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Chapter 530: Chapter 438: Clear Conscience (Seeking Subscriptions!)_1
There was simply too much stuff in the warehouse.
Two hours later, Tang Kai had only managed to sort through about a fifth of it, for he could not simply categorize items based on their marked prices. On the business side of things, he was meticulously inspecting and examining each item. This wasn’t about trust, but rather a mark of respect in true business fashion.
Tang Kai was overwhelmed by the amount of valuable items he found, and was especially astonished to come across an antique recorded in Thai history: a large eagle-shaped jade carving made of glass. It would be worth about 2 million RMB if it were new, but in the collector’s market, it could fetch up to 20 million RMB.
Tang Kai hesitated, wondering if he should discuss this with Ling whether he should just quietly snag such a windfall. It could potentially sour their relationship if he did so without a word. The last time was an honest misunderstanding on a package discount deal. But this time, if he came across other items that weren’t significantly valuable he could dismiss it as him scoring a bargain, but with such a highly valuable item, it was akin to robbery.
Another hour passed.
Exhausted, Tang Kai decided to leave the warehouse.
As for the rest of the items.
It seemed that he would have to wait for his company’s appraiser to come over tomorrow to help with the classification.
Elsewhere.
Li Kai and his companions were still enthusiastically toying with the firearms on the shooting range.
Today presented a rare opportunity and they did not expect to see such a grand spectacle in the future, so they gritted their teeth and gave every firearm on the range a try. As a result, Li Kai’s hands were now shaking so much he could hardly hold a gun.
Two hours had passed.
Naturally, Tang Qing was not keen on watching them shoot targets, so he had picked up a fishing rod and was angling by the riverbank. This was a place used for entertaining VIPs, so it had all sorts of simple entertainment facilities, including a basketball court and a tennis court.
But until now, he had not caught a single fish. The noise from the shooting range had scared the fish into a frenzy of darting around. But it didn’t matter to Tang Qing who was just fishing for fun and enjoying his ’leisure time on the battlefield’.
Listening to the sound of gunfire.
Fishing.
It was an odd but enjoyable combination.
At this moment, Li Kai, holding an M16, came over and squatted next to Tang Qing.
"Old Tang, what’s with you today? Why don’t you go and play with the guns? What’s so fun about fishing? You can fish anywhere when we go back. You might only have this one chance in your lifetime to handle such guns. Just watch me shoot all these scampering fish for you."
With that, Li Kai picked up his rifle, aiming at the barely visible fish in the water. The river was shallow, not clear enough to see the bottom, but you could see a shadow streaking by now and then.
Tang Qing glanced at Li Kai’s trembling hand and shook his head. "Do you still have the strength? Look how shaky your hands are. Remember, when your hands are shaking and you’re not in combat mode, don’t ever put your finger on the trigger, to avoid accidental misfires."
Li Kai’s finger was on the trigger, its trembling reflecting the fatigue from all the shooting.
Upon hearing this.
Li Kai decided not to pretend anymore and quickly removed his finger from the trigger. It could be extremely awkward if the gun were to accidentally fire among friends.
Tang Qing chuckled.
And continued fishing.
"Sigh, it’s such a shame that we are not allowed to take pictures here. Otherwise, I’d definitely take some to show off. And let our Lan Lan see how mighty I look." Li Kai lamented. This place was heavily guarded, and although Ling didn’t explicitly forbid them to take random pictures, anyone with common sense would know better than to do so.
"How are things between you and Lan Lan?" Tang Qing casually asked.
Li Kai became excited upon mentioning this subject, giggling, "Hey, we’re doing pretty good. After my relentless persuasion, she too applied to the same university in Shanghai as me. Even though I can’t get into Fudan, getting into that school shouldn’t be a problem. We will be in the same city again, so I can freeloading once more."
"Hmm, treat her well, don’t let the relationship get chaotic," Tang Qing spoke while gazing at the rippling water. In his previous life, Li Kai was a carefree playboy who hadn’t even gotten married by middle age. In this life, Tang Qing hoped that Li Kai would settle down.
Truthfully, he wasn’t sure whether his words of advice were right or wrong. Marriage and love are complex and it’s rare to find a couple that remains happily together. Issues ranging from mundane daily life to conflicts of interest, family disputes, or education of children, couples completely compatible without disagreements were few and far between.
