He woke up naturally after a dreamless night.
Lin Fan indulged in staying in bed for a while, a rare treat.
It was Monday, and Wang Ying messaged him, "I don't want to go to work!"
Lin Fan teased, "Come to the clinic and be the boss's wife, sleep as late as you want!"
Wang Ying felt both shy and delighted, outwardly refusing but inwardly beaming.
Su Yurou contacted him at the same time, complaining that she hadn't been in good shape when she left last night and had a difficult time driving back.
Lin Fan replied, "Didn't you always say you were small and weak!"
A moment later, Su Yurou sent an angry emoji: "You dummy, just go die already!"
Lin Fan laughed heartily and was about to offer some comfort when he saw a phone number displayed at the top of his screen.
The name below the number read Song Yue.
Upon hearing Lin Fan answer, Song Yue said directly, "Xiao Fan, something's happened here."
The earpiece was very noisy, with Xia Xue's voice arguing with someone mixed in.
Lin Fan sat up abruptly, "What happened, tell me quickly!"
"Your sister-in-law and I came to the furniture city this morning to look at furniture. We accidentally broke a display crystal lamp in one of the shops. Now the owner is blocking us, demanding either twenty thousand yuan in compensation or we have to sign a thirty-thousand-yuan renovation contract!"
Song Yue spoke rapidly, her voice filled with urgent anxiety.
"Sister Yueyue, don't panic, this is all minor."
Lin Fan's tone was calm, and he added, "Tell your sister-in-law not to worry or get upset. Tell the shop owner that the money will be there soon, and absolutely do not sign the contract. I'm on my way to you now, give me the address."
"Okay."
Song Yue quickly gave an address.
After hanging up, she glared at the arrogant, clearly unreasonable sales manager, mouthing curses.
It was all her fault for being so foolish!
With just a few words, she had revealed their financial situation, and now they were being treated like country bumpkins, with the owner clearly trying to extort money from them unfairly.
Lin Fan quickly put on his clothes, not even washing his face, and ran out of the clinic.
His mind was filled with one thought: he absolutely could not let his sister-in-law be bullied!
Running on the dirt road through the countryside, Lin Fan felt a pang of regret. He had always found it too troublesome to buy a car, and now it made things more difficult.
It's just a car!
Suddenly, a piercing honk came from behind him.
"Damn it, what are you honking for? The road is wide enough, what business is it of yours?"
Lin Fan cursed without looking back.
"Xiao Fan, why are you running so fast?"
Tian Mengyao caught up with him, "I was planning to surprise you. I bought this for Luofeng Village. It's a retired government vehicle, cheap and practical, definitely not a waste of money."
Hearing Tian Mengyao's voice, Lin Fan immediately stopped and looked back.
A gray Wuling van appeared before them!
A car they would normally not even glance at had suddenly become a precious commodity to them.
Tian Mengyao, as the secretary of Luofeng Village, had finally overcome the basic reliance on walking for transportation.
As for Lin Fan, he was simply overjoyed that help had arrived just when he needed it.
Lin Fan yanked open the car door and jumped into the passenger seat, urging, "Drive fast, to the city."
"What's wrong?"
Seeing his anxious expression, Tian Mengyao immediately guessed that he had encountered trouble.
Lin Fan replied with a grim face, "My sister-in-law is in some trouble in the city, someone is trying to extort her."
"Oh."
Tian Mengyao didn't ask further and stepped on the gas.
Lin Fan rested one hand on the car window, turned to Tian Mengyao, and asked, "Do you have twenty thousand cash on you?"
"Huh?" Tian Mengyao shook her head, "No, I don't. Do you need money?"
"I..."
Tian Mengyao looked like she was about to cry, "I withdrew all the money for the registered capital and won't get it back for another week."
Lin Fan took a deep breath. Why did it have to be at this critical juncture!
He sighed and comforted her, "It's okay, I'll borrow from a friend. Let's just hurry over there."
Tian Mengyao felt guilty and asked, "Xiao Fan, do you need any help?"
"I can ask my father's friends. They have influence and can usually sort out problems."
The "father's friends" she referred to were naturally his father's subordinates or old acquaintances.
She quickly pondered who had influence in Yunqing City but wasn't too high-ranking, so as not to be an overkill, yet still possess some authority and power.
"No need, it's not a big deal. I can handle it myself."
Lin Fan thought to himself, "It's just a broken lamp, what does it matter even if I smashed it?"
I'm not short of money!
"Then... we'll see," Tian Mengyao said, but she was already considering how to help.
...
At the same time, Xinghe Real Estate.
In the chairman's office on the top floor of the Xinghe Building.
Xiao Zheng handed a document to Zhou Yi and asked, "Chairwoman, how is Professor Li's side?"
"When you came back last night, I noticed you weren't looking well. Did things not go smoothly?"
Zhou Yi shook her head and replied, "Things went very smoothly, but he said he needs time to prepare and that the final result might not be what I expect."
Xiao Zheng blinked, "What do you mean?"
Zhou Yi chuckled, "He told me a fairy tale, just like you. He said he encountered seven people in armor, and one woman, with just a smile, killed everyone except him. Then the seven turned into seven orbs of light and flew away."
"I suspect he's trying to scare me. After all, I've already investigated and found that the true location of Emperor Qin's tomb is in the Fengyu Gorge area."
"Back then, they must have gone searching for Emperor Qin's tomb."
"I guess they encountered some traps or mechanisms they couldn't overcome, lost many men, and were forced to abandon the mission."
"As for Lin Fan's situation, I've thought about it. Perhaps he accidentally stumbled into Emperor Qin's tomb and obtained some ancient medical or feng shui texts."
"He can fight, it's normal for young people to fight. As for ancient artifacts, that's too far-fetched!"
"I do believe in ancient mythical beasts. Science can explain them. But for beings that are divine, demonic, and demonic, able to summon clouds with one hand and call for rain with the other, that's too..."
Xiao Zheng quickly interrupted, "Chairwoman, while that may be true, there are indeed many things in the world that science cannot explain."
"If nothing else, consider what you yourself are pursuing: eternal youth and immortality."
"Isn't that also far-fetched?"
Zhou Yi waved her hand and smiled, "Since humans are animals, then humans can certainly possess the abilities that animals have."
"Salamanders can regenerate limbs, and giant deep-sea turtles can live for tens of thousands of years. Such animals are countless."
Xiao Zheng took a deep breath and retorted, "Emperor Qin died two thousand years ago, and so did Xu Fu. If there truly was an elixir of immortality, why would they have died?"
Zhou Yi laughed heartily, "Xiao Zheng, you're a doctorate who studied abroad. Don't you know that history is written by people?"
"Just like if you ask today's Japanese students if their ancestors invaded other countries, they will definitely say no."
"Why?"
"Because that period of history was never written down for them to see."
"It's the same principle. Why are there no records of Xu Fu, Yuan Tiangang, Li Chunfeng, or Wang Canghai in our official histories?"
"Isn't it because someone deliberately erased that history!"