again exceeding his initial small goal.
He felt that with so much money, he should have enough to buy things on Junction Star.
He couldn't afford a luxury spaceship, but he could surely afford cotton candy on the street, right? He couldn't afford a designer handbag, but he could afford a plastic bag, right?
Apart from Earth and this colonized planet, Jiang Ye had never been to any other planet.
He had heard that Junction Star was very prosperous, and he had been looking forward to it for days, eager to broaden his horizons.
He wondered if the big city would be full of beautiful women.
However, before leaving, he still needed to make arrangements for the town.
Jiang Ye first went to the police station for a meeting, informing the officers that he would be away for a week and that they must maintain the town's security.
Shao Wan and Shizhi Tomoko, along with the officers, assured him that the town's order was good and that no problems would arise. The town would be exactly as he left it upon his return.
Jiang Ye was very satisfied. With these experienced officers in charge, he felt relatively at ease.
He then sent messages to all the miners, informing them that they would have a week of rest and should return to their homes.
The miners didn't ask why. They still held a natural sense of fear towards Jiang Ye, their town mayor, and dared not ask too many questions. They all sent messages like "Received" and "Understood" in the group chat before disappearing offline.
In the evening, Jiang Ye visited the homes of three women separately.
Isabelle's home, Ju Lanlan's home, and Tian Rao's home.
He simply told them he was going away to the big city on Junction Star and asked if they had any gifts they wanted. He said he would look for them and buy them if he found them.
He also asked Tian Rao to design three black formal suits for him to print and bring.
Ju Lanlan and Tian Rao didn't ask for anything, saying that small trinkets or souvenirs would be fine.
Isabelle, however, was not polite at all. She took out a piece of paper and wrote more than a dozen lines on it.
"I'm familiar with Junction Star; I used to work there. Buy me all these things on my list," she emphasized. "Buy all of them! Don't miss anything. Tick them off as you buy them."
Jiang Ye smiled, took the paper, folded it, and put it in his pocket. "Don't worry, don't worry, I'll go find these things for you after the meeting."
(Striving for five updates tomorrow!)