Chang Jianyi was very pleased with her future daughter-in-law and said directly, "Don't call us that from now on. Such a title creates distance between us. From now on, call us Mom and Dad, understand?"
Zhou Yuyao immediately changed her address and said, "Greetings, Mom and Dad! I've brought you many local specialties. I heard that Dad likes antiques, so we found many calligraphy and paintings to present to Father for his appreciation."
Zhou Yuyao's face was always adorned with a smile as she spoke. It was evident that she was accustomed to high society, as she showed no signs of nervousness in this important occasion. Instead, she behaved with great propriety, truly befitting a young lady from a prominent family.
However, Shen Feng noticed one thing: Zhou Yuyao's hand was constantly gripping his sleeve. This small gesture revealed that she was, in fact, quite nervous.
Chang Jianyi thought for a moment and said to Shen Hongxiu, who was watching the scene unfold, "Hurry and bring your brother out. The bride has arrived, how can the groom not be present?"
Shen Hongxiu nodded and immediately went to deliver the message.
When Shen Xingzhi was reluctantly brought to the main hall, he discovered a very beautiful young girl standing opposite him. She was much older than him, estimated to be around 1.75 meters tall. He was only twelve years old, and his growth was still slow, reaching only her waist.
This made Shen Xingzhi even more displeased. He turned his head to the side, crossing his arms and adopting an uncommunicative stance.
"He's just a child! Is he my future husband? I didn't expect such a large age gap!" Zhou Yuyao was greatly shocked.
Chang Jianyi then said, "Little Tiger, I will arrange your wedding in a few days. However, you will not live together after marriage because your body has not fully developed. I'm afraid you might act impulsively. Therefore, I plan for you to officially cohabitate after another four or five years. During this time, although you are husband and wife, you will still live separately!"
Shen Xingzhi reluctantly replied, "Oh!"
Chang Jianyi then looked at Zhou Yuyao and asked, "What are your thoughts? Do you have any issues with my arrangements? If you're not satisfied, feel free to speak up, after all, we are family now!"
"Mother, your arrangements are excellent. I will follow all instructions!" Zhou Yuyao said earnestly.
After meeting her future daughter-in-law, Chang Jianyi said to Shen Feng, "It's about time for you to discuss business. As for the grain needed for the transaction, I will make arrangements. Have your subordinates prepare a plane. I will be heading to Dian Province in a while. I've heard there are many ready-made greenhouses available there!"
Shen Feng nodded and said, "Then go and return quickly. I'll have Yiyi accompany you for protection. As for the goods for the transaction, I will negotiate to the best of my ability."
Chu Zhaoyan also came out at this moment and said to her daughter Shen Yishi, "Why aren't you taking your sister-in-law to her room and showing her around our home?"
Shen Yishi was not shy. She took Zhou Yuyao's hand and left the hall. Along the way, she introduced the various facilities around them. At this point, Zhou Yuyao realized she wasn't being made to suffer excessively and gradually relaxed.
"Sister-in-law, this separate small building here is prepared for you. Not many people live here, but you can see a lot of scenery by the lake. If you want to eat fruit, just go to the garden over there and pick apples or oranges. These two trees bear fruit all year round!" Shen Yishi said.
Zhou Yuyao thought for a moment, then took off a diamond necklace from her neck and placed it on her sister's neck. "Since you're so obedient, I'll give you this necklace. You look really beautiful wearing it!"
Shen Yishi's eyes were immediately drawn to the sparkling item. She immediately took the necklace from her neck and kept looking at it. It wasn't that she didn't have such necklaces; it was that in the apocalypse, diamond necklaces had depreciated in value. After all, diamonds were formed from carbon elements, and diamonds could be manufactured by artificial means. Therefore, such items were not commonly seen among wealthy families. People still preferred gold jewelry.
However, now, Shen Yishi found something she had never seen before, and her gaze was instantly captivated.
Zhou Yuyao had used a simple method to make Shen Yishi obedient, and she felt quite proud. She thought, "It seems it won't be difficult to live well in this family. As long as I find ways to build relationships, I can live here!"
As she was thinking this, she suddenly saw a young girl appear in the distance, around her age.
Wang Xiran said to Shen Yishi in the distance, "Shishi, what are you doing? Why aren't you in class?"
