"The second reason for dismembering stars," Huan Yunhe paused, "is to create more habitable star systems for ordinary life."
Jiang Ye feigned sudden understanding.
In fact, he had already guessed.
Dismembering a large star into tens of thousands of sun-sized asteroids could create tens of thousands of solar systems, tens of thousands of habitable planets!
This not only expanded living space but also facilitated interstellar travel and transportation, as more star systems meant more transfer stations.
It was like small islands at sea; in a sea with many islands, even ordinary small rafts could sail for thousands of miles. But if it were an empty expanse of ocean, only large fleets would be safe.
"This kind of dismemberment is actually very simple. First, construct a force field to cut out a part of the star." Huan Yunhe took a sip of tea. "This force field doesn't need to be very strong, as stars are soft, like jelly, fundamentally different from hard planets."
"After cutting, it's transported to the designated location," Huan Yunhe said. "These locations are everywhere. If I go to the military headquarters and chat with the clerks for a morning, I can get a box of location approvals when I leave."
Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow.
It sounded as common as cabbage.
It made sense, though. The universe was vast, and star systems were small; where couldn't they be placed?
"Therefore, artificial stars are very cheap," Huan Yunhe said. "One the size of the sun currently costs fifty trillion on the market."
Jiang Ye's expression was dumbfounded, as if he had heard an astronomical figure.
But the calculations in his mind were already running. Fifty trillion, which would have been terrifying a few years ago, but for him now, with four planets in his possession, it wasn't an insurmountable sum.
"Mr. Jiang, don't have that reaction," Huan Yunhe smiled. "With your financial capacity, you could decide to buy in the morning and place an order in the afternoon."
"You think too highly of me. That amount would require selling everything I own," Jiang Ye said. "If I were to buy, please, Mr. Huan, give me a discount."
"Single purchases cannot be discounted; bulk purchases can," Huan Yunhe said. "Actually, compared to stars, planets are the focus of artificial planets."
Jiang Ye was taken aback, his expression turning wary.
Planets are more expensive than stars?
How could that be?
"Suppose stars are like large barrels of purified water, then planets are like small bottles of liquor," Huan Yunhe said. "Water is important, but there's a lot of it, readily available in nature, hence cheap. Planets are different; most planets are unusable."
"Why?" Jiang Ye asked.
"For example, heavy metal pollution, or planets that are entirely liquid, planets that are too large or too small, planets that are too young, planets with constant volcanic activity and earthquakes..." Huan Yunhe listed over twenty reasons for Jiang Ye, counting on his fingers.
"Can't some of these situations be artificially modified?" Jiang Ye said. "If stars can be cut, modifying planets should be technically feasible?"
"Mr. Jiang, you're sharp, you've hit the nail on the head," Huan Yunhe smiled. "This is why planets are expensive."
Jiang Ye felt like he had walked into a trap.
"Most naturally habitable planets are already fully occupied. Such planets absolutely cannot be transported; moving them would cause drastic climate changes, leading to the death of an entire planet's population. The Galactic Empire does not allow such things, and we merchants also have our bottom lines," Huan Yunhe said. "Only semi-habitable planets can be used in artificial star systems."
Jiang Ye recalled the textbook descriptions of semi-habitable planets.
Uninhabitable for the time being due to location or other reasons.
But with simple artificial modification, they could be converted into habitable planets.
Jiang Ye realized, "The expense of planets isn't due to transportation costs, but modification costs?"
"I really enjoy talking with intelligent people like Mr. Jiang. We don't need to move step by step; we jump from one lily pad to another like frogs, saving a lot of effort," Huan Yunhe smiled. "Planets are expensive precisely because of the habitable modification. I heard you initiated a desert modification project on your own planet?"
"That's right," Jiang Ye nodded. "Desert modification is very costly and difficult, but desert environments are generally habitable. Planet modification is more intense and more expensive?"
"Your lily pad hopping is getting faster and faster," Huan Yunhe nodded vigorously.
"What's the approximate price range?" Jiang Ye asked.
"It depends on what kind of planet you need and to what extent it needs to be modified," Huan Yunhe said. "How about this, I'll send you a reference book later. After you read it, you'll know what kind of artificial star system you want. Then you can contact me to place an order."
Huan Yunhe took out his phone.
Jiang Ye added his contact information.
After a brief chat, the two got up and left the room.
Huan Yunhe returned to a corner of the living room, sat on the sofa, and continued to crack walnuts.
He seemed to treat walnuts as his main meal, unhurriedly filling his mouth one after another. Soon, the walnut shells in the trash can piled up. A sweeping robot had to run over, lift the trash can, and take it outside.
Jiang Ye found Cen Yemeng in the courtyard outside. She was holding a wine glass, standing and chatting with a group of male and female guests.
Even in the crowd, she was still quite striking. She was indeed too beautiful to ignore.
There were also several women in that group, all beautiful, but standing next to Cen Yemeng, they appeared exceptionally gaudy.
Cen Yemeng glanced at her husband. Jiang Ye smiled at her, and she nodded slightly, lifting her glass for a sip.
This was a pre-arranged signal between them. If Jiang Ye smiled, it meant the matter was progressing well and the main task for the day was completed. If Jiang Ye shrugged, it meant the negotiation had failed.
If Cen Yemeng lifted her glass for a sip, it meant the conversation was going well, even yielding small gains. If the glass remained still, it meant the conversation was going poorly, and she didn't want to continue. In that case, Jiang Ye would step in to rescue her, allowing her to gracefully disengage from the social interaction.
Seeing that his wife was doing well, Jiang Ye felt relieved. He wandered around nearby, looking for people marked with a triangle on the list to strike up conversations with.
Soon, Jiang Ye encountered Isabella.
Isabella was also standing and chatting with a few guests.
Seeing Jiang Ye wandering outside, she immediately excused herself, saying she needed to use the restroom, and hurried over, pulling Jiang Ye into a corner where no one could see them.
"How did it go?" Isabella asked in a low voice. "How was the conversation?"
"Thank you very much for making the connection. The gains were considerable," Jiang Ye nodded, lowering his voice. "I talked with him for a long time."
"Did he give you his contact information?" Isabella was still nervous. "He can talk to anyone for a long time; giving out contact information is the real sign of a successful conversation."
"He did," Jiang Ye nodded. "He said he'd send me a book later, and after I read it, I can contact him if I want to buy a planet."
Isabella immediately beamed, as happy as if she had made the deal herself.
She reached out and playfully punched Jiang Ye's chest. "Congratulations! Jiang Ye, be honest, am I the most useful woman to you, besides your wife?"
"Indeed," Jiang Ye nodded. "I owe you a big favor."
"What's this about owing favors between us?" Isabella smiled. "I'm going back to socialize. If you need anything, just wink at me."