Getting the Marriage Certificate, Honeymoon, Living Long and Healthy Lives, Together Forever Till Old Age

To put it simply,

it's about using these three layers of protection as a fallback, laying out the retreat paths in advance.

Then, employing quantitative software as the foundation to keep a constant eye on every move in the Hong Kong market.

It’s not just about monitoring stocks.

It also tracks offshore RMB futures positions, foreign exchange reserves, interest rate differentials with the Fed, and a full twelve core market indicators.

In plain terms,

once any institution in the market prepares to short, no matter what method they use or which market they target—be it stocks, bonds, or forex—Cao Cheng will be the first to know.

And he’ll see right through their shorting tactics and techniques.

This is crucial.

On another front,

Cao Cheng also uses a proxy "white glove" to set up a dark pool trading platform in Hong Kong.

This serves the same purpose as the quantitative software: using big data to detect abnormal capital flows.

With these five strategies in place, the groundwork is nearly complete.

The retreat paths are secured.

The foundation is laid.

Over the next two years… the superstructure will begin to take shape.

This takes time, but Cao Cheng isn’t in a hurry—he’s left it all to Tang Xin.

For example, acquiring a certain bank in Singapore, one with RMB clearing qualifications.

Or gaining control of at least three licensed currency brokers in Hong Kong, enough to influence over 30% of the offshore RMB pricing power.

And, say, having his proxy "white gloves" steadily build up RMB-denominated commodity positions in that little toilet called London…

In other words, stockpiling ammunition.

The classic strategy: build high walls, stockpile grain, and gather guns.

All of this must be completed within two years.

These are the non-negotiable benchmarks Cao Cheng has set.

Only after these two years of groundwork can the battle be fought smoothly.

Otherwise, trying to take on so many institutions single-handedly would be borderline impossible.

Cao Cheng is confident, but not delusional enough to think he can go toe-to-toe with global institutions and hot money alone.

That’s just absurd.

So,

this is why Cao Cheng keeps expanding his preparations—the more he sets up, the more cards he’ll have to play.

The only silver lining is that

the offshore front is purely defensive.

Cao Cheng doesn’t need to attack; he just has to hold the line with every means available. Once he does, the final counterpush will shatter the enemy’s base, potentially bankrupting most of those institutions.

Besides,

on this defensive front, it’s not just Cao Cheng alone—he’s got the whole village committee backing him.

So in Cao Cheng’s mind, victory is all but guaranteed.

Historically, even without him, they still won—just not by much, more of a narrow or pyrrhic victory.

But this time, with Cao Cheng in the mix,

plus all the groundwork, the goal is to win bigger, maybe even cripple the opposition and flip the script entirely.

That’s the real objective.

Otherwise, why bother with all this preparation?

Of course,

over these two years, while building the defensive infrastructure here, he’ll also collaborate with the East Village on the Silk Road initiative.

The security company is already prepped.

Success on that front is even more critical than the defensive preparations here.

It’s about deepening the strategic depth of the overall defense.

Looking back at history’s lessons, Cao Cheng can’t help but admire some of the village’s decisions—they’re playing the long game, truly visionary.

After all, even Tang Xin thinks cooperation is mutually beneficial and that outright hostility with the Fed is unlikely.

At the very least, they’ll keep collaborating for another decade or two, right?

So,

most people haven’t even thought much about defense.

But the village has its masterminds—they’ve accounted for everything.

Thus,

Cao Cheng’s preparations are all about hitching a smoother ride on the wave of inevitability.

The trend is unstoppable.

No point fighting the tide.

……

Cao Cheng and Tang Xin discussed many details.

Finally,

Tang Xin, unable to hold back, asked again, just like before: "You’re preparing so many defenses and backup plans—what if nothing happens? The losses won’t be small."

The losses Tang Xin refers to

stem from tying up so much capital in defensive measures, which could stall progress for years.

Over that time, even the interest alone would eat into profits, not to mention the principal.

Because preparing for market defense in advance often means going against the trend, fighting the market, and keeping huge sums of capital idle.

Idle capital is pure waste.

Cao Cheng ruffled her hair, smirking like the Crooked-Mouth Dragon King: "Relax, I’m rarely wrong. And we won’t have to wait years—if nothing unexpected happens, signs should start appearing by the second half of next year. Then you’ll see just how brilliant your husband is."

This isn’t just talk.

Next year, when the Silk Road is proposed, the signs will emerge.

After two years of development, those signs will be undeniable.

The atmosphere will shift dramatically—anyone with half a brain will see trouble brewing.

But by then, it’ll be too late to prepare.

So,

they have to get ahead of it, lurking beneath the surface, hiding the ripples until the perfect moment to strike—unexpected and unstoppable.

If you dive in too late, the ripples will give you away.

"My husband doesn’t need to wait till then—he’s already brilliant now," Tang Xin teased with a playful huff.

Cao Cheng loved the praise.

With a grin, he leaned in.

And then…

……

December arrived in a blink.

The so-called doomsday was just days away.

