Chapter 296: The Project Payment Arrives
With Cheng the Second having already pledged his allegiance, Dong Long abandoned all shred of wishful thinking.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Dong Long kowtowed deeply to Cheng Yuan and Gao Qingyuan several times.
Dong Long’s voice was choked with emotion. "Mr. Cheng, I am not worthy of pledging allegiance to you, but I’m willing to become a servant of the Cheng Family, completely at your disposal! Mr. Gao, I, Dong Long, sincerely wish to join you and recognize you as my boss. I was disrespectful today. Punish me however you see fit!"
Cheng Yuan couldn’t even be bothered to glance at Dong Long. With Dong Long’s paltry level of strength, he wasn’t qualified to serve him.
Gao Qingyuan, however, saw great value in Dong Long. He enthusiastically helped him to his feet and said warmly, "Dong Long, we had a conflict of interest before this. You weren’t wrong for what you did. But from today on, we’re brothers! We’re all in this together now. Rest assured, I will treat you and your men equally. As long as I have food on my plate, you won’t go hungry."
Gao Qingyuan’s heart surged with emotion. If not for Cheng Yuan’s help, this day next year would have been the anniversary of his death!
But now, not only was he alive, he had even gained a powerful underling like Dong Long!
From now on, there would only be one voice ruling the nights of Luocheng!
Overwhelmed with gratitude, Gao Qingyuan bowed deeply to Cheng Yuan.
"Mr. Cheng, from this moment on, I, Gao Qingyuan, am your man! If you point east, I will never go west!"
Cheng Yuan nodded slightly and said warmly, "Old Gao, no need to be so formal. It’s like I said before: as long as you don’t endanger the lives and property of the people of Luocheng, no one will dare to touch you in this city, or even in all of Dongshan!"
"Thank you, Mr. Cheng!"
Shen Jiangnan slowly rose and walked over to Cheng Yuan, grabbing his arm and beaming at him.
"Xiaoyuan, you’ve really given me a massive surprise! I never thought you could defeat a Grandmaster so easily! It seems you’re now the number one expert in Luocheng, and perhaps all of Dongshan!"
Cheng Yuan grinned. "Uncle Shen, Dongshan values civil matters over martial arts. Being number one here means nothing in the grand scheme of the Dragon Country. I still have a lot of room for improvement."
"Xiaoyuan, don’t be so modest. You saved my face today, and now I owe you another huge favor! If you ever need anything, just say the word!"
The tycoons present once again raised their estimation of Cheng Yuan, mentally placing him at the very top of Luocheng’s ’Do Not Offend’ list!
The farewell banquet concluded successfully, and Cheng Yuan’s name began to spread among the small, elite circles of Luocheng.
Cheng Yuan bid farewell to Shen Jiangnan and returned to Villa No. 1 with Cheng the Second.
As soon as they entered the courtyard of Villa No. 1, Cheng the Second suddenly felt an incredibly sinister aura lock onto him. The hairs on his body stood on end, and he scanned his surroundings with a vigilant expression.
"Who’s there? Come out!"
Cheng Yuan calmly reassured him, "Cheng the Second, don’t panic. It’s Cheng. Cheng, come on out. From now on, Cheng the Second is your brother."
Cheng emerged from the shadows, looking at Cheng the Second with great interest. He sensed a familiar aura on him. ’So this guy also swore the Celestial Dao Blood Oath and acknowledged the Young Master as his master.’
Cheng the Second noticed that something was off about Cheng’s condition. His pupils contracted slightly as he asked in a trembling voice, "Young Master, if I’m not mistaken, does Cheng have the aura of death about him?"
Cheng Yuan nodded slightly. "Cheng is a Half-Spirit Body. His physical form is indeed slightly decayed. After he breaks through to the Martial King realm, this condition will be greatly alleviated. At that time, I will refine a new body for him."
Hearing this, Cheng quickly cupped his fist in his hand and bowed. "Thank you, Young Master!"
"Cheng, from now on, Cheng the Second is your brother. The two of you will handle the security for Villa No. 1 together!"
