Start with a blacksmith shop.

Chapter 326 Bystanders (6000-word chapter)

The recovery of the aircraft from space continues, and other countries have been monitoring Kyushu's movements in space without ceasing.

The moment the spacecraft docked with the Tiangong space station in space, everyone on Nasa looked on in disbelief. Since their Atlantis had completed its last flight, they had never had a space shuttle again.

It could be said that their eyes not only revealed disbelief, but also envy.

In today's world where the aerospace industry is so advanced, they themselves are on a downward slope. Even Kyushu, a junior player in the aerospace industry, now has its own space shuttle, but they have never regained their former glory.

They proposed the return to the moon more than a decade ago, but they have made no progress whatsoever on this plan.

The new developments in Kyushu's space program are causing them great anxiety, but all they can do is be anxious. They want to do something about it, but it's so difficult because even if the government proposes a plan, the Congress won't approve the funding, so it's all in vain.

What else could Nasa do? They could only be envious. Moreover, through the successful docking of Kyushu's spaceplane with the Tiangong space station, they all predicted that from now on, the gap between them and Kyushu in the aerospace field would become wider and wider.

Because of the existence of spaceplanes in Kyushu, the cost of launching into space is getting lower and lower for Kyushu, not to mention that the performance of this Kyushu spaceplane is so scientific.

The current situation is that the influence of the four space agencies in space will gradually decrease. Don't be fooled by the fact that our United States has more than half of the world's man-made flying objects in space, but what good is it?

The number of our Americans in space is just our future achievement; for us now, we are already on a very difficult path!

All we can do now is watch with envy. We have no way to retaliate at all. Staring blankly is our only option now. To put it nicely, we should just keep watching!

The movements of the aircraft in the sky have been observed by countries like the United States. We also wanted to see if the spaceplane from the four states was just for show. In the end, we came to a very disappointing conclusion: the spaceplane from the four states was indeed the real deal.

We, under the surveillance of a few countries, have just finished the space debris recycling work. It can be said that our work is in full swing, amidst normal silence.

The four states have a total of about 700 satellites in space, and only a small number of those satellites are out of service. This is because the development of the space industry in the four states only began to flourish before the beginning of the new century, so the vast majority of those 700 satellites are new satellites.

But who is completely different from the four states? Old Mei!

There are a total of 4800 satellites in the world, and the US has only about 70 to 8,000. With such a small number, the US also has the fewest faulty satellites, making it the smallest producer of space debris.

Despite our constant calls to protect the Earth's environment, the one who does the least harm to the planet is actually myself. What is Guo Shugui? Lao Mei is Guo Shugui, and also Guo Shugui's ancestor.

Before the snowy owl could navigate the map of its own defunct satellites provided by the four state space agencies, all of its defunct satellites had been recovered and returned to the outside of the aircraft's cargo hold, totaling about ten defunct satellites.

The very few of the recovered satellites were large, defunct satellites, so the space they occupied was only slightly less than enough to fill the aircraft's cargo hold.

After recovering all of its own defunct satellites, the aircraft that comes up next will be targeting defunct satellites from other countries, collectively known as space debris.

From that moment on, the aircraft's flight path in space became extremely regular, always heading towards the orbit of its own satellite, so there was little to no pattern. But now, the flight path resembles a coil of incense, rotating inwards from the center.

During that rotating flight, as long as there is no faulty satellite on the aircraft's side, it will approach.

Upon arriving at the location of the defunct satellite, whose country of origin was unknown, the robotic arm of the aircraft extended from both inside and outside, performing a series of fluid movements. It was clear that the satellite, which had been defunct for some time, was being carried away by that same robotic arm.

The plane circled a point for a short time before its cargo hold was filled with space debris. The cargo hold was then filled with a broken, defunct satellite. With that, the mission was considered a complete success.

The rest of us returned to the ground safely. The plane stopped after the cargo hold was full. The seven of us, Snowy Owl and I, made a short stop to rest before starting our return journey.

The existence of spaceplanes makes our return to Earth so complicated, but as long as we control the plane well, there are no difficulties along the way.

The spaceplane flew through space to the skies below the four states, maintaining a certain speed to keep itself in the airspace below them.

