The next morning, Li Chonglou got out of bed, but Jiang Yuxin had not yet appeared.
Zheng Xiumei asked about her daughter-in-law with concern.
Liu Zhiru and his wife pretended to be unconcerned, but secretly chuckled.
After breakfast, before Jiang Yuxin could get up, Li Chonglou went to Wu Hao's place.
Lv Yunxu was also there. Upon seeing Li Chonglou, her beautiful eyes widened. "Brother Li, when did you get back?"
"How did you get so thin, Laozi? Were you abused?" Wu Hao greeted him with a punch that made Li Chonglou's face turn pale and he coughed twice.
His body was not what it used to be. Although he wouldn't be injured, the pain was unavoidable.
Fortunately, Xu Lie wasn't here. Otherwise, seeing this, he might have beaten Wu Hao on the spot.
"I came back last night and am about to leave again. Yu Xin said you guys were making good progress." Li Chonglou put his arm around Wu Hao's shoulders.
Some of the company's old employees stood up and paid their respects upon seeing him.
"Who is he? Why do you all look so worshipful?" some new employees who didn't recognize him asked.
"He used to be our big boss." someone replied.
"No wonder, it's normal to curry favor when you see the big boss."
"Hmph, you know nothing. He sold his shares long ago. We don't admire him because he was the boss, you haven't seen him slap the senior executives of Tremolo."
"That was for everyone's benefit, a man who gets angry and takes action. Are you worthy of currying favor with him?"
...
Many old employees were indignant and proud.
Li Chonglou, who had already gone upstairs, overheard these words and felt a warmth rise in his heart.
People treat each other with sincerity. Even though he was not around, others had not forgotten him.
This was the highest honor.
The decision he made back then was incredibly right. With the whereabouts of the foundation figured out, he decided to directly exit the live streaming platform project and hand it over to Jiang Yuxin.
This was partly to delegate power to Wu Hao and Lv Yunxu, and partly because he genuinely didn't have enough energy.
Facts proved that this decision was immensely correct.
The project was now in full swing.
Laughter and joy could occasionally be heard from the office where the three were.
"Chonglou, I must report our current achievements to you." After chatting about their friendship, Wu Hao said seriously, "The live streaming appraisal platform has been launched and has attracted over 2.4 million users in just one week."
"No one dares to underestimate us now. Not only Tremolo, but Douyu and Penguin have also proactively approached us for cooperation and to discuss acquisitions."
"The highest offer has reached eighty million."
It was no wonder Jiang Yuxin said the company was progressing well. In such a short time, the three of them had developed to this extent.
An eighty million valuation might not be considered very high, but for a startup internet company, it represented infinite prospects.
"Eighty million? I wouldn't sell for eight hundred million!" Lv Yunxu said proudly.
She came from a wealthy family and did not care much about money. What she cared about was the realization and embodiment of her own worth.
With the Xiao family's oppression gone, the Lv Group's situation had reversed, and there was no shortage of funds.
She was naturally full of confidence.
Moreover, this project was handed to her by Li Chonglou himself, representing immense trust and cherishment.
She knew very well that there could be no romantic interaction between them, but the affection buried deep in her heart could only be expressed in this way.
"I have already preliminarily drafted the next plan. If you give us half a year, I am confident that the platform will become the top player in China's live streaming appraisal field!" Lv Yunxu said with full confidence, "Brother Li, would you like to see the proposal?"
"No, no, no. I get dizzy looking at them." Li Chonglou quickly refused. "I know nothing about business, but I'm good with antiques."
"Besides, I have to leave tomorrow. I said I wouldn't interfere with the live streaming platform project anymore."
"I came today mainly to see you guys."
"You're leaving again? Yuxin is truly suffering..." Lv Yunxu seemed to be speaking up for Jiang Yuxin, but in reality, she was reluctant herself.
"Where are you going this time?" Wu Hao, being a simpleton, of course, couldn't see anything and asked with concern.
"I have some personal matters to attend to in Chang'an and might be delayed for a month or so. Please look after Qin Zhou for me, especially my mother," Li Chonglou said, looking at Lv Yunxu.
The Lv family were local magnates in Qin Zhou.
With them around, anyone who wanted to harm his mother and wife would have to think twice.
"Consider it done. We live so close, it's my duty." Lv Yunxu readily agreed.
After chatting with them for a while longer, Li Chonglou figured it was about time Jiang Yuxin woke up, so he took his leave.
Not long after walking out of the villa, a person flashed out in front of him.
It was none other than Lin Ao, the disciple of Lu Weishen, whom he had publicly embarrassed twice before.
"Li Chonglou, we meet again, what a coincidence." Lin Ao blocked his path with a fawning smile. "My master would like to invite you over."
"If your master invites me, why doesn't he come himself?" Li Chonglou asked with a calm expression.
"You... don't be ungrateful. Who is my master? A renowned appraisal master across the country. You are just a junior. I admit I'm not as skilled as you, but you're also too disrespectful to your elders!" Lin Ao's face twitched with anger at Li Chonglou's indifferent demeanor.
"Respect for elders?" Li Chonglou chuckled. "Lu Weishen's eyesight is indeed extraordinary, but his character is far from it."
"He should respect me, how can I respect him?"
"Tell him that if he wants to invite me, he should come himself. Don't be ridiculous by putting on airs."
