Jiang Shasha followed at once, humbly, walking behind Madam Miao with her head lowered.
When they had nearly reached the landing pad,
Madam Miao spoke: "These ten years haven't been easy, have they? Jiang Shasha. Once the Owl Dragon Emperor's fiancée."
Jiang Shasha went stiff, and looked at this Madam Li in disbelief.
"I'm Li Wei's wife," Madam Miao said.
There was still a trace of doubt in Jiang Shasha's eyes.
"Li Wei has an enrollment photo with Zhao Chen and you in it. Li Wei pointed you out to me specially at the time. So I remembered what you looked like." Madam Miao looked at Jiang Shasha before her, who looked nothing like thirty. "You don't look much like you did ten years ago. But I have one talent: anyone I've seen once, I'll nearly always know at a second look."
"Then… then why did you still choose to work with us?" Jiang Shasha did not keep her head down any longer; she looked at Madam Miao.
Madam Miao said calmly, "Because your Jiang Family Convoy really has done well. You have a gift for this."
As she spoke, Madam Miao had already climbed the steps of the shuttle; she turned back and looked at Jiang Shasha. "Don't overthink it. No one is targeting your Jiang family now. When your Jiang family left the Owl Dragon Star System back then, no one stopped you, and His Majesty the Owl Dragon Emperor taking no revenge on you afterward shows that too. You're no longer on the same road as everyone else; you need only do your own work well. If you do badly in our partnership later, I'll take back your place too. I hope you won't disappoint me."
When she had said this, Madam Miao vanished through the shuttle's hatch.
Jiang Shasha was left standing alone in the wind and sand.
All the flavors of feeling mixed in Jiang Shasha's heart.
No one knew of this little story, naturally; it was only a small episode unknown to anyone.
And the Jiang family, with this backing, did not get back to its old fortunes, but it was a good deal better off than before.
It ran the interstellar transport fleet in partnership with the Li family, then bought a house and grounds of its own on a habitable planet, and in a way rebuilt the Jiang family.
And afterward, however Father Jiang urged her, Jiang Shasha still never married.
Instead she used gene-pregnancy technology to bear three children herself, and raised these three children to be heirs of her Jiang family.
——————
Madam Miao, having left, gave this little episode no more thought; after all, some Jiang family or Jiang Shasha did not matter to her at all.
She had chosen Jiang Shasha entirely because the woman really did have a gift for this and was worth bringing on; there was no other reason.
When Madam Miao had dealt with the business in hand, she went back to the Owl Dragon Star System.
For there was a meeting of the Imperial Ministry of Commerce there today.
Chang'an City, the Owl Dragon Star System · the Ministry of Commerce Tower
Madam Miao came down in a hovercar in front of the Ministry of Commerce Tower; she got out and looked at the busy entrance of the Ministry of Commerce before her.
A great many people had gathered here.
Most of them were interstellar traders; to these interstellar traders, the Imperial Ministry of Commerce was the god of wealth.
For however you did business, if you wanted to make money and get rich, you nearly always had to rely on the Empire.
And in this universe, all of it was the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's territory, so any project you could develop together with the Imperial Ministry of Commerce
was all but sure to make money and never lose.
And through the Imperial Ministry of Commerce you could also get some advanced technologies to use in your works.
Where someone else's interstellar mining ships were only T3 or T4 grade, for example,
if you worked with the Ministry of Commerce, you might buy the most advanced T5- or even T6-grade interstellar mining ships directly through the Ministry of Commerce's channels, and your efficiency would be something else entirely.
So, every day, who knew how many interstellar traders wore the Ministry of Commerce's threshold to pieces.
And today was an important meeting of the Imperial Ministry of Commerce; some interested parties had naturally learned of it, and had been waiting here since early on.
And when some of them saw Madam Miao, one of the heads of the Li clan, appear, they crowded around her at once.
"Madam Miao, we have a very good project here; please take a look!"
"Madam Miao, this project of ours only needs you to be willing to invest; it'll pay back in three years, and in five years we guarantee the profit will triple. Within ten years, this project alone can bring in over a billion star coins a year!"
