It was me. Even after the new base had stabilized, without me, expanding outward would still be incredibly difficult."
"I wasn't being overly arrogant when I said that. My strength spoke for itself; I was simply making an assessment of my own abilities."
"How will supplies be distributed when the time comes?"
"You can discuss that with the Longnan Military Region then. I won't interfere."
"She's your daughter. Who knows whether you'll say one thing and do another?"
"Of course I'll favor her, but for the sake of stability, I won't interfere. You can rest assured."
"That's certainly reassuring."
"Believe it or don't."
"Hmph!"
That awkward exchange with Chief of Staff Long ended there. Secretary Liao smoothed over the awkward atmosphere, and then we talked about many other things.
We discussed this and that. All in all, things were going fairly smoothly.
The meeting lasted almost two hours. Questions kept coming, and I ended up answering them with a worried frown.
Fortunately, after those two hours, it finally came to an end. Of course, the others in the room were exhausted too. One by one, they studied the notes their secretaries had taken, their heads bowed in thought.
The conference room fell silent.
I glanced at the people still deep in thought and picked up a cigarette, turning it over in my fingers.
"Anything else? If not, I'll go visit my friend at the hospital."
"Fine. Let's call it a day. Everyone, go over the materials from today's meeting and put together a feasibility report. I want it tomorrow."
Tsk, what a hassle. A feasibility report, too? Why not just pack up and hit the road?
Of course, that was only a thought. Evacuating 150,000 people wasn't like fifteen people shouldering their packs and leaving. There were all sorts of