"Ji has sent a message, inviting us to the restaurant for a meal."
After seeing the message notification from the bracelet-like portable smart terminal, Shen Mu was somewhat eager to start the navigation, while Su He, who was sitting next to him, also saw the message about Ji Xinghe inviting them for a meal.
Inviting someone for a meal is a Dragon Continent tradition, but on an alien planet, it is somewhat precious. Su He, as a war correspondent, is not new to the alien planet, so he understands this better than Shen Mu, a newcomer who only arrived after finishing his studies at the academy and gaining his skills at the research institute.
"Don't be in a rush. Do you know how costly it is to eat out here?" Su He sent a message to Ji Xinghe via his bracelet screen, commenting, "I'll talk to Ji again. There's no need for such formalities on the alien planet. Once we get to the restaurant, everyone can have a meal, sit together, and that's all the festivities we need."
All accommodations, including meals, in the alien base are covered. Otherwise, based on the average salary of all workers on base, it wouldn't even cover the cost of food and drinks— they couldn't afford all three meals a day. Whether the supplies are shipped from Azure Star or produced on the alien planet, the cost would be too much for the Federal Finance Agency to bear. This is one of the reasons why the salaries have not seen a significant increase— the Federation simply can't afford it.
"Ji, at his age, surely enjoys doing such things. He finds these traditions meaningful."
Shen Mu checked his account balance on his bracelet. As an expert mechanic, he had an allowance of 32,300 contribution points, making him the wealthiest person on the spacecraft, save for the Special Level Mecha warrior, Han Li.
"Let's do it this way: I'll help Ji with some of the expenses. After Ji returns to Azure Star, he can pay me back. It's customary to host a meal. Even though I said what I said earlier... Ji met his granddaughter; it's a happy occasion, of course, he would want to celebrate with a meal."
Su He was taken aback, 'pay back after returning to Azure Star?'
"It's thoughtful of you, but really unnecessary. Let's be rational. Even if you want to help Ji, you could use the money on helping him create more happiness in his old age. We have to make Ji understand that the survival issue on the front line of the alien planet isn't about hosting dinners, it's about war. We need to correct some bad habits from Azure Star because resources here are really scarce."
Shen Mu was also taken aback and glanced at the drone hovering next to Su He. He said, "Don't tell me you're already recording this."
"Yes, I'm recording." Su He replied seriously: "This conversation of ours has been recorded. The previous part was recorded as well. I won't necessarily broadcast the previous part, but I believe this part can be aired. It can let the people on Azure Star understand how difficult our life is on this alien planet and witness how much we have given up for the Federation."
"Ahem!"
Shen Mu turned his back to Su He and his mini camera drone. After adjusting his hair, he turned back around, wearing down other's dignity: "That's right. Surviving on an alien planet isn't about hosting meals. Comrade Ji still needs to raise his ideological awareness. We should reject such bad habits because all resources on an alien planet shouldn't be wasted."
Su He gave a laugh: "Stop it. Your style of speaking isn't appealing. Not many people genuinely agree with such preaching, something I've never liked about your reporting. As a journalist, I believe my responsibility is to report the truth. As for how people perceive this truth, it varies from person to person."
Shen Mu looked at Su He skeptically: "How long have you been preparing these lines?"
"I didn't premeditate them, but if you are asking when I first got this idea, it was in high school. At that time, I..."
"Alright, alright, you can record whatever you want to say later. Let's go find Ji now. He hasn't replied, so he's probably messaging many people. If he invites too many people and the words get out, my money won't be enough to cover his bill."
Shen Mu pulled Su He to go find Ji Xinghe. Using the navigation on the bracelet screen, they managed to find their way. Although Su He had been to the alien planet before, he had not visited the sixth base, so he relies heavily on the navigation system.
Ji Xinghe did not invite many people. Among the one thousand people who journeyed here with him, many were Mecha warriors and soldiers like Han Li. Upon arrival, they had to head to the barracks immediately. The barracks and the base are separate. To the people of Azure Star, being on an alien planet means being on the front line. But to those on the alien planet, only the barracks are the true front line. The base is also under the protection of the barracks, providing them with living supplies and war materials.
Of the remaining people, a large proportion hadn't even spoken to Ji Xinghe directly. They could not offer any help when Ji Xinghe was designing the happiness for the elderly as their expertise did not match. It is not that they do not want to help.
Only a few dozen people who knew Ji Xinghe and were staying on the sixth base remained. However, Jin Xinghe did not call them for a meal because of Xinxin's status, and he would return the favors later. He only invited Su He and Shen Mu and Nurse Wang and her colleagues.
But just as Su He wanted to stop Ji Xinghe from hosting the meal, Nurse Wang and others who had lived on the alien base for years fully understood that throwing a feast here was not a simple matter, so they all turned it down.
They were not rejecting the face, not trying to draw a line, and not turning away from a good meal, it's just that they are adults, people willing to make sacrifices. So they understood that the desires of the flesh mean nothing to a war concerning the survival of the Federation and mankind.
