Chapter 746 - Party at Sea (Part 1)

Zheng Shangjie emerged from the Ministry of Colonization and Trade's PDCA session and first invited Pei Xiuli to the party. Besides teaching half a day at the Maid Class, Pei spent nearly every day busy at Zheng Shangjie's office working on Annual Meeting matters. Hearing she was invited to the party, she was delighted:

"I'll definitely go!" She gave Zheng Shangjie a charming smile, then suddenly frowned slightly. "Oh my, this is really headache-inducing. I don't have suitable clothes to wear, and I can't wear Guangzhou clothes..."

"I think you brought quite a lot of clothes." Zheng Shangjie thought that in terms of quantity of clothes, shoes, hats, and cosmetics brought, probably no one in the entire Transmigrator Group possessed more than Pei Xiuli. As for nylon stockings—the ultimate weapon for girls—currently only Pei Xiuli had sufficient reserves in Lingao.

"Shouldn't one wear a semi-formal cocktail dress for a party? I don't have one..." Pei Xiuli sighed in distress. "Only a qipao can make do—I'll have to air it first..."

Zheng Shangjie hastened to reassure her: "It's fine, just wear something simple. We're informal—the dress-casual type."

After inviting Pei Xiuli, Zheng Shangjie hurriedly mounted her personal bicycle. Because they had their own boat, the North American Group had been much more relaxed regarding luggage quantity than ordinary Senators. Besides arms and materials, various daily luggage had filled the bottom hold as ballast back then. Among them were several bicycles. Zheng Shangjie rode a Chinese-made mountain bike with gears and solid tires, complete with a full set of repair tools and consumables. She had used it for transport throughout her time in Lingao. Although she held no specific position and had been deployed elsewhere for a time, she was skilled at socializing, had extensive connections among Senators, and many people recognized this distinctive bicycle.

She greeted Senators she knew along the way while rushing toward Bopu. She still had many things to do for this party. Counting on Ai Beibei was impossible—it would be remarkable if she could take leave tomorrow. All medical staff at the Ministry of Health had virtually no rest days.

Mendoza had plenty of time to help, but the language barrier prevented her from handling many tasks. She could only do preparation work at home.

Zheng Shangjie first cycled back to the dock where the Flying Cloud was moored at Lingao Cape. This area, designated as the future Senator Seaside Leisure Zone, had already been fenced off with barbed wire and trenches, occupying a substantial piece of land and beach. A warning zone named "Area 63"—externally called "Lingao Cape Park"—had been established. The newly expanded 2nd Company of the Lingao Garrison Battalion was responsible for perimeter security. After the start of the Summer Awakening Campaign, the Army had been stretched thin, leaving Lingao's garrison troops somewhat depleted. With approval from the Executive Committee and Senate, the Garrison Company originally headquartered at East Gate Market had been upgraded to the Lingao Garrison Battalion, with Li Yayang promoted to Battalion Commander. The Battalion had established three companies for deployment. The 2nd Company was responsible for guarding Lingao Cape, Bopu Harbor, and surrounding areas.

At this moment, the perimeter watchtowers and trenches of Lingao Cape Park were still under construction. Within Area 63, landscape architecture, roads, and greening were progressing intensely under Li Xiaolv's direction. According to requirements, all projects in Area 63 had to be completed before December 20, 1630.

Zheng Shangjie showed her pass to the Garrison Company soldiers guarding the Green Zone, then sped along the newly built cinder road to the dock. A dedicated yacht marina had been built here. The Flying Cloud was moored at its berth.

On the deck of the Flying Cloud, Miss Mendoza and Qian Xuanhuang were scrubbing the deck and the ship's outer hull. Qian Xuanhuang was a sixteen-year-old girl, recently purchased by Zheng Shangjie from the Maid Class. To reduce the burden of housework, the three women—Ai Beibei, Zheng Shangjie, and Mendoza—had held a meeting and decided to buy a maid. According to the maid subsidy share allocated to their three households, they could purchase seven maids. If they bought the full number, the establishment would be impressive. Zheng Shangjie briefly savored the fantasy of ordering servants about.

However, considering the risk of triggering family conflicts and the fact that the Flying Cloud didn't actually have enough space to house that many servants, they had finally decided to purchase just one: Ai Beibei needed someone to look after Qian Duoduo, and Mendoza also felt somewhat exhausted from scrubbing the deck, maintaining the yacht, and cooking for three families every day.

In the end, Zheng Shangjie had selected Qian Xuanhuang. Naturally, the men aboard the Flying Cloud had no say in what kind of maid to purchase. The Qian brothers and Zhou Weisen all expected the choice to be a D-Class maid with average looks. Unexpectedly, Qian Xuanhuang was rather attractive—by the standards of this spacetime anyway. The receipt confirmed it: Qian Xuanhuang was classified as Class B.

"Too ugly would affect our family image," Zheng Shangjie explained.

"What's her name?"

"Mu Jianping." When Zheng Shangjie said it, everyone present burst out laughing—leaving the girl standing there clutching a rattan suitcase, utterly baffled by their reaction.

