Chapter 331 - 164: Sweet for a Few Years, Bitter for a Lifetime

Chapter 331: Chapter 164: Sweet for a Few Years, Bitter for a Lifetime

A gentle breeze rustled the willows as catkins drifted down into Chuyuan.

A large crane was hoisting an enormous statue of the Victorious Fighting Buddha. Below, a worker with a walkie-talkie yelled, "Slow down, slow down! What’s the damn rush? Slower!" Countless onlookers had gathered, taking pictures of the rich man’s new toy. Some muttered with disdain, calling rich people fools. They said the Myanmar golden camphor wood was all hype and not actually worth that much. Su Ran shook his head with a soft chuckle. He’d been hearing a lot of that lately. Things like, "Myanmar golden camphor wood is just hype, it’s not worth the money. What a dumb rich guy," and, "The expensive, premium West Lake Longjing Tea he bought was also just hype, an idiot tax." He wondered why everything rich people bought for a high price was called an "idiot tax" by regular folks.

Su Ran didn’t understand it, but he knew one thing: the people complaining didn’t have any of these expensive things.

It wasn’t that the wealth had gone to Su Ran’s head. It was just that his current social standing placed him among the small elite at the very top of the food chain, which naturally changed his perspective on money. He only cared about using his wealth to buy what he liked and what he felt was right. Nothing else was truly important.

Phew—

The insurance company manager standing next to Su Ran let out a huge sigh of relief as the Victorious Fighting Buddha statue finally touched down safely. ’That scared the daylights out of me,’ he thought.

Su Ran, however, wasn’t worried. He had taken out a massive insurance policy on it. If it had been damaged, he would have made a killing. Since it landed safely, all was well.

The rich never make a losing deal. It was a win-win situation for him.

CRACKLE... POP... The sound of firecrackers erupted, welcoming the Victorious Fighting Buddha to its new home. This had been Qi Shan’s idea. While fireworks were banned in the community, Su Ran’s Chuyuan was essentially a private island on Jiangning Lake, so it wasn’t an issue. Technically it was still against the rules, but no one was about to make a fuss over it.

"Not bad. Just like that, it’s perfect," Su Ran said, standing outside a massive glass wall and admiring the enormous Victorious Fighting Buddha within.

"Young Master Su, you’re on another level. Daring to bring the Victorious Fighting Buddha home, and into a villa this massive, no less. You’re powerful enough to handle it!" Qi Shan said admiringly.

Ancient adages and modern science supposedly prove that the "spatial magnetic field" a person can withstand is about 38 square meters. If a person lives alone long-term in a house over 100 square meters, they will eventually feel unwell. In a 200-square-meter house, one person cannot handle the magnetic field; they become listless and mentally drained over time. Yet Su Ran lived alone in Chuyuan, a property of over 3,000 square meters, and was more than capable of handling it. In fact, his spirits were higher than ever. There was only one explanation: he was a Divine Rich.

"I have you to thank for finding such a great piece of wood for me in Myanmar."

"Does that mean you should treat me to a meal?"

"Some other time. I have plans today."

"A woman?"

Su Ran smiled, and Qi Shan knew he was right.

"What about tomorrow?"

"I have plans then, too."

"Another woman?"

Su Ran smiled, then shook his head. "An old lady."

"Holy hell, Young Master Su, your tastes are something else! From sixteen-year-olds all the way up to ninety-year-olds—you spare no one?"

"Fuck!" Su Ran swore. "By the way, I remember you opened a new clothing store. I even liked your post wishing you good business, right?"

"My wife opened it, not me. She was bored with nothing to do and insisted on starting a business. She said she wanted to earn her own money so she wouldn’t have to ask me for it and get yelled at. She claims I call her dramatic, say I can’t stand her, and that I’m always looking for a fight. But I’m baffled—I haven’t said a single one of those things! Young Master Su, you’re around a lot of women. Tell me, are they all like this?"

"Her being dramatic is a kind of blessing."

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. I was just wondering if you’re hiring. I want to send Shen Qingning to work at your store. It’ll keep her from wandering around aimlessly like a headless chicken and actually earn some money."

"You... and that girl, the one who looks like she needs protecting and stayed at your house before. Did you two sleep together?"

"Slept together my ass! We’re classmates. Not every woman seen with me is my girlfriend. Can’t I just have female friends and classmates?"

"I was just asking. No need to get so defensive."

"Piss off. Just tell me, are you hiring or not?"

"We are! A female friend of the great Young Master Su needs a job? Of course we have an opening for her."

"..."

’So Qi Shan really doesn’t believe anything innocent is going on between me and Shen Qingning,’ Su Ran thought. ’This is ridiculous. Is it getting to the point where I can’t even know a woman without people assuming she’s mine?’

"It’s still early, let’s have some tea. By the way, have you found any leads on your end?"

"Oh, come on, Young Master Su. I’ve used my entire network, and there’s absolutely no news about Uncle Qin or Xie Yiren. Besides, you don’t even know Uncle Qin’s full name. All I have is the surname ’Qin.’ How am I supposed to find him with just that? And Miss Yiren’s name was given to her by her Ah Weng, which makes it even harder to trace."

"This is such a headache. The DNA database is working on it, but who knows when we’ll get results. I’m worried sick. Yiren asks me about it every day with this pouty look on her face... *Sigh*..."

Every time Su Ran pictured Xie Yiren’s pitiful expression on their video calls, his heart grew heavy.

...

「Meanwhile, in Shanghai, at the entrance of a supermarket across from the dance academy.」

’Even this grilled sausage tastes bland... *Sigh*...’

Xie Yiren stood by the sausage grill at the supermarket entrance, taking a listless bite of a sausage. It was bland. She hadn’t had much of an appetite recently, her mind completely consumed with the search for her family. Her appetite for food was gone, and as for any other kind of appetite... let’s not even go there.

’All dried up.’

She was out by herself today looking for a part-time job. *Sigh*... Suddenly, she felt like she was just another face in the crowd.

Back then, she had been the Saintess of her tribe. Although they had little money, everyone worked hard just for her, Xie Yiren. They would gather herbs and mushrooms to sell, willingly sending her the money for her expenses. She never had to worry about money. But now, things were different. She needed to earn her own way. Though she didn’t know Shen Qingning, she felt their situations were now much the same—both of them needed to make money.