Chapter 1254 - Friendship? Transaction?

Three days passed since the Ares Incident.

The UA Secretary of State paid a diplomatic visit to Xin and met with Celestial Trade’s Space Head, Kelvin… In fact, they originally wished to meet Jiang Chen, but Jiang Chen refused on the basis that he was on vacation.

Vacation.

It was a good excuse.

In short, Kelvin assumed Jiang Chen’s role and euphemistically expressed the difficulty of the rescue to the visiting UA Secretary of State. For example, Ares landed directly above the Devil Worm’s nest. If the rescue may cause the astronauts on Ares to be killed or injured, Celestial Trade would be unable to take the responsibility.

In short, we can’t save your people!

While the Capitol was furious with Celestial Trade’s stance, there was no other solution.

After all, no agreement was in place between the two countries. Offering assistance would solely be on the grounds of humanitarianism.

Of course, considering the economic and trade relations between the two countries, Kelvin did completely rule out the idea of a rescue and left an opportunity for the Capitol to be persistent.

For example, in a private meeting with the UA Secretary of State, Kelvin subtly hinted that there was room for negotiation, it was just the price lacked sincereness. Perhaps a further discussion with your president would change the outcome…

With disappointment, the UA Secretary of State ended his three-day diplomatic visit to Xin.

Then, what happened next was even more interesting.

The UA Secretary of State just returned home and immediately the media began to criticize the Capitol.

Washington Post, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal, all joined force and accused the Hill government of being incompetent and questioned the ability of the new secretary of state…

The sway in public opinions surprised Jiang Chen.

Originally, he thought that the media would attack Celestial Trade on this issue and label him with a few “cold-blooded” and “selfish” titles. However, he never expected the Capitol to be in the eye of the storm?

But it didn’t take long for him to read the situation.

Hill’s newly appointed secretary of state encountered a wall at Celestial Trade, just enough to demonstrate the difference in ability compared to the former secretary of state. Now, only three hopeful candidates remained within the Democratic Party for the March primaries.

Kerry obviously did not have knowledge of B City Consortium’s agreement with Jiang Chen. Since the opportunity was right; Kerry and his supporters would certainly not give up the chance to attack Hill.

However, just according to the plan, what happened next completely surprised Kerry and the Morgan Consortium behind the scenes…

…

Coro City Airport.

A plane from B City International Airport landed on the runway.

The plane came to a complete stop.

A man in a black suit, accompanied by two bodyguards and a journalist, walked off the plane with a confident smile.

Of course, he did not use his money to charter this private flight. It was impossible for a senator to have this kind of money.

However, after all, he represented the B City University Alumni Association to visit Xin. The fund under the association naturally covered the expenses of his business trip. Once the money was coated under the fund’s name, it was much easier to operate.

The man took a few steps toward the VIP Tunnel. When he saw the man at the entrance, his eyes suddenly lit up and he extended his hand; his smile was as warm as the lovely spring breeze.

“Welcome, Mr. Joseph Kennedy.” Jiang Chen smiled and extended his right hand.

“It’s my honor,” Joseph enthusiastically shook Jiang Chen’s hand and laughed. “I have long heard of your name,”

“Your Mandarin seems to be good?”

“Of course, I earned my tuition working at a Chinese restaurant. I not only speak fluent Mandarin but also I know how to make spring… spring rolls,” Joseph gestured with his fingers the shape of the spring roll. “It’s the kind filled with stuffing.”

“Haha, then I certainly want to try it,” Jiang Chen joked. “But I guess your boss was not a good teacher, because that thing is actually called dumplings.”

The atmosphere of the meeting was quite friendly, especially since both parties shared a mutual intention.

The two walked all the way out of the airport, and the reporter behind him held the camera all the way until they got on the extended Luer outside the airport.

Obviously, the reporter was part of the B City Consortium and understood what can and can not be filmed.

Any news about the visit, regardless of the newspaper or TV station, would have to be sourced from this reporter. It would avoid the possibility of Kerry and Hill’s campaign team altering facts behind the scenes.

In addition to the silent reporter, Jiang Chen noticed that the two sunglasses-wearing bodyguards behind him also appeared to be deadly.

For comparison, they were just slightly weaker than the guy named Johnson who protected Carmen Rothschild. They were either retired SEALs or retired Deltas.

It seemed that the B City Consortium was much aware of the curse of the Kennedy family and put heavy emphasis on his protection.

“Is the itinerary set?” Inside the vehicle, Jiang Chen looked at Joseph and smiled. “Let’s talk about it, how can we cooperate with your election.”

“Is there a golf course?” Joseph smiled. “My skills are not bad.”

“I have one at the foot of Mount Fuji, but I don’t go very often.” Jiang Chen laughed along.

Land in Coro City was scarce to the point that farmers wished they could build farms into the ocean. So there was no land to build a golf course in the country. Jiang Chen didn’t think it was necessary to chase the trend on something he did not enjoy.

“What about volleyball or table tennis?” Joseph asked.

“Either is good,” Jiang Chen and pleasantly. “If you want to play volleyball, I recommend Heart of the Sea, the beach volleyball there is the highest quality I have ever seen.”

The so-called high quality of course referred to something specific.

Only those who stay in a five-star hotel or held a membership card were allowed to enter the venue. The entire beach was the most beautifully decorated coastline of the city. Because of this, rich people around the world always gathered on the beach, and naturally, beautiful women with different skin colors…

That “type” of beach volleyball.

“Haha, then the guest will follow the host.” Joseph chuckled along.

He was not concerned about the destination of the trip.

As already discussed, his purpose of the trip was to establish a friendly relationship with Jiang Chen and to showcase this friendship to the UA people.

Regardless of what he did in Xin, or what deal he made with Jiang Chen, only two sentences would appear in the headlines of the media tomorrow.

To save his alumni, Senator Kennedy, on behalf of the B City University Alumni Association, visited Xin to break the ice.

Their talk made significant progress and Jiang Chen promised that Celestial Trade will rescue the trapped astronauts to further strengthen the friendship between the two countries.