"In three more days, it'll be the New Year of the 13th year."
Zhang San's heart was burning. It had been four months since the school assigned him to be an apprentice for an engineering unit on the City of Light Moon. Due to his performance in these four months, he was hand-picked to join the unit as a registered electromagnetic engineer.
This meant that Zhang San was officially on the Hope's payroll. He could enjoy the benefits offered by the government, which included health benefits, social benefits, and retirement funds. He was also protected by the employee's union, meaning he wouldn't be fired simply because his boss didn't like his face.
Not only that, his base salary had doubled; it was about twice as much as his father's salary. For these past four months, Zhang San had bought many new things for his family. Even though they weren't anything expensive, realizing that his parents had a more comfortable life because of them made Zhang San's heart sing with joy.
Soon, New Year would arrive. Even though Zhang San was a space baby, he was born into a traditional Chinese family. He had celebrated Lunar New Year ever since he was a child. The greatest memory he had of the holiday was probably the angpao [Red Envelope] he would receive from his parents and parents of his friends as well as neighbors. Even though his parents would end up taking 90 percent of his angpao money, the leftovers would be enough for him to buy many snacks. That was truly his happiest childhood memory.
However, Zhang San sighed internally while thinking about this. He came from a, frankly, poor family. It was tradition for his parents to give the same amount of money back to the children of the parents Zhang San had received angpao from, but it was actually a great pressure on his family's financial situation. Of course, as a child, he didn't understand that. In fact, he remembered himself crying and making an absolute fuss when his parents took his angpao away when he was a child. When he was older, he understood their difficulties. The little leftovers he was given to buy snacks was practically shaved off of his parent's flesh. Now that he thought about it, his heart twisted with both appreciation and melancholy.
However, this year it would be different.
Zhang San gripped his fists tightly. This year, he had started working and had disposable income. He could buy his parents some new clothes and even purchase the 3D family projector television his parents had been testing at the mall as well as a table of scrumptious New Year's eve dinner, [Reunion Dinner]…
The future was looking up and he was sure it would only get better if he worked harder…
At the same time, Zhang San's mother was window-shopping at one of the Hope's many merchant streets. As she continued walking down the street, she made mental calculations of the various prices and the overall budget she had for the Lunar New Year. All mothers were like magicians, they had the wonderful power of stretching out the budget to make the most out of the littlest they had. When Zhang San's mother reached the end of the street, she already had a rough idea in mind on what to cook for reunion dinner.
(That's enough to fill up a table. That husband of mine has been mentioning that he wants to try the lobsters from the new planet, right? Normally, we wouldn't be able to afford it, but it's New Year, and Zhang San deserves some reward for the hard work he has been doing…)
Just as Zhang San's mother was figuring out the rest of the menu, a woman walked from the other side. The woman looked to be in her 20s, though she was already in her 40s, the same age group as Zhang San's mother. Thanks to genetic mesomeric devices, every middle-aged person on the Hope had the appearance of a twenty-something.
Zhang San's mother obviously knew this woman, because they smiled in greeting, and Zhang San's mother said, "Hello, In-Law, you're also here to buy ingredients for reunion dinner? How about we go together, I'm so confused by all these produce from the new planet that I've never seen. I'm sure, in-law, who is more knowledgeable, will be able to help me make the right purchase."
The woman smiled in return. "There's still at least two more years before we're actual in-laws… By the way, do you mind giving me the recipe for the sweet and sour pork In-Law made last time? That daughter of mine has been craving it so much since you made it last time…"
The two women started chatting amiably and continued shopping…
During the extra year Zhang San was forced to stay behind at school, he met a 16-year-old junior who had just started attending school. That was how their relationship began. Eventually, they became a couple. However, the girl came from a rather well-off family. Her father was a senior engineer, and because of this, it placed quite a pressure on the young couple. After all, the girl's parents wouldn't have allowed their daughter to follow someone with no job. In fact, they were on the verge of breaking up if nothing changed.
