The deal was closed on Thursday. The legal office got the message of the prime minister’s desire for timeliness when Milbank assigned them the task of drawing up the paperwork, then called an hour later to ask if they were done yet. The Chen, of course, had no problem transferring the funds to purchase forty acres of property.
That afternoon, the Chen took up security on the site and relieved the government agents there.
JieMin and ChaoLi were summoned to meet with Chen Zufu and Chen Zumu on Friday morning. There were rumors flying around at the university and within the family, but nobody knew for sure what was going on. Some of the rumors were directly contradictory to each other, for that matter.
When they were shown into Chen Zufu’s tearoom, there were two pillows on the floor facing the family’s leadership couple.
“Please be seated, ChaoLi, JieMin.”
“Thank you, Chen Zufu,” ChaoLi said.
She was named first, so JieMin took the pillow to his right, leaving the more honored position, the one to Chen Zufu’s right, for ChaoLi.
“There are a lot of rumors flying around about what is going on. We have not acted to dispel them. We will now tell you what is happening.”
ChaoLi nodded.
“The family has purchased the site of the now-defunct hyperspace probe project from the government. We purchased it as-is. The government has also given us all of the plans for the hyperspace probe currently located on the site, ostensibly so we can disassemble it and scrap it safely.”
MinChao turned to look at Jessica, and she took up the conversation.
“We are not going to do that, however,” she said. “We are going to continue the project. ChaoLi, you will be the business manager for the project. Yours will be the final decision on all project matters, subject only to our own authority, and we will not interfere.”
“Thank you, Chen Zumu.”
“JieMin, you will be the technical lead on the project, reporting to ChaoLi. You have been reporting to her for seventeen years already, so I see no difficulty there.”
MinChao chuckled at that.
“ChaoLi, I will miss you terribly in the business office, but you have done a good job bringing up your successor, and I think JongJu is ready for that position.”
“I agree, Chen Zumu.”
“JieMin has already drawn up a list of essential personnel,” MinChao said, “and you have authority to hire them or not, ChaoLi. It is your judgment on all these matters that will hold sway. We will set up a budget for the remaining work, but we are not prepared to skimp and fail. The funds are available to successfully carry this project through.
“Do you have any questions?”
“No, Chen Zufu.”
“JieMin?”
“No, Chen Zufu.”
“It is Friday,” Jessica said. “I suggest you think about these things over the next three days and begin work on Monday.”
“Yes, Chen Zumu,” ChaoLi said.
“That is all for now.”
When JieMin and ChaoLi got back to their apartment, it was quieter than normal. All the children were off at daycare or school or work.
“Now what?” JieMin said.
“The children are gone for the day. I think we should celebrate before we settle down to the project. Air out our heads before taking on this new task.”
“Any ideas?”
“How about our secret spot?” ChaoLi said with a wink.
“Sure.”
They dropped their lavalavas and kicked off their flip-flops and headed to the elevators. They walked across the street to the market and bought lunch, then walked to the bus stop at Fifteenth and Arcadia.
Once at the beach, they headed up the shoreline to their secret cove. They walked nude along the beach in the late morning sunshine, carrying lunch and holding hands, cooled by the onshore breeze. It was just like old times.
Their secret spot seemed a longer walk than it had in their teens, but they enjoyed it just as much.
Karl Huenemann was beside himself. Notified he was fired from the project – and the government – late Wednesday, he kept hearing rumors from his contacts about the disposition of the property and the second hyperspace probe.
The most persistent and disturbing rumor was that the property had been sold to the Chen, who would scrap it all to expand their warehouse and distribution facility.
The issue was that Huenemann really did want the project to succeed, and he thought they were close. At heart he was an engineer, not a bureaucrat. Government employment was just how you got big projects done. Yes, he’d played the game, but his end goal was always the completion of the project.
On Friday morning, Huenemann requested a meeting with Chen Zumu. He did his research, and he decided she was likely to be more approachable than Chen Zufu on this issue. She responded with an invitation to tea that afternoon.
Huenemann researched the etiquette for tea. He was not going to be found wanting on minor issues when the real issue was so important.
When Karl Huenemann was shown into Chen Zumu’s tearoom late Friday afternoon, she was sitting on the left of two pillows equally spaced in the teak-beamed doorway, facing out into the courtyard gardens. He realized in that setup the honor he was being paid.
Without turning, she waved at the pillow next to her.
“Please be seated, Dr. Huenemann.”
“Thank you, Chen Zumu.”
Huenemann walked forward and around the pillow and sat. Once he was seated, a young woman in a lavalava came in from the garden and poured tea, first for Huenemann and then for Chen Zumu. She set the pot on the low table between the pillows, bowed to a point between them, and departed without a word.
Huenemann knew that, as the guest, he sipped first. He