"Madam Miao, we've done business with your parents' family before; we could sit down and talk, really…"
Luckily, when Madam Miao got out of the car, security staff kept these people outside, even calling up security robots and raising electronic nets along both sides of the walkway.
Only then did those interstellar traders hold back, though their shouting did not grow any quieter.
Madam Miao had long been used to this.
With her standing and position now, wherever she appeared, a great many people would crowd around her.
For in the eyes of those interstellar traders she was a money tree; so long as they could lean on this tree, great wealth was only a matter of time.
Once she had gone into the Imperial Ministry of Commerce Tower, there were still quite a few people inside, but it was a good deal quieter than outside.
After all, not just anyone could get into the Imperial Ministry of Commerce, and naturally no one dared barge in.
Anyone who dared barge onto the god of wealth's ground could more or less forget about ever doing business in the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire.
No one was that foolish.
And anyone who could walk into the Imperial Ministry of Commerce had the power and fortune behind them to rank at least among the top thousand in the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire.
Without such standing and assets, one could not cross this threshold at all.
There was even a saying in the circles of interstellar traders in the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire:
To see how well your business is doing, see whether you're fit to enter the Imperial Ministry of Commerce Tower.
And to see your standing in the Owl Dragon Empire's business world, see whether you can get a Bronze Card that lets you pass freely through floors one to ten of the Imperial Ministry of Commerce Tower.
The Imperial Ministry of Commerce issued this card to those fit to work with it over the long term; so far only a thousand had been issued.
And they were not handed out for nothing: each card cost a million star coins to make.
That is, if I issue you this card, you also owe me a million star coins, and only you yourself may use it, and the card is renewed every year as well.
And renewal was not something you could do just because you wanted to; it had to pass the Imperial Ministry of Commerce's review, and once it passed, the card would receive a payment notice.
You paid in another million star coins, and the card would renew itself.
If you lost your eligibility in the new year, a self-destruct chip inside the card would destroy the whole card automatically.
To ordinary people this might sound far too outlandish.
A mere entry card costing a million star coins a year: wasn't that robbery?
But mind you, this was a robbery the interstellar traders were glad of.
Some of the deep-pocketed people outside the door who could not get in, for instance, would gladly pay ten million star coins, never mind a million, just to cross that threshold.
And besides letting people in,
this card sometimes served other purposes too.
For example, it gave preferential treatment and priority when using the star-gate network within the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire.
And every year at the Emperor's Banquet, the Ministry of Commerce had a hall of its own, to which everyone holding such a Ministry of Commerce Bronze Card was invited.
And besides the Bronze Card, there were Silver Cards, Gold Cards, and Diamond Dragon Cards.
As the names suggest, the higher the grade, the more special the standing.
And this Ministry of Commerce Tower had ninety-nine floors.
A Bronze Card reached only the first ten floors; a Silver Card reached the thirtieth floor, and a Gold Card the ninetieth.
And a Diamond Dragon Card reached any floor but the ninety-ninth.
And what was the ninety-ninth floor?
It was the office of the Minister of Commerce.
It was a mark of standing.
And in the departments of the Ministry of Commerce, the higher a staff member's standing, the higher their office.
The card you held stood for which of the Ministry of Commerce's senior people you could reach.
There was one more thing: at the Emperor's Banquet, a Bronze Card holder could attend only alone.
A Silver Card could bring one immediate family member.
A Gold Card could bring three immediate family members or friends.
A Diamond Dragon Card could bring five qualified friends, and a Diamond Dragon Card holder could attend a meeting of the Ministry of Commerce's senior people attended by the Owl Dragon Emperor, with a chance to meet the Owl Dragon Emperor and even dine with him.
Treatment like that alone was something extraordinary.
The latter, as the name suggests, meant one could bring along interstellar traders one thought promising, which showed the holder's special and honored standing.
And the higher the grade of card, the fewer there were.
Rumor had it that the number of Diamond Dragon Cards was fixed, and would never exceed thirty.
And the thirty Diamond Dragon Cards now were in the hands of the heads of fifteen large interstellar trading enterprises.
There were somewhat more Gold Cards, but fewer than a hundred.