Thankfully, something did change. Zhang San not only got his job assignment, he was assigned to the engineer unit his girlfriend's father managed. Even though this was a great pressure on the young man, he lived up to his potential. His hardworking nature and the fact that he was on official payroll greatly improved his girlfriend's father's opinion of him. In fact, both families had already discussed the possibility of an engagement. The couple would marry when the girl was 18 and they would start their own family.
Everything was going swell for humanity. Happiness and joy blossomed on everyone's faces. They had been at the New Solar System for only four months, but things had already changed and improved so much. If this continued for one year, 10 years, 20 years… perhaps this place would really end up a second home for humanity.
"Two more days and it's new year. We have to be on time for all the vegetable basket projects. As I've said before, food is the first necessity of the people. If the people are unable to fill their stomachs, then this government might as well dissolve itself… Previously, we had the excuse of not having enough materials and space, but now? I've given you all an open usage of the materials, so take all the fertilizers and human resources you need. I've even opened the empty plots on the City of Light Moon for you, so I don't want to hear any more excuses from the agriculture department. The Hope's government is a government of its word. If the all-important vegetable basket project cannot be finished, I expect resignation letters from everyone responsible."
Yao Yuan stressed the importance of the vegetable basket project again before moving on to discuss the new year activities with the other leaders…
"F*ck, I feel like I'm getting a migraine…"
Yao Yuan took a sip of tea and complained to Barbie, who was standing beside him. Barbie's face twitched and she almost burst out laughing, but she stifled it and said, "The New Year party's director wished to borrow a guardian spaceship and its related personnel and some Black Star Troopers to shoot a close-up video of Homeward Planet. He says it is for humanity to witness the glory of the planet before it is officially transformed."
Yao Yuan thought about it for a long time before saying, "One guardian spaceship, you say? Guang Zhen sees them as more important than his life. These few days, he has been training the fleet, saying even though New Year is coming soon, the training cannot be lax. The surveillance and patrol cannot stop. The director wants to borrow a guardian spaceship? This is going to be hard…"
Barbie pouted and said, "Then, shall I reject the director?"
"No." Yao Yuan added, "Promoting the Homeward Planet step by step is part of our plan after all. Furthermore, shooting this video is going to help increase the sense of loyalty, anticipation, and honor on the Hope. I don't think I can get him a guardian spaceship, but a battleship should be fine. After all, this is only for filming, not battle. Homeward Planet doesn't have any lifeform to put up a fight, so I'll allow one battleship, two Black Star Troopers, and 10 Defense Unit soldiers. However, I have a condition: the video has to be longer than 10 minutes and I want it to contain frames of our human fleet. Even though the fleet is still not yet complete, have the director find the correct angles or use some editing. I want the human fleet to look impressive and mighty…
"Starting next year, other than building plans, the Defense Unit will also start to expand. Currently, we're in need of fresh blood, but the building process of the New Solar System's first fleet cannot be stopped, so why not make use of this video for some military recruitment…"
When Yao Yuan finished, Barbie jotted down everything he said. Then Barbie asked, "Is there anything else to consider? The confidentiality clause of the New Solar System's first fleet?"
"There's no need," Yao Yuan replied. "The New Solar System will have three guardian spaceship fleets. These are existences that can be known to the public. Just like the US' Pacific fleet when we were back on Earth, the whole world knew of their existence. We have to let the public understand that we are not only responsible for humanity's continuity but also responsible for leading everyone towards happiness and protecting them from external danger. The existence of these three fleets mustn't be made a secret. In fact, we have to promote it as much as we can, the number, the scale, the technological level, and so on…"
Yao Yuan stopped before smiling and saying, "These things need to be done, but there's no need to rush, we still have time… Barbie, thank you for your hard work in the past year. The government has given you a big angpao, you can check your online account later. The annual holiday will start tomorrow. As long as there's no emergency, you can rest for 10 days. Have fun and…
"Happy New Year."