"Yes, Young Master."
"You are dismissed."
"Yes!"
Cheng Yuan led Cheng the Second over to Xiaozao and said warmly, "Xiaozao, this is Cheng the Second. He’s one of us."
RUSTLE! RUSTLE!
Xiaozao’s branches swayed and gently brushed against Cheng the Second’s head, marking his aura.
This act gave Cheng the Second a huge fright!
It was only then that Cheng the Second realized the miraculous nature of the Jujube Tree Immortal.
’The Young Master is truly a god-like figure, to be able to cultivate a Divine Tree! It is my great fortune to be able to follow him!’
Cheng Yuan was quite pleased with the flattery. He took out a Qi Enhancement Pill and tossed it beside Xiaozao. Xiaozao quickly extended a few roots and pulled the Qi Enhancement Pill into the soil.
Xiaozao’s aura skyrocketed!
Cheng the Second, who was watching from the side, was dumbfounded!
’The Master is so incredible! Using Qi Enhancement Pills like they’re candy, and even giving them to a tree?’
Cheng the Second felt even more certain of the wisdom of his decision to pledge his allegiance!
’Even if I hadn’t sworn the Celestial Dao Blood Oath,’ Cheng the Second secretly resolved, ’I would still have to cling tightly to a backer this powerful!’
Cheng Yuan introduced Cheng the Second to his family, and they welcomed him.
Cheng Yuan then sequestered himself in the Alchemy Room and continued his alchemy.
A few hours later, Cheng Yuan had once again used up all his medicinal ingredients, but the harvest was bountiful!
Now, Cheng Yuan had over a hundred Essence Enhancing Pills and over a hundred Essence Pills.
Using these Essence Enhancing Pills and Essence Pills, Cheng Yuan was confident he could break through to the realm of Grandmaster, or even Martial King.
After he finished his alchemy, Cheng Yuan took out the Wordless Celestial Book and began to study it with his Double Pupil.
Unfortunately, while he could understand the diagrams, he couldn’t read the ancient script.
Cheng Yuan transcribed the ancient script from the Wordless Celestial Book, planning to find an expert on ancient cultures to study it.
Of course, he didn’t transcribe it in its original order; he scrambled the characters’ sequence.
This way, he wouldn’t have to worry about the contents of the Wordless Celestial Book being leaked.
By the time he finished transcribing the entire Wordless Celestial Book, it was already five in the morning. Utterly exhausted, Cheng Yuan returned to his room and fell into a deep sleep.
====
Last night, Xiao Yating had told Xiao Ziqiang the good news.
Xiao Ziqiang went to his company first thing in the morning and sat in the finance office, waiting for the transfer from Xing’an Group.
8:30 AM was when Xing’an Group’s business day began.
At 8:33 AM, the finance manager suddenly cried out in pleasant surprise, "President Xiao! It came through! The project payment from Xing’an Group has arrived!"
Xiao Ziqiang was ecstatic. ’Please let it be two million,’ he prayed frantically. ’Even one million would be enough to solve our most pressing problems!’
Xiao Ziqiang asked in a trembling voice, "How much?"
"Sixteen million! They’ve settled the entire project payment!"
"How much?! Did I hear you right? Did you just say sixteen million?!"
Xiao Ziqiang’s voice rose an octave, and his whole body trembled with excitement!
"Yes, sixteen million! President Xiao, look!"
The finance manager quickly showed the account balance to Xiao Ziqiang.
Xiao Ziqiang was so overjoyed he began to cry. "Good! Good! This is wonderful! Yating has found me a fine son-in-law! Although Liming and Yan Song are father and son, their characters are worlds apart! He’s so reliable!"
Xiao Ziqiang took out his phone and dialed Xiao Yating. She clearly had just woken up, her voice still groggy. "Dad, why are you calling me so early? I’m so sleepy!"
"Yating! Liming is so responsible and capable! He helped us get the entire sixteen million back for the project payment! I approve of you dating Liming with my whole heart! We should call his family and discuss your engagement!"