Most people merely settled and lived their lives. This was also the reason why many people feared marriage. Nevertheless, from a moral standpoint, this was ideal.
"I know. I will treat her well. I’m handsome, reasonably wealthy, and I know how to make her happy. I am the perfect husband. We are definitely meant to be." Li Kai fervently declared.
"That’s good," Tang Qing nodded. He had seen many couples who seemed perfect for each other initially only to part ways eventually. He had since stopped arrogantly assuming that people were destined to be together. To make it to the end, not messing up was the key. All he could do was wish Li Kai well.
At the same time, he reminded himself to cherish the person before him.
"Tangtang, why are you fishing here?" Tang Kai, who was passing by, saw Tang Qing and Li Kai sitting by the river and called out.
"I don’t feel like playing with guns, so I’m just amusing myself here." Tang Qing turned around and got up.
"Alright, I’ll give it a try then. It’s been a while since I last played." Tang Kai assumed that Tang Qing was bored from shooting earlier.
With that.
Tang Kai walked towards the shooting range, and the sound of gunfire soon echoed from there again.
Tang Qing continued to chat with Li Kai.
Chatting about the past.
Chatting about the future.
...
In the evening.
The temperature hadn’t dropped much. It was just not sun-beating anymore, still hot enough to make people sweat profusely.
They were still in that same shed.
Six large air conditioners running. The weather was pure bliss.
Ling once again graciously hosted them. Tang Kai and others were conversing warmly with Ling, strengthening their bonds, while Tang Qing was carelessly eating, occasionally conversing with Li Kai and Feng Sen next to him.
After having a sufficient food and wine.
They were pleasantly tipsy.
The atmosphere was great. Tang Qing heard that by the past standards, Mara would have some woman performing a dance to keep the guest entertained, but such ’decadent’ things couldn’t appear here, so they were discarded. They all just continued to chat happily.
After the meal.
They played a bit of badminton and everyone was led to their rooms, located on the other side of the mountain. It was a two-story villa, each having their own rooms with decent facilities. The rooms even had TVs which could receive signals from many different countries.
Since they had all had few drinks, everyone went to sleep quite early.
Tang Qing, as contrast, opened the window in his room, flipped a few times and stood on the villa’s rooftop, listening to the mechanical rumbling sound coming from the other side of the mountain, took a leap and jumped down from the eight-meter-tall roof.
"Crack..."
Snapping a few dry branches.
With a slight push, he lunged toward the top of the mountain, as the branches ahead were blocked by his nerve telekinesis, without dirtying his clothes.
A minute later.
Tang Qing stood on the top of the mountain, hands on his back, feeling the breeze. He was aware that a soldier was lurking twenty meters away from him hiding in the grass, still as a ghost, observing everything around him.
If it were anyone else, they would have been captured long ago.
Soldiers like these were scattered all around the camp on various hilltops.
Standing on the top of the hill.
Looking at the many workers who were still busy, the rumbling mechanical vehicles, and the blurred silhouette of the entire Industrial Town, Tang Qing was really looking forward to the changes this little butterfly would bring to the world.
He hoped the change would be positive, not seeking fame, just living a life without regrets.
After all, being famous isn’t fun, who knows how many years later you might be severely criticized. For example, even Washington wasn’t spared, his statue was almost stripped due to allegations of having hired Indian black people at one point.
At this thought.
Tang Qing thought of the character ’Luo Ji’ in the science fiction novel ’The Three-Body Problem’, he was repeatedly worshipped by all of humanity as a savior and repeatedly abandoned by them. He didn’t want to be the savior in this life, it was all thankless effort. He just wanted to live with a clear conscience and do good deeds occasionally.
Not long after.
Tang Qing, having finished his contemplation, returned to his room.
He flashed into the command room and began exercising his nerve telekinesis.
Only by strengthening oneself can one truly be strong.
...
The next day.
Morning.
The adults had all gone to talk business. The free Tang Qing and two others began wandering around, and didn’t go to the shooting range again, because Li Kai and Feng Sen’s hands were not fully recovered, they couldn’t even hold chopsticks steady in the morning, and could only hold spoons.
Xin’an Town.
On the street.
The three of them were walking aimlessly on the street. No soldiers were following this time, but many people had seen them ’parading’ yesterday and knew they were important figures. Those who recognized them consciously avoided them, creating a wall-like space around them.
This made Tang Qing somewhat regretful about being shown around like a monkey yesterday.
