The moment the door opened, a pungent stench nearly made Jiang Ye gag.
The room was a mess, with leftover food smeared on the walls and dirty clothes piled to one side. Socks littered the floor, their cuffs stiff. If picked up and put down, each sock could surely stand on its own.
This planet had no flies, but there were tiny black insects in the room, much like flies, only rice-grain sized. They swarmed out the window like a whirlwind.
Jiang Ye was bewildered.
Several criminals stood in the room. The men wore only shorts, and the women were in tracksuits, but they were so filthy it was unbelievable.
Everyone’s hair had grown long, like savages.
“Why is it so dirty?” Jiang Ye asked.
The criminals stared at him blankly, like soulless puppets.
“The commander is asking you a question! Are you mute? Speak up!” an officer drew his pistol.
“Hey.” Jiang Ye reached out and pushed his gun down.
“I see a river nearby. You could have taken your clothes to wash them,” Jiang Ye’s gaze swept over the criminals’ faces.
“Who will wash them?” a male inmate finally spoke.
“Wash your own! Be self-reliant,” Jiang Ye said.
The inmates had various expressions, as if hearing the concept of "self-reliance" for the first time.
Jiang Ye frowned. He could sense that these people were mentally unstable.
If they were mentally sound, they certainly wouldn’t be living in a room that resembled a trash can. The room stank like a septic tank. Jiang Ye was even curious if lifting their blankets would reveal excrement in their beds.
“I didn’t expect you to make such a mess here. Although the criminal continent is far from civilized society, it has vast nature. You could live very well. If you don’t cherish this new life, I will execute you,” Jiang Ye said. “Next, I will issue quotas. Each person must submit a certain amount of ore and grain each month. Failure to meet the quota will result in punishment, and repeated failure will lead to execution back in the Harl Star prison.”
After speaking, Jiang Ye turned and left.
He spent the entire day visiting different criminal gathering points, inspecting them one by one.
The environment in most gathering points was abysmal, with death row inmates lying on their beds waiting to die, and the stench and sour smell in the rooms making one nauseous.
Only a few scattered gathering points were well-organized, with large fields, ever-expanding mine pits, and clean clothes fluttering on clotheslines. Every criminal was clean, and if one ignored the scars on their faces, they looked simple and kind.
Jiang Ye couldn’t understand why the disparity between criminals was so great.
He had planned to return at seven o’clock that evening, to visit a few more gathering points.
But at five o’clock that afternoon, Li Nannan called.
“I’ve got a gift for you. I’ll be there at eight tonight, so wait at home!”
“Thank you, Commander! May I ask what the gift is?” Jiang Ye asked.
“Alcohol.”
Li Nannan didn’t explain further and hung up.
Jiang Ye was puzzled.
He didn’t like drinking, and with his financial means, what good wine couldn’t he buy?
What kind of alcohol required Li Nannan to personally deliver it? An ancient vintage from a thousand-year cellar?
It was unprecedented for the Commander to visit and bring a gift, so Jiang Ye immediately changed his plans and hurried home.
He arrived home at precisely seven-thirty.
Upon entering, Jiang Ye busied himself, using the food printer to make dishes frantically, preparing to host the Commander.
“Who’s coming?” Cen Yemeng entered the kitchen, holding the baby.
“Li Nannan, she said she’s bringing me a gift, it’s alcohol,” Jiang Ye replied. “I don’t know what kind of alcohol it is, it’s definitely not for drinking, maybe something strange and unusual.”
“I’ll print them here, you take them to the dining table. How many dishes should I make? Is 20 enough?”
“Make about fifty or sixty. If we can’t eat them all, it’s fine to just look. If our table wasn’t so small, I’d definitely serve Li Nannan according to the standards for the Empress Dowager,” Jiang Ye said. “She’s been here before, but this is the first time she’s brought a gift.”
Li Nannan was remarkably punctual.
At eight o’clock sharp, a massive military spacecraft landed in front of his house.
It was already dark, but the spacecraft’s lights shone as brightly as the sun.
Several robots carried large boxes and slowly entered.
Li Nannan, in her military dress uniform, pointed to an empty space in the living room. “Put them there.”
The robots immediately placed the boxes and then returned to the spacecraft.
Jiang Ye heard the sound and went downstairs, a welcoming smile on his face. “Greetings, Commander! The dishes are half-done, would you like to come upstairs and have some?”
“Where’s my godson? Where’s Mengmeng?” Li Nannan didn’t even look at him, heading straight upstairs.
A moment later, Li Nannan came down holding Jiang Senlin.
Cen Yemeng followed behind, looking helpless.
“Why isn’t my godson gaining weight? Mengmeng, is your milk supply sufficient? I’ll send you some galactagogue ingredients later. Ophiuchus bullfrog and large lotus root stew, that lotus root is more than half a meter in diameter, and the eyelets are as big as fists. You can’t buy it on the market; it’s all snapped up by the elite. I can get a little. This dietary therapy recipe is what my sister-in-law used when she had her children, it’s very effective. Eat a bowl a day, and your milk will flow like a flood,” Li Nannan spoke rapidly.
“Jiang Senlin eats quite a bit, but he’s reverting to his younger self, so he’s a bit thin… Thank you!” Cen Yemeng said, a little embarrassed.
“Why are you being so polite with me? He’s my godson. Isn’t it natural for a godmother to find food for her godson?” Li Nannan spun around twice holding Jiang Senlin, then handed him back to Cen Yemeng.
“Jiang Ye, give me a hand, let’s unpack your gift.” Li Nannan walked to the gift box.
“Coming, coming!” Jiang Ye scurried over.
He had been eyeing the box for a long time, certain it wasn’t ordinary alcohol.
The box was about the size of a single-door refrigerator, entirely black, with soft pads at the eight corners to prevent bumps. The surface had no locks, drawers, doors, or any other openings, only shallow engraved characters:
[Must be opened simultaneously by the giver and the receiver]
Li Nannan placed her right hand on the surface of the box, her fingers spread.
“Do the same,” Li Nannan said.
Jiang Ye also placed his right hand on it.
“Man’s left, woman’s right!” Li Nannan commanded.
Jiang Ye was speechless, thinking, who knew that fingerprint verification also required a man’s left and a woman’s right!
He switched to his left hand.
The surface of the box suddenly lit up, and the black casing gradually faded, turning into transparent glass within half a minute.
Li Nannan gave a sudden push, and the surrounding glass fell to the floor.
Jiang Ye was quick-witted and moved the glass panel above, placing it gently aside.
A metal cabinet was revealed, entirely silver-white, with a transparent, fish-tank-like space in the middle. A liquid resembling baijiu sloshed within.
“This alcohol is so fancy, it’s like admiring the casket and returning the pearl. It’s not for drinking, is it?” Jiang Ye exclaimed in surprise.
“The alcohol is just the carrier; the key is the bacteria in the alcohol,” Li Nannan said. “I’m here to give you bacteria.”
“Bacteria?” Cen Yemeng took a step back, holding the baby. “Is it a biological weapon?”
“No, don’t worry, the bacteria in this alcohol are edible and harmless to humans,” Li Nannan smiled and took out her phone from her pocket. “Wait a moment, I have an electronic manual here. Jiang Ye, read it, and ask me if you don’t understand anything.”