Chapter Ninety: The Sincerity of the Shangguan Family
The next day, Zhu Lan brought Kong Yan, Kang Nuo, Yu Dangdang, and Snort, the improved BA-200 model, to City S. They did not linger. They boarded a plane and flew straight to the metropolis. After changing planes there, they headed for Lancheng.
Lancheng lies in the western reaches of the nation and is a place of great importance. It is not only home to an independent military region; more crucially, it is one of the country’s major aerospace centers. The Jiuquan launch center stands on the desert beyond the city, two hundred kilometers away. As a stronghold of the west, Lancheng bears a deep historical legacy and is also a famed stop along the ancient Silk Road.
When the plane landed, Zhu Lan stepped out and immediately spotted Shangguan Qiaoning and several bodyguards waiting for him at the exit.
Shangguan Qiaoning saw him as well and came forward.
“Mr. Zhu, welcome. I was beginning to think you might not come.”
“Not at all. How could I refuse an invitation from Miss Shangguan?” Zhu Lan said with a smile, shaking her hand.
Outside the airport, Shangguan Qiaoning had already arranged a car. After they got in, it carried them away toward the distance.
“Mr. Zhu, I truly did not expect you to come.”
“Not at all. It was you who dealt the hand.”
Shangguan Qiaoning only smiled. “Then doesn’t Mr. Zhu want to know why we invited you?”
“Of course I do. But you won’t lie to me, will you?”
She smiled and nodded, saying no more as the convoy drove on into the distance.
They crossed the entire city, and after more than two hours, they stopped outside a cluster of villas in the suburbs of Lancheng.
“Mr. Zhu, welcome.” Several people were already waiting when they got out. At their head stood an old man leaning on a cane, smiling as he came forward.
“Minister Shangguan, having you come in person to greet me is truly more than I deserve.”
Shangguan Xuande was one of the nation’s rare master physicians, and also the very first minister of the Health Department. Everything the department had achieved owed much to his efforts. After the founding of the country, he and several other masters were invited by the state to jointly oversee the department.
Though he had retired for more than twenty years, many still preferred to call him Minister Shangguan.
“What minister or no minister? This old man retired long ago. Please, come inside.”
Zhu Lan smiled and nodded. “Then after you.”
Shangguan Xuande did not stand on ceremony and led the way inside.
After the servants brought tea and withdrew, only a few people remained in the hall.
Zhu Lan picked up his cup and sipped slowly, his brow furrowing from time to time.
“Mr. Zhu, what is it? Is the tea not to your liking?” Shangguan Qiaoning asked, puzzled by his expression.
Zhu Lan shook his head. “No, I simply have never tasted tea like this before. It is rich and fragrant, with an endless aftertaste.”
“If Mr. Zhu likes it, this old man will send you a few taels when you leave.”
“Then I thank the Shangguan family for your kindness.”
Shangguan Xuande shook his head and waved away the unrelated attendants.
The hall once again became empty. Even Shangguan Qiaoning left, leaving only Zhu Lan, Shangguan Xuande, and his eldest son, Shangguan Changming.
“Mr. Zhu, I assume you have already seen the video.”
Hearing Shangguan Changming’s words, Zhu Lan nodded. “May I ask why the Shangguan family has invited me here?”
Shangguan Changming said nothing. He rose, walked to the side, took out a box, and set it on the table. Opening it, he revealed the very stone seen in the video.
“What is this?”
“This is a most peculiar mineral. We have searched for it for a thousand years, yet have never known where it truly came from.”
“Only forty years ago did we uncover a clue.”
“Meteorite?” Zhu Lan understood immediately what Shangguan Changming meant.
Shangguan Changming nodded. “Exactly. As science developed, we turned our gaze to the stars. Later testing confirmed that this mineral came from space.”
Zhu Lan nodded. So that was it. No wonder the Shangguan family had moved all the way from the capital to Lancheng. They had been seeking the help of the state to find this mineral.
As far as Zhu Lan knew, the Shangguan family was not only highly accomplished in medicine, but in hidden circles was also a supplier to the aerospace industry. One of Shangguan Xuande’s sons even served as a military division commander responsible for the Jiuquan center, and several non-blood relatives had been sent abroad decades ago to study aerospace, all of them now working either at Jiuquan or at some rocket research institute.
Zhu Lan had been wondering why the Shangguan family could touch so many state secrets without being destroyed by other powers. Now he knew the reason. The knife shown in the video must be of immense importance to the family.
“What does this have to do with me? Fantasy Technologies only does biological research. It has nothing to do with aerospace, does it?”
“It was true before, but not now.”
Zhu Lan frowned and looked at Shangguan Changming without speaking.
“We know that you possess a technology: quantum communication.”
Hearing this, Zhu Lan seemed to piece everything together. He looked at Shangguan Changming in surprise, then at Shangguan Xuande.
Finally he shook his head helplessly. “You really do not need me for this. With your influence, if you truly wanted to, the state would not refuse, would it?”
Shangguan Changming looked at him with approval. “That is true enough. But in recent years, our Shangguan family has encountered some trouble. As for launching a new project, the state no longer inclines toward us.”
Zhu Lan could only shake his head. “Frankly, your target is far too ambitious. It is impossible to accomplish.”
“Even if there is only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, we must try. This is the ancestral teaching of our Shangguan family. As a descendant of that line, I ought to fulfill our forefathers’ wish.”
