After leaving the Tang family...
Tang Chuchu's face was covered in tears as she wept, "Chen, I'm sorry. I'm useless. I can't even decide my own marriage."
Jiang Chen took her hand and said, "Grandpa said, 'As long as I can secure an order from Qianjun Group, I'll accept you as my wife.'"
"But, that's Qianjun Group," Tang Chuchu said, a look of worry on her face.
As a Jiangzhong native, how could she not know about Qianjun Group?
It's a multinational corporation that only recently settled in Jiangzhong. Qianjun Group's orders are essentially held by the four major Jiangzhong families.
Jiang Chen smiled and said, "How do you know if it won't work if you don't try?"
Tang Chuchu suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh, I remember. A high school classmate of mine works at Qianjun Group, as a department manager. I'll go find her and ask her to connect me with the top executives at Qianjun Group. I think I can meet them."
"Yes."
The two walked hand in hand towards their home.
Tang Chuchu's home was located in the same residential area as the Tang family villa, but the Tang family headquarters was a villa, while Tang Chuchu's home was in a high-rise residential complex.
The two of them strolled home. When they arrived, He Yanmei had already returned, but she wouldn't let Jiang Chen in.
Resigned, Jiang Chen said, "Chuchu, I'll go back first."
Tang Chuchu had no choice but to nod.
Now, the first priority was to secure Qianjun's order and convince the Tang family to recognize Jiang Chen's identity.
After entering the house, she began contacting classmates she hadn't seen in years.
Jiang Chen, on the other hand, returned to the Imperial Residence, the most luxurious villa complex on the river.
He sat on the sofa, smoking a cigarette, then took out his phone and dialed a number: "Have the chairman of Qianjun Group come to the Imperial Residence."
He hadn't wanted to use Long Shuai's privileges.
But, to secure Qianjun's order, he had to.
Soon, a middle-aged man appeared at the Imperial Residence.
The man was about fifty years old, dressed in a suit, slightly overweight, and balding.
"Long, Long Shuai..."
The man entered the Imperial Residence and sank to his knees.
He was the head of the Qianjun Group in Jiangzhong, a member of the Ye family in Kyoto, and his name was Ye Xiong.
Before arriving, he already knew the identity of the person he was meeting.
This was Long Shuai, renowned throughout the Southern Wilds, a deity of death, the Black Dragon whose slayings struck fear into the hearts of his enemies.
Facing such a powerful figure, he dared not neglect him. Kneeling on the ground, cold sweat broke out down his spine.
"Ye Xiong?"
Jiang Chen put down the documents in his hand, glanced at the kneeling middle-aged man, waved his hand slightly, and said calmly, "Stand up and talk."
"Yes."
Ye Xiong finally stood up. His forehead was covered in sweat, but he didn't dare to wipe it.
At this moment, he was terrified. He didn't know how he had offended this killing god, and he didn't know why this killing god had summoned him.
"Tomorrow, my wife, Tang Chuchu, will visit Qianjun Group and ask you for a 30 million yuan order. You must personally receive her and not neglect her."
Hearing this, Ye Xiong breathed a sigh of relief and smiled coquettishly. "Long Shuai, no problem, no problem. Not to mention 30 million yuan, even an order for 300 million yuan—as long as Long Shuai needs it, I'll give it to you."
"Remember, my wife's name is Tang Chuchu, Tang Chuchu of the Tang family."
"I'll remember that."
"There's nothing for you to do now. Leave."
"Yes."
Ye Xiong left quickly, as if granted amnesty.
After leaving the Imperial Residence, he was drenched.
He was a member of the Ye family in Kyoto, the helmsman of Jiangzhong Qianjun. Even the four major families in Jiangzhong would tremble in fear when they saw him, but with Jiang Chen, he showed no temper at all.
After Ye Xiong left, Jiang Chen stood up and muttered to himself, "It's been over ten days since I came back, and I haven't even gone to pay my respects."
He left the Imperial Residence, intending to take a taxi to the Jiang family ruins in the suburbs.
However, an unlicensed commercial vehicle was parked at the entrance of the Imperial Residence. Standing in front of it was a dark-skinned man wearing a black vest.
Jiang Chen walked over and glanced at Xiao Hei. "Didn't I tell you to take the brothers back?"
"Hey, General Long, the brothers have already returned to the Southern Wilds, but I stayed. General Long, let me stay."
"Call me Brother Jiang. There's no Long Shuai in Jiang."
"Yes."
"To the Jiang Family Cemetery."
"Brother Jiang, get in the car."
...
Soon, Jiang Chen arrived at the site of the Jiang family's former villa.
The former Jiang family villa had been reduced to ash, and now stood atop graves.
The once premier family in Jiangzhong was now reduced to ruins.
The sky was thick with dark clouds.
Pa lap lap.
The rain poured down in torrents.
In front of the Jiang family mausoleum stood a young man in a brown windbreaker. Behind him stood a man holding an umbrella for him.
"Plop."
Jiang Chen instantly fell to his knees.
Ten years ago, the Jiang family was the most powerful family in Jiangzhong.
He was eighteen years old that year.
That year, his father married him off to a stepmother.
His stepmother was Xiao Ruoran, now the head of the Xiao family, one of the four most powerful families in Jiangzhong.
Xiao Ruoran schemed to get into his grandfather's bed and falsely accused him of drugging her, bringing ruin to his reputation and making the Jiang family a laughingstock.
That same year, Xiao Ruoran reported his father for corruption, which angered him to the point of a heart attack. Instead of treating him, Xiao Ruoran pushed him from the third floor and publicly announced that his father, Jiang Nan, had committed suicide out of fear of punishment.
After his father's death, the four major clans, led by the Xiao family, gathered at the Jiang family's home and murdered his grandfather. They then kidnapped over thirty members of the Jiang family and demanded the possession of the millennium-old Jiang family treasure, the Flower and Moon Mountain Residence.
After obtaining the Huayue Mountain Residence Map, the four great families burned down the Jiang family and divided up its assets.
"Dad, you are guilty, you are the Jiang family's sinner. You shouldn't have married Xiao Ruoran. You shouldn't have brought this ambitious woman home..."
Jiang Chen knelt before the grave and burst into tears.
Who says men don't cry easily? It's just that they haven't been heartbroken yet.
He hated his father. It was his father's love for the wrong woman that led to the Jiang family's demise.
He hated Xiao Ruoran, but even more so, he hated the Xiao, Wang, Zhao, and Zhou families.
It was these four great families who had turned the Jiang family into ghosts.
"Grandpa, your death was unjust. I swear, I will bring the heads of the leaders of the four great families to pay tribute to the Jiang family's departed souls."
"Long Shuai, your condolences." Xiao Hei held an umbrella behind him.
He had never seen Jiang Chen so heartbroken, never seen the mighty Black Dragon like this.
Even facing an overwhelming force, he had never been afraid, yet now he was weeping like a tearful man.
"Long Shuai, tonight, the Xiao family's Longteng Group is holding a celebration banquet to celebrate the permanent agreement signed between Longteng and Qianjun Group. Going forward, Longteng will have priority for Qianjun's orders, and only after Longteng's selection will they be released to other groups. Today is also the 80th birthday of the Xiao family patriarch, so the Xiao family celebration banquet and birthday party will be held together."
"Longteng..."
Jiang Chen clenched his fists.
Longteng was his Jiang family's property.
Now, it has become the private property of the Xiao family.
He slowly stood up, a murderous look on his resolute face.
"Prepare a coffin and go to the Xiao family to collect the interest."