Zhao Chen listened to the construction plan Annie laid out.
In sum, over these first three months, besides the four expanded T3 Furnace-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships and the T4 Reviver-class Clone Ship whose construction would reach the halfway point, Zhao Chen would also gain one T4 Lucent-class Interstellar Jump Ship, 50 T3 Triceratops-class Interstellar Heavy Assault Frigates, and five T3 Virgo-class Heavy Interstellar Supply Ships.
The reason so very many T3 Triceratops could be built all at once was, chiefly, that this warship had low build requirements, a short work-cycle, and small expense. And besides, Zhao Chen's fleet happened to be short of a great number of T3-grade interstellar frigates just now — so he'd simply build 50 of them in one go! That way, on the interstellar battlefield, there would no longer be anyone at all who could threaten the safety of the carrier starships and missile ships within the Owl Dragon Fleet!
"For the production of these interstellar warships this time: the T4 Reviver-class Clone Ship consumes 4.5 billion star coins of raw materials over the three months; the T4 Lucent-class Interstellar Jump Ship has a build cost of 5 billion star coins; and the remaining warships have a build cost of 100 million star coins. All told, this quarter will require 9.6 billion star coins of raw materials." Annie, moreover, quickly gave the detailed figure of the raw materials needed.
It had to be said, this was, beyond doubt, the highest-build-cost construction plan in all of Zhao Chen's history — very nearly 10 billion star coins already!
"9.6 billion star coins…" Zhao Chen hesitated a moment; on the Owl Dragon Fleet's books there were only 3 billion star coins in funds. The gap was a touch large — but it wasn't as though there were no way about it. Because over on Governor Chu's side, they still owed him the 7-billion-star-coin technology-licensing fee for the second batch of manufacturing T3 Flame Dragon-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers; and with that sum of funds, he could perfectly well make up the raw materials these three months were short. By rights, that final payment ought to be due for delivery. He'd find a chance to nudge them about it later.
"The matter of the raw-material funds, I'll take care of. You need only make certain that these construction plans can proceed smoothly," Zhao Chen said.
"No problem," Annie said.
"Then if there's nothing else, let's leave the talk here for now." Zhao Chen rose, meaning to go and resolve these matters of the funds and raw materials.
"Aiyo…" Annie, about to rise, suddenly clutched at her belly.
"What's the matter?" Zhao Chen looked at Annie.
Annie put on the very picture of one who couldn't get up, rubbing at that round little belly of hers. "It's nothing… I've maybe eaten a bit too full. I'll sit here a while first; you go on ahead, Commander. Once I've rested a bit, I can walk on my own."
Zhao Chen looked at Annie dubiously. "You're not, by any chance, thinking of eating another whole meal, are you?"
Annie pouted. "Just listen to you — is Annie the sort to be a bottomless rice-barrel?"
Zhao Chen stared at Annie, his gaze for all the world as if to say: aren't you, though?
"All right — you rest here on your own. If you want to eat more, you can order some more; and you can take some back for your younger brothers and sisters too. Put it all on my tab," With that, Zhao Chen walked out of the booth.
Annie was left stunned; she muttered, with a touch of guilt, "The Commander's so good to me… and here I am still doing this sort of thing… isn't it a bit lacking in decency…"
After hesitating three seconds, Annie patted her own cheeks and muttered in earnest, "This isn't any great matter — and besides, I… this counts as thrift in keeping house, doesn't it…"
As she spoke, Annie, furtive and sly, drew a bag out of her pocket, tidied up the tableware the Commander had used a moment ago opposite, and then, piece by piece, most carefully sealed and packed it into the bag.
Then she opened the comm network within her handheld terminal — that was the Owl Dragon Fleet's internal platform, which let the Owl Dragon crew chat and the like upon it, much resembling a forum message-board. Annie, with the ease of long practice, opened a group; and written upon that group was "His Excellency the Commander's Fan Club." The group's avatar was precisely Zhao Chen in his military uniform!
Once she'd tapped it open, she swiftly edited up a message, with several images attached besides. The content of the images was the picture of her and the Commander entering the starship canteen together a moment ago, and then the tableware she'd just gathered up.
Annie's Big Bear: Tableware used by the Commander — first come, first served!
Not long after this message had gone up, the product links, one after another, began to be bid upon. The mode Annie used was an auction: within three hours, the highest bidder took it. Watching those figures climbing without cease, before Annie's eyes it was as though star coin after star coin had appeared.
"Sorry about this, Commander… for the sake of Annie's little treasury… I can only sacrifice you a bit… you won't lose a chunk of flesh over it, anyway… hee hee hee…"
Annie muttered grinningly, and while she was at it ordered several more dishes, all packed to take away.
Before long, Annie, carrying the delicious dishes, walked out of the booth, well and truly content.
A cleaning robot came slowly up to the booth's dining table just then, and gathered up the sets of tableware one by one. And when it saw the empty, bare stretch of one side of the dining table, it stalled where it was… as though it felt something was missing?
……
Just now, Zhao Chen — who had, little did he know, been made into a "side hustle" by Annie — returned to the bridge.
Lilith was off to the side, going about her own work.
"Lilith," Zhao Chen called.
Lilith at once set down the work in hand and came to Zhao Chen's side. "Commander, what arrangement do you have for me?"
"This is the coming quarter's construction plan I discussed with Annie; look it over and double-check it, and afterward coordinate with Annie to carry it out." Zhao Chen handed the construction-plan outline Annie had drawn up over to Lilith.
Lilith took a look, and when she saw the raw-material funds required, she too was given a start. "Commander, this requires 9,600 million star coins — but on our books we have only 3 billion star coins."
"This matter I'll handle; have someone help me get in touch with the Governor of Chu River," Zhao Chen said.
Lilith nodded. "Yes."
Lilith arranged for her subordinate to be responsible for making the contact; it spanned, after all, several star systems, and the other party was a Governor besides, so the making of contact would take a bit of time as well.
"Lilith, how does the situation in our Owl Dragon System stand just now?" Recalling that requirement in the annual mission of raising the Owl Dragon System's living quality, Zhao Chen asked Lilith. Though at present the livelihood side of the Owl Dragon System was still in Jiang Hong's charge, Lilith would, every so often, look into the latest data.
Never mind that the Owl Dragon System stood at a level of only 0.6 now — mind you, before this that figure had been 0.3! Over this stretch of time, Jiang Hong had not only restored the Owl Dragon System to order after the migration of those nobles, but had also raised the standard of living twofold. And of course, this was inseparably bound up with the Owl Dragon Fleet's "slaughter the nobles and parcel out the land." Without destruction there is no building up; destroy, and then build anew. In a case like this, so long as one was skilled at working it, one could naturally raise a tall building up from level ground!