Chapter 1623 - A Welcome Reception

"That slip of composure just now was also because of this!" Liu Xiang explained to himself.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The salute guns thundered. It was a system established by Senators from the Navy, Port Affairs, and other sectors—firing a salute when Senators returned from abroad. The pretension factor instantly maxed out. To savor this flavor, the Director from neighboring Wenchang refused to take the land route every time he returned to Lingao, insisting instead on transiting through Liu Xiang's territory and taking a boat back—the land route offered no salute treatment. Of course, Liu Xiang estimated the man's other primary purpose was to mooch Liu Xiang's Senator Special Supply cigarettes. Although Liu Xiang could smoke socially, he wasn't addicted, whereas the Director from Wenchang was a heavy smoker. Every time he passed through Qiongshan, Liu Xiang's allocation of special supply cigarettes decreased by a carton...

"There's a Chief waiting on the shore..." Guo Ling'er said.

"It's Old Qian." Liu Xiang answered absentmindedly. "He's really enthusiastic—"

Qian Shuixie was currently waiting on the dedicated pier, his cigar glowing. For the Otaku Party, this externally stationed County Office Director was a Senator with real power. Before his external posting, Liu Xiang had often attended the club parties and gatherings on the Feiyun, counting as a peripheral member. But later, after Lin Chuanqing and a few others started a "Scale Model Club"—a hobby group with specific activity content—Liu Xiang had gradually participated only in this smaller organization's activities.

Because of the club's complex composition, Liu Xiang and the Otaku Party had gradually drifted apart.

Later, when he became Director of Qiongshan and engaged in "lobbying the ministries for funding" several times, Qian Shuiting had helped him considerably, and the relationship between both sides slowly recovered.

However, today's reception was actively sought by Qian Shuixie. Through various actions of the Guangzhou Station over the past half year, Zheng Shangjie had analyzed and concluded that the Guangzhou Station would undergo major changes—most likely a replacement of the chief officer. The people of the Guangzhou Station discussed it privately several times and obtained information through Qian Shuiting, confirming this possibility.

Qian Shuixie guessed at several candidates who might take over Guangzhou affairs: Liu Xiang had the highest probability, because he was the Senator with the most extensive administrative experience among all County Office Directors sent out so far. It was most likely that he would serve as Mayor of Guangzhou.

Therefore, as soon as he learned that Liu Xiang had handed over his duties in Qiongshan County and was returning to Lingao, Qian Shuixie came forward to invite him to the Feiyun for a welcome reception. Originally, he proposed that Liu Xiang stay on the ship for a few days, reasoning that since he had a child now, his original bachelor apartment wasn't suitable for continued residence, and arranging a newly assigned room would take several days.

However, Liu Xiang replied that the General Office had already arranged a house for him in the guesthouse. Although the facilities on the Feiyun were advanced and comfortable, it was a small boat after all, with many daily inconveniences—especially with an infant. There were no disposable diapers in this spacetime, and washing and drying diapers every day would occupy considerable space.

However, he gladly accepted Speaker Qian's offer to "wash away the dust" for him on the Feiyun. Maritime barbecue parties on the Feiyun were a topic many Senators relished. Some Senators held grudges for not receiving an invitation and refused to go uninvited.

Liu Xiang led a large group of people off the ship first. The band on the pier was the "team" he had brought from the Qiongshan County Committee compound. The transfer order clearly stated that he should "transfer 10 naturalized cadres to Lingao to participate in cadre training (short-term class) without affecting the normal operation of the Qiongshan County Government."

Although the naturalized cadre team in Qiongshan County had been fully strengthened after the arrival of the Deputy Director, taking away ten people still gave Liu Xiang a headache. Because the new Deputy Director had limited administrative experience, Liu Xiang had to leave a few useful cadres behind. Moreover, it was best if these cadres could speak Cantonese. He had managed to select ten people only with great difficulty.

After the naturalized cadres were picked up by special personnel, Qian Shuixie went to welcome Liu Xiang.

"Ho! Little Liu, what is this treasure? It looks quite heavy!" Qian Shuixie, in the midst of exchanging pleasantries, noticed that the port crane had unloaded a "Valuable/Fragile Large Item Special Shipping Container" from the ship and placed it on the flatbed cart Liu Xiang had reserved.

"Hehe, this is the thing I needed to borrow space for—a 1:20 ship model." Liu Xiang answered with studied casualness, but he couldn't hide his smugness.

"A big guy over three meters long! It's surpassed so-called museum grade; even in bathtub grade, it counts as large!"

"Oh, hehe, then I must appreciate it properly. But it should still be parts in this state, right? What, planning to gather manpower to assemble it together?" Qian Shuixie had been taken by the little girl in his family for countless joyrides on the Xiaocang and really looked down on a ship model only 3 meters long.

"Yeah, but I still have to wait until I'm settled. Maybe I'll have to leave right away, and this thing might just be left here for others in the hobby club to mess with."

