Xiao Xun's face soured upon hearing this. He pointed outside, "The Scourge Legion's presence is felt all over the world now, committing atrocities and showing no humanity. And you, for a bit of profit, are hindering military production and supplies? Are you planning to bribe the Scourge Legion to death when their army arrives?"
He then looked at everyone and asked, "I don't know if our country has a Minister of Defense position?"
A portly bald man stood up, looking at him with a grave expression. "I am. What about it?"
Xiao Xun walked directly up to him and pointed at Bicris, "Is he your brother-in-law? Or your brother-in-law's brother?"
The bald man frowned, "What do you mean by that?"
"I should be asking you that. As Minister of Defense, you collude with the Minister of Finance, occupying a high position and doing nothing but eating the nation's resources. You are a parasite of this country. Any dog would be better than you."
The bald man didn't understand most of it, only that anyone was better than him.
"Who do you think you are, pointing fingers at me? Do you know the contributions I've made to this country?"
"Enough, everyone stop arguing!"
Sailorpeis slammed the table and stood up, "Look at yourselves, what are you acting like? Bicris, if you continue to defy my orders, I'll send you to the front lines."
She then scanned the room, her voice icy, "From now on, I don't want to see anyone arguing in front of me. The entire country is entering a state of emergency. Everything will be streamlined to defeat the Scourge Legion. Anyone who has doubts will go to the front lines for three months. After returning, if you still have doubts, I will consider them."
She turned to Xiao Xun and said, "Come with me."
Sailorpeis walked towards a side hall, and Xiao Xun immediately followed. Seeing that Sailorpeis wasn't bringing any guards, he instructed the Twelve Star Envoys to wait outside.
Once inside the side hall, Sailorpeis looked at Xiao Xun, "You just had to cause trouble today, didn't you?"
Faced with the Empress's questioning, Xiao Xun's grievances surged. "I was just too angry. Do you know what the front lines are like? Do you know how I've spent the past two months? If it weren't for the Orcs, I would have almost starved to death, do you know that? I wrote to you every day, urging you for food, people, and raw materials for weapon manufacturing, but I got nothing."
Sailorpeis remained silent. Xiao Xun continued, "Have you ever experienced the feeling of seeing the enemy wielding weapons far superior to anything of this era, killing people with impunity, while you are helpless? One charge, and all the cavalry were annihilated – that was twenty thousand people, twenty thousand living souls, and the enemy didn't lose a single person. If I had long-range weapons, perhaps we could have fought, but whether attacking or defending, I had to find ways to close the distance. Those magic soldiers are the most useless, their casting range is less than ten meters, not even as effective as a handgun. It's like sending barbarians with sticks to fight modern soldiers with guns."
Sailorpeis was also greatly shocked, "They actually broke through the dimension of time, they truly achieved it…"
Xiao Xun looked at Sailorpeis's stunned expression. In his memory, Sailorpeis had always been composed and unfazed.
"Yes, their weapons and equipment are things unheard of even in that world."
Seeing Xiao Xun's dejected look, Sailorpeis gently comforted him, "You've vented your anger, spoken your mind, and expressed your grievances. Are you less angry now?"
Xiao Xun nodded helplessly, "How is our world doing?"
"Pretty good! Phones are selling well, and we're already developing the second generation. Dingtai Group is also preparing to delist. Following your previous strategy, the contracts have been renewed. Now, our Saint Roman is the exclusive general agent for Dingtai Group in this country. However, without the production batch numbers from the factory, we can only do OEM and contract manufacturing."
After Sailorpeis's explanation, Xiao Xun felt as if he had crossed worlds.
In the afternoon, some necessary military work reports were made.
In the evening, after dinner, Xiao Xun waited in the main bedroom of the castle to return to that world.
Mu Jiahe cradled Xiao Xun's face, examining him closely. "Hmm! Still so thin, a bit darker, but stronger."
