The next morning, Tang Hao took a cab to Dragonrock Village.
He got out of the cab at the end of the bridge near the village entrance.
Several women were doing their laundry at the streamside. They greeted Tang Hao when they saw him. “Oh, Lil Hao is here!”
“You haven’t shown up for many days! What are you busy with?”
“Oh! Lil Hao is a big boss now! Of course he’s busy, unlike us!”
Tang Hao greeted them courteously with a smile.
Dragonrock Village was a small village with several hundred inhabitants. Tang Hao knew every one of their names.
He enjoyed the warm intimacy with the villagers.
He crossed the bridge and arrived at the village. Looking into the distance, several huts that were built next to the mountain had already been replaced by new, bigger houses.
The village was getting a makeover.
Originally, Dragonrock Village was a poor, run-down place. Its current level of prosperity was about the same as Tang Village and would soon surpass it.
“Lil Hao is here!”
Many villagers came to greet Tang Hao when they saw him enter the village.
In their eyes, Lil Hao was the benefactor of the village. Without him, they would not have enjoyed a better life.
Being employed at the plantation and the factory had allowed many villagers to escape poverty and live comfortably.
Shi Xuenong, the village elder, came out of the village council building and shook hands eagerly with Tang Hao.
“You’ve been gone for a long time, Lil Hao! The villagers miss you!”
“Elder Shi!” Tang Hao greeted the village elder with a smile.
They chatted for a while, then Tang Hao went to the plantation for an inspection.
The plantation was divided into multiple sectors. Each sector was planted with different medicinal herbs.
The plants thrived with the help of the leyline gathering formation, not to mention that their growth cycles were shortened.
After inspecting the plantation, Tang Hao went to his maternal grandmother’s house.
The two elders regularly drank Tang Hao’s healthcare potions. They were very healthy and in good spirits.
Tang Hao’s grandparents were very happy when they saw him. They pulled him into the house and asked him about his everyday life.
Tang Hao was not in a hurry anyway. He sat down and chatted with the two elders for a long time.
Before he left, Tang Hao gave them a pill each. He made three of those pills. One of them was already given to Old Master Qin as his birthday present. Those were the other two.
Then, Tang Hao went deep into the mountains.
He had prepared twelve plots of land around the magical spring and planted lingzhi and ginseng in each of them.
He briefly surveyed the area, then got down to work. The ginseng plants in several plots were ready to harvest. He gathered those plants, plowed the earth, and planted new ginseng seedlings.
Then, he retrieved water from the magical spring and watered the plants.
Tending to his private garden took him about two hours in total.
“Phew!” Tang Hao threw away his bucket and gourd and breathed a sigh of relief.
He counted the harvested plants. There were about three hundred ginseng roots in total. That would last him for a very long time.
Once he was out of the mountains, he saw Liu Dajun’s Rolls Royce Phantom waiting for him at the village entrance.
Tang Hao would be taking his driving test and buying a new car.
With his experience on the three-wheeled motorcycle, driving was a breeze for Tang Hao. The test posed no challenge for him.
He received his driving license that afternoon.
“Let’s go get your car!” Liu Dajun waved his arm at Tang Hao. He seemed to be the more excited person of the two.
They drove to a car dealership in the west of town.
“What kind of car do you like, Lil Tang?” Liu Dajun asked as they stepped into the dealership.
Tang Hao thought for a while and replied, “Nothing too flashy. I don’t want a sports car. Just something normal and low-profile.”
Liu Dajun was surprised. “You’re a weird guy! If you have the money, then you should get yourself a nice car! Girls will be falling for you. You should get yourself a Lamborghini or a Ferrari. That’ll be so cool when you drive it on the roads.”
“That’ll attract too much attention!” Tang Hao laughed drily.
“Well, as long as you like it! If you want something not as flashy, how about we look at the selection of sedans? Audi is a good choice.
“Their A6 and A8 models are not bad. Let’s go and take a look!”
Liu Dajun brought Tang Hao to the Audi section of the showroom.
“Audi is a good brand, and the cars aren’t too flashy. We shouldn’t go any cheaper than that. It won’t be befitting of your status!”
Tang Hao looked around and pointed at an A8 model. “That one looks not bad! How much is it?”
“That’s an A8. It should cost about a million yuan! However, I’m good friends with the owner and I can easily get you a discount. It should be yours for about nine hundred thousand yuan.”
“Oh, nine hundred thousand!” Tang Hao was shocked when he heard the price.
“It’s not expensive at all. With your current financial status, a car worth nine hundred thousand yuan is considered low-profile,” Liu Dajun said, “Take a closer look at it. We’ll pick this one if it satisfies you!”
Tang Hao walked closer to the car and knocked on the hood. Then, he opened the car doors and carefully inspected each part of the car.
“What are you doing, Lil Tang?” Liu Dajun asked curiously.
“Oh, I’m just figuring out how to take this car apart,” Tang Hao said.
Liu Dajun was confused.
‘Shouldn’t you buy a car to drive it? Why are you taking it apart?’
Several sales clerks nearby were also confused when they heard that.
They had been working at the dealership for a long time, and it was the first time they heard about someone who wanted to dismantle a car before they had bought it.
“Why are you taking the car apart?” Liu Dajun asked, clueless.
“For research,” Tang Hao said as he stepped out of the car. “I’ll choose this one then!” He said, clapping his hands together.
Then, he was brought to the sales counter to settle the paperwork and payment.
“Buying a car is good news! Come, let’s get Ol’ Li and the others. We ought to gather for dinner,” Liu Dajun said happily.
Then, he took out his phone and gave a call to President Li, President Huang, and the others.
That night, they gathered at Beyond Heavens Restaurant and enjoyed a lavish meal.
Back at home, Tang Hao went to the garage after Sis Xiangyi fell asleep. He began his research on how to modify the car.
He thought that cars were not as versatile as motorcycles, and he would not feel safe when driving one. On his little three-wheeled motorcycle, he could abandon it and escape on foot if he met with danger while driving.
A car was different. One would be trapped inside while driving, which might delay his escape!
He was looking for a way to fortify the car’s defenses.
Carving runes on the car would not work. However, he could insert various jade talismans in every nook and cranny of the car. With the power of the talismans, the car could become an indestructible fortress. It could even fly.
Tang Hao spent the whole night inserting jade talismans into the car, finally stepping out of the garage in the morning.
