Chapter 237: The Richest

Chapter 237: Chapter 237: The Richest

Bringing up the subject made Zhang Wei Qiang feel incredibly fortunate. "Just two months after the hot spring was discovered, Mr. Lu secretly tipped me off. He told me that if we wanted to lease the mountain forests in Lihua Village, we had to act fast, or it would probably be difficult later. So, our family leased the mountain on this side, the one leading to the Fish Spring. The contract was signed for seventy years."

"Grandpa Lu really is a great help," Gu Nuan Nuan said with a smile, thinking of the Mr. Lu her uncle had just mentioned. Over the past two or three years, he had visited their home frequently. He’d come by every so often, and never alone. He always brought a few fishing buddies and headed straight for the family fishpond—the one where they raised the Fish Spring fish.

Of course, they didn’t fish for free. They paid for every fish they caught, weighed and priced according to the family’s going rate.

At first, the family refused to take their money, but Mr. Lu threw a huge fit, declaring that if they didn’t accept payment, it meant he wasn’t welcome back. This left the family unsure whether to laugh or cry, so they had no choice but to toss out a low price, thinking they’d just accept a token amount. But Mr. Lu wouldn’t have it. In the end, he solemnly calculated a rate based on the selling price of their dried fish and insisted on that amount, which he deemed appropriate.

"Once the wellness resort is built, even more people will want to come to our place to fish. Since we’ve already leased the mountain, we can go ahead and start building our first resort manor. Hmm, I’ll leave the rest to you, Uncle, just don’t forget to set aside a plot for my plantation," Gu Nuan Nuan said with a smile. Though it had only been two or three short years, the Zhang family was a far cry from what it once was; they were now renowned far and wide as a "ten-thousand-yuan household."

Of course, this "ten-thousand-yuan household" label was just what outsiders assumed. In reality, the Zhang family’s wealth had already accumulated to a sum in the millions—an amount outsiders wouldn’t even dare to dream of.

In recent years, business for Zhang’s Buns was so good that the growth of their franchises had been smoother than they could have ever imagined. Requests to open a franchise came pouring in from all over, from people who had heard of their success, covering nearly half the territory of the Alliance. However, Zhang Wei Qiang was not one to be reckless. The greater the temptation of enormous profits, the calmer he became, seeking stability and taking each step with a deliberate, measured pace. As a result, the entire Zhang’s Buns operation—including their directly-owned stores, franchises, ecological farms, and distribution centers—had so far only expanded into the three neighboring provinces.

Gu Nuan Nuan was completely out of her depth when it came to business, especially a large-scale one. She felt she didn’t have the mental fortitude for it; the sheer number of major and minor details that needed handling was just too overwhelming and tedious. So, after one exhaustive meeting with her uncle where she laid out various future business philosophies and models—using the excuse that she’d read about them in a Jade Scroll—she had truly washed her hands of it all. Now, her knowledge of the family business was limited to the scope of Zhang’s Buns’ expansion, which projects were underway, and the fact that her annual profit share was multiplying several times over each year. Beyond that, she was completely in the dark.

No one minded her hands-off, indifferent attitude toward the family business. In fact, the women of the family were especially delighted, because Gu Nuan Nuan now spent nearly all of her free time focused on her flowers and plants.

When they first saw her tinkering with her flowers and plants, everyone assumed it was just a hobby. But then she started concocting various creams that she claimed had beautifying properties. At first, they only tried a little to humor her, but they were astonished by the results. After applying the creams to their faces and bodies, their skin underwent a remarkable transformation—not only did it become fairer, but it grew increasingly supple and dewy. What’s more, the creams had a pleasant, light botanical scent and were more than ten times more effective than the expensive moisturizers and pearl creams they bought from stores.

What woman doesn’t want to be beautiful? From that point on, the Zhang women refused to use any store-bought products on their skin. Whenever they needed more, all they had to do was ask Nuannuan to whip up another batch—it was incredibly convenient.

As Zhang Wei Qiang’s business acumen grew, he immediately spotted the enormous commercial potential. After a family meeting, they all unanimously decided that this time, they couldn’t just take advantage of Gu Nuan Nuan’s work. However, given that Gu Nuan Nuan was still young and had no interest, patience, or aptitude for handling such mundane matters, they decided to spin off the venture and register a separate cosmetics company. The company would be solely owned by Gu Nuan Nuan, with Zhang Wei Qiang managing it on her behalf. He had intended to do it for free, but at Gu Nuan Nuan’s insistence, he ultimately agreed to accept ten percent of the net profits as a management fee. Half of that fee—five percent—would be his, while the other half would go into a bonus fund for the company’s executives and employees.

In just over a year, the profits from Nuannuan’s cosmetics company, which had a relatively small staff, were already on track to surpass the profits generated by the entire Zhang Group. Therefore, it was clear that both now and in the future, Gu Nuan Nuan would undoubtedly be the wealthiest member of the Zhang family.

Hearing this, Zhang Wei Qiang burst out laughing. "Of course I won’t forget! I’ll set aside a huge plot of land for you, I guarantee it will be big enough for you to plant all your precious things and won’t get in the way of your experiments. I have no doubt that the value your plantation generates will be hundreds, even thousands, of times greater than the entire resort manor."

"Even the finest wine needs a good salesman. When it comes to business, I know I’m right to leave it all to you, Uncle. By the way," Gu Nuan Nuan added, lowering her voice, "I crafted another batch of secret-keeping talismans recently. The success rate was really high this time, so I have quite a few."

"Really? I’ll come get them from you in a bit." Zhang Wei Qiang was overjoyed, though a hint of regret tinged his voice. "Keep up the great work. You can never have too many of these; the more, the better. We can save them for our descendants to use. It’s just a shame they’re consumable. When the time comes, there won’t be anyone who can make more for them. No matter how many we save, they’ll eventually run out."

He chuckled at his own words. "Ahem, but that’s a problem for hundreds of years from now. Who knows where we’ll even be by then? Why am I worrying about it?"

Gu Nuan Nuan chuckled.

The "secret-keeping talisman" they were discussing was also known as a Silence Talisman or a Contract Talisman, a type of talisman commonly used in the Cultivation World.

As the names suggest, a person placed under the effects of such a talisman is essentially bound by a specific contract of secrecy. For the rest of their lives, while they would know the confidential information themselves, they would be utterly incapable of revealing it to anyone else in any way, shape, or form.

They come in two types. The first is an almost rank-less version that is very easy to craft—though, of course, for a novice, even the easiest crafting requires time to achieve proficiency. This type is primarily used on ordinary people or Cultivators below the Foundation Establishment Stage. It’s simple and convenient, requiring no Spiritual Power to activate; as long as one masters the unique technique, even a normal person can use it. The other type, however, is not so simple. It is meant for Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage or higher. Not only does the talisman itself need to be Middle-level or above, but it also requires a Cultivator to use it in conjunction with a specific Array.