si-mexico Chapter 22 Targeted again
Chapter 22 Targeted again
After searching for several months, Lao Xiao and Xiao Hui finally found a duplex apartment in a small villa behind the Lin Yue residential area. The first floor is a duplex, with a yard of about 150 square meters and the apartment itself is about 170 square meters.
Now, because Lao Xiao is buying a second-hand property, and the seller is asking for 260 million yuan because it's already renovated, Lao Xiao doesn't have that much money. After negotiating with the seller, he's prepared to take out a loan. He's paid a 70% down payment and will finance the remaining 30% through a loan.
To scrape together the down payment, Lao Xiao and Xiao Hui used almost all their savings and borrowed some from relatives and friends. The loan application process was also quite complicated, requiring various certificates and documents, but they never gave up.
Finally, after a series of procedures, the house was successfully transferred to their names. Old Xiao and Xiao Hui stood at the door of their new home, overjoyed and looking forward to a wonderful life there. They planned how to decorate the yard, how to renovate the interior, imagining their children playing freely in the yard and the family enjoying warm and cozy moments together.
Despite the pressure of loans, they believe that through hard work, the future will definitely get better.
Wang called his mentor to tell him about Lin Yue's recent situation. The mentor said, "I'll be in Rongcheng soon. I'll discuss it with you after I get there." Wang agreed.
Two weeks later, Brother Wang went to the airport to pick up his master. After the master arrived, they walked around Liushuzhuang three times. The master said, "We didn't find anything." Brother Wang said, "No, master, let me show you that video again."
After watching the video, the master said, "Indeed, there should be something on Lin Yue's leg. You see, Lin Yue doesn't seem to be acting strangely in the video, nor is anything bad entangled with her. It's probably some kind of spirit or monster, but it doesn't seem to be harming her so far."
Brother Wang said, "So, should we continue to keep an eye on this one?"
The master craftsman said, "Let's keep an eye on it."
Brother Wang said, "We've been watching this for almost half a year now, and there haven't been any major discrepancies."
The master asked again, "Is there any major discrepancy in his cash flow?" Brother Wang said, "On the surface, there's nothing wrong. Gong Yong goes to the bank every month." The master said, "Ask a friend to pull up his bank statements and compare them with his and his wife's bank statements and his current income."
Brother Wang nodded: "Okay, Master, I'll take care of it right away."
Brother Wang then asked a friend to print out Lin Yue's and Gong Yong's bank statements. After comparing them, they found a significant discrepancy of nearly 15 yuan between their income and salary.
Brother Wang then said to his master, "Master, there's a discrepancy of 15 in his bank statements."
Brother Wang said, "I remember once one of his friends went to their house a few times, and then they went out for hot pot a few times. Lin Yue's neighborhood was relatively clean, without many complicated interpersonal relationships; she only had one or two friends."
Xiao Chen interjected, "Is it possible that Lin Yue borrowed it from her friend?"
Brother Wang said, "It's possible."
The master said, "Go and investigate, subtly inquire about his friend Xiaohui, and find out how she asked him."
Brother Wang and Xiao Chen looked at each other, pondering how to find out this news.
Xiao Chen learned through another of Xiao Hui's relatives, an aunt, that Xiao Hui had recently bought an apartment in Lin Yue's neighborhood for over 260 million yuan. He couldn't find out whether Xiao Hui had lent money to Lin Yue, so he finally asked Xiao Hui.
Auntie asked Xiaohui, "Xiaohui, Lin Yue is your friend. Did she ask you for money? Did she borrow 15 yuan?" Xiaohui replied, "Who told you that?"
A friend of mine was asking if I had borrowed money from you. Xiaohui suddenly realized something and said, "No, I lent nearly 300,000 yuan to Lin Yue and her husband. Gong Yong's salary is only one-third of what it used to be, and she has three children to support!"
Auntie said, "Xiaohui, do you have any extra money? Lend me some! 30 yuan to her? Aren't you borrowing money to buy a house too?"
Xiaohui said, "Oh dear, a friend is in trouble, so I lent him the money. He can borrow it to tide him over." "Oh, Auntie, who's been asking around over there?"
"I don't know either, a friend of mine asked around."
"Then why are you asking me?"
"Oh dear, he asked a bit too hastily. Xiao Hui's aunt received 1 yuan as a tip-off fee."
Xiao Hui immediately called Lin Yue after hanging up the phone. "Lin Yue, do you know what? I received a call from my aunt today."
Lin Yue said, "What does your aunt's phone call have to do with me?"
Xiao Hui said, "My aunt actually asked you if you borrowed 15 yuan from me."
Lin Yue asked, "So what did you say?"