For years, people had been shouting about the end of the world, leading to panic-buying of salt and grain. Countries worldwide churned out apocalyptic movies, riding the hype as if the whole globe was obsessed.

But by December,

with doomsday looming, everyone suddenly calmed down.

This wasn’t resignation—it was more like realizing how childish the doomsday talk had been.

As if, in that moment, a lot of people just "woke up."

Human nature is weird like that.

Cao Cheng couldn’t care less about the apocalypse. Instead, he used it as an excuse for a bit of romance—getting married right before the supposed end of the world? That’s a story to tell.

Thanks to the Mother-Child Lock, Cao Cheng could sense Ren Fanxing’s emotions through the Heart-Link. She was a little jealous, but only that.

None of the heartbreak or devastation he’d feared.

That put Cao Cheng at ease.

Honestly,

as a man, he’s prone to the same mistakes as Chen Long—classic male errors.

But Cao Cheng genuinely hates seeing his women suffer because of him.

This Eternal Heart-Lock came at the perfect time.

……

As for the little half-blood,

her affection score is only 88!

Nowhere near Ren Fanxing’s level.

Understandable,

since Cao Cheng rarely focuses on her. To him, she’s more like a link to Paul than anything else.

He hasn’t invested much sincerity in her, so he can’t expect her to hit the 90-point mark.

Still,

88 isn’t bad.

……

On doomsday itself,

Cao Cheng got his marriage license first thing in the morning—thanks to some backdoor connections.

Surprisingly, the place was packed. People had been lining up since midnight.

Cao Cheng hadn’t dreamed of this scenario.

He hadn’t prepared at all.

Seeing the long queue, Cao Cheng was stunned...

Fortunately, he quickly regained his composure, made a call, and pulled some strings to skip the line.

It was just a small indulgence of his "power."

Of course,

Cao Cheng did it for everyone's sake.

After all, as a true gentleman, how could he just cut in line recklessly?

That would be downright unethical.

He really did it for everyone's benefit.

Given his current status, he couldn’t afford to make a scene.

If people found out Cao Cheng had gotten married, word would spread like wildfire. It wasn’t about fear of going public—it was the swarm of reporters that would follow, from financial and entertainment media to tabloids and paparazzi...

The chaos would be unimaginable.

And everyone waiting in line that day? Forget about getting their marriage licenses—it’d be pure pandemonium.

So tell me, wasn’t pulling strings this time actually for the sake of those in line?

Cao Cheng was born with a heart for the people.

He didn’t want his personal affairs to disrupt everyone else’s big day.

Only out of necessity did he resort to skipping the queue.

...

After stamping the papers,

Cao Cheng handed out red envelopes to everyone, hoping they’d keep his secret.

Not that they had much choice.

After all, the higher-ups were there too, and they’d made it clear: anyone who leaked the news would lose their job.

Once they left,

Cao Cheng took Tang Xin’s hand and got into the car.

They didn’t head home.

Instead, they drove straight toward the northwest!

Well, northwest by north.

First stop: Mount Tai.

To offer prayers to the heavens.

For such a monumental occasion as marriage, the gods above ought to be notified.

...

Inside the car,

Tang Xin was still admiring their marriage certificate and the photos they’d just taken.

Even if the pictures weren’t perfect, she couldn’t get enough of them.

She kept staring.

Seeing the look on Tang Xin’s face, Cao Cheng felt a pang of guilt.

After all, his feelings weren’t a hundred percent pure.

He wasn’t some chosen protagonist who could claim, "I treat all my women equally—every one gets my full devotion."

What a load of nonsense.

How could there be a hundred percent sincerity when love was already being shared?

Cao Cheng couldn’t bring himself to spout such lies.

He knew he was wrong, but he couldn’t change.

Nor did he want to.

Abandon someone?

Ren Fanxing?

Impossible!

He had no choice but to keep going down this path.

Still, the guilt lingered, especially when he looked at Tang Xin.

Cao Cheng pulled her close and whispered, "I’m sorry, sweetheart."

Tang Xin glanced up, puzzled at first,

but then she understood what he meant.

With a soft smile, she didn’t dwell on it, simply humming, "If you’re really sorry, then treat me extra well from now on. No yelling, no anger, no making me upset, and definitely no abandoning me. Otherwise, I’ll be furious."

"..."

A surge of destiny’s energy flowed through Cao Cheng as warmth filled his chest.

That warmth—it was the hallmark of a chosen one.

But he didn’t dwell on it.

Instead, he vowed solemnly, "I’ll find a way to keep you forever young, to let us live long lives together. We’ll grow old side by side—for millennia."

Tang Xin didn’t call it a bluff, just chuckled. "Oh please, millennia? You’ll probably get bored in ten years. That’s just how men are—who doesn’t know that? Hmph."

Cao Cheng grinned. "I’ll make sure you stay this beautiful, this perfect. How could I ever get bored?"

The two exchanged sweet nothings as the car slowly left the city behind.

Their honeymoon journey—

had officially begun!