Chapter 30
In the center of the mother planet, in the capital district, the Yinling Convention and Exhibition Center.
Zhu Shaoquan changed into a uniform, put on his identification badge, and kept looking around, especially observing the identity of every person entering.
Even though he was slick enough most of the time, he was just a young man in his early twenties after all. It was his first time to enter such a big occasion without his father's guidance, so he couldn't help but feel excited.
Today is the report meeting of the Imperial Ministry of Munitions on the supply budget for the second quarter of next year, and many politicians will attend.
After all, in an era when everyone is busy annexing each other, grabbing territory, and snatching the best planets and resources, a country's military capabilities determine how far it can go.
As a former cabinet minister, Zhu Zhengde should have participated in the meeting with other members of the think tank.
But firstly, he was not feeling well and had retired to his hometown. Secondly, he had already paved a lot of roads for his second son to take over, so this time he simply let Zhu Shaoquan go in his place.
Zhu Shaoquan knew that whether he could leave a good impression in front of the people he wanted to make friends with today would largely determine whether his future career would be smooth, so he made adequate preparations.
However, he felt unlucky that he had to take the same spaceship with his eldest brother and his family on the way to the mother planet, and he even had a vague premonition that it was not good.
He shook his head, clearing all the unlucky thoughts, took a deep breath, and walked towards the registration office.
The staff were not from Earth, but one-eyed Walpoles.
Because this race never lies, they will not hide things for others, nor will they be tempted by interests, making them the most suitable people to take on these record-keeping responsibilities.
Francis, the steward of the Zhu family, is a Walpole, and Zhu Shaoquan already has experience dealing with this ethnic group.
"Hello."
He smiled slightly, trying to appear sincere.
The Walpoles liked a sincere race.
One-Eye nodded at him and handed him the PADD. "Please scan your identification badge and verify the information."
Zhu Shaoquan was familiar with the process. He paused for a second as he glanced over the column with his companion's information, then quickly slid it over and returned it to him: "Alright."
The Walpoles asked a few simple questions, including name, position, hometown, and purpose of participation.
And, companion spirit.
Zhu Shaoquan replied proudly, "Yes, it's a golden leopard—a very rare kind."
His companion spirit caused a hushed discussion among the people around him.
Although those who came to attend the meeting were all powerful people or had a strong family background, not everyone had a powerful companion spirit.
The Walpoles, who had no accompanying spirits, were not affected by his boasting and simply said, "Please be sure to register your true accompanying spirits and do not falsify them."
Due to the importance of companion spirits, which can directly determine a person's status in many situations, the empire will never allow anyone to cheat on companion spirits.
The laws on this point are quite strict. Once anyone is found to have forged or deceived someone, not only will they be sentenced to prison, they may even be exiled to a desolate planet.
The Empire's prisons, like most of the Empire's facilities, are still very advanced.
But the barren planets were a completely different world. Some planets were even primitive forests where people ate raw meat and drank blood.
For most citizens of the Empire, exile was a punishment far more horrible than the death penalty.
Zhu Shaoquan's expression tensed for a moment.
After a moment, he smiled slightly: "Of course."
"Your materials have been reviewed and you can come in. I wish you a smooth meeting today, Mr. Zhu Shaoquan."
"Thanks."
He always has enough blessings... no, blessings.
He pinned his identification badge back on his uniform and got to the back of the line, preparing to enter the security checkpoint.
When entering the sensor door, everyone must switch to beast form. This can prevent people from carrying weapons and can also show their status to others in a very direct way.
Zhu Shaoquan's leopard has a sturdy and graceful body, but there is a subtle stiffness in its movements.
The sensor door seemed to hesitate as it scanned it.
But no alarm was sounded.
Zhu Shaoquan returned to his human form and walked towards the inner field under the envious gazes of everyone, with a determined smile on his face.
Zhu Shaoquan was a little disappointed when he heard that His Majesty was originally going to attend the meeting, but was unable to come today due to something else.
Although he had accompanied his father to many important occasions, he had never seen His Majesty in person.
Like millions of ordinary people, he had only caught a glimpse of that stunning face from afar on the parade car during the mother planet's grand ceremony.
Not only did His Majesty not come, but the Marshal, the highest leader of the current military, also did not attend the meeting.
The meeting was chaired by Xu Tieren, a five-star general who had been awarded the Imperial Platinum Merit.
General Xu Tieren is about the same age as Zhu Zhengde. It is said that he has a beloved only son who seems to be about the same age as him.
One of Zhu Shaoquan's purposes today was to see if there was a chance to get to know the young master of the Xu family.