Xiaohui said, "I told you I lent you 300,000 yuan for cash flow. I told you your husband's income is only one-third of what it used to be, and he can't manage the cash flow."
Lin Yue said, "That's a good way to put it. Thank you, Xiao Hui."
Xiao Hui said, "My aunt said that the person who inquired about you paid her 1 yuan for the information. Lin Yue, you should be more careful; it seems like you're being watched."
Lin Yue replied, "I understand. I will keep a low profile."
That evening, Xiao Hui told Lao Xiao about it as well. Lao Xiao said, "Could this be the person who bought the spirit rice and spirit flour last time asking around?"
Xiao Hui said, "Impossible."
Old Xiao said, "That's impossible. They didn't even know Lin Yue existed. It must be someone else."
So, what were the old Taoist priest, his master, and Ouyang doing? They needed to divide 1100 jin of good stuff, and after some haggling, they split it like this: The old Taoist priest's master took 300 jin of spirit rice, while the old Taoist priest and Ouyang each received 100 jin of spirit rice. The old Taoist priest's master also took 300 jin of spirit flour and 60 jin of vegetables. Therefore, the old Taoist priest ended up with 100 jin of spirit rice, 100 jin of spirit flour, and 20 jin of vegetables. Ouyang received the same: 100 jin of spirit rice, 100 jin of flour, and 20 jin of vegetables.
After the separation, Ouyang felt that his father's health was not good, and his mother kept urging him to get married. So he took 10 jin of rice, 10 jin of flour, and 10 jin of vegetables and went back to visit his parents. He personally cooked a meal for his father and mother.
Grandpa Ouyang said, "Son, your skills have improved."
Ouyang's mother said, "You had no one to take care of you, so you learned to cook for yourself."
Grandpa Ouyang said, "Look at you, you're not young anymore, and your mother and I are getting old too. You don't want to inherit the company, and now the company has been given to an agent to manage. Shouldn't you find a wife and have a grandson with us?" This elaborate way of urging them to get married continued throughout the meal, and even such a delicious meal couldn't shut Grandpa Ouyang and Grandma Ouyang up.
Finally, with no other choice, Ouyang said, "I've been very busy lately, and I can't eat too much of this. You guys make it yourselves and eat it, but don't tell anyone or give it to anyone. This is a good thing; my master got it from his master."
Grandpa Ouyang said, "We know this is a good thing; you can taste the difference. I've taken a liking to a girl from the Xiao family. When will you come back to meet me and we can discuss marriage?"
Ouyang said, "I'm not considering it."
Ouyang finally escaped her parents' pressure to get married and returned to her villa.
What happened to what the old Taoist priest took back? What he took back was also in danger of being lost, as several of his disciples wanted a share. The old Taoist priest said, "No, I'll just cook a little for you every day. As for anything else, don't even think about it." The old Taoist priest was very protective of it.
What about the old Taoist's master? He had the most, but what did he do? The old Taoist's master invited several friends from other sects within his own sect to a drinking party. The old master said, "My friends, my fellow Taoists, I have something good to share with you. Since we're sharing, after you've finished eating, I'd like to exchange something with you." The fellow Taoists agreed, "Of course, of course."
The old Taoist priest prepared a meal for several friends, whose eyes gleamed with envy afterward. "Good stuff!" they exclaimed, each wondering what they could offer in exchange for the old bald monk. They silently calculated their own valuable possessions and what the old monk wanted in return.
In short, the old Taoist master didn't keep much of his belongings; his friends used all sorts of creative ways to ask for them and exchange them. He brought back 300 jin of spirit rice and 300 jin of spirit flour, but traded away more than 200 jin of them. The old Taoist master was heartbroken, but in the end, he still traded them.
Among the people the old Taoist master exchanged with his friends, one of them received 10 jin of spiritual flour and 10 jin of spiritual rice. This old Taoist master's surname was Xuanyuan, and he came from an ancient family tradition.
He suddenly called one of his apprentices who was serving in a special forces unit. The first time he called, no one answered; the apprentice must have been away on some mission. Three months later, he finally got in touch again.
The old Taoist priest Xuanyuan took out a pound of spirit rice and a pound of spirit flour, and gave them to his disciple, who was to be surnamed Tao. When Commander Tao received the spirit rice and flour, he felt something was amiss and asked Master Xuanyuan, "Why did you give me this?"
Master Xuanyuan said, "You cook some and eat it. Take the rest to a professional institution for testing. Help me see what its ingredients are. This is a good thing. You'll know once you taste it."
Commander Tao looked at the spirit rice and spirit noodles in his hand with doubt. Although he was full of questions, he decided to do as his master asked because of his trust in his master.