The convoy split into two groups. One carried the luggage to the guesthouse, while Liu Xiang's family traveled lightly to Lingao Cape Park. By now, only the last bit of afterglow remained of the sun.

The carriage clattered along and soon arrived at the Special Security Zone in Lingao Cape Park. The Feiyun was quietly docked at its dedicated berth. Five years later, this yacht—once dazzlingly white and known as the "Princess of Lingao Cape"—now showed signs of fatigue. Although the peeling paint had been repaired, the color was no longer shiny white, and the surface was pitted. The tall mast and white sails had been removed. Although the white awning was intact, it had been yellowed by the sun, completely unrecognizable as white.

Now this ship no longer went out to sea. Firstly, there was absolutely no fuel left, and this ship was listed as an "emergency combat readiness ship" to be kept for emergencies—therefore, navigation facilities like the engine and sails had been sealed. Secondly, with the Xiaocang available, such a light small boat was more suitable for sailing at any time than the Feiyun, which was full of treasures.

Although the facilities on the Feiyun were advanced and comfortable, due to the lack of modern spare parts and materials over the years, despite the great efforts the Qian brothers spent on maintenance, the ship was deteriorating day by day. Many enjoyment facilities on board were damaged—for example, the famous open-air jacuzzi was now just an ordinary bathtub.

Fortunately, the barbecue grill was still there, and one could still enjoy the gentle sea breeze on the wide deck. Surrounded by a few rattan chairs, drinking cold rice beer and eating barbecue in summer—that was truly living like a King of the South.

At this moment, the charcoal fire on the grill was already glowing red. The large ice bucket was full of rice beer, and the table was filled with a dazzling array of fresh ingredients.

"Eh, where is Brother Qian's family?" Liu Xiang saw only Qian Xuanhuang busy grilling on the Feiyun, and the others were gone, so he couldn't help asking.

"Big Brother will be back soon. Sister-in-law probably won't be back before twelve. Duoduo is probably dragging her Girls' Commando Team to go sailing again." Qian Shuixie also mentioned the matter of the Xiaocang.

"You two brothers are really generous—aren't you afraid of accidents?" Liu Xiang spoke while watching his little girl wandering all over the place, having to stop her various scooping and throwing combos at any time.

"It's okay. I was quite worried when I first heard about it. Big Brother and his wife are often not at home, and my wife and I are both sent out and living apart. We can't manage it even more. She made a fuss and played a few times, and with that 'naturalist claiming to be from Lisbon' Sonia following her, we just let her be. Fortunately, since the accident on the Wenlan River, she has been much more careful."

"Oh? That one from the auction I attended back then! If I had known earlier, I would have gritted my teeth..." Liu Xiang had a look of incomparable regret. "Speaking of which, you're also a busy man. Since you went to the Special Reconnaissance Team, it's rare to see you. I thought I would have to come to District 63 by myself this time. At most, Duoduo would come to pick me up. I really didn't expect it to be you." Sensing they were about to enter the main topic, Liu Xiang picked up his daughter and called Guo Ling'er to carry her out.

"Yeah, just came back a few days ago. Practiced island reef landing and beachhead control for a month some time ago. Just finished the training subjects, came back to rest and reorganize for a period of time." The room was quiet. Qian Shuixie took out a chilled fruit brandy brewed by Xue Ziliang himself from the wall cupboard refrigerator.

"How about it, have a glass?"

"I'll stick to beer. That stuff is sour."

"I even find it too sweet." Qian Shuixie shook his head. "Judging from the training content, we should be preparing to attack Ryukyu." He poured himself some wine and clinked glasses with Liu Xiang.

"Does that broken place Ryukyu even need attacking?" Liu Xiang almost spat out his wine when he heard this.

"Backup plan, you know!" Qian Shuixie replied dismissively.

"Accomplishment unlocked with just one Black Ship visit—what the hell is there to fight! If they really don't obey, just bombard the shore. Guaranteed they'll be obedient." Liu Xiang shook his head. Although he understood that 90% of backup plans were never used, he still felt this was a pure waste of resources. "In my opinion, might as well practice how to attack Hanoi—oh, it's called Thang Long Prefecture now?"

"Sigh, speaking of which, what our Special Reconnaissance Team is best at is urban warfare, but the Army is being sent into Guangzhou City!" Qian Shuixie had a resentful expression, inadvertently revealing a bit of "valuable intelligence."

Liu Xiang was stunned. I always thought we were going to Guangzhou to run an underground government! How does the Army get involved?

"What's the situation?" Liu Xiang couldn't help but press further.

"After the disturbance in Lingao last time, Little Zheng and the others received orders requiring them to transfer the families and property of reliable employees under their banner within half a year. Little Zheng and the others used the pretext of sponsoring employees' children to go to Lingao to study as cover to send the families of clerks and craftsmen out of Guangzhou City." Qian Shuixie slowly poured out the intelligence he had already sorted through.

"This is the rhythm of going to war."

(End of Chapter)