Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8

Chapter 273: Chapter 156: Openly Repairing the Plank Roads, Secretly Crossing to Chencang

She looked up at her brother, then at Li Chang’an.

One thought away from heaven, one thought away from hell.

This was a debt of rebirth!

No matter how much Li Siying thought about it, she couldn’t figure out how to properly thank Li Chang’an.

’Perhaps the only way is…’

At that thought, a blush suddenly flared across Li Siying’s cheeks. She quickly chided herself. ’Shame on me!’

……

…0…

Li Jianfei became a Reincarnator.

This meant Li Chang’an was no longer fighting alone; he now had a brother by his side who could support him.

Li Chang’an was naturally pleased. He turned to Zhao Xi, who had just finished her tasks, and asked, “Is the meal I ordered from the kitchen ready?”

Zhao Xi nodded. “It’s ready. Per your instructions, it’s all the finest Spiritual Food. We can begin eating whenever you’re ready.”

With a wave of his hand, Li Chang’an said, “Let’s go. Time to eat!”

He still had to arrange a place for Li Jianfei. The two brothers couldn’t be too far apart, so they could look out for each other.

The four of them chatted as they walked, eventually arriving at the dining hall in the City Lord’s Mansion.

The aroma of the Spirit Rice and other prepared Spiritual Foods wafted through the air, detectable from dozens of meters away. It was enough to stir one’s most basic, primal desires.

The moment they pushed the door open and stepped inside, the intoxicating sensation became even more potent.

Everyone except Li Chang’an couldn’t help but swallow hard.

Li Siying gazed at the dishes and fruits on the table. To the naked eye, they looked no different from what they usually ate, aside from being more crystalline and translucent.

’But why does it smell so good?’

Li Siying sniffed the air and couldn’t resist asking Zhao Xi in a hushed tone, “Sister Xi, what are these dishes? Why do they smell so amazing?”

Zhao Xi was also having a hard time resisting, but she managed to maintain her composure. “This is all Spiritual Food,” she whispered, “and the highest grade, at that. Every single dish is worth a fortune!”

Li Siying was stunned.

She knew of Spiritual Food; she’d even heard about the price of high-grade Spiritual Food at school.

But this was the first time she had seen it with her own eyes.

In less than a year, Brother Chang’an had transformed from the kind, approachable person she remembered into a major figure so far ahead of her she couldn’t even glimpse his back.

’He isn’t poor at all.’

’It seems he doesn’t lack for anything…’

When she came back to her senses, Li Siying didn’t know what expression to wear.

…

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Li Chang’an gave Li Jianfei the contact information for Cao Shuran, the vice president of the Linjiang Rebirth Association. He told him to get in touch with Cao Shuran once he was ready.

He planned to have Li Jianfei go to Panhu City to be the City Lord.

During the last Exotic Beast Tide, Panhu City’s population had been decimated by that Tier Five special Extraordinary Beast, but the city itself had not sustained heavy damage.

Li Jianfei wouldn’t need to do much.

All he needed to do was relocate some people there and let the city develop slowly.

Panhu City is very close to Cangxuan City.

In the future, any factories that no longer fit in Li Chang’an’s Cangxuan City could be relocated there without much trouble.

Li Jianfei had no objections to this plan.

…

After arranging everything, Li Chang’an planned to take a good rest. His previous life in the Li Yang World, which had lasted several thousand years, had placed a huge strain on his body and mind.

For the time being, Li Chang’an didn’t plan to start his next reincarnation.

Coincidentally, the factory construction had also reached a critical stage.

Li Chang’an planned to personally oversee the project to prevent the Gu Family from trying any dirty tricks in Cangxuan City.

However, his worries seemed to have been for nothing. The two factories in Cangxuan City were completed without a hitch and were about to begin production, yet there was still no sign of the Gu Family’s sabotage.

Li Chang’an was baffled.

Judging from the Gu Family’s past actions, Li Chang’an was sure they wouldn’t just stand by and watch the factories be completed. They certainly wouldn’t allow him to start encroaching on their market.

But after waiting all this time, he still hadn’t seen them make their next move.

This was obviously not normal.

The only explanation was that there was a problem somewhere in the process.

Li Chang’an broke from his cultivation to ponder the matter. After a long while, he finally had a faint idea of where the problem lay. He picked up his communicator and called several of his raw material suppliers.

Li Chang’an had originally placed an order with these suppliers for the raw materials needed to manufacture fifty Super Electromagnetic Cannons and one hundred Energy Particle Beam Cannons, and they had all agreed to the deal.

The two parties had even signed supply contracts.

But now, with his factories nearly complete, the suppliers had delivered less than a fifth of the raw materials!

He called to press them for the deliveries, but each supplier just hemmed and hawed. They all claimed the goods would be delivered on schedule but refused to give a firm commitment.

Clearly, this was not normal.

After all, they had signed contracts.

Failure to deliver wouldn’t just be a problem for Li Chang’an.

The suppliers themselves would also lose money.

They shouldn’t have been so evasive.

Finally, one supplier, perhaps pricked by his conscience, revealed part of the truth over the phone. “Boss Li,” he said, “it’s not that we don’t want to work with you, but your business is just too high-profile… You probably know what I mean. A small operation like mine can’t handle the pressure from those at the top!”

“I’ll pay the breach of contract penalty, but as for the materials… you’d better find someone else!”

With that, the person on the other end hung up.

Li Chang’an finally understood where the problem lay.

The Gu Family had pressured the raw material suppliers. As a result, the suppliers feigned cooperation while having no real intention of delivering the full order. They were trying to stop Li Chang’an’s factories from ever starting production.

Li Chang’an took a deep breath. He had known it wouldn’t be this easy.

But facing the reality of it, he still couldn’t help but clench his fists in anger.

After hanging up on that supplier, Li Chang’an immediately made another call and spoke with the person on the other end for a full half-hour.

After resolving the issue, Li Chang’an let out a cold sneer and muttered, “Heh… The Gu Family, Gu Ruilong. You think you can get a handle on me like this? Feinting in one direction while secretly advancing in another… That’s a trick I know how to play, too!”

…