"Too ridiculous," Qian Shuiting shook his head. "Since you bought her, let her change her surname to Qian. Count her as a member of our family. As for the given name—let's call her Xuanhuang."

"That doesn't sound like a girl's name."

"Better than calling her Mu Jianping. This bunch of otakus really have terrible taste."

So she was formally renamed Qian Xuanhuang. From then on, she became the communal maid for the three households on the Flying Cloud, busy with housework and childcare every day. Life was very fulfilling—and it spared her from the experiences of "doing various strange things" that other classmates encountered after being assigned out.

Qian Xuanhuang found the three households living on this "White Ship" quite curious. Their speech and behavior differed from the Chiefs she had previously encountered. Though she had considerable work to do each day, Qian Xuanhuang felt the people aboard treated her very well—not regarding her as a slave. They even ate together. She soon became steadfastly loyal to Zheng Shangjie.

"Xuanhuang! Get the baskets!" Zheng Shangjie didn't dismount, shouting from the trestle while balancing on tiptoes.

Hearing the call, Qian Xuanhuang hurried down to the deck, returning a moment later carrying several lidded rattan baskets and a milk bucket with a rattan cover. She then brought out a bicycle.

Mendoza helped, hanging these items on both sides of the luggage rack. Taking an ox cart would be too slow—some dishes had to be prepared a day in advance.

Qian Xuanhuang also pushed a bicycle—under Qian Shuiting's instruction, she could now ride quite well.

"Let's go—we're going shopping."

Zheng Shangjie first took Qian Xuanhuang to Bairen City—she still had other people to invite to the party. First was Bei Wei. This person was difficult to find and even harder to invite. First, he was busy with Special Recon Command training and duty. Second, he had no interest in such social engagements—he felt the Special Recon Team should maintain combat readiness at all times. Early each morning, he rode his bike around the Special Recon Team's several duty and training points in Lingao, inspecting combat readiness and training status. Zheng Shangjie had learned beforehand that he would attend the Military Affairs Directorate's PDCA session this afternoon and would definitely appear in the canteen at noon.

Zheng Shangjie staked out the canteen until she encountered Bei Wei and Xue Ziliang. She invited them to come to the Flying Cloud as guests the following noon, using the pretext of exchanging pointers on firearms and wilderness survival. Xue Ziliang had been guiding "security warfare" in Danzhou and other prefectures and counties occupied during the Summer Awakening, and had just returned to Lingao for the Annual Meeting. Hearing there was a party, he naturally wanted to attend—moreover, he could bring Salina along, an excellent opportunity for gallantry.

As for Bei Wei, he wasn't very familiar with the Qian brothers, but hearing that Qian Shuiting wanted him to provide marksmanship guidance, he was intrigued. He knew this group had not only procured arms for the Group but also brought many private collections. Though they had turned in a considerable portion, those were ordinary goods. As a firearms enthusiast, the opportunity to handle guns he rarely encountered was a powerful temptation. He therefore half-refused, half-accepted, and agreed.

As for Salina, Zheng Shangjie asked Xue Ziliang to invite her on her behalf. These two had grown increasingly close recently, so extending an invitation through him wouldn't be awkward.

Subsequently, she went to the Propaganda Department and invited Ding Ding and Pan Pan. Ding Ding, it turned out, couldn't attend—she was scheduled to travel to Danzhou for an interview the next day. Zheng Shangjie had deliberately scheduled the party at this particular moment so that Pan Pan could operate independently.

Additionally, Ai Beibei had invited Lin Chuanqing, Shi Niaoren, and Chen Sigen. All three readily agreed. Shi Niaoren regretfully noted he could only stay for an hour—he still had classes to teach. Lin Chuanqing volunteered to handle BBQ grilled fish on the beach.

"Tomorrow I'll have the sailors get a basket of the best seafood. The finest and biggest crabs," Lin Chuanqing said. He was now the person in charge of the Fishery General Impartiality in the Navy—various marine products were at his disposal.

"You must issue an invoice. We'll pay the listed price. Whatever it costs—don't give a discount," Zheng Shangjie urged.

"You're not those big shots. Why be so calculating over a few fish and crabs?"

"Even ordinary Senators must abide by the law." Zheng Shangjie understood the subtleties of politics well. A basket of seafood might seem insignificant in Lingao, but in a political confrontation, it could become ammunition for accusations of "taking advantage of public resources." Since the Otaku Party intended to develop politically, such pretexts must absolutely not be handed to opponents.

"Alright, as you say. This stuff isn't worth money anyway. At most, consider it you taking advantage of freshness."

"It's a deal then."

After repeated admonitions, Zheng Shangjie took Qian Xuanhuang to Wu Nanhai's farm. She subscribed to eggs and milk here. Since scale farming had begun, every Senator could receive a daily egg ration. The farm had also started raising a dozen or so dairy cows—milk couldn't yet be universally supplied, but was allocated to children under fourteen. Additionally, Senators could exchange their egg quota for milk.

Zheng Shangjie and Qian Shuiting had been away from Lingao for a considerable time; the couple's egg quota had accumulated. Today she collected a large portion at once for the dishes needed at tomorrow's gathering.

(End of Chapter)