This had always been her biggest disappointment with her son.
“Don’t speak in riddles, if you think I, or the family, haven’t treated you well, just say it.”
Gu Hang laughed heartily, “I’m not speaking in riddles, isn’t this me speaking plainly?”
“Huh, if you want to be direct, be direct. Why mention ‘I still have to thank Mother’?”
“Please don’t misunderstand, my thanks are not sarcasm but genuine.”
Having reached this point in the conversation, Gu Hang’s attitude became more relaxed.
He looked into his mother’s eyes and said earnestly:
“First of all, I want to thank you for giving me this life, which is the most important thing. Without it, I couldn’t be standing here.”
“Secondly, I am grateful for the status of the family. Without it, even if Rage Owl Star were more broken down and more of a Wasteland World, the position of Military Governor would not have fallen to me. I won’t overlook the help that my family status has brought me.”
“But that’s all there is to my gratitude to you.”
“I came to Rage Owl Star alone, armed only with an appointment letter, and with the support of the Imperial Navy. For these things, I suppose I shouldn’t thank you or the family, since you were so opposed to me becoming this Military Governor in the first place.”
“I started from scratch just outside the city, in the wild countryside, creating factories and cities from the ground up, defeating raiders, eliminating Aberrant Beasts, and killing rebels. I have reclaimed the original power of this planet. For these, I need not thank you or the family either.”
“I cleared the major threats that emerged on this planet, from Heretic Cultists to Green Skin disasters, to the descent of Demons; I led my troops into the stars, slaying the Beastman Fleet General; my loyal subordinates expelled the formidable Demon Unclean One. These things, I also do not need to thank you or the family for.”
By now, Wang Qi seemed to have guessed what Gu Hang was going to say, but still, she could hardly believe it. Regardless of the emotional storms inside, she just stared at Gu Hang, waiting for his next words.
Gu Hang did not disappoint her, and said calmly and firmly, “You see, the part I need to thank for, a cup of hot tea, a word of care, sending an army out of concern for my safety, the upcoming close cooperation with the commercial fleet of the family, isn’t that enough? I am expressing my gratitude through my actions, and you will always be my mother.”
“But that’s as far as it goes.”
“The rebuilding and development of Rage Owl Star, there’s too much for which I need not thank you or the family. So, I think Rage Owl Star’s connection to the Gu Clan isn’t that significant, and aside from our mother-son relationship, my connection to the Gu Clan is not that significant either.”
Wang Qi took a deep breath, her gaze sharp as a falcon’s on Gu Hang, “Are you saying you want to break away from the Gu Clan? You don’t want the position of Gu Clan Leader either?”
Gu Hang remained undisturbed, “You see, it seems you didn’t quite understand what I said earlier. My relationship with you as mother and son won’t change, I respect you, I love you, but as for other relations, they were never there, were they? Does the development of Rage Owl Star have anything to do with the Gu Clan at all? As for the position of Gu Clan Leader you mentioned just now…
that is a different matter. You never planned to hand over the entire family to me straight away. On the contrary, if you want to achieve your plans, my becoming the Clan Leader is your only option.”
“In other words, my dear mother, it’s you who are asking me to take on this role, not me wanting it.”
Wang Qi clenched her teeth, “That was your dream before!”
“But it’s not my dream now.” Gu Hang spread his arms, “I don’t want to talk about dreams with you, because it’s too big a topic, like speaking madness.”
Looking at her son, who seemed ready to embrace the entire starry sky, Miss Wang Qi was certain—her son had changed, completely changed, and was no longer the person she once knew.
This was something she had once dreamt of happening, but when it actually happened, she couldn’t help feeling a sense of loss.
But she quickly suppressed that inexplicable emotion.
This was surely a great thing.
After all, she had been battering through the commercial world for decades, managing to protect her late husband’s legacy from being plundered by relatives.
She regained her composure.
“Whatever your dream is, becoming the head of the Gu Family would be beneficial in every way.”
“Of course, I completely agree, which is why I didn’t oppose your plan, and to ensure that nothing went wrong with the plan, to ensure your safety, I even dispatched the army.”
“`
“Then just be the Governor of Rage Owl Star properly, and as for your identity as the Gu Clan Head, you can hold it. Attend some meetings when necessary; otherwise, you need not concern yourself with other matters.”
“That would be best,” said Gu Hang. “However, as the Gu Clan Head, even though I may not be handling affairs, theoretically, it should be within my rights to use some family resources to aid the development of my planet. After all, that’s only fair.”
“Did you not say that Rage Owl Star has nothing to do with the Gu Family?”
“True, but as the Gu Clan Head, I should have that authority; it’s what I’m due.”
His words were loaded with meaning.
So, I give you this nominal title of Family Head, convenient for managing affairs, and you demand compensation?
Of course, Miss Wang Qi could understand as well.
She sighed, her hand caressing her son’s handsome face, “In the end, all of this belongs to you…
“Yes, I believe it does,” said Gu Hang. Regardless of what he thought, he always had to say so. “Some things you give whenever you want, and I won’t ask. I’ll only take what I’m entitled to; that’s not too much to ask.”
“It’s not too much,” Wang Qi withdrew her hand, “Your cousin will lead a new commercial fleet in due time. If you have any trade needs, go to her.
Once you’ve built up the starport, the Gu Commercial Fleet will list Rage Owl Star as a regular trade route; the Gu Commercial Fleet will offer Rage Owl Star the most favorable trade partner status; with your authority as the Family Head, the private annual allotment of five million Tax Currency that you can use freely, I will not interfere with how you spend this money.
However, if this sum yields a good investment return, the related financial amount might increase.”
Gu Hang’s eyes truly sparkled now.
For nothing else, that annual five million Tax Currency was a huge benefit!
That’s about the total taxes Rage Owl Star has to pay in a year!
Now he was sure this was truly his mother!
His mother said, “Come along, join me for lunch. I still have to check on your territory this afternoon.”
…
The lunch was sumptuous, featuring a great amount of delicacies and fine wine not produced on Rage Owl Star.
Gu Hang could remember, almost everything was the previous occupant’s favorite.
Over dinner, mother and son talked some more.
Not idle chatter; they didn’t have that much to talk about. It was mainly about the family’s circumstances.
Gu Hang offered some insights.
After the meal, his old mother even left him the cook and a boatload of ingredients, hoping he could eat well in the future.
The thirty thousand soldiers following their mother needed time to board the ship.
During the process of the army embarking, Gu Hang, accompanied by Miss Wang Qi, toured the factories of Weixing City and then took a quick trip to Beiqing Valley Province with Jason Morgan, the provincial governor, aboard the Wind Falcon, skimming low over vast fields.
Miss Wang Qi’s eyes shone with excitement at the sight of everything on Rage Owl Star.
If the orderly appearance of Fuxing City had reassured her, then seeing the factories in Weixing City, not large in scale but steadily producing industrial goods and weapons; seeing the two hundred million mu of farmland in Beiqing Valley Province that had been cultivated or was about to be cultivated—just her merchant’s instinct alone allowed her to swiftly calculate the immense potential of Rage Owl Star.
Beyond the instincts of a merchant’s investment sense, a more primal emotion spontaneously surged in her heart:
Pride!
Even though her son had spouted a lot of nonsense previously about these achievements having nothing to do with her or the Gu Family, but… that was her son! She couldn’t help feeling this way when she saw these accomplishments.
Her son had changed, and for the better.
“`