Upon seeing this girl, Zhou Yuyao was stunned for a moment. She had heard that Shen Feng's disciples had to leave and work elsewhere after reaching the age of fourteen. However, this girl in front of her was clearly over fourteen, so why was she still here?
Shen Yishi said to Wang Xiran, "Sister Ran, this is my sister-in-law. She gave me a diamond necklace as a reward for my good behavior!"
Wang Xiran walked over and smiled, saying, "Then you must perform well in the future and strive to help your father!"
Afterward, Wang Xiran completely ignored Zhou Yuyao and left.
Zhou Yuyao was surprised that the other party had directly disregarded her and looked at her as if she were insignificant. Although she considered herself a princess of Jinling, she was now being ignored. She wanted to retaliate but realized she was on someone else's territory, so she could only suppress her emotions.
Meanwhile, Shen Feng found Ke Yiming and stated his conditions directly, "If you want to trade for grain, I will certainly not refuse. After all, we share the same difficulties. Since you are lacking grain now, I won't stand by and watch. However, there is one condition I need to clarify. I need a sufficient condition to complete the transaction: hand over the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River to me!"
When Shen Feng said this, Ke Yiming was immediately startled and exclaimed, "You're demanding an exorbitant price! How could you even suggest such a condition? This is not something I can decide!"
"You truly cannot decide? Then I can only regretfully inform you that this transaction cannot proceed because you have not shown enough sincerity!" Shen Feng shook his head with regret and stood up, preparing to leave.
Ke Yiming quickly stopped him, "Don't be so hasty. This matter needs to be discussed. All matters require careful consideration to reach an agreement. Please sit down, this can be discussed, let's continue our conversation!"
Ke Yiming was well aware of the importance of the Three Gorges Dam. As long as the Three Gorges were under his control, Shunfeng would not be able to proceed smoothly down the river because the Three Gorges would be throttling his throat, forcing him to choose between the northern and southern routes. His southern route had already been opened, providing him with an outlet to the sea, and in the north, he could head north at any time if he wished.
At this point, if the Three Gorges Dam were handed over to the other party, no one would be able to curb his rise. He might even become the most powerful force on the Chinese continent in the future.
"I know you have a very deep relationship with the commander of the Three Gorges Dam. Therefore, I hope you can persuade him to hand over the Three Gorges Dam to me. This way, I can complete the grain transaction. Afterward, a batch of grain will be urgently allocated to you. Although it won't completely solve the famine, it will help you alleviate your immediate crisis, don't you agree?" Shen Feng said with a smile.
"No problem, I will resolve this. Are there any other conditions? Then we can discuss the items needed for the exchange. We are prepared to use gold and silver to exchange for grain. These are hard currencies, you should be familiar with them, right?" Ke Yiming readily agreed and then stated his thoughts.
Although in the apocalypse, various regions had issued their own grain coupons and even paper currency, these currencies became like waste paper when truly needed, completely useless. Therefore, any intelligent person would not choose to use these to buy grain, as others would not accept them. To truly use something that is not in circulation, one can only choose pure gold and silver.
Shen Feng smiled and said, "Exchanging grain for gold and silver is indeed fine, but what I lack is not gold and silver. After all, the most important things now are energy and food. I now have oil and natural gas, and I have sufficient bases for food production. I lack neither of these. What I lack are other things. Gold and silver are too vulgar!"
"Then what exactly do you want? Just say it, and if we have it, we will satisfy you!" Ke Yiming knew he was about to be severely fleeced, but he had no choice but to try his best to meet the other party's demands. In any case, bringing back a batch of grain was the most important thing.
Shen Feng's expression suddenly turned serious, and he said, "I need a lot of blueprints, such as rocket blueprints, satellite blueprints, and I also need a large number of scientists. It would be best if you could package all your scientific research achievements and hand them over to us!"
"What do you need rocket blueprints for? Do you still want to go to space at this time? I need to criticize you for this. Humans can only survive on Earth now and cannot live on other planets. Even if you go to the moon, you won't have food to survive. Give up this idea!" Ke Yiming immediately said.
"Don't worry about why I need these blueprints. In short, I need all your scientific research achievements! My scientists are currently in urgent need of aerospace personnel. So, I heard you have many people researching in this area. If possible, have them come and work with me!" Shen Feng said calmly.