Chapter 43: Doing Business

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Doing Business

Having posted the status, Liam expected a great many comments judging his motives harshly. The reality was the opposite. People seemed very interested, even complaining that three days was too long, urging him to open the cart today.

Liam didn’t answer the comments. He video-called Daniel:

"Hey, good friend, any interest in doing business together?"

Daniel was in his office, a fountain pen still in his hand. Hearing that, he said at once: "I’ve just read the status on your channel. What you’re talking about is the home delivery service you wrote into the plan you sent me, isn’t it? Are you planning to work with my restaurant?"

Liam nodded: "That’s right. But that’s only one of the things I want to do. Daniel, are you interested in opening a tourist planet?"

Daniel raised an eyebrow, setting the pen down on the desk, asking:

"Oh? What exactly do you mean?"

Liam laid out his plan for Daniel at once, Daniel’s eyes brightening with every word Liam spoke. He sat up straight, waiting for Liam to finish before picking up:

"So you want to let people do all the work of a farmer with their own hands? Would they really pay money for services like that? You have to remember there are people who’ve never known what soil smells like since the day they were born."

Liam nodded firmly: "I’m certain. You’ve seen my brother’s videos. They’re always howling that they want to go and farm, but not everyone is in a position to do this work. If there were a place where they could freely grow whatever vegetables or flowers they liked without needing a permit, then why wouldn’t they come?"

Daniel drew a deep breath. He pictured the scene, his blood coming to a boil at once. But turning it over, he hesitated:

"My family doesn’t have a planet suitable for growing things, mostly industrial and military planets. What’s more, converting to agricultural use means meeting the targets the government sets."

Liam smiled brightly: "What do you think of my family’s planet? It’s a bit barren now but in ten days that will be over, what’s more my family has already registered it as an agricultural planet, so there’s no need to bother registering again."

Daniel raised an eyebrow: "Aren’t you afraid of being fined for using the land for the wrong purpose?"

Liam wagged a finger: "Article sixty-eight of the Lumina Galaxy Land Use Law provides that a private planet may register two or more categories of use. At present my brother has only registered agriculture and family residence. Now I only have to add residential rental services and that’s it. As long as the rental housing doesn’t fall within the registered cultivation area, it can perfectly well be used for another purpose."

Daniel was startled, immediately opening the Land Use Law to look, finding the provision was indeed there. Yet he had never noticed it before. Daniel looked at Liam in admiration:

"I’m impressed, I’ve no idea how that head of yours is put together. Shall we meet in person tomorrow to discuss it?"

Liam nodded: "Mm, tomorrow morning I’ll come to your restaurant, we’ll talk it through properly."

Once he had disconnected from Daniel, Liam opened his smart unit again, finding the conversation with LS:

"There’s a new piece of business, are you free?"

LS answered at once: [Free! Isn’t the delivery of manure and rotted leaves still a week away?]

"Not that. I want to sell something. I’ve come across an antique machine, identified as an ancient nut milk machine. It’s in fairly good condition, a few scratches on the outside with some of the internal circuits damaged, entirely repairable. Help me auction it, thirty percent commission."

LS was lying lazily on a sofa, springing upright the moment he read the message. He hurriedly messaged back: [The exterior doesn’t matter, what I need to confirm is whether the board inside really is an ancient electronic circuit board. Show me a tomographic image first.]

Liam immediately had the blue cat send him a tomographic image of the nut milk machine it had deliberately damaged, then forwarded it to LS. LS took an hour before answering:

[We’ve completed a preliminary appraisal on our side. The board inside genuinely is an ancient circuit board, exceptionally well preserved besides. The sale price certainly won’t be low. I propose we meet in person to sign a contract, what do you say?]

Liam thought for a moment, answering: "All right. I’m only free tomorrow afternoon. As for the exact place and time, choose somewhere on planet Altair yourself."