After all that was done, the plane, under our control, landed at its destination.

Protected by the particle energy shield, the spaceplane successfully passed through the lower atmosphere again. Because the speed of ascent and descent was kept within a certain range, it was not slow, but fast enough to cause the spaceplane to generate heat through friction with the lower atmosphere.

Without any light effects, the plane flew quickly through the atmosphere from space and landed at a steady speed at the Jiuquan base where I took off.

The moment the plane landed, all the staff on the ground gave a cold, enthusiastic round of applause. Although we could hear the applause from outside the plane, it still blocked out the cold indifference on the ground.

That cargo mission served as a test of the aircraft, and its completion solidified the aircraft's capabilities, enabling astronauts from four states to have wings.

To make the booming aerospace industry even more prosperous.

The cargo hold of defunct satellites brought back by the plane was slowly unloaded from below by the staff, and we also saw the first satellite launched into space by Sizhou - Dongfanghong-1.

The Dongfanghong-1 satellite, which held immense commemorative significance, was first sent to the Satellite Research Institute for minor disassembly, where its internal condition was studied.

Before the research is completed, the satellite will be sent to the Four States Space Museum for storage and display.

All the satellites brought back by that plane will be dismantled and studied before being sent back for recycling. The satellites of the four states themselves have not received much attention. What we care about are these satellites from other countries that have failed.

The dismantling and study of those satellites allowed experts from the four states to learn from them and gain some experience in satellite manufacturing. Although that experience was not entirely new, it was still possible to understand and infer the technological level of the country where the satellites were located.

Before completing that cargo mission, the spaceplane had no further plans in mind, which also served as a test of its reliability.

The mission was completed very well, but the Four States Space Agency did not disclose the operation publicly. They only sent a written report to the inner circle, and the information revealed in that report was extremely limited.

The actions of the four space agencies have piqued the curiosity of netizens across the four continents who follow our news, but they have yet to receive any useful information. In fact, those text messages were also meant for us; they were merely a means of communication to reassure other space agencies.

From that day on, the plane went to space almost every eight days and returned. Such a frequent launch frequency stunned Nassah and other agencies. At that time, we also truly felt the weakness of the plane that the four states had developed!

The operation of going to space for a spin and returning in eight days showed the world that going to space is as complicated as drinking water.

The spaceplane's actions had absolutely no impact on the double standard dog. When I came out of seclusion, the plane had already taken off more than ten times.

The general public knew what had happened, because the four state space agencies had not disclosed any information, and the general public was waiting for an official announcement.

In stark contrast to the general public in the four states, the space agencies of various countries, as well as the companies that recovered the defunct satellites from the four states, were frantically negotiating with the space agencies of the four states during that period.

We want to take back the defunct satellites that are in the hands of the Quad Space Agency. To us, they are defunct satellites, but to Quad Space Agency, those things are just small amounts of space debris.

Both sides stuck to their own versions of events, and neither side convinced the other. Back then, Sizhou displayed a lot of rogue rhetoric, but now Sizhou is just a rogue rabbit.

In a situation where the situation is beyond their control, the companies and countries that own these satellites, no matter how firm their stance towards the four states, all yielded. Even after the resumption of relations, it was clear that we still had reservations about the satellites, just in a different way.

Those people first thanked the four states for helping them recover the satellite, and then asked the four states how much it would cost to recover the satellite, meaning they were willing to pay to get their satellite back.

Seeing how things had developed, the people in the four states also felt that if they didn't make money, they might as well make money. Besides, who said that recovered satellites had to be returned immediately? So, with all parties tacitly agreeing, the matter of us spending money to buy back our own satellites was decided in a very clear-headed way.

After all that, the Four States Space Agency said it could make a lot of money. Anyway, that matter disgusted the other party, and that job is now really monopolized by the Four States.

Most of the world's defunct satellites are actually launch debris left behind by rockets; the vast majority are actually space junk. Therefore, recovering defunct satellites is a relatively easy task.

Once all the faulty satellites have been recovered, the spaceplane's next task will be dedicated to recovering the launch debris!

Space debris is called debris, but that only applies when it's in Earth's orbit. Once it returns to Earth, its recyclability is much lower.

