Chapter 176: Seeking Riches and Honor Amidst Danger
Tang Xiu shook his head and said, “No, I’m mistaken, absolutely. This aura definitely comes from a Fire Qilin! You can trust my guts on this, I’m a 100% sure of it.”
He couldn’t tell Shao Mingzhen that he had a powerful spiritual sense. Neither could he tell him that he had investigated to the end of the passageway of the cave with his perception and saw a Fire Qilin in deep slumber inside an enormous space. There were even several hundreds of sharply square-shaped sky sandstones neatly placed nearby the Fire Qilin, with each one of them weighing around a hundred pounds.
He also saw that there were also a small bed and a wooden table inside that cave’s space, while a glittering and translucent carved jade box rested on top of the table along with an ancient sword.
He had a lot of fortuitous encounters in the Immortal World, adventuring into a lot of Immortal Caves left by other Immortals and obtained a lot of treasures. But he never imagined that he would also come across such Immortal Cave on Earth.
However, he didn’t know whether or not it was a cultivator who left those down there.
As they retreated back above the Sky Cavern, Miao Wentang quickly asked, “How is it? What kind of harvest have you got down there?”
Tang Xiu said, “We haven’t got any for now. But we need to prepare something, so we gotta go back to Qingshan Town first. After everything is ready, we’ll enter the cave together- the three of us.”
“Brother Tang, what should we prepare?” Shao Mingzhen asked.
“Both of you, if you really want to brave the danger and hardships with me, you must listen to my arrangement. I can’t guarantee we’ll be able to come out alive from there. But if we are able to get out of there alive, I dare say that our harvest will be huge!” Tang Xiu said.
“Alright!”
“We’ll listen to you!”
Shao Mingzhen and Miao Wentang replied in unison.
Tang Xiu nodded and told his instructions, “Okay, it’s imperative that we think how will we handle this. Firstly, we need some explosives, but we don’t need too many. If we can’t find it, we can buy some fireworks, that will do. In addition, we also need more ropes and some boulders to quietly close the four entrances of the cave. But, we need to secretly deploy some traps inside before closing the entrances.”
Tang Xiu himself had already brewed the plan inside his mind. But the things that had to be prepared were quite a lot. It would be quite difficult to complete it within a couple of days once he carried out the plan.
However, he was determined to get those sky sandstones. He had once obtained this ore in the Immortal World, the stones were definitely the perfect material for refining tools. This kind of ore was very rare and was even usually regarded as treasures by the Immortals who could acquire them.
The next day. Evening.
Everyone returned back to Qingshan Town. Tang Xiu had written all the required materials on the list and handed it over to Miao Wentang and Shao Mingzhen’s men to buy them. Because some of the materials couldn’t be bought in Qingshan Town, they rushed to Cangbei City in the same night.
In the meantime, Tang Xiu also ordered some other men to buy the remaining materials that could be bought in Qingshan Town, as he then waited for them to return.
“Knock, knock…”
Someone knocked the door to the hotel’s room where Tang Xiu was staying.
As Tang Xiu opened it, he looked at Miao Wentang and Shao Mingzhen in front of the door with a puzzled expression, “Huh? You haven’t rested?”
Miao Wentang said with a smile, “Nope, we’re not tired since we’ve had our rest earlier! Anyways, we’re going downtown to have a meal and grab a drink, are you coming with us?”
Shao Mingzhen also followed and smiled, “I heard that the food stall downtown serves meat of wild games from the mountain. This place is close to the mountain and has a lot of wild games, so the taste should be quite good.”
Tang Xiu said with a laugh, “Hahaha, then what are we waiting for?”
Suddenly, Tang Xiu recalled that his mobile was out of battery yesterday and he charged it when he got back to Qingshan Town. Up until now, he hadn’t booted up his mobile, so he took the phone and followed the two men to the food stall.
On the road.
As he turned the phone on, missed calls and text messages’ sound notifications immediately rang continuously.
Tang Xiu looked at the screen. Aside from missed calls from Chu Yi and Long Zhengyu, his mother—Su Lingyun also called him. The text itself was sent by Ouyang Lulu, asking what he was doing right now.
"Adventuring!"
After replying and sending the text to Ouyang Lulu, Tang Xiu then dialed his mother’s cell number.
“Hello? Xiu’er?”
An anxious voice that belonged to Su Lingyun came out of the speaker.
Tang Xiu said with a laugh, “Hello Mom, sorry for not accepting your phone before. Anyways, did anything happen for you to call me?”
“Xiu’er, you told me that you were going to travel, where are you? Can you come back now? Mom has to talk to you about something urgent!” Su Lingyun quickly spoke.
Tang Xiu was startled and then replied with a deep tone, “Mom, calm down a bit first. What happened?”
Su Lingyun’s tone was particularly low and deep as she replied, “It’s your uncle. He had an accident at his house. Both of your cousins came to me, they…”
Tang Xiu abruptly interrupted her and said, “Mom, you don’t need to say more. I know that. The police have apprehended Su Shangwen and Zhang Meiyun and they are now facing years of imprisonment, aren’t they?”
“Xiu’er, how did you know about this? Did you…” Su Lingyun hastily asked.
