Chapter 486: From What Background Does He Come From?
Time passed by, and soon it was already 12 at noon; an auspicious time chosen by Ouyang Lulu. After receiving a call from Manager Huang, Tang Xiu rushed to the entrance gate.
The vast majority of the guests who had come to congratulate and witness the opening ceremony of the ‘Paradise Manor’ had already arrived. They all wore smiling faces and gathered in small groups of three to five. They were either chatting with the executives of the Paradise Manor or with Ouyang Lulu, conveying their blessings. However, several talented young men from Shanghai’s business circle gathered around the big star, Zhang Xinya, either boasting their accomplishments or flattering her, wishing to get close to her.
“The auspicious time has arrived, so let us invite the owner of the Paradise Manor, Ouyang Lulu; the Mayor, Mr. Wang Tao; the Vice-Chairman of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Zhang Yueming; the world-famous singer, Ms. Zhang Xinya and lastly… Mr. Tang Xiu. They will cut the ribbon for the opening of Paradise Manor.”
At this moment, six ceremonial girls were already present in front of the gate, waiting motionlessly with a red ribbon.
Tang Xiu?
Aside from Ouyang Lulu and Zhang Xinya, Mayor Wang Tao and the Vice President of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, Zhang Yueming, wore strange expressions on their faces. As for Zhang Yueming, he knew Tang Xiu and his identity. However, he was, nevertheless, quite curious about Tang Xiu’s unexpected presence in this occasion. Wang Tao, however, wore a puzzled expression, since he had never heard about Tang Xiu before.
“Boss Ouyang, who is this Tang Xiu?” Wang Tao, who stood next to Ouyang Lulu, asked very softly.
“He’s my idol, and the person I’m currently pursuing,” said Ouyang Lulu with a chuckle. “Of course, he also has many identities, though I’m not going to elaborate on them. I believe Mayor Wang will eventually learn about him if Tang Xiu wants to expand his wings to Shanghai as well.”
Wang Tao was speechless. He did admire Ouyang Lulu’s straightforwardness, but he couldn’t help but grumble inside: An unknown figure cutting the ribbon in such an important occasion... wouldn’t it become a laughingstock if this news were to be spread out?!!
Regardless, Ouyang Lulu was the owner of Paradise Manor, so Wang Tao didn’t feel like questioning her decision. Him coming here this time was entirely due to looking at the face of the Ouyang Family of Jingmen Island, since his family and the Ouyang Family had quite a deep relationship.
Under the watchful eyes of the audience, Tang Xiu came behind the red ribbon. He had planned to stand at the most rear, and would immediately hide right after the ribbon had been cut. But he didn’t expect that Zhang Xinya would actually pull his hand with a smiling face and exchange her position with his, giving him the position next to Ouyang Lulu.
Whoosh…
Everyone in the front was stunned and astonished, whispering to each other in private.
“What is this? Zhang Xinya is an up-and-out big star, the most famous public figure. From whence did this Tang Xiu come from? The introduction only mentioned his name. What makes him qualified to stand on the center and make Zhang Xinya stand in the outermost?”
“Could it be that Zhang Xinya already knew this Tang Xiu from before? What exactly is his background? To think that even such a big star gave him her inside spot?”
“The positioning of the ribbon is also very particular and uncommon. There is no question for Ouyang Lulu to stand in the middle, since she is the owner of Paradise Manor, after all. It’s also a given for Mayor Wang to stand by her side, since he represents the approval and support of the government. But for an unknown layman to actually stand beside Boss Ouyang, isn’t this quite unjustifiable?”
“Yeah! The other is Zhang Yueming, the Vice President of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce. Not only is his personal wealth in the billions, his position is also very prominent. Yet, he’s standing on the outermost, so what makes this surnamed Tang have the qualification to stand on the center?”
“What scandal is this? What exactly is Zhang Xinya doing?”
"..."
Everyone’s chatter caused Manager Huang to shoot a deep look at Zhang Xinya and Tang Xiu before she handed the microphone to Ouyang Lulu with a smile.
Ouyang Lulu then let out a smile and started her speech, “Ladies and Gentlemen, today, I’m very honored to invite you all to attend the opening ceremony of our Paradise Manor. I would like to offer my gratitude to you all, and ask all you to support and take care of my Paradise Manor in the future. I have always been a forthright person, and I never beat around the bush. So, without further ado, I announce that Paradise Manor is officially open for business.”
Bang, bang…
The deafening sound of firecrackers spread out nearby.
“Cut the ribbon now…” Manager Huang shouted.
The five important figures cut the red ribbons. The bands on both sides began to beat drums and gongs, playing the song of blessing. Then, applause reverberated from hundreds of guests, causing the entire scene to turn jubilant.
Ouyang Lulu took the microphone again. She set her eyes on the audience and smilingly said, “All right, everyone! The ribbon-cutting ceremony is over. We—the Paradise Manor have prepared delicacies as well as peerless good wine… Gods Nectar. From today onward, my Paradise Manor will set up a lucky draw. Any guest who participates in the lottery drawing will have a chance to be rewarded with Gods Nectar. Of course, there are only five spots per day, and every quota will only have two bottles of Gods Nectar. Speaking about the price, it will be slightly more expensive than other places.”