Previously, the seven Snowy Owl crew members were always heading to space. As long as the cargo hold of the plane was full, we would choose to come back. As we went down less and less, the amount of trash in Earth's orbit also increased.

At the very least, all the space debris around the Quad satellite has been cleaned up, significantly reducing the satellite's danger level.

Only after cleaning up the debris around one's own satellites can the cleanup of space debris in other areas be completed.

Before being recovered, the space debris generated by those launches will be recycled and smelted by metal smelting companies. When we reappear, it will likely be during the last launch mission.

Without my instructions, the space debris cleanup work was in full swing, and the plane was only doing one thing: every time I went down into space, I would first go to the Tiangong space station.

The necessary supplies for Tiangong are transported down by plane, and there are currently eleven astronauts permanently stationed under Tiangong. That number may increase in the future. The main factor limiting the number of people now is that Tiangong is too big.

Regarding the large size of Tiangong, the four-state space agency also took it into consideration. Every time the plane went down, it was loaded with parts for the expansion of Tiangong. However, the expansion of Tiangong is still not difficult.

Regardless of my own situation, the Tiangong space station is expanding in size. In addition to carrying out those missions, the plane also made a separate trip to the moon. The purpose of that trip to the moon was to access the lunar soil below.

Because the extraction of helium-8 from lunar soil had been interrupted, in order to ensure that the four states did not have enough helium-8, the pilots returned to the moon once before they became rusty. That time, we went down with our own mechanical equipment. After that, we dug it out manually with shovels, just like we did afterward.

Large, specially designed excavators were taken down, along with a single piece of equipment specifically designed for repackaging and sealing. The repackaging process was completed on the moon. Only after the lunar soil was repacked would it be loaded into the cargo hold of the aircraft and returned to Earth before it was fully loaded.

As for how the plane was decommissioned and put into use, that has little to do with the double standard dog. I reassembled the Raptor C outside the Jiuquan workshop. I had already spoken with Wang Yuesheng before I rushed home from Jiuquan!

When I returned to Summertown, almost two months had passed since I boarded the plane and went into space, and the series of events that followed.

During that time, although I had maintained contact with the outside world without interruption, I still felt homesick.

When I returned home and saw Li Yun and her son Li Li again, the feeling was indescribable.

Knowing I was coming back, my mother-in-law, being reasonable, took the child away that evening. That same night, another bloody battle ensued, with all sorts of tactics, from retreating to attacking, and even surprise attacks.

Neither side has conquered the other; they've simply become too exhausted and have both sides declared a truce.

The double-standard dog rested at home for several days, and both physically and mentally, it made me feel much more relaxed.

After resting enough, it was time to get down to business. On the morning of the seventh day, I arrived at the company, which I hadn't been to for almost two months.

When I arrived at the company, I planned to visit Li Zhenhua and Liu Xiaodong's offices first. I ended up visiting those offices from early morning until late at night.

When I arrived at Bao Anyan's office, I just wanted to tell him I was back. I told him I had something to do, but Bao Anyan kept me there.

The moment Li Zhenhua saw me, he was incredibly excited. He climbed out from in front of his desk, ran behind Bao Anyan, and grabbed me, telling me to leave.

Bao Anyan grabbed my hand while calling out softly into the doorway.

"Old Guo... Old Guo... Liu Xiaodong..."

Wait a minute, your little boss is back, come and have some fun!

My shout was very soft, but Li Zhenhua's voice filled the entire corridor and carried far. Fortunately, that floor only belonged to the eight of us, and only Bao Anyan and Bao Anyan were there regularly. Otherwise, my shout would probably have summoned all the employees on the floor.

As I shouted, the hypocrite heard some sounds coming from outside the stairwell: people exclaiming, chairs being pushed back and hitting the wall, things falling to the ground, and doors hitting things when they opened...

Bao Anyan rushed back from the doorway very slowly, his expression resembling that of a husky. Before retreating, he charged straight at the hypocritical dog, came to the other side, and grabbed my hand.

"Don't even mention it. Take all that stuff out of his stomach; he knows that, doesn't he?"