He found his seat according to the cursor instructions, sat down and respectfully greeted the important people he had met before and after.
Until the meeting officially started, no one came to the empty seat on his right.
When the admiral was not speaking, he kept looking at his position.
Zhu Shaoquan certainly knew that the other party was not interested in him.
That's probably because there's some relationship between him and the person next to him who didn't come.
...It can't be just a coincidence that this vacant seat belongs to the admiral's son, right?
Half an hour later, a young man with a pale face hurried into the conference room from the back door and sat down next to him with a hunched back.
Since they were all too young and held low positions, they all sat on the periphery of the conference room, and even if they were late, they did not cause much commotion.
However, when General Xu Tieren saw that there was finally someone here, he frowned and gave a disapproving glance.
Zhu Shaoquan noticed that the young man trembled because of the stare.
One hour after the meeting begins, there will be a ten-minute coffee break.
The person next to him sighed heavily. Zhu Shaoquan pretended to tidy himself up and put on his signature social smile: "My name is Zhu Shaoquan, working at XX Company. You are..."
The young man shook his hand and said, "Xu Run, you are now a major."
Hearing this surname, Zhu Shaoquan became more certain of his guess.
Xu Run was not arrogant. He scratched his ear and said, "Hey, well, when I just came in, no one should have seen me."
"No, everyone is listening carefully to General Xu's speech."
Xu Run breathed a sigh of relief when he heard him say "no", but when he heard the three words "General Xu", the sigh was lifted up again.
He was about to say something else when a man in soldier's clothes suddenly came up to him and said softly, "Major, the admiral wants you to come over for a moment."
Zhu Shaoquan raised his head, and Xu Tieren looked at them fiercely, mainly at Xu Run.
Xu Run's face suddenly turned very ugly, and he followed the soldier dejectedly.
Zhu Shaoquan clenched his fists excitedly - this was truly a godsend opportunity.
I was originally wondering what kind of opportunity I would have to meet the young master of the Xu family, but he ended up sitting next to me.
Their meeting will last for three days, so he will have plenty of time to get close to the young master.
Liyuan Bay, Tefsey Sanatorium.
Siqin's condition is getting better day by day. From the beginning when she could only utter a few words, she can now speak long sentences to Fufu, and other people are not affected even when they are watching.
This morning, when she took the small cookies handed to Fu Fu by Si Yin, Si Yin was so excited that his eyes turned red.
You know, his mother hasn't had any contact with him for many years, either verbally or physically.
Now, there is Fuzai, a small bridge between them.
One day they will walk towards each other again.
After discussing with the Zhu family and Fu Fu's kindergarten, the family of three decided to stay on the mother planet temporarily for two months. In the first month, they would visit Si Qin in the sanatorium every day, and in the second month, they would take her out.
If the condition is good after two months, maybe I can take her to Bach Star or even to Kemp Manor, so that it will be more convenient to take care of Siqin.
Zhu Xiyuan mentioned this plan to Sally during a video call. Sally didn't seem to have any objections to having another person living in the manor, but when she saw Fu Fu, her tone was somewhat resentful: "Baby, you already have another grandma, so you don't want me as your grandma anymore?"
The kitten was busy folding paper flowers for Siqin. When he heard Sally's words, he put down the paper flowers and ran over, shouting, "Grandma~!"
Sally: "Can't we have a holographic video?"
Zhu Xiyuan: "We are at the seaside, and the signal is a bit unstable."
"Oh, I really want to see our Fufu. Fufu, do you miss grandma?"
Fu Fu held her father's wristband and smiled with two dimples: "Of course I do! I want to go surfing in the ocean with Grandma~!"
Sally was amused. "Grandma, with her old bones, can't surf, but she can play in the sand with you."
"Okay, grandma, come next time!"
“Okay, okay…”
Zhu Xiyuan listened and thought that if Zhu Zhengde had not been busy recently and needed Sally by his side, the latter might have bought a ticket to come to the mother planet tonight.
Siqin, who was holding the paper flowers and keeping silent with her head down, looked up when she heard Fufu sweetly calling "Grandma" on the video chat. Her eyes were a little sad and she didn't even notice that the paper flowers had fallen to the ground.
Fuzi quickly ran over, picked up the paper flower, and stuffed it into her hand: "Grandma, wait for me, just two minutes!"
After coaxing Siqin, he went to the wristband to coax Sally.
Very busy, serving water.
Zhu Xiaofu was very distressed. Did this count as falling into the Shura field of these grandmothers?
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