In a flash, the hundreds of guests in the courtyard were stunned. Many of them even asked loudly:
“Boss Ouyang, are your words real? You’re actually providing Gods Nectar? Could it be that you have secured a cooperation with the Magnificent Tang Corp?”
“Yeah! The Gods Nectar produced by the Magnificent Tang Corp is now hailed as the best wine. All wine lovers regard drinking Gods Nectar as a symbol of honor, yet the sales model of the Magnificent Tang Corp as well as the sales volume of Gods Nectar is very limited. One is simply unable to buy it unless they go purchase it in their exclusive stores!”
“Boss Ouyang, can your Paradise Manor help me buy a number of Gods Nectar bottles? I’ll pay double! If you agree, I’ll immediately transfer the money into your account.”
“I’m willing to pay five times the price to buy it!”
“Ten times!”
Looking at the crowd in front of her, Ouyang Lulu was dumbfounded. Never once had she expected that using Gods Nectar would create such an uproar. It had to be known that she spent quite the effort to run to Star City, using both soft and hard tactics to face Kang Xia, before she finally secured a private small agreement to get the goods. And it was only 5,000 bottles a year.
At the end of the day, she shot Tang Xiu a glance only to find his expression being at a loss whether to cry or laugh. Taking a deep breath, she forced a smile and said, “Gentlemen, would you please calm down first? I do want to earn such money, actually. However, the Big Boss of the Magnificent Tang Corporation is a very stingy man. I have been pestering him, using both hard and soft tactics, and even offered myself in marriage before he eventually agreed to give me a share of Gods Nectar each year. If it was not for my Paradise Villa, I would have taken the goods out for you! Nevertheless, if you want to buy them, you can go straight to the Magnificent Tang Corporation!”
Standing at the side, Tang Xiu could only roll his eyes and secretly grunted inside, This girl truly speaks with tongue in her cheek. To think that she can tell a bare-faced lie out-and-out so brazenly. Does painting yourself black is really that interesting?
At this time, he firmly decided to never stand out even if he was beaten to death. Despite having already made a name for himself, today’s situation was obvious. The guests didn’t even recognize him, and were all oblivious that he was the big boss of the Magnificent Tang Corp. He was not so foolish and stupid as to push himself forward only to get squeezed by the crowd, who only wanted to get close to him and get some benefits through the back door.
Fortunately, Ouyang Lulu herself didn’t want to let the Gods Nectar steal her limelight. She squeezed out a smile and said, “All right, we have prepared sightseeing cars in front of the entrance, so I invite you all to come inside! Today, we will certainly make everyone to have a very good time drinking and dining here.”
As the audience entered, welcoming ladies took them to the interior of the pagoda-shaped dining hall. Fragrant dishes were currently being delivered to the tables, and each table was provided with two bottles of Gods Nectar.
As the main character today, Ouyang Lulu was always accompanied by prominent figures. Whereas Tang Xiu quietly withdrew due to his dislike of noisy scenes. He found a quiet rest area and asked the staff to provide him paper. On it, he silently wrote the names of the herbs he had memorized, and the list of wild animals and fierce beasts he planned to rear.
While at that, a good fragrance invaded his nostrils. Then, a woman in a white dress and casual white shoes came before Tang Xiu.
“Hello, Grand Master!”
Tang Xiu looked up. His expression turned slightly vacant after he saw Gu Xiaoxue, and then asked with astonishment, “Why are you here, Xiaoxue?”
“Lulu invited me. We are good sisters, after all,” said Gu Xiaoxue with a faint smile. “Besides, you’re also in Shanghai, Grand Master, hence I came. It’s just that I don’t like lively and noisy scenes, so I didn’t appear before anyone. I just learned from Manager Huang that you were not in the banquet hall, so I came find you.”
“All right, sit down and let’s have a chat!” Tang Xiu pointed to the opposite spot and smilingly said. “Actually, I was planning to call you! Let me show you something. This just crossed my mind.”
After receiving the list and carefully reading it, there was a puzzled look on Gu Xiaoxue’s face as she said, “Grand Master, there are two lists here. One is filled with names of medicinal herbs, and the other one is a list of wild animals. What are you going to make, exactly?”
“I’m preparing to plant a massive number of medicinal herbs, as well as rear various wild animals,” said Tang Xiu with all seriousness. “I’m going to use the Immortal Ordinance Art to transform these wild animals, eventually transforming them into fierce beasts or spirit beasts.”
“Your vision is somewhat similar to the Master’s idea,” said Gu Xiaoxue with astonishment. “However, when Master had just put forward this idea, her physical state became worse and worse, and then it was eventually forgotten. Grand Master, if this plan is really successful, then we can get a lot of cultivation resources.”
“That’s right. If we want to nurture a large number of experts, cultivation resources are indispensable!” Said Tang Xiu. “Hence, my initial idea is to plant medicinal herbs in 200 mu of land, and I will personally lay out a formation array at that time so that the medicinal herbs can grow quickly. With my current ability, the best I can do is to make them grow ten times faster, which is one year equalling to ten years if they were to be planted outside. It could be even faster than that. Within eight to ten years we can get a massive number of hundred-year-old medicinal herbs.
“As for rearing wild animals, I will also need to lay out a formation array, but their growth rate will be a lot slower. But at most ten years later, we can easily identify which wild animals can grow into spirit beasts and which aren’t unable to open their spiritual wisdom and can only become low-level fierce beasts.”