Chapter 47

According to Zhang Xianyang's memories, people like them were always burdened with important affairs and busy official duties, making it difficult to take time out during working hours to handle something separately. But perhaps the Old District carried too much weight, which was why Old Master Jiang had put aside his work to wait specifically for them. Just like when Zhang Xianyang had first arrived at the Li Family in his previous life: Old Master Li had clearly been preparing for military exercises, yet he had still taken a day off to wait for him at home.

So this was no ordinary visit by juniors paying respects to an elder at a friend's home. Though no one could say it outright, the true nature of this meeting was the first face-to-face contact between Yanjing and the Old District. Old Master Jiang represented Yanjing's goodwill, and perhaps its demands as well, while Zhang Xianyang and the others represented the Old District's hopes and friendly attitude.

It was a negotiation disguised as a family banquet, merely expressed in a gentler, softer manner.

After first greeting the elders as juniors and taking their seats, they heard Old Master Jiang ask with a smile, "You were on the plane for two hours straight. Tired?"

As the group's representative, Zhang Muyang gave a slight nod and said, "Not really. Civil aviation service is quite good these days. We got here after nothing more than a nap. Maybe because I caught up on sleep, I actually feel more energetic now."

As he spoke, Zhang Muyang placed an inconspicuous silver-white briefcase before Jiang Rongzhen and smiled. "This is our first visit, and we didn't know what Old Master Jiang might like. So we casually prepared some local specialties from the Old District. We hope you'll like them."

What kind of local specialty came in a password-protected briefcase?

Old Master Jiang lowered his head to look at the small silver-white briefcase on the coffee table and smiled without changing expression. "As long as it's from the heart, I'll like it."

Zhang Muyang smiled faintly and opened the briefcase directly, revealing a portable laptop and something that looked rather like a router inside.

The Jiang Family all felt baffled at the sight. Could the gift the Old District had brought from so far away really be an ordinary laptop readily available on the market?

Obviously not.

Zhang Muyang took out the laptop and the router-like device, then asked Jiang Peize, "Do you have a power source?"

Before Jiang Peize could recover his wits, his mother had already risen and gone into the kitchen. Moments later, she returned with a power strip.

Zhang Muyang thanked her with a smile. After plugging everything in and fiddling with it for a moment, he turned the screen toward Old Master Jiang and introduced it. "People in the Old District like to call this thing a Surveillance Device. But unlike the Surveillance Devices currently on the market, this specially developed device can use the ambient temperature, lighting, and various ions in the air to scan directly through the surfaces of objects and observe what lies inside. Taking the ground as an example, anything within three meters beneath the surface can be seen clearly within the Surveillance Device's operating range. I heard from Brother Jiang that Old Master Jiang often conducts red-versus-blue military exercises. With this little gadget, I believe you'll achieve twice the result with half the effort."

As Zhang Muyang explained, Old Master Jiang and the others gathered nearby could already clearly see the scene on the screen. Centered on their villa, everything within a five-hundred-meter radius could be observed through the illusory outlines of walls and buildings. For example, the Sun Family's housekeeper on the left was preparing lunch in the kitchen. The Chen Family's old master on the right was also home, pacing restlessly through his living room. They could see gravel beneath the solid ground, thick layers of earth, plastic bags and other rubbish buried in the soil. They could even clearly see an iron box buried beneath the roots of a large tree in the Lin Family's backyard across the way.

"If it could make use of a satellite's coverage range, this Surveillance Device would be even more effective. But correspondingly, its clarity would drop considerably." As Zhang Muyang spoke, he instinctively thought of the Wireless Signal Shielding System Yangyang had handed over before their departure. It had already successfully covered the Old District's sphere of influence. This practice of revealing one card while keeping another hidden had earned the wholehearted praise of the Zhang Family's senior figures.

Naturally, this vastly downgraded Surveillance System also contained a few loopholes in its software operation. But those loopholes were not something human effort could uncover. With Brain AI's advanced methods, as long as the military harbored no ill intentions, they would merely be backdoors that no one would ever discover. At most, they would allow for covert resource sharing.

As the saying went, hearing was false while seeing was believing. Although Gu Anming and Gu Zhaohuan, who had carried out missions in the Old District, had repeatedly emphasized the Old District's formidable foundations, Jiang Rongzhen, who had believed he already took the Old District seriously enough, was still deeply shaken.

If the Old District's ability to use its status to introduce advanced foreign science and technology to the country had already delighted Yanjing and given them the thought that they could cooperate, then the "Surveillance Device" Zhang Muyang had produced, far beyond current technology, made Yanjing resolve that they had to cooperate. In this modern age, when science and technology were productive forces, no one would reject even the slightest opportunity to make the country prosperous and strong. Especially not a nation that had once been glorious for many years, one that had fallen somewhat behind but still kept pace with international developments step by step. They hoped to revive their former glory, to stand at the summit once more, to again make the powerful declaration: "Whoever offends China, no matter how far away, shall be punished." Even if it was merely the hope that technological convenience could reduce casualties during missions, Jiang Rongzhen did not hesitate to express his deepest desire.

"Can the manufacturing technology for this be transferred to our military?"

At those words, Zhang Muyang and the others exchanged smiles. "Since the Old District chose to bring this here instead of keeping it hidden, that already proves our sincerity. As members of China, as descendants of heroes who once struggled and fought for this land, we too hope to see our motherland grow stronger by the day. We even hope to see the historical glory of all nations coming to pay tribute. Transferring this technology to the military is no problem. Even sharing it with the military freely and unconditionally is nothing much. We have brought our sincerity. Now we hope to see yours."