“Yes, Mom. I have instructed some people to do that. Su Shangwen and Zhang Meiyun have had their own good days. But when they went to the hospital to humiliate you, I really couldn’t stand them any longer. They have crossed my bottom line since I’ve sworn in my heart that whoever dares to disrespect you, I’ll make it so they no longer have any good days! I did promise you that I can guarantee Su Shangwen’s life and safety, but I didn’t say anything as to what kind of life he will have in the future.” Tang Xiu said
For a long while, Su Lingyun was silent. As she spoke after, her tone was bitter and astringent, “Xiu’er, even if Mom did feel bad and disheartened, but he’s still my blood brother! Ah… in fact, it’s Zhang Meiyun who has been arrested. As for Su Shangwen, he attempted to commit suicide. Fortunately, he was discovered quickly and can still be rescued in the hospital. But it won’t be long before he will also be arrested.”
Committing suicide?
Tang Xiu frowned and said, “He can’t stand the blow and wants to die?”
Su Lingyun said, “Yes. Although he’s been rescued, he hasn’t passed the dangerous period. Xiu’er, Mom begs you…. your uncle… he, can’t you help him out? He was at the point of death once, maybe he’d change and redeem his mistakes and becomes a better man later!”
Tang Xiu didn’t speak.
Ever since she brought him up, it was the first time his mother asked him something. He wanted to refuse, telling her that even though Su Shangwen might have died once, but as persistent as a dog could be, he couldn’t, and wouldn’t, change. However, as the words were at the tip of his tongue, he swallowed them back inside.
After a long while, Tang Xiu replied with a wry tone, “Mom, this will be the last time. If he really changes, then that would be for the best. But if he doesn’t or stays a bastard as he’s always been, don’t stop me by then.”
“Alright!” Su Lingyun quickly gave her word.
Tang Xiu took a sigh and then said, “Mom, I’m in Dongyuan Province now, and it will still be a couple of days before I go back. As for this matter with Su Shangwen, I’ll make some calls to handle it.”
Su Lingyun replied with a hesitating tone, “Xiu’er, I’ve been having a feeling that you’ve been concealing something from me. I remembered you telling me to wait after the College Entrance Test, only then would you tell me about it.”
“Wait until I got back and I’ll tell you everything, Mom!” Tang Xiu said.
After the call ended, Tang Xiu was struck with quite a headache as he rubbed his forehead. Soon after, he contacted Chen Zhizhong and told him to give Su Shangwen a way out.
As for the rest of the time, he also called back Long Zhengyu and Chu Yi respectively. He was especially happy that Chu Yi had sent him a number of precious herbs from the capital, but then began to worry as he knew the sum of money involved.
Chu Yi himself didn’t tell him as for how much he had spent for those precious medicinal herbs. But Long Zhengyu told him that the total value of those medicinal herbs was nearly 200 million yuan.
It was money again!
Tang Xiu smiled wryly as he put his phone back. Without him realizing, he, Miao Wentang and Shao Mingzhen had arrived at the food stalls as the other two had already ordered a la carte. Shaking his head in secret, Tang Xiu casually looked for an open-air table and sat there.
“I, this old man, have really decided to mend my own life and make a new start. And you know what? The line as for how we should be able to stand next to the riverside without wetting our own shoes, truly has given me a fierce, unforgettable lesson this time. Today, after we finish this wine, I’ll go to a big city. If I can’t make my way around there on the outside, I’ll go home and continue making wine.”
A loud and clear voice was heard from ten meters away.
Tang Xiu felt this voice sounded somewhat familiar. He followed the voice’s direction and looked at the back as he recognized the person who spoke. He was precisely the man he had given a lesson to, the Scarblade Qiang. And satting with him on the table, were not the dozens of big guys he encountered before, but new faces of seven or eight middle-aged men with big builds.
“Big Brother Qiang, we’ve long advised you to not indulge yourself in such things. We’re, after all, no longer able to eat to the full alone while we leave our family starved. If you’re going to do something, you must take sister-in-law and your children into account and think about them. Since you’ve come to your senses, we—brothers, show respect to you with a toast.”
“That’s right! You’ve always been a smart one and have upright manners, Big Brother Qiang. Even if you do honest business, I’m sure you’ll be successful in the future. A toast to you!”
“Brother Qiang, if you can’t work your way out in the outside, just come back and brew wine again. Besides, your winemaking skill is great, and we—brothers know it very well. At the worst, I can do a side job as well while you brew wine. So if the sale isn’t good, I can travel to some cities and help you sell them.”
"..."
Scarblade Qiang looked at these several brothers he grew up with an expression of being moved. He raised his wine cup and spoke spiritedly, “You’re all truly my good brothers, and brothers won’t say thanks with words. Come! In regards to your kindly wishes and wines, let’s dry our cups!”
At the side, a tinge of a smile emerged on Tang Xiu’s face. Such a scene of a prodigal son returned back home was worth more than gold. Scarblade Qiang turned out to have good nature, and the fact that he could win over a gang of brothers and friends explained that he was a capable man. if he was truly able to make a fresh start in life, he believed that he would certainly be successful in the future.
That aside, winemaking indeed was a good business.
Tang Xiu nodded whilst smiling. But quickly, his expression paused. An idea suddenly appeared in his mind. Wasn’t he himself preparing to brew wines after he returned to Star City? If Scarblade Qiang was also going to brew liquor, how about he take him along to help him brew his wine? He could also open a wine business as a whole! As long as this Scarblade Qiang made wines according to his wine recipe, he would definitely be able to brew good wines and simply won’t have to worry about selling them once it hit the market.
Besides, the wine business didn’t need much investment funds, and he was fully able to make one. In the case that Scarblade Qiang wasn’t suited for management, Kang Xia was still able to handle this aspect.
As Tang Xiu thought up to there, he looked back to Scarblade Qiang.
“Brother Tang, the food and wine in this food stall are truly great. We have so many options!” Miao Wentang and Shao Mingzhen came back cheerfully as they sat down beside Tang Xiu.