"Brother Xu, train me from today onwards." The next morning, as soon as Xu Lie arrived at the hospital, he heard Li Chonglou's solemn invitation.
"Did something happen to you?" Xu Lie asked suspiciously.
He was a straightforward person and wouldn't normally overthink things, but Li Chonglou's demeanor was indeed strange.
He already had enough on his plate, and now he wanted to learn martial arts; there had to be a reason.
Li Chonglou knew Xu Lie was concerned about him, but what happened last night was in the past, and it also involved his senior sister's secret.
He didn't want to say more.
So, he brushed it off lightly: "Just a small trouble. Every man has a dream of being a chivalrous hero. Teaching me will lighten your burden."
"No problem. After this month, I have a fight at the end of the month, and I can't be distracted for now," Xu Lie readily agreed.
Three days from now would be his final boxing match.
After this fight, the club would agree to let him retire.
From then on, he would accompany his sister until she got married and had children.
This was the life he had dreamed of for many years. He dared not think about it before, but now that Li Chonglou was here, he had no more worries.
"Take me to see it then."
Learning martial arts wasn't an urgent matter; Li Chonglou knew the priorities.
After a few instructions, he took the document bag and took a car to Donglin.
Last night's collision had left a huge hole in the door, but after only a few hours, the rolling shutter door and glass door were as good as new.
The lock was the original one. He unlocked the door and went inside.
Even the interior was cleaned spotlessly.
Xiao Yun's efficiency was commendable.
After re-locking the document bag in the safe, Li Chonglou took out the shards of Yaozhou porcelain he had obtained from Dongshan and began the art of kintsugi.
Kintsugi is an ancient folk craft.
As the saying goes: "If you don't have the diamond drill, don't take on the porcelain work."
This refers to this craft.
Porcelain is inherently brittle. Throughout history, with the passage of time, many treasures have been reduced to fragments.
Kintsugi was born for this purpose.
By restoring fragments into objects, though their value is far less than that of intact pieces, it is better than nothing.
Li Chonglou was someone who loved antiques to death.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been engrossed in it his whole life and ended up becoming a nationally renowned master.
When he handled and studied antiques, he would inevitably drop and break precious items.
Not wanting to discard them, he spent more than ten years learning the nearly lost art of kintsugi.
On one hand, it was a way to pass the time, and on the other hand, it was a form of damage control.
However, this craft was time-consuming and couldn't be completed in a day or two.
He spent a good half-day just to repair a bottle rim.
Around two o'clock in the afternoon, his phone rang.
It was Jiang Yuxin's call.
"The negotiation with the Lu Group went very smoothly. The next step is to wait for the bidding. I really owe you a lot for this. Let's have dinner together tonight." Jiang Yuxin's tone was clearly very happy.
The stone that had been weighing on her heart hadn't been lifted yet, but having connected with the Lu Group already gave her great hope.
Li Chonglou had made an indispensable contribution to this matter.
"How about Jianbing Guozi?" Li Chonglou suggested with a gleam in his eye.
He had originally planned to go to the Jianbing stall after work to see if there were any surprises with that historical wall disk.
Jiang Yuxin inviting him at this time meant he didn't want to break his promise, nor did he want to delay important business.
So, he combined the two.
Jiang Yuxin was stunned for a few seconds: "Okay, I'm not that fussy. Do you want me to pick you up?"
Although she didn't understand Li Chonglou's taste, it was he whom she wanted to thank. A Jianbing stall it was then.
After all, no one knew her there.
"No need. We'll meet at six o'clock on Jinmen Street outside the Fenglinxue Hotel." Li Chonglou refused outright.
He did not want Jiang Yuxin to know about his business at the pawnshop for now.
--------------------
At the same time, the news of Jiang Yuxin's negotiation with the Lu Group had spread throughout the Jiang family.
Most people became excited.
Once they successfully partnered with the Lu Group, the Jiang family would not only avoid bankruptcy but would also soar to new heights.
Everyone would benefit greatly.
For a time, Jiang Yuxin became a great contributor to the Jiang family, and people in the WeChat group kept praising and lauding her.
Only Jiang Hongwei and his wife Zhao Ruifang had dark expressions.
Zhao Ruifang, who was covered in fat, sat on the sofa, her face as collapsed as pig intestines, and yelled, "Jiang Hongwei, you useless good-for-nothing! Jiang Tao has been sent away, and you haven't done anything about it yet. Do you still want this family?"
"Don't I want a family? If it weren't for me, would you have this current life?" Jiang Hongwei glared at his wife through gritted teeth: "Damn it, as soon as something happens, you blame me. If your son wasn't spoiled by you, would he have acted so thoughtlessly?"
This tigress quarreled with him at the slightest provocation.
The constant bickering made him restless. If it weren't for the other woman outside comforting his agitated heart, he would have divorced her long ago.
Now that their son had been sent to prison by Li Chonglou, and everyone in the Jiang family was starting to fawn over Jiang Yuxin,
They, the couple, had become insignificant.
They had lost all status within the family.
"You still dare to blame me? If that little slut Jiang Yuxin successfully negotiates with the Lu Group, what else can we do but wait for death?" Zhao Ruifang was so angry that the fat on her body trembled, wishing she could get up and beat her useless husband to death.
She had long known about Jiang Hongwei's affair outside.
Despite their arguments, she hadn't truly taken action. The reason was that if she left the Jiang family, she would be no different from an ordinary person.
Even worse than an ordinary person.
She would rather die than not live a life of luxury.
So, she turned a blind eye to it. When she was annoyed, she would vent her anger, and Jiang Hongwei, knowing he was in the wrong, would indulge her.
But now, the situation of the Jiang family had reversed. Their son had acted outrageously by robbing their family's ancestral graves, enraging the old master, and was now sent to prison.
He would be sentenced to at least five years.
The second generation of the Jiang family was not favored by the old master. If Jiang Yuxin could turn the tide this time and save the Jiang family from dire straits,
Then the power would inevitably fall into her hands in the future.
Thinking about how they had ostracized Jiang Yuxin before, Zhao Ruifang felt very uneasy.
At that time, would they, their family, still have good days? They would be kicked out of the family in minutes and wish they were dead.
"What can I do? I don't know anyone from the Lu Group!" Jiang Hongwei said impatiently.
"You don't know the Lu Group, but this matter concerns the entire Jiang family. Jiang Hongyi is still out of town. Who can feel at ease letting a woman like Jiang Yuxin negotiate such a big matter alone?" Zhao Ruifang sneered, "Can't you request the old master to let you handle it?"
"Even if the old master dislikes you, he has to consider the practical issues."
"I'm telling you, Jiang Hongwei, if you miss this opportunity, you won't even know how you died!"
Hearing this, Jiang Hongwei's expression slowly solidified. The impatience disappeared, replaced by a look of sudden realization.
His eyes lit up, and he grabbed Zhao Ruifang's arms, which his hands couldn't even encircle: "Wife, you've thought it through. I'll go see the old master right now."
"Whether I beg or kneel, if he doesn't give me the opportunity to bid for the Lu Group, I will never come back."
"I want to make everything my niece has done into a stepping stone for me."
"The Jiang family must be mine!"
After saying that, a sinister look flashed in his eyes, and he rushed out of the house.