Life Was Not Easy

The first round of negotiations came much faster than expected. The afternoon after the delegation arrived in the capital and paid their respects to His Your Majesty the Emperor, the first round of negotiations began.

Although it was called the first negotiation, it wasn't entirely a negotiation; it was more like a process of understanding each other's demands.

The Federal presented a list, Gefra presented a list as well. They exchanged lists, each listing their demands in the negotiations and their hope that the other party would cooperate.

In fact, these lists only contain a portion of the information; the truly core content has not been revealed, and that's what we're really going to discuss.

Everyone was reviewing the list, including Lin Qi. He was sitting second to last on the right side of the negotiating table, flipping through the list in his hands, and his face would occasionally show some very interesting expressions.

Gefra is a monarchy where people don't have the same fervent yearning for freedom as the Federal, a freedom they would rather die for.

In Gefra, people are fervently loyal to the emperor. From Elementary School to university, the entire education system constantly instills these concepts in every student. The emperor is the most important person in the country and its symbol.

There has never been any praise for freedom here. In fact, at certain times, they associate "freedom" with "discipline," which makes many people dislike the word "freedom" because it represents a lack of discipline.

But the people here don't dislike true freedom. Under the prevailing national consciousness, they don't openly discuss these things. Perhaps they still harbor some curiosity and longing for freedom in their hearts.

Throughout the entire list of collaborations, there was almost no exchange of any socio-cultural aspects, reflecting the Gefra Ruling Class's fear of the Federal "freedom."

They were afraid that the introduction of the Federal ' ideas would cause unnecessary trouble, so they kept silent about the exchange of social and cultural ideas.

The Gefra people's main demands are in the areas of military and technology, and they hope to cooperate in these fields, including metallurgy.

"What do you think of this list, Mr. Lin Qi?"

The person sitting next to Lin Qi, who was the furthest to the right of the center position, whispered the question to Lin Qi.

People sitting elsewhere were also discussing the matter, including those opposite them. They had seen the Federal list and began whispering about the nature of some of the contents of the list.

Everyone was discussing it, and the last person sitting next to Lin Qi on his right also felt he should say something.

He was sitting at the negotiating table, after all. If he didn't say anything throughout the process, wouldn't this trip have been a waste? So he looked at Lin Qi and asked, "I think some of the demands are a bit... unreasonable." He tried to exchange opinions with Lin Qi.

Lin Qi glanced at him and nodded slightly, signaling him to continue.

This young man, who looked to be only twenty-seven or twenty-eight, pointed out what he considered to be unreasonable demands and gave his reasons. In short, he was very involved in the negotiation.

Finally, he looked at Lin Qi with some expectation. What he had said was actually to seek a sense of participation and recognition.

"Excellent idea, I think it's very valuable!" Lin Qi didn't hold back his praise. "Your ideas are very constructive. Perhaps you should talk to the Regimental Commander privately, maybe you can give him some insightful help!"

"Do you really think so, Mr. Lin Qi?" The young man chatting with Lin Qi felt a little flattered.

In fact, he didn't need to feel that way at all. Being able to accompany a diplomatic mission abroad for business negotiations before the age of thirty meant that his future was bright, as long as he didn't make any mistakes.

He didn't need to care about a businessman's opinion; Lin Qi wasn't his superior, much less a government employee.

But he cared a lot about Lin Qi's opinion. This was the nature of the Federal: the power of capital was everywhere, even in the realm of power! If government officials were to lose the support of capital, they would be unable to compete with their rivals and would ultimately be eliminated by the voters.

Government officials who are not in positions of power also rely on the support of capitalists. Without the help of capitalists, it would be difficult for them to stand out from a large number of similar government officials and become the most prominent ones.

They are even less likely to appear frequently on television to let people know them and understand their views and ideas so that they can do their homework for future elections.

Of course, the promotion of officials is also related to capitalists. Capitalists can lobby high-ranking officials on their behalf, making them see their efforts...

The Federal government and its officials are completely dependent on capitalists, which is why the young man showed such surprise when Lin Qi expressed his agreement! He can easily tell others later, "Mr. Lin Qi strongly supports my views" or "Mr. Lin Qi's ideas are highly consistent with mine on certain issues."