And what Madam Miao held was a Diamond Dragon Card; a Diamond Dragon Card holder did not even need to show anything to enter the Imperial Ministry of Commerce Tower.
She need only walk through the door and have her identity verified.
For no one here would fail to know this Madam Miao.
The interstellar traders in the lobby, when they saw Madam Miao, did not crowd around and shout like the lot outside.
Instead they gave Madam Miao a slight nod from a good way off.
They too very much hoped for more business with the Li clan behind Madam Miao, but they knew very well that doing such a thing here would make them a laughingstock.
They were people of standing, after all.
Madam Miao crossed the lobby, took out her Diamond Dragon Card, and unlocked the floors up to the ninetieth in the elevator's choices.
Very soon the elevator reached the ninetieth floor.
The surroundings on the ninetieth floor were naturally far quieter than the lobby below.
And at the elevator door, someone like an attendant was already waiting.
As the Imperial Ministry of Commerce, the department for interstellar trade, the people here had the strongest sense of service in the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire.
After all, a business like interstellar trade calls for attention to every detail of every kind.
When Madam Miao walked into the hall, someone had already made ready.
"Madam, you're here for the meeting? The meeting starts in fifteen minutes. Would you like a private room to rest in now, or to dine, or to go to the hall and see the others? Your husband and several other honored guests have already arrived," the attendant answered, standing beside her.
She was an attendant, but nothing in her words or bearing showed any wish to fawn.
They provided service, but that did not mean they were lowly; that was the training code for the service staff of the Ministry of Commerce Tower.
The people serving here were no simple waiting staff.
Sent out into the world, they could easily serve as presidents of interstellar trading groups worth no less than ten billion.
In the eyes of the interstellar traders down below and outside, they were all beyond reach.
As for why they were here as attendants, it was one of the Imperial Ministry of Commerce's ways of training people.
Anyone who was to be sent out to stand on their own had to work in the Ministry of Commerce Tower for three months to a year, to complete this last stage of trial.
It was also a way of bringing them on and protecting them.
For here they could meet the business tycoons of every trade in the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire; it was the handiest means of building connections for them.
And those business tycoons did not look down on these attendants either; they would quietly remember their faces.
When they met them out in the world later, they would naturally give them a great deal of face and offer them more help.
"To the hall," Madam Miao said.
"Very well; please follow me." The attendant led the way in front.
Madam Miao walked behind and asked, "Xiaorou, if I remember rightly, you're to be sent out within a month? Have you got where you'll take up your post settled?"
Hearing Madam Miao call her by name, Xiaorou showed no fluster at all.
She said with easy grace, "I know already. I'm to be vice president at an interstellar transport group that does business with the Holy Elf Empire."
Madam Miao praised her with a smile: "Cross-universe trade; that business is just taking off now. That's a fine post they've given you."
"It's all the Minister's favor," Xiaorou said modestly.
These attendants were in fact graded too.
From the floor they worked on one could tell: the higher the floor they appeared on, the higher they would fly out in the world later!
"Do well. You have a fine gift; if you do well, in ten years you'll reach at least grade nine in the Ministry of Commerce," Madam Miao said with a light smile.
Xiaorou was jolted; grade nine was second only to the Minister's grade ten.
By her professional poise, Xiaorou's face did not change much; she said with a smile, "The Madam is joking; Xiaorou hasn't that much ability."
"Sometimes you have to have enough faith in yourself. What I wanted to be back then was an interstellar adventurer; I'd never have imagined in those days that I'd be in a position like this now. And I'll say this: watching the things I've planned come true bit by bit makes me pretty happy," Madam Miao said, remembering.
Just then, Xiaorou had brought Madam Miao to the hall.
It was a hall rather understated, yet still luxurious.
There were places to rest here, and food laid out too.
And at one glance Madam Miao saw her husband Li Wei in the food area, eating his fill and more.
Madam Miao walked over crossly and planted a kick right on Li Wei's backside.
"Who kicked me… ow… honey… when did you get here? Why didn't you tell me when you were coming, so I could go down and meet you?" The moment Li Wei saw it was his wife, a smile hung on his face.
Li Wei now was plainly very different from the Li Wei of before; he had filled out all over and looked a good deal more prosperous.
