Chapter 510: A Colossal Sum of Money
The Tang Family was once akin to a pool of stagnant water, lifeless and dull. Even their ancestral residence felt spiritless. However, since Tang Guosheng’s illness was cured, and the Tang Family had finally found their lost offspring, Tang Xiu, as well as having Tang Yunde regain his consciousness from his vegetative state, the entire family was full of vigor and vitality, and the atmosphere was full of laughter and happiness.
Especially… after the Tang Family and the Yao Family contented for supremacy in the South, which ended up in total victory for the Tangs at the end of the struggle. The incident made each and every Tang family member feel proud and elated. Every member of the family, nevertheless, had clearly learned that such a tremendous change was entirely brought by Tang Xiu. Hence, Tang Xiu’s position in the Tang Family was almost on par with that of the elders.
Outside the ancestral residence, Tang Ning donned a sportswear as he stood watch at the mouth of the alley. Two armed soldiers in military uniforms were standing with curious looks hanging on their faces, seemingly astonished that Tang Ning would unexpectedly come back, and seemingly waiting for someone.
Creak…
Two cars came from the mouth of the alley and stopped outside the gate of the Tang Family’s ancestral residence.
“Second Uncle, Second Aunt!”
Tang Ning went to open the car’s door, as he respectfully called out. His eyes fell on Tang Xiu, who had just gotten out from the driver’s seat. The cold expression on his face gradually melted, and there was a hint of a smile there.
“Little Ning, you rarely come back from the army,” said Tang Yunde with a smile.
“I learned that my younger brother would be coming over, so I asked for leave,” said Tang Ning.
“You two brothers rarely meet. So that it’s really time for you to get together. All the members of our family must unite, no?” Tang Yunde commented with a smile.
Tang Xiu gave out a calm smile and called out, “Brother Ning.”
“You’ve really done a good job in the South, Tang Xiu,” said Tang Ning with a smile.
“That was but only a trivial matter, really,” replied Tang Xiu.
Tang Ning gave him the thumbs up and smilingly said, “That’s my brother! I like this tone of yours, brother. Shall we go in? Grandpa and Third Grandpa are already waiting inside.”
When they entered the ancestral residence and arrived at the bamboo pavilion at the innermost region of the residence, Tang Min was the first to leap up from the sofa, and smilingly said, “Second Brother, Second Sis-in-Law. You all have finally arrived. I would have starved to death if you were to arrive a bit later.”
Tang Yunde and Su Lingyun smiled and greeted the others inside the room. Under Tang Guosheng’s command, all members of the family took seats at the dinner table. The dinner was sumptuous and rich, and Tang Guosheng also personally brought out two bottles of Gods Nectar Kang Xia had sent him.
After the dinner concluded, Su Lingyun accompanied the Old Lady of the house to collect the dishes and tableware, while Tang Guosheng took everyone else to his study room. As lingering smoke rose in the air, Tang Min was the first to break the silence, “Father, since Tang Xiu has arrived, would you begin?”
Tang Guosheng’s eyes fell on Tang Xiu as he said, “Xiu’er, before we jump to the important issue, can you tell me the identity of the four outside?”
“They are my mother’s bodyguards, hailing from Japan’s Northstar One Blade School,” answered Tang Xiu.
“They are what?” Tang Guosheng stared blankly, while everyone else in the study room was also dumbfounded with eyes staring wide.
“Accurately speaking, they used to be experts of Japan’s Northstar One Blade School. But they have changed their appearance, as well as concealed their names and identity, hence they have new identities in China. I’ve been fostering some people, and one of them is the Young Lady of the Yamamoto Family from Japan. She’s also one of the pretenders as the future Master of Northstar One Bladed School,” explained Tang Xiu.
“Xiu’er, I wouldn’t have said anything if you were to cultivate some talents from our own ethnicity, but are these Japanese… can they be trusted?” Tang Guosheng frowned.
“Grandpa, my mother’s life is more important than my own. If I was not sure that I can handle them, I naturally wouldn’t allow them to protect her,” said Tang Xiu.
Tang Guosheng gently nodded, “Why is it that you want to cultivate Japanese talents as well? I want to know about that, too.”
“It’s for resources,” said Tang Xiu with all seriousness. “We will need a colossal amount of resources if we want to develop further. And what I want to do will need these resources as well. Japan may be just an island, but the vast ocean around it contains a huge amount of resources. If the people I’m currently cultivating holds huge influence there someday in the future, and I use them well when that time comes, wouldn’t it be good?”
Tang Guosheng was shocked inside and hurriedly asked, “Given what you said… You mean that you can influence the politics of Japan in the future?”
“No, it’s not that kind of influence that I’m after, but control,” said Tang Xiu, shaking his head.
Hiss…
The five people inside the room gasped for cold air at the same time. They could feel Tang Xiu’s ambition by his words.
Tang Xiu chuckled, “If I’m not mistakenly comprehending the history from my studies, the Japanese once attempted to control China before, even killing a lot in our country. The method they used was their armed forces and relied on military force to suppress and rule the country by shedding blood. But what I want is to corrode them from inside, secretly infiltrating them and controlling some powerful figures who will hold high authority in Japan in the future. Why should we worry about such a thing if we can use Japan for my own in the future?”