He's been gone for almost two months now, and he even left on your company's passenger/cargo plane! What on earth has he been doing?

Moreover, in the later period, our international standing has been greatly reduced, but you can find no useful information in your country's news. And that change ended after he left.

You two think that change must have nothing to do with the new aircraft he developed. Let me tell you about it!

"You two want to get some gossip? What's going on? Let me tell you slowly!"

Liu Xiaodong's words came at me like a machine gun, one moment he stopped and the next he was spewing them at me. The smirk on his face made it even more confusing for me, a mere bystander.

Li Zhenhua, standing to the side, wore the same expression, like two gossips trying to get inside information from an insider. The hypocrite shook his head inwardly, finding it quite amusing!

My two best friends, who had transformed into mere spectators, were quite helpless. To be honest, the international and domestic news was so quiet that I didn't know what to say and what not to say!

If it's true that things are spreading domestically, it's because the authorities are keeping it under wraps and haven't leaked it to the outside world. But if things are so calm internationally, that's quite unusual. I understand that the reason for this situation is that all countries are tacitly keeping it a secret.

So I really know what to say now. I know too little inside information, and if what I say contradicts what is being said below, it would feel like I'm undermining the other person.

Just as I was in a dilemma, Li Zhenhua's phone rang. When I looked at the caller ID, it turned out to be a call from a leader from outside the county. Li Zhenhua, who had no time to watch the drama unfold, answered the phone with a lot of doubt.

"Hey! No instructions from the leader? Anything you four divine beasts can do, you must do your utmost!"

When the call was answered, Li Zhenhua threw out a set of polite words, saying that given the current size of the Four Prefectures Divine Beasts and the social roles we play, it's enough to just get by in front of the leaders outside the county!

But those polite words still had to be said, even though it was a respectable situation for the family, since they were still under someone else's jurisdiction.

I initially thought the leaders from outside the county were asking us for sponsorships or something, but what I heard was completely different.

"Mr. Liu, the reason you called him that time was just to congratulate him on the significant achievements of the Four Divine Beasts in the aerospace industry."

It's truly amazing how the divine beasts of the four states can accomplish anything! Congratulations! May the divine beasts of the four states' businesses continue to flourish and may they continue to contribute to the prosperity of the four states!

The county leader's words left me completely bewildered, and I asked him with some doubt.

"Boss, what are you talking about? What's the source of your joy? Could you give me a hint?"

"Haha, it seems Mr. Liu did watch the morning news. You know that matter is something that needs to be carefully kept secret. Now that it's been reported, Mr. Liu, you should take a look. Congratulations!"

After listening to what I had previously been skeptical about, I exchanged a few pleasantries with him—those few sentences were the epitome of rambling nonsense. "Um... well... what I'm saying is..."

While Li Zhenhua was rambling on, Liu Xiaodong, who had been listening the whole time, had already started searching on his phone.

Open Baidu on your phone, and the first thing you see is the coldest search result.

[1. The mythical creatures of the four states help the four-state space agency achieve new results!]

[2. The four-state space agency is using a new type of spaceplane to travel between the sky and the ground, completing an important link in the migration process!]

[3. Four space agencies are conducting a public service cleanup of space debris, let's cheer for our space heroes!]

【4...】

A series of news articles on the trending topics list were all about the Four States Space Agency, but in Bao Anyan's eyes, those news articles had a different meaning.

Although those trending topics didn't explicitly mention me, Li, every single one of them was actually related to me, Li!

While making a phone call, Liu Xiaodong also glanced at the phone Liu Xiaodong was extending, and read the contents of the message.

Once Li Zhenhua hung up the phone, Bao Anyan and I moved in unison, perfectly aligning our actions and sandwiching me between them.

The two men each stretched out a hand and reached towards the armpit of the hypocrite, scratching him vigorously while asking me questions.

"Slow down! What exactly happened? If he tries to explain it to you honestly, you two will make him laugh himself to death right here!"

Bao Anyan stared at me with a fierce look on his chubby face and asked me a question, but in Bao Anyan's eyes, Li Zhenhua's behavior was just adorably silly.

"Hahaha... Stop scratching them, you two! Tell me everything!"

(End of this chapter)