Jiang Ye couldn't pretend not to see. After a few stiff seconds, he greeted them with a wide, plastered smile.
Isabelle's husband was named Chen Xiongmao, a burly man who rarely smiled. Jiang Ye had met him briefly once before. The first time Isabelle came to make a delivery, her spaceship had an accident, and it was Chen Xiongmao who picked her up.
"Good evening!" Jiang Ye said.
"Good evening, Boss Jiang," Chen Xiongmao replied with a smile, extending his hand.
They shook hands. Jiang Ye wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but Chen Xiongmao seemed to be gripping a little too tightly.
"I heard my wife had moved here to work, so I came to take a look," Chen Xiongmao explained. "Now that she's settled, I can rest easy."
"Of course, of course," Jiang Ye nodded, then turned to Isabelle. "Are you settling into the new work environment okay? If there's anything you're not comfortable with, just tell me, and I'll figure something out."
"It's quite good, thank you, Mr. Jiang," Isabelle smiled, her expression perfectly composed.
Jiang Ye inwardly sighed, recalling what some philosopher had said: most beautiful girls are natural-born actresses. Isabelle's acting was superb, with not a single flaw.
"My main work area is in a neighboring star system, so I probably won't be able to visit often," Chen Xiongmao said. "So, I'll have to ask you, Mr. Jiang, to look after my wife for me."
"That's naturally what I'll do. I consider myself a good boss," Jiang Ye chuckled. "Brother Chen, please rest assured. This place is relatively safe. Isabelle can come to me anytime if she needs anything, and I'll resolve it if I can. There's no question about it. If I can't even take care of a single employee like her, I'd be a complete failure."
"Thank you so much." Chen Xiongmao took a small box from his pocket. "I brought you a small gift, just a token of my appreciation."
"Oh, you're too kind. It's really not necessary," Jiang Ye said, waving his hands to decline.
"You don't need to refuse. This small gift isn't valuable, but it should be quite useful." Chen Xiongmao opened the small box and took something out.
The moment Jiang Ye saw what it was, he immediately decided to accept it.
It was a shaver.
Ever since he arrived on this planet, his beard had been growing. It had grown too long, so he'd tried to trim it with a knife, but it didn't cut cleanly, leaving him with a constant stubble.
"Thank you, thank you! This is a very useful gift. I can't refuse it!" Jiang Ye took it.
"It's getting late, I should be going. I have to work tomorrow morning," Chen Xiongmao said with a smile.
"I'll see you out."
"No, no, you go back and rest."
"That won't do. You've come all this way, I must see you off."
Jiang Ye enthusiastically escorted Chen Xiongmao back to his spaceship. He and Isabelle stepped back together, watching as the ship ignited and took off, rising into the night sky with a rumble, eventually becoming a tiny speck like a star before disappearing.
The two who had been looking up turned their heads to look at each other.
"Your husband cares about you a lot," Jiang Ye said, fiddling with the shaver's packaging box. "I can tell."
"Yes, he's always been very good to me. Plus, there are other reasons, so I haven't divorced him," Isabelle nodded, reaching out to take the small box from Jiang Ye's hand.
She opened the shaver's small box, took out the black electric shaver, and pressed the button. The shaver buzzed to life.
"This thing hasn't changed much from my time," Jiang Ye remarked. "When I was a child, shavers on the market were just like this."
"Primitive people used knives, and modern people still use knives. Ancient people used chopsticks, and modern people still use chopsticks. Many things, once set, don't change," Isabelle said, reaching out to cup Jiang Ye's face and tilting his chin up.
Jiang Ye raised his chin. Isabelle carefully held the shaver and began to shave his beard.
After all his beard was shaved, she cupped Jiang Ye's face and kissed him.
"Whoa, whoa, hold on," Jiang Ye pulled away.
"What's wrong?" Isabelle frowned, staring at him with annoyance.
"Your husband just left, and I just received a gift from him," Jiang Ye said, feeling flustered. After a moment of hesitation, unsure of what else to say, he hugged Isabelle. "Goodnight, see you tomorrow."
He took the shaver, turned, and left.
Isabelle stood in place, tilting her head to watch him walk back to the base vehicle. Suddenly, she let out a chuckle, shrugged, and turned back.
Five in the morning, a chorus of howls.
Jiang Ye groggily opened his eyes and reached out to open the window.
The howling stopped abruptly. The wolf pack had learned to howl while staring at the window.
Jiang Ye sat up, went downstairs, and opened the base panel.
He clicked on the "Galaxy Mall," selected the "Tree Harvester," and clicked "Purchase!"
Six million credits spent, leaving an account balance of 3,212,000 credits.
He had intended to buy this vehicle last night, but Chen Xiongmao had arrived, and he hadn't felt comfortable buying it, especially since Isabelle would be the one delivering it.
As soon as the payment was made, a private message popped up.
Isabelle: "Hello Mr. Jiang, I am Isabelle, the delivery person for this planet. You have just ordered a Tree Harvester. Is it to be delivered to your base?"
Jiang Ye: "Bring it over."
Jiang Ye didn't want to waste the leftover food in the pot, so he scraped a few mouthfuls and ate them.
After eating, he exited the base, and the enormous Tree Harvester was just pulling up.
The vehicle was quite large, comparable to a combine harvester, with tires as tall as Jiang Ye's shoulders.
It also had a peculiar design, with a row of toothed rollers at the front, clearly for shredding trees. There was an inclined conveyor belt on the side, and a large storage bin at the back.
The harvester stopped, and Isabelle opened the door and got out.
"It's arrived, and I've already connected it to your base," Isabelle said with a smile. "It's plug-and-play. It will automatically activate whenever it encounters trees. It can fell trees up to two meters in radius. For the small trees you planted, it's as simple as cutting potatoes."
"Can it process trees that have already fallen?" Jiang Ye asked, tilting his chin to indicate the hundreds of trees that had already fallen by the sea.
"Yes, the Tree Harvester's workflow is to first cut down the trees, then suck them into the vehicle. The bark and core are automatically separated and enter the storage bin at the back," Isabelle said, pointing to the back of the vehicle. "There's a trading bay inside the storage bin, where you can sell the trees directly or keep them."
"That convenient?" Jiang Ye's eyes lit up. He stepped onto the vehicle. "Alright, I'll go harvest the trees. You can get back to your work."
"Hey!" Isabelle suddenly grabbed his collar. "You were cutting down trees again late last night, weren't you? Feeling guilty?"
"Nonsense," Jiang Ye's face turned red to his ears. "I had to do something to make it seem like I hadn't had dinner with you. I didn't have anything proper to do, so I just cut down some trees. Fortunately, your husband didn't notice."
"After cutting down trees, want to come for breakfast?" Isabelle released his collar, smiling playfully.
"I've already eaten," Jiang Ye got into the vehicle and looked down at her. "I'm going out to sea at noon, and I'll be back quite late tonight. So, don't wait for me for dinner."
Isabelle pouted, her brow furrowed. "So, because he gave you a shaver, you're not going to hang out with me anymore? I'm not as good as a shaver?"
"No, that's not what I meant," Jiang Ye scratched his head. "I'm really busy today. I'll find you for dinner later!"
He quickly closed the driver's door, started the Tree Harvester, and the engine roared to life.