Suddenly, he seemed to remember something. He searched for a long time in that spatial ring and pulled out a small black velvet pouch, handing it to Mu Jiahe.
Mu Jiahe curiously picked up the bag. "What's inside?"
"A gift for you."
Mu Jiahe smiled, "So mysterious."
She then reached to open it, but Xiao Xun stopped her. "I pried these out of a large snake statue in the main hall of the Midoya Royal Palace. Several soldiers were petrified just by looking at these two eyes."
"Why would you give me something so dangerous?"
Xiao Xun scratched his head, "I really don't have anything else to give."
Mu Jiahe grabbed his arm, "Don't change the subject. When are you going to have the wedding with me?"
He said with great bravado, "Until the Scourge is extinguished, how can I call this home!"
Mu Jiahe picked up a pillow and threw it at him, "Why are you quoting now? If the Scourge Legion can never be destroyed, are you going to remain unmarried your whole life? I think it would be better to get married early and have more children, so that future generations can fight the Scourge Legion!"
Xiao Xun thought to himself: Is she trying to be the foolish old man moving mountains, but against the Scourge?
But looking at Mu Jiahe's determined eyes, Xiao Xun said, "I won't let my next generation be influenced by any demon king. I will win this war with my own strength."
Mu Jiahe patted Xiao Xun's shoulder, "Ambitious! For that statement alone, I swear by the name of the Radiant Flame family of the Shengduo Dynasty, I will marry no one but you in this life."
Xiao Xun quickly clasped Mu Jiahe's hand, "Your Majesty, you speak too highly of me, too highly."
Two hours later, they returned to the world they belonged to.
Xiao Xun felt an unprecedented sense of security. He lay down on the bed and fell asleep, indifferent to the beauty beside him or his sleeping posture. He sprawled out carelessly, snoring loudly.
Mu Jiahe propped her head on her arm, tilting her head to look at the man before her, her eyes filled with boundless admiration.
"He is becoming more and more attached to that world…"
The next day, he woke up close to noon.
He glanced at the phone on the bedside table. There were many missed calls and messages.
As he was browsing to see if there were any important messages, a call suddenly came in, startling him so much that he almost dropped his phone.
He looked at the contact name, "Oh, it's President Zhao! I thought it was someone else. What business do you have contacting me so early?"
"Of course, it's good news. You'll know when you get back."
"Get back? Where are you now?"
"I'm in the country!"
Xiao Xun's forehead creased with a dark line. He then remembered that Mu Jiahe had made up an excuse about him going abroad.
"I returned to the country today."
"Is that so? Then come to my restaurant!"
As soon as Xiao Xun got out of the car, Zhao Yuman came forward and teased, "You're quite something, kid. You're almost a big shot in the commercial street now."
"President Zhao is too kind to me, I'm just a small vendor."
Zhao Yuman pouted, "Your company has been making waves these past few days. So many big companies are eager to cooperate with you. Your name is being spread all over the circles now. What, have you become successful and started to look down on me?"
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare." Then he remembered something and asked, "By the way, didn't you say it was good news? Tell me quickly."
Zhao Yuman gave Xiao Xun a speechless look, "Are you going to make me say it standing here?"
"Isn't this the entrance to your store? Let's go inside and talk."
The two found a window seat in a private room, and a waiter brought two cups of coffee.
"Can you tell me now?"
Zhao Yuman nodded, organized her thoughts, and naturally crossed her legs.
"You often come to Fengming Restaurant, don't you?"
Xiao Xun nodded, then suddenly remembered, "I always pay for my meals!"
Zhao Yuman's face blushed, "Stop it, I wasn't talking about that."
"I'm sorry, please speak, I promise not to interrupt."
Zhao Yuman said to Xiao Xun, "I've decided to open another branch in a prime location in the city center. Once business picks up, I'll make it a chain. I'll open one in the main commercial districts of popular cities nationwide, build my brand, and then go public."
She then looked at Xiao Xun, "What do you think of my idea?"