When Commander Tao returned home to the military family compound, his wife and children were there. He had a son, who was at the age where he was about to starve his father out of house and home.
At first, when he gave the spirit rice and noodles to his wife, she was about to pour the whole pound of rice into the pot to cook when he said, "You have to save some; the master said it needs to be tested." His wife then asked, "Since it needs to be tested, won't there be a problem if you just give it to me to cook?" Commander Tao said, "No problem. Get that rice container, fill it with rice." Mrs. Tao then scooped out a cup from the small plastic measuring cup used for rice cookers, and then scooped out a cup each of rice and noodles, storing them separately in a plastic container. He said, "Okay, we'll make this for today."
Because Commander Tao's wife was from the north, she used the remaining spirit flour to make several large white steamed buns and dumplings. She also cooked all the spirit rice in a pot, and coincidentally, she had made braised pork hock, braised fish, stir-fried bitter melon with eggs, and sweet potato leaves with minced garlic that day, and put them on the table.
The moment the rice cooker was opened, a rich aroma filled the air, making Commander Tao's mouth water. His fifteen-year-old son rushed out of his room and sat at the dining table. His son, usually a picky eater, this time took his own bowl and chopsticks and scooped a large spoonful of rice into his own bowl. Then he scooped a large bowl for his father, and then for his mother. The three of them sat down at the table, and Commander Tao said, "Let's eat."
The three of them had never felt so hungry or excited before. The eight ounces of spirit rice they cooked, even the rice cooked in the rice cooker, wasn't enough. Commander Tao's wife then brought out several large steamed buns and white dumplings that had just been prepared. The three of them devoured everything made from the spirit rice and spirit flour, but they only ate half of the previously most popular braised pork hock and half of the fish on the table.
After finishing their meal, the three of them looked at each other, touched their round bellies, and collapsed onto the sofa.
Within minutes of the three people sprawled on the sofa, they realized the problem. Because Commander Tao had been practicing under the tutelage of the old Taoist priest Xuanyuan for some time, and he had shared this practice with his son and wife, the three immediately sat cross-legged on their sofa. The entire night, the three of them absorbed the spiritual energy brought by the spiritual rice and noodles.
At dawn, as the first rays of purple light shone on the gate of the family compound, all three people opened their eyes simultaneously, all incredibly excited. Commander Tao's son said, "Dad, where did you get this amazing thing? I've never improved my Qi cultivation before, but I can feel it now." Commander Tao's wife said, "Yes, me too, I can feel it." Even Commander Tao himself, whose cultivation level hadn't changed in a very long time, had actually advanced a level because he had entered the Dao through martial arts.
Commander Tao was overjoyed and immediately took out his phone to call his master. The old Taoist priest, Xuanyuan, answered the phone with a slight smile. Commander Tao said, "What you gave me is truly something good." The old Taoist priest replied, "Of course, I wouldn't give it to you if it weren't good. Find someone, someone you can trust, to thoroughly analyze this spirit rice and spirit flour. Really, thoroughly analyze it and see if even the hulled spirit rice can be cultivated."
Xuanyuan Tangtang said, "Can the rice that has been husked still be cultivated? It's unlikely."
The old Taoist priest Xuanyuan said, "Give it a try, the key is this seed. Ah, when I first got this, it didn't have a husk, it was just rice."
Surprisingly, Commander Tao found a trustworthy apprentice, an expert who specialized in serving the military. And incredibly, that small bowl of hulled spirit rice actually sprouted; one or two grains germinated. Commander Tao was extremely excited. If even one grain matured and produced a seed, it meant they had obtained the seed, and with the seed, they could plant it.
But the reality was harsh. Because the spiritual rice had specific growing requirements that they didn't fully understand, they planted it in the self-sufficient paddy fields near the military training camp as an experiment. When it was transplanted, because it wasn't separated from ordinary rice, it sprouted wildly during flowering. The resulting rice wasn't significantly different from ordinary rice. After testing, the composition of this cultivated rice differed greatly from the rice that Commander Tao had initially tested.
Upon learning of this result, Commander Tao's high hopes were instantly dashed, and a look of disappointment appeared on his face. However, he did not give up. Instead, he decided to consult his master again for a better solution, hoping to successfully cultivate high-quality spirit rice.
Commander Tao's six months of hard work went down the drain. However, the old Taoist priest Xuanyuan found a breakthrough. He went to the old Taoist priest's master and asked if he still had the item.
It was now spring of the following year, the perfect time for planting. The old Taoist priest, Xuanyuan, arrived at his master's place full of anticipation, hoping to obtain more clues about the spirit rice or acquire new spirit rice seeds to help Commander Tao achieve his goal of successfully cultivating it.