Tang Guosheng shook his head and forced out a smile, “Xiu’er, your idea is great, but… it’s too naïve as well. They are probably in need of your help now to constantly expand their force and influence, as well as elevate their status. But in the future, after they have their grown, they will certainly get rid of your control. As far as I’m concerned, the Japanese are despicable, and shameless blood is flowing inside their very bones.”
“Grandpa, there was a sentence I once heard, that the wealthier and more powerful a human becomes, the more they are afraid of death. What do you think about these words? Are they really true?”
Tang Guosheng nodded after a while as he forced out a smile and said, “What you said is right. The more you get, the more you want to enjoy. Thus, fearing death would come naturally.”
Tang Xiu clenched his fist and said with a confident smile, “I have a way to control their lives and deaths. They will never be able to get rid of my control even if they use all their strength and resources Japan can muster.”
Tang Guosheng fell into silence, while Tang Guoshou wore a strange expression. However, Tang Min, Tang Yunde, and Tang Ning had their eyes fixed on Tang Xiu with unfathomable expressions on their faces, while various thoughts churned inside their heads.
“Grandpa, let us put aside the discussion about Japan, shall we? The reason we’re here is to talk about some other serious issues,” said Tang Xiu with a chuckle.
A glint flashed inside Tang Guosheng’s eyes as he nodded and said, “Do you still remember what I said to you on the phone?”
“I do,” said Tang Xiu.
“I’ve already discussed this matter with everyone else. And I think I can hand it over to you to handle. 50 billion yuan is the amount our Tang Family can mobilize and withdraw without the public noticing it. Nevertheless, it’ll be very difficult to conceal it once the money is used, since some families currently have their eyes on us. Hence, utilizing the funds through you would be the most suitable option.”
“Could it be that you’re not afraid I will squander the money and waste it?” Asked Tang Xiu with a smile.
“Will you?” Asked Tang Guosheng back.
“You can feel relieved! I will give you a satisfactory result before I graduate from college. Additionally, I would like to know the condition our Tang Family is in now. How many reliable people can we trust here? When I say reliable and trustable means absolute loyalty toward the Tang Family.”
Tang Guosheng and Tang Guoshou exchanged looks, as the latter coughed and answered, “It’s very difficult to ascertain the number, but it’s definitely more than 1,000 people.”
“What about the number of martial artists we have? What I’m talking about is the talents with good skills and abilities,” asked Tang Xiu again.
After deeply pondering for a short while, Tang Guoshou slowly said, “We have at least 300 or more talents. They have absolute loyalty to our Tang Family. Some of them were adopted by us and were sent to some domestic martial arts schools to practice martial arts since their childhood. We also sent a few others to the army and they eventually achieved good results. Of course, our family can still mobilize more than 10,000 people in the open if we want to handle something without mobilizing our forces in the army.”
“Later on send me 20 experts who are absolutely loyal to the Tang Family, and I will give them special training. As long as they can survive and complete the training, their strength will be doubled,” said Tang Xiu.
“Where should I send them?” Asked Tang Guosheng.
“Jingmen Island, the HQ of the Everlasting Feast Hall,” said Tang Xiu.
Tang Guosheng slowly nodded, and a smile appeared on his old face as he said, “Then I’ll wait and see. I’m going to draft a list later and hand it over to you.”
The meeting lasted three hours, as Tang Ning then escorted Tang Guoshou back to his residence before dawn; whereas Tang Xiu’s family of three stayed in the ancestral residence of the Tang Family.
In the next morning, Tang Xiu received a phone call from Li Laoshan. However, because the underground auction was to be held at 2PM, he didn’t hurry to meet him and followed Tang Min instead to visit and stroll around the bustling sites of Beijing.
Of course, with Tang Min’s disposition, Tang Xiu’s Range Rover had its trunk filled to the full with purchases, most of which were bought for Tang Xiu.
“Auntie, the money has been transferred.”
On the side streets were an endless stream of people and vehicles. Tang Xiu, who was carrying several bags, felt his mobile phone vibrating. He took it out and saw that 50 billion yuan had been transferred to his account.
Tang Min let out a smile, “Just receive it? I’m quite curious about something, though. The name on your bankcard is “Gu Xiaoxue”? It should be a girl’s name, right? Who’s she? Is he your girlfriend?”
“I’m her Grand Master,” said Tang Xiu.
“Huh? Grand Master? And a Master Ancestor too!” Tang Min couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “Anyways, let us have a deal here. If you have gotten a girlfriend, you gotta bring her to Auntie have a look at her, okay?”
Tang Xiu only let out a calm, tranquil smile, and casually promised her. He then put the mobile back into his pocket. The bank account to which the money was transferred to indeed belonged to Xiaoxue. It had been quite a long time since he got a sum of money from her, which exactly was the bank card she gave him. Then again, if his identity were to be exposed to those hostile families, they would definitely investigate everything about him, and may also be able to find out about his assets in the bank.
Therefore, these 50 billion yuan must stay in the dark.
As of now, the total amount of funds in this bankcard was 60 billion yuan. 1 billion came of his own money and the other 9 billion came from Xiaoxue, to prepare the establishment of the herbs plantation and fierce beasts breeding. Though Tang Xiu didn’t see such a colossal amount of money as something very important, it still made him somewhat pleased.
“Auntie, I can’t accompany you to lunch since I have an appointment with a friend of mine, and then I will go with him to deal with some things,” said Tang Xiu with a smile.
“Look, if you have something to do, just go and have fun, okay?” Tang Min laughed. “In any case, we can chat before you go back to Shanghai.”