When I went home for Chinese New Year, I spent a million times more money on my foreign wife.

Three Gulfstream private jets circled over Harbin's Taiping Airport before landing in succession.

Outside the porthole, a dozen or so black cars, all with government license plates, were parked on both sides of the runway.

There was a man standing next to the car at the front, wearing a dark coat and standing very straight.

Li Bu.

Chen Yue's voice came through the phone: "Brother, Director Li brought seven people, all from energy-related units. The east runway of Taiping Airport has been cleared, and there is a no-fly zone within a three-kilometer radius. This kind of treatment has been given to civilians only a handful of times since the founding of the People's Republic of China."

"understood."

Chen Yang hung up the phone and unbuckled his seatbelt.

Katyusha picked up the sable coat she had bought in Mo City from the seat next to her, put it on, and stood up carrying a shopping bag.

"Let's go."

The hatch opened, and the -26 degree Celsius air from Harbin rushed in.

Chen Yang stepped down the gangway, where Li Bu was already waiting to greet him.

"Mr. Chen!"

Li Bu reached out and gripped Chen Yang's hand tightly, while patting Chen Yang's hand on the back of his hand with his other hand.

Welcome home.

Chen Yang shook hands with him.

"Minister Li, thank you for coming in person."

"You're being too polite," Li Bu said in a low voice. "Everything you did in Mochengqian was seen by the higher-ups. Their exact words were—'You made a great contribution.'"

Chen Yang did not respond.

Li glanced back and saw that the cargo hold of the second Gulfstream was being unloaded, with boxes being loaded onto forklifts.

"What are those?"

"Some things I bought for my family."

Li Bu paused for a moment, then smiled.

"Let's go, get in the car first. The convoy is all set up, and the roads are under control."

"No need for such a big fuss."

"This isn't a show of force," Li Bu said, his smile fading. "Mr. Chen, your contributions deserve this level of recognition."

-

A convoy of eighteen vehicles drove out of Taiping Airport, with four police escort vehicles at the front and four at the back, and all intersections along the way were blocked off.

The main roads of Harbin were deserted, with only the sound of convoy engines echoing in the sub-zero air.

Katyusha sat next to Chen Yang and peeked out at the empty street outside through the curtains.

"You have more influence in this country than in Mo City."

"It's not about saving face."

"What is that?"

Chen Yang did not answer.

Lei Zi's phone rang. After answering it for a couple of minutes, he turned around and said, "Boss, Miss Chen Yue is waiting at the Snow Palace International Global Center. She said all the documents are ready."

"Tell her to go directly to the government reception center."

Twenty minutes later, the convoy stopped in front of the Harbin Administrative Center.

Chen Yue was already standing on the steps, holding two black briefcases in her hands, followed by four members of the Snow Palace legal team.

"elder brother."

Did you bring the things?

"They're all here." Chen Yue patted her briefcase. "All the original energy contracts signed during the trip to Mo City, including the independent development rights for Arctic oil and gas fields, the priority transport agreement for European gas pipelines, and the Kunlun System cross-border settlement framework agreement, a total of thirty-seven. I've sorted them by category, and each one has been notarized in both Chinese and Mauritanian."

"Walk."

-

In the reception hall, Director Li's team had already taken their seats.

Chen Yang sat down and gestured for Chen Yue to open the briefcase.

Thirty-seven contracts were neatly laid out on the table.

Li opened the first document, read two pages, and his finger stopped on the paper.

"This Arctic mining rights agreement...was it personally signed by the Emperor?"

"right."

Li continued flipping through the pages, faster and faster, until sweat poured down his forehead.

"Mr. Chen, let me confirm this again. You intend to transfer all of these contracts to the state?"

"right."

"All of it? Including this priority transport right for the European pipeline? The value of this thing—"

"I know how much it's worth," Chen Yang interrupted him, "but these things are useless in my personal hands; they're only useful in the hands of the country."

Li put down the contract and stared at Chen Yang for five seconds.

"Mr. Chen, once these contracts are finalized, China will reduce its annual energy import costs by at least 150 billion US dollars. Once the Arctic oil and gas fields are put into production, our dependence on foreign natural gas will drop from 43% to 12%."

He stood up.

"From today onwards, China will no longer have to worry about an energy crisis."

Li Bu reached out his hand again, this time gripping it even tighter than at the airport.

"Mr. Chen, the country will not forget what you have done."

Chen Yang withdrew his hand and stood up.

"Chen Yue handled all the details of the contract; she took care of everything herself."

Chen Yue adjusted her glasses and nodded to Li's team: "Director Li, I will follow up on the entire process of transferring property rights and setting up the settlement channel. Please contact me anytime if you encounter any technical problems."

"Okay, okay." Li Bu said "okay" twice, his eyes a little red.

-

The reception lasted for an hour and a half.

During the event, several leaders from the Bingcheng Municipal Government took turns offering toasts and expressing their support, but Chen Yang refused to drink a single drop, letting Lei Zi deflect them all.

Katyusha sat quietly beside her, drinking her tea without uttering a single word.

But everyone present looked at her with awe—this heiress of a Russian tycoon controlled the energy lifeline of half of Europe, and sitting in this reception hall, she carried more weight than any official.

The meeting is over.

Chen Yang and Katyusha walked out of the administrative center, and Chen Yue jogged after them.

"Brother, I'll keep an eye on things after this. You go back and rest. By the way, everything's ready at home, so you can just go back."

"Um."

"Sister-in-law, drive carefully."

Katyusha nodded to her.

The car had changed at the entrance; a dark-colored SUV was waiting at the bottom of the steps. Lei Zi opened the back door.

"Boss, it's a three-hour drive back to Kaoshantun. Please rest for a while."

Chen Yang got into the car.

Katyusha followed and sat down, taking off her sable coat and draping it over her knees.

"Is it finally over?"

"It's over."

"Were all those contracts really given to you?"

"Given it."

"How much is it worth?"

"unimportant."

Katyusha glanced at him but didn't ask any more questions.

The SUV started up and drove away from the city of Harbin, heading north towards the highway.

Outside the car window, the lights of Harbin grew smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror.

Ahead lay a vast snowfield and their private territory.

Lei Zi handed over a thermos from the passenger seat.

"Boss, hot coffee."

Chen Yang took it, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

Katyusha took out the amber bracelet she had bought for her mother-in-law in Mo City from her shopping bag, checked its quality against the car's roof light, and put it back in the box.

The off-road vehicle traveled at a steady speed on the snowy road. Three hours later, the Crystal Dome in the distance lit up in the night.

finally arrived at home.