He had once asked LS to investigate the Martinez family, so it would be no hard thing for the man to dig out his own background. So Liam had no qualms about dealing with LS face to face. He also wanted to know what sort of person this mysterious LS actually was. If a fair relationship could be built, so much the better.

LS: [Very well. I’ll go and prepare now, then message you the place and time of the meeting.]

Liam: "All right."

...

At half past seven in the evening, Benjamin and Isabella finished their work in the fields. The two robots were still toiling away collecting Grass Worms. Once the three of them had drunk their nutrient fluid they dragged chairs out to sit on the porch, watching the two robots work while talking quietly together.

Liam spoke about the plan to work with Daniel, Benjamin and Isabella having no objection at all. Only that afternoon they had said they would support every decision their brother made, so whatever idea he put forward, as long as it wasn’t dangerous to his safety, they would help him see it through.

Liam went on: "Tomorrow morning once I’ve finished with Daniel, I have to go and meet somebody else. He’s the friend who usually buys things for me. We have business to discuss privately so I can’t bring the two of you along, I hope you won’t mind."

Isabella snorted a laugh, ruffling her brother’s hair into a mess: "Listen to this boy, what are you talking about. Where you go and who you meet is your own private business. Why would we mind?"

Benjamin nodded: "Tomorrow morning I’ll take you to Altair then come straight back, whenever you want to come home call me and I’ll come and fetch you."

Liam nodded, privately thinking he ought to start learning to fly a ship and drive a hovercar now, since he couldn’t have his brother and sister ferrying him about forever.

At half past eight, Benjamin got up and went to his room ahead of them. He took the chance to shower, then at nine exactly, he called White Narcissus as arranged.

Daniel was rolling happily about on his bed, hurriedly putting in his earpiece at the sight of Benjamin’s call. The man’s low voice came through from the other side:

[Hello, shall we carry on today. Do you remember where you got to?]

Daniel tried to remember, then said quietly: "I think it was the part describing the shape of Three-Branched Red Leaf greens..."

Benjamin was startled. So the boy had fallen asleep that early yesterday?

He turned straight back to the page on Three-Branched Red Leaf greens, clearing his throat: [Then I’ll carry on reading from here...]

"Wait!" Daniel’s voice rose slightly, after which he pressed the pillow to his face in embarrassment, leaving only his eyes showing.

[What is it?] Benjamin’s puzzled voice came from the other end. Daniel asked in a mumble: "What time do you normally wake up?"

Benjamin let out a "huh", then answered: [I usually get up at five, and once I’ve exercised and had breakfast I start work at twenty past six. Why?]

Daniel was speechless. He hadn’t expected Benjamin to get up that early. Normally at five in the morning he was still dead to the world. He answered quietly:

"Um... could I trouble you to wake me at twenty past six? I’m used to getting up late, and I have an important appointment tomorrow, I’m afraid I won’t be able to get up."

Benjamin sounded very surprised: [Wouldn’t setting an alarm do?]

Daniel buried his face deeper in the pillow: "I’ve smashed three smart watches this year purely because they went off in the morning..."

In fact he had also dropped two nanny robots off the third floor in free fall purely for ruining his morning sleep. But that didn’t fit the frail, delicate Omega setting, so he didn’t say it.

Benjamin: "..."

So when I’m the one calling, the smart watch somehow won’t get hurled and broken?

Still, the customer was God, so with White Narcissus having said as much Benjamin had no reason to refuse. In any case the smart watch that got smashed wouldn’t be his.

Once Benjamin had agreed to White Narcissus’s request, he began reading on from the passage the other had left off at yesterday. This time, Benjamin didn’t read straight through as before, but paused every so often for about ten seconds to listen to the other’s breathing.

White Narcissus had plainly said he suffered from insomnia, yet Benjamin had read for only about thirty-five minutes before the person on the other end was sprawled out asleep. After calling softly to confirm the Omega was asleep, Benjamin laughed helplessly, said "sleep well", then hung up.

After Benjamin hung up, at the other end of the line, Daniel in his half-dreaming state answered with a very faint "sleep well" of his own.