In his future work, given "Mr. Lin Qi's influence," he would be more likely to be the lucky one when it came to selecting officials for promotion—because he knew Mr. Lin Qi and Mr. Lin Qi seemed to have a good relationship with him. His superiors would also have the opportunity to get in touch with Lin Qi through this subordinate and seek cooperation or help at a higher level.

As he spoke, the Regimental Commander coughed lightly, drawing everyone's attention. He placed the list of Gefra people on the table, pointed to one of his favorite entries, and said, "This one is not within our consideration."

Lin Qi glanced at it from afar, and in the metallurgical category, he opened the document in his hand, found that page, and saw the project that had been rejected for cooperation: Special Metal Formula.

Seeing that Lin Qi's expression was a bit strange, the young man beside him Avatar into a manifestation of knowledge and gave him a brief explanation.

The special metallurgical formula that the Regimental Commander rejected is the same metal used for the hulls of submarines currently in service with the Federal Navy.

This metal needs to have high hardness, while also having sufficient toughness and ductility to withstand various situations and extreme environments; in short, it is very important.

Lin Qi wasn't very familiar with metallurgical formulas, many of which were core secrets of various countries, so it was impossible for them to engage in in-depth cooperation and development on formula issues.

The Regimental Commander's tone shifted again, "However, we can provide these finished metal products at a low price and send engineers to guide you in processing them..."

While raising objections from time to time, and offering alternative solutions, this negotiation, which was not really a negotiation, came to an end before dinner.

Everyone behaved very politely; the Gefra even invited the Federal delegation to dinner, but Lin Qi came out first.

Because Jenia came to see him again.

Upon seeing this woman, Lin Qi knew that his plan had largely succeeded.

From the very beginning, he knew that this woman had an ulterior motive in approaching him, as if she wanted to extract information from him.

His willingness to play a few Friendship Match with this woman was also purposeful; he needed her to help him relay certain messages to those who were gathering information.

Now that she has reappeared, it means that she has successfully completed her first phase of mission and has been entrusted with the second phase of mission by the people behind her. After saying goodbye to the Regimental Commander, Lin Qi left with Jenia.

"There's a very special restaurant in the capital. I made a reservation there." Jenia naturally took Lin Qi's arm. She smelled wonderful, not like perfume, which you could clearly tell was a chemical concoction. It was a natural fragrance, a fragrance from nature.

The royal family and some nobles in Gefra still use the oldest methods to make themselves smell nice. They would put the clothes they needed into an aromatherapy room the day before, and then use various methods to extract the plant fragrances and apply them to the clothes through steam.

The fragrance is very natural, but the downside is that it doesn't last long.

However, this is not a problem for royalty and nobles. Changing clothes every two hours is the most normal practice. Sometimes, they will change three or four outfits for a banquet to cope with different times and different events.

Lin Qi reached out and twirled a strand of hair. Jenia looked at him and asked, "What's wrong?"

You smell wonderful...

Instead of responding with something like "You're annoying" like some shy young girls would, Jenia asked quite generously, "Do you like it?"

Lin Qi nodded. "I'm a little impatient (I hope time can fast forward to the next stage)."

"You have such a sweet tongue!" Jenia was in a good mood. Being complimented like this by a handsome, wealthy young man proved that she was still a very charming woman. "But we have to eat first!"

Soon they arrived at the restaurant that Jenia had mentioned was very special. To Lin Qi's surprise, the restaurant owner was Jenia's Uncle.

In other words, the restaurant is run by Imperial Family Member, specifically the emperor's uncle.

"Not everyone is obsessed with power!" As she sat at the dining table, Jenia said to Lin Qi as if explaining, "For example, I love movies. I like to play different roles in different stories and experience different lives. That's what I'm pursuing."

"And my uncle loves cooking. It is said that the emperor before him, when my grandfather was still alive, only ate the dishes cooked by my uncle."

"I actually envy him. He has always pursued his hobbies, and he lives a more carefree life than anyone else!"

Lin Qi did not offer any comment on this; whether it was nonchalant or helpless, only they themselves know!