Author's note: Time to begin my favorite passionate, striving, feel-good plotline. Hehe~~

Thanks to Bai Zui for throwing a landmine ╭(╯3╰)╮

Demeter threw a landmine ╭(╯3╰)╮

47

Chapter 47

Because of Zhang Muyang's sudden words and actions, the entire Jiang Family fell into a momentary silence. Within that silence was a faint sense of excitement and agitation, one Zhang Muyang knew well. When Zhang Xianyang had first brought out this system, the Old Zhang Family had reacted the same way. Only their joy and exhilaration had been purer.

Both sides engaged in the discussion were calculating their own interests, and neither noticed Wang Zhaoyi sitting silently to the side.

Although he was also from the Old District, Boss Wang did not belong to the same faction, and he instinctively began sizing up the companions beside him. There was no doubt about the identities of the Zhang brothers or their confident composure. Even Gao Ci, seated beside them, looked as though everything was only natural. From that, it was clear Gao Ci had also known all along about the Surveillance Device. That meant Wang Zhaoyi was the only one in this group who had known nothing about it. The faint feeling of being excluded made him somewhat unhappy.

But this was not the right time to throw a tantrum or vent his displeasure. Wang Zhaoyi could only suppress his dissatisfaction and continue wearing the calm, unhurried expression of someone saying, "Don't ask me. I understand everything, but I don't make the decisions."

Though he was exchanging pleasantries with Old Master Jiang, Zhang Muyang had been observing Wang Zhaoyi from the corner of his eye. Satisfied, he lifted his teacup and took a sip, using it to conceal the meaningful curve at the corner of his mouth. Compared to his impetuousness and recklessness of two years ago, Wang Zhaoyi now possessed an essential quality for the negotiating table—steadiness. And judging from how he could laugh and curse through anything, never easily discouraged even when trapped in awkward situations, things would be much easier moving forward as long as his loyalty was not an issue.

Having grown up practically sharing the same bed as his brother, Zhang Xianyang could guess what Zhang Muyang was thinking from merely a glance or a small movement. He immediately lifted his tea and took a sip, then smiled at Wang Zhaoyi beside him. "This tea is excellent. It's probably genuine Wuyi Mountain Big Red Robe. You should try some too."

Wang Zhaoyi merely smiled without speaking. Still, he obediently picked up his teacup and took a sip. In formal settings, Wang Zhaoyi, who had always understood propriety, was happy to uphold the Old District Zhang Family's leading position through every gesture—as long as those gestures did not harm his personal interests. One person lifted the sedan chair while another rode in it. With his cooperation now, he believed the Zhang brothers would later provide a satisfactory answer to his questions.

At the same time, Zhang Xianyang casually yet carefully noted the degree to which the tea's surface rippled when Wang Zhaoyi raised his cup. He transmitted this observation to Brain AI hidden within his body so it could conduct the most scientific, comprehensive, and authoritative psychological analysis. Moments later, Brain AI sent back its findings—

Dissatisfied, but without negative emotions such as jealousy or resentment. Can be put to use.

At this, Zhang Xianyang relaxed inwardly. The curve of his lips also grew much more natural.

Zhang Muyang saw it and felt greatly relieved as well.

In that case, Wang Zhaoyi's role in their upcoming actions no longer needed to be limited to that of a shallow, decorative film crew actor. If he could claim a place in the Old District's efforts to open up the domestic market, then once this news reached the Old District, the other families besides the Old Zhang Family faction would surely feel quite reassured as well.

If some people ate meat, others had to be allowed to drink the broth. Since ancient times, Chinese people had feared not scarcity, but inequality. Breaking free from the Old District's own constraints and expanding outward was an opportunity for every underworld family in the Old District. But according to the philosophy that everything had two sides, opportunity was also danger. Therefore, in such circumstances, the Zhang Family of the Old District, as the leading family, had to consider every aspect. They had to account for external factors while preserving internal unity and goodwill. They had to maintain the Old District Zhang Family's lofty leading position while letting everyone else see the Old District's prospects for rapid, stable development under the Old Zhang Family's leadership. During the entire process of exchange and cooperation, they could not show weakness to the other side, nor could they appear too overbearing. They also could not neglect one matter for another, giving hidden forces waiting hungrily in the shadows an opening to exploit, then use coercion and inducement against the Old District's other powers and defeat them one by one.

Struggling against heaven, struggling against earth, struggling against people. The so-called right time, right place, and right people were mostly calculated into being. Whether in life or in work, one had to understand timing and restraint. That was why the Old District Zhang Family's family banquets had earned such a great reputation—they had been painstakingly refined through generations.

Soon, it was noon. Old Master Jiang used the excuse of eating first to temporarily set this matter aside. Considering northerners' tastes, and at Old Madam Jiang's careful instruction, many strongly flavored dishes had suddenly appeared on the Jiang Family's usually light dining table, which had always been kept that way due to Old Master Jiang's health. This small detail alone showed how much the Jiang Family valued and respected the visitors from the Old District.

Looking at the dishes giving off rich aromas, Zhang Muyang thanked them. "You've gone to a lot of trouble. We truly feel bad about it."

Old Master Jiang waved a hand and said with a smile, "I don't usually get to eat these things, so I've been craving them too. Thanks to you coming today, I can have a few more bites of meat and a couple more cups of wine. In the end, I'm the one benefiting from your visit."

Before he could finish, Old Madam Jiang personally placed two plates of lighter dishes before him and said with a smile, "You still need to listen to the doctor's instructions. For the sake of your health, you should give up this craving for food."

Old Master Jiang looked at the light dishes before him with great dissatisfaction and frowned. "Isn't that a little too cruel? Besides, we have guests here. No matter what, I should be allowed one drink."