The Zhao family meeting room.
Jiang Hong sat before Zhao Chen, brewing tea for him.
"By the look of it, you're quite satisfied with me now." Zhao Chen looked at Jiang Hong, who sat before him in perfect deference.
Jiang Hong said with a light smile, "Though the Owl Dragon System has no star gate, and word here is somewhat cut off, I nonetheless know of what our lord has done out in the wider galaxy. Not only did you consolidate the Owl Dragon System's standing, you also became a Viscount, and graduated early from the Northstar Academy besides. What I, Jiang Hong, disliked was only that former good-for-nothing baron — not the Lord Zhao Chen of the present."
This woman really was quite the pragmatist. Perhaps, to this very day, the only one she was loyal to was Big Sis. But her ability was there all the same; at the least, she could help him keep the Owl Dragon System managed in good order.
"The lord returning this time surely isn't so simple a thing as coming home?" Jiang Hong poured Zhao Chen a cup of tea. Zhao Chen took a sip — the flavor was quite fine!
"I've come for the matter of the Owl Dragon System's administration," Zhao Chen said.
Jiang Hong watched Zhao Chen quietly, awaiting the rest of his words.
"I want to establish an archive of the common people within the Owl Dragon domain; those who enter the archive will gain an Owl Dragon System household-registration identity, and gain the Owl Dragon System's protection. But when the Owl Dragon System has need, they must unconditionally obey the Owl Dragon System's dispatch and arrangement," Zhao Chen said.
"A household-registration identity?" Jiang Hong was somewhat surprised. "That's a rather ancient method of management; wouldn't using this now be too backward?"
Ever since the coming of the interstellar era, the requirement for a household-registration identity hadn't been high. Because when you entered a planet, the intelligent programs would record your facial information and the like — without caring which system, which planet you'd been born on. For those who'd stepped into interstellar voyaging, the very concept of "hometown" had begun to grow more and more blurred. As this went on and on, the thing called household registration lost the necessity of its existence.
"Because I mean to filter out yet another batch of people," Zhao Chen said.
Jiang Hong didn't grasp Lord Zhao Chen's meaning.
At this point Zhao Chen projected an electronic document before Jiang Hong.
"One month after the household-registration policy is promulgated, this is the second decree I mean to issue. All those who possess an Owl Dragon System household-registration identity may buy natural crops at cost price — though this is permitted only for their own consumption; once anyone is found selling them off to outsiders, their Owl Dragon System household-registration identity will be permanently revoked. At the same time, they'll be given priority in the arrangement of suitable work. And I plan to put in a sum of livelihood funds to build various professional academies on each planet; those of Owl Dragon System household-registration identity, young and old alike, will study free of charge," Zhao Chen said.
"Natural crops? Bought at cost price?" This left Jiang Hong dumbfounded. "Do you know how much cost that would require?"
Even after Zhao Chen's first-step "filtering," leaving a population of 100 million — to meet the natural-crop food needs of that hundred million would still require an enormous cost. It absolutely exceeded the Owl Dragon System's fiscal revenue by several hundred times, even several thousand times. Within the Starlight Empire, there was as yet not a single system domain that dared offer welfare conditions of this kind.
"The matter of cost, you needn't worry about. I'll take responsibility for handling it; you need only carry out this first policy. Remember — before the second policy is made public, you must absolutely keep it secret!" Zhao Chen said in earnest.
Jiang Hong nodded blankly; naturally she knew why it had to be kept secret. If the second policy were known in advance, then a great mass of people would surely join the Owl Dragon System's so-called household registration. For this welfare treatment was genuinely quite fine indeed!
"Setting aside the food gap for the moment, the other livelihood construction alone will require a great deal of funds as well." Jiang Hong raised a question.
"1 billion star coins — is that enough?" Zhao Chen said.
Jiang Hong was taken aback. She'd perhaps been able to guess that Lord Zhao Chen had a bit of funds, but she hadn't imagined that Lord Zhao Chen would, without so much as batting an eye, toss out 1 billion star coins.
"I'll transfer you 1 billion in funds afterward; you go and see to those skill-and-profession academies I've required. Don't go trying to pinch money; before midyear, complete these things I've laid out for you! And in the second half of the year, begin operating them for the public," Zhao Chen said.
"Yes…"
To raise the Owl Dragon System's living quality, the first issue was, naturally, food! So long as one could let the common people eat cheap food, that was bound to greatly raise their living quality; and giving them, besides, chances and channels for advancement, and arranging corresponding work for them — the needs of those lower-rung common folk hadn't changed in several thousand years. For them, all this interstellar voyaging and the like was far too distant. All they wanted was to live their one life well: three meals a day, food and clothing free of care; and if, atop the meeting of these, they were given a chance to realize their aspirations besides, then that was finer still! So Zhao Chen needed only to meet these, and he could surely raise the Owl Dragon System's living quality.
Zhao Chen's return to the family was precisely to see to this matter.
"There's one more thing, besides — can you get in touch with my Big Sis?" Zhao Chen said gravely.
"Eldest Miss?" Jiang Hong said. "My contact with Eldest Miss has always been either Eldest Miss reaching out on her own initiative, or my leaving Eldest Miss a message through a secret channel — and then Eldest Miss contacting me."
"Then do this — leave a word for my Big Sis. Say that, by a chance turn of luck, I've gotten wind that the Starlight Empire's Second Prince and Third Prince may be making some move, and that she should give the little princess a reminder," Zhao Chen said.
Jiang Hong understood Zhao Chen's meaning — that he was concerned for Eldest Miss. Jiang Hong nodded. "Understood; I'll leave Eldest Miss the message. The moment Eldest Miss replies, I'll notify you at once."
"Good." Zhao Chen was much satisfied; he stood up and looked at Jiang Hong. "You've managed the Owl Dragon System well; keep up the effort. I've sent 10,000 star coins to your account as a reward — it's yours to dispose of freely."
With that, Zhao Chen turned and left.
10,000 star coins?
Jiang Hong was dumbfounded. Though her standing in the Owl Dragon System now might be called one-below-all… no, counting in Eldest Miss, it was two-below-all-and-above-10,000. Even 10 years' wages, without eating or drinking a thing, wouldn't come to 10,000 star coins!
She watched the retreating back of Lord Zhao Chen as he left, and wondered why she had a certain feeling of watching a nouveau riche[1].
……
Zhao Chen stayed at the Zhao family for half a day; after finishing his talk with Jiang Hong, he made another trip back to Second Grandma's old house, and the two of them ate a little coarse tea and plain fare, and chatted over a few household trifles. Then Zhao Chen took his leave and returned to T3 Blizzard No.1.
When Zhao Chen returned to the bridge, a certain figure drew his attention.
The scars on the face were gone, replaced by fair, fine, break-at-a-breath skin, and the broken ears atop the head had been restored to normal too. When Zhao Chen laid eyes on the person before him, he felt for all the world as though he were looking at a work of art. He could be said, now, to understand why, when she'd been captured before, she'd disfigured her own face.
Zhao Chen raised a hand and gently rubbed at that pair of beast-ears.
"Don't… touch there…" Charlotte's cheeks flushed faintly; she bit gently at her lip, her eyes gone misty, and her tail, for all the world as though touched by an electric current, stood bolt upright.