With that, he tried to move past.
Lin Ao's face turned ashen, his eyes filled with hatred. He gritted his teeth and shouted, "What if it's related to your father?"
"Say that again!" Li Chonglou turned around abruptly, his eyes turning cold.
"My master said the matter he wants to discuss with you is related to your father. Whether you listen or not," Lin Ao said, then turned and left.
Li Chonglou pondered for a moment and followed.
He didn't care about Lu Weishen, but anything related to his father was not to be ignored.
No matter what tricks Lu Weishen was playing, true or false, he had to go and see.
This was Qin Zhou, and he doubted Lu Weishen would dare to use any illegal means.
Following Lin Ao to Building 3 of the villa area, Li Chonglou realized Lu Weishen also lived here.
It made sense. They were all influential figures in Qin Zhou, so it was normal for them to gather in one place.
No wonder he sent Lin Ao to intercept him; it seemed they had seen his movements from home.
As soon as he entered, Lu Weishen, feigning concern, rushed forward barefoot.
"A rare guest! Welcome, welcome, please come in, please come in. I've already brewed some good tea for you."
The hypocritical smile on his face made Li Chonglou nauseous. However, as the saying goes, you don't strike a smiling face. He and Lu Weishen had a history of conflict in Qin Zhou, and apart from the incident with Tang Xuan'ao before, they hadn't had any direct confrontations since.
There was no need to fall out.
"Master Lu invited me here, not to drink tea, right?" Li Chonglou walked into the villa with his hands behind his back, looking around.
He had to admit that Lu Weishen, being famous, had some substance.
The interior decoration was luxurious but not ostentatious, understated and refined.
A few items casually picked from the display shelves would be enough to drive many antique enthusiasts crazy.
There were even national treasures like Ming blue and white porcelain and Doucai porcelain.
These items alone were enough to show that Lu Weishen's discernment and knowledge were extraordinary.
After all, in that era, there wasn't the advanced information and identification technology of later times. How many genuine pieces would it take to cultivate such sharp eyes?
In terms of skill and insight alone, Li Chonglou couldn't help but feel a sense of genuine admiration.
It was a pity that the man's character was not great, and he always liked to resort to underhanded tactics behind people's backs, so he had always disliked him.
"Let's speak frankly. Please come inside." Lu Weishen clearly sensed that Li Chonglou was not someone to be trifled with. His expression gradually turned serious, and he gestured for him to come to the tea table.
They sat opposite each other to drink tea.
Lin Ao wanted to stand by, but Lu Weishen gave him a look to retreat.
He grumbled indignantly in his heart, "My master is making too big a deal out of this, even asking me not to be present. Isn't that treating Li Chonglou as an equal?"
"What merit does that brat have to be treated with such importance by my master?"
Although he was resentful, he dared not disobey Lu Weishen's wishes.
He could only respectfully retreat to the doorway.
After he left, Lu Weishen personally washed and poured tea, then served it to Li Chonglou. "Young friend, we had some unpleasantness regarding the affairs of the Tang and Lv families last time."
"A lot of time has passed, and it's time to resolve some of it."
"The cultural and museum circle is declining with each generation, but you are an exception. Your master has also been released from prison, right?"
"We had no mortal enmity before, just similar goals. We can even cooperate."
Hearing this, Li Chonglou smiled.
An old fox, still wanting to cooperate with his master?
If his master thought highly of him, he wouldn't have left him aside years ago.
Truly a fool's dream.
"Let's get straight to the point. You said you have news about my father. Where is it?" Li Chonglou disliked playing word games with such people, not because he lacked the ability, but because he lacked the patience.
It was too fake. For the sake of so-called harmony and benefits, they would chatter for a long time without getting to the point.
They even deceivingly called it forbearance and wisdom.
Nonsense!
"Well... I actually heard it through hearsay. I invited you here to give you a small token of my appreciation." Lu Weishen was startled at first, then regained his smile and pretended to say, "I've met your father. His name is Li Fu, right?"
"Continue," Li Chonglou's eyelids twitched slightly.
He had only learned his father's name from his master during a prison visit. He didn't expect Lu Weishen to know it too.
"It's like this, you know the relationship your master had with me before. How could I not recognize the people around him?" Lu Weishen nodded. "It's just that your father suddenly disappeared later, and that guy Lin Zhendong was very tight-lipped."
"No matter how I asked, he wouldn't say anything. I even suspected that your father was killed by him."
Upon hearing this, Li Chonglou's expression changed, and his eyes turned cold.
If Lu Weishen dared to provoke him further, he would leave immediately.
"Of course, later I was sure that wasn't the case." Lu Weishen, being a shrewd person, saw Li Chonglou's change in expression and knew he had said something wrong, so he quickly changed his tune. "And then I sent people to investigate."
"You found out that your father disappeared in Chang'an, right?"
"So what? I already know everything you're saying." Li Chonglou remained calm.
"But there's something you don't know. Kunling has been secretly protected by the state for years and has become a secret protected unit. It's probably very difficult for you to get in now." Lu Weishen suddenly dropped a bombshell. "I have a way to help you get in. The person in charge there happens to be an old friend of mine."
"How about we make a deal?"
Only then could Li Chonglou not help but curse inwardly, "Old fox! Your tail is finally showing!"