Zhu Lan no longer knew what to say.
The meaning of the Shangguan family was plain. Because Fantasy Technologies had quantum communication, it had secured the state’s promised satellite development plan.
Yet for reasons unknown, the Shangguan family wished to launch certain satellites but could not obtain the government’s support. The appearance of Fantasy Technologies had given them a sliver of hope. If they could borrow Fantasy Technologies to launch the reconnaissance satellites the Shangguan family needed, then there would be a chance of locating this mineral.
Of course, they also knew such a thing might take years, perhaps even decades or a hundred years to accomplish. But before any of that, one had to take the first step: the reconnaissance satellite had to be launched. After that, they could only rely on heaven’s luck. If the satellite could not be sent up at all, then everything else was empty talk.
“I refuse this matter,” Zhu Lan said after some thought.
The Shangguan family was among the very top in the nation. If even the government would not agree, then involving himself would be courting death. There might even be some deeper contest at play here.
“Mr. Zhu, do not be hasty in refusing. Our compensation will absolutely satisfy you.”
Zhu Lan said nothing, only thinking.
“We know that Fantasy Technologies is constrained in many areas by other domestic enterprises. Though our Shangguan family is not a particularly powerful company, opening the market for Fantasy Technologies would be a simple matter for us.”
Zhu Lan was tempted.
Indeed, in terms of assets, the Shangguan family did not rank among the top hundred in the country. But it possessed a kind of capital many companies could not compare with: the market.
The Shangguan family, including Shangguan Xuande, belonged to a lineage of traditional medicine spanning more than a thousand years. They had two master physicians, and no fewer than five others worthy of being called famous doctors. Everyone in the Shangguan family, from the central authorities to ordinary people, treated them with deference. For one never knew when a grave illness might strike. You could quarrel with power, you could quarrel with wealth, but you could never quarrel with your own life.
Because of that heritage, when the family entered the pharmaceutical market more than thirty years ago, it rapidly opened up the domestic market. In recent years, the Shangguan family’s pharmaceutical businesses had spread across all of Asia, and they had made enormous contributions to China’s medical aid efforts in Africa. Sixty percent of the Chinese medicines used across Africa were produced by companies under the Shangguan family.
Their sales network spanned the whole of Asia. Even in rural towns, there were storefronts for the many pharmacy chains under their name.
Across all of China, nearly every hospital purchased at least some of its medicines from Shangguan products. In terms of sales reach across Asia, the Shangguan family was unquestionably among the top ten.
Whether it was the gene-enhancement solution of the present or the new products of the future, Zhu Lan needed a sales network. He had already asked Lan Tianxin to negotiate one, but after more than a month the results had been poor. The companies that met Fantasy Technologies’ needs all demanded outrageous terms, squeezing as hard as they could.
Of course Zhu Lan would not hand over vast profits through the sales network, nor did he want to see others treat him like a cake to be cut and eaten at will.
The matter of distribution had long been a headache for him, and now the sincerity shown by the Shangguan family made him hesitate.
“Our Shangguan family can form a strategic partnership with Fantasy Technologies. If you need to sell any product, we will prioritize opening the market for you.”
After Shangguan Changming finished, he waited for Zhu Lan’s answer. The Shangguan family had clearly done its homework and seized his weakness at once.
“I have to admit, you have moved me. But I still need to think it over.”
Shangguan Xuande frowned briefly, then relaxed. “Thinking it over is good. This matter truly is too large.” He naturally understood Zhu Lan’s concerns. With the Shangguan family’s strength, influencing the higher levels of the nation was no problem. Though satellite probes were expensive, such probes were important to the family and also important to the country. There was no reason the state would reject the Shangguan family’s proposal unless there were some hidden considerations behind the repeated refusals.
“Broadly speaking, I am inclined to agree. Your sincerity has indeed moved me, and Fantasy Technologies does need a sales network so our products can enter the market smoothly. But I do not know what the authorities above think about this matter. I do not want Fantasy Technologies to be remembered unfavorably by them. In the center, there are already quite a few people dissatisfied with my company.” Zhu Lan did not hide his thoughts and said them plainly.
Shangguan Xuande nodded.
“Aren’t you curious?”
Zhu Lan shook his head. “Curiosity can kill a man.”
Shangguan Xuande nodded in approval.
Shangguan Qiaoning personally saw Zhu Lan off to the hotel arranged by the Shangguan family. In the end, although Zhu Lan had not reached an agreement with them, he would consider the Shangguan family’s proposal and help them with satellite manufacturing. He also made it clear that whether it succeeded depended on the Shangguan family’s own operations.
For Zhu Lan, building quantum-communication satellites and reconnaissance satellites was no great matter. Besides, if the Shangguan family’s proposal were ultimately approved, it would greatly benefit his future aerospace plans.
As for the solar system, Zhu Lan had originally intended to wait until the quantum-communication satellites were completed before finding a way to launch reconnaissance probes for a comprehensive survey. He did not mention the possibility that certain ores might exist on Uranus. Even if he had, what good would it do? With humanity’s current technology, not to mention Uranus, even sending a crewed mission to Mars was still an extremely difficult undertaking. One should not really imagine that the spaceships in movies—those that can reach Mars in a matter of months—actually exist. Their construction cost would probably require several countries to unite before they could build such a super-ship.
To be continued.