If it were about enjoying life, with their professional skill level, they would at least be middle class on Azure Star. People like Nurse Wang, who could become a nurse in a private hospital and earn an easy monthly income of ten to twenty thousand federal coins. She could even become a head nurse with ease, yet she chose to stand firm on the alien planet and earn a basic salary of 3,000 contribution points. She needs to grit her teeth even to buy a few chocolates as gifts.
Why?
"Grandpa, Xinxin doesn't need new clothes. Xinxin has clothes to wear."
Xinxin tugged on Ji Xinghe's sleeve and forcefully pulled his hand from the bracelet screen. She seemed a bit angry at how frivolous he was with money.
Ji Xinghe didn't believe that he was spending recklessly. He had seen the clothes in the closet, there were only three sets of identical clothes. Not only were these three sets identical, but everyone in the base was also wearing virtually identical clothes except for the job badges and epaulets differentiating them.
This was to save resources, but for Ji Xinghe, who had previously led a life on Azure Star, his granddaughter should dress beautifully. Inside the base, the temperate was stable at 22 degrees celsius, making it possible to wear a pretty little skirt, but such were not available in stores.
"Alright, then grandpa won't buy one, grandpa will make one for Xinxin."
Ji Xinghe switched off the store interface, noting that Xinxin seemed a little upset. It tugged at his heartstrings because he knew it wasn't that Xinxin didn't want it, or that she didn't know there were varieties of clothing in this world. The most abundant resource in the base was in fact various entertainment resources from Azure Star. Ten thousand movies plus ten thousand TV dramas and a million novels only needed a small palm-sized box to be transported over. Everyone's bracelet screens could share these entertainment resources. Xinxin had seen pretty little dresses, toys, amusement parks, azure skies, and lush grasslands...
But Xinxin did not want to waste money. She was too thoughtful.
"Good grandpa."
Xinxin patted Ji Xinghe's hand and gave him a smile.
There was a knock at the door. Shen Mu and Su He had arrived. As the door was being opened, Su He turned off his drone camera. Although he could edit the footage, he didn't want to shoot because the control over editing was not in his hands.
"It's ok." Ji Xinghe noticed the light on the drone indicating the camera is on or off. He held Xinxin's hand and said, "I asked Xinxin and she said it's okay."
Su He felt awkward as he turned the camera on, not knowing what to say. He had always dished out his grand theories in front of Shen Mu, but now facing Ji Xinghe and Xinxin, he felt choked up.
Xinxin said it was okay, but she didn't know what that entailed. She only agreed because she knew the adults wanted her to.
"What a pretty little girl." Shen Mu, on the other hand, was quite different. He enthusiastically squatted down in front of Xinxin: "What's your name, can you tell your uncle?"
"My name is Xinxin, and I am six years old this year."
"Ape?"
Shen Mu froze, the Federated had a sensitive reaction to the word "ape".
"Prosperous Xinxin." Xinxin, who had clearly been asked this question before, earnestly explained: "My mother's last name is Rong."
Shen Mu's eyes reddened again. This man from the science and engineering field was actually more emotional than those from humanities. Facing a child, he too was lost for words.
"Ji, aren't you inviting us in?" Su He changed the subject: "Let's just grab something to eat. You can take the kid around the base and familiarize ourselves with the situation. Xinxin, can you be our guide? Eh... I mean, could you show us around?"
"Of course. Xinxin knows what being a guide means. Xinxin also knows her way around." Xinxin who readily agreed was indeed very familiar with the complex, because she was born and raised in this base. Over eight hundred thousand square meters of building area was large for a child, but this was her entire world.
"Okay, we won't burden our host then. We'll just eat something, I was too presumptuous." Ji Xinghe was quick to admit his mistake. His granddaughter was very sensible, so he should be too. Ji Xinghe squatted down, looked at Xinxin and asked: "Where do you want to go first, Xinxin?"
Xinxin tilted her head thoughtfully for a while before seriously responding: "Let's go see the cars, watch them fix the cars."
Ji Xinghe looked rather pleased: "Does Xinxin like cars? Grandpa is good at fixing cars."
"Xinxin likes it. And mom says when grandpa goes to fix cars, Xinxin should watch quietly on the side."
Xinxin said she liked it, but all three adults could see that she didn't actually like it. It was only because her mom told her to.
Ji Xinghe remembered Xinxin's wish from earlier: "Between cars and mecha, which one does Xinxin like more?"
"Huh?" Xinxin hesitated before answering truthfully in a quiet voice, her head lowered, "I like mecha more."
"Then let's go look at the mechas first." Ji Xinghe's large hand gently stroked Xinxin's head: "Because grandpa will not only fix cars in the future, but also mechas."
"Alright, alright!" Xinxin was genuinely happy this time.
So neither Shen Mu nor Su He exposed Ji Xinghe's lie: Ji Xinghe was just an ordinary mechanic. He neither had the qualifications nor abilities to fix mechas, even if he had designed the Old Ji model. If the Old Ji could really be considered a mecha, it wouldn't be called Old Ji anymore.