After finishing dinner, Cen Yemeng drove Jiang Ye out, and half an hour later they arrived at the east district of Basong City.
The east district was the most prosperous commercial area, filled with interstellar corporations and emerging enterprises. From a distance, the area was brightly lit, with the lights of countless glass skyscrapers piercing the night sky, reminiscent of the description in "Journey to the West": "Golden light ten thousand rays rolling red mist, auspicious clouds a thousand streams spewing purple fog."
Jiang Ye gazed up through the car window, feeling dizzy, like an ant looking up at a forest. No building in the entire east district was below eighty stories. The tallest office building reached 266 stories, its structure one and a half kilometers high, visible even from the suburbs.
From below, the buildings seemed so tall they might topple, their tops hidden by thick clouds. The clouds themselves were illuminated by the lights, turning golden yellow and purplish-red, like roses flowing in molten gold.
The car landed in a parking lot. Cen Yemeng took Jiang Ye's hand as they got out and headed straight for the building across the street.
As soon as they entered, attendants bowed on either side.
"Welcome, honored guests. Do you have a reservation?" asked the attendant on the left.
"No, but please call Zhang Yanhong on the 67th floor and tell her Cen Yemeng is here. Have her come down to meet me immediately," Cen Yemeng added, "You have 40 seconds."
Jiang Ye was slightly taken aback. Cen Yemeng's tone was polite, but her words were commanding. A sense of superiority, befitting someone of high status, suddenly emanated from her.
The attendant fumbled with the phone, his face turning a little pale. Fortunately, the call was answered quickly.
"Please follow me. The elevator is number 16," the attendant said after hanging up, making a gesture to lead the way.
"No need, we'll go up ourselves," Cen Yemeng said, pulling Jiang Ye along.
They reached the center of the building and swiped their faces to enter the elevator area. There were an astonishing 36 elevators, all with transparent outer walls. As soon as they reached elevator number 16, a cocoon-shaped elevator slid down and opened its doors.
They entered the elevator, which closed automatically and began to ascend.
"Open your mouth," Cen Yemeng said, opening her own mouth wide.
Jiang Ye didn't understand why, but he obediently opened his mouth.
Then, he saw the floor display: "1... 12... 35... 56... 67!"
In just five seconds, they reached the 67th floor. His eardrums felt a slight discomfort, which explained why he was told to open his mouth.
Exiting the elevator, they turned left and then right, pushing open a door to a large office.
"Sister Zhang, Sister Zhang, Sister Zhang!" Cen Yemeng called out as soon as she entered.
"Over here!" came a hoarse, old woman's voice.
Jiang Ye followed the sound and was stunned. The so-called "Sister Zhang" was actually an elderly woman with graying hair, her face deeply wrinkled like a tree spirit, easily over eighty years old. She wore a dark red silk robe and sat behind a desk, smiling kindly.
Cen Yemeng pulled Jiang Ye over to sit down. "Sister Zhang, let me introduce you. This is my boyfriend. Jiang Ye, a man from the 21st century!"
"Hello, Sister Zhang!" Jiang Ye said sweetly.
"Oh!" Sister Zhang took out a pair of gold-rimmed reading glasses from her chest and put them on. Her fingers were adorned with gemstone rings, ostentatiously so. She examined Jiang Ye closely, a smile of an old woman appearing on her face. "Very good, such a fine young man."
"Jiang Ye, this Sister Zhang is a titan in the plant industry, the leading figure in Jiedian Star's botanical sector. The most beautiful among beauties, the most authoritative among authorities," Cen Yemeng said rapidly. "Tell Sister Zhang about your planet's environment, and she can pick out suitable plants for you."
Jiang Ye was a bit caught off guard. Cen Yemeng had only said she had a surprise for him on the way, but he hadn't expected this.
On the long wall behind Sister Zhang's office, there was an entire wall of leaf specimens, ranging from fingernail-sized leaves to shark-sized ones. Most of the leaves were green, but there were also red, purple, yellow, and even colorful leaves, which looked quite alluring under the light.