But such a look made him much more like an interstellar trader by trade.
Li Wei, once an interstellar adventurer, had come back to the Li family to take charge of its business, and without the training of the battlefield, and with the drinking parties and dinners a merchant was bound to attend,
one thing led to another, and Li Wei's look was entirely different from before.
He had grown a good deal plumper.
"Have you forgotten what the doctor told you? Do you really want to lose weight with those medical tonics?" Madam Miao looked at her husband crossly.
In this age of technology, losing weight was no hard thing; there were technologies for it.
But however good these technologies sounded, they did some harm to the body that could not be undone.
So, unless his life was in danger, Madam Miao would not let her husband take risks with them.
As for being a little plump, let him be a little plump; but she would keep after Li Wei.
Li Wei said, all aggrieved, "Honey, you've really got me wrong. I only just got here; I haven't eaten much. I've been running all over several star systems on business, handling all sorts of things, and never had a proper meal. And then I hurried straight back for the Ministry of Commerce business. Only now, with a little time to rest, have I had a chance to eat something here."
Li Wei took his wife by the hand.
As everyone knew, after Li Wei married he had shown himself thoroughly henpecked.
But the two of them were very happily married.
Looking at her husband like this,
Madam Miao glared at him, picked up a plate from beside her, put some rather healthy food on it, and held it out to Li Wei.
"Less of those unhealthy things; eat more of these."
Li Wei looked at the healthy but not very tasty food on the plate, and could only eat obediently now.
But with a good deal less relish than before.
"You two, barely here and already showing off your love," a voice came just then.
Madam Miao and Li Wei looked over and saw Red Rose in a red qipao.
Red Rose was getting on for forty now, but with her natural beauty and the care she took of herself,
no trace of the years could be seen on Red Rose at all.
At first glance she looked just like a fiery young woman of twenty or so.
"Sister Rose." Madam Miao went up and took Red Rose by the shoulder very familiarly.
Perhaps because of their early lives, the two, who had once been interstellar pirate and interstellar adventurer, had got on well since they met.
When Madam Miao took over some of the business, she would talk over the things she did not understand with Red Rose, and Red Rose would hold nothing back.
So the two were on good terms.
"Hanging on me like this; if your sister-in-law saw it, that wouldn't do," Red Rose teased.
Back when the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire had just risen, there had been talk of the "two flowers of the business world".
It meant Red Rose and Li Yaqi.
For the interstellar trading groups behind the two of them were the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's trading giants, and the two giants naturally had some friction and clashes, some business rivalry.
So whenever they were in public, the air between Red Rose and Li Yaqi was not good.
Rumor outside had it that the two were at daggers drawn.
"Hee hee. Sister Yaqi is the Minister of Commerce now; she's not in the same trade as us. What's there to be angry about? And when I went to learn from you before, Sister Rose, it was Sister Yaqi who told me to. She said that since she mainly handles the Imperial Ministry of Commerce's business now, she can't deal too much with the Li family; she has to avoid any appearance of favor. So she had me learn from you. She said that of all the interstellar traders in the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire, you're the only one she truly admires from the bottom of her heart," Madam Miao said with a giggle.
Red Rose pinched Madam Miao's cheek and said, "You little minx haven't learned much else, but you've certainly trained up that tongue of yours."
"Because everything I say is the truth." Madam Miao blinked.
Just then a voice broke in, out of place, on this pleasant mood.
"Miss Red Rose, do you know what important business this Ministry of Commerce meeting is about?" Li Wei asked bluntly from beside them, still eating.
Madam Miao glared crossly at her husband.
Red Rose paid it no mind, though, and said, "If I've guessed right, it's about expanding production. Our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire is at war with the Devourer Civilization now, an expeditionary war across universes at that, and needs of every kind have to go up. Lately they've been trying every way to keep the Empire's finances under control. But because the war's demands have grown, some of the Empire's supply and demand has fallen out of balance. The prices of some goods people need have been climbing all the way. That's what the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire has to get under control now. And there are only two ways to solve it: either end the war, or expand production and make transport more efficient. The first is naturally nothing we merchants can meddle in, so the only road before us is the second."