With that settled. Leira and Rolan had some small talk with the general before heading home to share their experiences with the family.
...
"If only I were 20 years younger. I would go out and fight those monsters myself!" his grandfather declared with a clenched fist. The old man really wanted to go out and fight like he did in his younger years.
Unfortunately, he was past his prime, approaching 80 in a couple of months. Still, he was pretty fit for an old man. He can still lift weights and carry things around the house.
"Dad, there is no need for you to pick up arms at your age. Just enjoy your retirement." said Zack, Rolan's dad. The middle-aged man sat there reading the news on his datapad while sipping on tea.
"That's right, grandpa. Once things are better off, I'll take you to the territory to watch the soldiers fight. At your age, just watching is good enough." Rolan added.
Hearing this, grandpa Martin was both disappointed and excited. disappointed in himself that he could not truly fight at his peak anymore. He could probably barely pick up a modern laser canon, his favorite role from back in the military. He realised that watching the youngsters of his nation fight monsters was good enough.
"Fine. You'd better figure things out quickly, then. I can't wait to see what your territory looks like."
"Let the youngsters go at it on thier own pace. No need to speed things up. Safety is the number 1 priority." Rolan's dad did not want him to take any risky moves at all. He had taught his son patience and calculated risk-taking.
It's what the man learned while getting his political science phd and working for the local district government's office for decades.
"Don't worry, honey. You know our son is a steady man. Plus, he has Leira beside him. I'm sure our daughter-in-law can rein him in if he goes out of line." Naria said as she looked toward Leira, who was blushing next to her.
"I'll do my best, mother. I won't let anything happen to him." Leira affirmed.
"Good girl." Naria patted Leira smoothly on the back.
"That's right, sis!. You got this. Make sure brother always brings me expensive things from his territory. Don't forget this sister in law of yours when you make it big!" Rolan's little sister Mina excitedly hugged Leirra.
This greedy yet grown girl was always after money and expensive stuff. She had quickly clung to her new family member like a miner does to gold.
Rolan's father and grandfather just watched with a small smile. The two men were happy that their son/grandson had actually found someone. They had always been a bit worried about how lazy the boy has always been. Now they can rest assured that the bloodline will continue.
Sure, they have 2 other younglings in the family, but they aren't worried about them, as Mina and Jace are much more motivated when it comes to people.
How did my family get used to Leira even faster than me?
Rolan was shocked at how comfortable everyone had become with Leira so fast. Even he was struggling to get used to living with her. It just felt so quick, but it was too late for regrets, not that he regretted anything. He still feels like accepting his ad her feelings was the best thing to do at the time. It was the right time.
"By the way brother." Mina quickly got off from hugging Liera and sat next to him on the couch.
He gave a side eye of suspicion and said, "What is it Mina?" He was hoping that she wouldn't want more stuff. He had already spent a lot of money taking the whole family shopping before he went into the realm.
"Well, you see... I'm almost done with business school. I need to get an internship now." Rolan was getting a bad feeling as he listened to her.
"So I was wondering if you would let me intern for you?" she asked with an unusually tame voice.
Rolan quickly took a look at the rest of his family and then back at Mina. None of them seemed to be surprised she asked this. And seeing how no one said anything, she must have discussed with them and gotten permission.
He sighed and shook his head. When he was talking to everyone about the gray trees and their potential, the most excited out of them was her. Her eyes were practically glowing gold as he could tell she wanted in.
"Do you think you can handle it?" he asked plainly. No need to spoil his words since this was premeditated.
"Yup. I was originally going to just help out with stuff here and there to add my resume. You know, since working with awakeners makes it easier to get valuable connections. I always wanted to start my own business after some years of saving up.
But now there's such a big opportunity in front of me. I can smell the dominion credits raining down upon me." Her words were a bit strange, but made sense.
This little girl always had the biggest ambition out of everyone in the family. She had been striving since young to scrounge up money from the family here and there. He bet that all the money she had been given over the years was probably in some stock portfolio.
And that portfolio is probably bigger than my own bank account. Rolan was sure she somehow had more money than any of his family. He just couldn't prove it.
"Fine. I'll let you lead the meeting with the sanitation department. You'd better be ready by then." Rolan wouldn't fight it.
He could tell part of this is his parents' way of giving their little girl a chance at making something out of herself. Even if she could do good without their help and boost, it was only right to speed things up if they could.
Plus, Mina is top of her class at business school and would work at some big firm once she graduates anyway. Why not let her try building something of her own instead, and help out her family at the same time?
"Yay! Thank you big brother!" She lunges at Rolan and gives him a bear hug. He pats her on the back in return.
She squeezes her bro for some more time in pure glee before letting go. "I'm going to my room to do research. I'll come down only to eat and when it's time for the meeting."
She then runs away and heads up to her room, slamming the door shut. Rolan's parents just smile and nod their heads. When that girl gets serious about something, she has never failed.