"My planet's atmospheric environment is very similar to Earth when I was a child. The air is breathable, and pollution is currently minimal," Jiang Ye began to describe, point by point.
"There are many types of soil, basically all kinds. There are frequent continuous deserts."
"Temperature fluctuations are very drastic. For about two-thirds of the year, the temperature is between twenty and thirty degrees Celsius, peaking at forty degrees. However, when winter arrives, it drops to below zero within a few days, with strong winds and snow, reaching as low as minus forty degrees Celsius."
After Jiang Ye finished, Sister Zhang nodded. "A conventional planet with significant temperature variations. There are many suitable plants."
Saying that, she took out a large notebook from her drawer and handed it over.
Jiang Ye quickly stood up and took it with both hands.
Opening it, he found the entire notebook filled with dense plant information.
Food crops, marine plants, trees... and even sky plants.
Jiang Ye flipped through the pages, quickly scanning each one, his eyes growing brighter with each turn.
Most of the plant species in this booklet were genetically modified, and many were alien plants with incredibly powerful abilities.
For example, a type of desert plant that caught his eye:
[Species: Sand-Fixing Grass (Latest improved variety, version 22.0)]
[Species Function: Transforms mobile deserts into immobile ones, rapidly soilizes immobile deserts.]
[Species Description: Primarily absorbs nutrients from the air and sunlight, grows extremely fast, with roots reaching up to 20 meters underground. Secretes a large amount of gelatinous substance to bind sand particles. Each Sand-Fixing Grass can soilize 3 square meters of desert.]
[Seed Price: 200 yuan/seed]
[Note: Simple uprooting cannot kill Sand-Fixing Grass; it must be scorched with a flamethrower.]
A crop that could make deserts disappear! Jiang Ye's first thought was to sow it in the desert area next to Bai'e City. If enough was planted and the deserts vanished, the jumping worms beneath would naturally die off.
If this were truly possible, it would be far more cost-effective than killing jumping worms daily with cannons and machine guns!
Furthermore, the transformation of deserts would mean more arable land and a higher development index.
Sister Zhang had been watching Jiang Ye, and she could tell from his changing expression that he was interested.
"Let's discuss the specifics of our cooperation," Sister Zhang said.
"Alright," Jiang Ye agreed immediately.
"Actually, Yemeng discussed it with me two months ago. We've already reached an agreement, and we're just waiting for your approval," Sister Zhang said with a smile.
"I'm eager to hear it," Jiang Ye said, adopting a posture of attentive listening.
"Your planet is quite far away, so delivery can only be weekly. My company can dispatch a cargo spaceship to your location once a week, delivering approximately 30,000 standard seeds," Sister Zhang explained slowly.
"Payment is due upon arrival, and then you can inform the delivery personnel what seeds you want for the following week."
"If you order the first batch of seeds from me now, our long-term cooperation will officially begin. What do you think?"
"There's also mail!" Cen Yemeng reminded him.
"Oh, right, mail," Sister Zhang said with a meaningful smile. "During the weekly deliveries, I'll have an employee secretly bring a letter from Cen Yemeng to you. You can give your reply to the employee, who will then bring it back to Jiedian Star."
"This kind of private mail delivery is strictly prohibited by interstellar trade law. If caught by the interstellar police, the fines will be considerable, and the employees carrying the mail will also face imprisonment. I'm not worried about imprisonment, as I have ways to get employees out in a few days. But the hefty fines will definitely have to be paid by you two."
Jiang Ye suddenly understood. No wonder Cen Yemeng was helping him arrange this business deal; the key was the ability to send letters weekly!
Given this, there was no reason to hesitate. Jiang Ye decisively nodded, stood up, and extended his right hand. "I am very willing to cooperate with you!"
Sister Zhang extended her hand, adorned with gemstone rings, and shook Jiang Ye's hand with a smile, her eyes full of admiration. "A talented young man with a boundless future!"
The contract was signed in just a few minutes.
The first shipment would be Sand-Fixing Grass seeds, 30,000 grains, arriving next week.
As they left the office, Jiang Ye also took the booklet filled with various plants, for future reference when ordering.