Lu Fan wanted to accompany Bai Xuemei back to the Bai family, which touched her greatly. The hotel's revenue had been increasing by 200,000 daily, and completing the five million task her grandfather had set should be no problem. This was all thanks to Lu Fan's contributions in terms of effort, manpower, and strategy. Now, he was also accompanying her back to the Bai family, melting her once proud heart.
Leaving the hotel matters to Lin Fang and others, Bai Xuemei and Lu Fan departed from the grand hotel.
"Hey... come and see, come and see! Rare treasures abound, whether you have the affinity or not. If you are born with discerning eyes, getting rich is not difficult..."
As the two just stepped out of the hotel and were about to get into the car, they suddenly heard a familiar voice. Lu Fan couldn't help but look back. Not far away, a disheveled old Daoist priest was sitting by the roadside, shouting at the top of his lungs, with a few small trinkets displayed in front of him.
Lu Fan's heart stirred. Although the disheveled old Daoist priest appeared unreliable, his twelve forms of close-quarters combat were extremely effective. Moreover, after evolving into a martial art, its power seemed even more extraordinary. Although he didn't know what kind of skill it was, it was definitely useful in a fight. He wondered if this old fellow had anything good this time.
With this thought, Lu Fan walked towards the disheveled old Daoist priest.
Bai Xuemei was slightly taken aback, not knowing what Lu Fan intended to do, and followed him.
"Oh! Young man! What a coincidence, we meet again..." The disheveled old Daoist priest suddenly saw Lu Fan and his face lit up with surprise. However, after speaking a couple of sentences like a normal person, he suddenly saw Bai Xuemei following behind Lu Fan. His eyes immediately lit up, and he pushed Lu Fan aside, baring his yellow teeth and smiling at Bai Xuemei, "Wow! This beautiful lady! Your humble Daoist knows astronomy and geography, and is proficient in trivial matters..."
"Damn it! The old guy's back again!" Lu Fan pouted, but ignored him, his gaze falling on the few small trinkets displayed in front of the disheveled old Daoist priest.
A set of nail clippers in a deluxe box, but the box was already dirty. The box contained a twelve-piece set, including tools for picking, cutting, and trimming. Lu Fan curled his lips. Was this a rare treasure?
He looked at the second item, a set of nesting dolls. Opening one revealed another, and another... a set of six. Lu Fan felt a surge of annoyance. This was just a set of porcelain, and modern porcelain at that. New ones might cost a dozen yuan, but now this old fellow had made them all dirty. No one would want them even for two yuan.
Looking at the third item, it was a small oilcloth pouch. *Swish...* Lu Fan's eyes lit up, and he reached out and grabbed the small oilcloth pouch. Upon opening it, he was met with a dazzling golden gleam. It was a set of golden needles. There were long ones, short ones, triangular ones, and flat ones...
"Old fellow! How much for this?" Lu Fan eagerly grabbed the disheveled old Daoist priest and asked.
"One hundred thousand!" The disheveled old Daoist priest didn't even look at Lu Fan, his lecherous eyes fixed on Bai Xuemei's proud chest. He almost drooled.
Bai Xuemei felt like gouging out the old fellow's eyes, wanting to leave but seeing Lu Fan staring at the golden needles, she stopped.
"One hundred thousand? Why don't you go rob a bank?" Lu Fan wanted to kick the disheveled old Daoist priest away.
"Hey! Young man! Open your eyes and look properly. This is pure gold! Ten thousand for one is not too much! And this is over twenty needles! Do you think I'm a fool? You want to snatch it away for two yuan." The disheveled old Daoist priest reached out and snatched the oilcloth pouch back, as if he was afraid Lu Fan would steal it.
"Lu Fan! This is pure gold! If you want to buy it, I'll buy it for you!" Bai Xuemei said immediately from the side. This disheveled old Daoist priest was right; these golden needles were solid and must be quite heavy. Their value was far more than one hundred thousand.
"See, see! This beautiful lady has good taste. I can tell a beautiful woman is someone of great wealth and status! Beautiful lady! Let me look at your marriage luck. I'm not bragging, I can even calculate when you'll have children just by counting on my fingers!" The disheveled old Daoist priest leered at Bai Xuemei.
"Get lost... you idiot!" Bai Xuemei finally couldn't hold back and cursed.
"Hehehe! Old fellow, I've also calculated that if you dare to say one more word, you'll face disaster! By the way, one hundred thousand, how should I pay you?" Lu Fan picked up the small oilcloth pouch and said.
The disheveled old Daoist priest indeed shut his mouth and, without a sound, took out a mobile phone and found a payment QR code.
"Holy crap... the old fellow is so messy, but he can even use a phone to collect payments!" Bai Xuemei's eyes widened in surprise. It's true that appearances can be deceiving!
Bai Xuemei bought the golden needles for Lu Fan, as Lu Fan didn't have that much money in his phone. He had given 15,000 yuan to Wang Yan to buy the peach garden, and the rest had been given to Liu Ruyan to purchase the iron fences for the surrounding mountains and build chicken and rabbit coops.
The two turned and returned to Bai Xuemei's car. When they looked back, the disheveled old Daoist priest had disappeared.
...
The Bai family in the provincial capital was so luxurious that Lu Fan almost dropped his jaw.
A large villa, almost as large as the entire village of Twelve Ravines. There were countless luxury cars inside, and the large lawn in the middle was big enough to play football. Entering the mansion, Lu Fan was even more shocked. The decorations inside truly opened his eyes. He had only seen such things in movies before, and now he knew they actually existed. However, the entire villa seemed to be decorated festively.
But as soon as they entered the villa, Bai Xuemei suddenly became flustered.
"Lu Fan! I completely forgot, today is Grandpa's 85th birthday! We... we didn't prepare any gifts!" Bai Xuemei said worriedly.
Actually, it wasn't entirely Bai Xuemei's fault. She wasn't very close to her grandfather, and since moving to the county town, she hadn't returned to the Bai family for several years. The Bai family had never paid attention to her. If it weren't for Lin Quan, the Bai family might have forgotten her altogether. How could she remember these things?
"Then let's go buy a birthday cake now!" Lu Fan suggested.
"Uh...!" Bai Xuemei rolled her eyes. "For Old Master Bai's birthday, most gifts are antiques and calligraphy and paintings, worth at least eighty to ninety thousand. You buy a cake? You'll probably be thrown out!" Bai Xuemei said helplessly.
"Holy cow... then wouldn't a birthday celebration make one rich!" Lu Fan shrugged. What was limiting his imagination? Money... money... money?
"Since we're here, we'll just have to face it! Anyway, it's probably not a good banquet today!" Bai Xuemei gritted her teeth. For so many years, her grandfather never invited her to his birthday. This time, it was probably because of Lin Quan. In that case! She would never agree to anything, so why bother with a birthday gift!
Inside the villa, quite a few people had already gathered. Many prominent families from the provincial capital were represented. The luxurious living room was bustling with activity, with people drinking, chatting, and taking the opportunity to flirt.
The Lin family, Lin Quan, and his father Lin Xiaohu were also present. Lin Xiaohu was drinking and chatting with other members of the Lin family. Lin Quan, however, was wandering around alone, constantly looking around, searching for Bai Xuemei's figure.
Suddenly, Bai Xuemei's figure appeared at the entrance. Before he could express his surprise, he saw Lu Fan beside her. A surge of anger rose in Lin Quan's heart! He strode to the entrance and blocked their path.
"Lu Fan! You poor wretch from a mountain village, how dare you attend Old Master Bai's birthday banquet? Get out of here right now!" Lin Quan roared at Lu Fan.