...
"Hello. My name is Jordan Smith. Pleased to meet you." An elderly man shook Rolan's hand while greeting him politely.
The man was wearing a navy suit with a black tie and black loafers. He had a wrinkled face but was full of energy. His grip on the handshake was solid as well. The old man somehow hadn't balded at all, even though his face said he was around 90.
"Nice to meet you, too. Im Rolan Newstar." Rolan returned the greeting with a polite tone.
"I'm Leira Drakeon. Rolan's fiancée."
"And I'm Mina Newstar, his younger sister."
The man shook hands with all three of them. He then had them sit on a sofa across from him, in his own office.
"I was told by my good friend Ma Chen that you guys have a business proposition for our sanitation department." Jordan got straight to the point, as all military men didn't waste their words.
Even though he runs the planet's sanitation department these days, his ingrained habits would go nowhere. And like all his ex-military friends, he was sipping on some fragrant tea while speaking.
" There are currently about 2,550,360,000,000 people on our planet based on the latest automated census. Over 2.5 trillion people means an equally large amount of waste. Waste that your sanitation department pays premiums to send to recycling facilities and trash dumps in the nearby star systems." Mina started.
Jordan nodded. "That is indeed true young lady."
Mina smiled and continued.
"Based on reports made by the sanitation department to the planetary government, our planet produces just under 689.5 billion tonnes of trash every year, most of which we can't process locally."
"Hmm. That is indeed publicly available information. We humans are very wasteful creatures."
"I agree. And we humans are also very greedy. All the trash transport and processing companies charge quite high fees, right? Based on government contracts, by the time 1 ton of trash leaves the planet and arrives at the processing planet, it has already cost us 300 DC.
Then another 4 to 25 DC per ton, per year for different types of storage. And then 8 to 500 DC per ton for processing, depending on the type of waste. Even with nearly 215.28 trillion to 569.25 trillion DC per year, depending on how much they can carry off the planet, we still have plenty of trash left over.
All of this is done by a mere 10 megacorporations. Basically a monopoly if you ask me."
Mina had truly done all her research. She had spent many hours sifting through years' worth of publicly available data. From government reports to tax filings and earnings calls of the few yet massive companies that run the industry.
The numbers had even shocked her. She knew how big the planet and its population and consumption are, and that there was a lot of money involved. Hundreds of trillions of Dominion Credits (DC) were absurd, given how the net average worth of 99% of the planet lies at around 8000 DC.
That was the portion of the planet unemployed and living on government benefits. The one percent with jobs and businesses made up the real wealth of the planet. Even her own family was only worth 890,000 DC. Not even a million DC.
"Yes. That is basically the range of how much our department spends every year. And it all goes to those 10 big ones and a couple of thousand minor companies that assist them in menial tasks.
But even if that concentration of wealth is high, no one can do anything about it. With how much they make, they have their hands in every political sector on our planet and the rest of the planets in our system. They even serve many of the nearby star systems. Their reach and influence are unshakable, a giant that should never be touched."
Jordan's smile was a grim one. He knew how they things were, but given the need for such transport of trash, the big 10 companies could not fall. They absolutely should never fall.
If they did fall, most of the planets in the nearby sectors would be crippled by overloaded trash.
"Don't worry Mr.Smith, I'm just mentioning all this to say that we aren't here to fight against those trash giants. We just want some of the scraps they leave behind."
Mina wasn't here to fight those hegemonic beasts; she didn't want to. No, they were too big and had too much market share. All she could do was focus on the couple of billion tonnes of trash they always had in backlog. Even with their scale and infrastructure, the big boys could not move all the trash. There were always a few billion they try to make up for every year.
"We want to process, store, and transport all types of trash that your department can give. With a current cap of 100,000 tonnes per week. We will do it all at merely half the cost."
Mina gave her offer directly; she had spouted enough facts to set the mood. Now it was time for a deal.
Jordan just smiled and nodded. "Sure. Go ahead. We have billions of tonnes left over every year. And with such a solid deal price, I would look good on my performance review."
He had no reason to say no. Not only was it a request from his good friend General Chen, but this young lady, young man, and his fiancée are people he sees potential in. They have been calm, collected, and unflickering this entire time. As if these numbers are from what they can truly achieve.
Plus, with how small their scale is, and would probably be for a long time, it would not touch the big corporation's bottom line. They won't even notice them, that's how small ot was. For a company that dealt in hundreds of billions of trash, a few thousand or a million is nothing.
They themselves don't have the capacity for taking everything, so they wouldn't mind some people cleaning up the leftovers. Less worries for them. There are already plenty of tiny companies that try to clean up what the big ones can't, but even they get overwhelmed. Adding another to the mix won't be an issue.
I wonder how long it might take them to even reach a point where they can produce a billion tonnes a year.
Jordan truly wants to see what an awakener can do firsthand.